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    Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen
    Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen
    Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen
    Ebook475 pages7 hours

    Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen

    By Garth Nix

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Award-winning author Garth Nix returns to the Old Kingdom with a thrilling prequel complete with dark magic, royalty, dangerous action, a strong heroine, and flawless world building. This epic fantasy adventure is destined to be a classic and is perfect for fans of Rae Carson, Kristin Cashore, Scott Westerfeld, and Cassandra Clare.

    Clariel is the daughter of one of the most notable families in the Old Kingdom, with blood relations to the Abhorsen and, most important, to the King. She dreams of living a simple life but discovers this is hard to achieve when a dangerous Free Magic creature is loose in the city, her parents want to marry her off to a killer, and there is a plot brewing against the old and withdrawn King Orrikan. When Clariel is drawn into the efforts to find and capture the creature, she finds hidden sorcery within herself, yet it is magic that carries great dangers. Can she rise above the temptation of power, escape the unwanted marriage, and save the King?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 14, 2014
    ISBN9780062216809
    Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen
    Author

    Garth Nix

    Garth Nix is a New York Times bestselling novelist and has been a full-time writer since 2001 but has also worked as a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, book publicist, book sales representative, bookseller, and part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve. Garth’s many books include the Old Kingdom fantasy series, beginning with Sabriel and continuing to Goldenhand; the sci-fi novels Shade’s Children and A Confusion of Princes; the Regency romance with magic Newt’s Emerald; and novels for children including The Ragwitch, the Seventh Tower series, the Keys to the Kingdom series, and Frogkisser!, which is now in development as a feature film with Fox Animation/Blue Sky Studios. Garth has written numerous short stories, some of which are collected in Across the Wall and To Hold the Bridge. He has also cowritten several children’s book series with Sean Williams, including TroubleTwisters and Have Sword, Will Travel. More than six million copies of his books have been sold around the world and his work has been translated into forty-two languages.

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    Reviews for Clariel

    4/5

    61 ratings29 reviews

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    • 3/5
      It was nice to return to the world of the Abhorsen. No spoilers here. The idea was very very good, but the execution felt only fair. Having just read his book of short stories, this really felt like a short story or novella that got padded out.
    • 4/5
      The fourth novel, a prequel, is definitely the odd (wo)man out, as it jumps back in time over a thousand years. Clariel is the first anti-hero in the series, and she makes some highly questionable decisions that lead to nasty consequences. She is also the loneliest character with the most tragic backstory, which only worsens as the plot moves forward.

      There was a large gap between the release of Abhorsen and Clariel, which is occasionally distracting, although Nix’s writing style seems to have matured. The dialogue between characters is more frequent, but it is hard to jump back into the Old Kingdom when it no longer feels familiar. It is also disappointing to not encounter the main characters from the first three books.
    • 4/5
      I adored revisiting Nix's world of the Abhorsen even though the narration is not done by Tim Curry. It's a backstory of a character from the trilogy (I'll have to reread - I don't remember her) and Mogget is there, causing trouble as usual.
    • 3/5
      3.5 i was a great fan of the Abhorsen trilogy. So I listened to Clariel,but the story didn't engage me until nearly half-way through. This could be because Clariel is a bit of a difficult character to like and engage with, but I perservered and Clariel gradually came to life as a conflicted, strong willed character with whom I sympathized, as I started to get into the book. Again, this wasn't my favorite Abhorsen novel but I certainly enjoyed this audio bookJack Murphy
    • 4/5
      "A passion thwarted will oft go astray."Clariel by Garth Nix is the fourth book publication wise in the Old Kingdom series though technically it is a prequel to Sabriel. The story is set roughly 600 years before the birth of Sabriel. The world definitely has a different feel to it. Gone is the feeling of menace and dread. In it's place you can see how the world and it's peoples have become complacent during a long period of peace. The Abhorsen is more concerned with going on Great Hunts than protecting the kingdom since there's been no sign of the Dead in many years. The current King has refused to rule and locked himself in his castle, forcing the people to fend for themselves. The Guilds have taken the opportunity to seize power and enforce their will upon the populace. The story is set almost entirely in the city of Belisaere with no mention at all of Ancelstierre.Just as the world has an entirely different feel, Clariel is an entirely different story. It is a hero journey that goes tragically wrong. A common phrase from the previous trilogy is repeated here and takes on new meaning: "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?" Clariel wants nothing more than to live a simple life in the Great Forest in Estwael. This one simple wish is denied over and over again, first by her parents trying to marry her off to a murderer, then by being caught up in the politics of the Guilds in the city and again through the wiles of Free Magic creatures. Clariel is offered little choice in any of these situations and it's no wonder it takes her down a destructive path.It took a while for Clariel to grow on me. Having read the original trilogy fairly recently, I was used to the obvious heroism of Sabriel and Lirael so was a bit of a shock that Clariel was not like them at all. She's very self absorbed and completely focused on her dream of a simple life. Her family and society sees her only as a child of a noble house to be married off for political gain. It's no wonder that Clariel focuses mostly on her dreams even though they never come true. She ends on a dark path indeed. It's also a fun easter egg for fans to realize just who's back story we're reading. I think this is one of those books that benefits by having read the original trilogy first. While it is an interesting story and has themes that any new reader to the series can identify with - what happens if one gives in anger and the temptation of power - by having Sabriel and Lirael's stories to compare to is what makes Clariel more poignant.
    • 2/5
      While the original Old Kingdom trilogy ranks among my most beloved fantasy stories and worlds, Clariel didn't ring true for me. I feel like most of this novel was filler to work out her backstory prior to the next book, Goldenhand, and the interesting material in it could have been better utilized as flashback scenes in Goldenhand instead of a standalone novel. That magical touch just isn't here for me.
    • 4/5
      A damn fine entry in a most excellent series. Reading this makes me want to re-read the rest of the series :)
    • 3/5
      3.5/5 stars

      I quite enjoyed this book! I thought Clariel was kind of annoying in some parts - she just wouldn't shut up about that forrest, but overall I enjoyed her struggle and her story. It took a bit to get into, but once I did, I was hooked. I love the world Garth Nix has created with the Abhorsens and Clayr. It is so fascinating. In this prequel, the world was familiar but different at the same time. It was cool to read about the time before Sabriel and Lirael. We are taken to a different Belisare where the king is shirking his duties and all the Abhorsen cares about is hunting, which is just so different from the butt kicking, death walking Sabriel.
      Overall great read!
    • 3/5
      Clariel. Oh, Clariel. I wanted to love Clariel (the book or the character? yes.) but I just can't. Spoilers, of course, abound.

      Part of it is that Clariel herself is just not a character type I get along well with. I really dislike characters who hate everything about the high society of their culture and refuse to even try to fit in (can't we have a main character who loves court balls and swords?), which Clariel is.

      There's deeper problems, though: Clariel's motivation, a lot of the characterization in general, some of the tone, and the pacing of the book. Clariel's motivation is almost entirely that she wants to be left in peace in her forest, which is not particularly compelling, especially since it never changes or becomes more complicated.

      I also find, having let the book sit for a while, that I would have preferred her to have taken up Free Magic on purpose, rather than accidentally. Clariel uses Free Magic with the best of intentions - she wants to save the King and be free, and Free Magic is the only way to do that. Even at the end, when she's going North to be beyond the Charter, she wants to be a good person, even if she is contemplating becoming a necromancer.

      When we see her in Lirael she's a malignant figure of pure evil, and even with six centuries of Free Magic corrupting her, I find it hard to believe that the naive, impulsive girl we see in Clariel could ever have gotten there. Contrafactual reviewing - talking about the book you wanted rather than the book you have - is never good, but: wouldn't it be more interesting to see her become warped by the society or by something in her personality rather than just by magic? It would, of course, be harder to make us feel compassion for a bad person, but therein lies the challenge and the interest.

