Magic Steps
Encyclopedia
Magic Steps is the opening book of The Circle Opens
quartet of young adult
fantasy
novel
s by Tamora Pierce
. It is preceded by the Circle of Magic
quartet, taking place four years after the conclusion of Briar's Book
. It portrays the adventures of Sandrilene fa Toren
, the noble
thread mage
and her first experience as a teacher
of magic.
.
, Sandry leaves Discipline Cottage to live with and care for him.
While out riding with her uncle, Sandry makes two discoveries: the murder of Jamar Rokat, a myrrh
trader, part of the war between organized crime
families Rokat and Dihanur, and a boy named Pasco Acalon, whose dancing is visible to Sandry's magical vision as imbued with ambient magic.
Sandry, a newly accredited mage, discovers that one of the responsibilities implicit in her mage's medalion is a duty towards any newly-discovered mage who has no teacher. When she finds that ambient dancing magic is so rare as to be unheard of, she is forced to teach Pasco to control his magic himself, while Lark puts her in contact with Yazmín Hebet, a non-mage dancer and an old friend of hers who takes Pasco as her student. Between the two of them they must teach Pasco how to dance spells and convince his strict family of harriers, Summersea's local police
, that such a seemingly-frivolous education is necessary.
When the perpetrators of the Rokat murders are discovered to be using Unmagic, the rare and deadly counter-magic that swallows energy and kills those who use it, Sandry and Pasco find out that they are the ones best suited to capturing the murderers. Sandry spins a net of unmagic, gathered at the scenes of the various murders, to capture the murderers, but her student Pasco is caught in the net, due to lingering to watch the capture- despite being told to leave the house. Sandry was forced to kill the murderers to save Pasco. With the murderers dead, Sandry realizes that she has outgrown living in winding circle and decides that she should stay with her uncle.
, a fourteen year old thread mage and a very brave girl with a strong will.
Duke Vedris IV, Sandry's great-uncle and ruler of Emelan.
Dedicate Lark, Sandry's former teacher, a thread mage.
Yazmín Hebet, a retired dancer who owns a dancing school.
Pasco Acalon, an ambient mage with dance
, frowned upon by his family of notable law enforcers
.
The Circle Opens
The Circle Opens is a quartet of novels written by Tamora Pierce and set in a pseudo-medieval/renaissance era. It mainly revolves around four teen-age mages, each specializing in a different kind of magic, as they find that they are forced to deal with mages whose powers are similarly unusual to...
quartet of young adult
Young adult literature
Young-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s by Tamora Pierce
Tamora Pierce
Tamora Pierce is an author of fantasy literature for young adults. She is an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania. Best known for writing stories involving young heroines, she made a name for herself with her first quartet The Song of the Lioness, which followed the main character Alanna...
. It is preceded by the Circle of Magic
Circle of Magic
Circle of Magic is a quartet of fantasy novels by Tamora Pierce, set in Emelan, a fictional realm in a pseudo-medieval and renaissance era. It revolves around four young mages, each specializing in a different kind of magic, as they learn to control their extraordinary and strong powers and put...
quartet, taking place four years after the conclusion of Briar's Book
Briar's Book
Briar's Book by Tamora Pierce, is a fantasy novel set in the fictional duchy of Emelan. It is the fourth and final book in the Circle of Magic quartet, starring the four young mages Sandry, Tris, Daja and Briar as they learn to handle powerful magic, form intense bonds of friendship and stand up...
. It portrays the adventures of Sandrilene fa Toren
Sandrilene fa Toren
Lady Sandrilene fa Toren, or Sandry, is a fictional character from Tamora Pierce's quartets The Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens as well as the stand-alone The Will of the Empress. She is described as having light brown hair prone to sun-streaks, bright corn-flower blue eyes and an unusually...
, the noble
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
thread mage
Magician (fantasy)
A magician, mage, sorcerer, sorceress, wizard, enchanter, enchantress, thaumaturge or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources...
and her first experience as a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
of magic.
Plot introduction
Like the previous quartet, Magic Steps is set in Summersea, the capital of EmelanEmelan
Emelan is a fictional realm that provides the main setting of the Circle of Magic quartet by Tamora Pierce, primarily in the capital city of Summersea and the nearby temple of Winding Circle...
.
Plot summary
When her three foster-siblings leave Summersea to travel the world with their teachers, Sandry and her teacher, Lark, remain alone in Winding Circle Temple. After her uncle, Duke Vedris, suffers a severe heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, Sandry leaves Discipline Cottage to live with and care for him.
While out riding with her uncle, Sandry makes two discoveries: the murder of Jamar Rokat, a myrrh
Myrrh
Myrrh is the aromatic oleoresin of a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus Commiphora, which grow in dry, stony soil. An oleoresin is a natural blend of an essential oil and a resin. Myrrh resin is a natural gum....
trader, part of the war between organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
families Rokat and Dihanur, and a boy named Pasco Acalon, whose dancing is visible to Sandry's magical vision as imbued with ambient magic.
Sandry, a newly accredited mage, discovers that one of the responsibilities implicit in her mage's medalion is a duty towards any newly-discovered mage who has no teacher. When she finds that ambient dancing magic is so rare as to be unheard of, she is forced to teach Pasco to control his magic himself, while Lark puts her in contact with Yazmín Hebet, a non-mage dancer and an old friend of hers who takes Pasco as her student. Between the two of them they must teach Pasco how to dance spells and convince his strict family of harriers, Summersea's local police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, that such a seemingly-frivolous education is necessary.
When the perpetrators of the Rokat murders are discovered to be using Unmagic, the rare and deadly counter-magic that swallows energy and kills those who use it, Sandry and Pasco find out that they are the ones best suited to capturing the murderers. Sandry spins a net of unmagic, gathered at the scenes of the various murders, to capture the murderers, but her student Pasco is caught in the net, due to lingering to watch the capture- despite being told to leave the house. Sandry was forced to kill the murderers to save Pasco. With the murderers dead, Sandry realizes that she has outgrown living in winding circle and decides that she should stay with her uncle.
Characters
Sandrilene fa TorenSandrilene fa Toren
Lady Sandrilene fa Toren, or Sandry, is a fictional character from Tamora Pierce's quartets The Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens as well as the stand-alone The Will of the Empress. She is described as having light brown hair prone to sun-streaks, bright corn-flower blue eyes and an unusually...
, a fourteen year old thread mage and a very brave girl with a strong will.
Duke Vedris IV, Sandry's great-uncle and ruler of Emelan.
Dedicate Lark, Sandry's former teacher, a thread mage.
Yazmín Hebet, a retired dancer who owns a dancing school.
Pasco Acalon, an ambient mage with dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, frowned upon by his family of notable law enforcers
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
.