Monday, October 17, 2011

Danan Isig & Har, Ancient Kings

Danan Isig and Har are land-rulers who have ruled their respective lands since the Years of Settlement, which occurred at least a millennium before the start of Riddle of the Stars.  Danan Isig is the land-ruler of his namesake land, and Har is the land-ruler of Osterland.

Danan Isig 

He is big, thewed like a tree; with hair and beard grey-gold. His eyes are gentle, mild and green, the color of pine. 
Danan Isig has been the land-ruler of Isig since the Years of Settlement.  This would make him at least a millennium old.  He is said to have been as ancient as a tree at the founding of Lungold, a thousand years before Morgon of Hed becomes High One.  He, like his counterpart Har, is known for his shape-changing abilites; however, unlike Har, he turns into a tree, most often a pine tree, instead of a wolf.  This is a skill he has passed on to his children.

In addition to being a talented shape-changer, Danan Isig is also a master craftsmen.  Over the course of his life, he has built his nation into the finest and principle producer of weaponry and fine stones.  People from every corner of the Realm of the High One come to train with Isig and his sons.

Many swords are made for the lords and kings of An and Ymris.  It is likely that he and his men also produce ceremonial swords for the lords of Herun.

Isig was married to Grania, who died sometime before the start of the series.  He and Grania had at least three children; two sons, Ash and Sol, and a daughter, Vert.  He also has at least a dozen grandchildren.  Three of these grandchildren are Bere, Kes, and Suny.

After seeing the vesta scars on Morgon's hands, Danan Isig taught Morgon to change into a tree.


Har  


He was tall, lithe, white-haired...His eyes in his lean, lined face were ice-blue; his hands..were scarred with the white imprint of vesta-horns.

Har has been the land-ruler of Osterland since the Years of Settlement.  He is married to Aia, who in her youth was golden-haired.  He was friends with the great wizard Suth, during his wildest years, and he taught him how to change shape.  As a mark of this teaching, Suth gave him bone-white scars of vesta horns on his hands.  His favorite shape to change into is a wolf.  He often prowls the length of his kingdom in this form earning him the title of wolf-king.  

Har is also a master of mind-work, the ability to guard one's thoughts and invade the thoughts of others.  Throughout his long years of life, many men have begged Har to teach them the mind-work and shape-changing; very, very few of them have ever left with vesta-scars on their hands.  Morgon is one of these select few.

Har is also renowned for his temper and his tendency to take revenge on those he feels have wronged him.  More than a few riddles have resulted from this.  Ilon of Yrye offended Har with a song so greatly he fled for  his life.  Ingris of Osterland angered Har when he appeared at Ingris' door in the form of an old man and was turned away.  Har placed a curse on him which, in the end, resulted in his death.


Monday, October 3, 2011

Chapter 3 of The Riddle-Master of Hed, Read-Through

He woke, flung like a rag amid a harvest on dry kelp, his face in the sand, his mouth full of sand.
Morgon wakes up on a beach with one eye blind.  He feels someone touching his blind side.  He is rolled over by an unknown man with a wild white cat.  The man calls the cat Xel.  Morgon attempts to speak but all that comes out is a harsh noise.  The man asks him who he is and what happened to him.  He again tries to answer but can't.  He soon lapses into unconsciousness.

Morgon wakes in a small cottage with a young man with lank white hair and white eyes giving him water.  Morgon again attempts to speak but can't remember how.  Soon the white-eyed man sees Morgon's three stars.  Finally the man introduces him:

"I am Astrin Ymris.  I am the brother and land-heir of Heureu, King of Ymris."
Morgon once again falls asleep.  He awakes at dusk, finding the cabin empty.  Looking around, he finds the cabin cluttered with an assortment of odd objects.  This includes a pick, a hammer, a chisel, and a brush all caked with dirt.  Walking outside, he finds that the cabin is situated on a great, windblown plain.

Returning back inside, he sees, on a table, various artifacts.  One of these artifacts is a cut jewel that seems to contain all the colors of the sea.

Looking up, he sees Astrin and Xel returning.  He explains that he found that jewel at the foot of Wind Tower.  No trader he could find could give him a name for the stone.  He even journeyed to Isig, to Danan Isig.  Danan told him nowhere in his mountain had he seen such a stone and that he knew of no one beside himself and his son who could have cut it so flawlessly.  In exchange for this mystery, Danan gave Astrin Xel as a gift of friendship.

Astrin asks Morgon if he can remember anything about himself.  Morgon, however, does not.

Over dinner, Astrin tells Morgon a little bit about himself.  He has been in exile from Caerweddin for five years.  He has only spoken to Xel, an old man he buys fish from in Loor, to occasional traders, and to Rork, High Lord of Umber, who visits him every few months.  By day, he goes digging in the great ruined city of the Earth-Masters on Wind Plain.  By night, he, among other things, studies books of wizardry.  He ends by saying that he and Xel sometimes go the sea and watch something building on the shores of Ymris under night cover, something for which there is name.  However, due to a storm, he and Xel can't go out tonight.

In his restlessness, Astrin attempts to use one of Aloil's books to allow Morgon to talk.  The spell, which Aloil used to make a stone on King's Mouth Plain talk, does not work.  Astrin comments that it is as though he, Morgon, has no name.

The next day, they go to the ruined Earth-Masters city to excavate.  At the eastern edge of the city, a great tower arose, the Wind Tower.  Astrin says that no man, or wizard, has ever climbed to the top of it. This leads him to wonder who the Earth-Masters were and what destroyed them and their cities.

Astrin further elaborates upon his origins while digging with Morgon.  He grew up in Caerweddin, with Heureu, and the sons of his father's High Lords, in Galil's house made of Earth-Master's stone.  He and his brother were so close they were like shadows of each other.  He says he will never go back to Caerweddin and that Heureu will never come to him.  They return to the cottage.

Astrin appears at the door injured.  He received a wound on his right side.
"He saw me first, but I killed him.  Then he fell in the sea, and I had to dive for him among the rocks and tide, or they would have found him.  I buried him in the sand.  They won't find him there.  He was shaped out of seaweed and foam and wet peral, and the sword was of darkness and silver water.  It bit me and flew away like a bird.  If Xel hadn't warned me, I would be dead."
The next day, he says little of the incident.  Near sunset, he finally ponders telling Heureu about it but decides to let him see for himself.

On another dig, Morgon finds a cache of red and purple glass.  He, once back at the cottage, begins to piece it together.  Astrin in the meanwhile is attempting to open one of Yrth's spell-books.  In frustration, he tells Xel to be quiet.  Morgon writes on the table that he needs Yrth's harp.  Astrin, not at first realizing that Morgon had revealed a clue about his identity, says that perhaps he is right, perhaps Yrth lock the book with a series of notes or even the low-note said to be able to shatter weapons.

Astrin then realizes that Morgon must have attended the College of Caithnard.  He decides that tomorrow, they would journey to the College and see if they can puzzle out who Morgon is.  On the way to the Trader's Road, they encounter two traders.  One of the traders recognizes Astrin Ymris and claims to have a message from Mathom of An concerning the man who won Peven's crown.  After the conversation ends, the traders attempt to kill both Morgon and Astrin.

Morgon is injured in the fight.  Astrin asks him if he can make it back the cottage.  Morgon nods yes.  He only makes it as far as the plain.

He wakes in front of the cottage.  Astrin takes him back into the cottage and is looking at his wound when a knock sounds at the door.  A trader begins to say "Lord..." but is cut off when Astrin rests the tip of the sword against the trader.  Astrin is taking no changes when it comes to traders.  This trader came bearing the same message the traders in the woods claimed to have received.  He sees Morgon lying on a pallet and says "That's what happend to him? He can't talk-."

The trader also says that the High One's harpist is looking for him in Caerweddin.  In response Astrin says "I have just killed two traderrs, and by the High One's name, I swear I will kill a third if you don't get off my doorstep!"  The trader leaves.

Astrin decides to take Morgon to Rork Umber and have him send for Deth.  The next day they piece together the purple and red glass fragments they had collected.  It begins to form a bowl.  Morgon talks Astrin into going and getting the remaining pieces.  The next morning, they finished the bowl.

Knocking again sounds at the door.  The trader form earlier along with Deth, Rork Umber and his men enter.  The trader points to Morgon and says, "There he is.  The Prince of Hed."  The trader had claimed at King Heureu's court that Astrin had gone mad and killed two traders, wounded the Prince of Hed, kept him imprisoned, and through a spell stole his voice.  Umber informs Astrin that a strange rebellion is building in Meremont and Tor.  Morgon has been with Astrin for five weeks.   Morgon to get the attention of the other in the room smashes the bowl they had patiently pieced together.

Astrin tells Rork what happened in the woods with the traders, and Rork sends his men and the trader to go and see if they recognized the traders.  Rork also informs him that he is under the doom of the High One and that he will accompany them and Morgon to Caerweddin.

The trader and the guard return.  The trader says he recognized one of the dead traders; however, he says this with hesitation.  Later, they set off and stay the night in Rork Umber's house.  Afterwards, they leave for Caerweddin.

At the King's Hall in Caerweddin, there Morgon meets King Heureu of Ymris.  Upon a table, Morgon notices a beautiful harp.  On this harp there were three flawless blood-red stars.  Morgon feels drawn to the harp.  He runs his hands across the strings.  He turns and says "Deth."

