The Outstretched Shadow
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| Author | Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Obsidian Trilogy |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
| Released | October 3, 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback and Paperback) |
| Pages | 727 pp (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-7653-4141-7 (paperback edition) |
| Followed by | To Light a Candle |
The Outstretched Shadow is the first book of Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory's Obsidian Trilogy. Its sequel is To Light a Candle.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Seventeen-year-old Kellen Tavadon has lived his whole life in the Mage City, Armathelieh. The son of High Mage Lycaelon Tavadon, Kellen is expected to become a stellar Mage by Armathelieh's citizens. However, fate has different plans for him. Stumbling through the City's Low Market, he comes upon three mysterious books - the books of the Wild Magic - an art forbidden by the High Mages. Kellen is accused and convicted for the practice of Wild Magic, after Lycaelon searches his room and finds the books. He is forced from the city by an Outlaw Hunt - a rare event orchestrated by the mages of the Council to look like banishment - but actually a cover-up for murder.
Kellen casts a Wild Magic spell asking for help in escaping the Outlaw Hunt. The Wild Magic grants him a unicorn named Shalkan who agrees to help Kellen on the condition that he remain chaste and celibate for one year. Seeing little choice, Kellen agrees. After he and Shalkan fight off the stone hounds of the Outlaw Hunt, both are badly injured and seek refuge at the home of a Wild Mage named Idalia.
[edit] Characters
- Kellen Tavadon, the protagonist. His father expects him to succeed him as Arch-Mage, but Kellen finds High Magic incredibly boring and is a poor student.
- Lycaelon Tavadon, Kellen's father. Lycaelon is the Arch-Mage of Armathelieh, putting him in charge of the entire town. He is very devoted to tradition and has a dim view of change.
- Shalkan, the unicorn who helps Kellen during the Outlaw Hunt. Shalkan stays with Kellen throughout the trilogy, making wisecracks along the way.
- Idalia, a Wild Mage who shelters Kellen after he escapes the Hunt and teaches him about Wild Magic. She is later revealed to be Kellen's sister.
- Chired Anigrel, Kellen's tutor in Armathelieh.
- Jermayan, an elf who is in love with Idalia.
- Vestakia, a human/demon crossbreed that Kellen rescues. Her mother was a Wild Mage who unknowingly slept with a demon in human guise. When she found out, she called on the wild magic for help and was given a choice, her child could be born human but with a demon nature, or a demon with a human nature. Both choices would cost twenty years of life. She took the second option and fled with her sister into hiding. Vestakia grew up with her mother and aunt until their deaths.
[edit] Forms of magic
In this fictional world there are three types of magic: Wild Magic, High Magic, and demon magic.
[edit] Wild Magic
Wild Magic is forbidden by the High Mages of Armethelieh. Within the city, it is taught to be a form of magic that corrupts the practitioner which attracts demons, and eventually turning them into one. It is revealed that Wild Magic was once used widely but became banned because of the stipulation in which its use demands. It is known to be unpredictable when used, and requires a mage price from the practitioner. When casting spells, the price for the spell has to be agreed upon between the caster and the source of the Wild Magic. The more specific a request is, the more costly the mage price will be. To avoid a higher personal cost, Mages could offer to share the price amongst other individuals or creatures within the vicinity of the spell. They could also use a key stone, a battery, charged by their own or someone else's' magical energies in place of a personal cost. Wild Magic is unable to heed any evil or malicious intent, whoever calls on it to do evil will suffer.
A Wild Mage is a practitioner of Wild Magic. An individual does not decide whether to become a Wild Mage or not, rather, the Wild Magic chooses those people who are worthy to become bearers of the 3 Books of Wild Magic, in which the mages' tutelage begins. The three books are known as: The Book of Sun, The Book of Moon, and the Book of Stars. Once the Wild Magic decides upon a bearer of the book, the owner and books will never separate in any circumstance unless the Wild Mage forfeits their ownership.
Knight-Mages are a rare form of Wild Mage only produced on times of dire need. Although the Knight Mage would also have in their possession the 3 books of Wild Magic, it is different from the regular Wild Mages' books that it calls unto itself information for the owner pertinent to his/her position. There is only one Knight Mage currently existing in the series, that being Kellen Tavadon.
[edit] High Magic
This is a form of magic that was created by the High Mages to replace the unpredictable Wild Magic. It was created due to the stigma of Mage Price placed upon the Mages by use of Wild Magic. It is well-structured, heavily relying on spell forms traced upon the air by wands, and also writing and planning spell forms upon scrolls. Unlike Wild Magic, it seemingly negates the mage price demanded upon the practitioner by substituting it with the energy stored within city talismans.
Practitioners of High Magic are known as High Mages. The ability to become a Mage is genetic, with the ability being passed down from generation to generation--these individuals are known as being Mageborn. It is also known that once in a while, an individual with magical ability is born to a non-Mage family. To progress through the ranks of the Mages, the students of magic must go through a strict course of study spanning many years. They are taught that women are a distraction and are only good for producing their children thereby continuing the mageborn line. It is taught that females lack the capacity to understand and perform magic properly, so there are only male Mages within the city. The progression of a city mage is as follows: Student, Apprentice, Journeyman, Undermage, Mage, High Mage, Arch-Mage.
[edit] Demon Magic
This type of magic is practiced by the Endarkened, also known as demons. This form of magic relies on the fears and pain of living beings. There is no real structure to this form of magic--the stronger the gathered up fear/pain is, the stronger and more plentiful demon magic can be.
[edit] Mage price
Mage price is the payment demanded when magic is used and is attributed with the use of Wild Magic. Mage price like Wild Magic is unpredictable. It can take on the form of using up a practitioner's stamina causing them to be exhausted. Mage price can also take on the form of a task in which the practitioner must undergo--for example it could be the price of saving a cat from falling off of a tree, or digging/cleaning a fountain (all three of which was exacted upon the protagonist upon his journey). It is also possible for the Wild Magic to ask off of the practitioner their very lives. Mage price must be paid, if it is not paid, there are dire consequences to be had. The amount of time that the Mage Price must be paid varies, it could be immediately, within a couple of months, and is also known to take years to complete.
[edit] Key stones
Every spell has a Mage Price set upon the practitioner of magic. If the Wild Mage has to perform a simple spell and does not wish to take upon themselves a personal cost, they have the option of using a key stone.
A Key Stone could be said to be a magical battery charged by the practitioner of magic or by the energies of other creatures. Any inanimate object can be charged as a key stone, but for ease of use and transport, smaller objects such as stones are used. It is useful when performing small spells. If the caster would like to perform a greater spell, either several key stones must be used and if it isn't enough, then a personal cost or group cost must be paid.
[edit] City talismans
Within the city of Armethelieh, every citizen of the city must wear a golden City Talisman. This object signifies that the individual wearing it is a full citizen of the city and is therefore entitled to the rights and privileges attributed to its wear. What is known only to the Mages and not the general public, is that the Talismans also serve as batteries of magical energy. They slowly drain the, for most of the members of the city, unused magical energies housed in every creature. Every new moon, by law of the city, the Talismans must be turned in to the temple and replaced with a new Talisman. This is the source of the Mages' power, circumventing the need to take upon themselves the personal costs of using their magic. The Mages see it as their right to take and use without the citizens knowledge, because the City and its citizens benefit so much from the magics. It is similar to the key stones used by wild mages with the difference being that the key stones are charged by the individual or by other creatures freely, and the city absorbs the powers without the citizens' consent.
