Winds of the Forelands
Encyclopedia
"The Winds of the Forelands" is a five-book fantasy
series
written by American
author David B. Coe
and consisting of "The Rules of Ascension", "Seeds of Betrayal", "Bonds of Vengeance", "Shapers of Darkness", and "Weavers of War".
race of people, each individual possessing at least one of seven different magics: gleaning, fire, healing, mists and winds, shaping, language
of beasts, and mind-bending. The magics which are considered deeper are those which are more rare: mists and winds, shaping, language of beasts, and mind-bending. Very rarely, a Qirsi will possess every single one of these magics. These are known as Weavers.
The Qirsi's skin is so light as to be almost translucent, their hair is white, and their eyes are varying shades of yellow. They can be very frail. Qirsi women are especially frail, and as such, unions between Qirsi women and Eandi men are forbidden in much of the Forelands. The women tend to die in childbirth
when bearing the child of an Eandi man.
As with anything, a Qirsi's magic comes at a cost. With every bit of magic done, a small fraction of the Qirsi's life force is depleted. As such, younger Qirsi are able to perform stronger magic than are the elderly. For this reason, a Qirsi's life span
is much shorter than that of the Eandi, being only around forty years' expectancy.
among the Qirsi is what is known as gleaning. This magic allows the Qirsi to get a glimpse of the future, either through dreams, or using a special gleaning stone. The gleaning stone is used during festivals to prophet
ize the futures for both 12 and 16-year-olds. The twelve-year mark is generally when children are given a path to follow, be it smith
ing, farming, or another trade
. The sixteen-year gleaning is much more ambiguous, as it is a true gleaning, rather than being guided by the Qirsi Gleaner. It can show happiness, nobility, or even death.
, a Qirsi is able to call forth a fire at will. If he possesses healing as well, he is able to hold a flame in the palm of his hand without being harmed.
s. The greater the injury, the more taxing it is upon the Qirsi.
, to a gale-force wind
, depending upon the strength of the user. Related, they can also call up a "mist
", or a fog
, which is extremely useful on a battle-field. This is considered a deeper magic.
, crack wood, or even break bones. With precision, a shaper can cut stone
to exact blocks if desired, although this requires much more effort than simply shattering a blade
.
is able to make the victim do things they otherwise would not have, or can probe their mind for information. However, this can be very painful, and sometimes life-altering, if the Qirsi pushes them too far.
, the victim can either be harmed with their healing or shaping magic, or they can feel the soft caress of a lover.
Because of their strength and abilities, all weavers have been eradicated from the land once they are known. Their families were also killed due to the fear which is instilled in the Eandi.
-colored skin, and any colored hair
or eyes. They possess no magical abilities. However, they make up for it by being physically stronger and more robust than their Qirsi counterparts. The Qirsi serve as ministers
, or advisors, in the courts. A single duke
can have numerous Qirsi serving him. A king
is known to have a single archminister, with several ministers underneath.
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...
series
Book series
A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their publisher....
written by American
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
author David B. Coe
David B. Coe
David B. Coe is an author of fantasy novels and short stories.- Writing :He was the winner of the William L. Crawford Award for best first fantasy series, awarded at the International Conference on the Fantastic for Children of Amarid and The Outlanders, the first two novels of the LonTobyn...
and consisting of "The Rules of Ascension", "Seeds of Betrayal", "Bonds of Vengeance", "Shapers of Darkness", and "Weavers of War".
Qirsi People
The Qirsi are a magicalMagic (fantasy)
Magic in fiction is the endowing of fictional characters or objects with magical powers.Such magic often serves as a plot device, the source of magical artifacts and their quests...
race of people, each individual possessing at least one of seven different magics: gleaning, fire, healing, mists and winds, shaping, language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
of beasts, and mind-bending. The magics which are considered deeper are those which are more rare: mists and winds, shaping, language of beasts, and mind-bending. Very rarely, a Qirsi will possess every single one of these magics. These are known as Weavers.
The Qirsi's skin is so light as to be almost translucent, their hair is white, and their eyes are varying shades of yellow. They can be very frail. Qirsi women are especially frail, and as such, unions between Qirsi women and Eandi men are forbidden in much of the Forelands. The women tend to die in childbirth
Childbirth
Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
when bearing the child of an Eandi man.
As with anything, a Qirsi's magic comes at a cost. With every bit of magic done, a small fraction of the Qirsi's life force is depleted. As such, younger Qirsi are able to perform stronger magic than are the elderly. For this reason, a Qirsi's life span
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...
is much shorter than that of the Eandi, being only around forty years' expectancy.