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Chapter 2 of The Riddle-Master of Hed, Read-Through

At the beginning of this chapter, Morgon is sitting on the docks of Tol waiting to leave for Caithnard.  He had a pack of clothes, bulging oddly, that Tristan had absent-mindedly packed.  Eliard was just as distressed at Morgon's leaving.  In the first chapter, Morgon had been about to buy Eliard a horse.
He had said, remembering, "I was going to get you a chestnut stallion from An with the crown."
Eliard responds by irrationally saying, "Don't think you can bribe me with a horse."   This makes no sense to either Morgon or Eliard.  This is merely Eliard wishing Morgon not to leave.

Once on the ship, Morgon asks where Deth is from.  Deth responds by saying that he was not from any land but the city-state of Lungold.  Deth also claims that among the people who taught him to harp were Morgol Cron's harpist Tirundeth.  Morgon quickly realizes that Cron ruled Herun six hundred years ago.  Deth, in turn, tells Morgon that he was born not long after the Founding of Lungold, a thousand years ago.

Morgon curiously asks if Deth is the son of a wizard.  According to Deth, he does not know who his father is.  He was born without a name in the back streets of Lungold.  Morgon further speculates on the nature of Deth's fathers.

"It's not important.  The wizards are gone; I owe nothing to any living ruler but the High One.  In his service I have a name, a place, a freedom of movement and judgement.  I am responsible only to him; he values me for my harping and my discretion, both of which are improved by age."
 At the end of the conversation, they are quickly closing in on the port-city of Caithnard.  Morgon comes to the decision that he must tell Rood of his taking of the Crown of Aum and his potential marriage of Rood's sister Raederle.  To this end, he goes to the College.

Here Morgon finds Rood in his newly acquired golden robes, reading a letter, with a half-full glass of wine.  Morgon attempts to tell Rood of the crown; however, Roods tells Morgon he took the gold robes two days ago.  He then rambles on asking Morgon if he had forgotten all he knew of riddlery.  Ironically, this leads to Rood saying that he will never forgive Mathom, his father, or Morgon.  Morgon, he would not forgive because Rood believes he did not keep the promise he had made about going to Peven's Tower.

Morgon soon replies "Do you think Raederle will mind living on a far?"  Rood begins talking but quickly stops and says one word "Why?"  Morgon shows him the Crown of Aum causing Rood to shout a Great Shout in surprise.  From the hall outside of Rood's room cries of outrage arise.  Rood informs Morgon that several lords of An had already offered to abduct Raederle.  Soon Master Tel comes to the door shouting that Rood had broken the locks of Nun's books of wizardry.  Rood responds by saying that though the Great Shout is forbidden, it is a thing of impulse rather than premeditation.

Soon all the clamor dies down when Morgon comes to the door holding the Crown of Aum.  A conversation with the masters of the College ensues.  Rood suggests, rather vehemently, that Morgon should go and see the High One.  Master Ohm concurs to a certain degree.

Later the High One's Harpist comes to the College and says that me must speak to Master Ohm before he leaves.  Afterwards, they board a ship and are told by a red-headed sailor with a weal down his face that they will reach Anuin by the afternoon.

Both Morgon and Deth go to rest.  When they wake up they find the ship completely abandoned, the crew mysteriously gone.  However, before they disappeared, they had put up enough sail to take Deth and Morgon overboard.  The ship suddenly stops in the middle of open sea and tears apart, casting Morgon and the High One's Harpist into the ocean. 

The Riddle-Master of Hed, Read-Throughs


  • Chapter 1, The High One's Harpist
  • Chapter 2, The Deserted Ship
  • Chapter 3, A Name Forgotten
  • Chapter 4
  • Chapter 5
  • Chapter 6
  • Chapter 7
  • Chapter 8
  • Chapter 9
  • Chapter 10
  • Chapter 11

Chapter 1 of The Riddle-Master of Hed, Read-Through

“Morgon of Hed met the High One's harpist one autumn day when the trade-ships docked at Tol for the season's exchange of goods.”
These are the words that begin the Riddle of Stars series.  One sentence, one event, that shapes the destiny of a young, strange Prince of Hed. 

When a boy spots the ships arriving with the season’s goods, he runs to Akren to inform the Prince of Hed.  Morgon quickly begins to relay orders making the mistake of mentioning that the last time the ships came he nearly traded three plow horses for a harp with no strings.  His brother, Eliard, quickly says that if Morgon is going to get a harp, he wants a horse from An.  Tristen, Morgon’s sister, pipes in that she wants various materials to make herself clothing.  When Morgon objects asking what she thinks grows in their fields, Tristen replys she knows what grows in their fields, but she also knows what she has been sweeping around the last six months.

This soon leads to a discussion of the Crown of Aum.  Morgon gives evasive answers to how he obtained the crown leading to a fight between himself and Eliard.  After the fight, Morgon informs them that he won the crown in a riddle game with the ghost Peven in Aum.  He won this crown by mentioning a riddle Peven of Aum did not know about Kern of Hed.  He had journeyed there soon after the death of their parents.  Soon things are worked out and Morgon travels down to the docks in Tol.  A trader offers him a harp and allows him to keep it for a while to make up his mind.  He soon meets Deth, supposedly the High One’s harpist.  Deth tells Morgon that the High One instructed him to convey his sorrow at the death of Morgon’s parents, but he got delayed by a stubborn winter in Isig, a seige in Caerweddin, and an urgent message from Mathom.

Deth tells Morgon that the harp he is holding was made by Uon of Hel.  Soon, however, Morgon is asking Deth to play something on his own harp.  The High One’s harpist plays him the Ballad of Belu and Bilo.  Afterwards, Morgon tells Deth how his parents died, mentioning at the last that he had journeyed to An.  Deth begins to ask why; however, it soon becomes apparent to him that Morgon must of obtained the Crown of Aum from Peven.  The urgent message from Mathom had been about Peven and the winner of the game against him.  Morgon is confused about why this is so important to Mathom.  It is from Deth that Morgon learns that Mathom made a vow at his daughter Raederle’s birth.
"The King made a vow at her birth to give her only to the man who took the crown of Aum from Peven.”
Morgon, at first unsure, brushes the hair from his face allowing a sea wind to pull it straight back.  This reveals the stars on Morgon’s forehead.  Deth’s face goes suddenly still, our first indication that he knows what these stars mean.  Morgon decides he will go to An and ask Raederle to marry him.

Friday, September 30, 2011

Corrig and Ylon

 Corrig was an Earth-Master and a great harpist.
“He made a harsh, incredulous noise, and saw the harpist finally, beyond the fire, his harp made of strange bones and polished shell, his face lost in shadows. The face seemed to lift a little at Morgon's voice; he caught a flick of fire-scorched gold.”
 “His eyes in the dim light were pale, flecked with gold.”  
“Morgon, still on his knees, watched the figure breaking through the web of shadows, the hair weaving into darkness, the face sparse, shell-colored, the eyes heavy-lidded, blue-green, gleaming with their own light. The body was fluid, blurred, the colors of foam, the colors of the sea; he moved without noise, his strange garments shifting lights the colors of wet seaweed, of set shell.”


During the Earth-Masters’ Civil War, he sided with Eriel and those Earth-Masters seeking to gain more power.  He sired the half Earth-Master Ylon with Oen’s wife as told in the riddle below.
"Oen's land-heir was not his own son, but the son of some strange sea-lord, who came into Oen's bed disguised as the king. Nine months afterward, Oen's wife bore Ylon, with skin like foam and eyes like green seaweed. So Oen in his anger built a tower by the sea for this sea-child, with orders that he should never come out of it.  One night, fifteen years after his birth, Ylon heard a strange harping from the sea, and such was his love of it, and desire to find its source, that he broke the bars on his window with his hands and leaped into the sea and vanished. Ten years later Oen died, and to his other sons' surprise, the land-rule passed to Ylon. Ylon was driven by his own nature back to claim his heritage. He reigned only long enough to marry and beget a son who was as dark and practical as Oen, and then he went back to the tower Oen had built for him and leaped to his death on the rocks below."
Ylon, by his very nature, was driven with longing for power.  Corrig promised to give Ylon this power through his harping.  Ylon followed this call into the sea.  Ten years later One died, and Ylon became the land-ruler of An.  He filled this post only long enough to sire an heir.  Then, realizing that as a land-ruler he would not be able to return to the sea, he commits suicide.  Throughout the six centuries that followed, none possessed the powers of an Earth-Master until Raederle of An.

Corrig, at Herun, played for Morgon the death of Hed while also preventing him from moving.
Withering your voice, as the
roots of your land are withering.
Slow your hearth-blood
slow as the dragging waters,
the rivers of Hed.
Tangling are your thoughts

as the yellow vines are tangling,
drying, snapping underfoot.
Withering the life of you
as the late corn is withering...

Dry, dust dry, the earth
the earth of you, land-ruler
lord of the dying. Parching the fields
of your body, moaning the wind
of your last word
across the waste of them,
the wasteland of Hed.
A struggles ensues between Corrig and Morgon in which Corrig takes various shapes. 
“He held the blade of it, silver-white, half as long as himself; strange whorls of design wound down the blade, delicately etched, snagging the light from the scattered embers. The hilt was of copper and gold. Set in gold, fire sparkling in their cores, were three stars.”
The final form Corrig takes is a Starred Sword.  This shape causes Morgon to loosen his grip.  Morgon flings the sword at Lyra gaining her attention.  She picks it up but drops it when it moves.  Corrig reverts back into his own shape.  She throws a spear missing him but encourages Morgon to grab the spear.  He does and kills Corrig.
“There was a movement in the sea-colored eyes like a distant, faint flick of a smile.”

