The Elenium
Encyclopedia
The Elenium is a series of fantasy
novels by David Eddings
. The series consists of three volumes:
The series is followed by The Tamuli
.
The Elenium is Eddings' second fantasy series, and has proven to be quite popular.
, a Pandion Knight, has returned to his hometown Cimmura after ten years of exile
in Rendor.
He finds his Queen and former pupil, Ehlana, has fallen ill, having been poisoned by Annias, the Primate (an ecclesiastical rank) of Cimmura. Queen Ehlana has been encased in diamond
by magic
performed by Sephrenia, the Styric tutor of magic to the Pandion Knights. The diamond will keep Queen Ehlana alive for up to 12 months while a cure is found.
To aid him on his quest, Sparhawk takes his childhood friend and fellow Pandion Knight Kalten, his squire Kurik, and Sephrenia. In a show of unity, the other three Church Knight Orders also send their champions to be his companions: Genidian Knight Ulath of Thalesia, Alcione Knight Tynian of Deira, and Cyrinic Knight Bevier of Arcium.
carved in the shape of a rose
, the only object with enough power to cure the rare poison administered to Queen Ehlana. The Bhelliom was last known to have been mounted on the Crown of the Thalasian King Sarak.
The characters travel to the house of Count Ghasek whose sister is ill, as her soul was stolen by Azash, an Elder God of Styricum, whose spirit was confined in a clay idol. Sephrenia and the others manage to cure Lady Belina, though she has been rendered hopelessly mad by destroying the idol which was controlling her power. The Count then tells them about the giant's mound where King Sarak was buried.
After finding King Sarak's grave they learn that the crown had not been buried with him. They encounter a serf who tells them about the great battle which killed the King and how the Earl of Heid retrieved the fallen King's crown and cast it into the dark murky waters of Lake Randera.
The search for Bhelliom suffers a setback when Ghwerig, the deformed dwarf troll
who originally carved the gem into the shape of a rose, retrieves the Bhelliom first after his own centuries-long search to reclaim his beloved gem.
Sparhawk and his companions follow Ghwerig to his secret cave hidden in the mountains of Thalasia. The book ends with Sparhawk and his squire Kurik giving Ghwerig fatal injuries. Ghwerig then intentionally rolls off a cliff into a chasm, Bhelliom still clutched in his hand. The girl Flute dives into the chasm only to rise out again with the Bhelliom and depositing it into Sparhawk
's hands, thereby revealing her true identity as Aphrael, Child-Goddess of Styricum.
Meanwhile, the evil God Azash and his servant, Otha, have been massing their forces along the eastern border of Eosia in preparation for an invasion of the west. Sparhawk decides, after consultation with his superiors in the Church, to take Bhelliom and travel to Zemoch with several others, with the intention of destroying Azash.
They reach the city of Zemoch, and find the temple which contains the mud idol to which Azash is confined. By a slightly odd mixture of subtlety and brute force, they gain access to the inner room - but not without the loss of Kurik, Sparhawk's squire and friend. Sparhawk duels with Martel, another of Azash's accomplices, and kills him; he then goes on to destroy Azash himself, who takes Otha and Annias with him.
Sparhawk returns to his wife and Queen in Cimmura, and the series comes to a close.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novels by David Eddings
David Eddings
David Eddings was an American author who wrote several best-selling series of epic fantasy novels.-Biography:...
. The series consists of three volumes:
- The Diamond Throne
- The Ruby Knight
- The Sapphire Rose
The series is followed by The Tamuli
The Tamuli
The Tamuli is a series of fantasy novels by David Eddings. The series consists of three volumes:# Domes of Fire# The Shining Ones# The Hidden CityThe Tamuli is the sequel to The Elenium...
.
The Elenium is Eddings' second fantasy series, and has proven to be quite popular.
The Diamond Throne
SparhawkSparhawk
Sir Sparhawk is the central character of The Elenium and The Tamuli, a series of fantasy novels by David Eddings. Sparhawk is a knight of the Pandion Order. He is the Champion to Queen Ehlana of the kingdom of Elenia. He is also Anakha - the One Whose Fate the Gods Do Not Know, and wielder of...
, a Pandion Knight, has returned to his hometown Cimmura after ten years of exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
in Rendor.
He finds his Queen and former pupil, Ehlana, has fallen ill, having been poisoned by Annias, the Primate (an ecclesiastical rank) of Cimmura. Queen Ehlana has been encased in diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
by magic
Magic (fantasy)
Magic in fiction is the endowing of fictional characters or objects with magical powers.Such magic often serves as a plot device, the source of magical artifacts and their quests...
performed by Sephrenia, the Styric tutor of magic to the Pandion Knights. The diamond will keep Queen Ehlana alive for up to 12 months while a cure is found.
