Sovereign Stone

The Sovereign Stone series is a trilogy of novels. The Sovereign Stone Role-playing game was set in the same universe. Both the books and the game were primarily written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.

Novels

The novels are:

The first book was set during the reign of King Tamaros of Vinnengael, the most powerful Human kingdom and the father of Prince Helmos and his younger half-brother, Prince Dagnarus. The next two were set approximately two hundred years later and followed Dagnarus in his bid to take over the world as well as the story of his allies and those who would try to stop him.

There are four races on the main continent, Loerem, with fifth and sixth races that appear in the second and third book, one from a distant world. The main four races are each primarily dedicated to one of the four elements. The Humans are associated with earth/stone, the Elves with air/wind, the Orks with Water/the Sea, the Dwarves with fire. The fifth race, the Taan, are associated with the void. The sixth race, the Pecwae, apparently rely on earth magic drawn from stones such as turquoise. Each race's magic-users are able to draw power from their element, as well as outside their racial element. However the vast majority stick to their primary element.

The races each have their own god or gods. The Humans worship a pantheon always referred to as a group "the gods" not as individual gods. There are individual notes between the human cultures in worshiping them. The Orks worship the gods who live in their holy mountain and pay special attention to signs read by their shamans. The Elves worship the Father and Mother, and the Dwarves worship the Wolf. The Taan also have a pantheon of gods, however, unlike the other races, they seem to separate them as individuals representing or having power over various events. The Pecwae are never really discussed, but frequently refer to simply the gods, similar to humans. It is not made clear in the books if all the gods are one group or separate groups. However, since the gods gave the Sovereign Stone to all the races through the King of Vinnengael it is likely that there is one pantheon perceived differently by the different races.

The gods had originally rewarded King Tamaros for his faith by giving him the power to create Dominion Lords, a group of holy warriors who were to promote peace and understanding among the four main races. As strife continued, the King went to the gods and asked them for something to help with peace among the races. They gave him the Sovereign Stone which could be split into four portions each representing one of the four elements. The King took this gift and gave one portion to each of the races so that they could create their own Dominion Lords. A fifth portion of the Stone that was unseen, save by the young Prince, Dagnarus, was the Void. As a balance to the Sovereign Stone, a Void follower was able to accept the Dagger of the Vrykyl from the Void itself. [The dagger of the Vrykyl has similar powers to create the antithesis of the Dominion Lords.]

Races

Locations

Dragon Mountain

Dragon Mountain is a fictional place in the Sovereign Stone trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. It is located somewhere near Vinnengael (Old or New is to be confirmed) and is the residency of the 'Monks'.

These monks are known as the Keepers of Time because they record history's greatest events on their bodies. After death, their bodies are preserved by the effects a special tea that they drink throughout life, and are stored in the monastery as a kind of 'living library.'

The monks are led by the five heads of the orders, known only by the name of the element they represent - Fire, Earth, Air, Water and the Void, and each takes the form of the race associated with the element. Fire is a dwarf, Earth is a human, Air is an elf, and Water is an ork. The last monk is known only as 'The Fifth Monk,' and represents the fifth element, the Void.

The Five monks are actually dragons that protect the monastery; however, they are not often needed as the monks are seen as neutral and are revered by all races.

Reception

Scott Haring reviewed the Sovereign Stone role-playing game for Pyramid.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Haring, Scott D. (1999-09-10). "Pyramid Review: Sovereign Stone". Pyramid (online) (Steve Jackson Games). Retrieved 2008-02-23.
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