The Black Raven - Katharine Kerr [0]
THE BLACK RAVEN
“Kerr has written … to her usual standard, which is among the highest for Celtic-derived fantasy sagas currently in progress. Faithful fans will be gratified, and any newcomers intrigued.”
—Booklist
“Kerr is one of the best of the current crop of fantasy writers. The Black Raven is a lyrically written and enchanting tale of love, politics, and magic.”
—SFX
“All you Katharine Kerr fans out there, get psyched! If you’re into Celtic fantasy and folklore, Kerr’s Dragon Mage quintet (and for that matter, her whole Deverry series) is a must-read.”
—Barnes and Noble Explorations
BY KATHARINE KERR
Her novels of Deverry and the Westlands
DAGGERSPELL
DARKSPELL
THE BRISTLING WOOD
THE DRAGON REVENANT
A TIME OF EXILE
A TIME OF OMENS
DAYS OF BLOOD AND FIRE
DAYS OF AIR AND DARKNESS
THE RED WYVERN
THE BLACK RAVEN
Her works of science fiction
RESURRECTION
PALACE
(with Mark Kreighbaum)
for my grandmother, Elsa Petersen Brahtin
1889-1985
The courage in her life amazed me
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many thanks again to Barbara Denz, master of ferret lore.
A NOTE ON THE DEVERRY SEQUENCE
It occurs to me that readers might find it helpful to know something about the overall structure of the Deverry “series.” From the beginning of this rather large enterprise, I have had an actual ending in mind, a set of events that should wrap up all the books in dramatic conclusion. It’s merely taken me much longer to get there than I ever thought it would.
If you think of Deverry as a stage play, the sets of books make up its acts. Act One consists of the “Deverry” books proper, that is, Daggerspell, Darkspell, The Bristling Wood, and The Dragon Revenant. The “Westlands” books, A Time of Exile, A Time of Omens, Days of Blood and Fire, and Days of Air and Darkness, make up Act Two, while Act Three will unfold in the current quintet, “The Dragon Mage,” that is, The Red Wyvern, The Black Raven, which is the volume you now have in hand, and its “sister,” The Fire Dragon. The Gold Falcon and eventually The Silver Wyrm will bring the sequence to its end at last.
As for the way that the series alternates between past and present lives, think of the structure of a line of Celtic interlace, some examples of which have decorated the various books in this set. Although each knot appears to be a separate figure, when you look closely you can see that they are actually formed from one continuous line. Similarly, this line weaves over and under itself to form the figures. A small section of line seems to run over or under another line to form a knot.
The past incarnations of the characters in this book and their “present tense” story are really one continuous line, but this line interweaves to form the individual volumes. Eventually-soon, I hope-the pattern will complete itself, and you will be able to see that the set of books forms a circle of knots.
—Katharine Kerr
CONTENTS
Prologue
Part One—Deverry
Part Two—Deverry
Epilogue
Appendices
Glossary
Table of Reincarnating Characters
PROLOGUE
WINTER 1117
Bardek
Always the sorcerer must prepare for hindrances and setbacks. Before any working of great length and import, he must spend long nights in study of the omens, for if the Macrocosm can find a way to defeat him, it will, preferring in its laziness the natural order over any change wrought by our arts, no matter how greatly that change will be to its benefit.
—The Pseudo-Iamblichos Scroll
Marka, dearest?” Keeta said. “I’m sorry. There’s something wrong with him.”
Marka tried to answer, but her throat filled with tears. Her youngest son, not yet two years old, sat on a red-and-blue carpet in a patch of sunlight that spilled through the tent door. He was frowning at the edge of the brightness; over and over again he would reach out a pale brown hand and touch the shadow next to it, then draw his hand back and frown the harder. Tight brown curls hung over his forehead; now and then he would bat at them as