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Lirael
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Read Lirael
The Abhorsen Chronicles: Book 2

Lirael (2001) (edit title/settings)

Daughter of the Clayr

by Garth Nix (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Who is Lirael? Lirael has never felt like a true daughter of the Clayr. Abandoned by her mother, ignorant of her father's identity, Lirael resembles no one else in her large extended family living in the Clayr's Glacier. She doesn't even have the Sight -- the ability to See into the present... read more

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Lirael: Born and raised in the Glacier Lirael doesn't look like the other Clayr. She has long dark hair and dark brown eyes. She is very pale and thin. Nothing like her Clayr mother Arielle. The gift of all Clayr, the sight, has not yet awakened in her.
  • Sabriel: Queen of the Old Kingdom (and Sam and Ellimere's mother), but more importantly, the Abhorsen. Long dark hair, dark eyes and pale skin.
  • Touchstone: King of the Old Kingdom.
  • Sameth (Sam): Prince of the Old Kingdom. A very talented inventor.
  • Ellimere: Crown Princess of the Old Kingdom. Long dark hair and dark eyes.
  • Mogget: Sabriel's white cat (who is much more than he seems). Servant of the Abhorsen he wears a red collar with a tiny bell.
  • Disreputable Dog: Lirael's companion, a large talking dog with a collar that is a part of the Charter much like a Charter stone
  • Nicholas Sayre: Sam's Ancelstierran best friend. He has family in Ancelstierran politics.
  • Hedge: A powrful necromancer who is a skilled Free Magic sorcerer. He was once a servant of Kerrigor before his fall, but now serves the being that is bound near Red Lake
  • Chlorr of the Mask: A necromancer from the barbaric North who wears a bronze mask
  • Kirrith: One of Lirael's aunts. Guardian of the Young. She is in charge of the youth dormitories.
  • Ryelle: One of the Twins of the Clayr. Especially Gifted with the Sight. Long white blonde hair and chestnut skin. She is often a member of the Nine Day Watch
  • Sanar: The other Twin.
  • Imshi: Second Assistant Librarian in the Clayr's Glacier
  • Vancelle: Chief Librarian of the Great Library of the Clayr
  • Arielle: Lirael's mother who leaves Lirael when she is young and dies without telling anyone who Lirael's father was
  • Annisele: A young Clayr who awakens to her Sight.
  • Sohrae: A Clayr
  • Barra: A young merchant's guard who visits the Glacier
  • Merell: She was the guardian of the young before Kirrith
  • Jasell: First Bursar " in charge of the Clayr's internal finances and it's trading bank."
  • Mirelle: An old "grey haired leather faced woman" who is the head of the Clayr's Rangers
  • Filris: The Infirmarian, the oldest living Clayr
  • Damed: Touchstone's principal bodyguard
  • Mr. Cochrane: Sameth's cricket coach and his schools Games Master
  • Jall Oren: The Chancellor in Belisaere, who is also co-regent with Ellimere while Touchstone and Sabriel are away
  • Dr. Shemblis: The court doctor at Belisaere
  • Brel: A royal guard who Sam often sees during his quiet and pensive moments
  • Cynel: A female royal guard
  • Tonin: A royal guard who is the same age as Ellimere and was friends with her as a child
  • Sprout: Sam's horse during his travels
  • Binder: Vancelle's sword
  • Nehima: The sword that Lirael is given and is the sister sword of Binder. She was created by the Wallmakers.
Show all 33 characters
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Setting & Locations edit see section history

  • The Wall: This wall separates the Old Kingdom and Ancelstierre, and prevents the Dead from crossing into Ancelstierre.
  • Ratterlin: The main river that traverses the Old Kingdom
  • Ancelstierre: The country across the wall from the Old Kingdom. Magic does not work here unless there is a strong wind from the Old Kingdom or if one is near enough to the wall.
  • Belisaere: Capital of the Old Kingdom
  • The Great Library of the Clayr: A great nautilus shaped library with many floors curving downward. It is full of prophesies and writings of the Clayr and is also a repository for books and knowledge from around the Old Kingdom. It houses armories, artifacts, and many secret and long forgotten rooms.
  • The Old Kingdom: The magical kingdom that lies to the north of the Wall
  • The Clayr's Glacier: The Glacier in the north of the Old Kingdom where the Clayr reside
  • Qyrre: A town on the banks of the Ratterlin in the southern part of the Old Kingdom
  • The Red Lake: The large lake in the south-west part of the Old Kingdom where a great deal of trouble is brewing
  • Edge: The town near the shores of the Red Lake
  • The Observatory: Where the Nine Day Watch gathers to collect the visions of the Clayr and See the future.
  • The Hall of Youth: Where orphaned Clayr live until their sight is awakened.
  • High Bridge: A town that lies on a natural bridge that spans the Ratterlin
  • Abhorsen's House: The residence of the Abhorsen that is stonily protected against possible enemies and lies on an island in the middle of the Ratterlin above a waterfall
Show all 14 settings

Organizations edit see section history

  • Southerlings: The refugees from a warring country to the south of Ancelstierre who are being sent into the Old Kingdom and then killed to serve the purposes of Hedge and his master.

