Marcia Overstrand
Encyclopedia
Marcia Overstrand is a fictional character in the Septimus Heap
series by Angie Sage
. She is the current ExtraOrdinary Wizard and an extremely powerful one at that. She has Septimus
as her Apprentice for the next seven years.
world.
. His own son Septimus apparently died that same day after his birth.
, when Jenna is 10 years and is discovered Marcia takes Jenna and escapes, assisted by Silas, his son Nicko and a mysterious Young Army boy called Boy 412. Marcia does a projection while escaping to Marram Marshes to fend off the Hunters. At Zelda's cottage Marcia learns that the necromancer DomDaniel has taken over the Wizard Tower. She wants to take revenge but Alther's ghost warns her. While teaching the kids about magyk, she learns that Boy 412 has immense magykal powers. Marcia asks him to be her apprentice, but Boy 412 refuses. One day, Marcia receives a message from Silas and goes back to the Castle, but it was a trap and she gets caught by DomDaniel's guards. He throws her in a dungeon and takes away her amulet which drains all her powers. Boy 412, assisted by Jenna and Nicko, come aboard DomDaniel's ship and a fight ensues which resulted in Marcia taking back her amulet and escaping on the Dragon-Boat. Later DomDaniel consumes his own apprentice and through trickery tries to steal the amulet again, but this time Marcia destroys him completely. Boy 412 accepts her apprenticeship, and Marcia comes to know that he is the real Septimus Heap
.
After Septimus becomes her apprentice, Marcia comes back to the Wizard Tower in Flyte
. She gets rid of all the darkness left by DomDaniel but cannot get rid of a shadow which keeps trailing her. She decides to build a ShadowSafe. With Jenna getting kidnapped and Septimus on her search, Marcia decides to eliminate the shadow completely. But the eldest Heap son, Simon, jealous of the apprenticeship bestowed to Septimus, made a Placement on her by placing DomDaniel's bones inside the shadow safe's parts. In the finale, DomDaniel's bones gets reassembled and tries to kill Marcia, but Septimus realises this and helps Marcia in identifying the bones and thus destroys DomDaniel again. Marcia gets Simon arrested.
In Physik
, Marcia comes to learn that Septimus has been sent back in time by getting pulled through a magykal looking glass in the Queen's Room by Marcellus Pye. In the meantime, an evil Queen Etheldredda's spirit (who sent back Septimus) gets released by Silas Heap when he unseals her portrait and wreaks havoc on the Castle. Marcia does all she can to get back Septimus and stop a sicknesse from spreading but nothing seems to work. Jenna, Nicko and Snorri go back in time and bring back Septimus, but sadly Nicko and Snorri get trapped in that time. When Septimus gets back he and Marcia create an antidote for the sicknesse by using what he learned from Marcellus. Marcia, on learning Etheldredda's evil plan to kill Jenna so she can be queen forever, decides to destroy her. She makes a huge bonfire out of Septimus' pet dragon Spit Fyre's fire and through strong magic, pulls Etheldredda's spirit to the fire and destroys her forever. She is also able to destroy Etheldredda's pet called Aie-Aie which was responsible for the "sicknesse" that was going around.
Marcia, in order to control Septimus' moves, takes away his flyte charm and locks it. Tertius Fume, an ancient evil ghost, calls for the legendary drawing of the Queste
stone. Marcia prevents this by helping Septimus escape, assisted by Jenna and his friend Beetle, who discovers that going to the House of Foryx will enable them to find Nicko and Snorri. He also realises that going there is actually the Queste. Marcia tries to find him through her magic and even enlists Simon's help through his tracker ball. But all hope seems failing when she realises that Septimus' dragon Spit Fyre can track its owner. She takes Sarah Heap and goes on the dragon to the House of Foryx, where she bangs on the door, ignoring the door bell, and immediately Septimus - followed by the others - come out and all are able to go back in their own time.
In Syren
Marcia promotes Septimus to senior apprentice because he was the first to complete and come back alive from his Queste.
said the character was impressive as a well written stand-alone for being haughty as well as vain and developing a soft spot for Septimus. She colours up the cast.
In a review in Dawn.com, Sabina Qazi says that when evil Hunter is outwitted by Marcia's magic, that renders her more realistic than ever. According to her "The ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia — she must be differentiated from the ordinary wizards — is truly a larger than life character in her purple dress, pointy purple python-skin boots and formidable temper."
