A "Timeline" for Andre's expansive
Multi-verse: pt 1 of 5
By Maureen S. O'Brien
NOTE: Due to the size of this document we have split it into 5 parts.
Index to Multi-verse part 01
Index to Multi-verse part 02
- AD 1957 - 1975: The Space Age Begins
- Time Travel and the First Starships
Index to Multi-verse part 03
- The Big Blow-Up, Central Control and the Pre-Solar Queen Era
- The Second Atomic War
Index to Multi-verse part 04
- From The Solar Queen to the Dipple on Korwar
- From the Dipple on Korwar to the Second Galactic Empire
Index to Multi-verse part 05
- The Four Sectors War
- The Second Galactic Empire Begins!
The following post is an attempt on my part to provide a coherent chronology of the events chronicled by Andre Norton in her historical, science fiction, and non-Witch World fantasy works. (An accurate Witch World chronology containing otherwise unpublished, canon Year names can be found in the GURPS game supplement “GURPS Witch World”; far less up-to-date ones in several other places.) Since I have not been able to find and read all of Norton, this chronology is still incomplete. However, I believe that it should be helpful in indicating the breadth of Norton's interests and the scope of her imagination. The page numbers are based on the editions I own or have read; these editions will be indicated in the last post.
HERE BE SPOILERS! So let the reader beware.
I am afraid, also, that mere mortals make both mistakes and misinterpretations. In some cases, Norton would mention a historical event which existed in our universe but whose exact date I was unable to ascertain. In other cases, the archaeological dating which Norton uses may have been adjusted by later discoveries or more accurate techniques, and\or my sources for such dating may be themselves dated. I would be happy to provide anyone who corrects such information with a credit at the end of this chronology.
Forerunners, Star Lords, and Ancient Ones
In the Cryptozoic:
(“Garan the Eternal”) Before most of the continents had emerged from the sea, primitive life existed in Antarctica. Krand, a planet near Sol whose humanoid inhabitants' scientists had seen Earth's beginnings, was destroyed by an asteroid, comet or something similar. It would have missed them, but Krand's orbit had been slowed thanks to Kras' experiments with 'solar energy'. [I presume this is a reference to something like fusion or gravity control, since its use was forbidden, its power inexhaustible, and solar panels don't slow planets in their orbits.] Since Krand had only begun to develop interplanetary flight, most of its people were doomed. However, a ship powered by this 'solar energy' was loaded with a handful of Krandians led by Thran and Thrala. They survived and landed on the young Earth. Unhappy with the swampy, barren Antarctica that they found, they carved out caverns to live in, terraformed the part of the land they called Tav, and geo-enegineered plants, animals and sentient creatures to share the land. The people of Tav called them 'the Ancient Ones'. They could live up to 200 years in eternal youth, thanks to their 'ray'. They lived in Tav during the eons of Earth's history, hidden by the mists of the 'Veil' they created, and guarded by psi machines.
(“Firehand”) Terrans are taken from Terra by a star civilization (possibly the Star Lords) and planted on the planet which will become known as the Dominion of the Sun-Star Virgin.
Thousands of years ago: A Forerunner star empire existed. In (“Merlin’s Mirror”), Myrddin and Nimue refer to them as the Star Lords, Sky Lords, and Sky People. [These are not the same Star Lords as those on Gorth in (“Star Gate”); Norton explicitly imagines those Star Lords as Terrans.] It was a people who were once great star travelers (“Merlin’s Mirror”) In their traveling, they had come to Earth. Recklessly, the Star Lords used the primitive Terrans as playthings and tools in their disputes, teaching them their Star Lord science so that they would be more useful. [Apparently the Sky Lords also visited ancient Egypt (“Wraiths of Time”).]
(“Merlin’s Mirror”) When the Earth was nearly destroyed as a result, the Star Lords warred among themselves and ended by swearing that never again would they rule another species. The Star Lords vanished and left only legends behind; the things they had taught were forgotten or became myths.
Before the Star Lords left, however, a beacon was set; it was so well-made that it worked on while the continents moved and changed. Andre also refers to a moon falling from the sky and another taking its place. [Since the Moon is older than this, one assumes this refers to some kind of space station.]
