Equillian's Key: Archives of the Night-Watcher - Book 1 follows three characters: Bastian, his brother Felix, and their friend Gwena. Where Bastian and Felix were both raised in an orphanage, Gwena is the daughter of a tailor and, since her mother's death, has been helping her father run the shop.
While Bastian and Felix haven't been able to see Gwena in quite some time, an opportunity arises that pushes the boys back into her life. On the eve of Bastian's 16th birthday, the town of Westdock is a-twitter with news of the Lady Lilliana Wendrian's engagement. In fact, there is going to be a massive party at the Duchess' castle to celebrate her daughter's impending nuptials, and all the local noblemen are expected to attend. Felix, bent on making sure Bastian has the best birthday possible, convinces the younger man that they should sneak into the party and pose as nobles. That's where Gwena comes in. The two street urchins approach their old friend in the hopes of borrowing some clothes to help sell their story. While the trio's reunion is short, the three of them scheming together kicks off the rest of the book's events and scatters all three in odd directions.
Suffice it to say, the events of the night don't go quite as planned. For one, Lady Lilliana ends up missing and, while Bastian was in her room shortly before picking up some lovely little souvenirs, Felix was actively wooing the newly engaged Lady. Given that the two brothers were the last seen with or near Lilliana before her scream was heard and her window shattered, it's no wonder Lilliana's fiance and the local guards have started looking for Bastian and Felix. Felix disappears just as thoroughly as Lilliana, but it isn't long before Bastian is found and chased through the streets. Bastian's only chance of escape comes when he slips onto a ship just starting to set sail. Too bad for him, it's really the famed pirate ship The Black Mary and he is going to have to think fast if he is going to stay alive.
As for Gwena, the commotion caused by her friends ends up having secondary effects that helps her realize just how bad her life has been since her mother died. With a bit of extra encouragement from Bastian, she decides to break free and join Bastian on an impending trip away from Westdock. When she hears that Bastian has already fled from the city and that Felix is nowhere to be found, she has to decide if she is going to proceed with her plans without the brothers or if she will go back to her father. Both paths are scary to her for different reasons, but only one of them promises to get her away from a known bad situation.
Equillian's Key: Archives of the Night-Watcher - Book 1 is an interesting start to a new series, especially one with a fantastical setting. It's clear that there is magic in the world. The prologue shows its use and there are several magical marvels in the world around the characters, but the magic itself is far from center stage, even though one of the characters starts to show signs of accessing it. Where most other fantasy series show the reader what the magic can do and starts the protagonist on a journey to learning the magic, this book treats the magic as more of a background element. That being said, it's clear by the end of the book that magic is going to be more of a driving force in the series, it's just a rather unorthodox approach when starting a new fantasy series. I'm very interested to see where the next book takes our three protagonists next.
