The Druid, Mordaunt, is a crotchety old man, but Eilean can't help but warm up to him, b/c he is so wise and begins teaching her things she wants know, like how to improve herself so that one day, she can hopefully become a lady's maid, working her way up in the world. Eilean reminds me of the protagonist of the Muirwood series but she is very much her own character and that is very much someone you root for.

Bestseller Wheeler (the First Argentines series) launches his Dawning of Muirwood series with this gripping tale of teen servant Eilean, who must decide whether to stick to the beliefs she’s always known or risk her life following a powerful. I saw the opinion of a reader who I've agreed with about a few books in the past give it high marks so I thought I'd give it a chance.This book is immediately engaging and you do not need to have read the Muirwood series before beginning. I remember using an old phone modem to dial into the HP network as a kid and play the mainframe games. I wasn’t a huge fan of Eilean at first but I warmed up to her, especially because of how she cared about those closest to her and those relationships.

He was still half-concealed in the shadows, and she had the sense he’d positioned himself there on purpose. Wheeler's writing and worldbuilding is such classic fantasy; beautiful worlds, deep character building, intricate magic and history. Wheeler drops some knowledge at the end of his book: “I’ve really enjoyed re­spinning obscure Arthurian legends. I even re-read Elfstones of Shannara again and loved it every bit as much as I had the previous times.

If Eilean were a better friend, she wouldn’t take advantage of such kindness, but her curiosity had gotten the best of her. I decided to self-publish Landmoor and Silverkin, using Deep Magic as a platform to gain some visibility with readers.