(“Merlin’s Mirror”) The beacon's creators had engineered for every eventuality except politics. Apparently, the Star Lords gave up travel except among their own worlds. First the empire of the Star Lords fell into weakness, and then it fell entirely. As one of its final acts, six unmanned ships were sent out, with the desperate hope that what they held important might be preserved if only one of the ships reached one of the planets in the old records. They sent off the ships just before their enemies conquered them. These ships contained robots for building a secret base, computers for the preservation and teaching of their science, psi machines, coldsleep boxes, and genetic material to implant in the natives and thus create people capable of understanding and using the materials. Their intention was apparently to create a sanctuary which would preserve their knowledge and a civilization which would be capable of using that knowledge to return to the stars and remake the empire.
In the Paleolithic:
Circa 40,000 BC:
(“Time Traders Series”) In a glacial age, the Soviets find a wrecked globe-shaped Forerunner spacecraft in what would become Finland; they plunder it for technology. When Ross Murdock is captured and left to die in its time, he makes his way into it and is saved by its lifeboat's medical equipment. While exploring it, he is cornered by Soviets; so he punches buttons in the control room at random and accidentally manages to communicate with another alien ship on a sort of brown-and-cream television. One alien has a triangular face covered with dark skin and down; large round eyes; a curved, shining nose; and a cockatoo-like crest on top of its head. Most have a more human appearance with cream-colored skin and a hairless face and head; Ross calls them "Baldies". The aliens see Ross getting captured, realize something is wrong, home in on the transmission and attack the Soviet outpost to destroy these 'pirates'. Ross, Ashe, and MacNeil escape; the aliens travel through the Soviets' time outposts, capture them all, and destroy their contemporary base. They also track the blue alien suit Ross wears and attempt to use psi against him. The US, encouraged by the Soviets' success, begins to hunt wrecked starships in the past.
[Zacathan civilization begins somewhere around this point.]
Circa 10,000? BC:
(“Time Traders Series”) The time of the Folsom culture. An alien spaceship crashes on Earth in what will someday be the Canyon of the Hohokam in Arizona. Project Folsom One (a continuation of Project Retrograde) comes to that time to salvage the ship by transferring it through time as a whole. Unfortunately, the force of the transfer sets off the engines as soon as they arrive at their home when.
Circa 8000 BC:
(“Time Traders Series”) "Baldies" arrive on the planet Hawaika and begin to conquer it, but are thwarted by the mysterious Foanna, the piratical Rovers, and Terran time-travelers Gordon Ashe, Ross Murdock, Karara Trehern, and the dolphins Tino-rau and Taua.
In the same year:
(“Time Traders Series”) Eveleen Riordan comes through a time gate to pick up Gordon Ashe and Ross Murdock. She does not bring back Karara Trehern, Tino-rau, or Taua; they do not want to go, and they are known from records found in the future to have stayed in the past.
Some years later:
(“Time Traders Series”) Karara Trehern writes a history of happenings on Hawaika which is accurate enough to allow a time gate to rescue Ashe and Murdock. Tino-rau and Taua have many descendants [though it's a pretty small genetic pool to work with] - enough that the Hawaikan colonists of later days find a bunch of telepathic dolphins inhabiting the seas.
About 2000 BC:
(“Time Traders Series”) Gordon Ashe and Ross Murdock travel to ancient Britain disguised as Beaker traders. They find that their outpost has been destroyed by a Soviet bombing run disguised as the wrath of the god Lurgha. They return home and report the incident, which (from the plane's heading) hints at where to find the Soviet time base. Ashe, Murdock, and McNeil are sent back to search for the exact location of the base, but they are caught by the Soviets. Ross is left for dead, but is nursed back to health by a woman of the axe people. He finds the Soviet base (despite the handicap of believing he really is a Beaker trader). The Soviets send him back in time as a prisoner.
(“Time Traders Series”) When Ashe, Murdock and McNeil escape from the Soviet base in the past (just ahead of the aliens), they become separated during an attack by the axe people. Murdock escapes but the aliens track him by his commandeered clothing. He manages to resist their mental coercion by burning his hand with his torch. He strips off his alien clothes as soon as his people arrive in their whale-shaped submarine and returns to his own time to find Ashe and McNeil there before him.
