Another aspect about her death that I loved is her crying out, “Hang on, Tesh, I’m coming.” It’s a direct repeat of Suri’s proclamation to a near-dead Arion at the end of Age of Swords. So fun! And, yes, I just used “fun” in the context of someone’s death.

  Now, some beta readers wanted to have another scene with Brin while in Phyre, and there may even be some future readers looking for the same thing. I can understand the desire, but, personally, I think it would have been a colossal mistake. I mean, it’s not like we don’t know what’s going to happen. And to have a scene showing her return would be treading over old ground. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Tesh and Brin have a cozy little place on a hill overlooking a river in Alysin that’s just a stone’s throw away from Raithe’s and Persephone’s home. For me, I don’t have to see the reunion to know it happens.

  Which brings me to another issue. I’m okay with Tesh remaining dead. If he were to return to the land of the living, there would be a whole host of problems. First, he would be apart from Brin. Second, he would be tried and punished for the murders of the Galantians. And third, Nyphron’s destruction of Duryea and Nadak would come out, and that’s really something you don’t want to know about your new emperor. Since Alysin is so idyllic, staying dead means Tesh will get to his final reward sooner. I’m good with that!

  I mentioned in one of my other afterwords that I couldn’t figure out whether Malcolm was good or evil, so imagine my surprise when he turned out to be both! For people planning to read the Riyria Revelations, keep your eyes open for tales about Kile and the White Feather. When you come across them, you’ll know the true origin of where those stories come from.

  Okay, so one of the highlights of this book has to be the reunion of Suri and Minna. I’m thrilled that the pair are returning to the Hawthorn Glen and a well-deserved simpler life. Suri deserves a rest. She went through a lot. Oh, and I’m so glad that one of my fears didn’t come to pass. I was really concerned that Suri’s friendship with Makareta would result in yet another gilarabrywn. In general, I’m not able to change Michael’s mind on “big plot issues,” and I’m glad we didn’t have to duke it out over that one.

  Michael never treats death capriciously, and at the time of Minna’s passing, I totally understood her need to die from a story standpoint. Still, that knowledge didn’t make me cry any less. But I still understood it. I NEVER thought we’d see her again. Now, not only is she alive, but we find out she is much more than first imagined. The fact that Trilos didn’t want to face off against her was quite telling. Loved it!

  Another personal favorite of mine is getting all the lore about the afterlife. Throughout the last two books, we’ve visited, Rel, Nifrel, Alysin, The Abyss, and the Sacred Grove, and it was great learning about them through the progression of the plot, rather than through an infodump. I’m glad that people in Alysin can get their loved ones in upon invitation. I don’t think paradise would be as wonderful if someone you loved were stuck in a different realm.

  I really enjoyed meeting Mari, and although I didn’t expect to meet Elan, I loved that we got to hear the full story of Turin from the source. Oh, and while I’m here. I know some people have been a bit confused by all the various gods, and they have been asking for a summary, so here it is:

  ETON - God of the sky, Grand Father of All.

  ELAN - Goddess of the earth, Grand Mother of All.

  ALURYA - firstborn of Eton and Elan goddess of plants and animals. Her fruit bestows immortality. She is now a dead tree in the Sacred Grove.

  TYPHONS - ancient gods of giants. There are three of them Gar, Erl, and Toth. Currently, they are trapped in the Abyss of Nifrel.

  AESIRA - the five gods created by Elan by stealing teeth from Eton which includes Turin, Trilos, Drome, Ferrol, and Mari.

  TURIN - (aka Rex Uberlin, Caratacus, and Malcolm) father of Goblins (Ghazel). Also the bringer of war and lies.

  TRILOS - (aka The Three, The Old One or the Ancient One) - first to die by Turin’s hand, lover of Muriel. He escaped the Abyss by tricking the dwarfs.

  DROME - Twin of Ferrol and father of Belgriclungreians (dwarfs). In the afterlife, he rules Rel.

  FERROL - Twin of Drome and mother of Fhrey (elves). In the afterlife, she rules Nifrel.

  MARI - mother of Rhunes (humans. In the afterlife, she rules Alysin.

  MURIEL - daughter of Turin, lover of Trilos, also commonly known as the Tetlin Witch, like Malcolm, she is immortal having eaten Alurya’s fruit.

  The last favorite thing of mine regarding this book was the ending. As far as I’m concerned, I think Michael nailed it. I loved, loved, loved that it ended with Malcolm and Muriel and that she gave him the first of what I hope to be many feathers. The fact that she’s open to reconnecting with her father makes me all warm and fuzzy, but I fear she will be a tough judge.

