The Tenth Power
Encyclopedia
The Tenth Power is the third book in the Chanters of Tremaris trilogy by Kate Constable
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s herself, whereupon the other priestesses sing a hole into the wall. The drugged priestess is sealed inside.
Characters
Calwyn, Mica, and Trout are traveling to Antaris, Calwyn's home, hoping that the priestesses may restore Calwyn's lost powers of chantment, by which she was able to manipulate wind, ice, animals, and living systems. Upon reaching the Wall, Mica uses the Clarion of the Flame, a magical object used to invoke fire, to burn a hole into the Wall. The drugged priestess is revealed, whereupon Calwyn tries to heal her, but does not succeed. The three notice other corpses encased in the Wall, which Calwyn attributes to a failure to entomb them according to custom
. The three proceed to the priestesses' Dwellings.
When reaching the Dwellings, Calwyn enters the kitchen where she sees a now crippled Lia, a revered priestess and milk healer. Lia warns Calwyn that Tamen will hunt Calwyn down and seal her into the Wall with the other priestesses; having contracted an ailment called snow-sickness, they were put into the Wall in hopes of appeasing their goddess
Taris, who would presumably restore spring. Marna, the High Priestess, has died and Tamen has been promoted to High Priestess in her place.
Tamen then appears and accuses Calwyn of bringing the cruel intruder Samis, the endless winter, and the snow-sickness to their homeland. Calwyn argues that she has the right to return home. Tamen sings ice onto Trouts face, whereupon Mica uses the Clarion to melt the ice and attack Tamen. This sets the kitchen on fire.
The three flee and are rescued by Ursca, the infirmarian, who takes them to an abandoned, lightning
-struck barn where in the rafters is a snow-sick Marna, apparently alive. It is revealed that when Marna contracted snow-sickness, Ursca proclaimed that Marna had already died and hid her in the barn to prevent Marna from being sealed into the wall. Ursca leaves the three, whereafter Calwyn reprimands Mica for using the Clarion as a weapon. This quarrel upsets both girls.
Calwyn sleeps; later, she awakens to find Marna speaking with great difficulty. Calwyn tries to calm her; Marna tells Calwyn that the world is broken but can be mended. She speaks of the Wheel, which is an object of power, and of the mysterious Tenth Power (of chantment, which is used through specific songs) before she falls asleep. Gilly, a priestess who was formerly frivolous but has become wiser, comes in the morning to help Marna and there befriends Mica.
At night, Calwyn sneaks out to visit Lia, who reveals that she believes that Calwyn will put an end to the snow-sickness. It is also revealed that Marna holds the same opinion.
While Calwyn, Mica, and Trout travel to Antaris, Darrow, Tonno, and Halaasa travel to Gellan, where they encounter the ex-princess Keela. Darrow, while investigating an enclosure of sick chanters, contracts the snow-sickness himself. Later he and the others, including Keela, rendezvous with Calwyn, who has left Antaris and is in search of a missing piece of the Wheel. During the further travels of the combined party, Keela secretly relays information to her half-brother Samis, who is a sorcerer bent on achieving power over others.
Subsequently, the travelers enter the Veiled Lands, which are a region unknown to Calwyn's people but legendary among Halasaa's. Their journey continues underground, culminating at the mysterious Knot of Waters, where Calwyn embraces her own death to save Keela from drowning. This sacrifice revives Calwyn, restores her powers of chantment, and creates a sibling-like bond between the two women. The Clarion of the Flame is lost in the Knot and never again used.
The travelers are met by some of Halaasa's people, who teach them the true history of their world, wherein it is revealed that the snow-sickness is part of a larger pattern of entropy
taking place all over Tremaris. Whereas originally all the songs of chantment overlapped, each one strengthening the others, a war between the Tree People and the Voiced Ones (see below) caused the peoples who used them, and therefore the chantments themselves, to separate. It is suggested that the abuse of chantments, practiced during the war, caused chantment to fall into disfavor everywhere. The connections between songs, people, lands, etc. became weaker and more lost.