First Sentence edit see section history

It was a hot, steamy summer, and the mosquitoes swarmed everywhere, from their breeding grounds in the rotten, reedy shores of the Red Lake up to the foothills of Mount Abed.

Table of Contents edit see section history

I. Prologue

II. PART ONE: The Old Kingdom: Fourteenth Year of the Restoration of King Touchstone I
1. An Ill-Favored Birthday
2. A Future Lost
3. Paperwings
4. A Glint in the Snow
5. An Unexpected Opportunity
6. Third Assistant Librarian
7. Beyond the Doors of Sun and Moon
8. Down the Fifth Back Stair
9. Creatures by Nagy
10. Dog Day
11. Search for a Suitable Sword
12. Into the Lair of the Chief Librarian
13. Of Stilken and Strange Magic

III. PART TWO: Ancelstierre 1928 A.W.: Eighteenth Year of the Restoration of King Touchstone I
14. Prince Sameth Hits of A Six
15. The Dead Are Many
16. Into Death
17. Nicholas and the Necromancer
18. A Father's Healing Hand
19. Ellimere's Thoughts of the Education of Princes
20. A Door of Three Signs
21. Beyond the Doors of Wood and Stone
22. Power of Three
23. A Troublesome Season
24. Cold Water, Old Stone
25. A Family Conference
26. A Letter from Nicholas
27. Sam Makes Up His Mind
28. Sam the Traveler
29. The Observatory of the Clayr
30. Nicholas and the Pit
31. A Voice in the Trees
32. "When the Dead Do Walk, Seek Water's Run"
33. Flight to the River

IV. PART THREE: The Old Kingdom: Eighteenth Year of the Restoration of King Touchstone I
34. Finder
35. Remembrancer
36. A Denizen of Death
37. A Bath in the River
38. The Book of the Dead
39. High Bridge
40. Under the Bridge
41. Free Magic and the Flesh of Swine
42. Southerlings and a Necromancer
43. Farewell to Finder
44. Abhorsen's House

V. Epilogue

Glossary edit see section history

  • Paperwing: Much like a paper and fiberglass airplane. Made with weather-proofed layers of paper and magic.
  • Ranna: The sleeper. One of the necromancer's bells. The smallest bell.
  • Mosrael: The Waker. One of the necromancer's bells.
  • Kibeth: The Walker. One of the necromancer's bells.
  • Dyrim: The Speaker. One of the necromancer's bells.
  • Belgaer: The Thinker. One of the necromancer's bells.
  • Saraneth: The Binder. One of the necromancer's bells.
  • Astarael: The Weeper. One of the necromancer's bells.
  • Clayr: A group of mostly women who live in their Glacier and have the ability to see into the future. Their symbol is a gold star
  • Charter Magic: The pure, clean magic that protects from the Dead and Free Magic
  • Free Magic: A more unpredictable, dangerous form of magic
  • Charter Stone: A stone imbued with the powers of the Charter that lends its strength and protection to the people around it
  • Remembrancer: A person who sees into the past by entering Death and using a Dark Mirror
  • Abhorsen: A necromancer who instead of freeing the Dead binds them and tries to send them to the final Death. Their symbol is silver keys.
  • Wallmaker: One of the Five Great Charters that has all but disappeared and was responsible for the making of various magical items, such as the Wall. Their symbol is that of the trowel
  • Hish: A Free Magic elemental creature of human shape with skin like mist and bones of fire
  • Stilken: A Free Magic creature that has deadly claws and is able to change its shape
  • The Interregnum: The two hundred years that the Old Kingdom was without a ruler, between the reigns of Touchstone and his mother
  • Gore Crows: Multiple dead crows infused with the fragments of one spirit by a necromancer
  • Dead Hand: The servant of a necromancer who has been brought back from death
  • Mordaut: A parasitical spirit that uses the body of a living person
  • Shadow Hand: The servant of a necromancer who has only had its spirit returned and not its body
Show all 22 glossary entries

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • Necromancy: the knowledge of control death.
  • Abhorsen's bells: bells that are used by an Abhorsen in their job; each bell has a different affect on the dead. They are used to put the dead to rest, as opposed to necromancer's bells which are used with the opposite intent.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 2 of 5 in The Abhorsen Chronicles. (standard series)

Preceded by Sabriel, and followed by Abhorsen.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Garth Nix (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: HarperTeen
Country: Australia
Publication Date: 2001
ISBN: 0060278234
Page Count: 496

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
  • Sabriel
  • Abhorsen

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