Masques (1993) (edit title/settings)

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Characters edit see section history

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• Lady Aralorn of Lambshold: A mercenary spy and shape shifter with the ability to wield green magic. She is a skilled linguist and has a hobby of collecting folktales. She is not pretty but is memorable by her grey-green eyes and vivid personality. She is short, pale skinned brunette with a sturdy build.
• Wolf: Aralorn's companion that she saved when he was close to death. His voice has a dry, hoarse timber.
• Sheen: Aralorn's warhorse, a grey stallion with a coarse grey-black mane. Aralorn's father's best horse that he gifted to her on her departure.
• Geoffrey ae'Magi: The Archmage, who controls the majority of the wizard populous. Projects a good, amiable persona while hiding his darker deeds. He is exceptionally handsome, with greying blue-black hair, high cheekbones and a childishly enchanting smile. He is Darranian.
• King Myr of Reth: A short, square-built young man with strong features many would call handsome. His father had been a puppet-ruler, but his grandfather had been a powerful warrior king. Magic does not effect him.
• Ren (aka The Mouse): Mercenary spymaster of Sainim, a slender and short academian a little older than Aralorn. His hair was faded and thin, his hands free of calluses. He is an excellent swordsman and before becoming the spymaster made his way as a duellist in Alliance cities. He has a habit of babbling to off-balance those around him.
• Lyon of Lambshold: aka Henrick. Aralorn's father, who taught her how to ride and fight when she protested her position.
• Talor: Twin of Kai, he fought beside Aralorn for several years.
• Kai: Twin of Kai, he fought beside Aralorn for several years.
• Duchess of Ti: Political figure present at Geoffrey ae'Magi's ball
• The Envoy of the Anthran Alliance: Political figure present at Geoffrey ae'Magi's ball
• Thyre: A poet
• Sera: A red-head mercenary in the Thirty-second.
• Harold the Rat: An impoverished highwayman
• Olin: A tanner from Torin
• Haris: The cook of the refugee camp, a sour-faced smith from southern Reth. He has a large snake tattoo on one forearm.
• Edom: He is a youth recently arrived in the refugee camp. He has dark straight hair and sallow skin from western Reth with aristocratic, soft-skinned hands.
• Stanis: A young thief with the red-hair and freckled skin of a Southern Trader with a flamboyant personality. Close friends with Tobin. Ten to eleven years old. A refugee.
• Tobin: Quiet, nearly mute. Follows Stanis closely. Also a refugee.
• Astrid: A young girl in the refugee camp.
• Pussywillow: A one-armed guardsman who helps train the refugees in combat.
• Wikker: Comrade of Aralorn's. Possibly fictional.
• Temris: God of war
• King Taris: He used a mythical lance, Nekris the Flame, to drive a sea monster back into the depths and save his city.
• Lord Kisrah: Quite handsome, wears a purple wig. A minor noble and powerful wizard. A competent tactician and diplomat, revered by Lyon of Lambshold. He has kind eyes and soft voice.
• Garogue: A dungeon guard in the ae'Magi's castle
• Len: A dungeon guard in the ae'Magi's castle, and a cautionary tale to other guards against raping prisoners without the ae'Magi's permission
• Lys: Add a description of this character.
• The Old Man of the Mountain: A folkstory of a strange creature who is capable of great magics
• Oras: A refugee nobleman
• Faris: Empress of the Dead
• Rhidan: A pretty, young serving girl of the ae'Magi
• Farsi: A hunter of the refugee camp
• Iveress ae'Magi: A past ae'Magi

Quotes edit see section history

• “When I die of heart failure the next time you frighten me like that, you can put that on my gravestone —‘I didn’t mean to startle her'.”

  Aralorn

• “She closed her eyes and let herself enjoy their concern. She loved sympathy.”

• “Oh, good! I've always wanted to be a villain.”

  Aralorn

• “Do you think that might be it? I had wondered. It has been a while since I immolated anyone, after all.”

  Wolf

• “Would Milady prefer to be outnumbered a hundred to two or just by three or four to two? This task can accommodate your tastes.”

