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{{short description|Novel series by Isobelle Carmody}} | |||
{{Plot|date=July 2007}} | |||
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2011}} | |||
{{in-universe}} | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}} | |||
{{Mergefrom-multiple|Obernewtyn|Farseekers|Ashling|The Keeping Place|date=May 2007}} | |||
{{ |
{{Infobox book series <!-- See ] or ] --> | ||
| name = The Obernewtyn Chronicles | | name = The Obernewtyn Chronicles | ||
| title_orig |
| title_orig = | ||
| image = Obernewtyn-chronicles.png | |||
| translator = | |||
| |
| caption = | ||
| books = {{Plainlist| | |||
| image_caption = | |||
* '']'' | |||
| author = ] | |||
* '']'' | |||
| illustrator = | |||
* '']'' | |||
| cover_artist = | |||
* '']'' | |||
| country = ] | |||
* '']'' | |||
| language = ] | |||
* '']'' | |||
| series = | |||
* ''The Red Queen'' | |||
| genre = ], ] | |||
| publisher = ] | |||
| release_date = 1987, 1990, 1995, 1999 | |||
| english_release_date = | |||
| media_type = Print (] & ]) | |||
| pages = | |||
| isbn = NA | |||
| preceded_by = | |||
| followed_by = | |||
}} | }} | ||
| author = ] | |||
| illustrator = | |||
| cover_artist = | |||
| translator = | |||
| country = Australia | |||
| language = English | |||
| genre = ], ] novel, ] | |||
| publisher=] | |||
| pub_date = 1987–2015 | |||
| english_pub_date = | |||
| media_type = Print (Paperback & Hardback) | |||
| preceded by = | |||
| followed by = | |||
}} | |||
The '''''Obernewtyn Chronicles''''' is a series of science fiction and ] by Australian author ]. The series has a ] setting and depicts a world long after its destruction by a global ]. | |||
The series' ], Elspeth Gordie, is a young girl with mental powers condemned by the series' main ]s, the governing body, known as the council, and the religious authority, the Herder Faction. The novels deal with themes of ], ], ], ], ], and ] and ]. | |||
==Books of the series== | |||
'''''The Obernewtyn Chronicles''''' are a series of ]/] ] by ] author ]. They have a ] setting, and | |||
The series consists of seven novels published by ]. | |||
depict a world struggling to come to terms with the environmental, bodily and mental damage caused by global nuclear holocaust. The series' protagonist, Elspeth Gordie, is a young girl with extraordinary mental powers who must battle fear and repression to survive in this harsh world. The novels deal with themes of responsibility, duty, prejudice, discrimination, tolerance and human and animal rights. | |||
# '']'' (1987) | |||
==The books== | |||
# '']'' (1990) | |||
So far, the series consists of four published novels: | |||
# '']'' (1995) | |||
# '']'' (1999) | |||
# '']'' (2008) | |||
# '']'' (2008) | |||
# '']'' (2011) | |||
# ''The Red Queen'' (2015) | |||
In the United States and Canada, the books are published by ]. Random House split ''The Stone Key'' into two books: ''The Stone Key'' and ''Wavesong''.<ref name="fantasyliterature">{{cite web|title=Wavesong & The Stone Key: Still a long way to go…| last=Fisher| first=Rebecca| date=2018-09-03| publisher=Fantasy Literature| url=https://fantasyliterature.com/reviews/wavesong-the-stone-key/}}</ref> The United States and Canada have also split ''The Sending'' into two books: ''The Sending'' and ''The Waking Dragon''. | |||
and the yet to be released '']'' and '']''. | |||
Though initially intended to be the final installment, ''The Sending'' was the penultimate book. The final book, ''The Red Queen'', was released in November 2015.<ref name="smh2015">{{cite web|title=Isobelle Carmody's The Red Queen brings The Obernewtyn Chronicles to an end| last=Schwartzkoff| first=Louise| date=2015-11-12| publisher=]| url=https://amp.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/isobelle-carmodys-the-red-queen-brings-the-obernewtyn-chronicles-to-an-end-20151105-gkryzo.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.obernewtyn.net/e107/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?113967|title=Forum - Obernewtyn.net|last=Obernewtyn.net|website=www.obernewtyn.net}}</ref> | |||
The series is narrated through the first person ] of protagonist Elspeth Gordie. | |||
==Setting== | ==Setting== | ||
The series is set many years into the future, where the world has been ravaged by a great ] known as the ''Great White''. The few people left have formed a new way of living, led by a body called the ''Council''. | |||
The Council realised that they had not escaped the effects of the Great White completely unscathed, and began burning any humans or animals born with ]. The Council appointed a fledgling ] called the ''Herder Faction'' to oversee these rituals. The Herders believed that Lud, their name for God, sent the Great White as punishment for a ] society. As a result, they destroyed all ] of the old world known as the ''Beforetime''. | |||
Council law and the Herder Faction gradually fused, and |
Those who spoke out against the Herders, or researched the period before the nuclear holocaust or its technology, were declared ''Seditioners'' (from the word ]) and were ]. Council law and the Herder Faction gradually fused, and came to depend on each other. If the two governing bodies did not burn the dissidents, they sent them to work on ''Councilfarms''. ] homes were set up to house those children of Seditioners not claimed by relatives. | ||
It later became clear that ] of the mind could develop which were not visible at birth. The Council and Herder Faction decided that those few people affected by mental mutations, called ''Misfits'', would be sent to the Councilfarms. They sent the more afflicted Misfits to the remote mountain estate of ''Obernewtyn'' to be treated, and to be isolated from normal people. | |||
==Plot== | ==Plot== | ||
Elspeth Gordie and her brother Jes grow up in an orphanage after their parents are burned as Seditioners. Elspeth has enhanced mental abilities and must conceal them in order to avoid being discovered as a Misfit. At the beginning of the first book in the series, ''Obernewtyn'', Elspeth is named a Misfit and is sent to Obernewtyn, a place run by people who claim to investigate the Misfits and look for a cure to their abilities. | |||
At Obernewtyn, Elspeth discovers what is really happening to all the Misfits that Madam Vega, the co-owner of Obernewtyn, claims she is curing. Together the Misfits form an uprising and take over Obernewtyn, turning it into a secret refuge for both Misfits and animals. | |||
'']'', the young orphaned daughter of burned Seditioner parents, is one of those affected by mutancies of the mind. These mutancies manifest themeslves as extraordinary mental powers, abilities which Elspeth ruthlessly conceals in order to avoid sentence as a Misfit. However, following a series of disastrous events at her orphan home, Elspeth is condemned as a Misfit by a fellow orphan. She is sentenced and sent to Obernewtyn, although neither the Council nor the keepers at Obernewtyn suspect the extent of her powers. It is rumoured that at Obernewtyn the enigmatic Dr Seraphim is working on a cure for afflicted Misfits, and those Misfits sent there are used as test subjects in his experiments. | |||
Elspeth is not just a Misfit; she is what the animals call the ''Innle'', or ''Seeker'' in English, and she must find and destroy the ''weaponmachines'' around the world. The weaponmachines are what caused the Great White, and Elspeth has to seek them out to destroy them before the world is plunged into another Great White. | |||
It is at Obernewtyn that Elspeth discovers she is not alone in possessing enhanced mind-powers, or Talents. While plotting her escape with fellow Talented Misfits, she learns that the doctor is in fact a simpleton and his keepers are searching for forbidden Beforetime weapons. They hope to use Misfits with rare abilities to scry out the knowledge for them. However, they are thwarted in their attempts by Elspeth, her new friends and Obernewtyn's farm overseer ], who is revealed to be the true and rightful heir to Obernewtyn. Rushton and his small group of followers, Talented Misfits all of them, have long been planning to take over Obernewtyn, and the conflict that ensues between Elspeth and the keepers of Obernewtyn provide them with the opportunity to do so. | |||
However, the Misfits can't hide forever and must find a place in ''The Land'' as it enters a period of turmoil, as ]s begin to revolt against the Council and the Herder Faction. The elusive ''Twentyfamilies' Gypsies'', and half-blooded gypsies, also play an important role in the political and social struggles of The Land. | |||
After the subsequent uprising at Obernewtyn, Elspeth and her new friends establish a haven for Talented Misfits, relying on their remote location and the rumour of a firestorm to keep prying eyes away. Under the guidance and leadership of Rushton, now Master of Obernewtyn, they work in secret to rescue condemned Talented Misfits from the Council Farms, and also seek out those Talented Misfits whose abilities have not yet been identified by the Council. Obernewtyn becomes both a refuge and a place where mental abilities are nurtured and explored. Obernewtyn also becomes a safe haven for animals, with whom many of the Misfits, including Elspeth, can communicate. The animals, or beasts, are treated as equals at Obernewtyn, and are given free reign to do as they wish. | |||
As her life at Obernewtyn progresses, Elspeth learns that the animals regard her as the prophesied '']'', the person who is fated to lead the beasts to freedom. It becomes apparent to her that she is also destined to be The Seeker, whose responsibility it is to seek out and eliminate the dormant weaponmachines of the Beforetime before they can be used to create another terrible and final holocaust. In this quest she has a fated opposite, aptly named The Destroyer, who is seeking to find the weaponmachines and use them for their evil ends. Elspeth's only guidance in her quest are the clues and hints left for her by the mysterious Beforetime seer ]. The fey cat ] and noble horse ] are her only confidants. | |||