      As for characterization: I didn't like Clariel very much either as a person or a character, but, as I said, that's mainly because she plays into a lot of tropes I really dislike. Her parents, though, were fairly badly handled. Her mother, Jaciel, is the head (or some other very highly placed official) of the goldsmiths' guild, but she's really bad at politics and keeping her silence, which doesn't make any sense. Skill can only get you so far, in what is a political position.

      It turns out that the odious boy Clariel is supposed to marry is using Free Magic to make his masterwork. Jaciel finds out, and instead of hiding that she knows or doing anything reasonable, she accuses him while she's surrounded by his father's guards. Which leads to a very well-executed scene - but that doesn't help the fact that it was a really stupid thing to do, by a character who's supposed to be absorbed in her work, but not stupid.

      I also have some problems with Mogget's characterization, or rather making his characterization jibe with his earlier characterization. He's always been fairly neutral as a character, helping the Abhorsens only because he's bound to, though he does seem to have at least some affection for Sabriel. In this he's actively malicious, lying as much as he able to. Which I think Nix explains by saying that he's been ignored by the Abhorsens, so his Free Magic nature is stronger, but leaning on Free Magic to explain faults of characterization is really weak.

      In general, he painted with fairly broad strokes - you knew the evil people were evil, you knew the good people were good. Which isn't necessarily a fault, except that he was trying to be subtle in the beginning. You can't do a sneaky court intrigue book, which part of this was, if the sides are obvious.
      (I'm not sure what this falls under, but there were also a couple of times where Clariel demands to know what's going on and people knuckle under pretty quickly. Keeping her in the dark doesn't really make sense, but having people try to keep her in the dark and then give in really quickly when she asks them direct questions is creating unnecessary conflict.)

      The pacing was probably the biggest flaw, and is tied into the tone problems I had. Clariel is about 400 pages long, and I felt as though I was in the setup stage until around page 275. There was too much time spent on miscellaneous action in Belisaere, including an unnecessary school scene or two (what was the point of Yaneem, a needlessly unpleasant girl? there was none) and much too little on Clariel's descent into well-meaning evil.

      So, the tone. Again, this is contrafactual, but this definitely wanted to be a much darker book than it was. I was going to say that it was held back by being YA - but so was Sabriel, and that was much darker. Clariel is essentially good, and any corruption in her is due to her bloodline and exposure to Free Magic; her character was very straightforward and uncomplicated. And sure, both her parents get killed in a bloody way, but that jarred with the tone of the book up to then - which was fairly light. There are ways to have contrasting tones in a book, but I don't think he did particularly well here. I think it needed to be a court intrigue book, and that's very hard to do when none of your main characters are at all sneaky.

      The thing is, though, that I did enjoy it very much. There were a couple of really great scenes and some pretty darn badass magic, and I do love coming back to the Old Kingdom. It's just so much weaker than the other three. I tried to love it, really I did.
    • 5/5
      Really fantastic! I just wish I hadn't waited so long to read it. I'd forgotten the world of The Old Kingdom but as I read this I began to ache for all the other books. Clariel is a great character, an evil one in the future books, but this goes back to tell her beginning story and I fell in love with her. A victim of her circumstances who did the best she could while unknowingly being lead astray. The book ends way before she is introduced in the series in "Lirael", so Nix has left himself open to write further adventures for that time period. I like to read books in the order they are written not chronologically by time period but this does work well to read it first. It takes place in the past so it doesn't give away anything that hasn't happened yet. Just absolutely adored the book and will be reading the new book soon which goes back to the current timeline of the series.
    • 3/5
      Okay okay I did enjoy this a bit but whyyyy the whole regret storyline like can't a girl even turn to the dark side w/o being grateful for some dude showing up saving her
    • 5/5
      I was so waiting for this book to come out, having loved the previous three and today when I walked into my local bookstore, it was on the shelf. I bought it then and there after squeeing with joy a little and have not put it down since.

      Garth Nix's world of magic, undead, swordplay and dark creatures is one that I particularly love. So when I came across Clariel, the prequel novel to the original set of books, I brought it immediately.

      I was prepared to be mildly disappointed as prequels tend not to live up to the reputation that later novels have built up for them. I was, however, completely blown away by this book.

      Clariel, cousin to the Abhorsen, has moved with her Goldsmith parents to a large house in the city of Belisaere. Most would consider this an asset, but Clariel prefers the woods near her own home and wants nothing more than to return. As the Kingdom is stable and at peace, the Abhorsen and Royal Family shirk their responsibilities, allowing dangerous elements to gain a foothold in the world. Clariel is unfortunately smack dab in the middle of it. She is used to help deal with the problem, but her longing for solitude and lack of aptitude or desire for Charter Magic, makes her turn to the easier and far more dangerous Free Magic.

      Clariel is a different sort of book to the previous Old Kingdom Novels. Whilst the other two dealt with 'end of world' stuff, this is far more personal and deals with a young woman's 'fall from grace'. I loved it. The main character is deeply flawed, yet satisfying and her road onto her new path is well written and believable.


      I highly recommend Clariel to any fans of The Old Kingdom Series and to those who have not read the series before.
    • 3/5
      Six hundred years before Sabriel was born, the Abhorsen family was large and the Old Kingdom so peaceful that they didn't even bother patrolling it. Clariel is the teenaged daughter of a famed goldsmith and related to both the royal family and the Abhorsen. Her bloodline pulls her into a political battle between the guilds and the king, but her personality draws her toward the solitary peace of the Great Forest. Although she is torn between expectations and her own ambition, Clariel's life narrows to a single focus when a terrible tragedy strikes her family. Emboldened and enraged, Clariel goes against her family's teachings in her search for vengeance.

      There are parts of this that I absolutely loved. The action scenes are fantastic and held me riveted. The background characters feel wonderfully unique. Clariel's mother Jaciel turned out to be a particular favorite of mine, an ambitious woman who finds calm from her berserker rage in her art--it's a character type I've never seen for a female character before. (Nix's books are always great for inclusion of characters of color and non-standard gender roles. His worlds are proof that it's possible to write fascinating fantasy set in a pre-industrial age and not mirror the same structures of oppression of this one.) Clariel is nearly a great character, but her development near the end is too rushed to truly work for me. I did love that her power comes through her stalwart, obstinate force of will.

      All in all I enjoyed this, but the final few chapters happened too quickly for my tastes. I wish there'd been more build up of certain things. Afterwards, I realized the legend Clariel left behind and I wished even more that we'd gotten more of her struggle with the Free Magic and less of her lessons in deportment. The chapters in Belisaere felt too detailed and drawn out given how little page time was given to the coup and Clariel's ascension to sorcery.
    • 4/5
      The book took a bit to build up to speed, but once it did, it was fantastic. It was so incredible to be back in this world and to get to read about more of its history and inhabitants.
    • 3/5
      A prequel to the Abhorsen Trilogy, Clariel focuses on one young girl called Clariel who is forced to leave her rustic lifestyle besides the Great Forrest and endure the pithy and carefully watched-over life of the city. Her parents are unsympathetic to her plight, both of whom seem only concerned with her mother's work as a Goldsmith. Instantly, Clariel tries to divise a plan to escape, but the operations of a possible creature from the Dead averts all of her intentions.

      I preferred this novel over the original Abhorsen trilogy, but only just. I thought the characters were better developed, though the pathetic, natty nature of Clariel (like Lirael) grated on me slightly. The fundamental reason why I read this book, and will continue to read any book in this world, is because of that: the world. I think it's a wonderful world, with such great vastness of creativity that the sheer scope of what could happen anywhere is breath-taking. It should be expanded further and I really wished it would be, as opposed to being condensed in one simple place like Ancelstierre.