  Well, I could go on and on, but I only have so much space. But, if you are interested in more commentary from me, I am writing a “Making of” bonus ebook. If you are a Kickstarter backer, you’ll receive it automatically. If you weren’t, you could get a free copy by requesting it at this link.

  Before I go, I want to take a moment to talk to those people who haven’t yet read the Riyria Revelations. Please, do. There are so many connections between Legends and Riyria that it’s really worth checking out. Plus, having read Legends, you’ll be “in the know” making you better equipped to see through Michael’s lies.

  Also, if you think you might like what we are calling “The Bridge Series” (a.k.a. The Rise and the Fall), we’ll be doing Kickstarters for it as well, and if you want to sign up for early notification you can do so at this link.

  Okay, one more thing I’d like to cover, and then I’ll be off. I’d like to thank the members of our creative team whose incredible efforts made this book possible. First, to Marc Simonetti, who not only created the fantastic cover for this book but all the books in the series. Next, I’d like to thank Linda Branam and Laura Jordstad, two fabulous copyeditors who worked under incredibly aggressive timelines. Hopefully, we’ll have more breathing room with the next series. And, of course, we can’t forget to mention Tim Gerard Reynolds, the amazing narrator for the book.

  Usually, Michael and I are in the studio during the recording, and Tim has the helping hands of a recording engineer and frequently a director. But because of the Coronavirus, Tim recorded in his home studio, which meant he had to wear multiple hats. We received the “dailies” and reported back areas where adjustments were required. He took care of those before sending them off to Audible. Because Tim had to wear so many hats, the recording took longer than usual. However, we were still able to meet the release day, so good job to Tim and the post-production mastering people at Audible.

  I would also like to thank an army of beta, gamma, and early Kickstarter readers who contributed their selfless time and effort to make this book as good as it is. Normally, I would call these people out by name. But, the deadline was so tight that there wasn’t time for the coordination involved in getting permission to use all of their names. So, even though they aren’t listed here, I still want to publicly offer our thanks.

  Last and not least, I’d like to thank the various logistic support individuals. For instance, the people at Grim Oak Press (especially Shawn Speakman) who handles the distribution for the hardcovers and paperbacks. I’d also like to thank the people at LSC Communications, who provided the printing during the height of the Coronavirus. And, of course, my continued thanks to all the people at Audible Studios, especially Esther Bochner and Kristin Lang.

  And that’s it for me. Both Michael and I would like to thank you for your continued support. We’ll do our best to keep the books coming, and hopefully, you’ll find them worth your time to continue reading.

  Kickstarter Backers

  Our eternal thanks go out to the following people (and to those who chose not to be recognized publicly), for being patrons of the arts and making the hardcover edition of this book possible by pre-ordering through our Kickstarter project.

