Sanctuary by Mercedes Lackey

The young Dragon Jousters, along with Aket-ten, their dragons, the twin brother of the deceased Toreth, Kaleth, and their twin brides, have fled Alta City for the aptly named stone city of Sanctuary. Kaleth, with the death of his twin brother, has inherited the magic of both twins and become a seer.

Now, inhabiting the place where they live in secret, they are constantly joined by other refugees from Alta City, both commoner and Noble alike, including Lord Ya-Tiren, the father of both Aket-ten and her brother Orest, both of whom now ride Dragons along with Kiron and his own Dragon, Avatre.

But even as the Dragon Jousters return to Alta City to rescue the few remaining gifted ones and healers from the Healer's Temple, they discover that things aren't so rosy in Tia, either. A group of mages have settled in Tia, ostensibly working for the King there, but in reality, looking out for their own ends, much as in Alta. The only new wrinkle is that the Tian-based mages seem to hate and dislike the Altan mages as much as the Altan mages hate them in return. However, with fewer gifted ones in temples, as they are in Alta, this has both hurt and helped the mages.

On one hand, the Tian mages have no readily gathered source of power as the Altan mages did. On the other, when they find a gifted child living on the street, it is much easier to make them "disappear" without people getting wind of what is going on. But things are bad enough that Tians start showing up at Sanctuary as well. While many of the Altans are angry at the Tians and the endless war that kept both countries throwing men and Dragons at each other. The Altans initially don't want to accept the Tians, but the presence of Ari, former Dragon Jouster of Tia and now friend to Kiron and his entire coterie of Dragon Jousters, ensures that they are welcomed as well.

Eventually, the Jousters, including Kiron, become aware that they must return to Alta City and bring down the mages, for Aket-ten was captured, and being one of the last Gifted ones in the city, her powers are ripe for use in the Eye of the Sun. But can Kiron rescue the woman who has become as dear to him as his own heart? And what will be the cost to both Alta and Tia when and if the battling mages are destroyed?

For a long time after this book was published, I thought that this was going to be the last book in the Dragon Jouster series. It certainly seems to end on a note that looks pretty final- the Countries have combined under Tian Ari and Altan Nofret as King and Queen. The power of the Mages is broken, and Sanctuary will become a city of priests, since so many took shelter there during the war. Even the Dragon Jousters will have a city of their own, perfect for Dragons, with many wide, broad pits that can be filled with sand for their comfort and the city has its own source of water.

But even though the Dragon Jousters have found the city of Sanctuary and protect it from the air (as well as hunting to feed the people), needless to say, the mages of both countries continue to be a major concern, causing people and priests to flee their attentions and depradations. But when the Tians arrive at the formerly all -Altan sanctuary, keeping those who resent their former foes- on both sides- from killing each other keeps the Dragon Jousters busy.

It is with this book that I discovered a narrative likeness that runs through all three books. 3/4 to 4/5 of each book in this series consists of characters doing pretty much everyday tasks, and then, after that point, there is something- a big battle or some kind of conflict to end out the book. It's not that this makes the book bad, exactly, but it does lend a sort of sameness that makes the books seem like they are predictable- even if they aren't, really.

While I did enjoy this book, the whole "narrative likeness" dimmed my enjoyment slightly. I'd still recommend it highly, but there's that caveat that this feels very much the same in beats as the other two earlier books, which may dim your enjoyment if you read them in quick succession, like I did. Highly recommended.