The Land-Rulers of An, Aum, & Hel

Once the three portions of An were three separate nations.  These three nations were constantly fighting, making An the bloodiest and most violent nation in terms of history. Each of these three lands had their own rulers and probably their own land-laws.  This changed when Oen of An became king.  He conquered Aum and King of Ustin of Aum died in sorrow.  He also conquered Hel making Farr the last king of Hel.
 
AN
The first king of An was Kale.  He scattered an army with a Great Shout uttered in despair.  The next known king of An was most likely Awn of An. He deliberately burned part of his land to keep it from an enemy and lost his land rule.  He hung himself in despair.  Later there was Fenel, a king of An who is said to have been almost to busy fighting to sire an heir.  He lived with the two hundred years of the witch Madir’s life.  His descendent was Oen of An the great conqueror.  He conquered both the lands of Aum and Hel.
“He was dark, sinewy, powerful; the hilts of his knife and sword were of braided gold; the rich coat over his mail was embroidered with the ancient emblem of An: an oak holding a bolt of black lightning in its green boughs.”
Oen built a tower to trap the witch Madir.  This may have been during the process of conquering or after he conquered Hel.  He swore that “as long as the Kings ruled Anuin, Farr of Hel would rule the king's midden."
"Oen's land-heir was not his own son, but the son of some strange sea-lord, who came into Oen's bed disguised as the king. Nine months afterward, Oen's wife bore Ylon, with skin like foam and eyes like green seaweed. So Oen in his anger built a tower by the sea for this sea-child, with orders that he should never come out of it.  One night, fifteen years after his birth, Ylon heard a strange harping from the sea, and such was his love of it, and desire to find its source, that he broke the bars on his window with his hands and leaped into the sea and vanished. Ten years later Oen died, and to his other sons' surprise, the land-rule passed to Ylon. Ylon was driven by his own nature back to claim his heritage. He reigned only long enough to marry and beget a son who was as dark and practical as Oen, and then he went back to the tower Oen had built for him and leaped to his death on the rocks below."
Oen’s land-heir was Ylon.  Ylon was the result of the Earth-Master Corrig trying to disrupt the land-law of An.  However, he did his duty as land-heir.

Hagis of An was the grandfather of Mathom of An.  He lost his life in a riddle game with Peven in his tower.  Hagis’ grandson, Mathom is considered one of the greatest kings of An.  His wife was Cyone who was considered a Great Shouter.  He, like many of the kings of An, can take the shape of a crow.  It is likely that he has some kind of premonition, some foreknowledge about the future.  He vowed upon his daughter Raederle’s birth that she would marry whomever won a riddle-game with Peven of Aum.

Mathom’s children are Duac, Rood, and Raederle.  Duac, who bore many of Ylon’s features, was Mathom’s land-heir.  He died during the fight with the Earth-Masters on the Wind Plain.  Mathom’s second son, Rood, attended the College of Caithnard and obtained the black of Mastery.  He is a friend to Morgon of Hed.  He becomes Mathom’s land-heir.  Raederle bears many of Ylon’s power, and Earth-Master’s power.  These current rulers of An are descended from the witch Madir.

AUM
The last king of Aum was Ustin of Aum who is said to have died in sorrow at its conquering.

The wizard Peven of Aum is a descendent of Ustin of Aum.  He killed seven of his sons with misused wizardry and then himself in sorrow and shame.  He was bound to his tower by Oen of An.  Auber of Aum is a descendent of Peven.  Cyn Croeg is another descendent of the kings of Aum.  Thisten of Aum is the current lord of Aum and yet another descendent of the Kings of Aum.

HEL
The third king of Hel was Acor.  He brought through force and persuasion the last of the bickering lords under his control.

Three more kings of Hel were Evern the Falconer, Nemir of the Pigs, and Ohroe the Cursed.  Evern the falconer trained hawks and falcons to battle against men.  He died with his falcons, defending his home.  Ohron the Cursed saw seven of his nine sons fall one after another in seven consecutive battles between Hel and An.  Nemir of the Pigs could speak the language of both men and pigs.  He had for his pig herder the witch Madir.  He most likely lived before the time of Oen of An.

The last king of Hel was Farr.  He swore that he would not close his eyes in his grave until those ruling Anuin were lying in theirs.  He was a stubborn man.  It is said that no man ever bargained with Farr.
“He was, as she imagined him, a big, powerful man with a wide slab of a face hard as a slammed gate. His beard and long hair were copper; he wore rings of hard metal at every knuckle, and his sword, rising above one of the glass moons, was broad at the base as the length of his hand. He wasted no time with words; the sword, cutting down into the thin air of illusion, nearly wrenched him on his horse.”
His skull was hanging over the hearth of Hallard Blackdawn in east Hel.  Raederle used it to bargain with him to assemble an escort of dead Hel kings for who she thought was Morgon.

The Witch Madir and the Wizard Peven

Madir was from the land of Hel before it was conquered by An.  Peven of Aum was a Lord of Aum of the Three Portions of An.  They both learned their power through books of wizardry that had once belonged to the Wizards of Lungold, and it was through their actions that the Land-Rulers of An grew to bind spell-books.

Madir
Madir is an ancestor of the land-rulers of An.  It is ironic that Madir would eventually conceive a child with a King of An given the fact that King Oen of An built a tower to trap Madir.  She lived for nearly two hundred years during which time seven kings of An ruled.  The Witch Madir, sometimes called Wizard, took her knowledge of wizardry from books written by the Wizards of Lungold.  These books would later pass into Peven of Aum’s hands.  One of the duties of the Land-Rulers of An is to maintain the bindings of Madir’s spell-books. 

Raederle learned some of Madir’s tricks through Nun.  She can do things like make a net out of grass, make a bramble stem seem like an impossible thorn patch, find her way out of Madir's Woods, where the trees seem to shift from place to place, make a pebble seem like a mountain, and make a small puddle seem like an endless lake.

She was most likely from Hel as she maintained a pig herd.  Madir was, at some point, the pig herder of King Nemir of the Pigs ruler of the land of Hel.  She had a shouting-feud with Lord Col of Hel over the land-right to an oak forest in which their pigs fed.  She used ninety-nine curses on a man who stole one of her pigs, turning him into a boar. 

Raederle uses the first of the ninety-nine curses on Ghisteslwchlohm.
“I curse you, in my name and Madir’s, with eyes small and fiery, to look no
higher than a man’s knee, and no lower than the mud beneath—”
By Madir’s Bones and simply Madir’s Bones are common oaths in the Realm of the High One.

Peven of Aum
Peven of Aum was a Lord of Aum and thus a descendent of the kings of Aum.  He was a wizard who learned his power through books of wizardry that had once belonged to the Witch Madir and before that to the Wizards of Lungold.  He killed seven of his sons with misused wizardry and then himself in shame and sorrow.  He was bound by Oen of An and the later Kings of An too his tower. 

The crown of the kings of Aum was passed down through his family.  It was sealed with him in his tower.  He earned the black robe of Mastery from the College of Caithnard.  He had a standing wager going that no one could win a riddle-game with him.  Lords of Aum, An, and Hel, and riddle-master from Caithnard have all challenged him to a game.  The first man from Hed to challenge him, Morgon of Hed, won the game against him.  He won by asking the riddle about Kern of Hed, the only riddle to come out of Hed.  Upon asking it, Peven shouted “There are no riddles of Hed.”  Morgon knew the game was won.

Those who lost against him forfeited their lives.  King Hagis of An and Master Laern are among those who lost their lives in Peven’s Tower.

After five hundred years of imprisonment, Peven had a hard time remembering all of his sons’ names.  Morgon, who had learned them at the College of Caithnard, told him.

Auber of Aum, one of the descendents of Peven, went to his tower to try to win back the crown of Aum.  When he arrived, he found the crown gone and Peven pleading to be set free to leave the tower.  Auber demanded the name of the man who had taken the crown; Peven said only that he would answer no more riddles.  Auber then told Mathom.

King Mathom made a vow at his daughter’s, Raederle’s, birth to give her only to the man who won the crown of Aum from Peven.

History of the Realm of the High One

Millennia before the start of the Riddle of Stars, the Earth-Masters had a great and thriving civilization centered around what would become the land of Ymris.  They mastered Earth, Fire, and Water.  Tir, the High One, masters the Wind.

Millennia before the start of the Riddle of Stars, the Earth-Master Civil War occurs.  The land is ruined, the Earth-Masters’ children are stripped of their power, and the great Earth-Masters’ cities fall.  Tir and his followers, who died during the war, emerge victorious.  Tir strips the Earth-Masters of power, leaving them with little more than they were born with, and seals them into the sea.  Tir takes the dead children to Isig Mountain to give them a dying place.

Somewhere around a thousand years after the Earth-Master Civil War, the land has recovered from the devastating war. 

Sometime after, the Year of Settlement of man occur.  Danan Isig becomes ruler of his land and Har founds the land of Osterland.  The High One rules from Erlenstar Mt. for a time.  An army from North Ymris attacks Herun in an attempt to seize its mines.  The Morgols’ golden eyes that allows them to see through objects begins to develop.  Kale becomes the first king of An.

The Earth-Masters escape from their prison.  The High One goes into hiding.

Sometime before the Founding of Lungold, The High One takes the name Yrth, poses as a wizard, and takes service with Danan Isig.  Talies takes service with the kings of An and Aum.  Suth takes service with and teaches Har of Osterland.  Nun takes service with the kings of Hel, and Iff takes service with Morgols of Herun.

