The concept of the Abhorsen and related characters belongs to Garth Nix. I am merely borrowing them.
CHARTERSTONE
Epilogue
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The Clayr saw me, the Wallmaker made me, the King quenched me, the Abhorsen wields me so that no Dead shall walk in life.
For this is not their path.
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"She's bound him back for now."
"Not forever, though."
"No. Not forever."
Talis looked at the young Abhorsen, standing proud and straight against the breeze from the ocean. They looked out over the Sea of Saere, the great boom chain glinting in the sunlight. The city had not escaped unscathed; even now the cityfolk walked among the ruins, picking out what they could save from the rubble left by the servants of Kerrigor.
"Why did they go south?" asked Talis.
"I don't know," replied Mirel, pushing her black hair from her face. "I suspect there was a reason, though. I think it is part of the reason Eimeth could not fully bind him. He is one of the Greater Dead now. His power will grow."
"We have seen that the Kingdom will not be as it once was," said Talis solemnly, gazing out to sea. "There will come decline, and darkness, and at the end of all things the Abhorsen will once more stand alone as Eimeth did."
Mirel traced the shape of the largest bell, the one necromancer and Abhorsen feared to use, and wondered if she would have had the courage to do what was necessary. She did not know. She hoped she would never have occasion to find out.
"What happened to the Prince?" asked the Clayr, following the path of Mirel's fingers with her eyes.
"She did a spell that flung us away from Kerrigor," said the Abhorsen. "She flung us to Holehallow, the great burial ground of the First Blood."
"But where is Torrigan? He must come forth to take up the throne. There is no other."
"No!" said Mirel sharply, catching the gentle Clayr by surprise. She bit her lip and then relaxed, shaking her head. "No. The Abhorsen can break the Great Charters... but the Abhorsen can also protect herself. He can break the Stones with Torrigan's blood, the poor fool. The bastard prince had no idea of his brother's plot. He is a fool, and no more. Once Kerrigor is defeated we shall reinstate the kingdom. Until then he will remain hidden—and safe."
"I do not think the prince is such a fool as you say," said Talis quietly, her eyes staring into nothingness. "And the day will come for him." Mirel gazed at the Clayr until the woman closed her eyes and then smiled kindly at her cousin.
"It will only get worse," said Mirel.
"But you will be ready for it," replied Talis.
"I am Abhorsen," said Mirel plainly. "Where others of the necromantic art raise the dead, I lay them back to rest. And those that will not rest, I will bind." She smiled back at her cousin and turned away from the sea, and the wind caught her surcoat, setting ablaze the keys emblazoned in silver thread on a field of midnight blue.
As she went, she turned and nodded once more. "I am Abhorsen," she said again, and continued down the slope. Talis stayed a moment longer, looking to the horizon. She saw a black-haired young woman dressed in the regalia of the Abhorsen, but it was not Mirel, and the kingdom this girl fought to save was very different than the present one. Talis wondered when—if—this would come to pass, and sighed. How imprecise was the Clayr's art...
As the sun set, she turned and hurried down the hill, shivering as twilight descended on the Old Kingdom.
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This is the beginning...and Sabriel is the end.
CHARTERSTONE
Epilogue
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
The Clayr saw me, the Wallmaker made me, the King quenched me, the Abhorsen wields me so that no Dead shall walk in life.
For this is not their path.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
"She's bound him back for now."
"Not forever, though."
"No. Not forever."
Talis looked at the young Abhorsen, standing proud and straight against the breeze from the ocean. They looked out over the Sea of Saere, the great boom chain glinting in the sunlight. The city had not escaped unscathed; even now the cityfolk walked among the ruins, picking out what they could save from the rubble left by the servants of Kerrigor.
"Why did they go south?" asked Talis.
"I don't know," replied Mirel, pushing her black hair from her face. "I suspect there was a reason, though. I think it is part of the reason Eimeth could not fully bind him. He is one of the Greater Dead now. His power will grow."
"We have seen that the Kingdom will not be as it once was," said Talis solemnly, gazing out to sea. "There will come decline, and darkness, and at the end of all things the Abhorsen will once more stand alone as Eimeth did."
Mirel traced the shape of the largest bell, the one necromancer and Abhorsen feared to use, and wondered if she would have had the courage to do what was necessary. She did not know. She hoped she would never have occasion to find out.
"What happened to the Prince?" asked the Clayr, following the path of Mirel's fingers with her eyes.
"She did a spell that flung us away from Kerrigor," said the Abhorsen. "She flung us to Holehallow, the great burial ground of the First Blood."
"But where is Torrigan? He must come forth to take up the throne. There is no other."
"No!" said Mirel sharply, catching the gentle Clayr by surprise. She bit her lip and then relaxed, shaking her head. "No. The Abhorsen can break the Great Charters... but the Abhorsen can also protect herself. He can break the Stones with Torrigan's blood, the poor fool. The bastard prince had no idea of his brother's plot. He is a fool, and no more. Once Kerrigor is defeated we shall reinstate the kingdom. Until then he will remain hidden—and safe."
"I do not think the prince is such a fool as you say," said Talis quietly, her eyes staring into nothingness. "And the day will come for him." Mirel gazed at the Clayr until the woman closed her eyes and then smiled kindly at her cousin.
"It will only get worse," said Mirel.
"But you will be ready for it," replied Talis.
"I am Abhorsen," said Mirel plainly. "Where others of the necromantic art raise the dead, I lay them back to rest. And those that will not rest, I will bind." She smiled back at her cousin and turned away from the sea, and the wind caught her surcoat, setting ablaze the keys emblazoned in silver thread on a field of midnight blue.
As she went, she turned and nodded once more. "I am Abhorsen," she said again, and continued down the slope. Talis stayed a moment longer, looking to the horizon. She saw a black-haired young woman dressed in the regalia of the Abhorsen, but it was not Mirel, and the kingdom this girl fought to save was very different than the present one. Talis wondered when—if—this would come to pass, and sighed. How imprecise was the Clayr's art...
As the sun set, she turned and hurried down the hill, shivering as twilight descended on the Old Kingdom.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
This is the beginning...and Sabriel is the end.