Beyond the Prophecy (38 page)

Dardani
: A semi-nomadic plains-dwelling tribe who
survive mainly by keeping herds of cattle, horses, and goats. Until Vatar, the
Dardani only knew how to work copper and bronze. The Dardani have a
deep-seated, superstitious fear of magic. The Dardani are divided into six
clans—Lion, Eagle, Horse, Raven, Bear, and Wolf. Each clan has an initiation
rite that forges a bond with the clan’s totem spirit. Through this bond, for
example, a member of the Lion Clan can sense the presence of lions and usually
tell whether they’re hunting or resting. Though they would be horrified by the
thought, this is a form of magic. Most Dardani would identify first as a member
of his or her clan and second as a Dardani. Dardani couples typically begin as
year mates, during which time the woman is expected to chew an herb that
prevents pregnancy. Generally after two years, the couple declare themselves
life mates.

Caereans
: A general term for the non-magical
residents of all the sea coast cities, not just the chief city, Caere. Caerean
life is organized around the family and the guilds. The various craft
guilds—Smiths, Merchants, Weavers, etc.—wield most of the day-to-day power in
the cities. They pay a “tribute” to the Fasallon during the Festival in which
their Sea Gods parade through the streets. The Caereans believe their Fasallon
rulers to be descendants of the Sea Gods. In addition to supporting the
Fasallon, the tribute is also used to provide the services of the Healers and
the Temple Guard, which serves as the police force of the cities. The Fasallon
also facilitate trade between the cities. Thanks to the Fasallon, the Caereans
are also adept at working iron and steel, which they trade to the Dardani.

Fasallon
: The ruling class in Caere and all the
cities along the sea coast—and up the rivers. The Fasallon place greatest value
on their hereditary magic, which they have used to make them the (mostly
beneficent) rulers in the cities by impersonating the Caereans’ Sea Gods. The
most common manifestations of this magic allow them to speak to each other
across distance (Far Speech) and sense things far away (Far Sight).
Exceptionally Talented Fasallon can also take another form—either human or
animal—or project an image to fool the eye (Transformations). Other, rarer
Talents allow a few individuals to predict the future (Fore Sight), read when
another person is lying (Sooth Telling), or perform magical healing. Other
Talents are believed to have been lost over time. Grey eyes are a distinguishing
characteristic of the Fasallon.

Until the events of
THE
VOICE OF PROPHECY
, the greatest fear of the Fasallon was a
prophesied “Fasallon who is not a Fasallon” who would reveal their secrets and end
their rule. Because of this, they insisted that all half Fasallon children must
be raised and remain under Fasallon control within the Temple.

Valson
: Distant relations of the Fasallon, the Valson
have similar magical Powers, with two exceptions. The Valson have no Power of
prophecy. And they have an additional Power that the Fasallon know nothing of,
the ability to move objects without touching them (distant manipulation).
They have a system of Tenets that govern the
appropriate use of magic. The Valson have been isolated in a distant mountain
valley (called, simply, the Valley) for hundreds of years. They remained
unknown to and unaware of any of the other peoples of their world until Vatar
arrived in the Valley in
THE SHAMAN’S CURSE
.
They still prefer to remain aloof from the troubles of the outside world.
Nearly all Valson have some shade of red hair, from strawberry blond (Quetza)
to dark auburn (Teran and Terania).

Modgud
: Once the seventh clan of the Dardani, the
Modgud left the plains hundreds of years ago for a more isolated life on a dry
plateau, which is also mineral-rich. They subsist mainly by raising sheep and
trade only with the Dardani—and with Caere through the Dardani. The Modgud
continue to practice a Spirit magic similar to the Dardani. Arcas is the only
outsider to have spent time among the Modgud and the most trusted by them
because he originated the trade for “useless” gold from the Modgud Plateau in
return for useful iron and steel knives and arrowheads.

