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Authors: Joanne Harris

Runemarks

BOOK: Runemarks
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CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

THE NINE WORLDS

THE MIDDLE WORLDS

THE STROND VALLEY

CHARACTERS

RUNES OF THE ELDER SCRIPT

B
OOK
O
NE
: WORLD ABOVE

There was a Seer who foretold the End of All Things…
Never trust an Oracle.

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

B
OOK
T
WO
: WORLD BELOW

My name is Untold…

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

B
OOK
T
HREE
: THE WHISPERER

I speak of a mighty Ash that stands.
Its name is Yggdrasil.

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

B
OOK
F
OUR
: THE WORD

Not kings, but historians rule the world.

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

B
OOK
F
IVE
: THE SLEEPERS

And there shall come a Scarlet Horse…

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

B
OOK
S
IX
: ÆSIR AND VANIR

In the beginning there was the Word.
And the Word begat Man
And Man begat Dream
And Dream begat the gods…

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

B
OOK
S
EVEN
: NETHERWORLD

The dead know everything, but they don’t give a damn.

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

B
OOK
E
IGHT
: THE NAMELESS

What is it that the slave dreams?
The slave dreams of being the master.

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

B
OOK
N
INE
: DREAM

Anything
that can be dreamed is true.

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

RUNES OF THE NEW SCRIPT

COPYRIGHT

To Anouchka

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My heartfelt thanks go to the faithful warriors who stood by my side throughout all the adventures and misadventures that have befallen this book. To Jennifer and Penny Luithlen; to Peter Robinson; to Christian, who read it first; to Philippa Dickinson; to my fantastic editors, Nancy Siscoe and Sue Cook; to Melissa Nelson for the jacket design; and to Judith Haut and Noreen Marchisi for publicity. To my P.A., Anne, who runs my life; to Mark, who runs the Web site; and to Kevin, who runs everything else. Most of all, I am grateful to my daughter, Anouchka, who pestered me constantly for four years until I finished this story to her complete satisfaction….

CHARACTERS

VILLAGERS

Maddy Smith
, a village witch

Jed Smith
, a smith

Mae Smith
, a brainless beauty

Adam Scattergood
, a bully

Mrs. Scattergood
, an innkeeper

Dorian Scattergood
, the black sheep of the family

Crazy Nan Fey
, a midwife; reputed to be imaginative

Nat Parson
, a parson

Ethelberta Parson
, his wife

Torval Bishop
, his immediate superior

Matt Law
, a lawman

DEVOTEES OF THE ORDER

Examiner Number 4421974
, Examiner of the Order

Magister Number 73838
, Magister of the Order

Magister Number 369
, Magister Emeritus of the Order

Magister Number 262
, Magister of the Order

Magister Number 23
, Magister of the Order

GODS
(
VANIR
)

Skadi
, of the Ice People, bride of Njörd, the Huntress; goddess of destruction; principal enemy of Loki

Bragi
, god of poetry and song; has no reason to love Loki

Idun
, his wife, goddess of youth and plenty; was once abducted by Loki and handed over to the Ice People

Freyja
, goddess of desire; once mortally insulted by Loki

Frey
, the Reaper, her brother; no friend to Loki

Heimdall
, golden-toothed sentinel of the gods; hates Loki

Njörd
, sea god, once married to Skadi but now separated due to irreconcilable differences; agrees with her on a single subject—dislike of Loki

GODS
(
ÆSIR

SEER-FOLK
)

Odin
, chief of the Æsir, blood brother of—and ultimately betrayed by—Loki

Frigg
, his wife; lost her son because of Loki

Thor
, the Thunderer, son of Odin; has more than one bone to pick with Loki

Sif
, his wife; once went bald because of Loki

Týr
, god of war; lost his hand because of Loki

Balder
, son of Frigg; died because of Loki

Loki

OTHERS

Sugar-and-Sack
, a goblin

Hel
, Mistress of the Underworld

Surt
, ruler of World Beyond, Guardian of the Black Fortress

Jormungand
, the World Serpent

Fat Lizzy
, a potbellied sow

The Nameless

RUNES OF THE ELDER SCRIPT

         
Fé:
Wealth, cattle, property, success

         
Úr:
Strength, the Mighty Ox

         
Thuris:
Thor’s rune, the Thorny One, victory

         
Ós:
the Seer-folk, the Æsir

         
Raedo:
the Journeyman, the Outlands

         
Kaen:
Wildfire, Chaos, World Beyond

         
Hagall:
Hail, the Destroyer, Netherworld

         
Naudr:
the Binder, the Underworld, distress, need, Death

         
Isa:
Ice

         
Ár:
Plenty, fruitfulness

         
ýr:
the Protector, the Fundament

         
Sól:
summer, the sun

         
Týr:
the Warrior

         
Bjarkán:
Vision, revelation, dream

BOOK: Runemarks
3.76Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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