      Garth Nix's writing style isn't great in this book. I've read various others of his (Shade's Children was one I particularly liked) and I've never felt like his writing style was lacking except when he delves in to the world of the Old Kingdom. I also found the book to be extremely slow (we could have entered the story around 150 pages in and it would have been thoroughly more exciting) and as a result, barely anything happened. I was also extremely confused as to whether this book took place before or after the events of the Abhorsen trilogy (something which only becomes clear once you research it and read the words 'prequel').

      It wasn't a great read, but it was enjoyable for escapism and just one more dive in to the world of the Old Kingdom.
    • 4/5
      All Clariel wants is to become a Borderer, living on her own in the Great Forest and protecting the realm with her hunting prowess. But everyone around her has some other plan for her: going to school, marrying, becoming a goldsmith like her parents... why can't she just be left alone to do as she pleases? And why does she have to live in the city of Belisaere, where she practically chokes over the political machinations that no one wants to talk about?This book is set in the same world as Sabriel and the rest of the Abhorsen books, but several hundred years before those events took place. Clariel is likable enough, but her overarching desire to be Away made for sometimes boring reading, as the main character always felt like more of a pawn than a player. But Nix's writing and ability to imagine and convey a fully-realized other world is pretty amazing, and carried me along when the plot lagged. I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point, but it's a solid recommendation for fans of Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen.
    • 4/5
      Overall, I enjoyed this book, though not as much as the other books in the series. Clariel's situation is unfortunate. But she also can be a bit whiny and stubborn. She complains about the King and the Abhorsen avoiding their responsibilities while she refuses to accept that she should do anything other than exactly what she wants to do - run away to live in the forest. She has good intentions, but not the strength of character to always do the right thing. Definitely a must read for fans of Sabriel. While this book is a prequel, I wouldn't recommend reading it before the others. It relies on previous knowledge of aspects of Charter Magic, Charter Stones, the Abhorsens, etc.Graeme Malcolm does a wonderful job as narrator.
    • 3/5
      I liked this more on the reread, and as an audio book. I think audio suits the pacing a little better. It still left me unsatisfied, but the more I think about it, the more I wonder if that was the point of Clariel's story. Clairel is unsatisfied and thwarted throughout the book, and the narrative seems to reflect that.
    • 4/5
      I have been a big fan of the Old Kingdom trilogy (now series) since I first encountered Sabriel back in 1999, so I was eagerly anticipating Clariel from the moment I heard it was in the works. I've always found Garth Nix's writing to be very immersive with imaginative settings, descriptions, and world-building, even if the plots themselves are more typical or basic adventure/suspense when stripped down.Clariel did not disappoint. Well, actually, I wish that there were more to read about Clariel, because the book ended long before I was ready to say good-bye! I can only hope that Nix wrote this one to set up or provide backstory for the next novel, focusing on Lirael and Nicholas de Sayre (as last seen in Abhorsen and the novella "Across the Wall").Clariel is "the lost Abhorsen" in the subtitle, but it isn't entirely clear to me what that means. She's from the Abhorsen family, but doesn't identify with them much - her mother has cut ties with them and set herself up as a very skilled goldsmith in the northern village of Estwael, where Clariel is much happier in the woods than anywhere else. When Jaciel is invited to the royal city Belisaere to join the Goldsmith Guild as one of the most skilled artists in the country, she takes her family along, despite Clariel's protests. Clariel is only 17 years old and not old or skilled enough to strike out on her own, and her parents want her to have the opportunities that joining Belisaere circles will give her.Things aren't going so well in the city, though. The king hasn't done his job of ruling for many years, the city's governor wants to have complete control, and it seems there is a Free Magic denizen causing trouble. All this creates problems for Clariel, royal cousin and granddaughter of the Abhorsen, but she finds support and understanding in unexpected places, even as enemies appear elsewhere and, perhaps, in herself.I don't want to give away spoilers, since I'm writing this review when the book has just been released, so I won't go into the major plot of the book, except to say that it hits many of the elements that were part of the original trilogy and references favorite people and places, sometimes giving more backstory to them, such as Abhorsen's House or Mogget. We learn a little, too, about what the Kingdom was like nearer to its height, when there wasn't just one Abhorsen but an entire village-worth of family with the name. There are a lot of things I really liked in Clariel, from the names to the way Nix depicts the school she attends (it's not Super Evil or Super Banal like many unwanted schools in fantasy novels - Clariel finds it useful in some aspects and boring in others), but one thing which stood out is towards the beginning, when Clariel reflects on her romantic relationships. It was refreshing for the narrative to present the options of Likes Boys and Likes Girls as equally valid options without any judgments either way, and then to go beyond that and suggest that some people aren't really interested at all, and that's okay. It's not a huge part of the story, though Clariel's lack of interest in romance is referenced a few times, but it's fairly rare to see that kind of discussion so that it meant a lot to me. If Clariel has any faults, it's that it isn't long enough and the plot is a little too unfinished - it's as much a story of growing up for Clariel as anything else, and it feels like a lead-in to the main Sabriel/Lirael/&c. plots in many ways. But I fell in love with Clariel and didn't care so much about that, I just want to see more of her and her struggle with Free Magic and the Royal rage.Ultimately, Clariel is a satisfying prequel to the Old Kingdom series, but due to references and nods to the prior books, isn't best read before the others.
    • 4/5
      Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen by Garth Nix was a very enjoyable read for me. I find that I am very interested in the world of the Old Kingdom and the unique (to me) system of magic and necromancy. I needed to know what was going to happen in the story as fast as possible and so I read the book in a couple of days around my two jobs. Most people wouldn't consider the next couple sentences a spoiler but I figured I'd mark it just in case you want absolutely no information...The world that Nix has created is very compelling and so I had no trouble connecting again even though the events of this book are set several centuries prior to the trilogy. I don't always connect well with new books in a world that do not have any of the original characters in them. That is not the case with this addition to the Old Kingdom.While an enjoyable read I must say that it felt like it took a little too long for the story to build up and climax. And then the climax was a little bit of a letdown. I still very much enjoyed the book but the ending was just not quite enough for me. The author's note at the end of the book was probably a more striking ending then the rest of the book to me.I'd probably give the original trilogy 5-stars but Clariel falls just a tiny bit short of this. Absolutely worth the read though.
    • 4/5
      The world of The Old Kingdom returns in the highly anticipated prequel to the Abhorsen series. The titular character is introduced as a reluctant teenager forced to follow the path of her parents’ ambitions to a new town, Belisaere, far away from the comforts of the Great Forest, where she feels the most alive. A headstrong girl, scheming for a way to return to her chosen path in life, Clariel is soon thrown into the political disarray of Balisaere where powerful players are clamoring to take control of the kingdom in the power vacuum left by a withdrawn king. This book cleverly introduces readers familiar with the series to new aspects of the Old Kingdom, such as Free Magic and the history of the world. Through these details, Nix continues to show his skill at worldbuilding; however, the choice of protagonist leaves some to be desired. The constant desire of Clariel to be ‘not-here’ diffuses a sense of gloom that disrupts the potential to fully engage with the story. However, it is worthwhile to note that Clariel comes across as potentially asexual in the story, which may be of interest to those wanting to see representations of an underrepresented minority in fiction. There was plenty of action and the reliance on political intrigue to fuel the plot had potential, however, the book never fully delivers. Recommended additional selection.
    • 4/5
      CLARIEL is an epic fantasy set in the world of Nix's Abhorsen trilogy but happening hundreds of years before it. It tells the story of a young girl named Clariel who is the daughter of a famous Goldsmith and a cousin of the King. When she is taken to Belisaere, she is very unhappy. She wishes to be a borderer and spend her life in the great forests of the country. She doesn't like the crowds; she doesn't like the noise; she doesn't like being surrounded by stone and walls. Clariel has a difficult relationship with her parents. She wants to love them but they only see her as a pawn to be played to further their ambitions.Belisaere is in a state of flux. The King has refused to rule for many years and has become a recluse in his castle. The power vacuum has been filled by the Guilds. Guildmaster Kilp of the Goldsmiths is the city leader but he is still hungry for more power. It is his wish, abetted by her mother, to have Clariel marry his son. He has a further goal of deposing the king and setting up Clariel as his puppet Queen. Clariel meets his son Aronzo and takes an immediate dislike to him when she attends a school that is attended by all the "best people." There she also meets Belatiel who is the great-nephew of the current Abhorsen and also a relative of Clariel and the King.This is also a story about magic. It is a time of conflict between Charter Magic and Free Magic. Charter Magic is going out of favor with the "better people" of Belisaere. Clariel has the baptismal Charter mark but doesn't have much interest or skill in Charter Magic. Free Magic is unbound magic. It is the duty of the Charter families - the King, the Abhorsens, the Clayrs - to protect from Free Magic. But the king is in hiding and the current Abhorsen is more interested in hunting than doing his job to control Free Magic. Clariel has a talent for Free Magic and is a berserker. It is when she lets her rage go that she can control the elementals who are Free Magic. When she gets caught up in the politics of the day, she turns to Free Magic to try to right wrongs. But she is riding a tiger and doesn't know it. Her good intentions are almost overwhelmed by the seductive nature of Free Magic. The story is filled with action and adventure, magic and mayhem. I recommend it to lovers of epic fantasy.
    • 4/5
      I spent most of the book saying, "No, Clariel, don't!" and I feel a sort of resigned sadness now that I've finished it. Clariel, the heroine, has a tendency to rationalize using questionable means to achieve her goals. Her goals are mostly harmless at first, but when those goals shift, so does the risk. Although she partly achieves her goals, there's a certain futility to her actions, so the achievement isn't satisfying. Also while this book doesn't end quite as badly as it could have, the other books reveal that Clariel's final, dark prediction comes true eventually, so there's no feeling of success. This, to my mind, is a true tragedy: The heroine loses what's most important, even if she keeps her life. Well-written, but miserable.
    • 5/5
      Oh, what a delight to rediscover Garth Nix and return to the lands of the Charter and the stories of the Abhorsen! Clariel is just the right return, too, set so many years in the past that the events of Sabriel, Liriel and Abhorsen do not really touch it, although the echoes are there. It's an enthralling adventure, where willpower and temptation are key to suvival. It's also a compassionate look at choices and their consquences, all wrapped up in an excellent tale.

      Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelwiess.
    • 4/5
      I was delighted to find that there were a couple more books set in Garth Nix's Old Kingdom and that this one was set during the 'olden days' when Belisaere was the bustling hub, complete with palace and dying king. Clariel's parents have moved the family there from the countryside as Clariel's mother is being made head of the Goldsmith's Guild, but Clariel just wants to get back to the forest and be a Borderer. Clariel's single-minded focus on this goal is a headache to her parents as well as everyone else around her, particularly since there seems to be some intrigue amongst the Guilds that's centered around making Clariel a politically beneficial marriage. Since this is a prequel that was published well after the first series, it might make sense if you are a new reader to read this first. I can't recall anything in this book that is enhanced by knowledge of the original trilogy, but there were several parts of the first books that I wanted to go back and read with this new knowledge.
    • 4/5
      Maybe I rated this so highly bc NOSTALGIA!!! but it was amazing. The first half was pretty slow. A lot of Clariel sitting around or walking around complaining about everything and trying to escape Belisaere be a hunter (I still found this all fairly enjoyable since I've been waiting for this book for a decade). The second half was much more brisk, very fun, and very dark.

      Aziminil sounds GROTESQUE AS HELL. I looked up some fan-art and damnnnnnnnnnnn.
    • 5/5
      "Clariel" is a book about power, and the sacrifices that come along with it.The Old Kingdom series was my favorite fantasy series as a teenager, and possibly still today. I was excited to recently discover that Nix has added two titles to the original trilogy.I find the world of the Old Kingdom enchanting—the Nine Precincts of Death, the Seven Bells, the Five Charters. Although I'm not an expert in fantasy, the Old Kingdom is my favorite world I've come across thus far.One element of the Old Kingdom that I find interesting but ultimately cosmologically flawed is the concept of the Charter. Similar to "The Matrix" or the concept of spren in the Stormlight Archives, the Charter belies a belief that our world is constructed, or at least fundamentally anthropocentric. I prefer cosmologies that see the universe as infinitely complex, not composed of some sort of code that can be hacked. Yes, there is structure to nature, but the concept of the Charter takes this ideology too far.One of my favorite aspects of the Old Kingdom series is that each book casts a powerful female protagonist. One critique here could be that Nix is male, and it is possible that his work would be more feminist if composed by a woman.To get into the particulars of this book, "Clariel" is a coming of age story. Unlike many coming of age stories, Clariel ultimately succumbs to dark forces. And despite this, Clariel comes across as charismatic; I find it hard not to like her. This could be another failing of the cosmology; in that it establishes a hierarchy of good an evil, an "us" and "them," as opposed to maintaining neutrality between races. In this instance, Free Magic and the Dead are the evil other."Clariel" is a page-turner, and compelling read.
    • 4/5
      Clariel is the prequel to the Sabriel’s trilogy but can likely be read independently.Clariel is a young woman who is related though her mother to both the King and the Abhorsen, who is in charge of putting the dead to rest.The novel starts with Clariel moving with her parents to the capital city of Belisaere to farther her mother’s career as a goldsmith. However, Clariel detests the city. Her overriding desire is to go back home to her forest, where she feels that she belongs.The King has not ruled in years, and the all powerful guilds are in control. In the midst of various manipulations for power, Clariel finds that she is a pawn who has no idea what game is even being played.I felt like that was the biggest flaw of the book – Clariel is a pawn. She accomplishes little in the grand scheme of things and is being constantly manipulated and used by those around her. When she finally makes a major decision to take action of her own… things don’t work out so well. Annoyingly, two times Clariel set out to accomplish something, she ended up being rescued by male characters. I would have preferred to see Clariel accomplish positive results on her own, something she ever really does once in the book.Clariel herself is frustrating and sympathetic by turn. At the beginning of the novel, she feels quite childish – more like 12 than 18. She gets into fights with her parents and bemoans how they don’t understand her. She is obsessed with her forest (this remains relatively constant) in a way that can be rather annoying. Yet, this changes over the events of the book. In the space of a key scene about halfway through, Clariel ages immensely and begins to consider things differently than before. She gains goals other than returning to her forest, even though that is still important to her. My heart goes out to her after this turning point.However, many of the paths I wanted to see Clariel take never emerged, in a large part due to what I found out at the end. This is possibly spoilery, but I will discuss it at the end of the review.Clariel is also a canonically aromantic and asexual character, something I was really excited about going in. However, it is debatable as to the quality of representation that she provides (discussed in spoilers section). A line near the end says she “almost… let out some feeling that she had long suppressed.” This is troubling in that it implies she was somehow suppressing sexual or romantic feelings, but it is completely at odds with the last 400 pages.I found the style and construction of the writing to be excellent and have no complaints on that front. I also love the world Nix has built, and he’s really able to make it come alive in my mind. The situation with the guilds was particularly fascinating and well done.I would recommend this for people looking for a well crafted fantasy with an unusual protagonist. People looking for a book without a romance subplot may be particularly interested.Some spoilery comments:Clariel is Chlorr of the Mask, a villain from Lirael that I completely forgot existed. Mind you, Clariel takes place over six hundred years before Sabriel. Clariel is not the villain in Clariel. I would say that she’s perhaps a tragic hero. Indeed, she meets many of the qualifications for such, including the fatal flaw. Even the ending does not cast her as the villain but rather lays the groundwork for how she could become a villain.Due to her “future villain” status, Clariel does not end up with a happy ending. Thus, much of what I wanted for her was not achieved.With aromantic and asexual characters being so thin on the ground, making the “future villain” one has unfortunate implications. Would the end of Clariel have been any different if she weren’t aromantic and asexual? I don’t think so. In fact, the decisions she made did stem from love, but for platonic love for her aunt rather than romantic love. Still, what the world needs is more true and true heroes who are asexual and aromantic, and I can’t helped by be troubled by if her “future villain” status is supposed to be connected to her being asexual and aromantic.Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
    • 4/5
      While not as engaging to me as the original trilogy was, I still thoroughly enjoyed Clariel as an additional story in the Old Kingdom series. I think that the overall pacing of the story left much to be desired, as the first two-thirds of the book was slow and steady, but the last third felt like what I have come to expect from Garth Nix. I really did love that this book allowed us a glimpse into the origin story of the Chlorr of the Mask and it definitely made me more sympathetic and interested in the version of Chlorr that Lirael faces in the distant future. All in all, an enjoyable read!