Themyri
: The most technologically primitive people of
this world, the Themyri still use flint weapons, though they’ll gladly steal
bronze or iron weapons given the chance. They lived mainly as hunter-gatherers
in the rich land between the two rivers that feed the lake on which Tysoe is
situated. When they can, they raid Dardani herds or outlying farms around
Tysoe. After the eruption of a volcano at the edge of their territory, the
Themyri mysteriously disappeared from the Land
Between
the Rivers.

Exiles
: A group of discontented Valson who believe
their magical Powers should give them the right to rule the other, non-magical
peoples. They were exiled from the Valley for their views and have been
plotting a triumphant return—after subjugating the (to them) inferior races.
They are united in their hatred of Vatar.

Much more information about these groups can be found on my
blog
here
.

More about the magic of this world can be found
here
.
And how it affects Vatar directly:

    
Inherited
magic
.

    
Bound
magic.

    
How
his Dardani magic combines with his inherited magic.

 (Or What
You’ll
Need to Know
if You Didn’t Read The First Two Books)

From
The
Shaman’s Curse
:

When the Dardani shaman wrongly blames Vatar for the death
of the shaman’s son, Vatar’s parents decide that it’s best to take him away
from the plains for a while. Left with his uncle in Caere, Vatar learns to be a
blacksmith. He also discovers that his real father is one of the magic-wielding
Fasallon ruling class. The Fasallon aggressively control all half-breed
children for fear of a prophecy about a Fasallon who is not a Fasallon who will
end their rule. Vatar escaped this control because he was born on the
plains.  Raised with the Dardani’s intense fear of magic, Vatar rejects
the idea of magic and denies his visions of a red-haired girl. Mollified by his
perceived lack of magic and wary of the complications of tangling with the
powerful Smiths’ Guild, the Fasallon settle for merely keeping an eye on Vatar.

He returns to the Dardani the following year when he
receives word that his mother is ill. Time hasn’t dulled the shaman’s desire
for revenge. He forces Vatar into a suicidal hunt as part of the Dardani
manhood rites. Vatar unknowingly uses magic to succeed against all odds and
wins the attention of a beautiful Dardani girl, Avaza. When Vatar returns to
Caere to complete his training, Avaza goes with him as his year mate. Without
the herbs available to the Dardani, Avaza accidentally becomes pregnant. This
is against tradition for year mates and also exacerbates the growing
differences between Avaza and Vatar. Upon their return to the Dardani, Avaza
leaves Vatar, which is her right. But Vatar feels strongly that their twins
need to be protected from the shaman, who belongs to the Raven Clan, the same
as Avaza. He insists that Avaza and the twins stay with his Lion Clan relatives
where they can be protected while Vatar returns again to the city for the
winter.

Upon his return the following summer, Avaza rejoins her own
clan, perforce leaving the twins behind. Her bitterness over this leads her to
tell the shaman things about Vatar’s life in the city. The shaman uses this
knowledge to weave lies intended to turn the Dardani against Vatar.  The
only recourse open to Vatar is to challenge the shaman to an Ordeal to prove
which is telling the truth. Vatar’s Ordeal is to spend a year alone in the
place most feared by his people—the Great Forest. The shaman’s is to spend a
year alone in the Northern Wilderness.

In the Forest, Vatar runs afoul of an unknown group of
youngsters who have magic similar to the Fasallon. These Valson harass Vatar
and pursue him across the Forest. He’s rescued and taken into their snowbound
Valley to heal by another group of Valson which includes Thekila, the
red-haired girl from his visions. When Vatar senses that his twins are in
danger, Thekila teaches him to use his magic to see that they have been saved
by his family.

His year of exile completed, Vatar returns to the Dardani
with Thekila as his wife. Vatar is accepted back, but the shaman is to be
permanently exiled for cheating on his Ordeal and inciting the attack on
Vatar’s twins. The shaman attempts a death curse as a final desperate act of
revenge. Vatar distracts him with his newly-learned magic. The shaman dies of a
stroke before completing the curse.

