Magical objects in Stardust
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The novel Stardust and its film adaptation both feature a large amount of magical objects and artifacts, the origins of which are largely left unexplained.
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[edit] The Power of Stormhold
Main article Stormhold
The Power of Stormhold is a large jewel which is the symbol of authority for the Royal Family of Stormhold. The Kings of Stormhold where it on a pendant about their neck. In the novel Stormhold is the name of a mountainous region in the land of Faerie where the story takes place. In the film Stormhold is the name of the entire land. Tradition dictates that the Throne of Stormhold must pass to a male heir. This has made fratricide quite popular among the Princes of Stormhold. Whoever takes the Throne will inherit the Crown and the jewel. At the start of the story the Lord of Stormhold is on his deathbed and is vexed to learn that four of his sons are still alive. Unable to decide which son to pass the Throne to, the King takes the Power of Stormhold from round his neck and uses a magical spell to send it flying out of the window and into the ether. He declares that whoever retrieves the Stone shall become the new Lord of Stormhold. The Stone goes flying into the air and strikes a star, knocking it out of the sky. It falls to Earth and lands in Faerie, setting the events of the story in motion. In the story, stars are humanoid, female organic life-forms and this particular star is a strong-willed young woman named Yvaine who carries the stone for the rest of the story.
Septimus, one of the sons, kills two of his brothers prior to setting off on the quest for the stone. He and his more honourable brother, Primus then go off to find the jewel. Primus meets his death at the hands of the Witch Queen (who in the film is called Lamia) and later on so does Septimus. The main protagonist, Tristran Thorn (called Tristan in the film), finds the Power and because he is the son of Una, the long lost Princess of Stormhold, that makes him the last surviving male heir of the Stormhold bloodline and so he inherits the Throne and becomes the new Lord of Stormhold.
In the novel, the Power is a topaz whereas in the film it has changed to a ruby for some unknown reason. Also in the film before the King of Stormhold casts the jewel out of the window the colour bleeches out of it and he says "Only he of Royal Blood can restore the ruby" before expiring. When Tristan finds the ruby it regains its blood red colour, confirming his identity as heir to the throne.
[edit] The Lilim's Knives
The main antagonists, a triad of ancient evil witches called the Lilim possess a large assortment of obsidian knives which are implied to possess magical properties. The knives are stated to be as old as the world itself. The Lillim are queens who hail from a land called Carnadine which (similar to Atlantis) sank beneath the ocean. When it was destroyed, hundreds of thousands of years of old age caught up with the Lilim and they withered into hideous old hags. They discovered they could rejuvinate themselves by devouring the hearts of Stars. When they capture a star they cut out her heart with one of the knives. When the eldest of the Lilim learns of Yvaine's fall from the Heavens she consumes the last of the previous star's heart and regains her youthful strength and beauty. Taking the knives, she sets off to find the star. When Yvaine stays at an inn which the Queen conjured by means of magic, the Witch Queen whose identity Yvaine does not know sharpens the knives while Yvaine bathes. Prince Primus recognises the knives when he arrives at the inn, having read of them in the family archives. When her identity is exposed, a battle ensues during which the Queen stabs a unicorn in the eye (although this detail was left out of the film) with one of the knives and attempts to kill Yvaine and Tristan with a cleaver but they manage to escape using a Babylon Candle, and the knife is smashed to pieces as the blade collides with the stone wall behind them.
In the film, the Witch-Queen proves herself a formidable swordswomen and wields the knives in combat, swiftly and easily disarming Tristan.
[edit] Babylon Candle
Not named in the books, these magical candles are very rare and valuable, and have the power to transport people wherever in the world they choose once lit. Tristran is given one by the Little Hairy Man who is absent in the film. During their confrontation with the Witch-Queen in her inn, Tristran ties his bootlace around the candle which lack a wick. He then then thrusts his hand into a wall of fire which the Witch has conjured, lighting the candle and burning his hand in the process. This somewhat innocuous detail is mentioned a great deal in the book and Tristan's hand remains scarred until the day he dies however this detail is left out of the film. An error occurs when Tristan lights the wick and orders Yvaine to think of home: they are teleported into the sky and get stranded on a plain of cloud. Apparently, Tristan thought of his home and Yvaine thought of hers, and they were stranded in between the two. In the film the candle is named a Babylon Candle and Tristan is given one by his mother, Una, as a child to find her. The Lilim state that they used to have a supply of Babylon Candles but Lamia has used the last one two centuries before the start of the story.
