Sing the Four Quarters

With this book, I begin a brand new fantasy series by Tanya Huff. The setting is somewhat midieval—so much of fantasy is—in a world where individuals born with certain musical talents can communicate with the spirits of the four elements. The "kigh", as these spirits are called, inhabit air, water, earth, and fire and have the attributes of their respective elements. Sing the Four Quarters tells of a bard named Annice who has the rare talent to be able to Sing to the spirits from all four of the elements or quarters.

Annice is not only an extremely talented bard, she is also the youngest sister of King Theron. Ten years earlier, she forfeited her royal privileges to begin training at Bardic Hall and she has been estranged from her family since that time. In retaliation for what he perceived as her abandonment of her duties to him and the kingdom, her brother's first pronouncement as King was to forbid her to marry or to bear children without his permission. As the story begins, Annice discovers that she is unexpectedly pregnant. She wants to carry the baby to term, but that would constitute treason—which is punishable by death.