The Beast Warrior

Ten years have passed since the fateful clash between the two opposing sides of the Divine Kingdom of Lyoza. Elin now lives a peaceful life with her family and keeps as far from her past as she can. She was once the girl who could communicate with creatures and who befriended a Royal Beast, but she wants nothing to do with the power struggles of humans.

That calm ends when Elin is asked to look into a mysterious illness that has struck the Toda. In the course of her investigation she uncovers a startling plot, one that could threaten everything she holds dear.

The Beast Warrior is the sequel to The Beast Player, by the Japanese author Nahoko Uehashi, and it is a fantasy of danger and consequence. Elin must face her destiny and take seriously the grim warnings of history. The book asks whether a final battle between the Toda and the Royal Beasts can be avoided, and what it would cost if it comes.