Amazon.com
also gave a positive review saying "Marcia is probably the
most interesting character there - dignified, a little haughty, very powerful, and sometimes overly concerned about how her clothes look. Her character was enjoyed for being very fashionable.
Septimus Heap
Septimus Heap is a series of fantasy novels featuring a protagonist of the same name written by English author Angie Sage. Six novels, entitled Magyk, Flyte, Physik, Queste, Syren and Darke, have been published, the first in 2005 and the most recent in 2011...
series by Angie Sage
Angie Sage
Angie Sage is the author of the Septimus Heap series which includes Magyk, Flyte, Physik, Queste, Syren, and Darke. She is also the illustrator and/or writer of many children's books, and is the new writer of the Araminta Spook series.Angie Sage grew up in Thames Valley, London and Kent. Her...
. She is the current ExtraOrdinary Wizard and an extremely powerful one at that. She has Septimus
Septimus Heap (character)
Septimus Heap is the main protagonist in the bestselling book series Septimus Heap, by Angie Sage. He is the Apprentice to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Marcia Overstrand...
as her Apprentice for the next seven years.
Description
Marcia is described as a tall woman with the characteristic green eyes of the Wizards. She has long dark curly hair. Marcia wears a deep purple tunic, held at the waist by her ExtraOrdinary Wizard belt. She wears a purple cloak around her which is a part of her Magyk. Around her neck is the Akhu-Amulet of Hotep-Ra, the source of power for ExtraOrdinary Wizards. She wears a pair of pointy purple python skin boots made specially for her by Terry Tarsal, the shoe maker. She has an aura of Magyk around her and people are fascinated as well as extremely scared by her as Marcia, though she doesn't know it, can scare people very easily.Development
According to author Angie Sage, the character of Septimus Heap was in her mind from a long time, but it was not until the character of Marcia Overstrand was developed and appeared on the scene that everything in the series came up together. The bossyness of Marcia is what inspired her to continue writing the series and she was able to develop everything in the Septimus HeapSeptimus Heap
Septimus Heap is a series of fantasy novels featuring a protagonist of the same name written by English author Angie Sage. Six novels, entitled Magyk, Flyte, Physik, Queste, Syren and Darke, have been published, the first in 2005 and the most recent in 2011...
world.
How she became ExtraOrdinary Wizard
Marcia Overstrand has always been ambitious. Ever since she was a child she wanted to be ExtraOrdinary Wizard. Though her peers settled for being apprentice to Ordinary Wizards, Marcia made sure that she became the Apprentice to the then ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Alther Mella. Marcia learned a lot from Alther who was an extremely patient teacher and a good wizard. When Marcia completed her final wizard examination, the heir to the Castle was born to the queen. Marcia and Alther went to the Palace to congratulate the queen. But the queen and Alther were murdered by an assassin. Marcia was able to protect the Princess and herself. Alther gave her the Akhu-Amulet before dying and she became the ExtraOrdinary wizard. Marcia, in order to hide the princess, gave her to fellow wizard Silas Heap, who raised her as his own daughter JennaJenna Heap
Jenna Heap is a leading character in the Septimus Heap book series by Angie Sage. She is the adoptive sister to Septimus and the adoptive daughter of Silas Heap and Sarah Heap. Jenna has many friends in the book, yet also a lot of enemies...
. His own son Septimus apparently died that same day after his birth.
Afterwards in the novels
In the first novel MagykMagyk
Magyk is a fantasy novel by Angie Sage. It is the first book in the projected seven-book Septimus Heap series. The sequel, Flyte was released in March 2006, Physik in March 2007, Queste in 2008, Syren in September 2009, and Darke in July 2011...
