Castle Storm
Encyclopedia
Castle Storm is the second novel in the Welkin Weasels
series by Garry Kilworth
. Picking up shortly after the end of Thunder Oak
, the novel centers around the anthropomorphised
weasels
searching for the humans that mysteriously vanished from their homeland many years before. Following a clue found in the first book, the weasels, led by the outlaw Sylver and pursued by the stoat
Sheriff Falshed, journey to a far-away city where they find themselves entangled in a battle between rivaling clans of squirrels. Published in Germany under the title "Belagert die Sturmburg."
messenger is sent to Lord Haukin, ruler of Halfmoon Wood.
In the wood, Sylver's band corner the ferret and eventually, when Sylver arrives, they listen to his story. Lord Flaggatis has built a massive wooden god-effigy, more like a monstrous white rat than anything else. After hearing the ferret's alarming tale, the weasels consider what to do and decide to support the stoats in their battle against the rats, as the rats are the enemies of all of Welkin and the weasels start to travel to Castle Rayn. They eventually reach it, although they have to contend with several cowardly stoat mercenaries upon the way, who have deserted the war out of fear of the rats, but eventually the cowardly stoat soldiers join the weasels to attack the rats. The weasels send Scirf and Mawk in to infiltrate the castle, and they eventually enter, but ironically the weasels are captured by Prince Poynt in the process, who throws them in his dungeons. Mawk the doubter convinces their guard to play a game of hollyhockers with him, and appears to lose, but later he reveals that he held the guard's key to the weasels' cell in his mouth all along.
After slipping through a grating cover, the weasels worm their way down through the underground rivers and enter an otter colony, where they meet Sleek, an otter obsessed with fashion. Back at Castle Rayn, Prince Poynt appears cleverer than he looks, and tells Sherriff Falshed to follow the weasels and obstruct them in their quest. After allowing him to free them, the weasels then enter an open lake where they meet their old friend Sherriff Falshed, who has been knocked unconscious by the fall from the cliff. After contending with some rats and a giant dragonfly
nymph, carnivorous in nature (carnivorous meaning mammal-eating, rather than insect eating) Sherriff Falshed fakes amnesia, and thus the weasels finally make their way to the castle, leaving Sleek the otter to go his own way (to find a fashion industry). Sherriff Falshed fakes amnesia throughout the entire voyage to Castle Storm, where the weasels meet a massive rivalry between the gray squirrels and the highly arrogant red squirrels. The red squirrels are led by Clive of Coldkettle, who sports an extra-large tail, and the gray squirrels are led by Pommf de Fritte. The weasels are accepted by the reds, and are shown around town by Clive, where Sylver encounters a coven of moles, who, much to Sylver's alarm, proclaim him to be Lord of Elleswhere.
The weasels are invited to a tournament, where, to their horror, their friend Icham is killed by Torca Marda. Icham dies despite an attempt to revive him by a good stoat doctor. After a feast that night, where the weasels meet two evil ferrets called Rosencrass and Guildenswine, who plot to kill Prince Poynt, and an extremely evil stoat called Torca Marda, who killed Sylver's father. The weasels then journey down beneath the castle to search for the clue, and narrowly avoid death when Torca Marda attempts to kill the weasels by resurrecting a badger, although they kill the fiend by stabbing it with a raptor's claw. Then the dragonfly from the lake breaks out of its aquatic nature and attacks the castle, devouring any creature in its path. The coven of moles, still intent on Sylver being a lord, suggest that they should feed the old and weak animals to the ravenous beast, and Torca Marda agrees on this mad plan.
Wodehed the magician comes up with a solution to the problem of the dragonfly: they must journey to the Forest of Lost Birds and retrieve a secret herb, known as Shatter from the goddess Sessile's garden. Sessile is a sentient tree, and in her roots another dimension resides. On their way to the forest, they run into, and escape, a group of birds who are obsessed with the idea of returning home to their island via a ship of Braeburns, and then are attacked by Rosencrass and Guildenswine, who, upon revealing that they have murdered one of the birds, are imprisoned in the trees of the Forest of Lost Birds. The weasels retrieve the herb, return to Castle Storm, and destroy the dragonfly, whereupon it shatters into small, harmless dragonflies. Torca Marda, furious at this loss of chaos, attempts to kill Sylver, but is scared off by Scirf, pretending to be an animal dying from the mange, and falls over a cliff to his death. His priests, attempting to shatter the squirrels into pieces with the herb, are themselves turned into minuscule stoats by the same herb and Welkin is free of the evil of Torca Marda. The next day Lord Ragnar is killed in battle with the rats, and Prince Poynt promises to elect Sylver to a lord if he defeats the rats, thus fulfilling the mole coven's prophecy. Lord Haukin tells Sylver and the weasels to partially knock down the sea walls, allowing a bore to flood to Castle Rayn and destroy the rat hordes, along with the effigy, although Lord Flaggatis escapes, along with most of the rats.
