The Heir Trilogy
Encyclopedia
The Heir Chronicles, a series chiefly aimed for the age group ranging 10 and up, was created by Ohio
author
Cinda Williams Chima
.
The first in the series, The Warrior Heir, was released in 2006. The American Library Association
included it on their Popular Paperbacks list The second book, The Wizard Heir, was released in 2007, and the third,The Dragon Heir, in 2008. In June 2010, Chima announced that a contract that includes writing two more books for this series has been signed with her publisher, Disney Hyperion. Possible titles for these books include The Sorcerer Heir and The Enchanter Heir.
The series is written so that the main character in one book is never the main character in another. In the first the main character is Jack Swift. The second book is written from the point of view of Jack’s cousin, Joseph (Seph) McCauley. The third book has multiple "main" characters, all of whom come from the previous two books.
Color Association: Gold
Description:
Wizards are considered the most powerful as they can shape magic with words and charms, and they can control and influence other people via mind magic. Wizards are very long-lived, and have long memories. Unlike the other Guilds, Wizards can use their powers over long distances. Charms shape and control power and allow its sophisticated application. Wizards can put up barriers called Weirwebs, and they can immobilize people. Unfortunately Wizards have limited ability when it comes to healing injuries, particularly those caused by magic (use counter-spells). Power varies among wizards, depending on training and genetics. Untrained wizards “leak” magic, causing bizarre events, and cannot put it to good use. Trained wizards can generally recognize each other through a kind of aura, although use of power is the most distinct sign of a stone. The touch of a wizard has an electrical quality.
Raven’s Ghyll is the traditional hold of Wizards in Cumbria, England. Members of the House D’Orsay have served as Masters of the Games for the past several centuries. During the Wizard Wars use of wizard power in battle was devastating. This resulted in the establishment of the Rules of Engagement in 1532 and the implementation of the Game, a series of tournaments that allocates power among Wizards.
Wizards who choose to involve themselves in the Anaweir world are often powerful politicians or very wealthy businesspeople because they can influence others so easily. They have to devote very little time to making a living, so have considerable time for Weir politics and intrigue. When it comes to Anaweir; humans without a stone, they have no hope in fighting against a Wizard as they are susceptible to all kinds of magic.
Enchanters
Color Association: Purple
Description:
Enchanters are users of mind magic, and in some cases more powerful than Wizards. An Enchanter has the ability to charm and influence others by creating extreme feelings of love, lust, and passion, making it irresistible to refuse them. It is especially hard for Wizards to identify an Enchanter if they take them unawares. Enchanters can also change their appearance in the eyes of others to enhance their appeal. In some cases, a Wizard can put up certain defenses against an Enchanter. Many Enchanters align themselves with a Wizard sponsor or Guarantor for protection.
Sorcerers
Color Association: Green
Description:
A Guild that works mainly with materials such as, poisons, potions, fabrics, amulets, etc. However some of their skills have been lost throughout the ages. Unlike Wizards, a Sorcerer cannot use spoken charms or through-the-air magic. Sorcerers mainly specialize in small magics for everyday use. Sorcerers are unable to influence others like Wizards and Enchanters, except through spelled materials. They are known to have better healing powers through the use of herbs, and hands-on treatment.
Warriors
Color Association: Blue
Description:
Warriors; also called Weirlind, are the rarest of the Weir Guilds. Their powers are primarily physical and cannot use charms. The only case known when a Warrior had the ability to shape magic with words was Jack Swift, because Wizard Doctor Jessamine Longbranch implanted a Warrior's stone when Jack was a baby making him a hybrid of Warrior/Wizard. A Warrior can overcome a Wizard in a physical fight, but are usually controlled by Wizards through mind magic. Warriors were originally the back bone of the armies during the Wizard Wars between the Red and White Roses prior to the Establishment of the Rules of Engagement in the 16th century. The Rules were established to replace the blood shed that had been going on since the War of the Roses. In the tournament system; known as the Game, Warriors are the ones at risk instead of the Wizards, and are often killed either in the tournament, or murdered by the opposing house so the challenging team would forfeit, and therefore giving up the hoard. Because of this, Warriors are a dying breed, and Wizards spend considerable time trying to locate them and train them for the tournament. A Warrior's power can be enhanced by magical weapons, swords and armor such as the legendary Shadowslayer and Waymaker of the Seven Great Blades.