Sometime before the Founding of Lungold, Ghisteslwchlohm learns of the prophecy of the Star-Bearer from the dead children of the Earth-Masters’ beneath Isig Mountain.  Upon journeying to the High One, he finds the chambers empty.  He assumes the mantle of the High One. 

Sometime before the Founding of Lungold, Morgol Dhairrhuwyth, or more simply Rhu, founds the Crown City, with a circle for every Star-Bearer Riddle answered.  On his way to the High One to get his eighth riddle answered, Ghisteslwchlohm warps the mind of his horse killing him.

c. 1900 years before the beginning of the Riddle of Stars, Aloil takes service with the kings of Ymris.  Sometime in between this and the Founding of Lungold, Caerweddin was sieged.  King Galil Ymris refused to follow Aloil’s advice and as a result Aloil’s tower was burned.  So Aloil made a stone in the plain above Caerweddin speak for eight days and nights in such a loud voice that men as far as Umber and Mermont heard it, and the stone recited all Galil's secret, very bad attempts at writing poetry.  This was how King’s Mouth Plain got its name.

Centuries before Lungold’s founding, Yrth creates the Starred Sword.  He entrusts it to his son Tirnon.  Danan Isig opens the upper mines of Isig Mountain (Sol was born long after this).

1100 years before the beginning of the Riddle of Stars, Yrth creates his Starred Harp.

1000 years before the beginning of the Riddle of Stars, Ghiseslwchlohm founds the city of Lungold and its School of Wizards.  He does this to control the knowledge and power of the wizards.

700 years before the beginning of the Riddle of Stars, Lungold’s destruction occurs.  The remaining wizards go into hiding.  The High One takes the form of a harpist who died in the fighting.

Sometime after Lungold’s destruction, the College of Caithnard is founded.  Ghisteslwchlohm begins to take control over it.

600 years before the beginning of the Riddle of Stars, Oen of An conquered and annexed the kingdom of Aum.  Ustin of Aum, the last king of Aum, dies in sorrow.  Corrig sires Ylon with Oen’s wife.  Ylon sires an heir and then jumps into the sea, killing himself.  The Witch Madir lived during this time.  She lived for nearly two hundred years eventually siring a child with one of the seven kings that ruled during this time.  Nemir of the Pigs, a king of Hel, lived sometime during this 200 year period.  Morgol Ylcorcronlth, or more simply Cron, was ruler of Herun.  His harpist was named Tirundeth, or Deth.  The High One takes his name and enters Ghisteslwchlohm’s service.

500 years before the beginning of the Riddle of Stars, Peven kills seven of his sons with misused wizardry and then himself in sorrow and shame.  He is bound to his tower by the kings of An.

300 years before the beginning of the Riddle of Stars, Uon was a harp-maker in Hel.  Sol Isig is murdered by Earth-Masters upon exiting the Cave of the Lost Ones.

Six months before the start of the series, Althol of Hed and Spring Oakland, Morgon’s parents, are murdered by Earth-Masters on a return voyage to Hed.  Upon the passage of the land-rule to him, Morgon travels to Peven’s Tower and wins the Crown of Aum from him.

Riddles in the Realm of the High One

“The writings of the Lungold wizards—those that were not destroyed here (School of Wizards)—formed the base of riddlery.”

A Riddle is composed of three parts: the question, the answer, and the stricture. The masters of the college apparently keep a list of riddles, though it could be only of unanswered riddles.  Riddles play a crucial role in the Riddle of Stars series.  They are both a way of recording history and a guide to living life.

KNOWN RIDDLES

Unfortunately, not all riddles in the Riddle of Stars series are given in complete form. Here are the known riddles.

An Riddle
"See with your heart what your eyes cannot, and you will find the door that is not."
-Stricture of an An riddle.

Arya of Herun
“There was a woman of Herun, a hill woman named Arya, who collected animals. One day she found a tiny black beast she couldn’t name. She brought it into her house, fed it, cared for it. And it grew. And it grew. Until all her other animals fled from the house, and it lived alone with her, dark, enormous, nameless, stalking her from room to room while she lived in terror, unfree, not knowing what to do with it, not daring to challenge it— She died of fear.”“And the animal? What was it?”“No one knew. It wailed for seven days and seven nights at her grave, in a voice so full of love and grief that no one who heard it could sleep or eat. And then it died, too.”
-Riddle of Arya as told by Morgon

Belu & Bilo
"Who were Belu and Bilo, and how were they bound?""Two Ymris princes who were born at the same moment, and whose deaths, it was foretold, would occur at the same moment. They grew to hate each other, but they were so bound that one could not kill the other without destroying himself.”
-Ancient Ymris Riddle as told by Morgon


Ilon of Yrye
"Who was Ilon of Yrye?""Ilon was a harpist at the court of Har of Osterland, who offended Har with a song so terribly that he fled from Har out of fear of death. He went alone to the mountains, taking nothing but his harp, and lived quietly, far from all men, farming and playing his harp. So great was his harping in his loneliness, that it became his voice, and it spoke as he could not, to the animals living around him. Word of it spread from creature to creature until it came one day to the ears of the Wold of Osterland, Har, as he prowled in that shape through his kingdom, and there he found Ilon, playing at the edge of the world. The wolf sat and listened. And Ilon, finishing his song and raising his eyes, found the terror he had run from standing on his threshold.""And the stricture?""The man running from death must run first from himself."
-Riddle of Ilon of Yrye as told by Morgon.

Ingris of Osterland
"Who was Ingris of Osterland and why did he die?
"Ingris of Osterland angered Har, the King of Osterland one night when he appeared as an old man at Ingris's door, and Ingris refused to take him in. So the wolf-King put this curse on him: that if the next stranger who came to Ingris's house did not give his name, then Ingris would die. And the first stranger who came after Har left was --a certain harpist. That harpist gave Ingris everything he asked for: songs, tales, the loan of his harp, the history of his travelings--everything but the name Ingris wanted to hear, though Ingris demanded in despair. But the harpist could give him only one word, each time Ingris asked for his name, and that word, as Ingris heard it, was Death. So in fear of Har, and in despair of the curse, he felt his heart stop and he died.
"
-The Riddle of Ingris of Osterland as told by Deth
"The stricture is: Give what others require of you for their lives."

Kern of Hed
"Hed had the dubious fortune of being pursued one day by a Thing without a name. Perhaps it was the effects of Herun wine. The Thing called his name over and over. He ran from it, going into his house of seven rooms and seven doors, and locking each door behind him until he came to the inmost chamber, where he could run no farther. And he heard the sound of one door after another being torn open, and his name called each time. He counted six doors opened, his name called six times. Then, outside the seventh door, his name was called again; but the Thing did not touch the door. He waited in despair for it to enter, but it did not. Then he grew impatient, longing for it to enter, but it did not. Finally he reached out, opened the door himself. The Thing was gone. And he was left to wonder, all the days of his life, what it was that had called out to him.""Kern didn't open the door. The stricture, according to the Riddle-Masters at Caithnard is this: Answer the unanswered riddle. So I do."
-The Riddle of Kern of Hed as told by Morgon

Osterland Riddle
"Who paid for his shape with the scars on his hands and to whom?"
-Question to an ancient Osterland riddle

Peven of Aum
"Who won the riddle-game with Peven of Aum?"
The answer is Morgon of Hed. The riddle he used was of Kern of Hed.

Riddle about the Earth-Masters

“Do you know the riddle of the man who opened his door at midnight and found not the black sky filling his doorway but the black, black eye of some creature who stretched beyond him to measureless dimension? Look at us again. Then go, quietly, leaving the Star-Bearer and our kinswoman.”
-Riddle as told by an Earth Master


Sol of Isig
"Who was Sol of Isig and why did he die?"
"Sol was the son of Danan Isig. He was pursued through the mines of Isig Mountain one day by traders who wanted to steal from him a priceless jewel. He came to the stone door at the bottom of Isig, beyond which lay dread and sorrow older even than Isig. He could not bring himself to open that door, which no man had ever opened, for fear of what might lie in the darkness beyond it. So his enemies found him in his indecision, and there he died."
"And the Stricture?"
"Turn forward into the unknown, rather than backward toward death."
-Riddle of Sol of Isig as told by Morgon

Star-Bearer Riddle
"Who is the Star-Bearer, and what will he loose that is bound?"
This is the riddle that the fourth Morgol Rhu died trying to answer. This riddle is 2,000 years old.

Star-Bearer Riddle
"What will one star call out of silence, one star out of darkness, and one star out of death?"
This riddle was posed to a man from Lungold by the Wolf of Osterland, Har.

Rhu of Herun
"What are the seven circles of Herun and who built them?"
"Rhu, the fourth Morgol, structured the city, planning a circle for each of the eight riddles his curiosity set to him and he answered. His journey to answer the eight riddle killed him."
-Riddle of the Seven Circles of Herun as told by Morgon

Ylon of An

"Oen's land-heir was not his own son, but the son of some strange sea-lord, who came into Oen's bed disguised as the king. Nine months afterward, Oen's wife bore Ylon, with skin like foam and eyes like green seaweed. So Oen in his anger built a tower by the sea for this sea-child, with orders that he should never come out of it.  One night, fifteen years after his birth, Ylon heard a strange harping from the sea, and such was his love of it, and desire to find its source, that he broke the bars on his window with his hands and leaped into the sea and vanished. Ten years later Oen died, and to his other sons' surprise, the land-rule passed to Ylon. Ylon was driven by his own nature back to claim his heritage. He reigned only long enough to marry and beget a son who was as dark and practical as Oen, and then he went back to the tower Oen had built for him and leaped to his death on the rocks below."
-Riddle of Ylon of An as told by Raederle

The Wizards of Lungold

At its height, the School of Wizards in Lungold was home to thirty wizards and over two hundred men and women of talent.  Every single man and woman of talent was killed at the School of Wizards destruction.  Twenty-three wizards were also killed at its destruction.  Ghisteslwchlohm, one of these remaining wizards, bound the power of five of the other wizards.    Yrth also escaped but he, as the High One, was in no real danger of being bound.   Morgon, the Star-Bearer, freed the wizards with his attack on Ghisteslwchlohm at Erlenstar Mt.

