For as long as anyone can remember, the hillfolk have lived up in the Wolfram hills, breeding their mythical Hill Charger horses and living entirely nomadic lives. Rock set off as a young man with his brother and his best friend, forming the Clan of Three Staffs, and they've had growth and success, ever since, but it's been hard work getting here, and it's going to be hard work, from here, no matter what.
Hillfather Rock is responsible for the fate and future of the clan, but as he and his Hill Charger stallion Paterack get older, he has to confront the possibility that the Three Staffs may be a one-generation clan. Rock is ready to fight for it, but is finding that some things you can't fight for; you just have to wait and see.
Persephone, his daughter, is coming of age, and finds the boys of the hillfolk to be a bother and a chore. She likes tending her goats and being with her family, but can't find a vision for herself in the future. Meanwhile, a chance at going up into the mountains to attempt to call down a mountainsire has the potential to change everything about her future.
Edwin is off on his own most of the time, and wants nothing to do with all of this decision making and planning. As the nomadic clan travels the foothills Edwin is the one likely to arrive an hour behind everyone else, covered in mud, and with the best excuses. Give him something to climb, and he's happy, but it won't be that way for long. Life and responsibility have other plans for him.
The hillfolk are people who live season by season, tending their flocks and their herds, and life is full of challenges with just those, before you add in something like the complexity of breeding magic horses.
But that's obviously the best part.
Clan of Three Staffs is a part of the greater Verida universe, and is recommended in sequence between Pirate of Gold and Stone, book 4 of the Ever in a Pirate's Eye series, and Land of the Hillfathers, book 2 of the Hill Chargers series. However, the Hill Chargers series does work as a standalone series or an alternative entry into the Verida Universe. 