Bastion by Mercedes Lackey

Synopsis From Back Cover:

When Herald Trainee Mags was abducted by two magical foreign assassins, he spent weeks drugged, robbed of his Mindspeech, and unable to communicate with Dallen, his Companion.  Trapped in terrifying, drug-induced dreams, his only moments of peace came from brief visions of a woman who he felt might be his mother.  Though he eventually managed to escape his captors, he left with many unanswered questions.

Moreover, Mags knows that, after searching for him for years, the assassins will not give up.

Mags has powerful allies in Haven, and together, the heads of Herald's Collegium devised a plan: to send Mags, all of his friends and loved ones, and other trained fighters into the hills to a stronghold called The Bastion.  Banded together, they are less vulnerable to the assassins, less likely to be picked off one by one.

The Bastion is the same stronghold where Mag's parents had been murdered by bandits. The drugs he'd been given opened up memories that couldn't be his - and gave him knowledge of fighting styles unknown in Valdemar.  Perhaps his new found memories will spark recognition in the place where his parents had once been imprisoned.  Mags might unlock the secret of who his parents had been and, in doing so, finally know his own identity.

So we are now on book five of Mag's story, and the fatigue I was feeling after the fourth book, Redoubt, has now passed.   I'm not sure if it's because I haven't visited Valdemar in almost a year, or if it's just because I found the pacing of this one to be a bit better, either way, I'm back in love with Mags.

This time around, Mags is just returning to Haven, after his kidnapping and escape from Karse and his native tribe.  He is just starting to settle down in his new reality, when it's decided to send him and his friends away, and allow him to investigate the last known location of his parents.  Jakyr, the Herald who originally saved him from the slave mines, is the Herald who is assigned as his mentor.  It was nice to see him return to the fold, and it was even better to see his character develop a bit more.

By the end of the book, Mags has a better understanding of his past and of who his parents were.  He meets his cousin, Bey, who I loved by the way.  What a terrific character, too bad he won't get a spin off book.  This whole book can bet treated as the growing up stage of Mags' life.  He is forced outside of his comfort zones, the star athlete and all around good guy.  He feels like he is on the outside looking in, trying to find his way after be away for so long.  It's the way a lot of us feel towards the end of our adolescence, trying to find our way in the world, and sometimes trying to even figure out where we came from.

I believe there is now a series that is following Mags as an adult and full Herald, I'm looking forward to finally getting my hands on the first book.

Challenges: Men In Uniform