    Book preview

    Clariel - Garth Nix

    Prologue

    Old Marral the fisherman lived in one of the oddest parts of Belisaere, the ancient capital of the Old Kingdom. A proud city with high walls to defend against living foes, and rushing aqueducts to keep out the Dead, one tiny corner of the great metropolis lay outside the protection of both wall and water.

    Known to all simply as the Islet, it was a rocky island just beyond the city’s southeast sea tower. Joined to the mainland by a rough stone causeway save at the highest tides, the island was inhabited by the poorest of the poor, the fisher-folk who had lost their boats, or drank too much, or had suffered some calamity that kept them from the city’s more prosperous fishing harbor farther to the north.

    No one knew what had caused Old Marral to come to the Islet. He had been there as long as anyone could remember, living in a shack made of driftwood and torn sailcloth, distinguished from the dozen or so other hovels on the Islet only by its doorway, in which a heavy curtain made of hundreds of shark teeth knotted onto a discarded fishing net served as a door.

    Old Marral made his living, such as it was, as a beachcomber. He walked around the Islet every morning, and if the tide was out, also went out along the rocks that faced the eastern seawall of the city proper. This could be very dangerous, for the tides in the Sea of Saere came in fast and high. In the old days, when the city walls were kept in constant repair, Marral would have drowned many times. Now, with much of the smooth outer face of the wall eroded, there were hand- and footholds enough to climb up out of the rushing waters, even carrying a small sack of whatever flotsam the sea had carried in on its blue-green back.

    One particular morning, the sack held a real treasure.

    Marral had thought it was a fisherman’s glass float at first, lost from a net. The morning sun flashed off something bobbing in the water, sending back a greenish glint. But when a wave brought it close enough to snatch, he found it was a squarish bottle of thick green glass, not a float. It was empty, but neither the bottle nor the contents it once might have held were of interest to Marral. What caught his eye was the stopper. Though tarnished with age and immersion, he knew it for silver, and even better, the stopper was secured to the neck with bright wires still yellow and warm, gold resisting all tarnish.

    Marral almost cackled as he saw it, but stopped himself. The cackling was an act for the city-folk, the few who thought he was some kind of small-time Free Magic sorcerer who could offer them an easier, and less equitable, path to whatever they wanted than the rigors of Charter Magic or non-magical hard work. The shark-tooth curtain was part of this act, but it was only an act, which delivered a few silver deniers every now and then, from those foolish enough to think a Free Magic sorcerer could set up so close to Belisaere, even if outside the city’s walls and wards.

    Hugging his find close, Marral retraced his steps along the wet rocks below the seawall, climbing up and around the deeper pools where the sea swirled dangerously, quick to whisk away and suck under anyone who fell in.

    Back in his hut, he thought about what to do with his find, as he cleaned the silver with spirits of hartshorn and turpentine. There were a number of junk merchants on Winter Street who Marral dealt with regularly, but the silver stopper was too good for them, he thought. They’d never give him a fair price, not for something so finely worked. There was delicate engraving in the metal, tiny symbols like the ones he’d seen in a book once, the one from the dead sailor’s pocket. Marral had gotten a good price for the book, despite it being so heavily water-stained and encrusted with salt.

    After a few seconds peering at the symbols on the silver, Marral looked away. They unnerved him, somehow, almost like they were moving. Twitching about. It was the cleaning fluid, no doubt. Fumes.

    Marral did not have a baptismal Charter mark, and thus had no connection to the Charter. He could not see the actual Charter marks twisting and moving around the engravings. He could not feel the binding spell that kept the bottle closed, and had done so for almost nine hundred years. Nor could he sense the entity trapped inside the bottle, though he did wonder a little why the glass continued to feel so cold, long after it had come out of the sea.

    After he had been cleaning it for some time Marral thought perhaps it would be better to simply remove the stopper, and take it in to a goldsmith in the city. There was no need to take the whole bottle. After all, he’d seen dozens of solid square bottles like this one, and none had been worth more than a copper squid.

    It felt like his own idea.

    Very carefully, he prized off the first gold wire. His hands hurt as he unwound the gold, burning pains shooting through his fingers. It was the ague of age, he knew, though he’d rarely had it so bad. Marral thought of the goose grease which sometimes helped, but he had none of it, and anyway the pains lessened as the wire came off.

    A stabbing pain struck his chest as he pulled the stopper out of the bottle. But he had had such pains before, and simply coughed, knowing it would pass in a moment. And it did, just as the stopper came out with a loud pop, as if the bottle was not empty at all, but contained the finest of the light sparkling wines from Orestery.

    Marral held the heavy stopper in his hand, mentally calculating its worth as a lump of silver. It would pay for a new pot of goose grease, a keg of the dark ale he favored, and at least several chickens, a welcome change from a diet of fish and gathered crustaceans.

    He was thinking of the chicken when he noticed there was someone else in the hut, though he hadn’t heard the shark-tooth curtain rattle, or even a single footstep on the rocky floor.

    Marral’s hand instinctively darted for the gutting knife at his belt, but faltered even as his fingers gripped the worn bone hilt.

    The stranger who had appeared so silently, and now sat opposite him on a wooden crate, looked strangely familiar, but it was a familiarity only slowly remembered from long ago.

    Greten? But you . . . you drowned . . . nigh on thirty years ago . . .

    The young woman smiled, a brilliant smile, her teeth white and bright even in the shadowed interior of the hovel. Marral couldn’t help but smile back, and stretch out his arms to hug his long-lost favorite sister, even as some part of his mind protested that even if she had somehow escaped the sea, Greten couldn’t possibly look exactly the same as she had three decades gone.

    Tears flowed down Marral’s cheeks as they embraced, cutting clear trails through the salt caked on his skin, trickling down to the corners of his mouth. He laughed in delight, at all the goodness in the world, which had brought him not only a valuable silver stopper but also his little sister back from the sea.

    The laughter ceased as Marral’s heart skipped a beat and then just . . . stopped.

    But he had only a moment of fear and puzzlement, as Greten somehow continued to move deeper into his embrace, disappearing into his flesh.

