This book was the second part in a compilation of two books entitled The Legacy of Gird.

After Gird's death, his mageborn scribe Luap continued his work, but also sought a refuge for other mageborn like himself. He's overjoyed when he finds a remote mountain palace carved from sheer rock, only accessible by several ancient portals. The older races, the Elves and Dwarves, gruffly approve their residence in the palace, but warn their visitation will only last as long as the local ancient evil isn't awakened. That evil is left unnamed, but it watches, waiting for the time to strike.

This book just didn't feel right at all. It was interesting to see how certain things are explained that are important in the Paks books (as this book is a prequel), but in many ways that felt like that the only purpose of this book. Gird died at the end of Surrender None, so I was surprised that he was still alive for the first chunk of this volume. Luap himself was not a likeable character at all. He whines for the first 2/3, and doesn't really feel like an integral part in the last 1/3. The two young paladins were fascinating, yet at the same time they were too flawless.

The ending was rushed, too. The entire last half of the book left me waiting for the evil entities to attack, and it kept not-happening. Then suddenly at the end Seri and Aris solve everything all of a sudden, then evil attacks, then there's a time warp/something (I still don't get that bit) and the mageborn are evicted from ye old mountain palace.

I love Moon's writing and world-building, as always, but this book is made of too many pieces that just didn't fit together well or at the right time. These were no where near as good at the Paks books, but they were worth reading for the background information on Gird and Luap. I will not be keeping The Legacy of Gird. ( )