Maerad
Encyclopedia
Maerad is the principal character of the first two books of Pellinor
: The Gift / The Naming, and The Riddle by the fantasy writer Alison Croggon
.
During Cadvan and Maerad's journey to the Annaren capital, Norloch, they enter the realm of Ardina, an Elemental (faerie) being who rules the idyllic forest-realm of Rachida, and learn that Maerad's ancestry includes Elemental blood. Upon their exit from Rachida, they rescue a small boy named Hem as he seeks to hide from Hulls in the Valverras waste who had murdered the Pilani travellers who had rescued him. After much talk, Hem and Maerad realise they are brother and sister, and that they belong to the illustrious house of Pellinor
.
With the assistance of Dernhil's research, Cadvan uncovers Maerad's destiny
as the Foretold One: she who will wrest the mystery called Treesong back into the Light and defeat the Nameless One in his greatest uprising. In the city of Norloch, Cadvan's mentor Nelac confirms this to be the case as he initiates Maerad as a full Bard, whereupon her truename is revealed to be that which was prophecised; Elednor, the Fire-Lily of Edil-Amarandh. It is here that Maerad also encounters Enkir, now first bard of Norloch, and is forced to flee with Cadvan to the Island nation of Thorold. During her journey, Maerad comes into the Speech which allows her to converse fully with other Bards and animals, including her horse Imi and Cadvan's stallion Darsor.
Maerad is a strongwilled character and strives for her best. She is a little wary of Cadvan to begin with, but soon realises he helps her for her own good.
Her and Cadvan make a great team together and soon realise it, but the journey isn't without its fair share of quarrels and arguments!
of the Light, when the Rite of Renewal nearly fails and is only completed at the timely intervention of Cadvan. Evidence suggests that Maerad's role in this is more complicated than that of a normal Bard. Readers are also given the first indication that she is susceptible to the temptations of the Dark and that the Treesong was split by Sharma, the Nameless One, in his attempt to become immortal in a similar manner to the Elementals, who owned the Treesong. In order to prevail against the Dark and the Nameless, Cadvan and Maerad must journey north to uncover the secret of the Treesong. It is also implied that she has developed romantic feelings towards Cadvan but these are hindered by her fear of men.
Surviving an attack at sea by a Stormdog, a weather
creature created by the Winterking Arkan, Maerad and Cadvan make the journey North. Thereafter the reader sees a deterioration in the relationship between Cadvan and Maerad. This is further exacerbated when she mistakenly kills Ilar of Desor, a Bard who attempts to take them into custody after they are named as outlaws by Enkir. This is taken by Cadvan to be a sign of Maerad's inner, human darkness and a result of her wild, amoral elemental powers. When they are attacked in the mountain
passes by servants of the Winterking, Maerad is distressed to find she is unable to join her own power to that of Cadvan, which seemingly results in his death in an avalanche
. In fact, the horse
Darsor had saved both Cadvan and himself by bolting into a cave in the side of the mountain.
Rescued by Ardina, the dying Maerad is tended by Mirka, a reclusive, mountain-dwelling woman who is a member of the Pilani. Upon her recovery Maerad journeys to the Pilani capital, Murask, where she is introduced to her father's twin sister Sirkana and to a cousin named Dharin. Dharin is tasked with taking Maerad to the Fire
Island
s to consult the Wise Kindred, an Inuit
-like nation living far to the north, regarding the Treesong. Following her meeting with their Singer, a necromancer named Inka-Reb, Maerad is captured by Jussack raiders in the service of the Winterking Arkan and taken to his stronghold, Arkan-da. There, she is enchanted and kept beneath his sway, as he thinks to keep her with him, to be his Queen. Though he is in some ways cold and cruel, Maerad finds herself attracted to Arkan, and her hatred of him is tempered when she discovers he has been betrayed by the Nameless and does not consider himself Sharma's ally. In her conversations with the Winterking she learns that her lyre
, which belonged to her mother Milana, bears runes which form one half of the Treesong. Although Arkan can tell her what they mean, he is unable to reveal the music
of the Treesong itself. It is believed that Sharma, the Nameless, has the other half of the song in his domain of Den Raven in the south.