, when Jenna is 10 years and is discovered Marcia takes Jenna and escapes, assisted by Silas, his son Nicko and a mysterious Young Army boy called Boy 412. Marcia does a projection while escaping to Marram Marshes to fend off the Hunters. At Zelda's cottage Marcia learns that the necromancer DomDaniel has taken over the Wizard Tower. She wants to take revenge but Alther's ghost warns her. While teaching the kids about magyk, she learns that Boy 412 has immense magykal powers. Marcia asks him to be her apprentice, but Boy 412 refuses. One day, Marcia receives a message from Silas and goes back to the Castle, but it was a trap and she gets caught by DomDaniel's guards. He throws her in a dungeon and takes away her amulet which drains all her powers. Boy 412, assisted by Jenna and Nicko, come aboard DomDaniel's ship and a fight ensues which resulted in Marcia taking back her amulet and escaping on the Dragon-Boat. Later DomDaniel consumes his own apprentice and through trickery tries to steal the amulet again, but this time Marcia destroys him completely. Boy 412 accepts her apprenticeship, and Marcia comes to know that he is the real Septimus Heap
Septimus Heap (character)
Septimus Heap is the main protagonist in the bestselling book series Septimus Heap, by Angie Sage. He is the Apprentice to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Marcia Overstrand...
.
After Septimus becomes her apprentice, Marcia comes back to the Wizard Tower in Flyte
Flyte
Flyte is the second book in the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. The cover is modeled after the in-story book: How to Survive Dragon Fostering: A Practykal Guide with the Flyte Charm lying on top. The book was released worldwide on March 2006...
. She gets rid of all the darkness left by DomDaniel but cannot get rid of a shadow which keeps trailing her. She decides to build a ShadowSafe. With Jenna getting kidnapped and Septimus on her search, Marcia decides to eliminate the shadow completely. But the eldest Heap son, Simon, jealous of the apprenticeship bestowed to Septimus, made a Placement on her by placing DomDaniel's bones inside the shadow safe's parts. In the finale, DomDaniel's bones gets reassembled and tries to kill Marcia, but Septimus realises this and helps Marcia in identifying the bones and thus destroys DomDaniel again. Marcia gets Simon arrested.
In Physik
Physik
Physik is the third book in the Septimus Heap series written by Angie Sage. It is the sequel to Flyte. The novel was released on March 28, 2007. The sequel of Physik is Queste...
, Marcia comes to learn that Septimus has been sent back in time by getting pulled through a magykal looking glass in the Queen's Room by Marcellus Pye. In the meantime, an evil Queen Etheldredda's spirit (who sent back Septimus) gets released by Silas Heap when he unseals her portrait and wreaks havoc on the Castle. Marcia does all she can to get back Septimus and stop a sicknesse from spreading but nothing seems to work. Jenna, Nicko and Snorri go back in time and bring back Septimus, but sadly Nicko and Snorri get trapped in that time. When Septimus gets back he and Marcia create an antidote for the sicknesse by using what he learned from Marcellus. Marcia, on learning Etheldredda's evil plan to kill Jenna so she can be queen forever, decides to destroy her. She makes a huge bonfire out of Septimus' pet dragon Spit Fyre's fire and through strong magic, pulls Etheldredda's spirit to the fire and destroys her forever. She is also able to destroy Etheldredda's pet called Aie-Aie which was responsible for the "sicknesse" that was going around.
Marcia, in order to control Septimus' moves, takes away his flyte charm and locks it. Tertius Fume, an ancient evil ghost, calls for the legendary drawing of the Queste
Queste
Queste is a fantasy novel by Angie Sage. It is the fourth book in the Septimus Heap series. The book was released on 16 April 2008, in the United States. The cover of the book is modeled after the in-story Restored notes of Nicko bound by Ephaniah Grebe into a book, with the Queste stone lying on...
stone. Marcia prevents this by helping Septimus escape, assisted by Jenna and his friend Beetle, who discovers that going to the House of Foryx will enable them to find Nicko and Snorri. He also realises that going there is actually the Queste. Marcia tries to find him through her magic and even enlists Simon's help through his tracker ball. But all hope seems failing when she realises that Septimus' dragon Spit Fyre can track its owner. She takes Sarah Heap and goes on the dragon to the House of Foryx, where she bangs on the door, ignoring the door bell, and immediately Septimus - followed by the others - come out and all are able to go back in their own time.
In Syren
Syren (book)
Syren is the fifth book in the child fantasy Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. It was released on September 29, 2009 by HarperCollins and Bloomsbury Publishing...
Marcia promotes Septimus to senior apprentice because he was the first to complete and come back alive from his Queste.
