Oathblood by Mercedes Lackey

This exciting new anthology includes a new novella featuring Mercedes Lackey's most popular heroines, Tarma (one of the sword-sworn and most feared of all warriors) and Kethry (who wields magic and weapons for the greater good), whose fates are suddenly bound together in blood by the powers that control their destinies. Also included in the unique volume is the complete collection of Lackey's short stories about these two brave sisters as they answer the call of their destinies with sword and sorcery!

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I remember being excited when this first came out because I'd wanted to read more about Tarma and Kethry than just the two books about them. I then remember being somewhat disappointed that this was mostly just a collection of the previously published short stories about them, most of which I had already tracked down in their original anthologies via the public library. Still, it was nice to have them all together in one volume, and the new stories that showed us some of their life after the end of Oathbreakers were interesting. Also of note is the fact that this volume includes the story "Sword Sworn" which is the tale of how Tarma and Kethry first met and became oath-sisters.

Oathbreakers by Mercedes Lackey

When Idra, leader of the crack mercenaries known as the Sunhawks, failed to return from a journey to her home kingdom of Rethwellan, Tarma and Kethry, warrior and mage, set out in search of their vanished leader. Sisters of sword and spell, their fates bound together by a Goddess-sworn oath, they were eternally pledged to fight the forces of evil.

And evil had indeed cast its shadow over Rethwellan. Idra, so they were told, had left long ago on a search for a legendary magical sword which could reveal which of her two brothers was meant to become the new king. With the princess gone, her younger brother had been branded an outlaw and her older brother had claimed the throne. Both instinct and mage lore told Kethry and Tarma that all was not as it seemed, that both Idra and her people were in terrible jeopardy. Yet would their Goddess-given powers, aided by those of a Herald of Valdemar, prove strong enough to break the dark enchantment possessing this land?

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Another blast from the past as I slowly continue my re-read of the Valdemar universe books. In this book we see Tarma and Kethry "all grown up" as it were. Not that they weren't quite mature before, but now they have several more years of experience under their belts, both as an independent team and as part of a mercenary company. Both have learned much about how to work with and train others, skills that will be vital for them to be able to found their fighting and magecraft schools as they want to someday. These skills also make them the best suited to investigate the disappearance of their Captain...and to plot and lead the revenge-taking when they discover the answers they were seeking regarding her.

The Oathbound by Mercedes Lackey

The Swordswoman
She was Tarma, Born to the Clan of the Hawk of the nomadic Shin'a'in people, she saw her entire clan slain by brigands. Vowing blood revenge upon the murderers, she became one of the sword-sworn, the most elite of all warriors. And trained in all forms of death-dealing combat, she took to the road in search of her enemies...

And the Sorceress
She was Kethry. Born to a noble house, sold into a hateful "marriage," she fled life's harshness for the sanctuary of the White Winds, a powerful school of sorcery. Becoming an adept, she pledged to use her talents for the greatest good. Yet, unlike other sorcerers, Kethry could use worldly weapons as well as magical skills. And when she became the bearer of a uniquely magical sword which drew her to those in need, Kethry was led to a fateful meeting with Tarma.

The Oathbound
United by sword-spell and the will of the Goddess, Tarma and Kethry swore a blood oath to carry on their mutual fight against evil. And together, swordmaster and sorceress set forth to fulfill their destiny.

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Tarma and Kethry are two of Lackey's more memorable characters, conceived in a time when sword and sorcery was one of the popular flavors within the fantasy genre. They were first given life in short stories that were published in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress anthologies, and a few of those stories have been incorporated into this novel. As such, this book tends to be slightly episodic in nature, particularly through the central portion of it, and it's fairly evident where a few of the short stories were pasted in, likely with only light edits to keep it consistent with the timeline of the rest of the novel. Still, these two women are interesting enough characters to be worth reading even in short snippets, and I enjoyed revisiting this tale of their early days together.