"House of Winds and Sunsets" by Maria Danilova, summary Automatic translate

This book, written in 2019, is a story about the search for truth and the duty hidden behind the magical laws of a fictional Empire. The text is distinguished by its unusual combination of bureaucratic routine and deadly magical battles. The reader observes the unfolding of events through the prism of strict codes.

The work opens the eponymous "House of Winds and Sunsets" series. It is the first book in a series that explores in detail the political intrigues between states.

Department’s Task

Valetta ri Cros’eri graduates with honors from the Law Academy. She desperately dreams of a career in the Imperial Department. The head of the Investigation Department, Anvi ir Zartsen, assigns her a secret mission. She is to become a legal advisor to Wayran Dinari ir Kaytran. Wayran is a powerful mage of the highest order, close to the Emperor. Zartsen strongly suspects Wayran of using forbidden magic. Valetta is obliged to find irrefutable evidence.

House of Kaytran

Wayran agrees to take Valetta on a trial period. They immediately set off for the ruins of an ancient city near Virali. There, Wayran engages in battle with dangerous twilight spirits. Valetta records the losses with a magical golden pen. The spirits suddenly attack the girl. Wayran saves her just in time and heals her wounds with powerful magic. Valetta notices black tattoos on the mage’s naked body. The girl successfully passes the test and remains employed in the Kaitran household.

The Kaitran household is full of devoted servants who treat Wayran with the utmost respect. Among them are the young servant Moyla, the veteran Empire warrior Grum, and the optimistic stablehand Vert. Wayran’s friend, Caviar, or simply Kavi, is also a guest at the house. Kavi constantly picks on Valetta, openly suspecting her of being a spy and distrusting her.

The Runaway Prince and the Assassination Attempt

In the dead of night, Vert attacks Wayran. The groom is armed with a sharp kitchen knife. Kavi and Valetta immediately rush to his aid. The girl suffers a serious stomach wound. Wayran again saves her life with a powerful healing spell. It soon becomes clear that Vert’s mind was being controlled by someone else’s evil will. Wayran and Kavi begin searching for their hidden enemies.

Kavi turns out to be a fugitive prince from the neighboring Kingdom of Vilandry. In his homeland, Kavi is falsely accused and sentenced to death. Valetta decides to help the fugitive, using her brilliant knowledge of the law. She grants Kavi official imperial citizenship, saving him from extradition and certain death.

Poison for the Emperor

News of the murder of Lassar ir Khatunay arrives unexpectedly from the Capital. Lassar served as the personal mage of Crown Prince Saderi. Prince Saderi secretly arrives at the Kaitrans’ home under cover of night. He asks Wayran to find the brutal killer. The prince tells of his father’s strange illness. The ruler of the Empire was poisoned with an unknown toxin two years ago during a reception.

Wayran and Valetta travel to the Imperial Palace. Valetta carefully pores over the archives and ancient tomes. She discovers an old herbal book. The palace physicians were unable to cure the Emperor due to the destruction of the information. Lassar had deliberately erased information about the poisonous plant "grisol" from all the library books. Wayran discovers a residual magical trace of Lassar on the pages. The physicians quickly create the necessary antidote. The Emperor begins to recover rapidly.

Exposing the conspirators

Wayran and Valetta are on the trail of the treacherous traitors. They discover a secret room in an abandoned section of the Palace, closed for restoration. Saderi’s older brother, Prince Roderick, is hiding inside. All the courtiers believed Roderick had died in the ravine. In reality, his loyal servant, Astan, took the dying Roderick to the warlocks. The dark mages rescued the Prince. However, Roderick’s soul was irrevocably poisoned by the taint. Roderick lost his humanity and became the Cursed.

Roderick entered into a secret conspiracy with Kavi’s brother, the Vylandrian Prince Shirin. They planned to assassinate the Emperor with poisonous flowers and seize power. Prince Roderick and his servant Astan were arrested by the guards. The court sentenced the culprits to prison.

The Secret of Weiran

Following a successful investigation, Wayran receives high rewards from Prince Saderi. Wayran frees his longtime rival, Kirai ir Ilstar, from prison. Kirai was wrongfully accused of attacking Saderi.

Wayran and Valetta set off on another mission into the Dead Mountains. In the caves, they encounter dozens of followers of the Twilight Cult. The fanatics are preparing a bloody sacrifice. Wayran quickly destroys the cultists’ protective circles and rescues the captive teenagers. To finally defeat the cultists, Wayran reveals his true nature. Valetta watches in horror as Wayran’s eyes glow gray and his body becomes shrouded in darkness.

Wayran confesses, "I am the spirit of the Twilight." Nature created him as a powerful counterweight to the twilight spirits from a parallel world. Wayran is obligated to methodically destroy hostile entities. Wayran’s emotions and anger serve as a shining beacon for demons. Wayran saved the inhabitants of the Kaitran house from destruction by breathing a small particle of the Twilight into them. Kavi gained the unique ability to move through space thanks to this dark magic.

Betrayal and trial

Valetta is terrified by Wayran’s true form. Panicking, she flees the cave. She locks herself in her room in the Kaitran house. Kavi tells Valetta of Wayran’s tragic childhood. His family cruelly abandoned him as a child because of his terrifying power. His parents left the boy forever in the Temple of the Winds. A wise Teacher raised Wayran and taught him to strictly control his magic. Valetta realizes that Wayran uses his power only to protect the weak. She resolves to keep his dangerous secret forever.

Valetta travels to the Capital. She decisively informs Ir Zartsen of the lack of evidence against Wayran. Ir Zartsen is deeply angry. The investigator admits to being deeply jealous of Wayran’s rapid career advancement. Out of spite, Ir Zartsen dispatches a punitive detachment to the Kaytran house. The detachment is commanded by Valetta’s former classmate, Karima ri Kartengam. The guards roughly detain Grum, Moyla, Vert, and the other servants under the trumped-up pretext of violating immigration regulations.

Wayran finds his secret book in Valetta’s empty room. The mage concludes that Valetta has basely reported him to the Department. Valetta hurries back to the Kaytran house. The girl, tearfully trying to explain herself, tries to explain herself. Wayran categorically refuses to listen and coldly sends her away.

A New Path

Valetta demands an urgent court hearing. The girl boldly defends Wayran’s servants. She skillfully cites Imperial laws and irrefutably proves the innocence of the detainees. The judge immediately releases the residents of House Kaytran. Karima is taken into custody for brazenly falsifying the charges. Valetta desperately begs Wayran for forgiveness. Wayran turns away indifferently.

Valetta returns to her parents’ home with a heavy heart. Her mother and father tenderly support their daughter. Weyran secretly buys the land beneath their home, saving Valetta’s family from forced eviction. Valetta breaks off her engagement to her fiancé, Evin Kjerki ir Kasdari. Evin openly admitted to Valetta that his marriage to her was merely a dry, calculated deal to continue the family line.

Kiraly ir Ilstar unexpectedly arrives to visit Valetta. Kiraly offers the girl a promising position as a legal adviser in his home. Kiraly promises a generous salary and a coveted position in the Department. Valetta accepts the tempting offer from her longtime enemy, Vayran.

Epilogue

Kavi secretly crosses the heavily guarded border of the Kingdom of Vilandri. The fugitive prince enters the vast royal palace of Aldara undetected. Vilandri warriors bow obediently to the rightful heir. In the luxurious chambers, Kavi meets his brother, Shirin. Shirin clutches the family emerald tightly. The brothers quietly discuss Roderick’s death. Shirin says contentedly, "As we planned." Kavi and Shirin confirm the success of their cunning plan. Vilandri is actively preparing to take over the weakened Empire.