Magical power
Marcia is an extremely powerful wizard. She can perform any kind of magic and is extremely perfect at that. She is able to create a fog as well as do a projection at the same time, which even Silas (who generally doesn't approve of Marcia) admires. She is even adept at little Physik, as when she was able to cure Septimus' spider bite with a little dark magic in Flyte. Marcia dispels DomDaniel a number of times as when the Necromancer tries to usurp her position. Marcia destroys the evil spirit of Queen Etheldredda by burning her in a Bonefire out of Spit Fyre's fire in Physik. She can transport freely from one place to another like she did in Magyk or Queste. She is adept at day to day needy magics like cleaning, transfiguration etc. as is shown countless times in the series. Like when she modifies Zelda's desk by adding hands to it in Magyk or cleaning up the scribes mess in a trifle in Queste. She knows how to dispel dark unruly magic like a placement and escapes from it in Flyte. She has shown to be knowledgeable in disabling magic such as restrain, silence and freeze.Other traits, possessions and likes
Marcia is generally a very short tempered and impatient woman. Her temper is what scares people the most about her. At the same time she is very ambitious and knowledgeable. She loves Septimus and Jenna dearly and shows her soft side many times. Although it seems that she and Silas are constantly bickering, they do respect each other. But Marcia cannot keep patience with Sarah or Septimus' pet Spit Fyre, Silas' pet wolf Maxie or the manuscriptorium chief scribe Jillie Djinn. She is on good terms with the ghost of her mentor Alther and still seeks his knowledge and help. She hates Aunt Zelda's cabbage sandwiches. In Queste she decided to be patient with Marcellus Pye although she disapproves of him, as he could have helped her find Septimus. Among Marcia's dearest possessions are her purple python skin boots which she has stockpiled after her favorite ones were ruined in events from Magyk.Reception
The character has received widespread popularity and positive reviews from fans and critics galore. Cat Maniego of Manila Standard TodayManila Standard Today
The Manila Standard Today is the fourth-largest broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines as of 2006. Initially established as the Manila Standard, it merged with another newspaper of record, Today, on March 6, 2005...
said the character was impressive as a well written stand-alone for being haughty as well as vain and developing a soft spot for Septimus. She colours up the cast.
In a review in Dawn.com, Sabina Qazi says that when evil Hunter is outwitted by Marcia's magic, that renders her more realistic than ever. According to her "The ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia — she must be differentiated from the ordinary wizards — is truly a larger than life character in her purple dress, pointy purple python-skin boots and formidable temper."
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
also gave a positive review saying "Marcia is probably the
most interesting character there - dignified, a little haughty, very powerful, and sometimes overly concerned about how her clothes look. Her character was enjoyed for being very fashionable.
See also
- Septimus HeapSeptimus HeapSeptimus Heap is a series of fantasy novels featuring a protagonist of the same name written by English author Angie Sage. Six novels, entitled Magyk, Flyte, Physik, Queste, Syren and Darke, have been published, the first in 2005 and the most recent in 2011...
- MagykMagykMagyk is a fantasy novel by Angie Sage. It is the first book in the projected seven-book Septimus Heap series. The sequel, Flyte was released in March 2006, Physik in March 2007, Queste in 2008, Syren in September 2009, and Darke in July 2011...
- FlyteFlyteFlyte is the second book in the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. The cover is modeled after the in-story book: How to Survive Dragon Fostering: A Practykal Guide with the Flyte Charm lying on top. The book was released worldwide on March 2006...
- PhysikPhysikPhysik is the third book in the Septimus Heap series written by Angie Sage. It is the sequel to Flyte. The novel was released on March 28, 2007. The sequel of Physik is Queste...
- QuesteQuesteQueste is a fantasy novel by Angie Sage. It is the fourth book in the Septimus Heap series. The book was released on 16 April 2008, in the United States. The cover of the book is modeled after the in-story Restored notes of Nicko bound by Ephaniah Grebe into a book, with the Queste stone lying on...
- SyrenSyren (book)Syren is the fifth book in the child fantasy Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. It was released on September 29, 2009 by HarperCollins and Bloomsbury Publishing...
- DarkeDarke (novel)Darke is the sixth and penultimate book in the child fantasy Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. The book was released in the United States on June 7, 2011 by Harper Collins, and in the UK in October 2011 by Bloomsbury...