Aloil

“Behind her, in the torchlight, stood a big, spare wizard whose broad, fine-boned face was carved and battered with battle like a king’s. His dead hair was flecked with silver and gold; his eyes were vivid, smoldering with blue flame.”
Aloil was a wizard who took service with the kings of Ymris for nine hundred years before going to Lungold.  He was a poet who wrote most of his poems to the wizard Nun.  One of the kings Aloil served was Galil Ymris.  During a seige of Caerweddin, Galil Ymris refused to follow Aloil’s advice which resulted in Aloil’s tower being burned.  So Aloil made a stone in the plain above Caerweddin speak for eight days and nights in such a loud voice that men as far as Umber and Mermont heard it, and the stone recited all Galil's secret, very bad attempts at writing poetry.  This was how King’s Mouth Plain got its name.  Upon Lungold’s destruction, he was bound by Ghisteslwchlohm.  He hid in the form of an oak tree for seven hundred years.  Ironically, Aloil chose the King’s Mouth Plain to hide.  When Morgon loosed his power, Astrin Ymris watched his transformation back into a human.

Ghisteslwchlohm

“…a lean, quiet man whose even voice never changed.”
“The High One, his robe sun-gold, his white hair drawn back from his brow to free the simple, austere lines of it, lifted his hands from the arms of the throne and broughtthe tips of his fingers together.”
Ghisteslwchlohm was the Founder of Lungold and its destroyer.  Ghisteslwchlohm was born in the land of Herun (his short name is Ohm).  He founded Lungold and its School of Wizards one thousand years before the start of Riddle of Stars.  He learned of the prophecies of the Star-Bearer from a dead Earth-Master’s child, most likely Tirnon.  He journeyed to Erlenstar Mt. to ask the High One about these prophecies.  Ohm found Erlenstar Mt. deserted.  Here, he assumed the mantle of the High One.  He would found the city of Lungold and gain the title the Founder of Lungold.  He would also destroy this same city seven hundred years before the start of Riddle of Stars.  Afterwards, he would either found or assume control of the College of Caithnard.  Ghisteslwchlohm kills the High One, who had served him as Deth, with the sword he created as Yrth.  He was killed during the destruction of the Wind Tower. 

Iff

“Morgon turned a little to the tall, frail wizard beside him, with the voice of a Caithnard Master. His face was worn, ascetic, but Morgon, watching him step forward, sensed the unexpected strength in his lean body.”
Iff of the Unpronounceable Name was born in the land of Herun.  He was known as the scholar who loved wild things.  It was in this land that he took service in.  All Herun names are nearly unpronounceable to outsiders; however, Iff takes this to a new level.  His name must be sung as well as spoken.  He like the other wizards went to Lungold when it was created.  Like the other wizards, his power was bound.  He chose Herun as his hiding place.  According to him, Herun was always a scholarly place.  He was a member of its court in one form or another for seven centuries.  As an old scholar, he helped the Morgol El open two of his books.  After that scholar died, he took the form of a falconer and then a guard.  Upon being restored to full strength by Morgon, he opened his remaining books at Herun.

Nun

“He recognized Nun immediately: a tall, thin woman with long grey hair and a shrewd, angular face. She was smoking a little jewelled pipe; her eyes, studying him with an odd mixture of wonder and worry, were a shade darker than her smoke.”
Nun took service in the land of Hel, now a province of An.  She was involved in a romantic relationship with the wizard Aloil.  While in Hel, she bred the talking pig Hegdis-Noon.  Upon the destruction of Lungold, Nun took refuge in the district of Hel.  She ruled over the pig herds of Hel for seven centuries.  She claimed to be descended from the witch Madir and thus related to the land-rulers of An.  Upon being restored to strength, she scattered the pig herds of Hel with a Great Shout. 

Suth

“A man stood before Morgon, lean, powerful, his white hair fraying in the wind, his single eye grey-gold.”
Suth took service in the land of Osterland.  He was friends with Har of Osterland and with him learned to shape-change.  In his youth he is described as having been “wild”.  Upon Lungold’s destruction, Suth fled, his power bound.  He eventually ended up taking the shape of a vesta and staying with their herds.  Amongst them, he had a son named Hugin.  He lost an eye to Ghisteslwchlohm in the battle at Lungold.  Shortly before his disappearance, he entrusted the riddles of the Star-Bearer to Har.  He was the only one of the wizards, besides Yrth, to retain his knowledge of the Star-Bearer.  He died when Har sent Morgon to look for him amongst the vesta herds.  He was killed when he attempted to tell Morgon about Ghisteslwchlohm and the last word he uttered was “Ohm”.

Talies

“Kneeling next to one of the crevices in the wall was a dark-eyed wizard with a spare face like a bird of prey. He seemed fierce, humorless, until Morgon met his eyes and saw a faint smile, as at some incongruity.”
“His spare, restless voice was like his eyes, at once fierce and patient.”
Talies took service in the lands of An and Aum.  He was a historian.  He like all the other wizards went to Lungold upon its creation.  Upon Lungold’s destruction, Talies took the form of a falcon and stayed in Anuin for seven centuries.  He was constantly caught, growing old and escaping to grow young again.  He would always return to the hands of the Kings of Anuin.  None of them, not even Mathom of An, ever guessed his identity.

Yrth

“He was a tall old man, with short grey hair and a battered, craggy face.”
Yrth was a disguise of Tir, the High One.  He assumed this disguise after having ruled the Realm as himself.  He abandoned Erlenstar Mt. thus allowing Ghisteslwchlohm to claim the title of the High One.  He took service with the land of Isig.  It was as Yrth that the High One created his starred sword, centuries before Lungold’s founding, and his starred harp, one hundred years before Lungold’s founding, for his heir the Star-Bearer.  Upon Lungold’s destruction, the High One assumed the shape and name of the dying harpist Tirundeth.  Ohm apparently believed Yrth to be either dead or bound, most likely dead.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The High One

The High One is the supreme political and spiritual leader of his Realm.  He is thought by the inhabitants of his Realm to be the last of the Earth-Masters, a powerful race of shape-changers.  However, this is not true, he is merely the only Earth-Master to retain his full power.  His true name is Tir, and he was born thousands of years before the start of Riddle of Stars.  He lived in peace with the other Earth-Masters on what would one day be known as the Wind Plain in Ymris.  He had only one child, Tirnon.  He was also the first, and only, Earth-Master to master the winds.  It was this and his use of land-law that would allow him to defeat Eriel’s Earth-Masters.  Eriel was the first to begin gathering power to herself, stripping it from the land itself.  She gathered many follows including Corrig, the father of Ylon.  As Eriel was the first to gather power to herself, Tir (the High One) was the first to realize the implications of power.  Tir gathered many followers in opposition to Eriel’s.  During the course of the Civil War that followed, later called the Earth-Masters’ War, Tirnon son was stripped of his power and died.  In the end, Tir stripped the Earth-Masters’ power, leaving them little beyond what they were born with, and sealed them into the sea.  This was not done without cost however, not only was Tir’s son killed but every Earth-Master child was also killed.  All of Tir’s followers also perished leaving their power in the ruins of the Earth-Masters’ cities.

An unknown time later (although likely at least a thousand years), the Years of Settlement, of man, began.  During this time is when Tir would become known as the High One.  He sometime prior to this was told the prophecy of the Star-Bearer, his heir, from his child.  Also during this time, Tir ruled directly as the High One.  He was presence that could actually be reached at Erlenstar Mountain.  In time, however, the Earth-Masters escaped from their prison in the sea.

imagesThe High One went into hiding.  He adopted the persona of the powerful wizard Yrth.  Like many the other wizards, he would take service with a land.  In this case, that is Isig.  Centuries before the founding of Lungold, Yrth would create his starred sword in secret.  He, after its creation, entrusted the sword to his son Tirnon.  One hundred years before the founding of Lungold, Yrth creates his starred harp. 









