Third year Tarian Candidate, Dayne Heldrin, finds himself in a tough predicament. He is a strong believer in the Tarian Order and its role in protecting the people of the country of Druth. His moral compass is so strong, he will often disobey direct orders in order to do what he feels is right. One such recent event led to him stopping an assassin in the process of killing members of Parliament. Unfortunately, an event that happened just before the start of the previous book, The Way of the Shield, means that Dayne is unlikely to advance to the next rank after his last year as a Candidate, and that means he is going to be dismissed from the Order.
In the hopes of helping to find a place for Dayne, as well as leveraging his new-found popularity, the Order has created a new position for him to act as a liaison between the Tarians and Parliament. Dayne must learn exactly what this new role means and how it can help him serve the people, all while the hustle and bustle of election season closes and the votes start to come in.
Meanwhile, Tarian Initiate, Jerinne Fendall, who helped Dayne in his recent actions, is starting her intensive third year. If she is deemed acceptable, she will advance to the rank of Candidate. Unfortunately, for Jerinne, her injured leg puts her at a severe disadvantage. To make matters worse, despite all her efforts, Jerinne finds herself constantly at the bottom of the rankings and unable to make any headway. Will she be able to overcome these unexpected obstacles? What will happen when she and her fellow Initiates find themselves facing unprecedented threats?
As the week-long celebration of the country's reunification rages on across the city of Maradaine, votes are placed and tallied and the election results from the outer reaches of Druth make their way to the capital. Protests also abound. One major force is a women's suffrage movement that keeps making its voice known, but there are other rumblings as well. One group, The Open Hand, wants the ten archduchies that make up Druth to have more independence. Each time their peaceful, but disruptive, protests cause the local law enforcement to get involved, Dayne finds himself in the middle of the situation, trying to get both The Open Hand and the constables to back down. As Dayne says, he might not agree with The Open Hand, but he will defend their right to voice their beliefs as long as they stay peaceful. Unfortunately, these efforts do seem to put him at odds with some of the people he now has to work alongside.
Meanwhile, what neither Dayne nor Jerinne know is that the events that happened in the Parliament a month or so ago was only the start of a much bigger plot. There is a conspiracy in place orchestrated by ten figures styling themselves as The Grand Ten, a reincarnation of the group that helped make Druth what it is today. In Shield of the People, we actually get a good bit of insight into each of the Ten's motive as the book is sprinkled with a chapter from each of the character's perspectives. We not only learn more about the ones we already know were involved, including their personal motives, but we also get to know the members that we didn't see much of previously.
I really enjoyed Shield of the People and can't wait to see what The People of the City has in store for Dayne and the rest of the Tarians. I also find myself even more interested in the rest of Maresca's Maradaine series. I am going to have to carve out some time for the other three trilogies he has written in this setting.