Woven amongst Elspeth's private quests are the quests of Obernewtyn as a whole, to provide refuge for Talented Misfits and to establish itself as a force in The Land. The Land is also entering a period of turmoil, as the Rebels, with whom Obernewtyn has an often-fraught relationship, begin a rebellion against the Council and the Herder Faction. The elusive Gypsies, especially those of the pure-blooded Twentyfamilies, likewise play an important role in the political and social struggles of The Land. Elspeth also begins to discover a link between the Twentyfamilies and Kasanda that will aid her in her quest to destroy the weaponmachines. | |||
Elspeth's story is set against a backdrop of scattered references to the Beforetime; indeed Elspeth routinely dreams of, or mentally travels to, the Beforetime. The Beforetimers who populate her dreams seem to hold important clues about her quest and the significance of Obernewtyn. Particularly startling is her discovery that mental powers existed in the Beforetime, and so the abilities of Talented Misfits are not mutancies caused by nuclear contamination, as the Council claims, but the natural evolution of the human brain, catalysed into powerful manifestations by the force of the Great White. This has the potential to be vital in the Misfits' quest to be considered 'normal'. Importantly, the Beforetimers and their world bear a remarkable similarity to our own world, and it seems that we are supposed to read the novels at least partly as a comment on the evils and dangers of the modern world. | |||
==Powers of the mind== | ==Powers of the mind== | ||
Powers of the mind play a significant part in the series, and may manifest themselves in a variety of ways and as a variety of abilities. Minor, weak powers, such as the ability to true ], or the possession of a knack for guessing correctly, seem to be rather widespread, although mostly these abilities exist only in the ] levels of the brain. As such, many individuals with these powers are not aware of their abilities and cannot control them. | |||
] powers are called ''Talents'', and may be used at will by their possessor. The seven most common Talents, as defined and named by the Misfits of Obernewtyn, are farseeking, ], ], ], futuretelling, beastspeaking, and teknopathing. A Talented Misfit may possess one or more of these Talents, although one particular power will usually manifest itself more strongly than the others. Some combinations of Talents, such as farseeking and beastspeaking, are quite common, while others, such as coercion and empathy, are rare. | |||
At Obernewtyn, each Misfit belongs to a group, or '' |
At Obernewtyn, each Misfit belongs to a group, or '']'', consisting of similarly Talented individuals. A Misfit is free to choose which guild he or she wishes to belong to, but usually the guild corresponding to their strongest Talent is chosen. Each guild is led by a leadership group consisting of a ''Guildmaster'' or ''Guildmistress'' (who is usually, but not necessarily, Obernewtyn's strongest possessor of that Talent), a ''Guilden'', and one or more ''Wards''. Guilds are responsible for nurturing their members' abilities, and also for contributing something to Obernewtyn as a whole; the Farseeker Guild, for example, is responsible for ] out Talented Misfits. Guild leaders meet to discuss the affairs of Obernewtyn in meetings called ''Guildmerge''. | ||
An outline of the seven Talents, examples of powerful possessors, and each guild's master are as follows. | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="2" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 100%;" | |||
|+ |
|+ Powers of the mind | ||
! scope="col" width="100" | Talent | |||
!| Talent || Description || Misfits || Guildmaster/mistress | |||
! scope="col" width="400" | Description | |||
! scope="col" width="250" | Known Misfit Members | |||
! scope="col" width="100" | Guildmaster / Mistress | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Farseeking | |||
| Farseeking || Essentially telepathy; the ability to communicate with others mind-to-mind over distance. Possible range depends on the mental strength of the individuals involved. || Elspeth, ], Ceirwan, Jik || Elspeth | |||
| Essentially ]; the ability to communicate with others mind-to-mind over distance. Possible range depends on the mental strength of the individuals involved. Also the ability to ] of others without this power. | |||
| Elspeth, Matthew, Ceirwan, Jik, Wila, Zarak, Kader (a secondary ability) | |||
| Elspeth | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Coercion | |||
| Coercion || Mind-control; the ability to manipulate others' minds without them knowing. One of the three Talents that uses the ability to deep probe.|| Elspeth, Gevan, ], Miryum, ] || Gevan | |||
| ]; the ability to manipulate others' minds without them knowing. One of the three Talents that uses the ability to deep probe. | |||
| Elspeth, Gevan, Harwood, Kally, Linnet, Merret, Miryum, Domick, Taril, Dragon, Ariel | |||
| Gevan | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Empathy | |||
| Empathy || The ability to receive emotions at greater stengths than others can, and, in some Misfits, the ability to transmit emotions to others. || ], Miky, Angina, Dragon, Jik || Dameon | |||
| The ability to receive ] at greater strengths than others can, and, in some Misfits, the ability to transmit emotions to others. | |||
| Dameon, Miky, Angina, Freya, Dragon, Ariel, Jik, Blyss, Kader, Kally (a secondary ability), Kella (a slight talent) | |||
| Dameon | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Healing | |||
| Healing || The ability to heal others' bodies through the use of a finely-tuned mental deep probe. || Roland, ] || Roland | |||
| The ability to ] others' bodies through the use of a finely tuned mental deep probe. | |||
| Roland, Kella, Kador | |||
| Roland | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Futuretelling | |||
| Futuretelling || Seeing the future; performed by sending a deep probe into the mindstream, the deepest subconscious of all sentient beings where all individual minds, past, present and future, merge and form one. || Maryon, Dell || Maryon | |||
| Seeing the ]; performed by sending a deep probe dangerously close to the ''mindstream'', the deepest ] of all sentient beings where all individual minds' past, present and future merge and form one. A probe will hover above the mindstream detecting ''bubbles'' which reveal the past or future. | |||
| Maryon, Dell, Christa, Ariel | |||
| Maryon | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Beastspeaking | |||
| Farseeking between humans and animals; not all Farseekers are Beastspeakers, nor vice versa. | |||
| Elspeth, Alad, Khuria, Merret, Zarak, Lina | |||
| Alad | |||
|- | |- | ||
! Teknoguilding | |||
| Teknoguilding || A deep affinity with machines and a love for study, especially of technology (and therefore of the Beforetime). Possibly entails some ability to manipulate machines mentally. || Garth, Pavo, Fian || Garth | |||
| A deep affinity with machines and a love for ], especially of technology (and therefore of the Beforetime). Possibly entails some ability to manipulate machines mentally. | |||
| Garth, Pavo, Fian, Jak, | |||
| Garth | |||
|} | |} | ||
Outside of these seven |
Outside of these seven Talents, other powers have emerged or have been expressed in different ways in the series. | ||
Elspeth possesses a mysterious power known as the killing power, something she has described as a |
Elspeth possesses a mysterious power known as the ''killing power'', related to her coercion Talent, something she has described as a "dark snake" coiled at the base of her mind. It has the power to kill individuals as shown in the novel ''Obernewtyn'', when she used this power to kill Madam Vega. The killing power can also be used to augment her other powers to increased levels, as shown in ''Ashling'' when Elspeth uses it to break through Dragon's mental defences, and in ''The Keeping Place'' in order to break through the demonband static. | ||
Other powers to have emerged |
Other powers to have emerged include Dragon's ]-generating abilities, which have been described as the result of a ] of coercion mental power (other coercers display this power but not to the same degree). Freya's empathy also displays abilities outside of the normal range. Her power is described as "enhancing"; allowing people under its effect to perform better than they otherwise would. Ariel's rare empathy and coercion combination allows him to feed his victims ghastly visions of ] while using empathy to make the victim think they're enjoying the experience. He is described by Domick, a victim of this torture, as an "empath turned inside out". | ||
Two children described in the series |
Two children described in the series, Lidgebaby (first seen in ''The Farseekers'') and Gavyn (''The Keeping Place''), also have strange abilities. Lidgebaby's coercion powers allowed her to link other Talents to her, effectively binding them to her to the effect that they were compelled to protect and love her above all else. A ] of this never before seen merging was the generation of mental static that cancelled out all other powers, as experienced by Elspeth in ''The Farseekers'' and later in ''The Red Queen''. Gavyn is described as "adantar", beastspeak for "link". He has an unusual amount of control and effect over animals even though he isn't a beastspeaker. Elspeth and the beasts believed he is some sort of ''enthraller'', whose powers only affect beasts. | ||
