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Mercedes Lackey's Deluxe "Heralds of Valdemar"

Created by Mercedes Lackey & Zombie Orpheus Entertainment

The complete Arrows trilogy in one deluxe leatherbound omnibus, including silver and blue foil, six ribs, full-color interior art plates, painted edges, a ribbon marker, and a new Valdemar album by S. J. Tucker.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

More Stretch Goal Upgrades
4 months ago – Fri, Jun 12, 2026 at 03:26:13 PM

It's Friday afternoon here and we're dropping a quick note that we've heard back from the manufacturer and we have good news!

Your pledge for Deluxe Heralds currently comes with so many unlocked stretch goals that we had to update our graphic... but that's not the news.



We're thrilled to announce that we've heard back from the manufacturer and we are upgrading the $325,000 stretch goal: the dust jacket is now a full-color, double-sided, printed element that will ship with Deluxe Heralds if we reach at least $325,000! And yes, one side will include gold-foiled text, because we wants it our precious.

Here's one of the dust jacket concepts that we're exploring (nothing is final here, this is a mockup):


The printed poster quote for the timeline is still in progress, but we now know that it is technically possible and that it can be folded to fit in the box. If prices are reasonable and if we can finish the art in time, we'll include a print edition of the timeline poster in your reward when the $350,000 pledge level is unlocked. The digital version is absolutely part of the upcoming unlock, but we hope to surprise you with a physical copy as well.

But why stop there?

We also have quotes in progress for 

  • a second ribbon bookmark in Deluxe Heralds
  • a premium printed bookmark
  • a sticker sheet featuring Lindsey's adorable Companion illustrations

Thanks to the experience of running many campaigns over the years, we know that too many ambitious stretch goals can delay fulfillment. To mitigate that and keep manufacturing on schedule, we are

  • keeping all manufacturing with a single company
  • packaging all physical rewards together (except for Grandmaster add-ons, which we'll ship separately and cover the cost of shipping on)
  • only adding new design/writing elements that we know we can achieve on schedule

This means that we've had to say no to some stretch goal requests, but we've absolutely taken note of those ideas for future campaigns.

In the meantime, if this campaign hits a bit more of a lull we'll actually be able to start sharing our planned updates about the art and music of the Heralds of Valdemar.

Thanks for your support and have a good weekend!


All Stretch Goals Unlocked, So We Made More Goals!
4 months ago – Wed, Jun 10, 2026 at 10:47:21 AM

Hi everyone!

In this update

  • New Stretch Goals
  • Stretch Goal Graphic, Fan Edition
  • New Painting Reveal

First and briefly, we regret to share that the Art of Grandmaster add-on (from the last campaign) is now sold out. While Grandmaster remains available as an add-on, at this rate it will likely sell out as well. These are the last available copies in our warehouse—when they're gone they're gone.

NEW STRETCH GOALS

You did it: you unlocked every single stretch goal in a single week, with $300,000 raised so far.

This means that every Deluxe Heralds pledge now comes with

  • Art of Heralds of Valdemar
  • The Heralds Circuit Journal
  • Custom-designed packaging
  • And six new art pieces

So yes, more stretch goals are in progress!

What we CAN announce (while we wait for a few quotes from the manufacturer) are the following new stretch goals:

  • $325,000 – Two digital and printable book jacket files, which you can use as a protective cover for your book, as digital wallpaper, or as printed display art.
  • $350,000 – An updated Official Mercedes Lackey Valdemar Timeline digital poster, which adds not only recent publications to the official timeline of Valdemar, but corrected and new findings from Merlyn, our fan historian. This 2.0 edition will be the authoritative source for the complete history.



Could these stretch goals turn into physical products that are included with your pledge? We'll have answers soon!

FAN ART STRETCH GOALS

While we certainly have "official" graphics for stretch goal updates, Lindsey has been dropping her own versions of the stretch goal graphic into the Discord, often before we finish and upload ours. She's given us permission to share the Companion Emoji version of the stretch goal graphic:




NEW ART PREVIEW

We're so thrilled to share the first unlocked stretch goal painting with all of you: Care Halverson's Heroic Rescue.

If you know the books, you know the moment this represents.


Thanks to everyone who pledged to make this painting possible!