After this meeting, Calwyn is captured by Samis, who desires to heal Tremaris so that it will not be destroyed before he can conquer it. He keeps her a prisoner in the long-abandoned city-spacecraft called Spareth, which is the means by which the Voiced Ones (colonists from another planet, presumably Earth) arrived on Tremaris millennia before the story begins, trains her in advanced uses of chantment surpassing her previous abilities, and additionally reveals to her the Tenth Power mentioned by Marna. This is the Power of Signs, a code by which the songs of chantment may be written and learned. A minor romance occurs between the two of them during this time, culminating and terminating when Samis and Calwyn use their chantments to empower Spareth, sending it into interplanetary space. Calwyn, now revealed as the legendary Singer of All Songs, remains on Tremaris, while Samis flies inside Spareth, intent on reaching its port of origin.
Ultimately, Calwyn must unite Tree People and Voiced Ones in a common need. In this she succeeds. All the people who had contracted snow-sickness, including Darrow, are healed. The peoples are united in harmony, and a new, better world begins.
; a priestess of Antaris. Once an incredibly talented chanter capable of singing nearly all of the chantments, she has lost her abilities as well as her confidence
, though not her compassion
, later she regains her Chantments when she was empowered with water infused with the power of Becoming. Calwyn uses her other abilities to save Tremaris, the world of which the region of Antaris is part, and by chance is granted her chantment anew. Calwyn learns that she is both a Voiced One and a Tree Person. She becomes the Singer of All Songs, a long-prophesised being, and unites the Tree People and Voiced Ones in the Dance of Healing to give magic
and health
back to Tremaris. It is implied at the ending of the book that Calwyn is pregnant with Darrow's child. Calwyn is also the lost twin sister of Halasaa.
Darrow a 28-year-old ironcrafter, raised on the seas. He was abducted as a child and raised in the Black Palace of Hathara, the enclave of the sorcerers in Merithuros, but left when his friend Samis sought to conquer Tremaris. He now seeks Samis, to end his reign of terror before it can become total. He contracts the snow-sickness and steadily loses his powers, but is saved in the end. His great desire, second to that of thwarting Samis, is to be with Calwyn.
Samis a minor prince of the Merithuran Empire
who sought to be Emperor of all Tremaris by becoming the Singer of All Songs. He manipulates Calwyn into regaining her chantment and then kidnaps her. He teaches her the chantments he has learned and how to read an ancient language which can preserve the chantments. He and Calwyn have a minor romance during this time, something that Calwyn had come to regret. Overall, Samis appears to have grown wiser since his appearance in The Singer of All Songs
. He no longer seeks to dominate all chanters and chantment, but rather to facilitate them and bring peace to Tremaris. Later, Calwyn sends Spareth, the spaceship that brought the ancestors of the Voiced Ones to Tremaris, back to its port of origin (presumably Earth), with Samis on board.
Tonno a fisherman from Kalysons and captain of the boat Fledgewing. Tonno has many times aided in Calwyn's quest, though he himself is not a chanter and relies on his massive build and strength. It is implied he has a crush on the deceitful ex-princess Keela, to preserve whose safety he is often shown acting throughout the novel.
Trout a 17-year-old former student of the weapon-building colleges of Mithates. Trout now uses his intellect
to build practical items, including a navigational compass
and a wheeled chair. His wits replace his lack of chantment. Trout has little love of nature, but is very loyal.
Mica a 16-17-year-old windworker from the isles of Firthana, sold to pirates to sing wind for the sails. She accompanies Calwyn, who rescued her from slavery
. Mica suffers as a result of Calwyn's unpleasant moods. Mica eventually decides to remain in Antaris, as she is greatly liked amongst the priestesses. Mica is eventually killed by a spear
during the fight between the rebel Tree People and the priestesses of Antaris. Calwyn, saddened by this loss, decides that she and Darrow will name their first daughter Mica in memoriam her friend.
Halasaa an 18-year-old Tree Person; one of a voiceless, telepathic, secluded race of humanoids. He was sent away from his homeland of Spiridrell as punishment for his decision to guide Calwyn, and has accompanied her since then to many places. He is keenly sensitive to natural environments
, very compassion
ate, and strongly inuitive. Halasaa and Calwyn are capable of the Power of Becoming, by which a damaged system is healed. He avoids the snow-sickness and leads his friends to the caves where the Tree People stay in the winter. Halasaa and Calwyn there discover that they are fraternal twins. He leads Calwyn's party to the place called the Knot
of Water
s and helps Calwyn teach the singers to dance and the dancers to sing. In the end, he himself begins to sing.