In addition, the animals of Obernewtyn have formed the Beast |
In addition, the animals of Obernewtyn have formed the ''Beast Guild''. Their leader is the ] Avra. The Beast guild have equal rights to participate in Guildmerge. It seems that most, if not all, beasts can communicate with each other mentally. Most species of beast are also able to communicate with any human beastspeaker, although some, such as cats, dogs and horses, are more able to do so than others, such as cows and ]. As humans cannot beastspeak birds (besides the Agyllians), it is not known if birds can beastspeak each other, or if other animals can beastspeak with birds. | ||
==Beast language== |
==Beast language== | ||
The animals of the Obernewtyn world are described as |
The animals of the Obernewtyn world are described as sentient beings capable of ]. However their form of communication is not ] but ] in nature. This form of mental communication has been described as a blending of word and mental images, with empathised ]s. The beast language also uses different words, such as ''funaga'' (human), ''equine'' (horse), ''barud'' (home), ''gehdra'' (the invisible ones), ''jahran'' (the cold ones), ''vlar-rei'' (children of the waves/dolphins), ''coldwhite'' (snow), ''galta'' (nothing), ''shortsleep'' (sleep), ''longsleep'' (death), ''Innle'' (seeker), and ''H'rayka'' (bringer of death). The beast language also runs words together to form a single word, examples include ''freerunning'', ''strongminded'', ''gladshield'', ''moonwatcher'', ''daywatcher'', and ''fireheart''. | ||
==Characters== | |||
The beast language also uses different words to humans, this has appeared time and time again in the series. Such words include: funaga (human), equine (horse), barud (home), gehdra (the invisible ones), jahran (the cold ones), vlar-rei (children of the waves), coldwhite (snow), galta (nothing) and Innle (seeker). The beast language also tends to run words together to form a single word, examples include freerunning, strongminded, gladshield etc. | |||
The ''Obernewtyn Chronicles'' are populated by a large cast of characters. Only the most important of these are listed here. | |||
===Misfits=== | |||
Another aspect of beast language is the tendency to use multiple words for the same meaning and often interchangeablely. This is displayed often. For example at the end of 'the Keeping Place' when Maruman is talking to Elspeth he says 'do not wish them gone/away'. Other examples include: I will run by/with you, we are glad/enriched by your coming etc. | |||
* Elspeth Gordie: Elspeth is the main character in the Obernewtyn Chronicles. Her parents were burned for the crime of sedition when she was young, and was sent to live at Kinraide Orphanage with her older brother, Jes, who ]d her Elf). She was condemned to Obernewtyn after Madame Vega came to evaluate the orphans to discover any "mutants" among them, and became suspicious of Elspeth. Elspeth is tall and slim, with brilliant green eyes. She was given the nickname "little sad-eyes" by Brydda Llewellyn, due to her serious demeanour. Her hair is long and black, and she has pale skin. Elspeth is the Seeker, or ''Innle'' in the beast-language. Despite much evidence proving her to be the Seeker, Elspeth constantly denies this. Also known as Elaria to the Gypsies, she's been dubbed a figure of ]s, and is said to do a number of things. The most important of these are to find the five signs and beat the ''Destroyer'' to the computers controlling the weaponmachines in time to prevent a second Great White, and to free the beasts from human dominance. Elspeth possesses many talents, which sets her apart from other Talented Misfits. She possesses the abilities of farseeking, coercing, beastspeaking, and possibly teknoguilding. Some futuretelling or truedreaming ability is also apparent, although this is vague and uncontrolled. She has the power to heal her own body, bestowed upon her by Nerat the Agyllian in ''The Farseekers''. She also has a separate Talent of killing with her mind that she is too scared to uncover properly, however this ability can also be used to increase the strength of her other Talents. The only Talent she does not seem to have is empathy. In fact Elspeth struggles with emotions although she is trying harder to be understanding. Elspeth becomes betrothed to Rushton Seraphim at the end of ''Ashling'', having realised that what she had felt for Rushton had been ], but she had been too scared to face it. The two of them are ] for a time but reconcile in the Stone Key. Elspeth's friend Dameon is also in love with her but she fails to see it. | |||
* Rushton Seraphim: Rushton is the eldest son of the former Master of Obenewtyn, Michael Seraphim. His ] is Stephen Seraphim. He is a Misfit with latent powers. He is approximately nineteen years-old at the beginning of the series, and is tall, with jade green eyes and dark hair. He is originally the ] to Obernewtyn, and as of ''The Farseekers'', Master of Obernewtyn. Rushton is first known to Elspeth as the farm overseer at Obernewtyn, a post he holds while he plots to claim his birthright to Obernewtyn from his defective younger half-brother's evil minders. As Master of Obernewtyn, Rushton transformed Obernewtyn into a haven for Misfits and beasts alike. Rushton is a Misfit with latent Talent, which he only begins to use at the end of ''Ashling'' when Freya, an "empath-enhancer", tries to enhance his abilities. At the end of ''Ashling'' he becomes ] to Elspeth. She enhances his abilities further than anyone else could. In ''The Keeping Place'' Rushton is kidnapped by Ariel, and tortured into ]. While Elspeth is able to cure him, in ''The Stone Key'' it is revealed that his ] has left him hollow and devoid of the capacity for love. This is displayed towards Elspeth initially with ], which slowly transforms into ] and ], and finally causes him to relapse into a mad, animalistic state which Elspeth eventually cures once again, this time permanently through use of intense deep probing. All of this, apart from Elspeth's final triumph, was foreseen and orchestrated by Ariel. | |||
* Ariel: Ariel is a Misfit with a defective mind and a rare empathy-coercion combination of talents. He is the principal antagonist throughout the series, appearing time and again in positions of power and influence. ], ], ], ambitious, and highly attractive, Ariel was, before Rushton's coup, favoured by the keepers of Obernewtyn and assisted them in their failed quest to find the Beforetime weaponmachines. In ''The Farseekers'', it is believed that Ariel has run away from Obernewtyn, and is presumed dead. However he has instead ingratiated himself with Henry Druid, the Herder Faction, the council, and Salamander. Ariel is ], with every new book in the series slowly unfolding his wide-stretching and subtle plan. While it is clear he intends to purposefully reawaken the weaponmachines, and has attempted to seduce Elspeth to his cause, it is unclear if he is aware of how dire the consequences of these actions would be. His motives are often shrouded in mystery, and his apparent ability as a futureteller means that he is always one step ahead of Elspeth and the Misfits. Identified by Gahltha as ''H'Rayka''—or "one who brings destruction"—Elspeth assumes Ariel is the Destroyer of which Atthis warned her. In fact, as suggested by the ] interpretation of his title, rather than being the Destroyer, he will be responsible for leading another individual—the true Destroyer—to their unwitting ]. | |||
* Dameon: Dameon is a powerful ] empath, and, with Matthew, one of Elspeth's first friends at Obernewtyn. He is an older misfit who is tall, blind, has an "angular" body, light to white eyes, a slightly large nose, and many ]s. Dameon is a very talented empath and Guildmaster of the ]. He first appears in the first book of the series, ''Obernewtyn'', and has been regarded as one of Elspeth's most loyal friends. Dameon was the son of a Councilman. He was to inherit all the vast properties of his father after his death, however, upon the death of his father, Dameon's cousin pronounced him a Misfit in order to send him away and gain the land for himself. Ironically, even though to his cousin did not really believe he was a Misfit, he actually is one. Dameon was sent to Obernewtyn where he met Matthew, and later, Elspeth. In ''The Stone Key'' it is mentioned that he intends to sue his cousin to regain his lands, and establish a ] farm there. It has been interpreted by many that Dameon is secretly in love with Elspeth. There are many implications of this throughout the series, but a popular indicator occurs in the third book ''Ashling''. When Elspeth and Rushton become betrothed, Dameon chooses not to return to Obernewtyn. Rushton says he knows the reason that he must stay behind, and Elspeth is surprised that Dameon blushes at this comment. Dameon then creates a "block", so that Elspeth cannot read his thoughts and he cannot read her feelings as they say goodbye. Series author Carmody has stated that she did in fact intend Dameon to be in love with Elspeth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://obernewtyn.net/e107/page.php?31/|title=Darksong Launch Interview - Obernewtyn.net|last=Obernewtyn.net|website=obernewtyn.net}}</ref> This is made clear in ''The Red Queen''. | |||
* Matthew: Matthew is a farseeker, and, with Dameon, one of Elspeth's first friends at Obernewtyn. Matthew is the first human with whom Elspeth communicates mentally, and the first Talented human, other than herself, whom she encounters. He is later made farseeker ward, a post he holds until he is captured by slavers and taken to the Land of the Red Queen where he serves ]. Matthew is slightly older than Elspeth, and is described as tall, thin, and "sharp eyed". Matthew is a farseeker's guilden, and was the first to introduce Elspeth to Dameon. | |||