    The old man’s eyes closed, and he slumped on his stool, and would have fallen, save that something moved inside him and kept him upright. Then his heart stuttered into action again, and began to beat more strongly. Color flooded into Marral’s skin, and his eyes cleared. The white flecks in his hair and the stubble on his chin retreated a few inches, giving way to a deep brown not seen for many a year.

    I feel . . . muttered Marral. He stopped, his voice sounding odd to his own ears. It was stronger, and he could hear more clearly.

    I feel young!

    Somewhat, muttered a voice inside his head. Greten’s voice. I cannot do too much, for we must be careful. But I need you to be strong.

    Marral laughed, a deep, bold laugh.

    Dear Greten! he exclaimed. I will be strong! Tell me what you need.

    First, whispered Greten, in a voice he alone could hear, I need to know things. Who rules the Kingdom? How many years have passed since the second Dyran was on the throne? Do the Abhorsens still scour the land against the Dead and . . . others?

    Chapter One

    WELCOME TO THE CITY

    The house was one of the best in Belisaere, high on the eastern slope of Beshill. It boasted five floors, each with a broad balcony facing east, and on top there was a pleasant roof garden which delivered a view over the lesser houses on the slope below, and past them across the red roofs of the buildings that clustered closely on the valley floor on either side of the Winter Road. Beyond the houses were the seven-tiered Great Eastern Aqueduct and its lesser companion, the city wall. The eastern wall had its feet almost in the water; beyond it lay the glittering expanse of the Sea of Saere, now dotted with those slower, straggling fishing boats that were coming late to Fish Harbor, hours after the rest of the fleet had returned to unload their catch with the dawn.

    Clariel stood at the intricately carved marble railing on the edge of the roof garden, with the sun on her face and the cool sea breeze ruffling her shorn-at-the-neck jet-black hair, and wondered why she couldn’t like the view, the house, or indeed, the whole city of Belisaere.

    She was seventeen years old, two months shy of being eighteen, and up until their arrival in the city three days before had lived her entire life in the much smaller town of Estwael in the far northwest of the Old Kingdom, and more important to her in recent years, in and about the Great Forest that surrounded Estwael.

    But Estwael and the Great Forest had been left behind, despite Clariel’s entreaties to her parents. She’d asked to remain, to become a Borderer, one of the wardens who patrolled the forests and woods of the kingdom. But her parents refused, and anyway the Borderers did not recruit youths, as Sergeant Penreth in Estwael had told Clariel numerous times, though always with a matter-of-fact kindness, for they were long acquaintances, if not friends. Nor would her parents accept any of her various other reasons for being allowed to stay behind.

    Typically, Clariel’s mother, Jaciel, had simply ignored her daughter’s request, refusing to even discuss the matter. Jaciel’s mind was rarely focused on her family. A goldsmith of rare talent, all her attention was typically on whatever beautiful gold or silver object she was currently making, or on the one that was taking shape in her head.

    Harven, Clariel’s father and manager of all practical matters in their family life, had patiently explained to his daughter that besides being too young to join the Borderers it was very likely that in a year she would not want to anyway. He had then added insult to injury by telling Clariel the move to Belisaere was as much for her benefit as it was for her mother, who had been accorded the honor of being invited to join the High Guild of Goldsmiths in the capital.

    There would be many more opportunities for her in Belisaere, Clariel had been told repeatedly. She could be apprenticed herself, straight into a High Guild or one of the Great Companies. There might be a business the family could buy for her. Or she might make an advantageous marriage.

    But none of these opportunities interested Clariel, and she knew they never would have left Estwael just for her benefit. Any advantage she might receive would be entirely incidental to her mother’s desire for a much larger workshop, a greater variety of better metals, gems, and other materials to work with, and an increased labor force, doubtlessly including at least half a dozen more pimply apprentices who would try to look down the front of Clariel’s dress at dinner.

    A meaningful cough behind her made Clariel turn around. Her father smiled at her, the weak smile that she knew was a harbinger of bad news. It had made frequent appearances in the last few months, the smile. When people first met Harven they would think him strong, until his mouth turned up. He had a weak, giving-in smile. He was a goldsmith too, but was not particularly gifted in the actual craft. He was much better at managing the business of his wife’s work.

    Have you come to tell me that by some stroke of good fortune I am to be allowed to go home? asked Clariel.

    This is our home now, said Harven.

    It doesn’t feel like it, said Clariel. She looked over the railing again, across all the white stone buildings with their red tiled roofs, and then back again at the ornamental shrubs in the terra-cotta boxes that made up their own roof garden, shrubs with pale bark and small, weak-looking yellow leaves. There is nothing green here. I haven’t seen a single proper tree. Everything is ordered, and tamed, and put between walls. And there are too many people.

    There are lots of big trees in the gardens on Palace Hill, said Harven. We just can’t see them from here.

    Clariel nodded glumly. A few trees too distant to be seen, across miles and miles of houses and workshops and other buildings, and thousands and thousands of people, rather proved her point, she thought.

    Did you come to tell me something? she asked, knowing that he had, and she wasn’t going to like whatever it was. His smile gave that away.

    Ah, your mother had a meeting with Guildmaster Kilp yestereve, and he made her aware of an opportunity for you that she . . . we desire you to take up.

    An opportunity? asked Clariel, her heart sinking. For me?

    Yes, an opportunity, continued her father, raising his hands and lifting his shoulders to emphasize what a good opportunity he was about to reveal. The Goldsmiths, the Merchant Venturers, the Spicers, the Northwestern Trading Company . . . all the High Guilds and most of the great companies, they send their children to the Belisaere Select Academy—

    A school? interrupted Clariel. I’ve been to school! And I’m not a child!

    Clariel had indeed attended school in Estwael, from the age of eight to fourteen, and had been taught how to calculate using an abacus; keep accounts; write formal letters; supervise servants; ride in the great hunt with hounds and hawks; fight with dagger, sword, and bow; and play the psalter, zittern, and reed pipe.

    She had also been baptized with the forehead Charter mark shortly after her birth and taught the rudiments of Charter Magic, that highly organized and difficult sorcery that drew upon the endless array of symbols that collectively made up the magical Charter that described, contained, and connected all things upon, below, above, within, and beyond the world.

    Indeed, it would have been very surprising if she had not been taught Charter Magic, given she was a granddaughter of the Abhorsen. The Abhorsen, chief of the family of the same name, both an office and a bloodline, descended from the remnants of the ancient powers who had made the Charter, codifying and ordering the Free Magic that had once been such a threat to all living things in its arbitrary and selfish nature.

    The Abhorsens, like their cousins in the Royal Family and also the glacier-dwelling, future-gazing Clayr, were as deeply a part of the foundations and beginnings of the Charter as the more physical underpinnings: the Great Charter Stones beneath the royal palace in Belisaere; the Wall that defined the borders of the Old Kingdom to the south; and the Great Rift to the north.

    In addition to the dame school in the town, Clariel had attended another, more informal educational institution, largely without her parents’ knowledge. Since she’d turned twelve Clariel visited her aunt Lemmin whenever she had a day free. Lemmin was an herbalist who lived on the fringe of the forest, in a comfortable house surrounded by her enormous, high-walled garden. Her parents assumed that Clariel stayed within those walls. But her visits to her relative rarely encompassed more than a hug and a greeting, for with her aunt’s good-natured connivance, Clariel would go on out through the forest door, out to follow the Borderers into the deeper woods, or to join the hunters from the lodge. From them all she had learned the habits of animals, the nature of trees, and how to track, and hunt, and snare, to forage, to gut and skin, and make and mend, and live in the wild.

