Sourcery
Encyclopedia
Sourcery is the fifth Discworld
novel by Terry Pratchett
, published in 1988. On the Discworld
, sourcerers - wizards who are sources of magic, and thus immensely more powerful than normal wizards – were the main cause of the great mage wars that left areas of the disc uninhabitable. Men born the eighth son of an eighth son are commonly wizards. Since sourcerers are born the eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son, wizards are not allowed to marry or have children. The first few pages of the novel deal with a sourcerer's father who cheats death by making a prophecy that Death
must honour; the alternative is to risk destroying the Discworld. The rest of the novel deals with the sourcerer's plan to have wizards rule
the Discworld, and the efforts of a small group – including Rincewind
the Wizzard, Nijel the Destroyer and Conina the Hairdresser, daughter of Cohen the Barbarian – to thwart those plans.
There are many references to geasa in the text, which are idiosyncratic curses, vows or obligations placed upon a person (usually a hero, such as Cúchulainn
in Irish mythology
).
comes to usher Ipslore's soul into the next world as the story begins. Ipslore tells Death about his banishment from the Unseen University
because he fell in love. Throughout the scene he is holding his infant
son, whom Ipslore names Coin. Coin is Ipslore's eighth son, a Wizard squared — a source of magic: a "sourcerer
". Ipslore plans to determine Coin's destiny and force him to take revenge upon the wizards, but Death forces him to leave a chance for Coin to not follow this fate. As Death is about to take Ipslore to wherever lies beyond, Ipslore transfers his essential being into his staff, which Coin has accepted. In this way, Ipslore plans to teach his son and ultimately make him Archchancellor
of Unseen University.
Some years later, Virrid Wayzygoose is about to be elected as Archchancellor of the Unseen University. Unfortunately, he is caused to disappear before he can be proclaimed by an unseen attacker. Shortly afterwards, Coin gains entry to the Great Hall in UU and, after besting one of the top wizards in the University is welcomed by the majority of the wizards.
Rincewind
, The Luggage and the Librarian have missed the arrival of the Sourcerer and are in the pub. While there, Conina, a professional thief, arrives holding a box containing the Archchancellor's hat, which she has procured from the room of Virrid Wayzygoose. The hat, having been worn on the heads of hundreds of Archchancellors has gained a kind of sentience and is able to enlist both Conina and Rincewind to take it to Al Khali, far away from Ankh Morpork and the University. The Librarian is not enlisted as he is buying a round at the bar, although the Luggage comes along for reasons of its own.
Several misadventures later, Rincewind, Conina and the Luggage are captured by Abrim, the Grand Vizier to Creosote, the Seriph of Al Khali. Rincewind is thrown into the snake pit, where he meets Nijel "the Destroyer" a barbarian hero who has been on the job for three days and wears wooly underwear because he promised his mother he would. Conina is taken to the harem
, where she is called by Creosote and asked to tell him a story. (Rincewind, upon finding this out, suggests that telling stories in a harem will "never catch on"). The Luggage, having been scorned by Conina, has run away and kills and eats several creatures in the deserts.
Coin has shown the wizards the ways of Sourcery and declared UU obsolete. The Library is burned down. Wizardry no longer requires such things. However, Coin is concerned when he is told that Wizards now rule under the Discworld Gods
. Coin traps the Gods in an alternate reality, which shrinks to become a large pearl
.
The Gods being trapped causes the release of the Ice Giants from their prison and they begin strolling across the Discworld, freezing everything in their path. War, Famine, Pestilence and Death are about to release the Apocalypse
. The Discworld is about to end.
Meanwhile, Creosote has joined Rincewind, Conina and Nijel in their attempts to find a way to Ankh Morpork to face the Sourcerer.
They make their way into the treasury, where they find a magical flying carpet, and escape the trembling palace, from which half the bricks were leaving, due to the arrival of Sourcery.
Rincewind gets separated from the rest when he takes the flying carpet and makes his way to the University, where he finds, thunderstruck, that the Library has been burned down. After having cried over the wreckage for a while, he senses, to his relief, a magical movement up in the Tower of Art.
He realises the Librarian has saved the books by hiding them in the ancient Tower of Art. After some discussion with the Librarian, Rincewind goes off to face the Sourcerer with a sock
containing a half-brick. Rincewind eventually convinces Coin to throw the staff away but the power of Coin's father contained within is channelled against that of his son. The other wizards leave the tower as Rincewind rushes forward into the fire, grabbing the child and sending both of them to the Dungeon Dimensions. Then Death strikes the staff and takes Ipslore's soul.
