Welcome to day three of the Daughters of Flood and Fury grand tour! This is where a bunch of us guide you around the setting of Gabriella Buba’s Stormbringer Saga, spotlighting gorgeous locales and incredible characters – and hyping you up for the release of Daughters of Flood and Fury, the final book of the duology, out next month!

The Stormbringer Saga is an anti-colonial fantasy featuring extremely excellent (and excellently queer) women in an archipelago inspired by the Philippines. Stormcallers, firetenders, and tide-touched wield elemental magic backed by powerful goddesses – and none of them are happy with the Codicíans who’ve stolen their islands.

I absolutely adored book one, Saints of Storm and Sorrow, and I’m delighted to be taking part in the grand tour for book two!

Today I get to introduce you to Mt Hilaga, the volcano that is home to the Firetender’s Conclave on the island of Aynila – and to Sina, our favourite pyromaniac!

Sina – short for Sinagtala Prinsa – is the cousin of Alon, one of the love interests and POV characters of Saints of Storm and Fury, the first book of the duology. Like most firetenders, Sina was vehemently opposed to the faction who wanted to appease the Codicíans, and in Daughters of Flood and Fury, Sina is back on her preferred side of the Saliwain River, at her forge in the metalworkers’ conclave on the slopes of Mt Hilaga. Get a glimpse of her in this exclusive excerpt!

Sina was certain that this year, all the gods-blessed would be chosen firetenders. The Amihan Moon was just a week away, all the archipelago’s wild magic burning fever bright. Aynila had been preparing for months. —Daughters of Flood and Fury

Mt Hilaga is inspired by the very real Taal Volcano, which is the 2nd-most active volcano in the Philippines, and one of the smallest active volcanoes in the world. The Taal Volcano rests at the centre of Taal Lake like an emerald set in lapis, an incredibly beautiful natural wonder people come from all over the world to see.

Fortunately, Mt Hilaga is not nearly as active as its inspiration, because the firetenders use their powers to keep her slumbering. If she ever woke, she would rain ash and ruin on the city of Aynila, which dwells in her shadow.

From this side of the Palisade Lunurin couldn’t see the city of Aynila, only the wide blue stretch of the bay and Mount Hilaga, dominating the horizon to the north. The volcano’s verdant green slopes were striped on the seaward side with narrow black lava flows, streaming from the peak into the sea. A bad sign. —Saints of Storm and Sorrow

All the volcanoes in the Stormbringer Archipelago are sacred, which reflects the importance of volcanoes in the indigenous religions of the Philippines. We already know from Saints of Storm and Sorrow that the gods of the Stormbringer Saga are very displeased that the Codicíans have actually been mining Mt Hilaga. Personally, between that and Sina’s fiery leadership of the local firetenders, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mt Hilaga becomes extremely plot-relevant in the next book…!

To receive a professionally illustrated, full-colour map of the Stormbringer Saga Archipelago AND a signed (or even personalised, if you want!) copy of the book, preorder Daughters of Flood and Fury from Blue Willow Bookshop!

(They might be in Texas, but they do ship internationally!)

Daughters bursts the banks on July 22nd! Follow along on the grand tour leading up to it with the #DaughtersofFloodandFuryGrandTour hashtag on Instagram and Bluesky!

previous stop on the tour : next stop on the tour (link will be added when it’s live!)