  — A —

  @ddlt1 • @renaissancemari • Brian A. • Eric A. • Karla Saldate A. • M. C. Abajian • Terri Abbett • Jaxon Oliver Abbott • Winston Percy Abbott • Chuck Abdella • Julian Abernethy • Shilpa Robz Abraham • Thérèse Abrams • Abraxas • AC & AK • Simoneta Gomez Acebo • Iris Achmon • Josh Acocella • Rafael Acosta • Thomas Acquinas • Szilágyi Ádám • Andy Adams • Colin Adams • Frederick Adams • John Adams • Jon Adams • Kevin & Helen Adams • Rob Adams • Sam Adams • Iain Add • Michael & Heather Adelson • Anna Adler • Daniel Adler • Scott Adley • ADM • Lee Adolfson • Adrian & Roberta • Sandu Elena Adriana • Adumbratus • Afterperihelion • Svetoslav Agafonkin • Arjun Agarwal • Natasha Aguiar • Kawika Aguilar • Eddy & Rebecca Aguirre • Matthew Brian Aguirre • Donna Ahlrich • Balal Ahmad • Priscilla Ahn • James & Diana Aiken • Garrett Aikens • Ajvz • Geoff Akens • Khaldoun Al-Qaysi • Rahaf Alahmadi • Dan Alber • Drew Alcaide • Andrew Alderman • Michael Alerich • Scott A. Alexander • Heather Aley • Kristel Alger • Adel-Rehman Ali • Misha Ali • AliiKatt • Seth Alister-Jones • Husain Aljamri • Harrison Alldred • Brin Leah Allen • Caitlin & Liam Allen • Cody L. Allen • Jay Scott Allen • Julie Marie Allen • Sami Almudaris • Alston • Raul Alvarado III • Jesselyn Alvarez • Barrak Alwazzan • Alwin • Alyksandrei • John Ambrose • Ben Ames • AmethystOrator • Anamue • Peter Andersen • Brian Anderson • Carol Beth Anderson • Chris Anderson • Colin Anderson • George Anderson • Graeme Anderson • Julie Anderson • Katharine Anderson • Kris Anderson • Luke Anderson • Nathan Alan Anderson • Richard "Tripp" Anderson • Sadie Anderson • Sean Anderson • Sean L. Anderson • Tom "Squeat" Anderson • Troy Anderson • Elin Anne Anderssen • Tyler Andor • David Andre • Andrea • Rebecca Andreasen • Andrei • Dennis Andrews • Joseph Andrews • Lesley Andrews • Androsso • Jocelyn Andruko & Mitchell Farmer • Angela & Cid • Jacek Aninowski • Chrissy Anjewierden • Catrina Ankarlo • Emily Ann • Mahir Annama • Joanna Anthony • Summer Applebaum • Paul Aquino • The Arata Clan • Nandinho Araújo • Ricardo Araujo • Dylan Arbuthnot-Olk • David Arcuri • Maryrose Arcuria • Wei Shi Lindon Arelius • Tamara Arens • Sue Armitage • Mary-Helen Armour • Carl & Mya Armstrong • Matt Armstrong • Wesley Armstrong • Cassie Arneson • Aubrie D. Arnold • Jordan Arnold • Melissa "Squirrely Murlley" Arnold • Colin Asbill • Matthew Ash • Quint Ashburn • Ashli • Dyrk Ashton • John Fredrik Asphaug • Chad Atchison • Dagny Athena • The Atkinson Family • Elijah Atkinson • Brent Auble • Jon Auerbach • Marco Auger • Augustine • Erica Augustine • Devan Ausiello • Authoraaronp • Matt Avella • Garrett Avery • Marcus William Avery • Alice Aviles • R. J. Ayres • Arya Azar • Andrew, Rachel, Sophie, Molly & Abby Azzinaro

