Wayfarer Redemption
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Wayfarer Redemption is a series of books by fantasy author Sara Douglass. The entire series is comprised of six novels, and subdivided into two trilogies – the Axis Trilogy, and the Wayfarer Redemption trilogy. The stories of the Wayfarer Redemption series are very complex, and details found early often become very important in later events.
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[edit] Setting
The series is set in a fictitious land called Tencendor.
[edit] Origin myth
The background of the series is quite extensive, and the events featured in the novels stem from a series of events that began thousands of years before the beginning of the first book.
The events transpired as a result of the actions of demons called Timekeepers that existed in history, and who each spread plagues in accordance with the times of days when they were strongest.
- Mot ruled dawn, a time of hunger,
- Barzula ruled mid-morning, a time of tempest,
- Sheol ruled mid-afternoon, a time of despair,
- Raspu ruled dusk, a time of pestilence,
- Rox ruled night, a time of terror,
- Qeteb, ruled Mid-day, a time of destruction, and was considered to be the greatest demon of them all.
In the historical events, the people under attack by the demons, the so-called "Enemy of the Timekeepers", used a series of "spells" to reflect Qeteb's malice back at him. This allowed the people to dismember Qeteb into his lifeparts: warmth, breath, soul, and movement. The people then sent four spaceships across the universe with Qeteb's lifeparts in order to lure the other demons away. Instead, the demons killed every person on the planet and followed after Qeteb.
The spacecraft traveled through the universe for many thousands of years and absorbed some of the magic of the stars. The spaceships eventually landed in a new world. The night when the spaceships crashed onto the new planet of Tencendor is remembered as fire night, when fire rained down from the heavens. The four spacecrafts created craters when they landed, and each filled with water. Over time, they came to be called the Four Sacred Lakes.
Each lake held some of the magic of the stars and imbued Tencendor with a destiny. The sole survivor of the "Enemy of the Timekeepers" was a man named Noah who had fled with the ships.
[edit] The races of Tencendor
There are three races featured in the Wayfarer Redemption series: The Icarii, the Acharites, and the Avar. The Icarii and the Acharites are known to have the same mother, The Sorceress, later to be known as Urbeth.
[edit] Icarii
The father of the Icarii is a sparrow, and so the Icarii are a hybrid race of part bird and part man. Their average life span is approximately 500 years. They are a magical race of people who dwell mainly on mountains. They look towards the heavens and indulge in every imaginable pleasure. They are able to attain magic from the movement of the stars through the universe, called the Star Dance. They tap into this magic through their ability to sing.
The Charonites are a branch of the Icarii who were almost entirely forgotten by the world. They lived under the earth, along an underground waterway that was connected to the Four Sacred Lakes. The Charonites grew increasingly introspective while learning the secrets of Tencendor. They grew no wings, and as a result, looked entirely different from the Icarii. The race of the Charonites have tremendously long lifespans, but bear few children. Eventually, their race was reduced to a single person, Orr, who died in the days before the Timekeepers managed to come to Tencendor.
[edit] Acharites
The Acharites were fathered by Noah, the Enemy of the Timekeepers. They were a people who rejected their inherent magic so thoroughly, that they eventually lost all knowledge or control of it. The only way to access their power is to die and come back to life.
[edit] Avar
The Avar is a race that has existed on Tencendor far longer than any of the others. Their origins are unknown and they derive their magic from the land itself. Their doctrines indicate that they are a non-violent race, but their culture does exhibit some inherently violent qualities.
Children and adults may undergo a test to become a magic-wielding religious leader, called a Bane. In the test, the candidate is required to be in a dreamlike state where the prospective bane is chased by some kind of terror. This process usually sees the prospective Bane killed, but those who turn to the trees for help become banes and survive.
[edit] The Axis Trilogy
The Axis Trilogy is the first three books of the Wayfarer Redemption series. It encompasses the Prophecy of the Destroyer.
[edit] Wayfarer Redemption/Battleaxe
 First edition cover |
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| Author | Sara Douglass |
|---|---|
| Original title | Wayfarer Redemption |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Axis Trilogy |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Voyager Books |
| Released | 1995 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Pages | 688 pp (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 978-0-00-651106-9 (paperback edition) |
| Followed by | Enchanter |
[edit] Plot summary
The first book (The Wayfarer Redemption - USA, or Battleaxe) begins with two different women; one woman who has had a baby, by an enchanter, that killed her by eating its way out of her womb during an attack by wraith-like creatures. The other woman just had a baby and has been abandoned on the side of a mountain to watch as a bird drifts down to her and talk to her about that area being his "favorite roost" These two events become important later.
The book's narrative now jumps forward to follow Faraday, a young noblewoman who lusts after the Battleaxe (leader of the axewielders - the religious army of the Seneschal) but will have to agree to the arranged marriage that her parents have made for her.
News from the north indicates that there has been a raid on a very important fortress. The fortress holds thousands of years of knowledge in books, as well as the body of the king's sister, Rivkah. Rivkah had two sons, Bornheld (with her husband) and Axis (illegitimate child). Both were furious at the desecration of their mother's tomb. Bornheld is determined to go north and deal with the matter, without the help of Axis. Bornheld and Axis do not get along, due in part to Axis' illegitimacy as well as the fact that he is more successful than Bornheld in battle and with women.
