Dark Sword
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The Darksword series of books, written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, tell the story of a young man, born without magic, who has been prophesied to destroy the world he lives in. The series consists of the initial three books (The Darksword Trilogy), a supplemental role-playing volume, and a single-volume sequel.
Contents |
[edit] The books
[edit] The Darksword Trilogy
- Forging the Darksword (January 1988)
(from the book jacket) "In the enchanted realm of Merilon, magic is life.
Born without magical abilities and denied his birthright, Joram is left for dead. Yet he grows to manhood in a remote country village, hiding his lack of powers only through constant vigilance and ever more skillful sleight-of-hand.
Forced to kill a man in self-defense, Joram can keep his secret from the townspeople no longer: he has no magic, no life. Fleeing to the Outlands, Joram joins the outlawed Technologists, who practice the long forbidden arts of science. Here he meets the scholarly catalyst Saryon, who has been sent on a special mission to hunt down a mysterious "dead man" and instead finds himself in a battle of wits and power with a renegade warlock of the dark Duuk-tsarith caste.
Together, Joram and Saryon begin their quest toward a greater destiny—a destiny that begins with the discovery of the secret books that will enable them to overthrow the evil usurper Blachloch... and forge the powerful magic-absorbing Darksword."
- Doom of the Darksword (May 1988)
(from the book jacket) "Born without magic, Joram was one of the Dead, denied the throne of Merilon. For years, he lived among outlaws, surviving by wit and sleight-of-hand.
Now, wielding the powerful, magic-absorbing Darksword, Joram returns to the enchanted Kingdom that once was his home to win revenge and claim his birthright. Here he will test Bishop Vanya and his fierce army of Duuk-tsarith in a battle unlike any their world has known.
Joined by the scholarly catalyst Saryon, the young mage Mosiah, and the trickster Simkin, Joram confronts the shattering secret of his past and discovers the ancient prophecy that puts the fate of the world in his hands—the hands that forged the Darksword."
- Triumph of the Darksword (September 1988)
(from the book jacket) "In a realm where magic is life, Joram was one of the Dead. Born without power, he was denied his royal birthright and sentenced to the Turning—his mind to be imprisoned inside a husk of living stone.
Yet at the last moment, Saryon took his place, suffering the eternal torment for his young master. And Joram and his wife Gwendolyn vanished into the mists that marked the Border of the World...
Now, ten years later, Joram and Gwendolyn have returned to claim their rightful place in Merilon. Wielding one last time the terrible, magic-thirsting Darksword, Joram must confront the evil sorcerer Menju and his army of Technologists from beyond the Border in a final apocalyptic battle.
Rejoined by Saryon, the mage Mosiah and Simkin, Joram will fulfill the ancient prophecy of the Darksword—the prophecy that puts into his hands the power to destroy the world... or save it."
[edit] Subsequent volumes
- Darksword Adventures (December 1988)
(from the book jacket) "Enter the world of the Darksword. In the enchanted realm of Thimhallan, magic is life, and the fate of the world rests in the hands of the one who wields the powerful, magic-absorbing Darksword...
Now the Darksword saga comes to life in this all-new fantasy role-playing game that takes you to a time when Magicians and Technologists battled to rule the world. A companion volume for gamers and nongamers alike, Darksword Adventures is an indispensable Who's Who guide to the world of Darksword that no fan of the bestselling trilogy will want to be without. Here is the full, never-before-told history of Thimhallan, the secret texts of its priestly caste and expanded character backgrounds of Joram, Saryon, Bishop Vanya, King Garald, the Duuk-tsarith and much more.
Including a full set of rules and guidelines for play, this single volume contains everything you need to join the adventure. Let the quest for the Darksword begin!"
- Legacy of the Darksword (June 1998)
(from the book jacket) "After the fall of Thimhallan, its people migrated to Earth. Bereft of magic, the evil Technomancers on Earth wanted and feared the new Darksword. Believing that it could help defeat the alien invaders, the Hch'nyv, King Garald and General Boris try to convince Saryon to go back to Thimhallan to retrieve the sword."
[edit] Characters of the Darksword series
- Joram
The son of the Emperor and Empress of Merilon, and heir to the throne, Joram was born completely Dead (devoid of magical power) in a society where magic is considered life. As such, he was taken to the Font (the religious centre of Thimhallan) and supposedly left there to die. However, a distraught woman named Anja found him there and took him to replace her own stillborn child. She fled with Joram and raised him among the field magi in the village of Walren.
Anja taught Joram sleight-of-hand tricks and nonmagical illusions to conceal the fact that he had no magic of his own. Despite this, however, Joram was eventually found out and fled to the Outland after Anja died trying to protect him. In the wilds of the Outland, Joram joins the outlawed Technologists who are practising the long-forbidden Mystery of Death, or Technology.
- Saryon
Saryon is a scholarly catalyst with a natural talent for mathematics. A trangression in his youth and the traumatising experience of performing the tests that proved the Empress's son to be Dead have led him to question the tenets of his faith more than others of his order. He is sent by Bishop Vanya to track down Joram in the Technologists' village so that Joram can be captured. However, Saryon ends up siding with Joram, and becomes something of a father figure to the younger man.
- Mosiah
Mosiah is a field magus who grew up with Joram in the village of Walren. He befriended Joram despite the other's taciturn nature, and proves to be a trustworthy friend and ally of Joram's. Mosiah is naturally gifted at magic, though he was never formally trained in its use.
