Dawn of the Arcana vol 3 by Rei Toma

Palace intrigue becomes deeper with a royal delegation arriving from another neighboring kingdom. The king of Belquat orders Nakaba’s hair to be died black so they can hide their shame from their new visitors, but instead, Nakaba cuts her hair off, and Caesar does as well in solidarity. Caesar also puts Loki into his personal guard so that Loki is more protected from the king, not knowing Loki’s plans to fight against the Royal Family. Ankara is confined to quarters for the duration of the visit, but that of course doesn’t stop her from venturing out. On one such occasion, she meets an emissary from the visiting party, and she can’t stop herself from seeing a vision. The visitor realizes what power Nakaba has and reveals he knows much about it, which intrigues Nakaba, but the visitor may have more nefarious intentions for Nakaba and her gift. He announces his intention to take Nakaba back to his kingdom, which instantly sets Caesar and Loki against this stranger.

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Nakaba continues to be fairly weak and completely unsure of herself. She is growing to not trust Loki because of his plans against the Royal Family, but she has no back up plan to that. If she loses her last friend in the world, she’s got nothing else going for her in a foreign kingdom that has no love for her. I was happy for the inclusion of this knowledgeable stranger because we have had no information about the Arcana other than it’s super rare and people will try to manipulate Nakaba for it.  I am hoping that Nakaba doesn't continue to be the weak, helpless female at the mercy of all the strong men around her, but I do know that some students love to read these stories, so hand to your hopeless romantics who love fantasies.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Reviews of previous volumes in this series: vol 1, vol 2

Publisher: VIZ Media
Publication Date: April 3rd 2012
ISBN: 9781421541068 (Paperback)

Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Magic, Fantasy