Keela the Third (and most attractive) Princess of Merithuros. All her schemes have been for her beloved half-brother Samis, with whom she is implied to have an incest
uous relationship. Keela is known to change her loyalties as they benefit or harm her, leaving others ignorant of whether she can be trusted. She and Calwyn become "sisters" when they fall into the Knot of Waters, immersion in which restores to Calwyn her chantments and changes Keela for the better. Thereafter she remains on Calwyn's side.
Tamen the Guardian of the Wall of Antaris. Tamen became High Priestess after Marna's supposed death. In an effort to please the goddess
Taris, Tamen entombed the snow-sick in the ice Wall; but this failed to produce the desired effect. She later loses title as High Priestess. Her fate is unknown, though it seems she may have committed suicide
by drinking the poison
called bitterthorn. Tamen often appears cruel, possibly as a result of frustration
.
Marna the former High Priestess; Calwyn's dear friend, who assumed a maternal role in Calwyn's life. When Marna contracted snow-sickness, Ursca hid her so that she would not be sealed into the Wall. Marna teaches Calwyn the dark chantments — chantments of destruction — before she dies. Against custom, Marna is buried in a normal graveyard rather than in the sacred valley.
Briaali a Tree Person who believes in the possibility of peace between the Tree People and Voiced Ones. She is one of several, among whom she is leader. Briaali helps Calwyn and company after Calwyn enters the Knot of Waters.
Lia once a revered priestess and milk healer; now crippled as a result of falling from the Wall of Antaris. She supports Calwyn and is later made the new High Priestess in place of Tamen. Halasaa heals her so that she is capable of walking again.
Sibril a young male Tree Person who despises the Voiced Ones and wishes to reclaim his people's ancestral land. He leads an attack on the Wall by making a large bonfire
to burn it. After the battle, he is shunned by his fellow Tree People, though welcomed by Calwyn.
Calida is Calwyn's mother. In her youth, Calida left Antaris by means of the river that runs beneath the Wall. She then traveled to the Wildlands, where she married the Tree Person Halwi and gave birth to Halasaa and Calwyn. Since Calwyn could sing and Halasaa could not, Calida chose to return to Antaris with Calwyn, so that her daughter could have a "normal" life. Calida died in Antaris, shortly after her return.
Halwi is Halasaa and Calwyn's father. It is from his side of the lineage that the Power of Becoming is inherited. Halwi is known to have died before Calwyn's return to the Wildlands.
Ursca is the infirmarian at Antaris. A dumpy and fussy woman who holds opinions to extent beyond reasonable limit, but holds positive interests at heart.
Gilly a former friend of Calwyn's, known to be frivolous, foolish, and prone to flirt. In the third book, she is wiser than before.
of priestesses enclosed by a high ice wall, built originally as a refuge from bloodshed and tumult. Its High Priestess is matriarch of the society. Until the arrival of Samis in search of Darrow, custom held that the Wall, which was controlled by ice chantments, be opened only to traders, and seldom so. A sacred "Blazetree" stands in a valley, where it holds a ceremonial function. The community is organized into a nearly self-sustaining monastic structure. It is built on land from which the Tree People were driven, and later becomes the first site of interracial harmony between Tree People and Voiced Ones.
The Wildlands: The forested domain of the Tree People. It is south of Antaris and easteast of the Veiled Lands. The only major city mentioned in the books is Spiridrell, Halasaa's home until his meeting of Calwyn. The coast of the Wildlands is marked as "Uncharted" on the map of Tremaris featured by the 2003 edition of The Waterless Sea
.
Spareth: Originally a gigantic spacecraft that brought the ancestors of the Voiced Ones, who had by then already learned chantment, to the planet
Tremaris. Thereafter the Voiced Ones became, as is stated in The Tenth Power, an integral part of the planet's ecosystem
s, as did the chantments they bore. The vehicle of their coming, Spareth, later became known as a strange city. It was here that Samis attempted to command all chantment, and here that he kept Calwyn during their time as teacher and student. Ultimately, Samis set out to commandeer Spareth and travel with it to its port of origin (presumably Earth). Calwyn refused to go with him, but used her chantments to send the machine
to his destination. It, like many others of the Voiced Ones' inventions, is activated and controlled by chantment.
