Roberson, Jennifer - Cheysuli 08
Read Roberson, Jennifer - Cheysuli 08 Online
Authors: A Tapestry of Lions (v1.0)
A Tapestry of Lions
The Chronicles of the Cheysuli:
Jennifer Roberson
Contents
THE PROPHECY OF THE FIRSTBORN:
"One day a man of all blood
shall unite. In peace.
four warring realms and two magical
races.
Originally a race of shapechangers
known as the Cheysuli, descendants of the Firstborn, Homana's original race,
held the Lion Throne, but increasing unrest on the part of the Homanans, who
lacked magical powers and therefore feared the Cheysuli, threatened to tear the
realm apart. The Cheysuli royal dynast voluntarily gave up the Lion Throne so
that Homanans could rule Homana, thereby avoiding fullblown internecine war.
The clans withdrew altogether from
Homanan society save for one remaining and binding tradition: each Homanan
king, called a Mujhar, must have a Cheysuli liege man as bodyguard, councillor,
companion, dedicated to serving the throne and protecting the Mujhar, until
such a time as the prophecy is fulfilled and the Firstborn rule again.
This tradition was adhered to
without incident for nearly four centuries, until Lindir, the only daughter of
Shaine the Mujhar, jilted her prospec-tive bridegroom to elope with Hale, her
father's Cheysuli liege man. Because the jilted bridegroom was the heir of a neighboring
king, Bellam of Solinde, and because the marriage was meant to seal an alliance
after years of bloody war, the elopement resulted in tragic consequences.
Shaine concocted a web of lies to salve his obsessive pride, and in so doing
laid the groundwork for the annihilation of a race.
Declared sorcerers and demons
dedicated to the downfall of the Homanan throne, the Cheysuli were summarily
outlawed and sentenced to immediate execution if found within Homanan borders.
Shapechangers begins the "Chronicles
of the Cheysuli," telling the tale of Alix, daughter of Lindir, once
Princess of Homana, and Hale, once Cheysuli liege man to Shaine. Alix is an
unknown catalyst bearing the Old Blood of the Firstborn, which gives her the
ability to link with all lir and assume any animal shape at will. But Alix is
raised by a Homanan and has no knowledge of her abilities, until she is
kidnapped by Finn, a Cheysuli warrior who is Hale's son by his Cheysuli wife,
and therefore Alix's half-brother. Kidnapped with her is Carillon, Prince of
Homana. Alix learns the true power in her gifts, the nature of the prophecy
which rules all Cheysuli, and eventually marries a warrior, Duncan, to whom she
bears a son, Donal, and, much later, a daughter, Bronwyn.
But Homana's internal strife weakens
her defenses. Bellam of Solinde, with his sorcerous aide, Tynstar the Ihlini,
conquers Homana and assumes the Lion Throne.
In The Song of Homana, Carillon
returns from a five-year exile, faced with the difficult task of gathering an
army capable of overcoming Bellam.
He is accompanied by Finn, who has
assumed the traditional role of liege man. Aided by Cheysuli magic and his own
brand of personal power, Carillon is able to win back his realm and restore the
Cheysuli to their homeland by ending the purge begun by his uncle, Shaine.
Alix's grandfather. He marries Bellam's daughter to seal peace between the
lands, but Electra has already cast her lot with Tynstar the Ihlini, and works
against her Homanan husband. Carillon's failure to father a son forces him to
betroth his only daughter, Aislinn, to Donal, Alix's son, whom he names Prince
of Homana. This public approbation of a Cheysuli warrior is the first step in
restoring the Lion Throne to the sovereignty of the Cheysuli, required by the
prophecy, and sows the seeds of civil unrest.
Legacy of the Sword focuses on
Donal's slow assumption of power within Homana, and his personal assumption of
his role in the prophecy.
Because by clan custom a warrior is
free to take both wife and mistress, Donal has started a Cheysuli family even
though he will one day have to marry Carillon's daughter to cement his right to
the Lion Throne. By his Cheysuli mistress he has two children, lan and Isolde;
by Aislinn, Carillon's daughter, he eventually sires a son who will become his
heir. But the marriage is rocky immediately; in addition to the problems caused
by a second family, Donal's Homanan wife is also under the magical influence of
her mother, Electra, who is mistress to Tynstar. Problems are compounded by the
son of Tynstar and Electra, Strahan, who has his father's powers in full
measure. On Carillon's death Donal inherits the Lion, naming his legitimate
son, Niall, to succeed him. But to further the prophecy he marries his sister,
Bronwyn, to Alaric of Atvia, lord of an island kingdom.
Bronwyn is later killed by Alaric
accidentally while in lir-shape, but lives long enough to give birth to a
daughter, Gisella, who is mad.