Parallel world, planet Vallek, circa 1700-700 BC:
("Long Live Lord Kor!") One of the Kor-Kings of Lanascol defies the Orm priests and takes a force to invade the Orm Temple. Only a few of his rear guard survived.
Circa 1590 BC:
(“Shadow Hawk”) Rahotep and his troop of Desert Scout bowmen help drive the Hyksos invaders out of Egypt.
Parallel world, planet Vallek, circa 1500\500 BC:
("Long Live Lord Kor!") Creed Trapnell of the Bureau of Time Exploration and Manipulation takes the place of Lord Kor Kenric of Lanascol as he attempts to keep the Orm Prophet from prophesying holy war against the Kor-Kings, which will lead eventually to nuclear war and a burned-off Vallek.
Circa 1490\490 BC:
("Long Live Lord Kor!") 10 years after they destroyed the Kor-Kings in a holy war, the theocracy of the Orm priests collapses, making way for a conqueror from the south who established a line which later developed high technology.
Circa 1290\290 BC:
("Long Live Lord Kor!") 200 years after a southern conqueror established his line in Lanascol, they develop a nuclear technology.
Circa 790 BC\210 AD:
("Long Live Lord Kor!") 500 years after the establishment of a nuclear technology, Vallek gets burned-off into a nuclear cinder.
Circa 538-530 BC:
(“Dragon Magic”) During the reign of King Cyrus (aka Xerxes) of Persia, King Sherkarer and the Sirrush-lau (an African swamp-dragon) are sent to Babylon. Sherkarer helps Daniel prove that Bel is a false god and the dragon is mortal. A modern boy sees all this in a magical vision. [This is the story "Bel and the Dragon" from the Apocrypha - neither Jews, Catholics, nor Protestants include it in their Bible canon, but it's not regarded as actually heretical - just not inspired].
53 BC:
(“Empire of the Eagle”) Crassus' campaign in the East ends disastrously for Rome when a horde of Syrian lancers and mounted archers kills 20,000 men and captures 10,000 more. Crassus goes to a peace conference with them; he is murdered. The captured Roman legions are sold into slavery.
Some of the legionaries find themselves going to China as an exotic gift for the Emperor of that land. But when they enter the desert, they are attacked by evil wizards who herd them into a fortress in the middle of the desert. For centuries, the demons have been using hapless travelers and their descendants as food. Fortunately for them, the centurion of the legionaries is also the reincarnation of Arjuna from the Mahabharata (a bit disconcerting for him) and with the help of his sorceress wife (the reincarnation of Arjuna's love Draupadi) he leads the enslaved people to victory against the immortal wizards.
Circa 25 BC:
(“Imperial Lady”) Lady Chao Chun (aka "Silver Snow") is packed off to the Hsiung-Nu to marry their chief, Khujanga. She ends up marrying his heir Vughturoi also and probably dies about AD 18 (Afterword).
Circa AD 200?:
(“Dragon Magic”) During the last days of the Roman occupation, of Britain, the boy Artos meets the Pendragon (Arthur of Britain). A modern boy named Arthur sees this in a magical vision. [Incidentally, this version of Arthur doesn't necessarily preclude the version in (“Merlin's Mirror”). This may just be another view of his reign; or as scholars have suggested, many Arthurs may have contributed to the final form of the legend.]
Circa AD 300?:
(“Merlin's Mirror”) A Star Lord beacon on Earth is answered after thousands of years by a ship sent out at the end of the Star Lord empire. The ship sends out a flier to impregnate a suitable native with Star Lord genetic material. It is sensed by an ancient installation of the Star Lords' enemy empire, who also activate a beacon, a ship and an impregnation flier. Thus, Myrddin, Arthur, and the Lady of the Lake, Nimue, are all children of the Sky Peoples' gene banks but fated to oppose one another. Myrddin tries to bring the Star Lords and their knowledge back to Earth while Nimue attempts to destroy this knowledge, believing it will bring about horrible wars on Earth as it did before. Myrddin tries to raise Arthur as a Star Lord, but Nimue locks him inside a forcefield. Myrddin goes into a coldsleep box for 16 years. When he comes out, he helps Arthur win the throne and aids his projects. [There is also a nasty reference to the historian-monk Gildas; he is our only contemporary source, and he had to return to Britain from his studies in Ireland because Arthur killed his brother.] In the end, Arthur is nearly killed. Myrddin brings him back to the small Star Lord base and puts them both into coldsleep until the beacon is answered by a Star Lord ship. Since "The Sky Lords do not measure time as we do...", it "...will be perhaps a hundred centuries more before that beacon will have an answer, if it ever does."