Doryus: This is, throughout most of the story, the center of all piracy
in Tremaris. It is a small archipelago
, located northnorth of the Small Isles; east of the continent including Antaris and Wildlands; westwest of the island including Baltimar, Cragonlands, and Rengan; northwest of Merithuros; south of Firthana; and southeast of the Lakelands. Doryus, along with other islands in the Great Sea of Tremaris, is the home of the chanters of wind after the powers and/or their workers were divided.
The Veiled Lands: A place of great magic, which is greatest of all in the Knot of Waters. A network of cave
s exists here, wherein are crystal
line walls of many colors and patterns of color. It is suggested that the ruby
of the Ring of Lyonssar—a treasure of Merithuros owned by the commander of the sorcerers there—was mined from one of these. A cold, pure river runs through the caves, culminating in the Knot of Waters.
The Knot of Waters: A place where three whirlpool
s coincide. Magnetism
is confounded here. It is the most sacred place in Tremaris, being older than the songs of chantment and more powerful than Spareth. Here, Keela and Calwyn nearly drown. They lose the fire-calling trumpet called the Clarion
of the Flame in the waters; Calwyn, however, embraces the waters to save Keela, and so is preserved herself. Her immersion in the Knot of Waters gives her the power of chantment, which she had sacrifice
d in The Waterless Sea
to restore harmony
to Merithuros.
Merithuros: Home of the chanters of iron
. It is located east of the Wildlands; south of Firthana and Doryus; south of Baltimar; and southeast of the Small Isles. When a schism caused by war divided the chanters and their powers, seven clans of people fled to Merithuros, where they built an empire. The empire was later overthrown and a republic
built at the insistence of Darrow. Until then, Merithuros remained a desert
, scarred by human carelessness. Thereafter, Calwyn's sacrifice (see above) restored the land's health to a small extent.
Kalysons: The plain
s which became home to the chanters of the Power of Beasts after the war mentioned above. Located on the Bay of Sardi, northeast of the Wildlands (being part of the same continent) and east of Mithates.
Mithates: Home to the chanters of fire after the war. Located west of Kalysons and northeast of Antaris. It is known for the college
s where students are trained to make weapons. Trout was a student there before his joining with Calwyn and Darrow. Because of over-reliance on technology
, Mithates as a nation
had largely forgotten its magic by the time of The Singer of All Songs
. Its people are frequently shown harming each other.
Gellan: The home of the chanters of seeming (illusion
) after the war. Located north of the nations surrounding the Bay of Sardi; northwest of the Small Isles; west of Firthana; southwest of the Outer Isles; and south of the Frozen Sea.
Kate Constable
Kate Constable is an Australian author. Her first novel was The Singer of All Songs, the first in the Chanters of Tremaris trilogy. It was later followed by The Waterless Sea and The Tenth Power.-Biography:...
.
Plot summary
On a winter night in Antaris, Tamen, the Guardian of the Wall, and other priestesses approach the ice Wall that surrounds Antaris. A priestess drugDrug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...
s herself, whereupon the other priestesses sing a hole into the wall. The drugged priestess is sealed inside.
Characters
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
Calwyn, Mica, and Trout are traveling to Antaris, Calwyn's home, hoping that the priestesses may restore Calwyn's lost powers of chantment, by which she was able to manipulate wind, ice, animals, and living systems. Upon reaching the Wall, Mica uses the Clarion of the Flame, a magical object used to invoke fire, to burn a hole into the Wall. The drugged priestess is revealed, whereupon Calwyn tries to heal her, but does not succeed. The three notice other corpses encased in the Wall, which Calwyn attributes to a failure to entomb them according to custom
Convention (norm)
A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted standards, norms, social norms or criteria, often taking the form of a custom....
. The three proceed to the priestesses' Dwellings.
When reaching the Dwellings, Calwyn enters the kitchen where she sees a now crippled Lia, a revered priestess and milk healer. Lia warns Calwyn that Tamen will hunt Calwyn down and seal her into the Wall with the other priestesses; having contracted an ailment called snow-sickness, they were put into the Wall in hopes of appeasing their goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
Taris, who would presumably restore spring. Marna, the High Priestess, has died and Tamen has been promoted to High Priestess in her place.
Tamen then appears and accuses Calwyn of bringing the cruel intruder Samis, the endless winter, and the snow-sickness to their homeland. Calwyn argues that she has the right to return home. Tamen sings ice onto Trouts face, whereupon Mica uses the Clarion to melt the ice and attack Tamen. This sets the kitchen on fire.
