Having learned from earlier mistakes, I started reading Harpist in the Wind, the final book in the Riddle-Master trilogy, just after finishing the second book.
The trilogy follows Morgon, the Prince of the tiny island of Hed, as he finds he’s heir to a much larger destiny, and begins a journey across the realm to discover what that destiny is.
In this final book, Morgon has been reunited with his love Raederle, and they journey together to the ruined city of Lungold, which was once the seat of the wizard’s school. The wizard’s power was broken many years ago, when they were bound in various shapes throughout the land. Morgon is able to free them, and they agree to help in his quest to find the High One, and defeat the Earth-Masters. This brief synopsis is why I recommend reading these three books together. If you don’t, you’re not going to remember what’s going on by the time you get to the third book.
The trilogy resolves in a way you can only understand by reading the entire story, and seeing the love story that Patricia McKillip has written about the land that this story is set in. It’s a lovely and fitting ending to this series. Lovely enough that I’ll likely go back at some point and read it again, to make sure I’m getting all of the nuances that weave together to reveal Morgon’s true destiny.