* Dragon: Dragon is a young, but wild girl, and powerful empath-coercer. She was discovered and rescued on a farseeker expedition to the West Coast. She acted as the protector of the ruins in Aborium, and used her abilities to project images into people's minds of things of which they were thinking. Her name was unknown, so Elspeth called her Dragon, not just for her flame-red hair and fiery ], but for the image she projected into all their minds on their first encounter in her attempt to scare them away. In ''The Keeping Place'', Dragon falls into a comatose due to Elspeth's harsh mental probe and begins attacking Elspeth in her dreams due to her longing for her and supposed 'abandonment' but is eventually cured. Dragon is the daughter of the Red Queen from the distant and mysterious Land of the Red Queen, and as such she holds important clues to Elspeth's personal quests in the deep subconscious levels of her mind. | |||
* Domick: Domick is one of Rushton's ] early in the series, and later a coercer guilden. Domick is sent to establish a safe house for Obernewtyn in Sutrium, the capital of The Land. There he infiltrates the council as Obernewtyn's ], creating the alter-ego Mika for this purpose, and his espionage work sends him almost insane. He later renounces his ties to Obernewtyn. He was captured, along with Rushton, by Ariel and taken to Herder Island where he was physically and mentally tortured. He was brainwashed by Ariel, and was infected with disease so as to spread a ] throughout the land. | |||
* Kella: Kella is a healer guilden, Elspeth's main female friend, and Domick's ''bondmate''. She accompanies Domick to Sutrium, although his work at the Council cause the two to become estranged. | |||
* Daffyd: Daffyd is an ''armsman'' for the Herder renegade Henry Druid, and a Misfit. Daffyd is sympathetic to Obernewtyn's cause and is friends with Elspeth and Rushton, and is required to search for his Misfits friends, who disappeared after the Druid's camp was destroyed by a firestorm. | |||
* Pavo: Pavo is a tecknoguilder who died from the rotting sickness while trying to help Elspeth and the other Misfits when they went to Sutrium. | |||
== |
===Beasts=== | ||
* Maruman: Maruman is a ], battered cat, and the first being with whom Elspeth communicates mentally. Maruman endures frequent bouts of madness, and even at his most sane he is prone to making cryptic predictions about Elspeth's fate. It is from Maruman that Elspeth learns most about her roles as the Seeker and ''Innle''. According to prophecy, Maruman is the ''Moonwatcher'', one of Elspeth's guardians in her ]. Maruman first appears in the first book, ''Obernewtyn'', where he encountered Elspeth at the Kinraide Orphan Home after she alerted a bird to his presence. This was also Elspeth's first experience with her mind powers; after she realised she could hear Maruman cursing, he is the first being she communicates with mentally. As the Moonwatcher, Maruman travels with Elspeth on most of her ''dreamtrail'' wanderings and adventures, protecting and guarding her from unknown forces, and serving as a foil to Gahltha, the horse also known as the ''Daywatcher''. He is known as ''Yelloweyes'' to his fellow beasts, and is held in high regard by them. The Agyllians, or flamebirds, are in constant communication with Maruman, resulting in ] tendencies. It is from Maruman that Elspeth learns most about her roles as the Seeker and ''Innle'', the ''Innle'' being destined to free the animals from their human oppressors. Maruman is a contrary being, and his temperament can shift, without warning, from wise to sullen and difficult. His age is never specified, it is only known that he is ], and possibly Beforetime in his origin, which would make him over a century old. As of ''The Keeping Place'', he is left with only one eye, due to his solitary adventures in the ] Blacklands. The last appearance of Maruman is his return to Obernewtyn with Elspeth and Gahltha at the end of ''The Stone Key''. However he is depicted cradled by Elspeth on the cover for the yet-unreleased sixth book, ''The Sending'', where they are shown alone and walking the ''deathroad''. | |||
''The Obernewtyn Chronicles'' are populated by a large cast of characters. Only the most important of these are listed here. | |||
* Gahltha: Gahltha is a noble, black horse, originally mad and spiteful due to ] by his former human owners, however he becomes wise, calm and understanding due to Atthis and the Agyllians when he decided he wanted to die but they promised him a purpose, to look after Elspeth. Gahltha is Elspeth's mount on all her travels, and is the Daywatcher, the second of Elspeth's fated guardians. | |||
* Atthis: Atthis is the leader of the Agyllians, or Guanette birds, a powerful, wise and ancient species of bird. Atthis is also one of Elspeth's main sources of information regarding her quest. Atthis often communicates with Elspeth through Maruman. Agyllians in real life are probably most related to phoenixes, upon which they are based. | |||
* Nerat: Nerat is a healer among the Agyllians. In ''The Farseekers'', after Elspeth is found in a cave by three Agyllians and taken to him, Nerat taught her body to heal itself, as she had blocked her pain behind a mental barrier, and if she was not healed she would die. | |||
* Darga: Darga is a small dog belonging to young farseeker Jik. Darga proved extremely adept at navigating safe pathways through ]. He was lost and presumed dead in the ] that destroyed Henry Druid's camp, although Maruman subsequently said that Darga's return will be important. | |||
* Avra: Avra is Gahltha's mate, and was originally a wild horse but was taken into the farms at Obernewtyn to work while Alexi and Madam Vega were there. Avra gave birth to a young foal in the ''Keeping Place''. | |||
* Sharna: Sharna was a young dog that worked at the farms in Obernewtyn. He died to protect Elspeth from Ariel's wolves. | |||
* Faraf: Faraf is a young ] that was found at the start of the novel ''Ashling'', where she was being beaten by a young boy who was her owner. Elspeth told Faraf how to get to Obernewtyn, but in the process of getting there Faraf was captured by Sadorians and was taken to be used in the battle games. Faraf was then gifted to Mirium, the coercer guilden for a bonding present. At the start of ''The Keeping Place'', Faraf was escorted to Obernewtyn to live there. Elspeth calls Faraf "little sister mind", and they become very close. | |||
===Rebels=== | |||
* Brydda Llewellyn: Brydda is a Seditioner and rebel leader. Brydda befriends Elspeth, and is sympathetic to the Misfits' cause. He invites Obernewtyn to join the rebellion against the council, although this proposal faces stern opposition from many of the other rebel leaders. Brydda was the chief organiser of the rebel alliance in its early stages, although control has increasingly been wrested from him by others, most notably Malik and his allies. | |||
* Idris : One of Brydda's most trusted companions. Idris is killed in Ashling by Salamander. | |||
* Malik: Malik is a power hungry rebel leader who is strongly opposed to having the Misfits join the rebellion. Unlike Brydda he has no sympathy for mutants, and regards them as monsters pretending to be human. | |||
* Bodera: Bodera is the rebel leader of Sutrium, father of Dardelan, and Brydda's mentor. | |||
* Dardelan: Dardelan is Bodera's son. He ends up looking after Bodera, and falls in love with Jakoby's daughter, Bruna, with whom he is going to be bonded. | |||
===Gypsies=== | |||
* Swallow: Swallow is a Twentyfamilies gypsy, son and heir of the ''D'rekta'' (the leader of the Twentyfamilies), who later accedes to the D'rektorship himself. Elspeth and Swallow first met when he saved her from an amount of whip lashings from the community in the market. After he saved her he kissed her, but his love for her has never been found, nor Elspeth's love to him, if it ever did occur. He is connected to Elspeth and her quest, possibly as the fated "one of Kasanda blood" who will accompany Elspeth on the final stages of her quest. Swallow has saved Elspeth's life twice, saying he has heard a voice in his head telling him to help her when she is in need. Swallow is a code name; his real name is unknown. | |||
* Iriny: Iriny is a ] to Swallow who is rescued by Elspeth in ''Ashling'' and brought to Sutrium for healing. It is through her that Elspeth was able to gain contact with Swallow. | |||
* Darius: Darius is a Twentyfamilies gypsy who has the ability to heal beasts, as well as skills to heal humans. | |||
* Maire: Maire is a Twentyfamilies gypsy healer, and is the grandmother of Swallow and Iriny. | |||
===Beforetimers=== | |||
* Kasanda: Kasanda is a mysterious beforetime seer, also known as Cassandra Duprey, or Cassy. She lived through the Great White and into the first years and decades following it, when the world was in turmoil. Kasanda was the first gypsy D'rekta, and the sister-in-law of the first Red Queen. Before the Great White, she foresaw Elspeth's quest, and following the holocaust, she left scattered clues that will aid Elspeth in fulfilling it. | |||
* Jacob Obernewtyn: Jacob Obernewtyn is the wealthy partner of Hannah Seraphim, owner of the Reichler clinic. Obernewtyn was named after his work on Misfits in the Reichler Clinic. | |||
===Sadorians=== | |||
* Jakoby: Jakoby is the Sadorian tribal leader, mother to Bruna, and ally of Brydda Llewellyn. | |||
* Bruna: Bruna is Jakoby's arrogant daughter, and the lover of Dardelan. | |||
* Straaka: Straaka was a Sadorian ], who believed he was betrothed to Miryum, and died defending her. | |||