Soothsayers
Color Association: Red
Description:
A Soothsayer, also called Seer, are people who have the ability to see future events unfold. They are considered the least powerful of the Weir. Though prophecy is most often confusing Seers are known as Wise Ones among the five Guilds, and Wizards often keep Seers as advisers. Not much is known about a Soothsayer's power. While prophecy is always true, it is often ambiguous and therefore misleading.
Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: he is Weirlind, part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. At the head of this society sit the feuding houses of the Red Rose and White Rose, whose power is determined by playing the Game---a tournament in which each rose sponsors a warrior to fight to the death. The winning house rules the Weir Guilds.
Jack finds out that he's not just another member of Weirlind-he's one of the last of the warriors, at a time when everyone is scouting for a player.
After causing a tragic fire at an after-hours party, Seph is sent to the Havens, a secluded boys' school on the coast of Maine. At first, it seems like the answer to his prayers. Gregory Leicester, the Havens headmaster, promises to train Seph in magic and initiate him into his secret order of wizards. But Seph's enthusiasm dampens quickly when he learns that training comes at a steep cost, and that Leicester plans to use his students' powers to serve his own mysterious agenda. In this companion novel to the exciting fantasy of The Warrior Heir, everyone's got a secret to keep: Jason Haley, a fellow wizard student whose been warned to stay away from Seph; the enchanter Linda Downey, who knew his parents; the rogue wizard Leander Hastings; and the warrior Jack Swift
Madison Moss hears the seductive call of the Dragonheart also, but she has other things on her mind. Maddie's been leaking dark magic ever since absorbing the blow that was meant to kill her boyfriend, Seph. If anyone finds out, she'll be banished from the sanctuary---and Seph---forever. Meanwhile, Trinity's enemies mean to win the war with the help of the Dragonheart, and they know that Madison Moss is the only one who can get it for them.
Moral compasses spin out of control as a final battle storms through a town that was meant to be a refuge. With so much to lose, what will Jason and Maddie be willing to fight for---and what will they sacrifice?
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Cinda Williams Chima
Cinda Williams Chima
Cinda Williams Chima is an New York Times bestselling author of the award-winning Heir Trilogy and Seven Realms series. She lives in Ohio with her husband, rocket scientist Rod Chima, and two sons Eric and Keith....
.
The first in the series, The Warrior Heir, was released in 2006. The American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
included it on their Popular Paperbacks list The second book, The Wizard Heir, was released in 2007, and the third,The Dragon Heir, in 2008. In June 2010, Chima announced that a contract that includes writing two more books for this series has been signed with her publisher, Disney Hyperion. Possible titles for these books include The Sorcerer Heir and The Enchanter Heir.
The series is written so that the main character in one book is never the main character in another. In the first the main character is Jack Swift. The second book is written from the point of view of Jack’s cousin, Joseph (Seph) McCauley. The third book has multiple "main" characters, all of whom come from the previous two books.
About the Weir world
WizardsColor Association: Gold
Description:
Wizards are considered the most powerful as they can shape magic with words and charms, and they can control and influence other people via mind magic. Wizards are very long-lived, and have long memories. Unlike the other Guilds, Wizards can use their powers over long distances. Charms shape and control power and allow its sophisticated application. Wizards can put up barriers called Weirwebs, and they can immobilize people. Unfortunately Wizards have limited ability when it comes to healing injuries, particularly those caused by magic (use counter-spells). Power varies among wizards, depending on training and genetics. Untrained wizards “leak” magic, causing bizarre events, and cannot put it to good use. Trained wizards can generally recognize each other through a kind of aura, although use of power is the most distinct sign of a stone. The touch of a wizard has an electrical quality.
Raven’s Ghyll is the traditional hold of Wizards in Cumbria, England. Members of the House D’Orsay have served as Masters of the Games for the past several centuries. During the Wizard Wars use of wizard power in battle was devastating. This resulted in the establishment of the Rules of Engagement in 1532 and the implementation of the Game, a series of tournaments that allocates power among Wizards.