Gleaning
The most common magicMagic (fantasy)
Magic in fiction is the endowing of fictional characters or objects with magical powers.Such magic often serves as a plot device, the source of magical artifacts and their quests...
among the Qirsi is what is known as gleaning. This magic allows the Qirsi to get a glimpse of the future, either through dreams, or using a special gleaning stone. The gleaning stone is used during festivals to prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
ize the futures for both 12 and 16-year-olds. The twelve-year mark is generally when children are given a path to follow, be it smith
Smith
Smith may refer to:* Smith antigen* Smith Chart, a diagram used in engineering* Smith grind, a skateboarding trick* Smith machine, a piece of weight training equipment-Persons:* Smith ** List of people with surname Smith...
ing, farming, or another trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
. The sixteen-year gleaning is much more ambiguous, as it is a true gleaning, rather than being guided by the Qirsi Gleaner. It can show happiness, nobility, or even death.
Fire
With the power of fireFire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
, a Qirsi is able to call forth a fire at will. If he possesses healing as well, he is able to hold a flame in the palm of his hand without being harmed.
Healing
With this power, a Qirsi is able to get rid of bruises, heal wounds, and mend boneBone
Bones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
s. The greater the injury, the more taxing it is upon the Qirsi.
Mists and Winds
Mists and winds allows a Qirsi to call forth something as simple as a gentle breezeBreeze
Breeze or The Breeze can refer to:* Sea breeze, an onshore afternoon wind, caused by warm air rising over the land in sunny weather-Media:* The Breeze , a group of radio stations in New Zealand....
, to a gale-force wind
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
, depending upon the strength of the user. Related, they can also call up a "mist
Mist
Mist is a phenomenon of small droplets suspended in air. It can occur as part of natural weather or volcanic activity, and is common in cold air above warmer water, in exhaled air in the cold, and in a steam room of a sauna. It can also be created artificially with aerosol canisters if the...
", or a fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
, which is extremely useful on a battle-field. This is considered a deeper magic.
Shaping
Considered a deeper magic, shaping allows a Qirsi to shatter steelSteel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, crack wood, or even break bones. With precision, a shaper can cut stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
to exact blocks if desired, although this requires much more effort than simply shattering a blade
Blade
A blade is that portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with a cutting edge and/or a pointed tip that is designed to cut and/or puncture, stab, slash, chop, slice, thrust, or scrape animate or inanimate surfaces or materials...
.
Language of Beasts
Once again, this is a deeper magic, which few Qirsi possess. With it, one can speak to animals and control them. This is very useful on the battlefield, if the enemy is mounted upon horses. The only drawback is that the Qirsi has to be fairly close to the animal to have any effect.Mind Bending
With this very rare power, a Qirsi is able to control the mind of another. It is much easier to affect the mind of an Eandi who has no idea the Qirsi has this power. The sorcererSorcerer
-Gaming:* Sorcerer , a 2002 tabletop role playing game made by Ron Edwards* Sorcerer , a 1984 interactive fiction computer game made by Infocom...
is able to make the victim do things they otherwise would not have, or can probe their mind for information. However, this can be very painful, and sometimes life-altering, if the Qirsi pushes them too far.
Weavers
Weavers are extremely rare. Not only do they possess all of the above listed magics, they have the ability to weave together the powers of other Qirsi with theirs. With that, they can create blazing fires, topple fortresses, or create hurricane-force winds with only a small amount of effort. In addition to this, they have the ability to "walk" into other Qirsi's dreams, and even take hold of that Qirsi's magic and use it against them. Within the dreamDream
Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...
, the victim can either be harmed with their healing or shaping magic, or they can feel the soft caress of a lover.
Because of their strength and abilities, all weavers have been eradicated from the land once they are known. Their families were also killed due to the fear which is instilled in the Eandi.
Eandi People
The Eandi people are the nobles of the Forelands. They have peachPeach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...
-colored skin, and any colored hair
Hair
Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....
or eyes. They possess no magical abilities. However, they make up for it by being physically stronger and more robust than their Qirsi counterparts. The Qirsi serve as ministers
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
, or advisors, in the courts. A single duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
can have numerous Qirsi serving him. A king
King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
is known to have a single archminister, with several ministers underneath.
External links
- Winds of the Forelands (Author's Official Page)
- Rules of Ascension on Amazon.com
- Seeds of Betrayal on Amazon.com
- Bonds of Vengeance on Amazon.com
- Shapers of Darkness on Amazon.com
- Weavers of War on Amazon.com