(“Dragon Magic”) In early medieval times: Sig has a magical vision that he is in Scandinavia. As Sig Clawhand, he tames Dapplegrim and fights the dragon Fafnir. [The legend of Sigurd, in other words.]
771 - 814 AD:
(“Huon of the Horn”) Charlemagne (Charles the Great) rules over the Franks (parts of France and Germany). He is served by good knights like Sir Roland, Sir Oliver, and Sir Huon of the Horn.
The book (“Huon of the Horn”) is a translation of the medieval French romance of “Huon”. It tells the tale of how Sir Huon was discredited by treacherous political enemies, of how he saved his honor by achieving an impossible quest among the Saracens, how he wooed and won Clarimonde who was a princess of those Saracens, and how he achieved so much favor with the Lord Oberon that he was made his heir when Oberon chose to go bodily to Heaven, and how he dealt with Arthur's claim to the land of Avalon by dividing its wardship between them two.
About the same time:
(“Rogue Reynard”) Sir Reynard (the fox) uses his wiles to gain unfairly from his fellow nobles (the animals). Eventually his evil catches up with him, and he must face King Lion's judgement. [The cycle of beast fabliaux which Norton retells in this book is based (or at least seriously influenced) by the series of legends about Charlemagne and his knights, with King Lion as King Charles and Sir Reynard as Sir Ganelon (the bad guy).]
Circa AD 1096:
(“At Swords Point”) Prince-Bishop Odocar of Sternsberg goes on the First Crusade with his twelve faithful followers. Their adventures become legend. Prince- Bishop Mangus, who later became Duke of Sternlitz, has jeweled figurines made of the famous thirteen. They are known as the Bishop's Menie, and are considered the luck of the Sternlitz house. Treasure hunters become an occupational hazard for the Dukes; even Napoleon is rumored to have searched for them.
Parallel world, in the 1200's:
(“The Crossroads of Time”) The Mongols conquer Europe. Norman, Breton, Norse and Saxon refugees flee to the Icelandic colonies in Vinland. Their descendants will intermarry with Indians from the Anasazi empires of the southwest and found the nation of Ixanilia, which still thrives in the 20th century.
Circa AD 1286
(“Firehand”) The planet Dominion of the Sun-Star Virgin, parallel timetracks: In the 'original' track, the inhabitants of an island area settle into a stable feudal society; about 200 years later they have developed a psi gift to such an extent that they can fight the Baldies. In the 'second' track, which leads to Dominion's burn-off, the most powerful local lord conquers all the other lands under the stimulus of the Baldies. His children cannot hold his conquests; local society disintegrates; and the psi gene is present in too few persons to make a difference. In the 'third' timetrack, the legendary guerrilla leaders Rossin 'Firehand' A Murdoc, Eveleen EA Riordan, and the great healer Gordin O Ashean warn the other lords of the ambitious one, lead the forces of Sapphirehold for 2-3 years, and aid the final victory. [Their names live in story into modern times.]
Parallel world E625, England, AD 1485:
(“Quest Crosstime”) Richard III's last charge at the Battle of Bosworth breaks through Lancastrian lines. He kills Henry Tudor with his own hand. Once his throne is secure again, Richard shows himself again as the ablest of Plantagenets.
Circa AD 1486?:
(“Firehand”) The planet Dominion of the Sun-Star Virgin: In the 'original' and 'third' track, the Baldies invade Dominion, but the psi-gifted inhabitants are able to resist. Eventually the Baldies retreat, and since their empire is in decay, they never return. The Baldies' ships and tech are destroyed by the irate inhabitants; Dominion scientists regret the loss of information. However, this enables the Dominion to develop its own tech. In 500 years, they have developed their own stardrive. It is slow, but does not require journey tapes for navigation. In the 'second' track, they are turned into a radioactive cinder for resisting.
