Kerowyn, Eldan and Ratha
In the Series
Kerowyn appears in the following books:
·By the Sword
·Winds of Fate
·Winds of Change
·Winds of Fury
·Storm Warning
·Owl Knight
Kerowyn is the granddaughter of Kethry. She is the daughter of Lenore, a younger daughter of Kethry and Jadrek, the chronicler of Rethwallen. Her father was an ex-mercenary who fell in love with Lenore and inherited the manor which Kethry, Jadrek and Tarma had used as a school until they retired. She is the heroine of the song "Kerowyn's Ride" in which she took revenge on the bandits who had killed her father, seriously wounded her brother and kidnapped his bride. She did so with the aid of the spelled sword Need (which had been given to her by Kethry), Tarma the Shin'a'in Swordsworn, and Warrl the Kyree. After her completion of the events recounted in the song Tarma declared that she was a natural warrior and trained her in both sword craft and strategy. During the training she had a brief affair with Prince Darenthallis of Rethwallen, who had been sent by his father to also train with Tarma. After her training was complete she followed the advice of her grandmother and Tarma and joined the Skybolts, a mercenary company now led by the son of an old friend.
During a battle with Karsites she was separated from her fellow mercenaries. She rescued Eldan, a Herald of Valdemar who was being tortured by a Priestess of Vkandis and ended up falling in love with him. However she valued her freedom and based on her past experiences with men from her family and the countries she had lived in, chose to leave him and return to her mercenary company. After the loss of most of her company and the company commander the Skybolts were hired by a group of merchants who had no wish to pay the fee they had promised and therefore forced her and her fellow mercenaries into an untenable position that was causing too many casualties. After she was wounded and her fellow mercenaries were being forced into a suicide mission she severed her contract in accordance with the Mecenary Guild rules and returned to Bolthaven the company's winter home. Unknown to her the remaining members of the Skybolts had utilized an ancient rule of the Guild which allowed them to vote out the serving Company Commander and vote her in. The followed her to Bolthaven and as their captain, Kerowin restored the Skybolts strength and reputation. During all this time she had also mastered her connection with the magical sword Need which was spelled to force it's "owner" to aid any woman in need and had led her grandmother Kethry into many dangerous and unprosperous (monetarily, Kethry also being a mercenary) adventures. She had done this by threatening to throw Need down a well where she would be useless to help any woman in need of aid. While visiting her old friend and ex-lover Prince Darenthallis at his brother's court in the capital of Rethwallen she is moved by Need and her own sense of ethics to aid Herald Talia who comes to the court asking for aid from the Rethwallen royal family. She asks the king to remember a promise made by his Grand-Father to the royal family of Valdemar in exchange for helping him to regain the throne of Rethwallen. She and her Skybolts are then hired by the king and sent to help the Valdemarens in their war against Ancar of Hardorn. During the battle she is thrown from her horse and mounts a white steed she assumes is "just handy" but is in fact the Companion Sayvil. Having been chosen she becomes a Herald of Valdemar.