The three flee and are rescued by Ursca, the infirmarian, who takes them to an abandoned, lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
-struck barn where in the rafters is a snow-sick Marna, apparently alive. It is revealed that when Marna contracted snow-sickness, Ursca proclaimed that Marna had already died and hid her in the barn to prevent Marna from being sealed into the wall. Ursca leaves the three, whereafter Calwyn reprimands Mica for using the Clarion as a weapon. This quarrel upsets both girls.
Calwyn sleeps; later, she awakens to find Marna speaking with great difficulty. Calwyn tries to calm her; Marna tells Calwyn that the world is broken but can be mended. She speaks of the Wheel, which is an object of power, and of the mysterious Tenth Power (of chantment, which is used through specific songs) before she falls asleep. Gilly, a priestess who was formerly frivolous but has become wiser, comes in the morning to help Marna and there befriends Mica.
At night, Calwyn sneaks out to visit Lia, who reveals that she believes that Calwyn will put an end to the snow-sickness. It is also revealed that Marna holds the same opinion.
While Calwyn, Mica, and Trout travel to Antaris, Darrow, Tonno, and Halaasa travel to Gellan, where they encounter the ex-princess Keela. Darrow, while investigating an enclosure of sick chanters, contracts the snow-sickness himself. Later he and the others, including Keela, rendezvous with Calwyn, who has left Antaris and is in search of a missing piece of the Wheel. During the further travels of the combined party, Keela secretly relays information to her half-brother Samis, who is a sorcerer bent on achieving power over others.
Subsequently, the travelers enter the Veiled Lands, which are a region unknown to Calwyn's people but legendary among Halasaa's. Their journey continues underground, culminating at the mysterious Knot of Waters, where Calwyn embraces her own death to save Keela from drowning. This sacrifice revives Calwyn, restores her powers of chantment, and creates a sibling-like bond between the two women. The Clarion of the Flame is lost in the Knot and never again used.
The travelers are met by some of Halaasa's people, who teach them the true history of their world, wherein it is revealed that the snow-sickness is part of a larger pattern of entropy
Entropy
Entropy is a thermodynamic property that can be used to determine the energy available for useful work in a thermodynamic process, such as in energy conversion devices, engines, or machines. Such devices can only be driven by convertible energy, and have a theoretical maximum efficiency when...
taking place all over Tremaris. Whereas originally all the songs of chantment overlapped, each one strengthening the others, a war between the Tree People and the Voiced Ones (see below) caused the peoples who used them, and therefore the chantments themselves, to separate. It is suggested that the abuse of chantments, practiced during the war, caused chantment to fall into disfavor everywhere. The connections between songs, people, lands, etc. became weaker and more lost.
After this meeting, Calwyn is captured by Samis, who desires to heal Tremaris so that it will not be destroyed before he can conquer it. He keeps her a prisoner in the long-abandoned city-spacecraft called Spareth, which is the means by which the Voiced Ones (colonists from another planet, presumably Earth) arrived on Tremaris millennia before the story begins, trains her in advanced uses of chantment surpassing her previous abilities, and additionally reveals to her the Tenth Power mentioned by Marna. This is the Power of Signs, a code by which the songs of chantment may be written and learned. A minor romance occurs between the two of them during this time, culminating and terminating when Samis and Calwyn use their chantments to empower Spareth, sending it into interplanetary space. Calwyn, now revealed as the legendary Singer of All Songs, remains on Tremaris, while Samis flies inside Spareth, intent on reaching its port of origin.
Ultimately, Calwyn must unite Tree People and Voiced Ones in a common need. In this she succeeds. All the people who had contracted snow-sickness, including Darrow, are healed. The peoples are united in harmony, and a new, better world begins.
Characters
Calwyn the 18-year-old protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
; a priestess of Antaris. Once an incredibly talented chanter capable of singing nearly all of the chantments, she has lost her abilities as well as her confidence
Confidence
Confidence is generally described as a state of being certain either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Self-confidence is having confidence in oneself. Arrogance or hubris in this comparison, is having unmerited...
, though not her compassion
Compassion
Compassion is a virtue — one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism — foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.There is an aspect of...