Parallel world E625, England, AD 1487:
(“Quest Crosstime”) Richard III remarries two years after Bosworth. His Scottish princess provides him with a secure border and (finally!) an heir. Richard and his immediate successors provide England with prosperity and the good parts of the Renaissance 150 years before the Tudors did. Richard also supports trade (he had learned its importance in his youth when a refugee staying with English wool merchants). Ships go from Bristol to new markets in Iceland; eventually they send 2 ships to follow traders' tales to Vinland.
[During the Reformation: Prince-Bishop Mangus, head of an old military order, breaks from the Roman Catholic Church and creates himself Duke of Sternlitz. He marries and founds the Sternlitz family.]
Parallel world E625, AD 1505:
(“Quest Crosstime”) Under Richard III, the 1st English furtrading station is planted on the North American continent. Fur traders are followed by fishermen, who are followed by settlers. The colonists spread down the coast and eventually form the Nation of New Britain, a loosely held member of England's empire.
Circa 1500s:
(“The Opal-Eye Fan”) The Spanish take over the Florida Keys from the Indians. The key later known as Lost Lady Key, however, is occupied by an Aztec-like civilization which the Indians join with the Spanish to destroy. [This culture is inspired by ruins on Sanibel.]
Parallel world E625, July 7, AD 1520:
(“Quest Crosstime”) Cortez, driven out of Mexico City by angry Aztecs, is killed by an arrow during a battle near the village of Otumba. Cortez' men, demoralized by La Noche Triste and the retreat that followed, are defeated. Most of them die as sacrifices. Quauhtemoc rules on. The Spanish presence in the New World is held to a few of the West Indies, which Spain eventually abandons for lack of gold. The Aztecs, hated by all their neighbors, were defeated by an alliance of their subject peoples. Some Aztec survivors flee to what in our world is the southwestern US.
Circa AD 1540:
(“The Sword is Drawn”) The first Lorens van Norreys goes East with his possibly-unwilling bride.
Parallel world E625, AD 1560:
(“Quest Crosstime”) A leader arises in Central America who unifies the tribes and revives legends of the 'white god', calling himself Kukulcan the 2nd.
Circa AD 1570:
(“The Sword is Drawn”) The first Lorens van Norreys comes home to the Netherlands to die, bringing back a Malaysian boat, twelve sons, and a huge fortune earned from his trading empire in the East Indies. [Apparently, this was the beginning of the wealth of the House of Norreys.]
Circa AD 1580-1707:
(“The Sword is Drawn”) Hendrik van Norreys travels in India during the reign of "the Great Mogul". Although the name refers to Babur (d. 1530), the whole dynasty of kings is often known as 'the Great Moguls'. Andre may be referring to the famed Akbar (in the 1550's - this woul make him one of Lorens' sons, working on the original trade empire) but he probably came in the 1600's, when the Dutch presence became more heavy and the East India Company was formed. Presumably, Hendrik was a son or grandson of Lorens van Norreys.
Circa AD 1603-1625:
(“Red Hart Magic”) During the reign of King James I as the Pursuivants hunt down Catholics, in a dream Nan and Chris find themselves working against the persecutions.
Parallel world E625, AD 1624:
(“Quest Crosstime”) The Civil War in the area of the Toltec Empire ends, and Kulkulcan the 2nd becomes undisputed ruler of the Toltec Empire. He, his two sons, and their descendants rule an empire far greater than the Aztecs. Mayan traders spread north, Aztec refugee colonies were taken over, and most of western North America is slowly brought into the Toltec Empire. New Britain and the Empire clash in two inconclusive wars, with the Mississippi as their natural border.
Circa AD 1660-1668:
(“Follow the Drum”) A seventeenth century romance/swashbuckler. Johanna Lovell (aka van der Lynn) goes to Maryland to find her missing brother. She cuts a swath through Maryland's society gentry, who are not quite sure how to take such a venturesome young lady. She ends up establishing a flourishing household and finds both true love and spiritual independence.