Ardina helps Maerad to escape Arkan by assuming the form of a Wolf while simultaneously creating a semblance of herself to confuse the Winterking. Together they escape the fury of Arkan, who unleashes a terrible storm upon them, and journey with a wolf pack to the Annaren border. Still in wolf form, Maerad is intuitively drawn to her birthplace, the now destroyed city of Pellinor, where she finds Cadvan and Darsor camping among the ruins, having been told by Ardina to await her return there. She assumes human form again - much to Cadvan's surprise – and they resume their quest
.
Her story resumes in the fourth book, The Singing, having been interrupted by the third book's focus on her younger brother, Hem.
, she is more Annaren than Pilani in appearance. She has pale skin, long black hair, a large strong nose and blue eyes. She is roughly 16–17 years old.
Since her kidnap and capture by the Winterking in the events of The Riddle, she has only one and a half fingers and a slightly large swollen thumb on her left hand, as a result of frostbite
in the frozen wastes of Zmarkan.
blood
, and as such their skill
, proficiency, and raw power
at Bardic Magic and Magery is extremely high. Therefore Maerad has immense magical strength, which she has used in several feats, as listed below:
Pellinor
Pellinor is a fantasy series by Australian author Alison Croggon, spanning four books, the last of which was released in June 2008 in Australia, September 2008 in the UK and March 2009 in the USA....
: The Gift / The Naming, and The Riddle by the fantasy writer Alison Croggon
Alison Croggon
Alison Croggon is a contemporary Australian poet, playwright, fantasy novelist, and librettist.-Life:Born in the Transvaal, South Africa, Alison Croggon's family moved to England before settling in Australia, first in Ballarat then Melbourne. She has worked as a journalist for the Sydney Morning...
.
The Gift / The Naming
For several years, Maerad and her mother lived at Gilman's Cot as slaves. Weakened by her broken spirit, Milana died before Maerad reached puberty, and she lived alone, fulfilling her duties from then onwards. Though she was a vulnerable girl, she appears to have managed to avoid the more harsh and degrading punishments meted out to female slaves; even as an untrained Bard she was considered to be witch-like and capable of placing the "evil eye" on those who sought to treat her roughly. When Cadvan of Lirigon came through the Cot, ensorcelled in a glimmerspell to hide him, Maerad saw him through his disguise, and he realised that she was an untrained Bard. He agreed to assist her escape from Gilman and took her to the School of Innail, where Maerad learns of her heritage for the first time and begins her training in Bardic studies. She is there loved by Dernhil of Gent, a scholar, who subsequently voluntarily sacrifices his life to ensure Hulls in the service of Enkir are unable to pursue Cadvan and Maerad.During Cadvan and Maerad's journey to the Annaren capital, Norloch, they enter the realm of Ardina, an Elemental (faerie) being who rules the idyllic forest-realm of Rachida, and learn that Maerad's ancestry includes Elemental blood. Upon their exit from Rachida, they rescue a small boy named Hem as he seeks to hide from Hulls in the Valverras waste who had murdered the Pilani travellers who had rescued him. After much talk, Hem and Maerad realise they are brother and sister, and that they belong to the illustrious house of Pellinor
Pellinor
Pellinor is a fantasy series by Australian author Alison Croggon, spanning four books, the last of which was released in June 2008 in Australia, September 2008 in the UK and March 2009 in the USA....
.
With the assistance of Dernhil's research, Cadvan uncovers Maerad's destiny
Destiny
Destiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...
as the Foretold One: she who will wrest the mystery called Treesong back into the Light and defeat the Nameless One in his greatest uprising. In the city of Norloch, Cadvan's mentor Nelac confirms this to be the case as he initiates Maerad as a full Bard, whereupon her truename is revealed to be that which was prophecised; Elednor, the Fire-Lily of Edil-Amarandh. It is here that Maerad also encounters Enkir, now first bard of Norloch, and is forced to flee with Cadvan to the Island nation of Thorold. During her journey, Maerad comes into the Speech which allows her to converse fully with other Bards and animals, including her horse Imi and Cadvan's stallion Darsor.
Maerad is a strongwilled character and strives for her best. She is a little wary of Cadvan to begin with, but soon realises he helps her for her own good.
