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The Chronicles of the Cheysuli:
An Overview
THE PROPHECY OF THE FIRSTBORN:
"One day a man of all blood shall unite. In peace.
four warring realms and two magical races.
Originally a race of shapechangers known as the
Cheysuli, descendants of the Firstborn, Homana's
original race, held the Lion Throne, but increasing
unrest on the part of the Homanans, who lacked
magical powers and therefore feared the Cheysuli,
threatened to tear the realm apart. The Cheysuli
royal dynast voluntarily gave up the Lion Throne
so that Homanans could rule Homana, thereby
avoiding fullblown internecine war.
The clans withdrew altogether from Homanan
society save for one remaining and binding tradi-
tion: each Homanan king, called a Mujhar, must
have a Cheysuli liege man as bodyguard, council-
lor, companion, dedicated to serving the throne
and protecting the Mujhar, until such a time as
the prophecy is fulfilled and the Firstborn rule
again.
This tradition was adhered to without incident
for nearly four centuries, until Lindir, the only
daughter of Shaine the Mujhar, jilted her prospec-
tive bridegroom to elope with Hale, her father's
Cheysuli liege man. Because the jilted bridegroom
was the heir of a neighboring king, Bellam of So-
linde, and because the marriage was meant to seal
an alliance after years of bloody war, the elope-
ix
Jennifer Roberson
ment resulted in tragic consequences. Shaine con-
cocted a web of lies to salve his obsessive pride,
and in so doing laid the groundwork for the anni-
hilation of a race.
Declared sorcerers and demons dedicated to the
downfall of the Homanan throne, the Cheysuli
were summarily outlawed and sentenced to imme-
diate execution if found within Homanan borders.
Shapechangers begins the "Chronicles of the
Cheysuli," telling the tale of Alix, daughter of
Lindir, once Princess of Homana, and Hale, once
Cheysuli liege man to Shaine. Alix is an unknown
catalyst bearing the Old Blood of the Firstborn,
which gives her the ability to link with all lir and
assume any animal shape at will. But Alix is
raised by a Homanan and has no knowledge of her
abilities, until she is kidnapped by Finn, a Chey-
suli warrior who is Hale's son by his Cheysuli
wife, and therefore Alix's half-brother. Kidnapped
with her is Carillon, Prince of Homana. Alix learns
the true power in her gifts, the nature of the
prophecy which rules all Cheysuli, and eventually
marries a warrior, Duncan, to whom she bears a
son, Donal, and, much later, a daughter, Bronwyn.
But Homana's internal strife weakens her de-
fenses. Bellam of Solinde, with his sorcerous aide,
Tynstar the Ihlini, conquers Homana and assumes
the Lion Throne.
In The Song of Homana, Carillon returns from
a five-year exile, faced with the difficult task of
gathering an army capable of overcoming Bellam.
He is accompanied by Finn, who has assumed the
traditional role of liege man. Aided by Cheysuli
magic and his own brand of personal power, Caril-
lon is able to win back his realm and restore the
Cheysuli to their homeland by ending the purge
begun by his uncle, Shaine. Alix's grandfather. He
marries Bellam's daughter to seal peace between
A TAPESTRY OF LIONS
xf
the lands, but Electra has already cast her lot with
Tynstar the Ihlini, and works against her Homa-
nan husband. Carillon's failure to father a son
forces him to betroth his only daughter, Aislinn,
to Donal, Alix's son, whom he names Prince of
Homana. This public approbation of a Cheysuli
warrior is the first step in restoring the Lion
Throne to the sovereignty of the Cheysuli, required
by the prophecy, and sows the seeds of civil
unrest.
Legacy of the Sword focuses on Donal's slow as-
sumption of power within Homana, and his per-
sonal assumption of his role in the prophecy.
Because by clan custom a warrior is free to take
both wife and mistress, Donal has started a Chey-
suli family even though he will one day have to
marry Carillon's daughter to cement his right to
the Lion Throne. By his Cheysuli mistress he has
two children, lan and Isolde; by Aislinn, Carillon's
daughter, he eventually sires a son who will be-
come his heir. But the marriage is rocky immedi-
ately; in addition to the problems caused by a
second family, Donal's Homanan wife is also
under the magical influence of her mother, Electra,
who is mistress to Tynstar. Problems are com-
pounded by the son of Tynstar and Electra, Strahan,
who has his father's powers in full measure. On
Carillon's death Donal inherits the Lion, naming
his legitimate son, Niall, to succeed him. But to
further the prophecy he marries his sister, Bron-
wyn, to Alaric of Atvia, lord of an island kingdom.
Bronwyn is later killed by Alaric accidentally
while in /ir-shape, but lives long enough to give
birth to a daughter, Gisella, who is mad.
In Track of the White Wolf, Donal's son Niall is
a young man caught between two worlds. To the
Homanans, fearful of Cheysuli power and inten-
tions, he is worthy only of distrust, the focus of
Jennifer Roberson
xU
their discontent. To the Cheysuli he is an "un-
blessed" man, because even though far past the
age for it, Niall has not linked with his animal.
He is therfore a lirless man, a warrior with no
power, and such a man has no place within the
clans. His Cheysuli half-brother is his liege man,
fully "blessed," and lan's abilities serve to add to
Niall's feelings of inferiority.
Niall is meant to marry his half-Atvian cousin,
Gisella, but falls in love with the princess of a
neighboring kingdom, Deirdre of Erinn. Lirless,
and with Gisella under the influence of Tynstar's
Ihlini daughter, Lillith, Niall falls prey to sorcery.
