Old Kingdom: Difference between revisions
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''"Yes," said Abhorsen. "I am a necromancer, but not of the common kind. Where others of the art raise the Dead, I lay them back to rest. And those that will not rest, I bind. Or try to. I am Abhorsen."''|'''Terciel,''' ''from the first chapter of '''Sabriel.'''''}}
A young adult fantasy series by [[Garth Nix]] consisting of three volumes -- ''Sabriel'', ''Lirael'' and ''Abhorsen''
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
The first book tells the story of Sabriel, daughter of the Abhorsen, who discovers that since something bad has happened to her father, she must protect the world from the hordes of undead that threaten it. The second and third are set some years later and follow several other protagonists as they attempt to prevent [[Sealed Evil in a Can|a great evil from escaping its prison]].
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
{{tropelist}}
* [[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.
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** 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.
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* [[Embarrassing Nickname]]: Touchstone. Mogget gives him the name, and Touchstone finds it quite annoying, ([[As You Like It|it's a fool's name]]) -- yet [[My Greatest Failure|he can't argue with it.]]
* [[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>
* [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"]]: Sabriel was rather surprised to find out that Abhorsen was not actually her father's name, but instead his title.
* [[Evil Is Hammy]]: Kerrigor.
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* [[Last Girl Wins|Last Boy Wins]]: For Lirael. She first encountered a visitor in the Clayr's Glacier, but was too depressed (and fourteen years old) to notice he was trying to ask her out. Then she met Sam, while he was busy running away and she was undertaking a voyage to find out what Hedge was up to {{spoiler|and Sam turned out to be her ''[[Squick|nephew]]'', so yeah}}. Last guy she meets? Nick Sayre. The series ends with the two obviously attracted to each other, but not actually dating yet.
* [[Lineage Comes From the Father]]:
** For Sabriel, {{spoiler|Lirael}} and Ellimere. However, averted with Sabriel's
** Also Averted with {{spoiler|Lirael's ability as a Remembrancer, that is, the ability to see into the past}}, something which can only come from being a child of {{spoiler|''both'' the Abhorsen and the Clayr}}.
* [[Long Lost Sibling]]: {{spoiler|Lirael is Sabriel's half-sister.}}
* [[Mad Oracle]]: The Clayr. An entire clan built of this. In most circumstances, their power of Sight is divided among the hundreds of Clayr, granting each of its members with random fragments of possible futures. This also gives them a rather incoherent sense of time and causality (which might help explain the number of one-night stands they have.)
* [[Magic Mirror]]: The Dark Mirror, a handheld portal into the past, only workable by Remembrancers. By walking into Death and reciting the incantation, the user can see into past events. The farther back one wants to look, the farther into Death she must walk.
* [[Magic Music]]: The necromancers' and Abhorsens' bells. Each of the
* [[Magical Gesture]]: Charter Magic is done by drawing the signs on the air, with hands or with sword-tip. A diamond of protection is drawn with one's sword. And, of course, using the magical bells requires gestures (different ways of ringing will produce different effects), so this all crosses over into [[Ritual Magic]].
* [[Magical Girl]]: Technically, Sabriel and Lirael.
* [[Magical Library]]: The Library of the Clayr. It's carved out of glacier and is the largest repository of magic books and monsters around. It's keept in order by [[Crazy Prepared]] [[Magical Libarian
* [[Magic Versus Science]]: Magic tends to win.
{{quote|“Really, this is impossible!” the [[Muggles|doctor]] began, till a cold glance from one of the guards convinced him that his conversation was currently not required.}}
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* [[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.
* [[Shout-Out]]: The job of Sabriel's family, Abhorsen, shares a name with the executioner in ''[[Measure for Measure]]''.
* [[Sociopathic Hero]]: Mogget
* [[The Soulsaver]]: Part of the Abhorsen's job description.
* [[Songs in the Key of Lock]]: A shortcut to Abhorsen's House in ''Sabriel'' will only open to the sound of Mosrael, a bell which is otherwise never used in the series (it sends the ringer into Death.)
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