"Yrth bound the pitch into those strings with his voice. There is no harp more beautiful in the
High One's realm."
-Deth

“Yrth worked months on that harp, carving it, cutting the designs for the inlay; he had my craftsmen cut the ivory and set the silver and stones in it.  And then he went up into the highest room in the oldest tower of Harte to tune the harp. He stayed seven days and seven nights, while I closed the forces in the yard so that the pounding wouldn't bother him. Finally, he came down and played it for us. There was no more beautiful harp in the world. He said he had taken its voices from the waters and winds of Isig. It held us breathless, the harping and the harpist... When he had finished playing, he stood still a moment, looking down at it. Then he passed the flat of his hand over the strings, and they went mute. When we protested, he laughed and said the harp would choose its own harpist. The next day he left, taking it with him. When he returned to my service a year later, he never mentioned the harp. It was as though we had all dreamed the making of it."
-Danan Isig

At the founding of Lungold, the High One, as Yrth, journeys to the School of Wizards.  Unlike the other wizards, he was not under Ghisteslwchlohm’s influence.  Ghisteslwchlohm would become a shield for the High One for a thousand years to come.
“Yrth was the most powerful of the wizards after the Founder."
-Astrin Ymris
The High One was careful to mask the full extent of his power.  He made himself appear to be weaker than Ghisteslwchlohm.  This powerful wizard was obviously not an Earth-Master.  During his stay at Lungold, Yrth taught the Morgol Cron’s harpist Tirundeth much about harping. 
“I took my name from the Morgol Cron's harpist Tirunedeth, who taught me the
songs of Herun. I asked him for it before he died.”
-Deth
And so it is that Yrth became Deth.  One hundred years after the destruction of Lungold, Deth would walk into his own chambers (the Chambers of the High One) and take service as the face of Ghisteslwchlohm, the false High One.  Ghisteslwchlohm believed that this arrangement was best for the both of them, though more so for him.  In reality, this was only really beneficial to Deth.  He would be able to hide in plain sight from the Earth-Masters.  For the next six centuries, Deth would travel the Realm acting as an ambassador to the High One.  He may have studied at the College of Caithnard as he claimed.  He would also play at the wedding of Morgon’s parents.  And finally, fall in love with the Morgol El, whom he would write a beautiful wordless song.

The High One would meet his successor in the most unexpected of all places, the peaceful land of Hed.  Three stars on Morgon’s brow were the sign of the end of an age.  Deth would escort Morgon to the High One, forging bonds of love and friendship on the way and telling a number of half-truths and lies:
"I was born," the harpist said tranquilly, "not long after the founding of Lungold, a thousand
years ago."
-Deth
Deth is very much older than one thousand years.  He may be several millennium old.  He was not born in Lungold but somewhere in what would become Ymris.
"I am not a Lungold wizard. I have never served any man but the High One. I studied awhile at the School of Wizards because I found myself growing old without aging, and I thought perhaps my father had been a wizard. I had no great gifts for wizardry so I left--that is the extent of my acquaintance with the Lungold wizards.”
-Deth
Technically, Deth has never been a Lungold wizard.  His power is completely based in that of an Earth-Master not a wizard.  That said however, Deth did take the disguise Yrth.  As Yrth, he became known as a Lungold wizard.  He “studied” at the School of Wizards. 

He also has served no man but the High One.  In this case, this means himself and the land.  Ghisteslwchlohm, the False High One, was merely a shield.
"I harped with him (Corrig) once, years ago. I met him even before I entered the High One's service.”
-Deth
This is not a lie; however, the sentences after this most likely are.  Deth says he encountered Corrig on a beach and harped with him.  More likely, however, he harped with Corrig before the Earth-Masters’ War.
"I was there when Yrth made this harp. I heard the first song it ever played..."
-Deth
Of course, this is not a lie.  He, as Yrth, was there when he made his harp.  He heard the first song he, himself, played.

When Ghisteslwchlohm held Morgon prisoner, torturing him,  Deth played his harp for him.  Here the High One is offering Morgon a choice, asking him a question.  What do you value more, power or love?  Fortunately, Morgon chooses right in hunting Deth instead of Ghisteslwchlohm.  The very reason Deth led Morgon to Ghisteslwchlohm is for him to understand the corruption power presents.
 
Morgon precedes to, after his escape, tell the various land-rulers of Deth’s apparent treachery.  The occupied lands become barred to Deth.  Har’s wolves chase Deth from Osterland.  Here in the out-lands, Raederle stumbles into Deth’s campsite. 

Later, Deth flees to Anuin, the one place he thought might still be opened to him.  Raederle, mistaking Morgon for Ghisteslwchlohm and Deth for Morgon, places a guard wraith Hel kings around Deth.  They escort him into the halls of the palace at Anuin.  This forces him into a confrontation with Morgon.  Deth only escapes through one line “They were promised a man of peace.”  Morgon stays his starred sword.  Had Morgon attempted to carry through with the stroke, Deth may have been forced to expose himself as the High One.  This would leave both himself and Morgon to the mercies of the Earth-Masters.

Ghisteslwchlohm, through a mind link formed at their meeting, locates Deth in Hel.  There, they have an argument over loyalties.  Ghisteslwchlohm believes Deth has some bond with the Star-Bearer, which he does.  Ohm forces Deth to play a harp of black fire ruining his harpist’s hands. 

Deth, as Yrth, met up with the restored wizards at the ruined School of Wizards in Lungold.  They assigned, or he assigned himself, as a lookout for Ghisteslwchlohm and Morgon on the Trader’s Road.  Back in his guise as Deth, Morgon is lured to him through his broken, hesitant harping.  Morgon falls asleep there.  Upon waking up, he finds Ghisteslwchlohm, again most likely through the link, in the campsite.  Ohm takes Raederle hostage and attempts to force Deth to make a choice between her or the Morgol El as a hostage.  Instead, Deth refuses and slaps Ghisteslwchlohm.  In return, Ohm sends a lash of fire across Deth’s eyes to all appearances killing him.

As Yrth, he fights with the traders defending Lungold from the Earth-Masters.  After Morgon takes refuge in the far north of the Realm, Yrth plays his broken, hesitant harping to draw Morgon out of hiding.  Morgon is now highly suspicious of the identity of Yrth.  Yrth, Morgon, and Raederle fly to Osterland.  Upon flying to Herun, Yrth through his sheer power reveals himself to be an Earth-Master.  At Herun, Morgon surprises Yrth in front of the Morgol El.  He shows that he is Deth and the High One.

The High One disappears at Herun and journeys to the Wind Tower on the Wind Plains in Ymris.  There he waits for Morgon.
“You are the Star-Bearer, the heir foreseen by the dead of Isig, for whom I have been waiting for centuries beyond hope…I have lived in secret for thousands of years with nothing to hope in but a promise.  A dead child’s dream.”
-The High One
Upon Morgon’s arrival, the High One admits his reasons for his actions.  Morgon is his land-heir, the future High One.  He helps Morgon to learn the land-law of Ymris, the site of the ancient power of long dead Earth-Masters.  Soon after, Eriel and other Earth-Masters with their puppet Ghisteslwchlohm attack the Wind Power.  For a moment, the High One checks the power brought against him.  However, soon they overpower him.  Ghisteslwchlohm wrenches the starred sword from Morgon’s hands and stabs the High One through the heart.  His last words to Morgon were “Morgon, Free the Winds.”
 
The High One turned into flame upon his death.  Morgon then becomes the High One.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Caithnard, City of Riddles

CAITHNARD
Caithnard, an important trade-city, is situated in a crescent of land between two lands.  It may have originated as a supply port for the city of Lungold or grew with trade.  The city consists of a port, inns and shops, and on a thrust of cliff forming one horn of the moon-shaped bay lies the College of Caithnard. The city itself is filled with people from the many different lands of the High One's Realm.

There are salt beds above Caithnard, and the salt from them is traded to places such as Hed.

College of Caithnard
The college of Caithnard is dedicated to studying and answering Riddles. The study of riddlery is based off of books recovered from the ruins of the School of Wizards.  The college rests high on a thrust of cliff forming one horn of the moon-shaped bay. It is described as a "dark block of a building built of rough dark stones." The building is at least three stories high with a library on that floor. It is massive as a piece of broken cliff itself standing placidly among tall, wind-twisted trees. The entrance are double doors of thick oak.

The interior is composed of low arched corridors with wide leaded windows at each end of the corridor. The walls are composed of stone a foot thick. Rows of closed doors run down each side of the hall. Set on these doors are wood slats with the name of the occupant carved on it.

It is forbidden to use the Great Shout at the college; however, since the shout is a thing of impulse rather than premeditation, there is really no way to avoid using it.

RIDDLES
“The writings of the Lungold wizards—those that were not destroyed here (School of Wizards)—formed the base of riddlery.”

A Riddle is composed of three parts: the question, the answer, and the stricture. The masters of the college apparently keep a list of riddles, though it could be only of unanswered riddles.

KNOWN RIDDLES
Unfortunately, not all riddles in the Riddle of Stars series are given in complete form. Here are the known riddles.

An Riddle
"See with your heart what your eyes cannot, and you will find the door that is not."
-Stricture of an An riddle.

Arya of Herun
“There was a woman of Herun, a hill woman named Arya, who collected animals. One day she found a tiny black beast she couldn’t name. She brought it into her house, fed it, cared for it. And it grew. And it grew. Until all her other animals fled from the house, and it lived alone with her, dark, enormous, nameless, stalking her from room to room while she lived in terror, unfree, not knowing what to do with it, not daring to challenge it— She died of fear.”“And the animal? What was it?”“No one knew. It wailed for seven days and seven nights at her grave, in a voice so full of love and grief that no one who heard it could sleep or eat. And then it died, too.”
-Riddle of Arya as told by Morgon

Belu & Bilo
"Who were Belu and Bilo, and how were they bound?""Two Ymris princes who were born at the same moment, and whose deaths, it was foretold, would occur at the same moment. They grew to hate each other, but they were so bound that one could not kill the other without destroying himself.”
-Ancient Ymris Riddle as told by Morgon


Ilon of Yrye
"Who was Ilon of Yrye?""Ilon was a harpist at the court of Har of Osterland, who offended Har with a song so terribly that he fled from Har out of fear of death. He went alone to the mountains, taking nothing but his harp, and lived quietly, far from all men, farming and playing his harp. So great was his harping in his loneliness, that it became his voice, and it spoke as he could not, to the animals living around him. Word of it spread from creature to creature until it came one day to the ears of the Wold of Osterland, Har, as he prowled in that shape through his kingdom, and there he found Ilon, playing at the edge of the world. The wolf sat and listened. And Ilon, finishing his song and raising his eyes, found the terror he had run from standing on his threshold.""And the stricture?""The man running from death must run first from himself."
-Riddle of Ilon of Yrye as told by Morgon.