The otter Sleek comes to Castle Rayn to make a fashion industry with the stoat princess, Prince Poynt's sister, (who secretly fancies Falshed) and the prince is left to his misery, thinking gloomily about his murdered brother, King Redfur (Poynt refuses to be king as all the previous stoat kings were murdered) who often enters his mind when he is feeling depressed. The novel ends with Poynt overlooking a massive inland saltlake which now spreads around his castle, whereas in the rest of Welkin the sea begins to cascade down into the land.
Welkin Weasels
Welkin Weasels is a series of fantasy novels by British author Garry Kilworth. As of 2003, it consists of six books, all published by Random House's Corgi Juvenile imprint.-Thunder Oak:...
series by Garry Kilworth
Garry Kilworth
Garry Douglas Kilworth is a fantasy and historical novelist.Kilworth is a graduate of King's College London. He was previously a science fiction author, having published one hundred twenty short stories and seventy novels...
. Picking up shortly after the end of Thunder Oak
Thunder Oak
Thunder Oak is a 1997 heroic fantasy novel written by British author Garry Kilworth. It is the first novel in the Welkin Weasels series...
, the novel centers around the anthropomorphised
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
weasels
Least Weasel
The least weasel is the smallest member of the Mustelidae , native to Eurasia, North America and North Africa, though it has been introduced elsewhere. It is classed as Least Concern by the IUCN, due to its wide distribution and presumably large population...
searching for the humans that mysteriously vanished from their homeland many years before. Following a clue found in the first book, the weasels, led by the outlaw Sylver and pursued by the stoat
Stoat
The stoat , also known as the ermine or short-tailed weasel, is a species of Mustelid native to Eurasia and North America, distinguished from the least weasel by its larger size and longer tail with a prominent black tip...
Sheriff Falshed, journey to a far-away city where they find themselves entangled in a battle between rivaling clans of squirrels. Published in Germany under the title "Belagert die Sturmburg."
Synopsis
After discovering the second clue to the whereabouts of the humans lies at the famed Castle Storm, the outlaw weasels journey to the south of Welkin, where the castle lies, to discover more about the mysterious human evacuation. However, a cascade of rats is swarming down from the marshes in the north of the island to seize power from Prince Poynt.Plot
In the unnamed marshes in the north of Welkin, the evil stoat lord Flaggatis plots to eradicate Prince Poynt's grip on power. He sends his evil rats to commence a massive war against the stoats. His main attack source is Castle Rayn, home of the stoats, but he also has other targets, too: County Elleswhere, home of Sylver's band, and County Fearsomeshire, home of Lord Ragnar. Prince Poynt and his stoats are overwhelmed, 'in their beds', as Flaggatis hopes, but not before a ferretFerret
The ferret is a domesticated mammal of the type Mustela putorius furo. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur...
messenger is sent to Lord Haukin, ruler of Halfmoon Wood.
In the wood, Sylver's band corner the ferret and eventually, when Sylver arrives, they listen to his story. Lord Flaggatis has built a massive wooden god-effigy, more like a monstrous white rat than anything else. After hearing the ferret's alarming tale, the weasels consider what to do and decide to support the stoats in their battle against the rats, as the rats are the enemies of all of Welkin and the weasels start to travel to Castle Rayn. They eventually reach it, although they have to contend with several cowardly stoat mercenaries upon the way, who have deserted the war out of fear of the rats, but eventually the cowardly stoat soldiers join the weasels to attack the rats. The weasels send Scirf and Mawk in to infiltrate the castle, and they eventually enter, but ironically the weasels are captured by Prince Poynt in the process, who throws them in his dungeons. Mawk the doubter convinces their guard to play a game of hollyhockers with him, and appears to lose, but later he reveals that he held the guard's key to the weasels' cell in his mouth all along.
