Old Kingdom: Difference between revisions

Set in a world sharply divided into the Old Kingdom, where magic rules, and the Southern Nations, where science is law, the Old Kingdom series revolves mostly around the conflict between two varieties of magic -- Charter and Free, which correspond roughly to the traditional alignments of [[Order Versus Chaos|Law and Chaos]]. Charter magic is defined by the Charter, a runic language, which gives structure and purpose to sorcery to make it a beneficial and constructive force; Free magic is wild, uncontrolled and given to corruption and wanton destruction. Poised between the two is the Abhorsen, who partakes of both to defend the people of the Charter from the undead and other monsters that Free magic and its servants spawn in order to work their wills.

 

 

Although parts of the setting bear a superficial similarity to the "stock" medieval fantasy, Nix quickly heads off into new territory, bringing a unique and different flavor to what might have otherwise been yet another fantasy [[Cliché Storm]]. The magic systems used in the book are radically different from the expected and contribute signficantly to its originality. One of the more interesting touches is the presence of the more advanced technological lands to the south of the Old Kingdom -- in particular Ancelstierre, home to many of the characters, which comes across much like England circa 1910-1920.

* [[Afterlife Antechamber]]: Death is like a river running through a series of caves, the last of which opens out under what looks like, but isn't, a sky full of stars. That's as far as any character goes; anybody who goes on from there never comes back. Undead raised by necromancers are always souls from within the caves, either because they died recently and hadn't finished the journey or because they deliberately lingered in one of the caves in hope of finding a way back to the land of the living.

* [[Agent Scully]]: Nicholas Sayre thinks his best friend's obvious magic is [[You're Just Jealous|just showing off]], and other obvious signs of magic are [[Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions|superstition]].

** Also, Nick admits to the existence of functional magic, having confronted and killed honest-to-god zombies, but he believes that there is a scientific explanation behind the usage of magic. Though when he is feverish, later on, he discounts many of the very real dangers of The Old Kingdom as superstition.

* [[Allergic to Evil]]: Free Magic has this effect on people, and broken Charter Stones induce extreme nausea in Charter mages.

** Free-willed Dead are more selfish and cowardy than anything else, willing to eat life force and kill people rather than truly die.

* [[Anarchy Is Chaos]]: Since the fall of the royal family, the Old Kingdom has been steadily sliding into chaos as the years go by, since the very existence of the family is necessary to the health of the kingdom.

** It succeeded at that goal six times before...

* [[Arc Words]]: "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?"

* [[Call Back]]: At the very start of the first book, Sabriel's father sees to it that his (apparently) dead newborn daughter is baptized in the Charter, to preserve her spirit. At the very end of the last book, {{spoiler|the Disreputable Dog does the same thing for Nick, and sends him back to life.}}

* [[Call to Adventure]]: Sabriel gets hers when a messenger from her father delivers her the Abhorsen's sword and bells, a sign that something is wrong. Lirael's comes from the Clayr, seeing her on the Red Lake sometime during the coming summer (and in a way, the Disreputable Dog is a walking, talking [[Call to Adventure]].)

** For the record, she did. And she feels better about being {{spoiler|the Abhorsen-in-Waiting}} than a reject Clayr.

* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?" for pretty much anyone associated with the Abhorsens.

** In particular, ''nothing'' can resist the call of the Ninth Gate if it's their time to die.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Mogget, in spades.

* [[Derelict Graveyard]]: Sabriel, in the first book, lands her Paperwing in a very unique [[Derelict Graveyard]]: the underground and enchanted grotto full of the burial ships of kings. As such, there's nothing harmful lurking there, but she does find a [[Human Popsicle]] that needs rescuing while she's there.

* [[The Determinator]]: Frequently, it is Sabriel and Lirael's willpower that allows them to persevere against the forces of the Dead.

* [[The Dragon]]: Hedge in the third book. At first he appears to be the [[Big Bad]], but it turns out he... well, [[Eldritch Abomination|isn't]]. Chlorr is pretty much ''his'' Dragon, though.

* [[Eldritch Abomination]]: Most of the Free Magic beasties, with some of the more powerful Dead shading into it as well. {{spoiler|Orannis is somewhere between this and [[Planet Eater]].}}

* [[Mr. Fanservice]]: Touchstone, and his kilt. Squee.