Circa AD 1660-1688:
(“The Sword is Drawn”) The Duke of Monmouth orders a necklace made for Princess Mary of England, consort of William of Orange. [This is before she took the throne with him as Mary II of England, so either Charles II or James II is still King.] It is made of soft gold flowers set with rubies, emeralds and topaz, and known as "the Flowers of Orange". The necklace is ugly, heavy, and rumored to bear a curse.
Circa 1710:
(“Scarface”) The story of Justin Blade, aka Scarface – a boy pirate. Captain Jonathan Cheap battles Robert Scarlett. The final plot twist is that Scarface is Scarlett's son.
Circa 1737:
(“The Opal-Eye Fan”) The pirate Satin- shirt Jack kills off the Spanish settlers, takes over a key and claims a Spanish woman as his prisoner. She kills him with a dagger disguised as a fan and disappears. The key is named Lost Lady Key after her.
Circa AD 1762:
(“The Opal-Eye Fan”) Augustin Rooke is born.
Circa late 1700's:
(“At Swords Point”) The House of Norreys checks and cleans the Bishop's Menie for Duke Ludwig of Sternlitz; then they lend him money with the Menie as security. He pays part of the money back; the rest was probably forgiven for some service which does not appear in the records. The Menie was returned to Sternlitz.
Circa AD 1777:
(“Iron Butterflies”) Lydia Wyllyses marries Joachim von Harrach, a young officer of Hessian mercenaries, after the Battle of Saratoga. He is also the youngest of the Elector of Hesse- Dohna's heirs, although the number of heirs preceding him make his succession unlikely.
(“The Opal-Eye Fan”) In the Revolutionary War: when the British withdraw from New York, Amos Rooke leaves for the Bahamas with his sisters' dowry and sets up as a wrecker. Augustin Rooke, his nephew, is incensed when he hears; he has been obtaining supplies for the Continental Army. Also, one of Amos' brothers (Augustin Rooke's father) is killed by the British as he fights for the Continentals; and Augustin's grandfather died of fever in a British prison.
Circa AD 1781:
(“Iron Butterflies”) Lydia Wyllyses Harrach is separated from her husband Joachim when the elector's older heirs die and he is called home to Hesse-Dohna. The elector declares his marriage to Lydia null and void according to Hesse- Dohnan law (it remains in force in America, of course) and forces him to marry a more politically influential wife.
Circa late 1700s:
(“Noble Warrior”) Lord Jeffery Ashely of Hob's Green got on the wrong side of the resident hob and broke his neck shortly thereafter when his horse stepped in a rabbit hole. His widow offers the hob sugar cakes, cream, and apologies at his stone; the hob forgives them and all goes well.
Parallel world, end of the 1700's:
(“The Crossroads of Time”) In a world where the Mongols conquered Europe, the enamel artist Ming-Hawn flourishes in the North American nation of Ixanilia.
AD 1793:
(“The Sword is Drawn”) During the Revolution of 1793, the "Flowers of Orange" necklace passed from the House of Orange (the royal house of the Netherlands) to the House of Norreys to settle a debt.
AD 1795:
(“Ride Proud Rebel”) The Mattock house is built on their farm, Red Springs, in Kentucky.
(“Red Hart Magic”) In yet another dream, Chris finds himself the son of a Riding Officer in the days when smuggling was approved.
Parallel world, 1805:
("The Shadow of Albion") When young Sarah Cunningham's father dies, she is left alone in the world. At the behest of her aunt, she leaves behind her few friends and heads across the ocean to the hope of a new life in England with a distant relative. Little does Sarah suspect that her journey will carry her much farther than a mere ocean's width. For as she crosses the Atlantic, powerful magics are being worked by Lady Sarah Roxbury. Lying on her deathbed, Roxbury casts a spell that will summon her counterpart form the universe-next-door...Sarah. Waking, Sarah finds herself in a world not her own, a world where the Stuart kings still rule England, where Baltimore and the original thirteen United States are still British colonies, where Napoleon runs rampant on the European continent, a world where she is the Lady Roxbury. Under the influence of a steady supply of drugs and insidious manipulation, Sarah comes to believe that she is Roxbury, and soon finds herself embroiled deep in the machinations of court intrigue and scandal. She also comes to despise her intended, the Duke of Wessex. As the threat of a French invasion grows, the only hope for England is a peace treaty with Denmark. But when the Princess of Denmark goes missing and France's agent, the Marquis de Sade, is found in council with Denmark's king, it is up to Sarah and Wessex to put aside their differences. Together they must find a way to rescue the princess from her captivity deep in the black heart of Imperial France before Napoleon can cross the channel and utterly destroy England.