After slipping through a grating cover, the weasels worm their way down through the underground rivers and enter an otter colony, where they meet Sleek, an otter obsessed with fashion. Back at Castle Rayn, Prince Poynt appears cleverer than he looks, and tells Sherriff Falshed to follow the weasels and obstruct them in their quest. After allowing him to free them, the weasels then enter an open lake where they meet their old friend Sherriff Falshed, who has been knocked unconscious by the fall from the cliff. After contending with some rats and a giant dragonfly
Dragonfly
A dragonfly is a winged insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera . It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body...
nymph, carnivorous in nature (carnivorous meaning mammal-eating, rather than insect eating) Sherriff Falshed fakes amnesia, and thus the weasels finally make their way to the castle, leaving Sleek the otter to go his own way (to find a fashion industry). Sherriff Falshed fakes amnesia throughout the entire voyage to Castle Storm, where the weasels meet a massive rivalry between the gray squirrels and the highly arrogant red squirrels. The red squirrels are led by Clive of Coldkettle, who sports an extra-large tail, and the gray squirrels are led by Pommf de Fritte. The weasels are accepted by the reds, and are shown around town by Clive, where Sylver encounters a coven of moles, who, much to Sylver's alarm, proclaim him to be Lord of Elleswhere.
The weasels are invited to a tournament, where, to their horror, their friend Icham is killed by Torca Marda. Icham dies despite an attempt to revive him by a good stoat doctor. After a feast that night, where the weasels meet two evil ferrets called Rosencrass and Guildenswine, who plot to kill Prince Poynt, and an extremely evil stoat called Torca Marda, who killed Sylver's father. The weasels then journey down beneath the castle to search for the clue, and narrowly avoid death when Torca Marda attempts to kill the weasels by resurrecting a badger, although they kill the fiend by stabbing it with a raptor's claw. Then the dragonfly from the lake breaks out of its aquatic nature and attacks the castle, devouring any creature in its path. The coven of moles, still intent on Sylver being a lord, suggest that they should feed the old and weak animals to the ravenous beast, and Torca Marda agrees on this mad plan.
Wodehed the magician comes up with a solution to the problem of the dragonfly: they must journey to the Forest of Lost Birds and retrieve a secret herb, known as Shatter from the goddess Sessile's garden. Sessile is a sentient tree, and in her roots another dimension resides. On their way to the forest, they run into, and escape, a group of birds who are obsessed with the idea of returning home to their island via a ship of Braeburns, and then are attacked by Rosencrass and Guildenswine, who, upon revealing that they have murdered one of the birds, are imprisoned in the trees of the Forest of Lost Birds. The weasels retrieve the herb, return to Castle Storm, and destroy the dragonfly, whereupon it shatters into small, harmless dragonflies. Torca Marda, furious at this loss of chaos, attempts to kill Sylver, but is scared off by Scirf, pretending to be an animal dying from the mange, and falls over a cliff to his death. His priests, attempting to shatter the squirrels into pieces with the herb, are themselves turned into minuscule stoats by the same herb and Welkin is free of the evil of Torca Marda. The next day Lord Ragnar is killed in battle with the rats, and Prince Poynt promises to elect Sylver to a lord if he defeats the rats, thus fulfilling the mole coven's prophecy. Lord Haukin tells Sylver and the weasels to partially knock down the sea walls, allowing a bore to flood to Castle Rayn and destroy the rat hordes, along with the effigy, although Lord Flaggatis escapes, along with most of the rats.
The otter Sleek comes to Castle Rayn to make a fashion industry with the stoat princess, Prince Poynt's sister, (who secretly fancies Falshed) and the prince is left to his misery, thinking gloomily about his murdered brother, King Redfur (Poynt refuses to be king as all the previous stoat kings were murdered) who often enters his mind when he is feeling depressed. The novel ends with Poynt overlooking a massive inland saltlake which now spreads around his castle, whereas in the rest of Welkin the sea begins to cascade down into the land.
Weasels
- Sylver - leader of the outlaws
- Bryony - a straightforward jill
- Alysoun - a knowlegdable jill
- Miniver - a sensitive, small jill
- Mawk - a cowardly but good-natured jack
- Scirf - a confident, dirty and honest jack
- Wodehed - the group's inept mage
- Icham - Sylver's best friend, killed by Torca Marda at the tournament
- Luke - a holy weasel
Stoats
- Lord Haukin - A well-read and gentle-tempered old stoat who rules County Elleswhere.
- Prince Poynt -
- Sherriff Falshed - The High Sheriff of Welkin
- Princess Sibiline -
- Lord Flagattis -
- Torca Marda - The sadistic Grand InquisitorGrand InquisitorGrand Inquisitor is the lead official of an Inquisition. The most famous Inquisitor General is the Spanish Dominican Tomás de Torquemada, who spearheaded the Spanish Inquisition.-List of Spanish Grand Inquisitors:-Castile:-Aragon:...