  — B —

  B-Hill • Alex B. • Anurag B. • Ariane B. • Dina B. • Dustin, Amy, Owen, Molly & Zoey B. • Glen B. • Jacqualine B. • Justin B. • Marius B. • Richard B. • Sierra B. • Michael Baar • Michael Babb • Nathan & Tracy Bacon • Jacob Bahr • Chris Bailey • Heidi Bailey • Kelvin Bailey • Keri & Patrick Bailey • Michael Bailey • Patrick Bailey • Chris Baima • Isaac & Cameron Baird • Shirley Baird • Charlie & Sarah Baker • Gary & Sarah Baker • Jeff Baker • Anand Bakshi • Linda Balder • Joseph Baldwin • Meghan Ball • Rob Ballew • Tyler Ballew • Nic Baltas • Ben Balzarini • Maciej Banasiak • Naqheeb Bandukwala • Donovan Banh • Preston Bannard • Tom Bannister • Tony Baraconi • Callum Barber • Joshua Barber • Heather Barcomb • Caldwell Barefoot • Yasmine & Royce Barghouty • Ariana Barkley • Doug Barkus • Aaron & John Barlow • Ed Barmettler • Maria Barna • Bryan M. Barnard • David J. Barnard • David Barnett • Baronen • Christopher Barr • Stephen Barr • Josh Barratt • Benjamin Barreth • Maura Barrett • Nolan Barrett • John W. Barron • Bart • Jan Barthold • C. L. Bartley • Alfred & Michael Jonathan Basaldella • Emily Bass • Wes Batcheller • Barrett Bates • Stephen Bates • Susan Bates • Nicholas T. Battaglia • Paul Batty • Berta Batzig • Marc Baudry • Stefan Baumgä • Shaun Baxter • David Bean • Tyke Beard • Abby Beasley & Caitlin Grady • Dana Beatty • Craig Beaumont • Mark D. Beaumont • David "Friend of Jesus" Beccue • Nate "The Kaiser" Beck • Brian Becker • Nicole A. 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Bookwalter Jr. • Jasen Boothe • The Boreham Family • Rikke Borgaard • Halli Borgfjord • Andy Bosher • Becky Bosshart • Brian Boswell • Riaan Botha • Arielle & Cameron Botta • Terry Bouchard • Elizabeth Bougie • Kris Boultbee • Andy Bowden • Chad Bowden • David Bowden • Jason Bowden • Elise "The Cat" BowerCraft • Robert Bowling • Kayleigh Bowman • Matt "Doc" Bowman • Benjamin Ray Boxley • Justin Boyd • McKayla Boyd • Timothy "Doc" Boyd • Michael Boye • Kevin Boyer • Jessica Boyette-Davis • The Boyle Family • Iain Brabant • Angela Bradley • David M. Bradley Jr. • Joe Bradley • Orin R. Brady • Sandy Brady • J. Leigh Bralick • Bram • "Forever a Butterfly" Brandy • Lisa Brandy • Brad Branstetter • Brant • Lindsay Noll Branting • The Brass Family • Lauren Bratt • Mark Braud • Florian Brauer • Neil Breault • Milou Breedveld • James Stewart Breen • Ethan & Ben Breese • Kim Breitwieser • John Breland • Alex Brener • John Brennan • Steve Brenneman • Carmen Brenner • Brent, Kat & Eben • Thomas & Joanne Brewster • Hannah Bridge • Kyle Bridges • Sarah Bridges • The Brim Family • Henry T. Brimhall II • Shane Bringhurst • Ashley Britten • Svemir Brkic • Julien Brochet • Brock • Kelly Diana Brogdon • Michael Brooker • Jaye Brooks • Quinn Broughton • Dana Broussard • Frank Broussard • Rachel Brousseau • Annaïck Brout • Austin Brown • Chris Brown • Christina & Terry Brown • Curtis Brown & Joshua Labonte • Forrest Brown • Joe "Brownsloth" Brown • Matthew Brown • Michael Brown • Miranda J. Brown • Steven M Brown • Theo Brown • V. Brown • Jordan Brownfield • Doug Browning • Jana Broz • Bruce • Claire Brumley • Michael Jay Brunt • Lauren Bruschkewitz • Michael Bryant • Joanna Brzeska • Ryan Buchanan • Michael Buckley • Danielius Buckus • Amit Budhu • Laura Warren Buehler • The Bugge Family • Jerryn Bunnell • Stephen Burchfield • Terence Burdett • Randy Burdick • Elwood Burgess • Everett Burke • Micah & Shaina Burke • Robert E. Burke • Jamie & Zeb Burks • Jennifer Burns • Jeri Burns • Phil Burns • Benjamin Burroughs • Cassandra L. Burton • Jenny Busby • S. Busby • Janek Busch • Jeremy Busey • Tony Bussert • Nathan J. Bussey • Janet Butler • Megan Butler • Josh Butt • Nicholas Buttram • Alex Butuza • Robert Buurman • Joris Buys • Kenneth L. Bynon

