UR: an old woman who lives in the Enchanted Woods. For aeons she has guarded the transformed souls of the Avar female Banes.
URBETH: a bear of the northern wastes.
URQHART HILLS: a minor crescent-shaped range of mountains in central Ichtar.
VENATOR: Azhure’s war horse.
VEREMUND: one of the Sentinels, brother to Ogden.
WARLORD: a title once given to Borneheld, Duke of Ichtar, by King Priam in acknowledgment of Borneheld’s de facto command of the armies of Achar.
WARS OF THE AXE, The: the wars during which the Acharites, under the direction of the Seneschal and the Axe-Wielders, drove the Icarii and the Avar from the land of Tencendor and penned them behind the Fortress Ranges. Lasting several decades, the wars were extraordinarily violent and bloody. They took place some thousand years before the time of the Prophecy of the Destroyer.
WAY OF THE HORN, The: a general term sometimes used to describe the lifestyle of the Avar people.
WAY OF THE PLOUGH, The: the religious obedience and way of life as taught by the Seneschal according to the tenets of the Book of Field and Furrow. The Way of the Plough was centred about the Plough and cultivation of the land. Its major tenets taught that as the land was cleared and ploughed in straight furrows, so the mind and the heart were similarly cleared of misbeliefs and evil thoughts and could consequently cultivate true thoughts. Natural and untamed landscape is evil; thus forests and mountains were considered evil because they represented nature out of control and because they could not be cultivated. According to the Way of the Plough, then, mountains and forests must either be destroyed or subdued, and if that is not possible, then they must be shunned as the habitats of evil creatures. Only tamed landscape, cultivated landscape, is good, because it has been subjected to mankind. The Way of the Plough was all about order, and about the earth and nature subjected to the order of mankind. Many Acharites still adhere to the Way of the Plough.
WAY OF THE WING, The: a general term sometimes used to describe the lifestyle of the Icarii.
WESTERN MOUNTAINS: the central Acharite mountain range that stretches west from the River Nordra to the Andeis Sea.
WHITE STAG, The: when Raum transformed, he transformed into a magnificent White Stag instead of a Horned One. The White Stag is the most sacred of the creatures of the forest.
WIDEWALL BAY: a large bay that lies between Achar and Coroleas. Its calm waters provide excellent fishing.
WIDOWMAKER SEA: vast ocean to the east of Achar. From the unknown islands and lands across the Widowmaker Sea come the sea raiders that harass Coroleas.
WILDDOG PLAINS, The: plains that stretch from northern Ichtar to the River Nordra and bounded by the Fortress Ranges and the Urqhart Hills. Named after the packs of roving dogs that inhabit the area.
WING: the smallest unit in the Icarii Strike Force consisting of twelve Icarii (male and female).
WING-LEADER: the commander of an Icarii Wing.
WOLFSTAR SUNSOAR: the ninth and most powerful of the Enchanter-Talons buried in the Ancient Barrows. He was assassinated early in his reign. Father to Azhure, Enchantress.
WOLVEN, The: a bow that once belonged to WolfStar SunSoar. Now in Azhure’s possession.
WORSHIP HALL: the large hall built in each village where the villagers go each seventh day to listen to the Service of the Plough. It also used for weddings, funerals and the consecration of newborn infants to the Way of the Plough. It is usually the most well built building in each village.
WRAITHS: see ‘Skraelings’.
XANON: one of the nine Icarii Star Gods, Xanon is the Goddess of the Firmament, wife to Adamon.
YR: one of the Sentinels.
YSBADD: capital city of Nor.
YSGRYFF, Prince: lord of Nor, brother to Niah and uncle to Azhure.
YULETIDE: see ‘Festivals’.
ZEHERAH: one of the Sentinels.
ZENITH: a girl child.
ZEST: one of the nine Icarii Star Gods, Zest is the Goddess of Earth.
About the Author
Sara Douglass was born in Penola, South Australia, and moved to Adelaide when she was seven. She spent her early working life as a nurse before completing three degrees at the University of Adelaide. After receiving a PhD in early modern English history, Sara worked as a Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at La Trobe University, Bendigo. She left University to start her own business in 2000.
Sara is the author of 11 novels, three of which have won the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel, most recently in 2001 for The Wounded Hawk.