    The wild . . . that was where she should be, Clariel thought. Not imprisoned here behind a great maze of walls, roped in by the vast net of streets, caught up in the thrashings of the multitudes of people likewise trapped—

    It’s not like your old school, her father said, interrupting Clariel’s thoughts. It is a new thing, that they call a polishing . . . no, I mean finishing . . . a finishing school. And it’s not for children as such . . . it’s for the young men and women of the senior Guild members. You’ll meet the best people in the city and learn how to mix with them.

    I don’t want to meet the ‘best people’ in the city! protested Clariel. I don’t particularly want to meet anyone. I’m quite happy by myself. Or at least, I was, back home. Besides, who is going to help you?

    Clariel had assisted her father for several days each week for a long time, working on all the aspects of being a goldsmith that Jaciel ignored, which included money-changing, some minor loans and financial dealings, and the administration of the workshop, particularly the detailed accounts of the raw materials bought, how they were used, what they were made into, and how much profit they returned when sold. She had liked doing this, mostly because she was left alone, and it had been quiet and peaceful in Harven’s old study, a high tower room with tall windows that gave a wonderful view of the forested hills that surrounded Estwael. It also only took her a dozen hours a week, leaving her plenty of time to wander in the green world beyond the town.

    The Guild is sending me a senior apprentice, said Harven. One who is suited for the . . . less . . . ah . . . someone with the . . .

    With an eye for numbers and good penmanship? suggested Clariel. She knew that her father felt diminished by his lack of talent in the actual craft of goldsmithing, though he tried to hide it. He had not made anything himself for years, probably because he could not come even close to his wife’s genius, though he always lamented how the business took up all of his time, leaving nothing for the craft.

    Yes, said Harven. Though I expect I will still need your help, Clarrie, only not as much.

    Or at all, from the sound of it, said Clariel. How much time do I have to spend at this school?

    Three days a week, until the Autumn Festival, said Harven. And it’s only mornings, from the ninth hour until noon.

    I suppose I can survive that, said Clariel. It was already several weeks past midsummer, though the days were still long and the nights warm. But what happens after the Autumn Festival? Can I go home then?

    Harven looked down at the sharp-pointed, gilded toes of his red leather shoes, fine footwear for the consort of the city’s newest and probably most talented High Goldsmith. Along with the smile, looking at his shoes was a well-known telltale. He had a habit of shoe-gazing when he was about to lie to his daughter, or wanted to avoid directly answering a question.

    Let us see what paths appear, he mumbled.

    Clariel looked away from him, up at a lone silver gull flying toward Fish Harbor, going to join the flocks that endlessly circled and bickered there, mirroring the people below.

    She knew what her father wasn’t saying. Her parents were hoping she would find someone who wanted to marry her, or more likely, wanted to marry into the family of Jaciel High Goldsmith. An apprentice from a Guild family, or one of these best people from the school. This would solve the problem of a daughter who didn’t want to be a goldsmith herself, or take up any of the other crafts or businesses deemed suitable.

    But Clariel didn’t want to marry anyone. She had once or twice—no more—wondered if she was naturally a singleton, like the russet martens who only came together for the briefest mating season and then went their own way. Or her own aunt Lemmin, for that matter, who chose to live entirely alone, though happily for Clariel could stand visitors provided they amused themselves.

    They had talked about solitude and self-sufficiency once, Lemmin and her niece, soon after Clariel had first chosen to lie with a young man and had found herself quite separate from the experience, and not caring one way or another about repeating the act itself or the emotional dance that went with it.

    Perhaps I don’t like men, Clariel had said to her aunt, who was pulling garlic bulbs and delighting in her crop. Though I can’t say I have those feelings for women, either.

    You’re young, Lemmin had replied, sniffing a particularly grand clump of garlic. It’s probably too early to tell, one way or another. The most important thing is to be true to yourself, however you feel, and not try to feel or behave differently because you think you should, or someone has told you how you must feel. But do think about it. Unexamined feelings lead to all kinds of trouble.

    Clariel examined her feelings once again, and found them unchanged. What she desperately wanted to do was get out of the city and, since the Borderers wouldn’t let her join them, purchase a hunting lodge or forester’s hut outside Estwael, to go hunting and fishing and just live in the quiet, cool, shaded world of the forest valleys and the heather-clad hills that she loved. But that would require her parents’ permission, and money, and she had neither of these things.

    At least not until she worked out how to get them . . .

    There is one other matter, said Harven cautiously. He was gazing over the railing now himself, which was a slight improvement from staring at his shoes, though he still wouldn’t look her in the eye. Well, a few other matters.

    Clariel lost sight of the seagull, who had joined the flock and been absorbed by it, all individuality gone in an instant.

    Yes?

    This school . . . uh, the Academy . . . it doesn’t teach Charter Magic.

    And this means? asked Clariel, encouraging the bad news out. Her father’s smile was spreading across his face again, so obviously there was more unpleasantness to come.

    Apparently it’s not the fashion these days, or something, muttered Harven. The best people don’t practice Charter Magic, they hire people to do it for them, if absolutely necessary.

    These ‘best people’ sound rather lazy and stupid, observed Clariel. "Do they get awfully fat from not doing anything for themselves?"

    She herself was slim, and up until relatively recently, could easily pass for a boy. She still could, with a bit of preparation and the right clothes. It was quite useful, and had made it easier to follow the truffle-hunting pigs, tickle trout in the Wael River, hunt the small puzzle deer, or do any of the things that she liked but weren’t proper for a well-brought-up child of the merchant elite. She thought this potential for deception might come in handy in Belisaere as well. Particularly for leaving the city.

    No, don’t be silly, said Harven. In any case, your mother wants you to further your Charter Magic studies—

    Why? asked Clariel. She never wanted me to before. Is it something to do with Grandfather?

    Her mother was a Charter Mage, and certainly used her magic in her goldsmithing, but she made no display of it outside her workshop. This was presumably because she was estranged from her family, the Abhorsens, and the Abhorsens were very much a living embodiment of some aspects of the Charter and tended to be powerful Charter Mages. In fact, Jaciel’s father was the current Abhorsen, but Clariel had never met him, because of a never-spoken-about rift that had occurred when Jaciel was young.

    Possibly, possibly, muttered Harven, which suggested to his knowing daughter that it probably didn’t have anything to do with the Abhorsens. But he seized upon it as a possible explanation to her, adding, The Abhorsen or the Abhorsen-in-Waiting do come to Belisaere upon occasion, there are ceremonies and so on, so we might well have to meet either your grandfather or your aunt—

    My aunt is the Abhorsen-in-Waiting? asked Clariel. "I didn’t even know Mother had a sister!"

    Her parents never talked about Jaciel’s family, so this was all interesting information. She hardly knew anything about the Abhorsens really, apart from the childhood rhyme everyone learned about the Charter:

    Five Great Charters knit the land

    Together linked, hand in hand

    One in the people who wear the crown

    Two in the folk who keep the Dead down

    Three and Five became stone and mortar

    Four sees all in frozen water

    The Abhorsens were the folk who keep the Dead down, which as far as Clariel knew meant they hunted down necromancers, and banished Dead spirits that had somehow returned from Death to Life.

    Abhorsens could walk in Death themselves and like necromancers used Free Magic bells to command and compel the Dead, though the Abhorsens’ bells were somehow not Free Magic as such but bound to the Charter.

    Not that the Abhorsens did much keeping the Dead down in the present era, as far as Clariel knew. She’d never heard of the Dead causing any trouble in her lifetime. Nor for that matter did the Clayr, the fourth of the Great Charter bloodlines, seem to see very much into the future. If they did, they kept it to themselves, just as they kept themselves remote in their glacier-sheltered fortress far to the north. Even the King, head of those who wear the crown didn’t do much ruling anymore, though Clariel had never really been interested in who ultimately was in charge of the various institutions that effectively managed the kingdom.