  — C —

  Amy C. • Bev C. • Carley C. • Cynthia H. C. • Erin C. • Julien Froment C. • Nancy C. • Nikaya C. • Justin C' de Baca • Courtney Cabaniss • Gerald Joan Meizon Cacas • Cadius & Ramora • Josh Cain • Hilary Caldwell • Joshua Callahan • Callie & Cory • Tatiana & Chancie Calliham • Clay Calvert • Ross Cameron • Trevor Camp • Dustin Campbell • Lance C. Campbell • Rob Campbell • Clinton Canady IV • Sarah Cancellieri • Kevin Candiloro • Candy & Justin • Cannon Maverick Inc. • Clay Cannon • Sean Cannon • Tanner Luke Cantin • Terri A. M. Cantrell • Jennifer Caracappa • Marnilo Cardenas • Rosie Cardno • Alfredo R. Carella • Carolyn J. Carideo • Nicolette Carklin • Ty Carl • Steven & Elizabeth Carley • Allison Marie Caron • Alex Carpenter • Jodi Carpenter • Joseph H. Carpenter IV • Ines Carradice • Aidan Carrasquilla • Brandon Carter • Carolyn Carter • Clint Carter • Jennine Carter • Michael Caruso • Peter Casale • Tricia Cascio • Beth Case • Casey • Austin & Brenda Casey • Brian Casey • Casey, Orrin & Catherine • Justin Cassens • Kevin Cassidy • Pedro E. Castillo • Eddie Castro • Joe Castro • Victor Cata • Nick Catalano • Tammie Causey • Kevin Cavanagh • Tim "Starmarc" Caves • Fenric Cayne • Heather Cease • Amar Ćerimagić • Jamie Cerrato • Chad • Jason Chad • Krishna Chaitanya & Gourangi • David Lars Chamberlain • Laura Chamberlain • Preston Champ • Jaime Chan • Kevin Chan • T. S. Chan • Tony Chan • David Chanda • Monica Chandler • Paul & Shirley Chandler • Howie Chang • Rawee Chanphakdee • Maya Hainze Chapman • Rebecca Chappell & Anora Wilson • Amanda Eliza Charles • Charlotte • Jordan Charlton • Anthony Chatfield • Linda Chau & Yulong Sun • Jesse Chavez • Brian Cheek • Brent Chelewski • Yu-Wen Chen • Melissa & Alan Chettle • Richard Chiang • Kristopher Childress • Noel Chin • Lance Ching • Chip • Leigh Chittum • Luke Chmilenko • Jennifer K. Choi • Chopper • Arunav Choudhury • Choupinou & Choupinette • Chris • Chris & Hause • Chris & Hema • Casey Christensen • Cynthia Christensen • Dylan Christian • Mikaela Christiansson • Mia Christin • Derek Christman • Olivia Christopher • Christy, Jollin, & Abby • Danielle Chritchley • Shannalee Chugg • ChX • Adam N. Cioffi • Robert Claflin • Jasmine Clancy • Brandi Clark • C. Clark • Dave Clark • Jarad Clark • Jenelle Clark • Michael Clark • David Clayton • Tony Clayton • CleanestSprout • Alex Clement • Joshua Cleveland • Francis & Charles Clifford • Greg Clinton • Mike Clougherty • Richard & Vanessa Rivas Clouston • Michael Cluff • CMHMZAN • CMT • Peter Coates • Darcie Cobos • Lisa Cockrell • Ben Cohen • Larry Coker • Ryan Colbeth • Mathew Colburn • Ab Colby • Jason S. Colby • Jenny Colby • Antonino Cole • Ashton Cole • Ryan Cole • Kris Collar • Bruce "Hoss" Collins • Josiah Collins • Justin Collins • Lawrence Collins • Todd Collins • Raymond Colon • Collin Coltman • Todd M. Colu • Willow Elisabeth Colvin • John G. Comas • CompuChip • Conflux • Pet Connection • Brandon Connors • Benjamin Conrad • Christopher Conrad • Gretchen Conrad • Susan Contreras • Al Cook • Elise Cook • Ed Cooke • Richard Cooke • Christine A. Cooney • W. Coop • Michelle Cooper • Jessica Cooperman • Brandon Coppernoll • Anke Corbeil • Sarah Corbeil • Trevor Corlett • Jordan Cornelius • Arletta Kelley Cortright • Kelley Cortright • Lachlan Corvec • Rin Corvetti • The Corvin Family • Cory & Kaylea van Vliet • Sarah Cosco • Cosmo Cosler • Cosmin • Anthony Cossio • Chantelle Costa & Cameron Nevens • Tyson Y. Cote • Bob & David Cottingham & Vickie & Katie Thornton • Larry Couch • Violet Coulton - all my love, Grangrad McCall • Damon J. Courtney • Stephanie & Namira Couturier • Donna Coviello • Andrew Cowell • Jonathan & Alexandra Cowles • Brian Cox • Caitlin Cox & Alex Mellnik • Clayton Cox • Jim Cox & Cooper • Adalyne Coy • Leo Coyle • Matthew Coyle • Tyler Coyle • Jacob Crabb • Brian Crabtree • Daniel F. Craft • Craig • Greg Crain • Anya Crane • Jeffrey Crane • Jeremy Crane • Kyler Danger Cravath • Chris Creech • Ben Crew • Shawn Crimmins • Brian Croce • Nathan B. Crocker • Jens Cromheecke • Kevin Cronic • Peter K. Crookes • Michelle D. Crosby • P. L. Cross • Rhiannon "Rodeo" Crothers • Brian & Billy Crouch • Trevor & Justina Crow • Andrew Cruise • David Crumbley • Aaron "Crumpy" Crump • Cygnus Crux • Mark Cummings • Michael Cummings • Richard J. Cunn • Lark Cunningham • Lynley Anne Cunningham • Sam Curran • Denise Currie • Cole Currier • Chris Curry • Glenn Curry • Curtis • Nick Curtis & Kelli Cross • Lesley Curvers • Mary Cusick • Nate Cutler