. - CardinalCardinal (Catholicism)A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Orgoglio - - MonsignorMonsignorMonsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
Furioso -
Other Animals
- Clive of Coldkettle - The boisterous, one-eyed leader of the red squirrels, famed for his lengthy tail which curves inward.
- Pommf de Fritte - The leader of the grey squirrels.
- Rosencrass and Guildenswine - A pair of sneaky ferrets who sell information to the highest bidder. Rosencrass is male, and Guildenswine is female. They attempt to kill Sylver at Torca Marda's orders, but are imprisoned within a magical tree.
Weasels
- Culver - Lord Haukin's faithful and patient servant, who is penning the history of Welkin.
- Gritnal - Lord Ragnar's servant; at odds with Culver.
- Pompom - Prince Poynt's impetuous court jester; never without an inflated mouse bladder on a stick, with which he hits other creatures.
Stoats
- Grubelgut - A stoat specializing in the creation of poisons, who Torca Marda intends to have assassinate Prince Poynt.
- King Redfur - Prince Poynt's brother and the former ruler of Welkin. Prince Poynt had him assassinated by the fox Magellan, after which he took power. The then-priest Torca Marda created a religion worshiping Redfur, and Poynt banished Torca Marda and forbade anyone to mention Redfur's name thereafter. Nonetheless, the Prince is sometimes seen talking to his brother's grave.
- Lord Jessex, Lord Elphet, and Lord Wilisen - Noblemen of Welkin who frequently visit Poynt.
- Lord Ragnar - The crude and violent ThaneThegnThe term thegn , from OE þegn, ðegn "servant, attendant, retainer", is commonly used to describe either an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England, or as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of ealdormen and high-reeves...
of County Fearsomeshire. He is killed by the rats after ignoring Lord Haukin's warnings. - Spinfer - Falshed's creative and quick-thinking servant, who advises Prince Poynt in Falshed's absence.
Red Squirrels
- Blodwin -
- Eric Rood -
- Goodsquirrel -
- Imogen -
- Link the Stink -
- Will Splayfoot -
- Wivenhoe -
Grey Squirrels
- Derrière -
- Foppington -
- Kloog - An old alchemistAlchemyAlchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
who tells Sylver, Mawk, and Scirf how to defeat the undead badger. - La Belle Savage -
- Poisson d'Avril -
Other Creatures
- Bead - The head scribe of the monks who live beneath Castle Storm.
- Colin - Leader of the ptarmigan clan in the Forest of Lost Birds.
- Griselda - The elderly leader of the local psychic moleEuropean MoleThe European Mole, Talpa europaea, is a mammal of the order Soricomorpha. It is also known as the Common Mole and the Northern Mole....
covenCovenA coven or covan is a name used to describe a gathering of witches or in some cases vampires. Due to the word's association with witches, a gathering of Wiccans, followers of the witchcraft-based neopagan religion of Wicca, is also described as a coven....
, who foretells that Sylver will be Lord of County Elleswhere. - Mathop, Osmand, Spavin, and Gowk - Members of Griselda's coven.
- Mohic - A historical figure that both tribes of squirrels regard as the first squirrel ever born. Mohic gave birth to both the first red and grey squirrels. Her drey is viewed as a holy relic to the squirrels, and they are in constant dispute over which tribe it belongs to.
- Sir Percy - A living statue of a knight, which tells Sylver how to find Castle Storm before sinking into a bog.
- Sleek - A cheerful young otter obsessed with fashion. After helping the weasels escape his kin, he sets out to Castle Rayn, where he becomes Princess Sibiline's royal fashion adviser.
- Robbie - A male red grouseRed grouseThe Red Grouse is a medium sized bird of the grouse family which is found in heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It is usually classified as a subspecies of the Willow Grouse but is sometimes considered to be a separate species Lagopus scoticus...
in the Forest of Lost Birds; murdered by Rosencrass and Guildenswine. - Wwwillliammms - A male polecat scribe.
- Sessile - A gigantic old Oak tree growing in the Forest of Lost Birds; inside her is an eternal garden of every plant and mythical creature ever known.
- The Green ManGreen ManA Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit...
- A being that lives inside Sessile and tends to the eternal garden.