, later she regains her Chantments when she was empowered with water infused with the power of Becoming. Calwyn uses her other abilities to save Tremaris, the world of which the region of Antaris is part, and by chance is granted her chantment anew. Calwyn learns that she is both a Voiced One and a Tree Person. She becomes the Singer of All Songs, a long-prophesised being, and unites the Tree People and Voiced Ones in the Dance of Healing to give 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...
and health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
back to Tremaris. It is implied at the ending of the book that Calwyn is pregnant with Darrow's child. Calwyn is also the lost twin sister of Halasaa.
Darrow a 28-year-old ironcrafter, raised on the seas. He was abducted as a child and raised in the Black Palace of Hathara, the enclave of the sorcerers in Merithuros, but left when his friend Samis sought to conquer Tremaris. He now seeks Samis, to end his reign of terror before it can become total. He contracts the snow-sickness and steadily loses his powers, but is saved in the end. His great desire, second to that of thwarting Samis, is to be with Calwyn.
Samis a minor prince of the Merithuran Empire
Empire
The term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....
who sought to be Emperor of all Tremaris by becoming the Singer of All Songs. He manipulates Calwyn into regaining her chantment and then kidnaps her. He teaches her the chantments he has learned and how to read an ancient language which can preserve the chantments. He and Calwyn have a minor romance during this time, something that Calwyn had come to regret. Overall, Samis appears to have grown wiser since his appearance in The Singer of All Songs
The Singer of All Songs
The Singer of All Songs is the first novel in the Chanters of Tremaris trilogy by Kate Constable.- Plot summary :Calwyn is a young priestess who chants the ice chants of Antaris. She lives inside Antaris, a community located among mountains, which is enclosed by an ice wall...
. He no longer seeks to dominate all chanters and chantment, but rather to facilitate them and bring peace to Tremaris. Later, Calwyn sends Spareth, the spaceship that brought the ancestors of the Voiced Ones to Tremaris, back to its port of origin (presumably Earth), with Samis on board.
Tonno a fisherman from Kalysons and captain of the boat Fledgewing. Tonno has many times aided in Calwyn's quest, though he himself is not a chanter and relies on his massive build and strength. It is implied he has a crush on the deceitful ex-princess Keela, to preserve whose safety he is often shown acting throughout the novel.
Trout a 17-year-old former student of the weapon-building colleges of Mithates. Trout now uses his intellect
Intellect
Intellect is a term used in studies of the human mind, and refers to the ability of the mind to come to correct conclusions about what is true or real, and about how to solve problems...
to build practical items, including a navigational compass
Compass
A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...
and a wheeled chair. His wits replace his lack of chantment. Trout has little love of nature, but is very loyal.
Mica a 16-17-year-old windworker from the isles of Firthana, sold to pirates to sing wind for the sails. She accompanies Calwyn, who rescued her from slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. Mica suffers as a result of Calwyn's unpleasant moods. Mica eventually decides to remain in Antaris, as she is greatly liked amongst the priestesses. Mica is eventually killed by a spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
during the fight between the rebel Tree People and the priestesses of Antaris. Calwyn, saddened by this loss, decides that she and Darrow will name their first daughter Mica in memoriam her friend.
Halasaa an 18-year-old Tree Person; one of a voiceless, telepathic, secluded race of humanoids. He was sent away from his homeland of Spiridrell as punishment for his decision to guide Calwyn, and has accompanied her since then to many places. He is keenly sensitive to natural environments
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
, very compassion
Compassion
Compassion is a virtue — one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism — foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.There is an aspect of...
ate, and strongly inuitive. Halasaa and Calwyn are capable of the Power of Becoming, by which a damaged system is healed. He avoids the snow-sickness and leads his friends to the caves where the Tree People stay in the winter. Halasaa and Calwyn there discover that they are fraternal twins. He leads Calwyn's party to the place called the Knot
Knot
A knot is a method of fastening or securing linear material such as rope by tying or interweaving. It may consist of a length of one or several segments of rope, string, webbing, twine, strap, or even chain interwoven such that the line can bind to itself or to some other object—the "load"...
of Water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
s and helps Calwyn teach the singers to dance and the dancers to sing. In the end, he himself begins to sing.
Keela the Third (and most attractive) Princess of Merithuros. All her schemes have been for her beloved half-brother Samis, with whom she is implied to have an incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
uous relationship. Keela is known to change her loyalties as they benefit or harm her, leaving others ignorant of whether she can be trusted. She and Calwyn become "sisters" when they fall into the Knot of Waters, immersion in which restores to Calwyn her chantments and changes Keela for the better. Thereafter she remains on Calwyn's side.
