Skip to main content

story identification - Book where wizards learn magic by bonding with crystals that imbue them with powers


I read this book a long time ago, but I'm guessing it was written sometime in either the 80's or early 90's. It was a rather long/large book.



Plot summary: Set in a fantasy land of wizards and magic, some kids (maybe) are recruited to learn magic. In the process they find out that wizards are created by being placed in a crashed spaceship that bonds them with crystals that imbue the powers. One of them is able to bond with many/multiple crystals to become very powerful.



Answer



The books are part of a series written by Janny Wurtz called the Cycle of Fire (a trilogy that contains the novels Stormwarden, Keeper of the Keys and Shadowfane). This was one of the earliest works of hers I ever read and it is also still one of my favorites.




  • It is not technically a fantasy book thought it has the trappings of the fantasy genre. You get this impression because of the iron-age technological level of the human locals and their feudal lifestyles.




  • There are Humans with latent psionic abilities which are synergistically bonded with a local but barely understood alien Sathid crystals which amplify their latent abilities a thousand-fold.





  • These psionic abilities resemble magical powers, so much so, no one in the world remembers how or why these powerful beings came to utilize their abilities or why they exist at all.




  • Adding to the mix are mysterious psychic alien creatures who, if you were a low-tech human, might mistake for magical beasts of incredible ferocity who are slowly taking over the planet.




  • The psychic aliens would have done so except for the efforts of the Stormwarden, who has powers over wind, weather and ice.






- The hidden truth is the humans are survivors of a starship seeking a means of repelling the aliens in a war taking place thousands of light year away who were originally looking for a weapon which would allow humans to resist the alien incursion into Human space.



This series is well worth the effort to find and read.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - How could Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra?

I want to be very careful about how I ask this question – I am not asking How did Voldemort die? [CLOSED] Below the text is the relevant passages from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if anyone wants to review them (I'm sorry for the amount of text). How did Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra and kill Voldemort? I feel the reason Harry's Expelliarmus overpowered Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse has to do with who was master of the Elder Wand and how the Elder Wand works. I've always had trouble understanding fully how the Elder Wand works, though. How much did the fact that Voldemort never truly won or mastered the Elder Wand factor into how Expelliarmus reacted to Avada Kedavra and caused Avada Kedavra to rebound and kill Voldemort? An answer based in book canon would be especially welcome, but any canon source really is fine. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand: ‘ Avada Kedavra !’ ‘ Expelliarmus !...
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more