Sabriel
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| Cover of Sabriel, showing the title character with her sword and bells, and the Greater Dead Adept Kerrigor. | |
| Author | Garth Nix |
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| Cover Artist | Leo and Diane Dillon (?) |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Series | Old Kingdom series |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| Publisher | HarperCollins Publishers |
| Released | 1995 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) and (audio-CD & e-book) |
| Pages | 496 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-06-447183-7 (Paperback edition) |
| Followed by | Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr |
- For the Khazar ruler who converted to Judaism, see Bulan (Khazar).
- This article is about the book. For the character Sabriel herself, see Sabriel (character).
Sabriel is a fantasy novel by Garth Nix, first published in 1995. It is the first in his Old Kingdom trilogy, and is followed by Lirael and Abhorsen. The cover depicts the Abhorsen Sabriel ringing the bell Ranna, with the Greater Dead Adept Kerrigor behind her.
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
The novel is set in two neighbouring fictional countries: To the south lies Ancelstierre, which has a technology level and society similar to that of early-20th century England, and to the north lies the Old Kingdom, where magic works and dangerous spirits roam the land - a fact officially denied by the government of Ancelstierre and disbelieved by most of Ancelstierre's inhabitants. (Those who live near the border know the truth of it, especially on days when the wind is blowing out of the Old Kingdom.) These dangerous spirits range from undead corpses known as Hands to supernatural beings known as Free Magic elementals.
When the current Abhorsen is overcome by one such evil, he sends his daughter Sabriel - who is being raised in Ancelstierre, out of reach of those who might try to strike at her father through her - his bells and sword, she must return to the Old Kingdom to rescue her father and prevent the evil's return.
[edit] Plot summary
Sabriel is joined on her journey back to the Old Kingdom by an ancient Free Magic construct of unknown origin named Mogget. Mogget appears in the form of a white cat and is bound by a red Charter magic collar to serve the Abhorsen. Sabriel is told never to release Mogget's collar. Sabriel and Mogget take a craft known as a Paperwing to try and find her father. On the way, they are attacked by the Dead. The craft is wrecked, and in order to save herself, Sabriel releases Mogget. The cat reveals himself to be an incredibly powerful Free Magic elemental. It almost kills Sabriel, but she rebinds him with a ring she received from him a few hours before for just such a purpose.
Sabriel and Mogget then find themselves in the pit of Holehallow, the burial place of ancient royalty, where they come across their next companion, the mysterious Touchstone, who has been magically imprisoned as a wooden ship's figurehead for over two hundred years. He claims that he doesn't remember his past, or even his own name. At Mogget's suggestion, he asks to be called Touchstone, even though it is a jester's name, because he secretly remembers his failure to protect his family.
The three of them trek through the Old Kingdom in an attempt to find the Abhorsen. They find him at the bottom of Belisaere, trapped in Death. Since he has stayed too long in Death, he cannot return, but with what little time he has left, the Abhorsen tells Sabriel about the ultimate evil known as Kerrigor. Kerrigor has risen far from Death and is headed to wreak havoc in the Old Kingdom and Ancelstierre. Sabriel releases her father from Death for a short while, and once they emerge from Death, father and daughter part for the last time -- he, to ring Astarael and bring Kerrigor down; and she, to save Touchstone by bringing him (and herself) as far away from Astarael's music as possible.
They succeed, but as long as Kerrigor's body is intact, he will rise from Death again and again. Sabriel and Touchstone use another Paperwing to bring them closest to the Wall as possible, and cross over to Ancelstierre to find Kerrigor's body, the location of which was shown to Sabriel by the Clayr twins Sanar and Ryelle. They find the body, and Sabriel finally defeats Kerrigor by binding him with Ranna and Mogget's collar.
She dies, but is sent back by the previous Abhorsens as she cannot die without someone else to take her place as Abhorsen. She wakes up with Touchstone before her, and both Mogget and Kerrigor asleep, bound by Ranna.