Tamen the Guardian of the Wall of Antaris. Tamen became High Priestess after Marna's supposed death. In an effort to please the goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
Taris, Tamen entombed the snow-sick in the ice Wall; but this failed to produce the desired effect. She later loses title as High Priestess. Her fate is unknown, though it seems she may have committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by drinking the poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
called bitterthorn. Tamen often appears cruel, possibly as a result of frustration
Frustration
This article concerns the field of psychology. The term frustration does, however, also concern physics. In this context, the term is treated in a different article, geometric frustration....
.
Marna the former High Priestess; Calwyn's dear friend, who assumed a maternal role in Calwyn's life. When Marna contracted snow-sickness, Ursca hid her so that she would not be sealed into the Wall. Marna teaches Calwyn the dark chantments — chantments of destruction — before she dies. Against custom, Marna is buried in a normal graveyard rather than in the sacred valley.
Briaali a Tree Person who believes in the possibility of peace between the Tree People and Voiced Ones. She is one of several, among whom she is leader. Briaali helps Calwyn and company after Calwyn enters the Knot of Waters.
Lia once a revered priestess and milk healer; now crippled as a result of falling from the Wall of Antaris. She supports Calwyn and is later made the new High Priestess in place of Tamen. Halasaa heals her so that she is capable of walking again.
Sibril a young male Tree Person who despises the Voiced Ones and wishes to reclaim his people's ancestral land. He leads an attack on the Wall by making a large bonfire
Bonfire
A bonfire is a controlled outdoor fire used for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Celebratory bonfires are typically designed to burn quickly and may be very large...
to burn it. After the battle, he is shunned by his fellow Tree People, though welcomed by Calwyn.
Calida is Calwyn's mother. In her youth, Calida left Antaris by means of the river that runs beneath the Wall. She then traveled to the Wildlands, where she married the Tree Person Halwi and gave birth to Halasaa and Calwyn. Since Calwyn could sing and Halasaa could not, Calida chose to return to Antaris with Calwyn, so that her daughter could have a "normal" life. Calida died in Antaris, shortly after her return.
Halwi is Halasaa and Calwyn's father. It is from his side of the lineage that the Power of Becoming is inherited. Halwi is known to have died before Calwyn's return to the Wildlands.
Ursca is the infirmarian at Antaris. A dumpy and fussy woman who holds opinions to extent beyond reasonable limit, but holds positive interests at heart.
Gilly a former friend of Calwyn's, known to be frivolous, foolish, and prone to flirt. In the third book, she is wiser than before.
Locations
Antaris: a communityCommunity
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
of priestesses enclosed by a high ice wall, built originally as a refuge from bloodshed and tumult. Its High Priestess is matriarch of the society. Until the arrival of Samis in search of Darrow, custom held that the Wall, which was controlled by ice chantments, be opened only to traders, and seldom so. A sacred "Blazetree" stands in a valley, where it holds a ceremonial function. The community is organized into a nearly self-sustaining monastic structure. It is built on land from which the Tree People were driven, and later becomes the first site of interracial harmony between Tree People and Voiced Ones.
The Wildlands: The forested domain of the Tree People. It is south of Antaris and easteast of the Veiled Lands. The only major city mentioned in the books is Spiridrell, Halasaa's home until his meeting of Calwyn. The coast of the Wildlands is marked as "Uncharted" on the map of Tremaris featured by the 2003 edition of The Waterless Sea
The Waterless Sea
The Waterless Sea is the second book in The Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy by Kate Constable.-Plot summary :By the time this book opens, characters Calwyn, Trout, Tonno, Halassa and Mica are making and enacting plans to rescue chanters from their various underprivileged situations and form a school...
.
Spareth: Originally a gigantic spacecraft that brought the ancestors of the Voiced Ones, who had by then already learned chantment, to the planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
Tremaris. Thereafter the Voiced Ones became, as is stated in The Tenth Power, an integral part of the planet's ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s, as did the chantments they bore. The vehicle of their coming, Spareth, later became known as a strange city. It was here that Samis attempted to command all chantment, and here that he kept Calwyn during their time as teacher and student. Ultimately, Samis set out to commandeer Spareth and travel with it to its port of origin (presumably Earth). Calwyn refused to go with him, but used her chantments to send the machine
Machine
A machine manages power to accomplish a task, examples include, a mechanical system, a computing system, an electronic system, and a molecular machine. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work...
to his destination. It, like many others of the Voiced Ones' inventions, is activated and controlled by chantment.
