I'm a little late on Book 4 thoughts/predictions bandwagon, but whatever. Read it if you want, or don't. I just have to organize my thoughts. I'm mostly stating the obvious.

As it is, the stage is set for the last battle(s) of the War for the Mended Wood. The secret citadels, rallied behind Emma, have successfully liberated First Warren. Though all of the Preylords present at that battle were killed (some fabulously), word of the outcome is sure to come to Morbin somehow. My guess is it might be through Garten, who seems to have been in the area around that time. When Morbin receives the news, he'll be... very, very mad. It's likely that First Warren will be the grounds of the final battle.

The Natalian army is done hiding, so they'll probably have to refortify the city and brace for attack. However, it's also possible that they desert the city and prepare some kind of surprise attack for Morbin's ground forces, so as to get an early advantage in the battle. As far as I can recall, it seems all (or most) of the citadels' forces are in this group. (If anyone remembers more about that, I'd like to know).

However, that's not the only battle Morbin must fight. The plan of the Seventh District is underway. Nearly all of Akolan is in the process of escaping, and I imagine some of Ember's End will follow their story, probably via Sween or Whittle's perspective. The escaping slaves also have an army. (Again, I'm not sure how big. I think Kate or Kilmarnock know more specifically). It's probably the freshest fighting force in Natalia. And at this point, I expect all of the ex-Akolaners would rather fight Morbin to the death than be recaptured and forced back into slavery. They'll put up a good fight, I think.

Given that both First Warren and Akolan fell on Victory Day, we can assume that Morby's gonna be in a really bad mood. I imagine he will know of the Akolan escape first, and then he will hear of First Warren not long after that. It's hard to say what exactly he's going to do.

And then there's Heather and Smalls. I'm not going to be too specific about theories, but in any case I imagine both of them will somehow be healed. I imagine Flint's Sword is down there, as well as the Dragon Seeds. If Heather's dreams are all prophetic, then the Dragons are somehow going to "awake and shake the world". I'm a little worried about what that might be, as we really don't know a whole lot about them yet.

Lastly, there's the wild card of Terrelain. As far as we know, they still have a formidable fighting force. If Tameth Seer could be dealt with and Kyle given psychological care, they might be a tide-turning ally. I still hope Kyle will turn back. He's obviously being used as a pawn.

Other random thoughts:

-If any primary character is to die, I expect it will be Picket.

-If there are any weddings at the end, it has to be Smalls and Heather.

-The predominant colors of the cover art are reminiscent of those on the cover of The Green Ember, except that they are slightly muted and darker. The covers of books 2 & 3 were much more bleak. The muted colors and battle-worn surroundings show that the war isn't over, but the green and gold color palette hints at things being made right again. Also, it's nice to have Heather and Pick actually with each other, rather than symbolically separated on rocky crags.

I think that's it for now. If you read to the end of this, then congratulations!