The Farwalker's Quest

The first book in The Farwalker Series by Joni Sensel, which takes place in a world which has lost its past to generations of blindness and can no longer understand and use the knowledge left over, despite the return of sight.

It all starts with Ariel's best friend Zeke bringing her to his favorite tree, who refuses to speak to him. Ariel doesn't know the art of Tree-Singing, but she feels an urge to climb and fetches a relic from its branches. It is a telling dart, a device used in the past to deliver a message that only opens for the person who is meant to receive it. She doesn't think of it as anything more than an interesting trinket... until two strangers come to their tiny little village to find it, and its recipient. Suddenly, she is kidnapped by Elbert and Scarl and whisked away from her hometown.

Her rescue and escape starts off a new adventure for a Ariel and Zeke, must find unlikely allies and flee from many more pursuers, who are out to prevent the rediscovery of knowledge and the resurrection of Ariel's new-found name-- Farwalker.


 * Anticlimax: Ariel and Co. spend the book trying to prevent the Big Bad from killing her, and when they are finally on Mason's doorstep, he lets them go, because she never found what he didn't want her to find. Ironically, she then realizes how to find it.
 * Because Destiny Says So: Essentially why Ariel must ply her Farwalking trade. That, and there are people out to get her.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Elbert seems the kinder one of the two Finders at first.
 * Call Back: Quite a few. Ms. Sensel seems to be fond of these, which is very refreshing.
 * The Ariel and Zeke take shelter in Tree-Singer Abbey before they even learn what they need to find.
 * Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: When comes back to help Ariel and Zeke, although his original reason for protecting them no longer applies.
 * Functional Magic: Each of the thirteen trades have their own system of skills and abilities relying on a certain sixth sense brought about mostly by the blindness.
 * Gaia's Vengeance:
 * I Gave My Word: promised the woman he loved that he would protect Ariel and Zeke from Gust's gang of Finders. He tries to abandon them when the Finders are all killed  but he doesn't get very far.
 * Last-Name Basis: Significant when used, since everyone's last name is their trade. Ariel is often called Farwalker, and Gustav is called Fool as an insult.
 * Meaningful Name: Farwalker. And.
 * Moral Event Horizon: Elbert crosses this bridge early on after burning two trees to the ground and killing Ariel's mother.
 * Prophecy Twist: A Tree-Singer that Ariel and Zeke meet tells Zeke that he will no longer be a Tree-Singer.
 * Spirit Advisor: Misha the ghost helps out as much as he can, even if he is kind of terrifying, leaving BloodyHandprints everywhere as his signature and giving Ariel nightmare messages.
 * You Can Run but You Can't Hide: The pursuers are mostly Finders, which is a trade that involves being able to find things, and people.