Rincewind orders Coin to return to the University and, using his other sock filled with sand, attacks the Creatures from the Dungeon Dimensions.
The Apocalypse is foiled when Creosote, Nijel and Conina steal three horses from outside a pub. The horses belong to War, Famine and Pestilence. Binky is not stolen, and Death rides off, leaving the other three behind. Short of anything else to do, War, Famine and Pestilence go back into the pub.
Coin returns the University to its former glory (his offer to make everything as good as new is rejected by the Librarian, who asks him to restore everything so that it is as good as old). Then Coin steps into a dimension of his own making, closes the dimension and is not seen on the Discworld again. The Librarian takes Rincewind's battered hat, which got left behind when he went into the Dungeon Dimensions, and places it on a pedestal inside the Library.
, although he initially wanted to adapt Making Money. However, he thinks it may work better as a film and he can have fun with characters like Nijel the Destroyer.
Discworld
Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
novel by Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
, published in 1988. On the Discworld
Discworld (world)
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc resting on the backs of four huge elephants which are in turn standing on the back of an enormous turtle, named Great A'Tuin as it slowly swims...
, sourcerers - wizards who are sources of magic, and thus immensely more powerful than normal wizards – were the main cause of the great mage wars that left areas of the disc uninhabitable. Men born the eighth son of an eighth son are commonly wizards. Since sourcerers are born the eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son, wizards are not allowed to marry or have children. The first few pages of the novel deal with a sourcerer's father who cheats death by making a prophecy that Death
Death (Discworld)
Death is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and a parody of several other personifications of death. Like most Grim Reapers, he is a black-robed skeleton usually carrying a scythe...
must honour; the alternative is to risk destroying the Discworld. The rest of the novel deals with the sourcerer's plan to have wizards rule
Magocracy
A magocracy is a form of government in which society is ruled by such magi, wizards, or witches. The term is used in the fictional universe of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and other works, by analogy with aristocracy, meritocracy, and theocracy.-Historical antecedents:If the premises...
the Discworld, and the efforts of a small group – including Rincewind
Rincewind
Rincewind is a fictional character appearing in several of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. He is a failed student at the Unseen University for wizards in Ankh-Morpork, and is often described by scholars as "the magical equivalent to the number zero". He spends just about all of his time...
the Wizzard, Nijel the Destroyer and Conina the Hairdresser, daughter of Cohen the Barbarian – to thwart those plans.
There are many references to geasa in the text, which are idiosyncratic curses, vows or obligations placed upon a person (usually a hero, such as Cúchulainn
Cúchulainn
Cú Chulainn or Cúchulainn , and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin , is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore...
in Irish mythology
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
).
Plot
Ipslore the Red is a wizard who is about to die. DeathDeath (Discworld)
Death is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and a parody of several other personifications of death. Like most Grim Reapers, he is a black-robed skeleton usually carrying a scythe...
comes to usher Ipslore's soul into the next world as the story begins. Ipslore tells Death about his banishment from the Unseen University
Unseen University
The Unseen University is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. Located in the city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and inept old wizards. The university's name is a pun on the Invisible College...
because he fell in love. Throughout the scene he is holding his infant
Infant
A newborn or baby is the very young offspring of a human or other mammal. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth...
son, whom Ipslore names Coin. Coin is Ipslore's eighth son, a Wizard squared — a source of magic: a "sourcerer
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...
". Ipslore plans to determine Coin's destiny and force him to take revenge upon the wizards, but Death forces him to leave a chance for Coin to not follow this fate. As Death is about to take Ipslore to wherever lies beyond, Ipslore transfers his essential being into his staff, which Coin has accepted. In this way, Ipslore plans to teach his son and ultimately make him Archchancellor
Archchancellor
An archchancellor or chief chancellor was a title given to the highest dignitary of the Holy Roman Empire, and also used occasionally during the Middle Ages to denote an official who supervised the work of chancellors or notaries....
of Unseen University.
Some years later, Virrid Wayzygoose is about to be elected as Archchancellor of the Unseen University. Unfortunately, he is caused to disappear before he can be proclaimed by an unseen attacker. Shortly afterwards, Coin gains entry to the Great Hall in UU and, after besting one of the top wizards in the University is welcomed by the majority of the wizards.