Puns, References, and Literary Allusions
- The name Torca Marda is derived from that of Tomás de TorquemadaTomás de TorquemadaTomás de Torquemada, O.P. was a fifteenth century Spanish Dominican friar, first Inquisitor General of Spain, and confessor to Isabella I of Castile. He was described by the Spanish chronicler Sebastián de Olmedo as "The hammer of heretics, the light of Spain, the saviour of his country, the...
, underscoring his brutal interrogation methods. - The names Rosencrass and Guildenswine are plays on those of Rosencrantz and GuildensternRosencrantz and GuildensternRosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. They are courtiers who are set by the king to spy on Hamlet, using their claimed friendship with him to gain his confidence. The characters were revived in W. S...
from Shakespeare's HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
. The play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is possibly also referred to, as the first reaction of everyone who meets the ferrets is "I heard you two were dead." - Falshed's ramblings when he fakes insanity may have been inspired by the dialogue of Edgar in the guise of Tom o' BedlamTom o' Bedlam"Tom O' Bedlam" is the name of a critically acclaimed anonymous poem written circa 1600 about a Bedlamite....
in Shakespeare's King LearKing LearKing Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
. They also contain many references to other works:- "Ho! See, a candle flame in yon window niche burns brightly, sire. It must be that Lady M walks at this midnight hour!" - Shakespeare's MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
. - "Young Lochinvar has stolen my bride" - Sir Walter Scott's Marmion.
- "What, sir, will you not listen to an elderly mariner?" - Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient MarinerThe Rime of the Ancient MarinerThe Rime of the Ancient Mariner is the longest major poem by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1797–98 and was published in 1798 in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads. Modern editions use a later revised version printed in 1817 that featured a gloss...
. - "Here's bladderwortBladderwortUtricularia, commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 233 species . They occur in fresh water and wet soil as terrestrial or aquatic species across every continent except Antarctica...
- that's for remembrance ..." - Shakespeare's HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
. - "The moving coffee pot pours, and having poured moves on ..." - The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.
- "Ho! See, a candle flame in yon window niche burns brightly, sire. It must be that Lady M walks at this midnight hour!" - Shakespeare's Macbeth
- Darkmoor may be a reference to the real place DartmoorDartmoorDartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
. - The name Sessile comes from the common name for Quercus petraea, the Sessile OakSessile OakQuercus petraea , the Sessile Oak, also known as the Durmast Oak, is a species of oak native to most of Europe, and into Anatolia.-Description:...
. - The name Pommf de Fritte comes from "pommes frites", the French name for French friesFrench friesFrench fries , chips, fries, or French-fried potatoes are strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans tend to refer to any pieces of deep-fried potatoes as fries or French fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of deep-fried potatoes are...
. - The name Poisson d'Avril comes from a FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
April Fools' DayApril Fools' DayApril Fools' Day is celebrated in different countries around the world on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when many people play all kinds of jokes and foolishness...
tradition. - The name Derrière comes from the FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word meaning 'bottom,' a point for which the character is the buttButtocksThe buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...
of many jokes. - The name Furioso comes from the ItalianItalian literatureItalian literature is literature written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italians or in Italy in other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely related to modern Italian....
epic Orlando FuriosoOrlando FuriosoOrlando Furioso is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form until 1532...
. - The name Orgoglio comes from that of a characterOrgoglioOrgoglio is a literary character in Edmund Spenser's famous epic "The Faerie Queen". He appears in the seventh canto as a beast and attacks the main character, Redcrosse, who symbolizes the ultimate Christian knight, during a moment of weakness....
in Edmund SpenserEdmund SpenserEdmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
's epic The Faerie Queen, which was heavily inspired by Orlando Furioso. - The mole coven and their addressing of Sylver as "Thane of County Elleswhere" are allusions to the witches of Shakespeare's MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
. - Poynt's complaint "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?" before his banishment of Torca Marda is a reference to the story of Thomas BecketThomas BecketThomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
. - "Patent number 101", the torture device Torca Marda uses on Falshed, is a reference to the book Nineteen Eighty-FourNineteen Eighty-FourNineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
s "Room 101". In Nineteen Eighty-Four, the character Winston is tortured with the threat of having a wire cage of rats strapped to his face. "Patent number 101" is a wire helmet with two attached cages full of earwigs, which works in a similar way. - The squirrel Link leading the weasels through the secret passages may be a reference to the game Legend of Zelda.
- The claw-of-glory which must be used to kill the ghoul is based on the legendary Hand of GloryHand of GloryThe Hand of Glory is the dried and pickled hand of a man who has been hanged, often specified as being the left hand, or else, if the man were hanged for murder, the hand that "did the deed."...
.