* Seresh: Seresh is Jakoby's twin sister, born with a deformed jaw and mouth, who was sent to the ''Earthtemple'', where Jakoby was not allowed to see her. Seresh ran away from the Earthtemple. Guardians believed she had drowned herself, but later Jakoby was told Seresh had not died, but had stolen money and escaped on a ship. Seresh is the most likely candidate for Salamander. | |||
==Places== | |||
* Sutrium: Sutrium is the largest city of the Land, located in the lowlands, and often thought of as the capital. It was formerly the seat of the council, and became the seat of the governing of the Land by the citizens and rebels. The Misfits make many trips to Sutrium as it is a very important centre in the Land. The Sugreedoon River flows through the western part of the city. | |||
* Aborium: Aborium is a large city on the West Coast. It was the main Herder centre of the Land, and the way to access Herder Isle. Aborium is a bayside city and is where Elspeth initially met Brydda. | |||
* Murmroth: Murmroth is a large city on the West Coast, and the hardest to access city from Obernewtyn. Murmroth is quite isolated from other cities, apart from those on the West Coast, due to the Blacklands. | |||
* Saithwold: Saithwold is a small city with a beach very near to Sutrium, and is often thought of as a suburb of Sutrium, which experiences many troubles. Saithwold is the ] of Sawlney. | |||
* Sawlney: Sawlney is northeast of Sutrium city. Sawlney is often described as a "humble city", though it has become increasingly dangerous for the Misfits. Sawlney is the sister city of Saithwold. | |||
* Kinraide: Kinraide is a city north of Sutrium in the lowlands in a forested region. It is near to the town of Berrioc, and contains the orphan home where Elspeth grew up. | |||
* Morganna: Morganna is a city on the West Coast. | |||
* Herder Isle: Herder Isle is where the Herders go when they want to leave the cities, and is the home of "The One". | |||
* Sador: Sador is where the battlegames were held to judge if whether the Misfits were the best allies. It is also the place where the Misfits went when they broke the curse on Rushton's mind that separated him from Elspeth. | |||
== |
== References == | ||
{{reflist}} | |||
* ''']''': young Misfit daughter of burned Seditioner parents, and an orphan at the Kinraide Orphan Home until she is condemned to Obernewtyn. An extremely powerful Misfit, Elspeth possesses farseeking, beastspeaking and coercion Talents in equal and prodigious strengths (a trait that is unique to her - no other known Misfit is so strong in three separate Talents), and also bears some abilities associated with futuretelling, healing and teknoguilding. Elspeth is Guildmistress of the Farseeker Guild, and, later, Mistress of Obernewtyn in Rushton's absence. She is also The Seeker and the fated Innle of beast legend, identities she keeps secret from all humans. Loves Rushton. | |||
* ''']''': eldest son of former Master of Obenewtyn Michael Seraphim and his lover, and a Misfit with latent powers. Rushton is first known to Elspeth as the farm oveseer at Obernewtyn, a post he holds while he plots to claim his birthright to Obernewtyn from his defective younger half-brother's evil minders. As Master of Obernewtyn, Rushton transforms Obernewtyn into a haven for Misfits and beasts alike. Loves Elspeth. | |||
* ''']''': powerful, blind empath, and, with Matthew, one of Elspeth's first friends at Obernewtyn. Dameon is the beloved Guildmaster of the Empath Guild. | |||
* ''']''': farseeker, and, with Dameon, one of Elspeth's first friends at Obernewtyn. Matthew is the first human with whom Elspeth communicates mentally, and the first Talented human, other than herself, whom Elspeth encounters. He is later made farseeker ward, a post he holds until he is captured by slavers. His current whereabouts are unknown, although he appears in Elspeth's true dreams so he is presumed to be alive. | |||
* ''']''': young wildchild, and extremely powerful empath-coercer. She is discovered and rescued on a Farseeker expedition to the West Coast, and named Dragon by Elspeth for her flame-red hair and fiery temperament. Dragon is probably the daughter of the Red Queen from the distant and mysterious Land of the Red Queen, and as such she holds important clues to Elspeth's personal quests in the deep subconscious levels of her mind. | |||
* ''']''': one of Rushton's allies early in the series, and later coercer guilden. Domick is sent to establish a safe house for Obernewtyn in Sutrium, the capital of The Land. There he infiltrates the Council as Obernewtyn's spy, and his espionage work sends him almost insane. He later renounces his ties to Obernewtyn. | |||
* ''']''': healer guilden and Elspeth's only female friend. She accompanies Domick to Sutrium, although his work at the Council cause the two to become estranged. | |||
* ''']''': armsman for the Herder renegade Henry Druid, and Misfit. Daffyd is sympathetic to Obernewtyn's cause and friends with Elspeth and Rushton, but is currently searching for his Misfits friends, who disappeared after the Druid's camp was destroyed by a firestorm. | |||
* '''Ariel''': a Misfit with unidentified Talents, and Elspeth's principal enemy. Canny, rude and ambitious, Ariel was, before Rushton's coup, favoured by the keepers of Obernewtyn and assisted them in their failed quest to find the Beforetime weaponmachines. He is now somehow linked to the inner ranks of both the Council and the Herder Faction, and also to the mysterious slave master Salamander. Elspeth, and many readers, presumed he is the Destroyer, but Carmody has said in interviews that that is 'not necessarily' the case. He is also presumed to be H'rayka, which in beast language means 'one who brings destruction'. | |||
== External links == | |||
====The Beasts==== | |||
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924045427/http://www.penguin.com.au/obernewtyn/ |date=24 September 2014 }} | |||
* ''']''': fey, battered cat, and the first being with whom Elspeth communicates mentally. Maruman endures frequent bouts of madness, and even at his most sane he is prone to making cryptic predictions about Elspeth's fate. It is from Maruman that Elspeth learns most about her roles as the Seeker and Innle. According to prophecy, Maruman is the Moonwatcher, one of Elspeth's guardians in her quest. | |||
* | |||
* ''']''': noble, black horse, originally mad and spiteful due to mistreatment by his former human owners, but now wise, calm and understanding. Gahltha is Elspeth's constant mount on all her travels, and is probably the Daywatcher, the second of Elspeth's fated guardians. | |||
* {{isfdb series|id=4558|title=The Obernewtyn Chronicles}} | |||
* ''']''': leader of the Agyllians (or Guanette birds), a powerful, wise and ancient species of bird. Atthis is also one of Elspeth's main sources of information regarding her quest. Atthis often communicates with Elspeth through Maruman. | |||
* | |||
* ''']''': small dog belonging to young farseeker Jik. Darga proved extremely adept at navigating safe pathways through contaminated land. He was lost and presumed dead in the firestorm that destroyed Henry Druid's camp, although Maruman has since said that his return will be important. | |||
====The Rebels==== | |||
* ''']''': seditioner and rebel leader. Brydda becomes friends with Elspeth and is sympathetic to the Misfits' cause. He invites Obernewtyn to join the rebellion against the Council, although this proposal faces stern opposition from many of the other rebel leaders. Brydda was the chief organiser of the rebel alliance in its early stages, although control has increasingly been wrested from him by others, most notably Malik and his allies. | |||
====The Gypsies==== | |||
* ''']''': a Twentyfamilies gypsy, son and heir of the D'rekta (the leader of the Twentyfamilies) who later accedes to the D'rektorship himself. He is somehow connected to Elspeth and her quest, possibly as the fated 'one of Kasanda blood' who will accompany Elspeth on the final stages of her quest. Swallow is a code name; his real name is unknown. | |||
====The Beforetimers==== | |||
* ''']''': mysterious Beforetime seer, also known as Cassandra Duprey (or Cassy). She lived through the Great White and into the first years or decades following it, when the world was in turmoil. Kasanda was the first gypsy D'rekta and the sister-in-law of the first Red Queen. Before the Great White, she foresaw Elspeth's quest, and following the holocaust, she left scattered clues that will aid Elspeth in fulfilling her quest. | |||
{{Isobelle Carmody}} | |||
==External links== | |||
* The Official Obernewtyn Chronicles Fan Club | |||
* Isobelle Carmody Fansite | |||
* Penguin Books Official Obernewtyn Chronicles Site | |||
*{{isfdb series | id=The_Obernewtyn_Chronicles | title=The Obernewtyn Chronicles}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 18:05, 20 August 2024
Novel series by Isobelle Carmody
| |
Author | Isobelle Carmody |
---|---|
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Genre | Fantasy, Science fiction novel, Post Apocalyptic |
Publisher | Penguin Group |
Published | 1987–2015 |
Media type | Print (Paperback & Hardback) |
The Obernewtyn Chronicles is a series of science fiction and fantasy novels by Australian author Isobelle Carmody. The series has a post apocalyptic setting and depicts a world long after its destruction by a global nuclear holocaust.
The series' protagonist, Elspeth Gordie, is a young girl with mental powers condemned by the series' main antagonists, the governing body, known as the council, and the religious authority, the Herder Faction. The novels deal with themes of responsibility, duty, prejudice, discrimination, tolerance, and human and animal rights.