Sara lives in Bendigo, Victoria.
Visit Sara’s website at:
www.saradouglass.com
For all the latest science fiction news visit ‘Voyager Online’: www.voyageronline.com.au—the website for lovers of science fiction and fantasy.
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Books by Sara Douglass
The Axis Trilogy
Battleaxe (Book One)
Enchanter (Book Two)
Starman (Book Three)
Threshold
The Wayfarer Redemption
Sinner (Book One)
Pilgrim (Book Two)
Crusader (Book Three)
Beyond the Hanging Wall
The Crucible
The Nameless Day (Book One)
The Wounded Hawk (Book Two)
The Crippled Angel (Book Three)
The Troy Game
Hades’ Daughter (Book One)
Copyright
Voyager
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, Australia
First published in Australia in 1996
This re-set edition published in 2003
This edition published in 2010
by HarperCollinsPublishers Pty Limited
ABN 36 009 913 517
A member of the HarperCollinsPublishers (Australia) Pty Limited Group
www.harpercollins.com.au
Copyright © Sara Douglass Enterprises Pty Ltd, 1996
The right of Sara Douglass to be identified as the moral rights author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000 (Cth).
This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be addressed to the publishers.
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National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:
Douglass, Sara.
Starman.
ISBN 0 7322 5159 1. (pbk.)
ISBN: 978-0-730-49203-0 (ePub)
I. Title. II. Title: Starman. (Series: Douglass, Sara. The Axis Trilogy.)
A823.3
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Table of Contents
58DEPARTURE
Books by Sara Douglass
Cover Page
Epigraph
Map
The Prophecy of the Destroyer
1 THE DAY OF POWER
2 THE SONG FOR DRYING CLOTHES
3 THE SENTINELS
4 ICE FORTRESS
5 A HOLY CRUSADE
6 CARLON
7 TIMOZEL PLANS
8 SPIREDORE
9 JERVOIS LANDING
10 RUFFLECREST SPEAKS
11 THE REPOSITORY OF THE GODS
12 FAREWELL
13 UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS
14 GOODWIFE RENKIN GOES TO MARKET
15 THREE BROTHERS LAKES
16 THE ISLAND OF MIST AND MEMORY
17 TEMPLE MOUNT
18 NIAH
19 PLANTING
20 BROTHER-LEADER GILBERT
21 THE SWORD
22 CAULDRON LAKE
23 THE TEMPLE OF THE STARS
24 THE FIEND
25 CHITTER, CHATTER
26 OF ICE AND LAUGHTER
27 AZHURE
28 HILLTOP CONVERSATIONS
29 LATE-NIGHT CONVERSATIONS
30 THE SEPULCHRE OF THE MOON
31 “MAY WE LEARN TO LIVE WITH EACH OTHER”
32 COMMAND
33 TRAP!
34 OF TIDES, TREES AND ICE
35 RIVKAH’S SECRET
36 BACK TO THE SACRED GROVE
37 “YOUR TONGUE IS FAR TOO SWEET!”
38 YULETIDE
39 THE HUNTRESS
40 THE BEAT OF THE STAR DANCE
41 FERNBRAKE
42 OF DEATH AND INHERITANCE
43 CHOICES
44 THE CLEARANCE OF ICHTAR
45 GORGRAEL CONSIDERS
46 GORKENFORT
47 SIGHOLT
48 THE LAKE OF LIFE
49 INSIDE THE WORSHIP HALL
50 THE HUNT
51 THE GRAVE
52 THE ROOF!
53 MINSTRELSEA
54 ABOUT THE CAMP FIRE
55 THE DREAM
56 DRAGO
57 TALON SPIKE
58 DEPARTURE
59 APPROACH TO GORKENFORT
60 DREAMERS IN THE SNOW
61 GORKEN PASS
62 THE NECKLET
63 URBETH’S JOKE
64 THE CRUEL WORLD
65 FINGER OF THE GODS
66 THE TEST
67 FIRE-NIGHT
68 ICE FORTRESS
69 TUNDRA
70 “TRUST ME”
71 FIVE HANDSPANS OF SHARPENED STEEL
72 THE MUSIC OF THE STARS
73 OF DECEPTIONS AND DISGUISES
74 FARADAY’S GIFT
Epilogue
Glossary
Starman Page 70