While Picket goes off alone and is later saved from further trouble but also rebuked by a sympathetic Smalls, Emma introduces Heather to the wise Maggie Weaver. The positive experience is marred when Picket has an encounter with a tense and rude guard, which only increases his surly mood. Subsequently, Emma gives Heather and Picket a tour of the craft guilds' hall, where they witness a calling ceremony. Helmer is saved from his own devices by the arrival of Lord Rake, Wilfred, and Smalls, the latter of whom suffers minor injuries in saving the older rabbit. They also witness a reckless combat exercise organized by Helmer, a solitary and cantankerous rabbit. During the trip they behold the beautiful King Whitson's Garden, and have a run-in with the charming but mischievous Kyle. The following day, Heather and Picket, the latter aided by crutches, are given a tour of Cloud Mountain by Emma. Heather, Picket, and Smalls are swept through Seven Mounds. After eating at the Savory Den, they are welcomed properly to Cloud Mountain, a stronghold of the Heralds of the Mended Wood. They eventually arrive at the Savory Den, where they are met by the Forest Guard of Cloud Mountain led by Captain Pacer.Īfter a tense greeting, they are welcomed more warmly by Lord Rake and Emma, the latter a doctor-in-training who tends to Picket's foot. The rabbits are able to sneak past the wolves, but Picket-depressed by his family's abduction and harboring a growing resentment towards the capable Smalls-injures his foot in the process. The group then make their way down the Whitmer River to Decker's Landing, only to find the dwelling ablaze with wolves in the area. With Wilfred's help, they are able to break down a dam in the cavern, and all four rabbits are able to escape the wolves aboard a boat found in the caves. The two bucks eventually make their way into a large cavern, where Smalls is knocked unconscious but Heather awakens. With the wolves' allies closing in, Picket and Smalls attempt to make their way through Seven Mounds with an unconscious Heather while Wilfred sets off to a rendezvous point. However, she is saved by the timely arrival of her uncle Wilfred Longtreader and his ward Smalls, who drive off Garlackson. She manages to elude them in a daring chase through Evergreen Row, only to become jammed in the entrance to the mound in which Picket is hiding. Heather, after sending Picket running ahead for the hoped for safety of Seven Mounds, confronts the wolves and their leader Redeye Garlackson. Upon arriving back at their home, the pair find the tree ablaze and their family being captured by wolves, a group of whom come after the pair. Heather and Picket Longtreader watch the siege on Nick Hollow.Īfter having breakfast with her and their parents, Picket and Heather are sent to Gladeberry, only to rush home when they hear screams coming from nearby Elric's farm. The following morning, the latest in a series of strange visitors arrives at the home, introducing herself as Lady Glen. In his telling, he recounts the origins and heroism of King Jupiter, but is ultimately overcome by emotion and unable to finish the tale. As the family is recovering from the scare, Picket and Heather's father begins to tell them a story: The Rise and Fall of King Jupiter the Great. While the pair are attempting to retrieve it, a storm rolls in, and the pair are forced to retreat into their tree home. However, during one day's game, the "star" they play with becomes stuck in a tree. In the fields between the East Wood and West Wood, just outside their elm-tree home they loved playing the game of Starseek with each other. Picket and Heather are two young rabbits living in the peaceful region of Nick Hollow in the far north of Natalia, with their father, mother, and baby brother, Jacks. Heather and Picket Longtreader play a game of Starseek. But Fleck refuses to give into fear, and, as Galt turns from the lake to flee into the forest, he moves forward to Whitson and Lander's help. įleck Blackstar washes upon the shore of Ayman Lake, upon which the ship Lillie burns as King Whitson Mariner and his son, Prince Lander, stand alone against attacking raptors bent on their destruction.Īs he attempts to cross the waters to aid his monarch and prince in their mortal struggle, his friend, Galt, attempts to convince him that it is all hopeless. Where will Heather and Picket land? How will they make their stand?" Summary Prologue An excerpt from The Black Star of Kingston. Betrayal beckons, and loyalty is a broken road with peril around every bend. They discover that their own story is bound up in the tumult threatening to overwhelm the wider world. "Heather and Picket are extraordinary rabbits with ordinary lives until calamitous events overtake them, spilling them into a cauldron of misadventures.
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