Magic's Pawn

Blurb

Magic's Pawn is a 1989 fantasy novel by Mercedes Lackey. The first of The Last Herald Mage trilogy, it centers around a powerful Herald-Mage named Vanyel Ashkevron, in the kingdom of Valdemar; the planet is called Velgarth. Mages are those who can do magic. Heralds are people with extrasensory or psychic abilities who have devoted their lives to using their abilities to help others, specifically, the kingdom of Valdemar. A small number of Heralds have mage capabilities and are called Herald-Mages. Both sets of abilities are clearly and distinctly defined in the Valdemar universe.