Books of the series
The series consists of seven novels published by Penguin Books.
- Obernewtyn (1987)
- The Farseekers (1990)
- Ashling (1995)
- The Keeping Place (1999)
- Wavesong (2008)
- The Stone Key (2008)
- The Sending (2011)
- The Red Queen (2015)
In the United States and Canada, the books are published by Random House. Random House split The Stone Key into two books: The Stone Key and Wavesong. The United States and Canada have also split The Sending into two books: The Sending and The Waking Dragon.
Though initially intended to be the final installment, The Sending was the penultimate book. The final book, The Red Queen, was released in November 2015.
Setting
The series is set many years into the future, where the world has been ravaged by a great nuclear holocaust known as the Great White. The few people left have formed a new way of living, led by a body called the Council.
The Council realised that they had not escaped the effects of the Great White completely unscathed, and began burning any humans or animals born with deformities. The Council appointed a fledgling religious order called the Herder Faction to oversee these rituals. The Herders believed that Lud, their name for God, sent the Great White as punishment for a materialistic society. As a result, they destroyed all artifacts of the old world known as the Beforetime.
Those who spoke out against the Herders, or researched the period before the nuclear holocaust or its technology, were declared Seditioners (from the word sedition) and were burnt alive. Council law and the Herder Faction gradually fused, and came to depend on each other. If the two governing bodies did not burn the dissidents, they sent them to work on Councilfarms. Orphan homes were set up to house those children of Seditioners not claimed by relatives.
It later became clear that mutations of the mind could develop which were not visible at birth. The Council and Herder Faction decided that those few people affected by mental mutations, called Misfits, would be sent to the Councilfarms. They sent the more afflicted Misfits to the remote mountain estate of Obernewtyn to be treated, and to be isolated from normal people.
Plot
Elspeth Gordie and her brother Jes grow up in an orphanage after their parents are burned as Seditioners. Elspeth has enhanced mental abilities and must conceal them in order to avoid being discovered as a Misfit. At the beginning of the first book in the series, Obernewtyn, Elspeth is named a Misfit and is sent to Obernewtyn, a place run by people who claim to investigate the Misfits and look for a cure to their abilities.
At Obernewtyn, Elspeth discovers what is really happening to all the Misfits that Madam Vega, the co-owner of Obernewtyn, claims she is curing. Together the Misfits form an uprising and take over Obernewtyn, turning it into a secret refuge for both Misfits and animals.
Elspeth is not just a Misfit; she is what the animals call the Innle, or Seeker in English, and she must find and destroy the weaponmachines around the world. The weaponmachines are what caused the Great White, and Elspeth has to seek them out to destroy them before the world is plunged into another Great White.
However, the Misfits can't hide forever and must find a place in The Land as it enters a period of turmoil, as rebels begin to revolt against the Council and the Herder Faction. The elusive Twentyfamilies' Gypsies, and half-blooded gypsies, also play an important role in the political and social struggles of The Land.
Powers of the mind
Powers of the mind play a significant part in the series, and may manifest themselves in a variety of ways and as a variety of abilities. Minor, weak powers, such as the ability to true dream, or the possession of a knack for guessing correctly, seem to be rather widespread, although mostly these abilities exist only in the unconscious levels of the brain. As such, many individuals with these powers are not aware of their abilities and cannot control them.
Sentient powers are called Talents, and may be used at will by their possessor. The seven most common Talents, as defined and named by the Misfits of Obernewtyn, are farseeking, coercion, empathy, healing, futuretelling, beastspeaking, and teknopathing. A Talented Misfit may possess one or more of these Talents, although one particular power will usually manifest itself more strongly than the others. Some combinations of Talents, such as farseeking and beastspeaking, are quite common, while others, such as coercion and empathy, are rare.
At Obernewtyn, each Misfit belongs to a group, or Guild, consisting of similarly Talented individuals. A Misfit is free to choose which guild he or she wishes to belong to, but usually the guild corresponding to their strongest Talent is chosen. Each guild is led by a leadership group consisting of a Guildmaster or Guildmistress (who is usually, but not necessarily, Obernewtyn's strongest possessor of that Talent), a Guilden, and one or more Wards. Guilds are responsible for nurturing their members' abilities, and also for contributing something to Obernewtyn as a whole; the Farseeker Guild, for example, is responsible for scrying out Talented Misfits. Guild leaders meet to discuss the affairs of Obernewtyn in meetings called Guildmerge.
An outline of the seven Talents, examples of powerful possessors, and each guild's master are as follows.
Talent | Description | Known Misfit Members | Guildmaster / Mistress |
---|---|---|---|
Farseeking | Essentially telepathy; the ability to communicate with others mind-to-mind over distance. Possible range depends on the mental strength of the individuals involved. Also the ability to read the minds of others without this power. | Elspeth, Matthew, Ceirwan, Jik, Wila, Zarak, Kader (a secondary ability) | Elspeth |
Coercion | Mind-control; the ability to manipulate others' minds without them knowing. One of the three Talents that uses the ability to deep probe. | Elspeth, Gevan, Harwood, Kally, Linnet, Merret, Miryum, Domick, Taril, Dragon, Ariel | Gevan |
Empathy | The ability to receive emotions at greater strengths than others can, and, in some Misfits, the ability to transmit emotions to others. | Dameon, Miky, Angina, Freya, Dragon, Ariel, Jik, Blyss, Kader, Kally (a secondary ability), Kella (a slight talent) | Dameon |
Healing | The ability to heal others' bodies through the use of a finely tuned mental deep probe. | Roland, Kella, Kador | Roland |
Futuretelling | Seeing the future; performed by sending a deep probe dangerously close to the mindstream, the deepest subconscious of all sentient beings where all individual minds' past, present and future merge and form one. A probe will hover above the mindstream detecting bubbles which reveal the past or future. | Maryon, Dell, Christa, Ariel | Maryon |
Beastspeaking | Farseeking between humans and animals; not all Farseekers are Beastspeakers, nor vice versa. | Elspeth, Alad, Khuria, Merret, Zarak, Lina | Alad |
Teknoguilding | A deep affinity with machines and a love for study, especially of technology (and therefore of the Beforetime). Possibly entails some ability to manipulate machines mentally. | Garth, Pavo, Fian, Jak, | Garth |
Outside of these seven Talents, other powers have emerged or have been expressed in different ways in the series.
Elspeth possesses a mysterious power known as the killing power, related to her coercion Talent, something she has described as a "dark snake" coiled at the base of her mind. It has the power to kill individuals as shown in the novel Obernewtyn, when she used this power to kill Madam Vega. The killing power can also be used to augment her other powers to increased levels, as shown in Ashling when Elspeth uses it to break through Dragon's mental defences, and in The Keeping Place in order to break through the demonband static.
Other powers to have emerged include Dragon's illusion-generating abilities, which have been described as the result of a critical mass of coercion mental power (other coercers display this power but not to the same degree). Freya's empathy also displays abilities outside of the normal range. Her power is described as "enhancing"; allowing people under its effect to perform better than they otherwise would. Ariel's rare empathy and coercion combination allows him to feed his victims ghastly visions of torture while using empathy to make the victim think they're enjoying the experience. He is described by Domick, a victim of this torture, as an "empath turned inside out".
Two children described in the series, Lidgebaby (first seen in The Farseekers) and Gavyn (The Keeping Place), also have strange abilities. Lidgebaby's coercion powers allowed her to link other Talents to her, effectively binding them to her to the effect that they were compelled to protect and love her above all else. A side-effect of this never before seen merging was the generation of mental static that cancelled out all other powers, as experienced by Elspeth in The Farseekers and later in The Red Queen. Gavyn is described as "adantar", beastspeak for "link". He has an unusual amount of control and effect over animals even though he isn't a beastspeaker. Elspeth and the beasts believed he is some sort of enthraller, whose powers only affect beasts.
In addition, the animals of Obernewtyn have formed the Beast Guild. Their leader is the mare Avra. The Beast guild have equal rights to participate in Guildmerge. It seems that most, if not all, beasts can communicate with each other mentally. Most species of beast are also able to communicate with any human beastspeaker, although some, such as cats, dogs and horses, are more able to do so than others, such as cows and wolves. As humans cannot beastspeak birds (besides the Agyllians), it is not known if birds can beastspeak each other, or if other animals can beastspeak with birds.
Beast language
The animals of the Obernewtyn world are described as sentient beings capable of speech. However their form of communication is not oral but mental in nature. This form of mental communication has been described as a blending of word and mental images, with empathised emotions. The beast language also uses different words, such as funaga (human), equine (horse), barud (home), gehdra (the invisible ones), jahran (the cold ones), vlar-rei (children of the waves/dolphins), coldwhite (snow), galta (nothing), shortsleep (sleep), longsleep (death), Innle (seeker), and H'rayka (bringer of death). The beast language also runs words together to form a single word, examples include freerunning, strongminded, gladshield, moonwatcher, daywatcher, and fireheart.
