Sage Empress !! - Sherwood Smith

Set in the tumultuous, magic-filled history of Tribute and the Phoenix Feather quartet...

In the second half of the story of sixteen-year-old Lan Renti's rise to the phoenix throne begins literally in the air, as she returns to her ship of wanderers, crying hard after leaving the brother she sought for four years. But her brother sees her as a young girl needing protection-a traditional role.

Ren begins a wandering life from one end of the Empire of a Thousand Isles to the other as she seeks to rescue her parents, unfairly imprisoned. It seems the only way to do that is to refashion the empire that has been riven by warring princes-in spite of vigorous objection by said princes. She is accompanied by Sagacious Blade, the talking sword, and a growing group of companions-leading to the discovery of romance. 

The conflict between tradition and revolution, the threat of chaos and the yearning for order, is embodied in Ren,  who struggles to bring to a traditional world the chance to be heard for those long kept silent. 

From the fires of war the phoenix is reborn ... and this is her story.