[edit] Important Characters/Magical Entities
[edit] The Bloodlines
Thousands of years ago, seven of the Nine Bright Shiners sacrificed their powers to create the Charter: a combination of powerful objects (the Great Stones and the Wall) and three magic blood lines, known as the Abhorsen, the Clayr and the Royal Family. Five of the Seven completely lost themselves (one in each object or blood line) while two remained somewhat independent. A fourth group called the Wallmakers is mentioned but are not described until later in the series. All that is truly known is that they somehow made several objects of power, including the Stones and Wall, then disappeared. These artifacts, the Charter Stones, are the source of the web of Charter magic that maintains peace and order over the kingdom. The Bloodlines all have a higher concentration of strong charter mages than the general populace, (the smaller lines especially:The Abhorsen, Royals and Wallmakers) the strength of the charter mages also are stronger than the average charter mage.
[edit] The Abhorsens
One of the most respected figures in the Old Kingdom, the Abhorsen uses both the dangerous Free Magic-based powers of a necromancer and the benevolent magic of the Charter to keep the gates of Death against the return of Dead spirits back into Life. Sabriel and her father are members of the Abhorsen family. They use the bells, smallest to largest, Ranna, Mosrael, Kibeth, Dyrim, Belgaer, Saraneth, and Astarael, in tandem with their natural affinity with Death to amplify their powers. Among the families guarding the Old Kingdom from disaster, Abhorsens are unique in their ability to sense Death. They are able to identify undead creatures and differentiate them from the living, and cross over into Death to fight undead minions before they manifest themselves in the living world.
[edit] The Royal Family
For centuries, the royalty justly ruled the Old Kingdom from their palace at the capital Belisaere as powerful upholders of the peace, until their fall by the hands of Kerrigor. The Kingdom now suffers from their bicentennial absence. Unlike the Abhorsens, the Royalty cannot cross into Death at will and do not usually use Free Magic. Their specialty lies in diplomacy and if that does not suffice, well-developed abilities in Charter combat magic. They are connected to the Clayr and Abhorsens by blood.
[edit] The Clayr
The biggest family among the magical bloodlines, the Clayr are arbiters of justice and foresight who see all from their Glacier in the northernmost parts of the Old Kingdom. The Clayr are a family of seers who may, when there is need, pool their powers together to see clear visions of the future. The Clayr also possess powerful abilities in Charter Magic, similar to the Royal Family. The Glacier of the Clayr is home to a great library, as well, which is a repository of magic and history, and is even used as "cold storage" for particularly dangerous, but immortal, creatures.
[edit] The Wallmakers
The Wallmakers were the builders of the Wall that divides the Old Kingdom from Ancelstriere and creators of the Charter Stones; a people particularly skilled in the creation of magical objects. They created the weaponry of the Royal Family (such as the twin swords wielded by Touchstone), the ceramic armor known as gethre owned by the Abhorsens, the Abhorsen's sword, and other extremely magical objects and weapons possessed by the Clayr. They are a magic bloodline; that is known. Their history, however, is left vague until later in the series. There is only one known living member of the Wallmakers bloodline- Prince Sameth, the second child of King Touchstone and Queen Sabriel.
[edit] Characters in "Sabriel"
- Sabriel - title character
- Mogget - an ancient Free Magic construct of unknown origin; appears in the form of a white cat and is bound by a red Charter magic collar to serve the Abhorsen
- Touchstone - a bastard prince, son of a former Queen and a nobleman, and is now the only one who has the Royal Blood; he has been trapped as a figurehead in a wooden boat for many years, in order to save him (and his Blood) from death
- Kerrigor - a Greater Dead adept, at odds with the Abhorsens of the past for many years now; previously bound in Death by Sabriel's father, but released once again due to the fact that his body lies safe
- Terciel (known as "Abhorsen") - Sabriel's father
[edit] Major themes
This book deals with the loss of family (Sabriel's and Touchstone's) and coming to terms with who we are, and the responsibility each hold. Another theme is that of destiny. Both the Book of the Dead and Sabriel's almanac contain the lines:
Does the Walker choose the Path, or does the Path choose the Walker?
[edit] Sources, references, external links, quotations
| Novels | Sabriel • Lirael • Abhorsen • The Creature in the Case • Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories |
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| Characters | Chlorr of the Mask • Disreputable Dog • Kerrigor • Lirael • Mogget • Orannis • Sabriel • Terciel • Touchstone |
| Magic | The Charter • Death • Five Great Charters • Free Magic • Nine Bright Shiners |
| Magical objects | Necromantic bells • Nehima • Paperwing |