Characters
The Obernewtyn Chronicles are populated by a large cast of characters. Only the most important of these are listed here.
Misfits
- Elspeth Gordie: Elspeth is the main character in the Obernewtyn Chronicles. Her parents were burned for the crime of sedition when she was young, and was sent to live at Kinraide Orphanage with her older brother, Jes, who nicknamed her Elf). She was condemned to Obernewtyn after Madame Vega came to evaluate the orphans to discover any "mutants" among them, and became suspicious of Elspeth. Elspeth is tall and slim, with brilliant green eyes. She was given the nickname "little sad-eyes" by Brydda Llewellyn, due to her serious demeanour. Her hair is long and black, and she has pale skin. Elspeth is the Seeker, or Innle in the beast-language. Despite much evidence proving her to be the Seeker, Elspeth constantly denies this. Also known as Elaria to the Gypsies, she's been dubbed a figure of legends, and is said to do a number of things. The most important of these are to find the five signs and beat the Destroyer to the computers controlling the weaponmachines in time to prevent a second Great White, and to free the beasts from human dominance. Elspeth possesses many talents, which sets her apart from other Talented Misfits. She possesses the abilities of farseeking, coercing, beastspeaking, and possibly teknoguilding. Some futuretelling or truedreaming ability is also apparent, although this is vague and uncontrolled. She has the power to heal her own body, bestowed upon her by Nerat the Agyllian in The Farseekers. She also has a separate Talent of killing with her mind that she is too scared to uncover properly, however this ability can also be used to increase the strength of her other Talents. The only Talent she does not seem to have is empathy. In fact Elspeth struggles with emotions although she is trying harder to be understanding. Elspeth becomes betrothed to Rushton Seraphim at the end of Ashling, having realised that what she had felt for Rushton had been love, but she had been too scared to face it. The two of them are estranged for a time but reconcile in the Stone Key. Elspeth's friend Dameon is also in love with her but she fails to see it.
- Rushton Seraphim: Rushton is the eldest son of the former Master of Obenewtyn, Michael Seraphim. His half-brother is Stephen Seraphim. He is a Misfit with latent powers. He is approximately nineteen years-old at the beginning of the series, and is tall, with jade green eyes and dark hair. He is originally the heir to Obernewtyn, and as of The Farseekers, Master of Obernewtyn. Rushton is first known to Elspeth as the farm overseer at Obernewtyn, a post he holds while he plots to claim his birthright to Obernewtyn from his defective younger half-brother's evil minders. As Master of Obernewtyn, Rushton transformed Obernewtyn into a haven for Misfits and beasts alike. Rushton is a Misfit with latent Talent, which he only begins to use at the end of Ashling when Freya, an "empath-enhancer", tries to enhance his abilities. At the end of Ashling he becomes betrothed to Elspeth. She enhances his abilities further than anyone else could. In The Keeping Place Rushton is kidnapped by Ariel, and tortured into insanity. While Elspeth is able to cure him, in The Stone Key it is revealed that his trauma has left him hollow and devoid of the capacity for love. This is displayed towards Elspeth initially with apathy, which slowly transforms into hatred and loathing, and finally causes him to relapse into a mad, animalistic state which Elspeth eventually cures once again, this time permanently through use of intense deep probing. All of this, apart from Elspeth's final triumph, was foreseen and orchestrated by Ariel.
- Ariel: Ariel is a Misfit with a defective mind and a rare empathy-coercion combination of talents. He is the principal antagonist throughout the series, appearing time and again in positions of power and influence. Intelligent, manipulative, sadistic, ambitious, and highly attractive, Ariel was, before Rushton's coup, favoured by the keepers of Obernewtyn and assisted them in their failed quest to find the Beforetime weaponmachines. In The Farseekers, it is believed that Ariel has run away from Obernewtyn, and is presumed dead. However he has instead ingratiated himself with Henry Druid, the Herder Faction, the council, and Salamander. Ariel is megalomaniacal, with every new book in the series slowly unfolding his wide-stretching and subtle plan. While it is clear he intends to purposefully reawaken the weaponmachines, and has attempted to seduce Elspeth to his cause, it is unclear if he is aware of how dire the consequences of these actions would be. His motives are often shrouded in mystery, and his apparent ability as a futureteller means that he is always one step ahead of Elspeth and the Misfits. Identified by Gahltha as H'Rayka—or "one who brings destruction"—Elspeth assumes Ariel is the Destroyer of which Atthis warned her. In fact, as suggested by the literal interpretation of his title, rather than being the Destroyer, he will be responsible for leading another individual—the true Destroyer—to their unwitting fate.
- Dameon: Dameon is a powerful blind empath, and, with Matthew, one of Elspeth's first friends at Obernewtyn. He is an older misfit who is tall, blind, has an "angular" body, light to white eyes, a slightly large nose, and many freckles. Dameon is a very talented empath and Guildmaster of the Empath Guild. He first appears in the first book of the series, Obernewtyn, and has been regarded as one of Elspeth's most loyal friends. Dameon was the son of a Councilman. He was to inherit all the vast properties of his father after his death, however, upon the death of his father, Dameon's cousin pronounced him a Misfit in order to send him away and gain the land for himself. Ironically, even though to his cousin did not really believe he was a Misfit, he actually is one. Dameon was sent to Obernewtyn where he met Matthew, and later, Elspeth. In The Stone Key it is mentioned that he intends to sue his cousin to regain his lands, and establish a cooperative farm there. It has been interpreted by many that Dameon is secretly in love with Elspeth. There are many implications of this throughout the series, but a popular indicator occurs in the third book Ashling. When Elspeth and Rushton become betrothed, Dameon chooses not to return to Obernewtyn. Rushton says he knows the reason that he must stay behind, and Elspeth is surprised that Dameon blushes at this comment. Dameon then creates a "block", so that Elspeth cannot read his thoughts and he cannot read her feelings as they say goodbye. Series author Carmody has stated that she did in fact intend Dameon to be in love with Elspeth. This is made clear in The Red Queen.
- Matthew: Matthew is a farseeker, and, with Dameon, one of Elspeth's first friends at Obernewtyn. Matthew is the first human with whom Elspeth communicates mentally, and the first Talented human, other than herself, whom she encounters. He is later made farseeker ward, a post he holds until he is captured by slavers and taken to the Land of the Red Queen where he serves slave labour. Matthew is slightly older than Elspeth, and is described as tall, thin, and "sharp eyed". Matthew is a farseeker's guilden, and was the first to introduce Elspeth to Dameon.
- Dragon: Dragon is a young, but wild girl, and powerful empath-coercer. She was discovered and rescued on a farseeker expedition to the West Coast. She acted as the protector of the ruins in Aborium, and used her abilities to project images into people's minds of things of which they were thinking. Her name was unknown, so Elspeth called her Dragon, not just for her flame-red hair and fiery temperament, but for the image she projected into all their minds on their first encounter in her attempt to scare them away. In The Keeping Place, Dragon falls into a comatose due to Elspeth's harsh mental probe and begins attacking Elspeth in her dreams due to her longing for her and supposed 'abandonment' but is eventually cured. Dragon is the daughter of the Red Queen from the distant and mysterious Land of the Red Queen, and as such she holds important clues to Elspeth's personal quests in the deep subconscious levels of her mind.
- Domick: Domick is one of Rushton's allies early in the series, and later a coercer guilden. Domick is sent to establish a safe house for Obernewtyn in Sutrium, the capital of The Land. There he infiltrates the council as Obernewtyn's spy, creating the alter-ego Mika for this purpose, and his espionage work sends him almost insane. He later renounces his ties to Obernewtyn. He was captured, along with Rushton, by Ariel and taken to Herder Island where he was physically and mentally tortured. He was brainwashed by Ariel, and was infected with disease so as to spread a plague throughout the land.
- Kella: Kella is a healer guilden, Elspeth's main female friend, and Domick's bondmate. She accompanies Domick to Sutrium, although his work at the Council cause the two to become estranged.
- Daffyd: Daffyd is an armsman for the Herder renegade Henry Druid, and a Misfit. Daffyd is sympathetic to Obernewtyn's cause and is friends with Elspeth and Rushton, and is required to search for his Misfits friends, who disappeared after the Druid's camp was destroyed by a firestorm.
- Pavo: Pavo is a tecknoguilder who died from the rotting sickness while trying to help Elspeth and the other Misfits when they went to Sutrium.