To aid him on his quest, Sparhawk takes his childhood friend and fellow Pandion Knight Kalten, his squire Kurik, and Sephrenia. In a show of unity, the other three Church Knight Orders also send their champions to be his companions: Genidian Knight Ulath of Thalesia, Alcione Knight Tynian of Deira, and Cyrinic Knight Bevier of Arcium.
The Ruby Knight
Sir Sparhawk and his companions seek the Bhelliom, a powerful magical artifact in the form of a sapphireSapphire
Sapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide , when it is a color other than red or dark pink; in which case the gem would instead be called a ruby, considered to be a different gemstone. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give...
carved in the shape of a rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
, the only object with enough power to cure the rare poison administered to Queen Ehlana. The Bhelliom was last known to have been mounted on the Crown of the Thalasian King Sarak.
The characters travel to the house of Count Ghasek whose sister is ill, as her soul was stolen by Azash, an Elder God of Styricum, whose spirit was confined in a clay idol. Sephrenia and the others manage to cure Lady Belina, though she has been rendered hopelessly mad by destroying the idol which was controlling her power. The Count then tells them about the giant's mound where King Sarak was buried.
After finding King Sarak's grave they learn that the crown had not been buried with him. They encounter a serf who tells them about the great battle which killed the King and how the Earl of Heid retrieved the fallen King's crown and cast it into the dark murky waters of Lake Randera.
The search for Bhelliom suffers a setback when Ghwerig, the deformed dwarf troll
Troll
A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...
who originally carved the gem into the shape of a rose, retrieves the Bhelliom first after his own centuries-long search to reclaim his beloved gem.
Sparhawk and his companions follow Ghwerig to his secret cave hidden in the mountains of Thalasia. The book ends with Sparhawk and his squire Kurik giving Ghwerig fatal injuries. Ghwerig then intentionally rolls off a cliff into a chasm, Bhelliom still clutched in his hand. The girl Flute dives into the chasm only to rise out again with the Bhelliom and depositing it into Sparhawk
Sparhawk
Sir Sparhawk is the central character of The Elenium and The Tamuli, a series of fantasy novels by David Eddings. Sparhawk is a knight of the Pandion Order. He is the Champion to Queen Ehlana of the kingdom of Elenia. He is also Anakha - the One Whose Fate the Gods Do Not Know, and wielder of...
's hands, thereby revealing her true identity as Aphrael, Child-Goddess of Styricum.
The Sapphire Rose
Sparhawk now has possession of the Bhelliom, so he returns to Cimmura and uses it to cure Queen Ehlana. Unfortunately, when returning the symbolic ring of the monarchy to her, she, perhaps deliberately, mistakes his action for a marriage proposal. The engagement has been publicly announced before he has had time to clarify this - although it seems unlikely that Ehlana would have been willing to break the engagement anyway.Meanwhile, the evil God Azash and his servant, Otha, have been massing their forces along the eastern border of Eosia in preparation for an invasion of the west. Sparhawk decides, after consultation with his superiors in the Church, to take Bhelliom and travel to Zemoch with several others, with the intention of destroying Azash.
They reach the city of Zemoch, and find the temple which contains the mud idol to which Azash is confined. By a slightly odd mixture of subtlety and brute force, they gain access to the inner room - but not without the loss of Kurik, Sparhawk's squire and friend. Sparhawk duels with Martel, another of Azash's accomplices, and kills him; he then goes on to destroy Azash himself, who takes Otha and Annias with him.
Sparhawk returns to his wife and Queen in Cimmura, and the series comes to a close.
Special Release
In September 2008, Del Ray books released all three novels of the Elenium series in a single, trade paperback volume. A similar treatment occurred to the Tamuli series in 2008. The new single volume features all of the same material found in the three separate novels including maps. It weighs in at 912 pages; the cover is orange in colour and features an image of Sparhawk kneeling down before Queen Ehlana who is sitting on her throne. Black Kat Design designed the cover with the illustration done by Keith Parkinson.See also
- The TamuliThe TamuliThe Tamuli is a series of fantasy novels by David Eddings. The series consists of three volumes:# Domes of Fire# The Shining Ones# The Hidden CityThe Tamuli is the sequel to The Elenium...
- List of Knight Orders in The Elenium and The Tamuli
- List of Countries in The Elenium and The Tamuli