Her and Cadvan make a great team together and soon realise it, but the journey isn't without its fair share of quarrels and arguments!
The Riddle
Further signs are given in Thorold that something is wrong at the heartHeart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
of the Light, when the Rite of Renewal nearly fails and is only completed at the timely intervention of Cadvan. Evidence suggests that Maerad's role in this is more complicated than that of a normal Bard. Readers are also given the first indication that she is susceptible to the temptations of the Dark and that the Treesong was split by Sharma, the Nameless One, in his attempt to become immortal in a similar manner to the Elementals, who owned the Treesong. In order to prevail against the Dark and the Nameless, Cadvan and Maerad must journey north to uncover the secret of the Treesong. It is also implied that she has developed romantic feelings towards Cadvan but these are hindered by her fear of men.
Surviving an attack at sea by a Stormdog, a weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
creature created by the Winterking Arkan, Maerad and Cadvan make the journey North. Thereafter the reader sees a deterioration in the relationship between Cadvan and Maerad. This is further exacerbated when she mistakenly kills Ilar of Desor, a Bard who attempts to take them into custody after they are named as outlaws by Enkir. This is taken by Cadvan to be a sign of Maerad's inner, human darkness and a result of her wild, amoral elemental powers. When they are attacked in the mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
passes by servants of the Winterking, Maerad is distressed to find she is unable to join her own power to that of Cadvan, which seemingly results in his death in an avalanche
Avalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
. In fact, the horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
Darsor had saved both Cadvan and himself by bolting into a cave in the side of the mountain.
Rescued by Ardina, the dying Maerad is tended by Mirka, a reclusive, mountain-dwelling woman who is a member of the Pilani. Upon her recovery Maerad journeys to the Pilani capital, Murask, where she is introduced to her father's twin sister Sirkana and to a cousin named Dharin. Dharin is tasked with taking Maerad to the Fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
Island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s to consult the Wise Kindred, an Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
-like nation living far to the north, regarding the Treesong. Following her meeting with their Singer, a necromancer named Inka-Reb, Maerad is captured by Jussack raiders in the service of the Winterking Arkan and taken to his stronghold, Arkan-da. There, she is enchanted and kept beneath his sway, as he thinks to keep her with him, to be his Queen. Though he is in some ways cold and cruel, Maerad finds herself attracted to Arkan, and her hatred of him is tempered when she discovers he has been betrayed by the Nameless and does not consider himself Sharma's ally. In her conversations with the Winterking she learns that her lyre
Lyre
The lyre is a stringed musical instrument known for its use in Greek classical antiquity and later. The word comes from the Greek "λύρα" and the earliest reference to the word is the Mycenaean Greek ru-ra-ta-e, meaning "lyrists", written in Linear B syllabic script...
, which belonged to her mother Milana, bears runes which form one half of the Treesong. Although Arkan can tell her what they mean, he is unable to reveal the music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
of the Treesong itself. It is believed that Sharma, the Nameless, has the other half of the song in his domain of Den Raven in the south.
Ardina helps Maerad to escape Arkan by assuming the form of a Wolf while simultaneously creating a semblance of herself to confuse the Winterking. Together they escape the fury of Arkan, who unleashes a terrible storm upon them, and journey with a wolf pack to the Annaren border. Still in wolf form, Maerad is intuitively drawn to her birthplace, the now destroyed city of Pellinor, where she finds Cadvan and Darsor camping among the ruins, having been told by Ardina to await her return there. She assumes human form again - much to Cadvan's surprise – and they resume their quest
Quest
In mythology and literature, a quest, a journey towards a goal, serves as a plot device and as a symbol. Quests appear in the folklore of every nation and also figure prominently in non-national cultures. In literature, the objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and...
.
Her story resumes in the fourth book, The Singing, having been interrupted by the third book's focus on her younger brother, Hem.
Appearance
Maerad is of average height. Unlike her brother, Hem/CaiHem/Cai
Hem, named Cai at birth is a Minor Bard in the Pellinor series of fantasy adventure books by Alison Croggon. He is the brother of Maerad and like her has amazing Bardic skills....