Beasts
- Maruman: Maruman is a fey, battered cat, and the first being with whom Elspeth communicates mentally. Maruman endures frequent bouts of madness, and even at his most sane he is prone to making cryptic predictions about Elspeth's fate. It is from Maruman that Elspeth learns most about her roles as the Seeker and Innle. According to prophecy, Maruman is the Moonwatcher, one of Elspeth's guardians in her quest. Maruman first appears in the first book, Obernewtyn, where he encountered Elspeth at the Kinraide Orphan Home after she alerted a bird to his presence. This was also Elspeth's first experience with her mind powers; after she realised she could hear Maruman cursing, he is the first being she communicates with mentally. As the Moonwatcher, Maruman travels with Elspeth on most of her dreamtrail wanderings and adventures, protecting and guarding her from unknown forces, and serving as a foil to Gahltha, the horse also known as the Daywatcher. He is known as Yelloweyes to his fellow beasts, and is held in high regard by them. The Agyllians, or flamebirds, are in constant communication with Maruman, resulting in schizophrenic tendencies. It is from Maruman that Elspeth learns most about her roles as the Seeker and Innle, the Innle being destined to free the animals from their human oppressors. Maruman is a contrary being, and his temperament can shift, without warning, from wise to sullen and difficult. His age is never specified, it is only known that he is ancient, and possibly Beforetime in his origin, which would make him over a century old. As of The Keeping Place, he is left with only one eye, due to his solitary adventures in the radioactive Blacklands. The last appearance of Maruman is his return to Obernewtyn with Elspeth and Gahltha at the end of The Stone Key. However he is depicted cradled by Elspeth on the cover for the yet-unreleased sixth book, The Sending, where they are shown alone and walking the deathroad.
- Gahltha: Gahltha is a noble, black horse, originally mad and spiteful due to mistreatment by his former human owners, however he becomes wise, calm and understanding due to Atthis and the Agyllians when he decided he wanted to die but they promised him a purpose, to look after Elspeth. Gahltha is Elspeth's mount on all her travels, and is the Daywatcher, the second of Elspeth's fated guardians.
- Atthis: Atthis is the leader of the Agyllians, or Guanette birds, a powerful, wise and ancient species of bird. Atthis is also one of Elspeth's main sources of information regarding her quest. Atthis often communicates with Elspeth through Maruman. Agyllians in real life are probably most related to phoenixes, upon which they are based.
- Nerat: Nerat is a healer among the Agyllians. In The Farseekers, after Elspeth is found in a cave by three Agyllians and taken to him, Nerat taught her body to heal itself, as she had blocked her pain behind a mental barrier, and if she was not healed she would die.
- Darga: Darga is a small dog belonging to young farseeker Jik. Darga proved extremely adept at navigating safe pathways through contaminated land. He was lost and presumed dead in the firestorm that destroyed Henry Druid's camp, although Maruman subsequently said that Darga's return will be important.
- Avra: Avra is Gahltha's mate, and was originally a wild horse but was taken into the farms at Obernewtyn to work while Alexi and Madam Vega were there. Avra gave birth to a young foal in the Keeping Place.
- Sharna: Sharna was a young dog that worked at the farms in Obernewtyn. He died to protect Elspeth from Ariel's wolves.
- Faraf: Faraf is a young mare that was found at the start of the novel Ashling, where she was being beaten by a young boy who was her owner. Elspeth told Faraf how to get to Obernewtyn, but in the process of getting there Faraf was captured by Sadorians and was taken to be used in the battle games. Faraf was then gifted to Mirium, the coercer guilden for a bonding present. At the start of The Keeping Place, Faraf was escorted to Obernewtyn to live there. Elspeth calls Faraf "little sister mind", and they become very close.
Rebels
- Brydda Llewellyn: Brydda is a Seditioner and rebel leader. Brydda befriends Elspeth, and is sympathetic to the Misfits' cause. He invites Obernewtyn to join the rebellion against the council, although this proposal faces stern opposition from many of the other rebel leaders. Brydda was the chief organiser of the rebel alliance in its early stages, although control has increasingly been wrested from him by others, most notably Malik and his allies.
- Idris : One of Brydda's most trusted companions. Idris is killed in Ashling by Salamander.
- Malik: Malik is a power hungry rebel leader who is strongly opposed to having the Misfits join the rebellion. Unlike Brydda he has no sympathy for mutants, and regards them as monsters pretending to be human.
- Bodera: Bodera is the rebel leader of Sutrium, father of Dardelan, and Brydda's mentor.
- Dardelan: Dardelan is Bodera's son. He ends up looking after Bodera, and falls in love with Jakoby's daughter, Bruna, with whom he is going to be bonded.
Gypsies
- Swallow: Swallow is a Twentyfamilies gypsy, son and heir of the D'rekta (the leader of the Twentyfamilies), who later accedes to the D'rektorship himself. Elspeth and Swallow first met when he saved her from an amount of whip lashings from the community in the market. After he saved her he kissed her, but his love for her has never been found, nor Elspeth's love to him, if it ever did occur. He is connected to Elspeth and her quest, possibly as the fated "one of Kasanda blood" who will accompany Elspeth on the final stages of her quest. Swallow has saved Elspeth's life twice, saying he has heard a voice in his head telling him to help her when she is in need. Swallow is a code name; his real name is unknown.
- Iriny: Iriny is a half-sister to Swallow who is rescued by Elspeth in Ashling and brought to Sutrium for healing. It is through her that Elspeth was able to gain contact with Swallow.
- Darius: Darius is a Twentyfamilies gypsy who has the ability to heal beasts, as well as skills to heal humans.
- Maire: Maire is a Twentyfamilies gypsy healer, and is the grandmother of Swallow and Iriny.
Beforetimers
- Kasanda: Kasanda is a mysterious beforetime seer, also known as Cassandra Duprey, or Cassy. She lived through the Great White and into the first years and decades following it, when the world was in turmoil. Kasanda was the first gypsy D'rekta, and the sister-in-law of the first Red Queen. Before the Great White, she foresaw Elspeth's quest, and following the holocaust, she left scattered clues that will aid Elspeth in fulfilling it.
- Jacob Obernewtyn: Jacob Obernewtyn is the wealthy partner of Hannah Seraphim, owner of the Reichler clinic. Obernewtyn was named after his work on Misfits in the Reichler Clinic.
Sadorians
- Jakoby: Jakoby is the Sadorian tribal leader, mother to Bruna, and ally of Brydda Llewellyn.
- Bruna: Bruna is Jakoby's arrogant daughter, and the lover of Dardelan.
- Straaka: Straaka was a Sadorian tribesman, who believed he was betrothed to Miryum, and died defending her.
- Seresh: Seresh is Jakoby's twin sister, born with a deformed jaw and mouth, who was sent to the Earthtemple, where Jakoby was not allowed to see her. Seresh ran away from the Earthtemple. Guardians believed she had drowned herself, but later Jakoby was told Seresh had not died, but had stolen money and escaped on a ship. Seresh is the most likely candidate for Salamander.
Places
- Sutrium: Sutrium is the largest city of the Land, located in the lowlands, and often thought of as the capital. It was formerly the seat of the council, and became the seat of the governing of the Land by the citizens and rebels. The Misfits make many trips to Sutrium as it is a very important centre in the Land. The Sugreedoon River flows through the western part of the city.
- Aborium: Aborium is a large city on the West Coast. It was the main Herder centre of the Land, and the way to access Herder Isle. Aborium is a bayside city and is where Elspeth initially met Brydda.
- Murmroth: Murmroth is a large city on the West Coast, and the hardest to access city from Obernewtyn. Murmroth is quite isolated from other cities, apart from those on the West Coast, due to the Blacklands.
- Saithwold: Saithwold is a small city with a beach very near to Sutrium, and is often thought of as a suburb of Sutrium, which experiences many troubles. Saithwold is the sister city of Sawlney.
- Sawlney: Sawlney is northeast of Sutrium city. Sawlney is often described as a "humble city", though it has become increasingly dangerous for the Misfits. Sawlney is the sister city of Saithwold.
- Kinraide: Kinraide is a city north of Sutrium in the lowlands in a forested region. It is near to the town of Berrioc, and contains the orphan home where Elspeth grew up.
- Morganna: Morganna is a city on the West Coast.
- Herder Isle: Herder Isle is where the Herders go when they want to leave the cities, and is the home of "The One".
- Sador: Sador is where the battlegames were held to judge if whether the Misfits were the best allies. It is also the place where the Misfits went when they broke the curse on Rushton's mind that separated him from Elspeth.
References
- Fisher, Rebecca (3 September 2018). "Wavesong & The Stone Key: Still a long way to go…". Fantasy Literature.
- Schwartzkoff, Louise (12 November 2015). "Isobelle Carmody's The Red Queen brings The Obernewtyn Chronicles to an end". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- Obernewtyn.net. "Forum - Obernewtyn.net". www.obernewtyn.net.
- Obernewtyn.net. "Darksong Launch Interview - Obernewtyn.net". obernewtyn.net.
External links
- Penguin Books Official Obernewtyn Chronicles Site Archived 24 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- Obernewtyn.NET Official Obernewtyn Chronicles Fan Club
- The Obernewtyn Chronicles series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Isobelle Carmody at Penguin Books
Works by Isobelle Carmody | |
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Obernewtyn Chronicles |
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Legendsong Saga | |
Miscellaneous |
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