Ingris of Osterland
"Who was Ingris of Osterland and why did he die?
"Ingris of Osterland angered Har, the King of Osterland one night when he appeared as an old man at Ingris's door, and Ingris refused to take him in. So the wolf-King put this curse on him: that if the next stranger who came to Ingris's house did not give his name, then Ingris would die. And the first stranger who came after Har left was --a certain harpist. That harpist gave Ingris everything he asked for: songs, tales, the loan of his harp, the history of his travelings--everything but the name Ingris wanted to hear, though Ingris demanded in despair. But the harpist could give him only one word, each time Ingris asked for his name, and that word, as Ingris heard it, was Death. So in fear of Har, and in despair of the curse, he felt his heart stop and he died.
"
-The Riddle of Ingris of Osterland as told by Deth
"The stricture is: Give what others require of you for their lives."

Kern of Hed
"Hed had the dubious fortune of being pursued one day by a Thing without a name. Perhaps it was the effects of Herun wine. The Thing called his name over and over. He ran from it, going into his house of seven rooms and seven doors, and locking each door behind him until he came to the inmost chamber, where he could run no farther. And he heard the sound of one door after another being torn open, and his name called each time. He counted six doors opened, his name called six times. Then, outside the seventh door, his name was called again; but the Thing did not touch the door. He waited in despair for it to enter, but it did not. Then he grew impatient, longing for it to enter, but it did not. Finally he reached out, opened the door himself. The Thing was gone. And he was left to wonder, all the days of his life, what it was that had called out to him.""Kern didn't open the door. The stricture, according to the Riddle-Masters at Caithnard is this: Answer the unanswered riddle. So I do."
-The Riddle of Kern of Hed as told by Morgon

Osterland Riddle
"Who paid for his shape with the scars on his hands and to whom?"
-Question to an ancient Osterland riddle

Peven of Aum
"Who won the riddle-game with Peven of Aum?"
The answer is Morgon of Hed. The riddle he used was of Kern of Hed.

Riddle about the Earth-Masters

“Do you know the riddle of the man who opened his door at midnight and found not the black sky filling his doorway but the black, black eye of some creature who stretched beyond him to measureless dimension? Look at us again. Then go, quietly, leaving the Star-Bearer and our kinswoman.”
-Riddle as told by an Earth Master


Sol of Isig
"Who was Sol of Isig and why did he die?"
"Sol was the son of Danan Isig. He was pursued through the mines of Isig Mountain one day by traders who wanted to steal from him a priceless jewel. He came to the stone door at the bottom of Isig, beyond which lay dread and sorrow older even than Isig. He could not bring himself to open that door, which no man had ever opened, for fear of what might lie in the darkness beyond it. So his enemies found him in his indecision, and there he died."
"And the Stricture?"
"Turn forward into the unknown, rather than backward toward death."
-Riddle of Sol of Isig as told by Morgon

Star-Bearer Riddle
"Who is the Star-Bearer, and what will he loose that is bound?"
This is the riddle that the fourth Morgol Rhu died trying to answer. This riddle is 2,000 years old.

Star-Bearer Riddle
"What will one star call out of silence, one star out of darkness, and one star out of death?"
This riddle was posed to a man from Lungold by the Wolf of Osterland, Har.

Rhu of Herun
"What are the seven circles of Herun and who built them?"
"Rhu, the fourth Morgol, structured the city, planning a circle for each of the eight riddles his curiosity set to him and he answered. His journey to answer the eight riddle killed him."
-Riddle of the Seven Circles of Herun as told by Morgon

Ylon of An

"Oen's land-heir was not his own son, but the son of some strange sea-lord, who came into Oen's bed disguised as the king. Nine months afterward, Oen's wife bore Ylon, with skin like foam and eyes like green seaweed. So Oen in his anger built a tower by the sea for this sea-child, with orders that he should never come out of it.  One night, fifteen years after his birth, Ylon heard a strange harping from the sea, and such was his love of it, and desire to find its source, that he broke the bars on his window with his hands and leaped into the sea and vanished. Ten years later Oen died, and to his other sons' surprise, the land-rule passed to Ylon. Ylon was driven by his own nature back to claim his heritage. He reigned only long enough to marry and beget a son who was as dark and practical as Oen, and then he went back to the tower Oen had built for him and leaped to his death on the rocks below."
-Riddle of Ylon of An as told by Raederle


ROBES, a Mark of Rank
The robes the students dress in are indicative of their standing at the College. The robes themselves are described as bright and voluminous. The color of the robes and their rank is as follows:

  • Red of Apprenticeship
  • Blue of Partial Beginning
  • White Robe of Beginning Mastery
  • Gold Robe of Intermediate Mastery
  • Black Robe of Mastery

THE MASTERS
There are at least eight who wear the black of mastery at the College of Caithnard at this time. The Master's library has a vast ancient collection of books running the length and breadth of its walls. In addition, Deth claims that he took the black of mastery as well.

Master Ohm
A master at the College of Caithnard.  In actuality, Master Ohm is the wizard Ghisteslwchlohm, the founder of Lungold.

Master Tel
This master is described as having a frail voice. His face is sparse and parchment-colored.

Rood 
He took the black of mastery.

Former Masters
Master Laern - He was a master who went to Peven's Tower and failed to win the game against him. As a result, he forfeited his life.

Peven of Aum - Peven of Aum took the black of Mastery from the College.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Ghisteslwchlohm


"I am Ohm of Caithnard.  I am Ghisteslwchlohm, the Founder of Lungold, and--as you have guessed--it's destroyer.  I am the High One."  
-Ghisteslwchlohm

Ghisteslwchlohm, or more simply Ohm, was born in the land of Herun.  He is a lean, quiet patient man with a face with simple, austere lines.  The early years of his life are unknown; however, we do know that Ghisteslwchlohm journeyed to Erlenstar Mt. to ask the High One about the dreams of a dead Earth-Master's child.  Upon arriving, Ghisteslwchlohm found the chambers of the High One deserted.

He stood in wonder in the vast throne room at Erlenstar Mountain, where legend so old it had no beginning placed the High One.  It was empty...He had come to ask a question about a dreamer deep in Isig Mountain.  But there was no one to ask.  He brushed cobweb from the throne and sat down to puzzle over the emptiness.  And as grey light faded between the rotting doors, he began to spin illusions....
Here in the deserted chambers of the High One, Ghisteslwchlohm assumed the mantle of the High One and began to, even now, formulate a plan to become High One in more than just name.

To this end one thousand years before the start of Riddle of Stars, Ghisteslwchlohm founded the city of Lungold and its school of wizards.  This would earn him the title the Founder of Lungold, or more simply the Founder.  Ghisteslwchlohm was the most powerful of all the wizards, which lent validity to the claim that he would be able to grant others more power.  With the promise of power, he lured twenty-nine wizards and over two hundred men and women of talent to him.  They, in exchange, agreed to place their names in the Founder's mind, greatly increasing his power.  In the great hall of the School of Wizard, he spoke the nine strictures of wizardry.  At the same time, he harvested, even from the minds of the most powerful of the wizards, all knowledge and memory of the Star-Bearer.

Three hundred years later, seven hundred years before Riddle of Stars, the wizards realize that they have been tricked by the Founder.  This will lead to a bloody and violent battle that will leave the School of Wizards in ruins and two hundred and twenty-four of the students dead.  In a battle that lasted not a single night, Ghisteslwchlohm killed most of the students and binding the remaining survivors.  Only Suth escapes with his knowledge of the Star-Bearer intact.  Ohm binds the power of Aloil, Iff, Nun, Suth, Talies.  These wizards all flee taking various shapes to hide from the Founder.

Sometime after the destruction of the School of Wizards, Ghisteslwchlohm, now calling himself by his shorter name Ohm, either founded the College of Caithnard or began to gain control of it and its knowledge.

One hundred years later, six hundred years before the Riddle of Stars, Ghisteslwchlohm murdered the Morgol Dhairrhuwyth, who was on his way to Erlenstar Mt. to ask a question about the Star-Bearer.  Ohm did this by twisting the mind of the horse Morgol Rhu was riding.  Sometime during this same general time, Deth, the High One in disguise, will come and swear service to Ghisteslwchlohm.  Ghisteslwchlohm forms a mind-link with Deth, and from this point on, Deth will act as the voice for this False High One.

Shortly before the start of Riddle of Stars, Ohm acted as one of Morgol's masters at the College of Caithnard.  He even pretended to help Morgon look for answers about his three stars during his first winter there.  Ohm encouraged Morgon to go see the High One when he stopped there on his journey to Anuin.

When Morgon arrives at Erlenstar Mountain, he finds Master Ohm on the throne of the High One.  He holds Morgan prisoner probing his mind for the image of a man, the image of the High One.  This proves to be a very painful experience for Morgon, the Star-Bearer.

"I thought nothing in the realm could break his (Ghisteslwchlohm's) power.  But I was wrong.  He broke himself against the rigid tenets of the Star-Bearer's life and fled, leaving me along, unprotected, harpless--"
 -Deth
Morgon, after a year of captivity, summons enough power to cause Ghisteslwchlohm to flee, also this causes the bindings he placed on the wizards to break. Deth, the High One's Harpist, played for Morgon during his imprisonment.  This will lead Morgon, after his escape, to pursue not Ghisteslwchlohm but Deth.