Doryus: This is, throughout most of the story, the center of all piracy
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
in Tremaris. It is a small archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
, located northnorth of the Small Isles; east of the continent including Antaris and Wildlands; westwest of the island including Baltimar, Cragonlands, and Rengan; northwest of Merithuros; south of Firthana; and southeast of the Lakelands. Doryus, along with other islands in the Great Sea of Tremaris, is the home of the chanters of wind after the powers and/or their workers were divided.
The Veiled Lands: A place of great magic, which is greatest of all in the Knot of Waters. A network of cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
s exists here, wherein are crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
line walls of many colors and patterns of color. It is suggested that the ruby
Ruby
A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum . The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires...
of the Ring of Lyonssar—a treasure of Merithuros owned by the commander of the sorcerers there—was mined from one of these. A cold, pure river runs through the caves, culminating in the Knot of Waters.
The Knot of Waters: A place where three whirlpool
Whirlpool
A whirlpool is a swirling body of water usually produced by ocean tides. The vast majority of whirlpools are not very powerful. More powerful ones are more properly termed maelstroms. Vortex is the proper term for any whirlpool that has a downdraft...
s coincide. Magnetism
Magnetism
Magnetism is a property of materials that respond at an atomic or subatomic level to an applied magnetic field. Ferromagnetism is the strongest and most familiar type of magnetism. It is responsible for the behavior of permanent magnets, which produce their own persistent magnetic fields, as well...
is confounded here. It is the most sacred place in Tremaris, being older than the songs of chantment and more powerful than Spareth. Here, Keela and Calwyn nearly drown. They lose the fire-calling trumpet called the Clarion
Clarion
-In music:* Clarion , a type of trumpet used in the Middle Ages* Clarion register of clarinets, ranging from B4 to C6-Places:* Clarion, Illinois, USA* Clarion, Iowa, USA...
of the Flame in the waters; Calwyn, however, embraces the waters to save Keela, and so is preserved herself. Her immersion in the Knot of Waters gives her the power of chantment, which she had sacrifice
Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals or people to God or the gods as an act of propitiation or worship.While sacrifice often implies ritual killing, the term offering can be used for bloodless sacrifices of cereal food or artifacts...
d in The Waterless Sea
The Waterless Sea
The Waterless Sea is the second book in The Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy by Kate Constable.-Plot summary :By the time this book opens, characters Calwyn, Trout, Tonno, Halassa and Mica are making and enacting plans to rescue chanters from their various underprivileged situations and form a school...
to restore harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
to Merithuros.
Merithuros: Home of the chanters of iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
. It is located east of the Wildlands; south of Firthana and Doryus; south of Baltimar; and southeast of the Small Isles. When a schism caused by war divided the chanters and their powers, seven clans of people fled to Merithuros, where they built an empire. The empire was later overthrown and a republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
built at the insistence of Darrow. Until then, Merithuros remained a desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
, scarred by human carelessness. Thereafter, Calwyn's sacrifice (see above) restored the land's health to a small extent.
Kalysons: The plain
Plain
In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...
s which became home to the chanters of the Power of Beasts after the war mentioned above. Located on the Bay of Sardi, northeast of the Wildlands (being part of the same continent) and east of Mithates.
Mithates: Home to the chanters of fire after the war. Located west of Kalysons and northeast of Antaris. It is known for the college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
s where students are trained to make weapons. Trout was a student there before his joining with Calwyn and Darrow. Because of over-reliance on technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, Mithates as a nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
had largely forgotten its magic by the time of The Singer of All Songs
The Singer of All Songs
The Singer of All Songs is the first novel in the Chanters of Tremaris trilogy by Kate Constable.- Plot summary :Calwyn is a young priestess who chants the ice chants of Antaris. She lives inside Antaris, a community located among mountains, which is enclosed by an ice wall...
. Its people are frequently shown harming each other.
Gellan: The home of the chanters of seeming (illusion
Illusion
An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. While illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people....
) after the war. Located north of the nations surrounding the Bay of Sardi; northwest of the Small Isles; west of Firthana; southwest of the Outer Isles; and south of the Frozen Sea.