* [[Eternal Recurrence]]: Lirael discovers in ''Abhorsen'' that the world has been destroyed and remade seven times in the past.<ref> Well, that or the Destroyer annihilated seven or so other planets before he got to theirs. It's not totally clear.</ref>

** [[Fridge Logic]]: {{spoiler|What's Lirael besides someone to carry on the family line? Sabriel's own kids ended up being irrelevant to that bloodline anyways.}}

*** Well, the two obvious reasons are {{spoiler|A.)Garth Nix hadn't thought up Lirael yet B.) Lirael was barely a newborn baby at that time.}}

* [[Lady of War]]: Sabriel in the later books.

* [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]]: Most of the stuff written in the Book of the Dead is forgotten the moment it is read, and [[The Call Left a Message|the reader only remembers when it is required]].

** This troper always though Clair/Clare, which is a name which means ''clear'', like the Clayr's Sight (usually) and the pane of ice they focus their Sight onto to visually see the future.

*** That's because both suggestions have the same root - "clairvoyant" literally means "clear-seeing" in French.

* [[Muggle Born of Mages]]:

** What Lirael initially believes herself to be, as a teenage Clayr who has yet to receive the Sight. {{spoiler|She's not. She doesn't get the Sight only because she inherited her ''father's'' abilities as a future Abhorsen.}}

** It seems at first like Sam is this, as his sister is clearly the future queen and he's pretty hopeless at his Abhorsen-in-Waiting training, {{spoiler|which we later find out is because Lirael is the true Abhorsen-in-Waiting.}} However, it's subverted at the end when we find out that {{spoiler|Sam has his own ability, as a Wallmaker}}.

* [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast]]: Astarael, the Sorrowful; also, the Weeper: If you hear it, you die.

** Also {{spoiler|Orannis, The Destroyer.}}

* [[Royals Who Actually Do Something]]

* [[Save Both Worlds]]: Ancelstierre ends up at risk from both Kerrigor and {{spoiler|the Destroyer}}, and as the Abhorsen will probably tell you, [[The World Is Always Doomed]] in the Old Kingdom.

** It is made clear that it's a rather unusual library. [[Badass Bookworm]] status is essentially required to work there.

*** In fact, Lirael gets an enchanted whistle that's basically there to call for help. The gist of the conversation: "What's the whistle for?" "In case you run into something."

*** It's positioned so you don't need your arms to blow it... in case something's holding your arms.

*** And then there's the regulation magical voice-activated clockwork mouse that runs back to the Reading Room and sounds the alarm in case you get into trouble and no-one is in earshot of the enchanted whistle...

* [[Self-Fulfilling Prophecy]]: The Clayr ''live'' on these. They initiate new members into their ranks when they See themselves initiating her! Although presumably, their powers awake shortly after. And they do occasionally hand out jobs which haven't been forecast.

* [[Semi-Divine]]: Four of the Nine poured most of their power into mortal bloodlines; the Clayr, the Abhorsen, the royal family and the Wallmakers. Consequently, although not directly related to a deity, they all do have powers inherited from a god (or close enough).

* [[Servile Snarker]]: Mogget, since he's basically an enslaved {{spoiler|[[Eldritch Abomination]] of godlike power}} and does not appreciate the magic compelling him to always help the Abhorsens. Being [[Deadpan Snarker|completely]] [[Cats Are Mean|insufferable]] is his only way around it.

* [[Sociopathic Hero]]: Mogget toes -- or paws -- the line between this and [[Hidden Agenda Villain]].

* [[The Soulsaver]]: Part of the Abhorsen's job description.

* [[Start of Darkness]]: The yet-to-be-released fourth book in the series will be about an Abhorsen named Clariel...{{spoiler|a.k.a. Chlorr.}}

* [[Strong Family Resemblance]]: Thanks to [[Superpowerful Genetics]], the Abhorsens are all Pale-Skinned Brunettes who get sunburned absurdly fast and the Clayr are all [[Darkskinned Blonde|Dark Skinned Blondes]] with a severe shortage of men.

* [[Unexplained Recovery]]: {{spoiler|The Dog bends the rules when it suits her, and it suited her to bring back Nick.}}

* [[Unstuck in Time]]: The Clayr live like this. See [[Mad Oracle]].

* [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic]]: the "blue-hatted, blue-scarved" refugees the Ancelstierran government constantly screws over.

* [[Wham! Episode]]: The prologue to Abhorsen is an account of {{spoiler|the brutal assassination of Sabriel and Touchstone on foreign ground, using modern weaponry. They received very little screen time in ''Lirael'' and are only revealed to have survived a third of the way through ''Abhorsen'' (and the attack still killed all but one of the royal escort),}} making it especially shocking, particularly if reading the trilogy start to finish. {{spoiler|Their deaths are even more convincing due to a subtle perspective shift in the narration which falls just short of lying to the reader's face.}}

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