- Simkin
Simkin is one of Joram's companions, a powerful magus who seemingly has no morals or regard for human life (why should he, he's met Millions of people any way). He is well-known in all the royal courts in Thimhallan and often regales his friends with scandalous tales and gossip about the nobility. As many characters in the novels remark, Simkin has a game of his own to play, though he chooses not to reveal his true motivations to anyone, preferring to put people in various alarming situations in order to see how they react.
- Prince Garald
Garald is the prince of Sharakan, a rival kingdom that plans to engage in war with Merilon with the aid of the Technologists. Garald is noble, if ambitious, and sees the hidden potential in Joram. He teaches Joram how to wield a sword effectively, and also gives him pointers on nobility and courtly behaviour.
- Bishop Vanya
As the Bishop of the realm, he is one of the only people apart from the Duuk-tsarith who is aware of the Prophecy. He fears that Joram will bring the Prophecy to fruition, and does all that he can to ensure that Joram is captured—though whether this is out of concern for the good of the realm, or in order to protect his own political power, is debatable.
[edit] The Prophecy
The Prophecy is an integral part of the Darksword trilogy. In the chaotic times after the Iron Wars (in which the Technologists attempted to take over the world), the Bishop of the Realm decided to attempt a vision of the future, in order to calm the fears of the populace. In the month leading up to the attempt, he secluded himself in a small room and fasted, in order to purify himself.
The spell succeeded, but the strain was too much for the Bishop's weakened body. He died before the Prophecy was given in full, and the theurgist assisting him was rendered catatonic. Since the theurgist was the last of his profession in the world, no further attempts to see the future could be undertaken.
The Prophecy begins "There will be born to the Royal House one who is Dead yet will live, who will die again and live again. And when he returns, he will hold in his hand the destruction of the world--"
It is revealed in Triumph of the Darksword that the broken-off sentence would have ended with "or its salvation".
[edit] Properties of darkstone
Darkstone is an ore that is similar in properties to iron but has the ability to absorb Life (magic). Near the end of Forging the Darksword, Joram deduced that, in a world that exudes magic, there must exist a force capable of absorbing it, going by the principle that 'for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction'.
In Doom of the Darksword, Saryon asked Joram to create a setting for a piece of darkstone so that Saryon could wear it as an amulet. Saryon hoped that the darkstone amulet would absorb magic and prevent Bishop Vanya from contacting him through magical means. Saryon's theory proved to be correct.
The Darksword was forged by creating an alloy of iron and darkstone. The proportions had to be exact, or else the metal would be too brittle for use as a weapon.
Weapons forged from darkstone can only be effectively wielded by the Dead, who have no magic to be absorbed, as Prince Garald discovered when he and Joram traded weapons while sparring.
[edit] The nine mysteries
Fire After the testing a magi who is powerful in the mystery of fire is taken to a place known only as the mountain to begin training as one of the Duuk-tsarith (warlocks and witches) and those who show potential are kept behind for an additional Three years of training to become a 'DKarn-duuk(War masters).
Water those born to the mystery of water are the druids. There are three types of druid in the world these are:
- Field Druids, who help the field magi clear the land for farming.
- Druids of minor healing, who deal with cuts and scrapes.
- Druids of major healing, who deal with broken bones.
Earth Those born to the mystery of earth are born either:
- Mon-alban the alcamists who change metals into more useful metals.
- Quin-alban the conjurers who use Life as the only material in there work.
- Pron-alban the shapers who make chairs from one piece of wood or a fort from a mountain.
- Albanara nobility, these are the magi born to rule and as such have skills in all parts of the earth mystery.
Air Any magi born to this mystery is either a Kan-hanar a gate keeper or a Sif-hanar a weather changer. It is the Sif-haner that keep the city of Merilon in Spring, so when most of the Sif-hanar were killed in the battle on the Feild of glory Merilon went from spring to winter.
Shadow This mystery's practitioners are called illusionists. Illusionists are the artists of Thimhallan they use Life to create images of dragon, other creatures and they also use there Life to create plays and music.
Life Those born to this rarest of all mysteries are known as catalysts or thaumaturgists. A catalyst does not possess magic in great measure himself, however other magi need him for his unique ability to channel Life. As the name implies, a catalyst takes magical energy from the earth and the air; from fire and water, and, by assimilating it within his own body, is able to enhance it and transfer it to the magi who can wield it. Catalysts are recruited into the clergy of Thimhallan.
Spirit This is dealing with communicating with the dead but was wiped out during the iron wars. Devotees of this mystery are called necromancers. Also born to this mystery are Enchanters who change the desires of people and Threrguists who can communicate directly with the Almin (God).
Time This deals with the future and the past, the Diviners also created the Corridors, a hole in time and space to take a person from one place to another.The corridors became the main form of transport for the magi,when the Diviners were wiped out the corridors where maintained by the Kan-hanar's Life while the church took control of the use of the Corridors. Like spirit it too was destroyed in the iron wars.
Death (Technology) This mystery is (believed to be) banished from the world. This mystery gives Life to that which is Dead, an unforgiveable sin.
[edit] Causes of the Iron wars
The initial cause of the Iron wars was the fact that two city-states (Merilon and Trandar) were in a constant battle for supremacy of the empire.
Another cause was the scary rate at which the technologists developed. As the war started it was conducted on the field of glory were all battels take place but the war got out of hand and true war came to Thimhallen.
The technologists were creating machines for war and were paid a great amount of Life (magic) for their construction, which in turn allowed the technologists to create even more powerful war machines.
At the end of the war with Trandar destroyed and Merillon weakened the Bishop said to his people "you have been duped by the sorcerers of the Dark arts into helping them take over the world, now we shall destroy them their machines and cast them into Death."