Wizards who choose to involve themselves in the Anaweir world are often powerful politicians or very wealthy businesspeople because they can influence others so easily. They have to devote very little time to making a living, so have considerable time for Weir politics and intrigue. When it comes to Anaweir; humans without a stone, they have no hope in fighting against a Wizard as they are susceptible to all kinds of magic.
Enchanters
Color Association: Purple
Description:
Enchanters are users of mind magic, and in some cases more powerful than Wizards. An Enchanter has the ability to charm and influence others by creating extreme feelings of love, lust, and passion, making it irresistible to refuse them. It is especially hard for Wizards to identify an Enchanter if they take them unawares. Enchanters can also change their appearance in the eyes of others to enhance their appeal. In some cases, a Wizard can put up certain defenses against an Enchanter. Many Enchanters align themselves with a Wizard sponsor or Guarantor for protection.
Sorcerers
Color Association: Green
Description:
A Guild that works mainly with materials such as, poisons, potions, fabrics, amulets, etc. However some of their skills have been lost throughout the ages. Unlike Wizards, a Sorcerer cannot use spoken charms or through-the-air magic. Sorcerers mainly specialize in small magics for everyday use. Sorcerers are unable to influence others like Wizards and Enchanters, except through spelled materials. They are known to have better healing powers through the use of herbs, and hands-on treatment.
Warriors
Color Association: Blue
Description:
Warriors; also called Weirlind, are the rarest of the Weir Guilds. Their powers are primarily physical and cannot use charms. The only case known when a Warrior had the ability to shape magic with words was Jack Swift, because Wizard Doctor Jessamine Longbranch implanted a Warrior's stone when Jack was a baby making him a hybrid of Warrior/Wizard. A Warrior can overcome a Wizard in a physical fight, but are usually controlled by Wizards through mind magic. Warriors were originally the back bone of the armies during the Wizard Wars between the Red and White Roses prior to the Establishment of the Rules of Engagement in the 16th century. The Rules were established to replace the blood shed that had been going on since the War of the Roses. In the tournament system; known as the Game, Warriors are the ones at risk instead of the Wizards, and are often killed either in the tournament, or murdered by the opposing house so the challenging team would forfeit, and therefore giving up the hoard. Because of this, Warriors are a dying breed, and Wizards spend considerable time trying to locate them and train them for the tournament. A Warrior's power can be enhanced by magical weapons, swords and armor such as the legendary Shadowslayer and Waymaker of the Seven Great Blades.
Soothsayers
Color Association: Red
Description:
A Soothsayer, also called Seer, are people who have the ability to see future events unfold. They are considered the least powerful of the Weir. Though prophecy is most often confusing Seers are known as Wise Ones among the five Guilds, and Wizards often keep Seers as advisers. Not much is known about a Soothsayer's power. While prophecy is always true, it is often ambiguous and therefore misleading.
Summary
Before he knew about the Roses, sixteen year-old Jack Swift lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high schoolers. But then one day Jack skips his medicine, and he is suddenly stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before. And it feels great---until he loses control of his own strength and nearly kills another player during soccer tryouts.Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: he is Weirlind, part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. At the head of this society sit the feuding houses of the Red Rose and White Rose, whose power is determined by playing the Game---a tournament in which each rose sponsors a warrior to fight to the death. The winning house rules the Weir Guilds.
Jack finds out that he's not just another member of Weirlind-he's one of the last of the warriors, at a time when everyone is scouting for a player.
