Age of the Five

Age of the Five is a fantasy trilogy by Trudi Canavan. The books in the series are Priestess of the White, Last of the Wilds and Voice of the Gods.

The series takes place in a continent named Ithania. The Northern Ithania worships five gods collectively known as the Five, the only survivors of a war of the gods. The five gods of the Southern Ithania are claimed to be false and this leads to eventual conflict.

The Five have chosen five humans as their representatives in the world. These five people are called the White and granted extraordinary powers by the gods. Auraya, the main character, is the last of the Five to be chosen. She tries to get adjusted to her new position, starting as a diplomat. During the series she discovers her innate magic is stronger than it was thought to be and goes forth unearthing secrets that have been resting for a very long time.


 * The Ageless: The majority of the Wilds. The most extreme example is
 * Call a Rabbit a Smeerp: The author renames everything to the point of needing a glossary in the back of each book. She justifies this in an interview by saying that coming across the word 'sheep' during a fantasy novel can kinda spoil things.
 * Cessation of Existence: What everyone believes happens with the Dreamweavers when they die, since they do not worship gods. It is revealed that
 * Color-Coded Patrician: Ordinary priests' and priestesses' circs (kind of cloaks) are rimmed with blue. High Priests and Priestesses have rims of gold. The White... well, white.
 * Conflicting Loyalty: Auraya is torn between her duties as a White and her loyalty to the Siyee.
 * Divine Date: Auraya and
 * Everything's Better with Princesses: Imi is the daughter of the Elai King.
 * First Girl Wins: Auraya ends up with Leiard.
 * Functional Magic: spells are cast using a kind of background magic, that can be depleted from a certain place for some time.
 * God Guise: The Pentadrian faith is thought to be the high priests taking advantage of people, since everybody knows there are only five true gods and these are the Five. It is revealed that
 * It is further revealed that, making this a double example.
 * Half-Identical Twins: The Twins (though it is implied that they used to be the same gender until one of them changed him/herself magically as a disguise).
 * The Heretic: Ellareen believes to be this.
 * I Am Who?: Leiard is
 * Immortality Begins At Twenty: Both played straight and subverted. Most of the White and the Wilds are grown-ups when they stop aging, but is only a child. (Also Emerahl's innate ability is to change her age.)
 * Jerkass Gods:
 * May-December Romance: Auraya with both Leiard and
 * Memory Gambit: deliberately forgot everything about  identity in order to survive.
 * Never Grew Up: who is the oldest of the Wilds, but appears to be a child.
 * Older Than They Look: The White, who stop aging when chosen by the gods. Also the Wilds, who achieve immortality by themselves.
 * Our Angels Are Different: The Siyee. Descended from humans after a goddess decided to experiment. Their wings are more similar to those of bats than birds.
 * Our Mermaids Are Different: The Elai. Descended from human ancestors after a goddess decided to experiment. They are hairless and human-shaped. Lampshaded when an Elai sees a statue of a mermaid and is annoyed with its appearance.
 * Psychic Link: What the dreamweavers do when they gather.
 * The Reveal: Several. The more noteworthy are the gods' true nature and Leiard's identity.
 * She's All Grown Up: Leiard discovers Auraya has done that.
 * Split Personality Merge: Happens eventually to
 * Talking Animal: Mischief and the other veez, although their ability to talk is limited.
 * Inner Dialogue:
 * Telepathy: Standard ability of most priests, especially the White.
 * Wizard Duel: Several between the Circlian and Pentadrian priests.
 * Wizard Duel: Several between the Circlian and Pentadrian priests.