Eventually he links with his lir and assumes the
full range of Cheysuli powers, but he pays for it
with an eye. His marriage to Gisella is disastrous,
but two sets of twins are bom—Brennan and Hart,
Corin and Keely—which gives Niall the opportu-
nity to extend his range of influence via betrothal
alliances. He banishes Gisella to At via after he
foils an Ihlini plot involving her, and then settles
into life with his mistress, Deirdre of Erinn, who
has already borne Maeve, his illegitimate
daughter.
A Pride of Princes tells the story of each of Niall's
three sons. Brennan, the eldest, will inherit Ho-
mana and has been betrothed to Aileen, Deirdre's
niece, to add a heretofore unknown bloodline to
the prophecy. Brennan's twin. Hart, is Prince of
Solinde, a compulsive gambler whose addiction
results in a tragic accident involving all three of
Niall's sons. Hart is banished to Solinde for a year,
and the rebellious youngest son, Corin, to Atvia.
Brennan is tricked into siring a child on an Ihlini-
Cheysuli woman; Hart loses a hand and nearly his
life in a Solindish plot; in Erinn, Corin falls in
love with Brennan's bride, Aileen, before going to
Atvia. One by one each is captured by Strahan,
A TAPESTRY OF LIONS xiii
Tynstar's son, who intends to turn Niall's sons
into puppet-kings so he can rule through them. All
three manage to escape, but not until after each
has been made to recognize particular strengths
and weaknesses.
For Keely, sister of Niall's sons, things are dif-
ferent. In Daughter of the Lion, Keely herself is
caught up in the machinations of politics, evil sor-
cery, and her own volatile emotions. Trained from
childhood in masculine pursuits such as weap-
onry, Keely prefers the freedom of choice and life-
style, and as both are threatened by the imminent
arrival of her betrothed, Sean of Erinn, she fights
to maintain her sense of self in a world ruled by
men. She is therefore ripe for rebellion when a
strong-minded, powerful Erinnish brigand—and
possible murderer—enters her life.
But Keely's battles are increased tenfold when
Strahan chooses her as his next target. Betrayed,
trapped, and imprisoned on the Crystal Isle, Keely
is forced through sorcery into a liaison with the
Ihlini that results in pregnancy. But before the
child can be born, Keely escapes with the aid of
the Ihlini bard, Taliesin. On her way home she
meets the man believed to be her betrothed, and
realizes not only must she somehow rid herself of
the unwanted child, but must also decide which
man she will have—thief or prince—in order to be
a true Cheysuli in service to the prophecy.
Flight of the Raven is the story of Aidan, only
son of Brennan and Aileen. Hounded in childhood
by nightmares, Aidan grows to adulthood con-
vinced he is not meant to hold the Lion Throne
after all, but is intended to follow a different path,
This path becomes more evident as he sets out to
visit his kin in Solinde and Erinn in order to find
a bride; very quickly it becomes apparent that
Aidan has been singled out by the Cheysuli gods
Jennifer Roberson
xtv
to complete a quest for golden links personifying
specific Mujhars. In pursuing his quest, Aidan be-
comes the target of Lochiel the Ihlini, Strahan's
son.
Bound by their mutual Erinnish gift of kivama,
a strong empathy, Aidan and Shona of Erinn
marry. The child of this union wilt bring the Chey-
suli one step closer to completion of the prophecy,
and is therefore a grave threat to Lochiel. The Ih-
lini attacks Clankeep, kills Shona, and cuts the
child from her belly. Aidan, seriously wounded,
falls victim to epilepsy; in his "fits" he prophesies
of the coming of Cynric, the Firstborn. To get back
his stolen child, Aidan conquers his weakness to
confront Lochiel in Valgaard itself, where he wins
back his son. But Aidan realizes he is not meant
for thrones and titles; he renounces his rank, gives
his son, Kellin, into the keeping of Aileen and
Brennan, and takes up residence as a shar tahl on
the Crystal Isle, where he begins to prepare the
way for the coming of the Firstborn.
Prologue
In thread, on cloth, against a rose-red stone wall
gilt-washed by early light: Lions. Mujhars. Chey-
suli, and Homanan; and the makings of the world
in which the boy and his grand-uncle lived.
"Magic," the boy declared solemnly, more in-
tent upon his declaration than most eight-year-
olds; but then most eight-year-old boys do not dis-
cover magic within the walls of their homes.
The old man agreed easily without the hesita-
tion of those who doubted, or wished to doubt, put
off by magic's power; magic was no more alien to
him than to the boy, in whose blood it lived as it
lived in his own, and in others Cheysuli-bom.
"Woman's magic," he said, "conjured from head
and hands." His own long-fingered left hand, once
darkly supple and eloquent, now stiffened bone be-
neath wrinkled, yellowing flesh, traced out the intri-
cate stitchwork patterns of the massive embroidered
arras hung behind the Lion Throne. "Do you see,
Kellin? This is Shame, whom the Homanans
would call your five times great-grandfather.
Cheysuli would call him hosa'ana."
It was mid-morning in Shaine's own Great Hall.
Moted light sliced through stained glass case-
ments to paint the hall all colors, illuminating the
vast expanse of ancient architecture that had
housed a hundred kings long before Kellin—or
lan—was born.
/5
16 Jennifer Roberson
The boy, undaunted by the immensity of history
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