Awards and nominations
- Texas Lone Star Book (2007–2008)
- Beehive Booklist (2007–2008)
- South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominee (2008–2009)
- 2006 Book Sense Children's Picks
- ALAAmerican Library AssociationThe American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
’s 2008 Popular Paperbacks list - Voya’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2005–2006
Summary
Sixteen year-old Seph McCauley has spent the past three years getting kicked out of one exclusive private school after another. Unfortunately, it's not his attitude that's the problem, it's the trail of magical accidents---lately, disasters---that follow in his wake. Seph is a wizard, orphaned and untrained, and now that the only person who could protect him has died, his powers are escalating out of control.After causing a tragic fire at an after-hours party, Seph is sent to the Havens, a secluded boys' school on the coast of Maine. At first, it seems like the answer to his prayers. Gregory Leicester, the Havens headmaster, promises to train Seph in magic and initiate him into his secret order of wizards. But Seph's enthusiasm dampens quickly when he learns that training comes at a steep cost, and that Leicester plans to use his students' powers to serve his own mysterious agenda. In this companion novel to the exciting fantasy of The Warrior Heir, everyone's got a secret to keep: Jason Haley, a fellow wizard student whose been warned to stay away from Seph; the enchanter Linda Downey, who knew his parents; the rogue wizard Leander Hastings; and the warrior Jack Swift
Summary
The covenant that was meant to keep the wizard wars at bay has now been stolen, and the sanctuary of Trinity must prepare for attack. Seph monitors the Weirwall, while Jack and Ellen train their army of ghosts to face an onslaught of wizards. Even Anaweir Will and Fitch are setting traps around the town's perimeter. To Jason Haley though, it feels as if everyone but him has a role to play. Then he finds a powerful talisman---a huge opal called the Dragonheart---buried deep in a cave. When its power washes over him, he knows he's destined for a greater purpose than anyone ever imagined.Madison Moss hears the seductive call of the Dragonheart also, but she has other things on her mind. Maddie's been leaking dark magic ever since absorbing the blow that was meant to kill her boyfriend, Seph. If anyone finds out, she'll be banished from the sanctuary---and Seph---forever. Meanwhile, Trinity's enemies mean to win the war with the help of the Dragonheart, and they know that Madison Moss is the only one who can get it for them.
Moral compasses spin out of control as a final battle storms through a town that was meant to be a refuge. With so much to lose, what will Jason and Maddie be willing to fight for---and what will they sacrifice?
Main characters
- Jackson Downey (Jack) Swift – Wizard, Warrior – High school student in Trinity, Ohio, protagonist of The Warrior Heir.
- Ellen Stephenson – Warrior – High school student; new to Trinity, Ohio; Volunteer soccer coach; Jack's love interest.
- Leander Hastings – Wizard, Silver Dragon – Teacher to Jack Swift; former lover of Linda Downey; father of Seph McCauley.
- Linda Downey – Enchanter – Aunt to Jack Swift; sister to Becka Swift; mother of Seph McCauley.
- Nicodemus Snowbeard – Wizard, Silver Bear – Caretaker who works for Becka Downey; Jack’s friend and teacher.
- Jessamine Longbranch – Wizard, White Rose – Cardiothorastic surgeon who implanted Jack's Warrior stone.
- Geoffrey Wylie – Wizard, Red Rose – Ancient enemy of Leander Hastings.
- Claude D'Orsay – Wizard – Master of the Games for the Wizard Council.
- Will Childers – Anaweir – Best friend of Jack Swift’s ; good friend of Ellen Stephenson’s; nephew to Ross Childers, a police detective.
- Harmon Fitch (goes by Fitch) – Anaweir – Friend of Jack and Will; systems expert for Trinity High School.
- Joseph (Seph) McCauley – Wizard, Silver Dragon – Orphan with a mysterious past; protagonist of, and first appears in, The Wizard Heir.
- Madison Moss – No longer Anaweir by the end of the book, Elicitor, the Dragon Heir –Art student from southern Ohio; works at the Legends Coffee House; first appears in The Wizard Heir; Seph's love interest.
- Jason Haley – Wizard, Silver Dragon – Student at the Havens with Seph McCauley,protagonist of The Dragon Heir
- Gregory Leicester – Wizard, White Rose – Headmaster at the Havens; first appears in The Wizard Heir.
- Warren Barber – Wizard, Unaffiliated – Alumnus of the Havens.
- Jeremiah Brooks – Warrior – A warrior from 18th century America; Jack’s sparring partner .
- Devereaux D'Orsay – Wizard – Son of Claude D'Orsay.Killed by Jack
- Alicia (Leesha) Middleton – Wizard, White Rose, Jack's former girlfriend, trader – works for the highest bidder – Jason's love interest, appears in all three books.
- Trevor Hill- Anaweir - Former student at the Havens, killed by Leicester and the Alumnus.
- Becka Swift- Anaweir - Mother of Jack Swift