owners of the family wings. In this case, Coll is set to take Russ's wings back from Maris, as her claim to them is unlawful. However, Maris strongly desires to keep the wings for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that Coll has failed to prove that he is, or ever will become, a competent flyer. Additionally, unbeknownst to Russ, it is actually Coll's dream to become a traveling singer. Things are further complicated because Maris loves Coll both as a sister and as a mother — the latter being a role she gradually took on after Russ's wife died in giving birth to Coll. Maris, knowing that her desire to keep the wings is unrecognized by the ancient "flyer code," ultimately wants Coll to fulfill his dream of becoming a singer. On the day Coll is to officially take the wings, he commits a grievous piloting error and lands badly in front of Maris, Russ and many of the important citizens of Lesser Amberly. Coll then refuses to take over stewardship of the wings, and he reveals to Russ that he will pursue a life as a singer and musician. Russ responds by angrily disowning both Maris and Coll, and the wings are confiscated by one of Lesser Amberly's other flyers, Corm. Corm soon lets it be known that he intends to give the wings to a flyer from a neighboring village, as he maintains that Maris never had a claim on the wings to begin with. Maris decides she must act quickly if she is to have any chance to get the wings back. In the night, she steals the wings from Corm and flies to another island. There she hands the wings over to the flyer Dorrel. Maris intends to have Dorrel call a "flyer's council" — a rare meeting of nearly all of Windhaven's flyers — in order to prove that she deserves the right to wear the wings. However, a flyer arrives and notifies Dorrel that Corm has already called for a council to be held. Soon after, at the council, Corm argues that Maris should be declared an outlaw and exiled. But Maris responds to Corm's attacks skillfully, convincing the other flyers that the family-based system of wing inheritance is unfair and archaic. The council then votes in favor of measures allowing for the creation of flyer academies, where any