The Tarians are one of two remaining Orders that have helped to protect and shape the country over the centuries. While the other remaining order seems to believe that a person's worth is tied to their strength and ability to protect themselves, the Tarian's are about protecting everyone, something that Dayne holds firm in not only his view of the Tarian Order, but also in himself. Time and again, Dayne finds himself unable to sit idly by when he learns of others in danger, even if that means directly disobeying the Grandmaster and getting himself deeper into trouble with The Order.
What Dayne doesn't realize is that there is trouble brewing in the city in the form of a group of conspirators who are working to slowly enact some kind of agenda. Through their machinations, a small band of protesters who call themselves The Patriots, have started doing more than just grumbling in a tavern. Unfortunately for all involved, one member of The Patriots is more than he seems and while he believes in their cause, he ends up taking plans further than anyone expects.
Dayne, along with Initiate Jerinne (a promising young member who is about to finish her second year with The Order), and an Adapt named Amaya, find themselves constantly confronted by The Patriots and their various deeds, and while they try not to be in the center of the action, they are compelled to do whatever they need to in order to save lives, even at the potential cost of their roles in The Tarian Order and the lives they have come to know.
This is my first jaunt into Maresca's Maradaine, but I like a lot of what he is doing here. Without any prior knowledge of the setting or the world, I was able to dive into this first Maradaine Elite book as if it were the start of any other series, but from what I understand, if I had read his other series set in this city, Maradaine Novels, The Maradaine Constabulary and The Streets of Maradaine, I would see a much grander story hinted at and woven across these novels. The idea of such a series intrigues me a lot, especially considering how well Terry Pratchett pulled off a similar feat with Discworld and Brandon Sanderson's own endeavors in the Cosmere series. While I am coming in fairly late to Maradaine, I feel compelled to go back and pick up the other series in this setting in order to fully appreciate Maresca's work.