In the film they get their name from a rhyme in the books which mentions Babylon.
[edit] The Glass Flowers
In both the novel and the film, flowers carved from coloured glass are prominantly featured. They are magical talismans that contain a considerable amount of magical power. They are sold by the somewhat unpopular sorceress, Ditchwater Sal, as she travels around the land of Stormhold in her yellow gypsy caravan. She later describes them in the novel to Tristan that they are frozen charms. Una, her slave, states to Dunstan Thorn, Tristan's father, that they are found in a grove which grows glass flowers on the slopes of Mount Calamon. Apparently, the journey there is hazardous and the journey back even more. Una gives a magical snowdrop to Dunstan in exchange for a kiss early in the novel and the film. She tells him it will bring him luck. Dunstan passes this charm on to Tristan as he prepares to travel through Stormhold. It turns out that the snowdrop was in fact an amulet of immense power that protected Tristan from harm and black magic. Even the extraordinary strength of Lamia's magic could not harm him as he wore the snowdrop.
Ditchwater Sal uses the flowers to work her magic. In the novel, she uses a glass daffodil to turn Una into a bird and back into her human form. Enraged tha Una had "lost" the snowdrop, Sal was overjoyed to see it return on Tristan's person and lured him into returning it to her in exchange for passage to Wall. Upon its return, she used it to turn Tristan into a dormouse and back again once they'd reached Wall. In the novel she (reluctantly) gives a glass rose to Una once the days of her servitude are over, as she would lose her magical powers if she did do so; Una later barters this flower for a palanquin. In the film, Sal is murdered by Lamia and Tristan takes back the snowdrop to protect himself from her magic.
[edit] The Lightening Container
In the film, the character Captain Shakespeare who was invented for the film makes a living collecting lightning from stormclouds in his flying ship. He keeps it in a hatch which he gives to Tristan to use on his journey. Tristan later uses it to repel Lamia during their battle in the Lilim's hall.
[edit] The Heart of a Star
The stars of the skies of Stormhold are in fact sentient beings; women of great beauty and intelligence, they are totally capable of feeling the same emotions as regular human beings. Despite this, there are many who would do a fallen star harm. It is a widely known fact in the Kingdom of Stormhold that the heart of a star, particularly one that is burning with happiness and contentment, is highly beneficial to those who have it. As Tristran Thorn sleeps after finding the fallen star Yvaine, the numerous other stars (Yvaine's sisters) whisper to Tristan in a dream that no star is safe in Stormhold. The last star that fell four centuries ago was captured and murdered by a triad of witches named The Lilim, who cut her still-beating heart from her chest and ate it. For in Stormhold, eating the heart of a star restores centuries of youth to witches and warlocks, and grants mortal beings immortality. Aside from the Lilim, a murderous prince named Septimus seeks Yvaine as he wants to become the immortal ruler of Stormhold. Others who seek the star are a shifty merchant named Ferdy the Fence, and a cantenkerous witch named Ditchwater Sal. Captain Shakespeare is one of the few decent people in Stormhold who would never harm a star.
[edit] Lamia's Magical Ring
In the film the Witch-Queen takes a golden ring set with a large red jewel with her upon her quest. Whenever she is stuck for answers, she (reluctantly) contacts her two sisters through the use of this ring and an apparition of her appears in the magic mirror they keep in their lair. Therefore they are able to contact each other and aid Lamia in her quest for Yvaine. Although the first time the Witch-Queen uses this ring, Empusa warns her to limit the amount of the magic of the ring as it will begin to take its toll and cause her to age. The magic mirror was inspired by the mirror owned by the Lilim in the novel. The images shown in the mirror are the glory days of the Lilim, where they reigned in their magnificent hall in Carnadine, and were forever young and beautiful, as opposed to living in squalor and being ancient and hideously ugly.