, she is more Annaren than Pilani in appearance. She has pale skin, long black hair, a large strong nose and blue eyes. She is roughly 16–17 years old.
Since her kidnap and capture by the Winterking in the events of The Riddle, she has only one and a half fingers and a slightly large swollen thumb on her left hand, as a result of frostbite
Frostbite
Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...
in the frozen wastes of Zmarkan.
Powers and abilities
Some members of the House of Karn have ElidhuElidhu
The Elidhu are a fictional race of beings which exist in the world of Pellinor created by Alison Croggon.They are an impossibly old race of immortal, invincible, elemental beings, created when the Sky shed a tear onto the Earth. The Elidhu have enormous power and can breed with mortals if they so...
blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
, and as such their skill
Skill
A skill is the learned capacity to carry out pre-determined results often with the minimum outlay of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills...
, proficiency, and raw power
Superpower (ability)
Superpower is a popular culture term for a fictional superhuman ability. When a character possesses multiple such abilities, the terms super powers or simply powers are used...
at Bardic Magic and Magery is extremely high. Therefore Maerad has immense magical strength, which she has used in several feats, as listed below:
- Created a living lionLionThe lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
from a rockRock (geology)In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
(never before done by a mortal); - Changed a Hull into a rabbit when attacked;
- Held up against an attack from a pureblood Elidhu, the Landrost;
- Sang a stormdog to tranquility (technically not magic, but remarkable for its rarity);
- Aided in the creation of powerful magics that were impossible before her arrival;
- Seen through the Illusory Veil cast by Arkan the Winterking;
- Located her brother Hem in the Valverras Waste;
- Killed a Kulag, which is a large, monstrous beast;
- Simultaneously defeated several Hulls, wers, and a WightWightWight is a Middle English word, from Old English wiht, and used to describe a creature or living sentient being. It is akin to Old High German wiht, meaning a creature or thing.In its original usage the word wight described a living human being...
of the Abyss single-handedly; - Can speak Annaren, the Bardic Speech, and the languageLanguageLanguage may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
of the ElidhuElidhuThe Elidhu are a fictional race of beings which exist in the world of Pellinor created by Alison Croggon.They are an impossibly old race of immortal, invincible, elemental beings, created when the Sky shed a tear onto the Earth. The Elidhu have enormous power and can breed with mortals if they so...
; - Under the encouragement of Ardina, has learned to alter her shapeShapeThe shape of an object located in some space is a geometrical description of the part of that space occupied by the object, as determined by its external boundary – abstracting from location and orientation in space, size, and other properties such as colour, content, and material...
, spending several dayDayA day is a unit of time, commonly defined as an interval equal to 24 hours. It also can mean that portion of the full day during which a location is illuminated by the light of the sun...
s as a member of a wolf pack in order to escape from the Winterking.
Possessions
Due to her period as a slave, Maerad owns very few possessions. What she does have are kept in her travelling pack and include:- A mystical LyreLyreThe lyre is a stringed musical instrument known for its use in Greek classical antiquity and later. The word comes from the Greek "λύρα" and the earliest reference to the word is the Mycenaean Greek ru-ra-ta-e, meaning "lyrists", written in Linear B syllabic script...
, thought to have been created by Nelsor of Afinil. This is inscribed with ancient Runes which form one half of the Treesong. A leather case for the Lyre was also given to her by Cadvan. It appears to be made by the ancient Dhyllin people. - A bookBookA book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
of poems given to her by Dernhil of Gent; - Ring given to her by Ardina;
- Prior to her imprisonment in Arkan-da, her swordSwordA sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
(called Irigan) and helm; - A coat of chainmailChainmailMail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.-History:Mail was a highly successful type of armour and was used by nearly every metalworking culture....
; - A set of Elidhu-made pipes, used to make music;
- A healing stone given to her by Silvia, a Bard of the School Innail;
- A small statueStatueA statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
of a catCatThe cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
she found among the wreckage of the Pilanel travelling group where she first found her brother, Hem; - After Chapter Two of The SingingThe SingingThe Singing is the fourth and last novel in Alison Croggon's Pellinor quadrilogy. The novel was completed in June 2007 and was published in Australia on 30 June 2008.Direct quote from Alison Croggon:...
, a new sword.