From
The
Voice of Prophecy
:

Soon after his return to the Dardani, Vatar’s magic begins
to do strange and unexplained things. Instead of merely sensing lions, as any
member of the Lion Clan could do, he sees the hunt through their eyes. His
Transformation into his avatar—a lion, naturally—should only be as large as
Vatar himself, but it’s the size of a full-grown male lion. He instinctively
uses magic no one—Fasallon or Valson—has ever heard of before. Worst of all, he
hears a mysterious voice in his head, which makes him question his own sanity.
In addition to this, Vatar and Thekila are bonding—a process that will forge an
unbreakable connection between them. That, at least, has an explanation, though
Vatar worries what will happen to her if he is losing his mind.

They return to Caere in hopes that they may find some
answers there with the help of Vatar’s father, Veleus, who agrees to see what
he can find in the archives. Veleus discovers explanations for at least some of
the unusual manifestations of Vatar’s magic. They are actually ancient Fasallon
Talents that have been believed lost. Others remain mysterious and no one yet
can give a reason for the voice he sometimes hears.

Thekila’s younger brother, Theklan, gets into trouble and
uses his magic. The Valson have one ability that the Fasallon lack, the ability
to move objects without touching them. This attracts the attention of Veleus’s
archenemy—his ex-wife. She has both Theklan and Vatar arrested and brought
before the Fasallon High Council. Vatar settles into a weird calm state. Pushed
by Gerusa, he demonstrates his own unusual magic and issues his first
prophecy—that the Fasallon will cause their own destruction if they harm him or
his family. Much to Gerusa’s chagrin, the prophecy is recognized as valid.
Veleus presents evidence that Vatar is himself foretold in a prophecy. Not the
Fasallon who is not a Fasallon who will end their rule in Caere, but the
Harbinger who precedes him. And, according to the prophecy, the Harbinger will
point the way to avoiding the destruction portended by the Fasallon who is not
a Fasallon. The High Council again settles for merely keeping a watch on
Vatar—after extracting his pledge not to work against them in return for a
promise of safety for him and his family. Gerusa fumes, but can do nothing yet.

After the voice takes control of Vatar for a moment, Vatar’s
worries increase. He and Thekila and Theklan return to the Dardani over the
summer, where Vatar consults with the new shaman. The ritual proposed by the
shaman to identify the voice forces Vatar to reveal his magic to his immediate
Dardani family—his mother, stepfather, and younger sister. The ritual is
inconclusive. A final answer will require an exorcism, which can only be safely
performed with both Vatar’s parents present. Since Veleus cannot travel to the
plains, they make plans for the shaman to come to Caere with Vatar’s Dardani
family the following spring.

However, the shaman proposes that some of the manifestations
that Vatar has experienced, such as seeing through the eyes of the lions, are a
result of the interaction of the two kinds of magic—Fasallon and the Dardani
Spirit magic involved in the clan initiations. Thekila and Theklan are
initiated into the Eagle Clan and experience similar effects, providing
evidence for that theory.

Given the High Council’s pledge to leave his family alone,
Vatar finally feels comfortable bringing the twins back to Caere when they
return. Gerusa hears of it and determines to use the twins to strike back at
Vatar and as a means to control him. While Vatar and Thekila are away, she
sends the Temple Guard to kidnap the children.

Vatar gathers allies to help him take back his children—his
father, his half-brother Orleus, and Quetza, a Valson friend of Thekila’s.
Thekila isn’t able to go with them because she’s heavily pregnant, but she and
Vatar complete their bond so that he will be able to access her unique magic.
Another half-brother, Cestus, sets off the revolution he has been planning to
assist them. Cestus, a half-Fasallon with nearly no magical Talent, is the
prophesied Fasallon who is not a Fasallon.

Vatar rescues his twins. Gerusa is arrested and removed from
the High Council for acting against the dictates of the Council. Veleus hopes
that cooperation may still make it possible to avoid the worst of the prophecy
that has now been triggered.

The exorcism reveals that the voice belongs to Taleus, a
distant and nearly forgotten ancestor of Vatar’s who was killed by a sea
dragon. Taleus’s spirit became accidentally bound to Vatar during Vatar’s first
winter in Caere. That voice is the final proof that Vatar was in fact the
Harbinger of prophecy. Vatar elects to allow Taleus to remain with him.