The Waterless Sea
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 Cover art for The Waterless Sea |
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| Author | Kate Constable |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Matt Manley |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Chanters of Tremaris |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Scholastic |
| Released | |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 314 (US paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-439-55481-0 |
| Followed by | The Tenth Power |
The Waterless Sea is the second book in The Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy by Kate Constable.
[edit] Plot summary
While Calwyn is freeing windworkers from pirates' ships, she meets Heben, a Merithuran. He tells her that the chanters of Merithuros are being kidnapped, among them his brother and sister. Calwyn and her friends embark for the desert of Merithuros to rescue the captured children.
They travel a long way over the blistering desert to reach the royal Palace of Cobwebs, where the kidnapped children were taken. Calwyn and her friends try hard to blend in. Halasaa falls ill because of the desert, whose desolation harms his psyche. This desolation is not natural; it was caused by humans. As a result, the telepathic Halasaa feels the desert to be in pain.
While at the Palace of Cobwebs, Calwyn is monitored carefully by Princess Keela while she tries to blend into the corrupt political atmosphere.
Finally, Calwyn discovers what happened to the kidnapped children. Five chanter children sing chantments of Iron to keep the Palace standing. Calwyn rescues the children, making the palace collapse, and learns from them that there are more children held captive at the Black Palace, which is far to the south.
All the major characters eventually arrive at the Black Palace, which was for many generations a training-ground for a secret, power-mad group of chanters. Of these, Calwyn's enemy Samis and his rival Darrow were two who rebelled against the sorcerers' strict regimen. Darrow reveals himself dramatically as the heir to the Lordship of the Black Palace.
Keela, seeking to kill Darrow and Calwyn, activates a mechanism built into the Black Palace, which transforms it into a monstrous engine of war. It is stopped before it can cause any true damage.
Calwyn gives up her entire power of chantment, as well as much of her physical strength, to restore the desolate land to its former state of fertility. Later, she travels to her birthplace in order to revitalize herself.
[edit] Characters
Calwyn is an ice-chanter from Antaris. She cares about other people. She rescues windworkers from pirates' ships. Like many other people of Tremaris, she is born knowing magical songs, known as chantment, which produce certain, often psychokinetic effects.
Darrow has been troubled recently with something that he won't tell anyone, even Calwyn, about. He has sailed away without even saying goodbye.
Tonno is a fisherman who, like Mica, is at home at sea.
Mica is the young windworker that Calwyn and her friends rescued from pirates.
Heben asks for the help of Calwyn and her friends when his brother and sister are kidnapped.
Trout is one of Calwyn's friends. He is smart, and he hates the sea.
Halasaa is one of the Tree People. He is the last of the chanters of the magic of Becoming. He communicates telepathically and can be very intuitive. He thinks of Calwyn as his sister, despite their differences. The deserts almost kills him.
Keela pretends to be Calwyn's friend. She is a princess at the Palace.
Gada and Shada are two kidnapped twins that Calwyn and her friends rescue with the help of Heben. Heben is the twins' brother.
