thevintagechronicles's Reviews > The Dream Gatherer

** spoiler alert ** Reread 3/28/2024
Libby/audio.

Wishwind.
A short story about a rider named Danalog. After a shipwreck, D washes up on shore of an island. His ship was on the way to provide assistance in the Great war to the King against Mornhaven. He meets a woman named Miran. He is essentially a traumatized young man, forced to become a terrible weapon/soldier in war. She helps him heal and use his power for good.
Etherea is not inherently evil. It lies with the user. Nature is eternal and a cycle.

Linked on the lake of souls.
Estral invents a story to help K.

Two girls are tied together in a boat floating on a cursed lake. Were they to fall in, the lost souls inside would pull them under.
A black magic wizard is on shore, attempting to make a sacrifice.
They have to work together to stop him.

The dream gatherer

A story about the Berry sisters.
After the ship is freed from the bottle, the home heals itself. The berry sisters had fled, to escape the bloodthirsty pirates, and have now returned.
There is some water damage, and a few of the artifacts have been destroyed.
So after cleaning the place up, the sisters decide to throw a party.
A stowaway however, is still in the house. His name is Stickles. And so, the sisters charm him and put him to work. He doesn’t want to abandon the mermaid (the figurehead on the ship). He becomes a handyman of sorts.
The Golden guardian
Estrals father has died. She is now the golden guardian.
She wanders off from her traveling party, and finds the berry sisters home.
Estral is pretty excited to meet them, as she heard the story from K.
Her voice is better here. And so, she can tell her stories to the sisters.
She gets to attend the party, where a special lantern is lit, and the guests appear, as the lantern gathers dreamers, who come to visit. She calls Alton, after some flying kittens show up. And they reunite for the party.
The forester comes, though we don’t get to hear from him.
A nightmare shows up. Of course, it’s Ks nightmare. So they have to reach Kari to help everyone. Estral uses her song to reach K. There is a darkness inside Kari after the events of Firebrand. And finally K gets some peace.
It is an important way of helping K to heal.
Seeing this power, Stickles asks Estral to help free the Mermaid. She speaks to Stickles, and turns out she has been cursed to be the figurehead, but is a real mermaid. Her song can free her.
After she is freed, They place her into the pond. She is very happy. And invites Stickles to go with him. They have a bond. And off they go to live with the Merfolk.
E and A get to spend some alone time together, as they are stationed in different places for the foreseeable future.
In the morning E meets up with her horse, and heads back to her traveling party.
I loved seeing more of the Berry sisters, and getting to see E using her song power for good. It was nice to let her have a little respite and peace from her troubles.
I enjoy hearing the history that KB included in this little novella. Its fun to know a little about her and the beginnings of GR.