In Track of the White Wolf, Donal's
son Niall is a young man caught between two worlds. To the Homanans, fearful of
Cheysuli power and intentions, he is worthy only of distrust, the focus of
their discontent. To the Cheysuli he is an "unblessed" man, because
even though far past the age for it, Niall has not linked with his animal.
He is therefore a lirless man, a
warrior with no power, and such a man has no place within the clans. His
Cheysuli half-brother is his liege man, fully "blessed," and lan's
abilities serve to add to Niall's feelings of inferiority.
Niall is meant to marry his
half-Atvian cousin, Gisella, but falls in love with the princess of a
neighboring kingdom, Deirdre of Erinn. Lirless, and with Gisella under the
influence of Tynstar's Ihlini daughter, Lillith, Niall falls prey to sorcery.
Eventually he links with his lir and
assumes the full range of Cheysuli powers, but he pays for it with an eye. His
marriage to Gisella is disastrous, but two sets of twins are born—Brennan and
Hart, Corin and Keely—which gives Niall the opportunity to extend his range of
influence via betrothal alliances. He banishes Gisella to At via after he foils
an Ihlini plot involving her, and then settles into life with his mistress,
Deirdre of Erinn, who has already borne Maeve, his illegitimate daughter.
A Pride of Princes tells the story
of each of Niall's three sons. Brennan, the eldest, will inherit Homana and has
been betrothed to Aileen, Deirdre's niece, to add a heretofore unknown
bloodline to the prophecy. Brennan's twin. Hart, is Prince of Solinde, a
compulsive gambler whose addiction results in a tragic accident involving all
three of Niall's sons. Hart is banished to Solinde for a year, and the
rebellious youngest son, Corin, to Atvia.
Brennan is tricked into siring a
child on an Ihlini-Cheysuli woman; Hart loses a hand and nearly his life in a
Solindish plot; in Erinn, Corin falls in love with Brennan's bride, Aileen,
before going to Atvia. One by one each is captured by Strahan, Tynstar's son,
who intends to turn Niall's sons into puppet-kings so he can rule through them.
All three manage to escape, but not until after each has been made to recognize
particular strengths and weaknesses.
For Keely, sister of Niall's sons,
things are different. In Daughter of the Lion, Keely herself is caught up in
the machinations of politics, evil sorcery, and her own volatile emotions.
Trained from childhood in masculine pursuits such as weaponry, Keely prefers
the freedom of choice and lifestyle, and as both are threatened by the imminent
arrival of her betrothed, Sean of Erinn, she fights to maintain her sense of
self in a world ruled by men. She is therefore ripe for rebellion when a
strong-minded, powerful Erinnish brigand—and possible murderer—enters her life.
But Keely's battles are increased
tenfold when Strahan chooses her as his next target. Betrayed, trapped, and
imprisoned on the Crystal Isle, Keely is forced through sorcery into a liaison
with the Ihlini that results in pregnancy. But before the child can be born,
Keely escapes with the aid of the Ihlini bard, Taliesin. On her way home she
meets the man believed to be her betrothed, and realizes not only must she
somehow rid herself of the unwanted child, but must also decide which man she
will have—thief or prince—in order to be a true Cheysuli in service to the
prophecy.
Flight of the Raven is the story of
Aidan, only son of Brennan and Aileen. Hounded in childhood by nightmares,
Aidan grows to adulthood convinced he is not meant to hold the Lion Throne
after all, but is intended to follow a different path, This path becomes more
evident as he sets out to visit his kin in Solinde and Erinn in order to find a
bride; very quickly it becomes apparent that Aidan has been singled out by the
Cheysuli gods to complete a quest for golden links personifying specific
Mujhars. In pursuing his quest, Aidan becomes the target of Lochiel the Ihlini,
Strahan's son.
Bound by their mutual Erinnish gift
of kivama, a strong empathy, Aidan and Shona of Erinn marry. The child of this
union wilt bring the Cheysuli one step closer to completion of the prophecy,
and is therefore a grave threat to Lochiel. The Ihlini attacks Clankeep, kills
Shona, and cuts the child from her belly. Aidan, seriously wounded, falls
victim to epilepsy; in his "fits" he prophesies of the coming of
Cynric, the Firstborn. To get back his stolen child, Aidan conquers his
weakness to confront Lochiel in Valgaard itself, where he wins back his son.
But Aidan realizes he is not meant for thrones and titles; he renounces his
rank, gives his son, Kellin, into the keeping of Aileen and Brennan, and takes
up residence as a shar tahl on the Crystal Isle, where he begins to prepare the
way for the coming of the Firstborn.