Wind Rider's Oath

Wind Rider's Oath (May 2004; ISBN 0-7434-8821-0) is the third novel in the fantasy "War God" series by David Weber. It follows the adventures of Bahzell Bahnakson and his friend Brandark. The format is a swords-and-sorcery land with dwarves, elves, humans, hradani - the 4 Races. There is a pantheon of Gods, some good and some vile.

Other books in the series are:

• Oath of Swords (February 1995) ISBN 0-671-87642-2
• The War God's Own (1999, ISBN 0-671-87873-5)
• Sword Brother, a novella published together with a January 2007 edition of Oath of Swords, ISBN 1-4165-2086-4

Plot

At the end of The War God’s Own, Bahzell had accepted the surrender of the much larger force commanded by the Sothoii Baron Tellian. Bahzell, Brandark and Kaeritha are now visiting the Baron's castle from which the baron rules a large portion of the Sothoii Empire. The surrender by Baron Tellian has caused political unrest within the Sothoii nation as does the presence of Bahzell and his entourage of Hradani, members of most recent chapter of the War God's monks.

Bahzell and his fellow Hradani run to the aid of the remnant of a herd of Coursers who were attacked by minions of one of the evil gods. For centuries these phenomenal, sentient horses have been revered by the Sothoii. They sometimes form life long mental links with a few select Sothoii warriors who are then known as "Windriders". Bahzell is the first non-Sothoii to become a windrider and rides a Courser who. like Bahzell, has become a champion of the war god. This, along with the obvious effort and sacrifice the Hradani have made to save the Coursers does much to alleviate the political tensions.

Meanwhile Kaeritha, another war god champion, obeys her call to the Sothoii Warmaids, who are keen that there is no diminution of their legal rights. The devotees of the vile gods continue - as a third strand of their long-planned attack on the Sothoii - to manipulate and attack in Baron Tellian’s own lands.

Characters

• Bahzell Bahnakson of the Horse Stealer hradani. The son of Bahnak, the prince of Hurgrum, the first hradani champion of Tomanak in more than 1,200 years.
• Brandark Brandarkson of the Bloody Sword hradani.
• Kaeritha, a champion of Tomanak who joins Bahzell in his effort to defeat Sharna.
• Tomanak Orfro, God of War and Justice.

External links

• The complete text of Wind Rider’s Oath is available for download or reading online at the Baen Library