    Abhorsens, Clayr, the King: they all seemed to be relics of a bygone past, just as the stone and mortar of the rhyme meant very little in the present day. This referred to the Wall to the south, to Clariel merely a curious landmark she’d heard about but never seen; and to the Great Charter stones she knew only as they were depicted in a mummer’s play: big grey man-size puppets painted with gold representations of Charter marks. In Estwael they had become part of a comic turn in the Midsummer Festival, tall rocks that crashed into each other, fell over, got up again, and then repeated the whole process numerous times to gales of laughter.

    Of course you knew about your mother’s sister, said Harven, as if they talked about Jaciel’s family all the time, instead of never. Anyway, we may be seeing her or your grandfather, and then there’s the King, who is your mother’s second cousin after all, and they all are . . . well . . . you know, very big on Charter Magic.

    I thought you said the ‘best people’ don’t do Charter Magic anymore because it’s too much like hard work or they’ll get their fingers scorched black or something. Are the King and the Abhorsens not the best people?

    Don’t be silly, said Harven. They’re more . . . more kind of separate, particularly these days. Out of the way. Modern times, you know, and different ways and means, things change . . .

    "What are you talking about, Father?" asked Clariel.

    You are to have lessons in Charter Magic, rallied Harven, getting back to the subject at hand. We have arranged for you to take afternoon lessons with a Magister Kargrin, whose house is on the hill below us, possibly you can see it from here, I believe it is quite distinctive—

    Clariel looked over the railing. There were hundreds of houses on the western slope of Beshill, and many more beyond, all crowded together.

    Where? she asked.

    Somewhere downhill, replied Harven, waving vaguely. The house with the sign of the hedgepig on the street of the Cormorant . . . anyway, your guard will lead you there—

    My guard?

    I thought I told you about the guards already?

    No you did not, replied Clariel sternly. What guards?

    The Guild has sent us some guards, for the house and the workshop, and also to . . . look after us. The family.

    Why do we need guards?

    I don’t think we need them particularly, said Harven, but he was looking at his shoes again. It’s just something they do here. In any case, one will be guarding you. To and from the Academy, and so forth. His name is . . . um . . . well, it’s slipped my mind for a moment. He’s waiting to meet you downstairs. Also your mother wants Valannie to help you with your clothes.

    What’s wrong with my clothes? asked Clariel. She was wearing what she wore most ordinary days in Estwael, basically her own version of a Borderer’s uniform: a short-sleeved doeskin jerkin over a knee-length woolen robe with long sleeves dyed a pale green with an inch of linen trim at the wrists and neck; woolen stockings and knee-high boots of pig leather, made from the first boar Clariel had hunted and killed herself, when she was fourteen.

    Admittedly, leather and wool was a little too heavy to be comfortable in Belisaere. The sun was hotter and the winds warmer here by the sea, compared to Estwael, which was situated in a high valley and surrounded by the wooded hills of the Great Forest. There was a term used disparagingly in other parts of the kingdom—when it was unseasonably cold, they called such days an Estwael Summer.

    Women wear different things here, said Harven. Valannie will help you buy whatever you need.

    Valannie was Clariel’s new maid. She had been waiting for them at the new house, and like it, had been provided by the Guild rather than being hired by the family. Jaciel didn’t care about choosing her own servants, particularly since Valannie was immediately competent and useful. But Clariel had refused her help as much as possible so far. She was determined to do without a maid, since she could not have the help of her old nurse, Kraille, who had chosen to retire to her son’s farm outside Estwael, rather than brave the horrors of the city.

    So you need to come down, said Harven.

    Clariel nodded, without speaking.

    I’m sorry, Clarrie, said her father. But it will all be for the best. You’ll see.

    I hope so, said Clariel bleakly. You go, Father. I’ll be down in a minute.

    Clariel’s new guard was standing in the courtyard, near the front gate, watching two of Jaciel’s workmen stacking sacks of charcoal. She was rather surprised to see he was both shorter and even thinner than she was, and much older, probably at least thirty, if not more. His eyes were hooded, and he did not look at all agreeable. As Clariel left the stairs and walked closer, she saw he had a Charter mark on his forehead, the baptismal symbol that was the visible sign of a connection to the Charter. So he was at least capable of wielding Charter Magic, though the forehead mark itself meant little without a lifetime devoted to learning and practice.

    But the guard’s forehead mark was mostly concealed by the red bandanna he wore, and would be totally hidden when he put on the open-faced helmet he held at his side. His surcoat showed the golden cup of the Guild, but it was done in a dyed yellow thread, not even a part-gold alloy. The hauberk of gethre plates he wore under it was short, reaching only to mid-thigh, and did not meet his knee-high leather boots. A sword hung in its drab scabbard on the left side of his broad belt, and thrust through the belt on the right side was a narrow club of some dark, heavy wood.

    He turned as Clariel approached, bowed his head and snapped to attention.

    Good morning, milady, he said, without a flicker of emotion in his eyes or face. My name is Roban. I have been assigned by the Guild to guard you when you go about the city.

    Thank you, said Clariel. Um, why do I need to be guarded? We got here without any guards.

    Actually, we were with you from several leagues outside the High Gate, milady, replied Roban. Incognito, being as the Lady Jaciel wasn’t yet admitted to the guild.

    He didn’t look at Clariel, but at a point somewhere above her right shoulder. It almost felt like he wasn’t talking to her, but reporting to some invisible officer who was hovering above her head.

    Did you really follow us in? asked Clariel. Why?

    Orders, milady, replied Roban, not actually answering the question.

    Before Clariel could continue, she was interrupted by the bustling arrival of Valannie, who was always bustling, constantly on the move, busy doing something or organizing other people to do things. She was probably only ten years older than Clariel, and certainly did not look prematurely aged, but there was something about her which made her seem much older than anyone else around. She reminded Clariel of her grandmother, her father’s mother, who had been just such a managing person.

    Lady Clariel, I am so sorry to keep you waiting, she declared, pausing only to insert her arm through the crook of Clariel’s elbow. Everything is arranged. We will go to Parillin’s first, for cloth, then to Mistress Emenor, she has by far the best dress-cutters. Then Master Blydnen for shoes, or perhaps Kailin’s, and I think Ilvercote for some scarves and suchlike. Oh, that reminds me. Take this for the time being. Don’t worry, you’ll soon have something more fetching.

    She held out a blue shawl of some shimmering cloth. Clariel looked at it, but didn’t take it.

    What’s this?

    A silk scarf, milady! exclaimed Valannie. To cover your head.

    I have hair for that, replied Clariel. And a perfectly good hat inside I can get if you think it’s going to rain. It doesn’t look like it to me.

    No, no, no! Hats are for ordinary folk! You must wear a scarf, Lady Clariel!

    Clariel opened her mouth to say something about no one wearing scarfs on their heads in Estwael, but stopped as she saw her mother come out of the workshop door, trailed as always by apprentices and forge hands. She was not wearing her simple linen working clothes and leather apron, with its pockets full of files, hammers, pincers, rules and the like, but a kind of layered robe of blue and pale gold silks. She also wore a blue headscarf, though Jaciel’s was embroidered with small golden coins that caught the sunshine and flashed it back, proof of real gold.

    The lack of an apron was a bad sign, thought Clariel, because if Jaciel was not working, then she might take an interest in her daughter.

    This proved to be the case. Jaciel stopped in mid-progress toward the men who were unloading the charcoal and changed direction, coming straight at Clariel. As she approached, Roban stood even more stiffly at attention, and Valannie quickly put the scarf over Clariel’s hair, pulled it down to cover the Charter mark on her forehead, and knotted the ends under her chin.

    Clariel. You have come down.

    Yes, Mother.

    "No more tantrums

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