After Ghisteslwchlohm's confrontation with Morgon at Erlenstar Mountain, he will spend his time in the out-lands strengthening his power.  Afterwards, through the mind-link, he meets Deth in Hel, An.  They proceed to have an argument about a perceived, by Ghisteslwchlohm, bond with the Star-Bearer.  Ghisteslwchlohm forms a harp of black fire for Deth to play.  While Deth is still conscious,  Ghisteslwchlohm draws out of Deth's mind his memories of the confrontation at Anuin with Morgon and of there time traveling together.

Through the mind-link, Ghisteslwchlohm learns that Morgon is with Deth along the Trader's Road to Lungold.  He uses this knowledge to ambush Morgon and Raederle as they sleep.  He holds Raederle hostage and contemplates binding Raederle's mind as a way to force Morgon to journey with him to Lungold and then back to Erlenstar Mountain.  Deth objects to this, and Ghisteslwchlohm threatens to use the Morgol, whom Deth loves, as a replacement.  Instead of choosing between Raederle and the Morgol, Deth backhands Ghisteslwchlohm.  In response, Ghisteslwchlohm sends a lash of fire across Deth's eyes.  Ghisteslwchlohm now believes Deth to be dead.

Afterwards, Earth-Masters, Ohm does not know who they are, appear demanding to know where the High One is.

"I am not interested in riddle-games.  Or in a fight.  You take your shapes out of dead men and seaweed; you breathe, you harp and you die--that is all I know or care to know about you."
-Ghisteslwchlohm
Ghisteslwchlohm definitely should have been more interested in who these mysterious beings were.  The Earth-Masters and Ohm begin to fight.  He loses Morgon and Raederle in the ensuing fight.

Ghisteslwchlohm launches a surprise attack on Lungold while Morgon and the wizards are shoring up its defenses.  He easily begins to overpower the wizards before Morgon shows up.  Morgon launches an attack consisting of wraiths of dead animals, draining much of Ghisteslwchlohm's power.  In desperation, Ghisteslwchlohm attempts to convince Morgon that he wishes to protect Morgon.  In reality, he wishes for Morgon to fight for him.  A brief clash occurs, Morgon emerges the victor and binds Ghisteslwchlohm.  He takes from his mind memories of the founding of Lungold, finding the High One's chambers empty, and a dream from a dead Earth-Master's child.

The Earth-Masters again crash the party taking Ghisteslwchlohm prisoner and binding him.  Morgon flees and is pursued by the Earth-Masters who chase him to Erlenstar Mt.  Ghisteslwchlohm and Morgon are held prisoner in the hollowed out mountain.  Ghisteslwchlohm is now little more than a puppet for the Earth-Masters.  He saves Morgon from drowning in the lake in Erlenstar Mountain.   While Morgon escapes from the Earth-Masters, Ghisteslwchlohm does not.

During their attack on Wind Tower, the Earth-Master's bring Ghisteslwchlohm with them.  Ghisteslwchlohm is shocked to learn that Deth, the man who served him for six hundred years, is in reality the High One.  This shock nearly allowed Ghisteslwchlohm to break the hold over his mind.

"Even death, Master Ohm is a riddle."
-The High One
Ghisteslwchlohm then takes the starred-sword from Morgon and stabs the High One through the heart, killing him.  Upon the High One's death, Morgon gains all of his land-law.  He releases the Winds, destroying the Wind Tower.  Ghisteslwchlohm died in its collapse.

Ghisteslwchlohm was one of the most powerful men for a thousand years.  He went from being the most powerful wizard, to the False High One, to the Founder of Lungold, and a Master at Caithnard.  Upon assuming the mantle of the High One, he began to devise a plan to become High One in more than just name.  He unknowingly immersed himself into an ancient power struggle for the fate of the Realm.  A man of aspiration for power, in a game he thought he created, was never really a player.  Both the High One and the Earth Masters' outmatched him in power and knowledge.  In the end, he was little more than a puppet.  Not that he hadn't been already.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Ymris, Land of Ancient Power

YMRIS
Ymris is ruled by Heureu Ymris with his brother Astrin Ymris as his land-heir. This nation is the site of the ruined Earth-Masters' cities. Ships from Ymris have scarlet and gold sails. There are five provinces in Ymris each ruled over by a High Lord. The five provinces are Lor and Meremont, both small coastal provinces, and Ruhn, Umber, and Marcher.

Historical Conflicts
During the Years of Settlement, an army from north Ymris attacked Herun with an eye to its mines.

Caerweddin
Caerweddin is the capital city of Ymris. Galil Yrmis made a house out of the stones of the Earth-Masters' cities. This ancient house stands on a hill near the sea on the mouth of the Thul River, the river itself runs eastward across Ymris from one of the seven Lungold Lakes. The house of Yrmis' kings is surrounded by two walls. Through the gates of the first wall a gentle incline leads to the thick oak doors of a second wall. Beyond this wall is a courtyard. Immediately upon entering the house is the King's Hall. It is built of smooth, dark glittering stones. Along half the length of the inner wall is a fire. Near Caerweddin are orchards.

King's Mouth Plain
During the rule of Galil Ymris, a seige of Caerweddin occured. The king refused to listen to his wizard Aloil's advice; and as a result, Aloil's tower was burned. Aloil exacted his revenge by making a stone in the plain above Caerweddin speak for eight days and nights in such a loud voice that men as far as Umber and Meremont heard it. The stone recited all Galil's secret, very bad attempts at writing poetry. This is the origin of the name King's Mouth Plain.

Wind Plain
A great, windblown plain in southeastern Ymris. It is bounded at its northern edge by a river. The great stone-works of ruined Earth-Masters' cities lie here.

Here is a description of one such ancient, ruined city, the site of the Wind Tower. "It was a maze of broken columns, fallen walls, rooms without roofs, steps leading nowhere, arches shaken to the ground, all built of smooth, massive squares of red, green, gold, blue, grey, black, streaked and glittering with other colors melting through them. A wide street of gold-white stone, grass thrusting up between its sections, began at the eastern edge of the city, parted it, and stopped at the foot on the one whole building in the city: a tower whose levels spiraled upward from a sprawling black base to a small, round deep-blue chamber high at the top."

Until the High One and Morgon no man had ever climbed to the top of the Wind Tower. Aloil is said to have spent seven days and nights attempting to climb to the top. Astrin Ymris also had made several attempts to reach the top.

Marcher
At least a small section of Marcher is composed of rocky fields and low border hills where villages and farms were rare on the rough land. The rough, undulating land flows towards the old, worn hills mentioned above.

Umber
Umber is land of rough hills and green woods. It is ruled by Rork Umber. North of the Wind Plain there is a road that leads to Rork's house. This great house is made of red and brown stones from the hills. It has a vast hall. A long road leads from Umber to Caerweddin.

The Land-Rulers of Ymris

PAST LAND-RULERS

  • Belu & Bilo - They were twin brothers whose deaths were foretold to occur at the same moment.  They grew to hate each other.
  • Galil YmrisHe was a king of Ymris during a time when the wizard Aloil still served said kings. He made a great house out of the stones of the Earth-Masters' cities. During a seige of Caerweddin, Galil refused to follow Aloil's advice. As a result Aloil's tower was burned. So Aloil made a stone in the plain above Caerweddin speak for eight days and nights in such a loud voice that men as far as Umber and Mermont heard it, and the stone recited all Galil's secret, very bad attempts at writing poetry.


CURRENT LAND-RULERS

  • Astrin Ymris - He is the brother and land-heir of Heureu. He is described as a young man with lank white hair and white eyes. When Morgon first meets him he is described as having skin stretched taut, hollow across his strange proud face. At this meeting he is wearing a voluminous, richly embroidered robe whose threads are picked and frayed. He enjoys exploring the ancient ruined city of the Earth-Masters on the Wind Plain. After showing Danan Isig a cut jewel, through which flowed all the colors of the sea, he found at the base of Wind Tower, Isig gave him Xel, a wild-white cat, out of friendship. Astrin spent a year at the College of Caithnard. He went to exile after Heureu's fiancee was murdered and her shape was taken by an Earth-Master. Heureu refused to listen to his brother and so his brother left. After returning from his exile with Morgon of Hed, Astrin was blinded in one eye by the Eriel in the form of a bird.
  • Eriel - She was the fiancee of Heureu Ymris. She had dark, shy eyes and long black hair. Eriel and Astrin were childhood friends. She was killed by the Earth Master who took her form five years before the start of the series. Her death was on the day of her wedding. Eriel, being tired of preparations for her wedding, asked Astrin to go with her to King's Mouth Plain. They traveled to the ruined Earth Masters' city there. She was killed and given the form of a white bird which Astrin buried among the ancient stones above the sea.
  • Heureu Ymris - He is the king of Ymris and brother of Astrin Ymris. He is described as lean, big boned, with dark hair.
Minor Characters of Ymris

  • Anoth - Lady Anoth is the King's physician. She is an elderly, comforting, dry-voiced woman.
  • Lein - He is a kinsman of the High Lords of Marcher (in Ymris).
  • Meroc Tor - He is the high lord and ruler of Tor. He is a subject of Heureu Ymris.
  • Rork Umber - High Lord of Umber. He is described as a tall, richly dressed, bright red-haired man.
  • Teril - He is the son of Rork Umber.
  • Xel - a wild-white cat with ice blue eyes given to Astrin Ymris by Danan Isig.