  Wolf

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• children were a much more difficult audience than adults because no one had yet had a chance to teach them that it was better to be polite than honest.

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• “It says in my files—I know because Ren showed them to me—‘Does not take orders, will occasionally listen to suggestions.’ Did Wolf sound like he was suggesting anything to you?”

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• “When I die of heart failure the next time you frighten me like that, you can put that on my gravestone—‘I didn’t mean to startle her.’”

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• She listened to his detached description of the horrors he’d committed and decided that she must be in love because what she really heard was the self-directed hatred that initiated his lecture.

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• “I must be turning into one of those women who moan and wail at the first chance they get—just so a handsome man will take them into his arms.” Yes, she was flirting. It didn’t seem to bother him.

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• “Wolf,” said Aralorn, setting a paw on his ear since they were on relatively smooth ground, “not to belabor the obvious, but your voice isn’t what intimidates people. It could be the possibility that you might immolate anyone who bothers you.” “Do you think that might be it?” he inquired with mock interest. “I had wondered. It has been a while since I immolated anyone, after all.”

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• To her surprise, he bent down and pressed his cheek against hers.

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• He smiled at her with a haunting sweetness as she touched the staff. He said something that might have been “I love you, too” but a jolt of magic traveled up her arm, and she blacked out.

  Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers

• He was trying to be . . . something other than what he was. Someone Aralorn could be proud of. When she’d been hurt, he’d lost all interest in the extraneous details.

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• “The only ones that I’ve heard of are in stories. They do eat people in stories, but for some reason, they seem to confine themselves to virgins chained to rocks. Since I haven’t heard of anyplace nearby where there is a steady supply of virgins chained to rocks, I would suppose that it is a safe bet that this one has differing dietary requirements.”

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Sianim: A fortress city that stands on top of an artificial, steep-sided plateau in the middle of a large valley. Nothing but grass is allowed to grow within a 1/2 mile radius of the hill. Even in the oldest text it is noted to thrive, first merchants driving the economy, then mercenaries. Sianim holds one of the two military schools in the lands, and the only one that trains men and women both. Aralorn's home when she's not out doing spy work.
• ae'Magi Castle: The ae'Magi's abode situated between the Northlands and Reth
• Reth: Where human magic is its strongest and many of its commonfolk have the ability to create charms. The only place magic flourishes, and its users are protected from persecution.
• Darran
• Northlands: Human magic doesn't work well in the northern mountains, usually with erratic outcomes. Green magic is easier to wield, however.
• Glass Desert: The ancient battleground of a wizard war. Once fertile land, now a great expanse of murky glass.
• Jetaine: The only other city that has a school of warcraft, but only admits women.
• The Great Swamp
• Ynstrah
• Hernaz
• Antrean Alliance
• Southwood
• Torin: A small village in northern Reth, near to Kestral
• Kestral: A smaller village than Torin where merchants use to flock to purchase the furs brought in by trappers.
• Hernal: A large city in Ynstrah and home to a merchant guild that tattoos its member's faces ornately
• The Refugee Camp: Located in a small dale in the Northlands, half a day's ride north of Reth's border. Close to a network of caves.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• ae'Magi: Title of the Archmage, a man or woman of both great magical ability and unassailable virtue. They have control over all the mages west of the Great Swamp (theoretically) and is charged with keeping wizards from going to war with each other.
• Coralis: A flowering tree that attracts butterflies only to capture and devour them
• Uriah: Human-looking creatures more dead than alive. They can move faster than a horse if the climate is mild, are nearly impossible to kill and have an insatiable hunger that gave them berserker ferocity. Found most often in the far east Marshlands.
• Wyth (aka Dragonslayer): A beverage Ren sometimes has on his desk

Series & Lists edit see section history

Followed by Steal the Dragon.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Patricia Briggs (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: CPB Box no. 257 vol. 13
• Dewey: 813

Notes for Parents edit see section history

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Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Authors, A-Z › ( B ) › Briggs, Patricia
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy

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