You Asked for More Add-ons, We Added Them!
4 months ago – Tue, Jun 09, 2026 at 10:21:50 AM

Hi everyone -

Just a brief note today to share that, by popular demand, we've created Add-ons for Art of Heralds of Valdemar and the Heralds Circuit Journal.


Remember, if you pledged for a "Deluxe Heralds" level (at the regular price, as a discounted reservation, or as a scholarship recipient), you will already receive these two books at no extra cost, thanks to our unlocked stretch goals.

These add-ons are solely for the backers who requested the ability to reserve additional copies. (Apparently some of you are already planning on filling several journals and want to stock up now. Respect!)



News about Last Herald Mage, Halfblood Chronicles, and More!
4 months ago – Mon, Jun 08, 2026 at 09:45:57 AM

Hi everyone!

First of all, thank you for bringing us within $10,000 of reaching the last of our original stretch goals.

At $300,000 we'll unlock the fourteenth piece of full-color interior art, which will expand both Deluxe Heralds and Art of Heralds accordingly. You've helped us fund exactly the package that we imagined to celebrate the Heralds of Valdemar trilogy, with a fully-upgraded deluxe volume, two supplemental books, and gorgeous packaging.

But since several of you on the Discord asked nicely, we're working with the manufacturer on a quote for a full-color, double-sided book jacket for Deluxe Heralds, featuring some of the new art commissioned for this campaign. Once we have those numbers confirmed we'll add a stretch goal for that upgrade!

Onward to the announcements you've all been waiting for...

THE DELUXE LAST HERALD MAGE

Our friends at DAW just announced a volume that we've all been waiting for: a deluxe hardcover edition of The Last Herald Mage, featuring sprayed edges, premium cover effects, and a new introduction from the author.

People ALWAYS ask us when LHM will get a deluxe release, and now we have an answer: November!

The deluxe omnibus is available for pre-order at your favorite retailers.

More details here





DELUXE HALFBLOOD CHRONICLES

"When are we getting a new Elvenbane book?"

We've been hearing that question from fans on social media for years. The exciting news is that Arc Manor Publishing will be releasing new editions of the original three Halfblood books soon... AND an entirely new fourth book by Misty and co-written with Ben Ohlander.

We are working with Arc Manor to release the entire series in deluxe leatherbound volumes, with a crowdfunding campaign launching in September.

Follow the campaign here




THE GALLERIE TTRPG

Giving more visibility to new and emerging authors is an important priority for our team. With that in mind, today we're excited to feature Gallerie, the "queer-focused TTRPG that employs art and dream elements to paint narratives about finding yourself and fighting your demons. Community, cooperation, rampant self-love, nightmarish enemies, and the beauty of embracing what you've been taught to ignore."

The animal companions, themes of finding yourself, and community-focused aspects of the game reminded us of Valdemar in all the right ways. If this sounds like your cup of tea, we encourage you to check it out.

The campaign runs through July 4 and this community could probably fund it in <checks watch> a really short amount of time.

Pledge Here

First 100 Scholarships are Approved + New Stretch Goal!
4 months ago – Sat, Jun 06, 2026 at 12:04:47 PM

Thanks to the generosity of more than three-hundred backers, we're happy to announce that the first one-hundred Deluxe Heralds scholarship recipients are approved live in the BackerKit system.

We've emailed the recipients, who have begun pledging! If you applied for a scholarship by 1pm pacific time on June 2nd, you can log into BackerKit and reserve that book that this community gifted. When the Scholarship pledge level says "Access Granted" you're clear to proceed.

Currently 244 people have applied for financial assistance. In order to gift a book to every fan experiencing financial need, we would need another 387 "Fan Scholarship" add-ons. If you're in a position to contribute $10 to the fan assistance fund, we encourage you to help us provide this to every member of our community. It's our pleasure to share the costs of this program with you!

One way or another, we will make sure that every applicant receives a copy of the book. When we complete our current round of stretch goals we'll calculate what number we would need to reach to cover the difference if fan scholarship pledges can't quite get there. So we want to encourage everyone to breath, don't panic, and trust that nobody is getting left behind!

NEW STRETCH GOAL

We launched the campaign on Tuesday and are approaching our final stretch goal, at $300,000. This color page will precede the songs and sheet music at the end of the book. We're calling it "The Music of Valdemar" and are still discussing the design. Stay tuned for updates as we dial in exactly how we want to celebrate the role of music within these books.

