Innocent Mage by Karen Miller

One of my sister's recommendations. Good solid fantasy - maybe a bit much left vague - and, of course, is the big bad dead at the end? Probably not. Very persuasive, likable characters. As in much classic fantasy quest fiction, the hero is unaware of his great destiny - Garion in the Belgariad, Frodo Baggins, and countless others. In this case, our hero is still totally clueless at the end of the first book. Totally clueless. Not suspecting but not knowing like Garion, or reluctantly accepting the burden like Frodo, but completely unaware that he is a pawn in some great scheme or the fulfillment of ancient prophecy. The author, no doubt, saved the big guns for the second book. It does appear from her wiki that she did stop with the two books, so I don't quite understand why so much is left for later - maybe all will become clear when I read the second book.