Bornheld entrusts the safety of his future bride (Faraday) to Axis (thinking to flaunt her in front of Axis to make him jealous). She is traveling to her home city of Skarabost. Axis, on the other hand, is on his way to the Silent Woman Woods in order to meet with a couple of Seneschal members to gather information about whatever was raiding the Gorkenfort fortress. They soon arrive at the Silent Woman Keep. Here Ogden and Veremund, sentinels who are posing as the Seneschal members, direct Axis to the prophecy of the Destroyer. Eventually Axis drifts off to sleep, and the two sentinels look into Axis' dream and see that Gorgrael (the Destroyer mentioned in the prophecy) has already started to try to deter Axis from confronting him. They also look into the mind of Timozel and see that he is pure, for now, but may become a danger to Axis in the future.
At about the same time, Faraday wanders off and meets Jack (another sentinel in disguise) who shows her a vision of Bornheld killing Axis. The gruesome scenes that she witnesses scares her and sickens her, while Jack realizes that Faraday has her part in the prophecy as well.
Axis takes his army towards Skarabost, and also finds that the cat that has been his friend for quite a while, has really been another sentinel named Yrr. He takes them into the former sacred site of the Icarii - the Barrows. Axis' army is attacked by an icestorm created by Gorgrael. Axis also utilizes one of his best talents, singing. He sings a lullaby that he doesn't remember learning, which the sentinels tell him is an Icarii song of protection, and the majority of his army suvives the encounter, after returning to the barrows. Unfortunately, Faraday's mother has died.
Amidst all of the chaos and death, Yrr and Jack take Faraday and Timozel through the secret of the barrows - the stargate chamber. Here Timozel encounters a vision that will influence him for the rest of the series. Meanwhile, Axis thinks Faraday is dead and, after performing burial ceremonies for the dead, he heads off towards Gorkenfort.
Faraday is taken to Fernbrake Lake and meets Raum and Shra, Avars who are visiting the sacred lake in order to make Shra a Bane. Raum tests Faraday for her connection to the trees and finds out that Faraday is the Tree Friend in the prophecy of the Destroyer. Raum takes Shra and Faraday to the Sacred Groves to see the "Horned Ones" (sacred beasts that were once powerful Banes of the Avar) who now protect the Sacred Groves and guide the Avar. They greet Faraday as Tree Friend and give her a bowl that allows her to go back to the Groves on later occasions. They leave the Groves and Raum and Faraday separate.
Meanwhile, Axis goes up to a little town of Smyrton and meets a Nors woman named Azhure. The town had captured some Forbidden (Shra and Raum whom Faraday had met earlier) and Axis finds them in extremely dire conditions. Axis uses very powerful Icarii magic to save the life of the dying Shra and improves the living conditions of the prisoners. In the middle of the night, Azhure breakes into the jail cell and frees Shra and Raum. Unfortunately her father, who is abusive, discovers and threatens them. Azhure finally kills him after a physical confrontation and the tree people escape. After the fight, Shra welcomes Azhure onto the path to the Sacred Groves.
Axis awakens and follows them because of his duty, as a member of the Seneschal he must kill any Forbidden upon sight,and he meets Goldfeather; a mysterious woman who stays with the Avar. Raum, Shra, and Azhure are set free, and later, Goldfeather learns that the man she saw there was her son. It is revealed that Goldfeather is actually Rivkah and she had believe Axis to be dead.
[edit] Enchanter
| Author | Sara Douglass |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Axis Trilogy |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | |
| Released | 1996 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Preceded by | BattleAxe/Wayfarer Redemption |
| Followed by | StarMan |
[edit] StarMan
| Author | Sara Douglass |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Axis Trilogy |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | |
| Released | 1996 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Preceded by | Enchanter |
| Followed by | Sinner |
[edit] The Wayfarer Redemption Trilogy
[edit] Sinner
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[edit] Pilgrim
"Caelum SunSoar was charged with a mighty task: reigning over the land of Tencendor. His father, Axis, the near-immortal Starman (sic) who, through prophecy, brought peace to the land, chose to ascend to the heavens with his beautiful consort Azhure and hand the mantle of power over to his most beloved son.
But Caelum is untried, and it is a tenuous peace at best, with the three races of the land--the Icarii bird people, the Avar tree people, and the humans, who for generations controlled (and oppressed) the other two races--existing in an uneasy alliance.
This fragile peace is shattered when an ancient evil beyond the Star Gate breaks through and destroys the Gate. All is undone, and the Time Keeper demons cross over, bringing destruction and madness to the land. With the destruction of the Gate, all the known magic in the world is now gone, and the SunSoar line and all the other Enchanters in the world have lost their power. Caelum and his people flee to the ancient fortess of Star Finger to try to find a way to stop the land from being utterly destroyed.
And they are not alone in their quest. Farraday (sic), the Starman's (sic) first love and protector of the forest, embarks on her own journey to help save the land that she loves. What she discovers will shock her and may tip the balance for all that is good.
For the one who was thought lost might be the missing key to defeating the evil that is ravaging the world. And the savior who was foretold might be found in the most unlikely places...." (from bookcover).
[edit] Crusader
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[edit] References
There are a number of references to Psalms 91 in the material about the Timekeepers. The aspects and times of three of the Timekeepers (Raspu, Rox, and Qeteb) come from three of the four things mentioned in verses 5-6: "The terror of night...the arrow that flies by day...pestilence that walks in darkness...the destruction that lays waste at noon." Furthermore, the word used for "destruction" in that sentence, in the original Hebrew, is qeteb (קטב), and Qeteb is described as "the Demon of Destruction that wastes at Midday"[1]. In addition, verse 1 uses shade as a metaphor for pretection, and it is revealed in the books that shade protects one from the effects of the Timekeepers.