Beyond $300,000, we're looking at the spread of pledges and the level of need associated with the scholarships. In a few days we'll be ready to announce our next steps, once we've unlocked all of the art, music, extra books, and packaging that we planned to make exactly the package that we dreamed of creating.

There's been a lively discussion on the Discord and we welcome your input and ideas!

STORIES FROM FANS

Finally, fans always leave the most extraordinary messages about their love for Misty's books when they're applying for financial assistance, and we'd like to share a few of them below. Thank you for inspiring us with your fandom!

I'm not really sure I have words? Talia got me through a really difficult part of my life. I saw myself in her struggles and hoped for a happy ending as she got.

Valdemar, and Talia particularly, kept me sane and mentally safe during university, when my family of origin rejected everything I am. Valdemar is my favourite fictional universe, and will always feel like home. Also, Misty and Larry are fantastic!

I have loved the Valdemar books since I was 11 and “borrowed” Heralds of the Queen from my sister (she never saw it again). I now own all of the novels and anthologies in that universe and they remain my comfort reads when I need a pick me up.

The Valdemar books are what got me through middle school. Whenever I was bullied I'd come home and hide in valdemar. Talia's issues made me feel like I wasn't alone and being bullied didn't make me worthless.

Mercedes Lackey’s books have all changed my life! I’ll be forever grateful for the Heralds of Valdemar. Talia’s story is my second favorite of all her stories (second only to Vanyel’s) and reading them shaped my entire childhood.

I grew up with Valdemar. I was given my first Arrows book when In eighth grade feeling a lot like a girl who wished a magic white horse would take her away. I fell into the stories and have read everything Misty has written since but Valdemar and particularly the Arrows trilogy will always be my favorites. I work as an educator now, trying to pass on the love of reading and the feeling of getting lost in a world where people try to be good, magic exists and things like lifebonds can happen. I would be honored to be considered for a copy of the book. Thank you.

It was Talia's trilogy and the cassettes (and later CDs) from Firebird arts and music that really helped shape my love of fantasy and my core identity. As I have worked to heal from severe trauma and understand my late diagnosed AuDHD, "Ground and center we begin, feel the shape inside our skin...." has been my touchstone. I would be honored to be a scholarship recipient.

This is for my husband - the greatest Mercedes Lackey fan - who has come on really difficult financial times

I read Arrows of the Queen when it was first published, and it along with the whole trilogy (and series beyond), was one of the first high fantasy series that I had read that showed queer representaiton in a very positive light. It affirmed, along side the more general messaging, that we make our own destinies and that we can be our authentic selves whiles doing so. It made me a lifelong Valdemar fan from the very begging through still today.

I started reading this series over 20 years ago when depictions of queer people were rare. This series was the first time i ever saw them. I am now a happily married queer!

This series was my first foray into Valdemar as a teen and Talia was inspiring to a young underprivileged girl in so many ways. I would be honored to have such a beautiful book to encompass this series, especially since my copes of the three are pretty sad these days from rereads and buying second hand to begin with.

I love the series and had almost all of them until we moved and the box they were in got soaked, ruining them all.

Mercedes Lackey is my absolute favorite author. It was her books about the world of Valdemar that first drew me into the genre of fantasy books. I had a very rough childhood and Valdemar allowed me a place to escape to whenever I needed it. This book is important to me not only for the stories and beauty it will contain, but for what it represents to me personally, a beacon of light in what was a dark time in my life.

As someone who was bullied all throughout highschool, The Arrows trilogy gave me a heroine I could relate to and empathize with. These books have been favorites of mine for decades, with the promise of things getting better and finding real friendship. Secondly, I'm unable to read my paper copies anymore - I can't grip open paperbacks due to tendonitis. I can, however, read hardcovers, so having a book like this would be amazing for me. (I do have them on eBook, but it is simply Not The Same.)

This series of books was really pivotal for me as a kid. I brought home AotQ from a Scholastic Book Fair at my elementary school and immediately became hooked. Losing my self in the stories made things a little easier during a difficult time in life, and I made some lifelong friends after sharing my copy (reluctantly!).

My gf got me into your series and I’d like to use this as a gift for both of us for our 7 year anniversary which may be the 8th by the time this comes out :) We’re struggling financially and as a huge fan of yours it would mean to the world to her to be able to get this. She doesn’t know I’m applying for this for her.