Rincewind
Rincewind
Rincewind is a fictional character appearing in several of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. He is a failed student at the Unseen University for wizards in Ankh-Morpork, and is often described by scholars as "the magical equivalent to the number zero". He spends just about all of his time...
, The Luggage and the Librarian have missed the arrival of the Sourcerer and are in the pub. While there, Conina, a professional thief, arrives holding a box containing the Archchancellor's hat, which she has procured from the room of Virrid Wayzygoose. The hat, having been worn on the heads of hundreds of Archchancellors has gained a kind of sentience and is able to enlist both Conina and Rincewind to take it to Al Khali, far away from Ankh Morpork and the University. The Librarian is not enlisted as he is buying a round at the bar, although the Luggage comes along for reasons of its own.
Several misadventures later, Rincewind, Conina and the Luggage are captured by Abrim, the Grand Vizier to Creosote, the Seriph of Al Khali. Rincewind is thrown into the snake pit, where he meets Nijel "the Destroyer" a barbarian hero who has been on the job for three days and wears wooly underwear because he promised his mother he would. Conina is taken to the harem
Harem
Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...
, where she is called by Creosote and asked to tell him a story. (Rincewind, upon finding this out, suggests that telling stories in a harem will "never catch on"). The Luggage, having been scorned by Conina, has run away and kills and eats several creatures in the deserts.
Coin has shown the wizards the ways of Sourcery and declared UU obsolete. The Library is burned down. Wizardry no longer requires such things. However, Coin is concerned when he is told that Wizards now rule under the Discworld Gods
Discworld gods
The Discworld gods are the fictional deities from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. The Discworld, being a flat disc supported on the backs of four elephants on top of a giant flying turtle, exists in a region of the universe where reality is somewhat less consistent than it...
. Coin traps the Gods in an alternate reality, which shrinks to become a large pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
.
The Gods being trapped causes the release of the Ice Giants from their prison and they begin strolling across the Discworld, freezing everything in their path. War, Famine, Pestilence and Death are about to release the Apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
. The Discworld is about to end.
Meanwhile, Creosote has joined Rincewind, Conina and Nijel in their attempts to find a way to Ankh Morpork to face the Sourcerer.
They make their way into the treasury, where they find a magical flying carpet, and escape the trembling palace, from which half the bricks were leaving, due to the arrival of Sourcery.
Rincewind gets separated from the rest when he takes the flying carpet and makes his way to the University, where he finds, thunderstruck, that the Library has been burned down. After having cried over the wreckage for a while, he senses, to his relief, a magical movement up in the Tower of Art.
He realises the Librarian has saved the books by hiding them in the ancient Tower of Art. After some discussion with the Librarian, Rincewind goes off to face the Sourcerer with a sock
Sock
A sock is an item of clothing worn on the feet. The foot is among the heaviest producers of sweat in the body, as it is able to produce over of perspiration per day. Socks help to absorb this sweat and draw it to areas where air can evaporate the perspiration. In cold environments, socks decrease...
containing a half-brick. Rincewind eventually convinces Coin to throw the staff away but the power of Coin's father contained within is channelled against that of his son. The other wizards leave the tower as Rincewind rushes forward into the fire, grabbing the child and sending both of them to the Dungeon Dimensions. Then Death strikes the staff and takes Ipslore's soul.
Rincewind orders Coin to return to the University and, using his other sock filled with sand, attacks the Creatures from the Dungeon Dimensions.
The Apocalypse is foiled when Creosote, Nijel and Conina steal three horses from outside a pub. The horses belong to War, Famine and Pestilence. Binky is not stolen, and Death rides off, leaving the other three behind. Short of anything else to do, War, Famine and Pestilence go back into the pub.
Coin returns the University to its former glory (his offer to make everything as good as new is rejected by the Librarian, who asks him to restore everything so that it is as good as old). Then Coin steps into a dimension of his own making, closes the dimension and is not seen on the Discworld again. The Librarian takes Rincewind's battered hat, which got left behind when he went into the Dungeon Dimensions, and places it on a pedestal inside the Library.
Adaptations
Terry Pratchett has stated that Sourcery will be the fifth discworld novel to be adapted for Sky OneSky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
, although he initially wanted to adapt Making Money. However, he thinks it may work better as a film and he can have fun with characters like Nijel the Destroyer.