Parallel world, 1808?:
("Leopard in Exile") Under King Charles II, England's New World colonies are flourishing, as is France's colony Louisianne. Napolean is the dreaded Master of the European continent . . . And Sarah Cunningham, a woman from our own world, knows all too well what a difference this makes, for not long ago she was ripped from her life as a United States citizen in our history. Sarah, now the Duchess of Wessex, journeys to North America with her new husband, the Duke - but this is no pleasure trip. The fate of the world - New and Old - rests on her saving her friend Meriel, rescuing Louis, rightful King of France, from the clutches of the Marquis de Sade, and finding the Holy Grail. But she and her beloved Duke are beset by perils that will test their strength and spirit to the utmost.
Parallel world E625, AD 1810:
(“Quest Crosstime”) England's parliament passes the Diversification of 1810, which gives New Britain the power of home rule.
Circa AD 1812-1814:
(“Iron Butterflies”) Amelia's father is killed in the War of 1812.
(“The Opal-Eyed Fan”) Also, Augustin Rooke runs a line of privateers against British shipping. When the “Eagle” takes one of his uncle Amos Rooke's ships, Amos' son James is accidentally killed. Amos blames Augustin.
Circa AD 1825-1830?:
(“Iron Butterflies”) Amelia Harrach is called to Hesse-Dohna to claim what meager heritage her grandfather (now the elector) can grant her. When he dies, she is imprisoned by his enemies in a castle haunted by an evil electoress\sorceress also once imprisoned there. However, she manages to escape with a little good magic and Pryor Fenwick, a Tory-descended officer who was imprisoned for his loyalty to her grandfather. They marry and return to Amelia's estate in Maryland.
Circa Victorian times:
(“Red Hart Magic”) As smuggling becomes less respectable, Chris dreams that he is the son of the Red Hart's innkeeper.
AD 1837:
(“The Opal-Eyed Fan”) When Persis Rooke and her uncle Augustin are shipwrecked on Lost Lady Key, they are rescued by licensed wrecker Captain Crewe Leverett. Then Augustin Rooke succumbs to his injuries and Persis is forced to confront the witch Askra, a challenge to her inheritance by a cousin she never knew, an attack on the Key by Ralph Grillon, and the ghost of a Spanish lady who gives Persis an opal-eyed 'fan'.
Circa 1840-1850?:
(“The White Jade Fox”) Saranna Stowell is sent to take care of her cousin Damaris Stowell. There she confronts the legacy of her uncle, a successful trader in the Orient, and meets his secret wife, a foxwoman (kitsune) who helps her save the house and family from those who would destroy them.
AD 1859:
(“Stand to Horse”) Set in the American Southwest.
Circa late 1800s:
("Hob's Pot") Emmiline is staying with her great-aunt, Lady Ashely, at her estate of Hob's Green while her father is in Siam. She is happy there until Miss Wyker comes to stay; Wyker and Dr. Riggs drug Lady Amelie Ashely, isolate her from her friends, plot to declare Emmy insane, and rule the house. But Emmy's luck changes when her father sends her Thragun Neklop 'Noble Warrior’ a princess-guarding Siamese cat who senses the evil in Miss Wyker, and when the cook summons the hob to 'clean house'. Emmy manages to get into her great-aunt's room and tell her what's been going on. Lady Ashely writes a note to her vicar, but just as she finishes, Miss Wyker comes in. She sees Emmy and takes her downstairs to lock her in the cellar, but Thragun Neklop attacks her and makes her unhand Emmy, and the hob pulls her skirt so that she falls downstairs and breaks her neck. [The story begins with ("Noble Warrior") and continues with ("Noble Warrior Meets With a Ghost"), ("Noble Warrior: Teller of Fortunes") & ("Noble Warrior and the Gentleman")]
June 23, 1861 AD:
("The Long Night of Waiting") Lizzy and Matthew Mendal disappear in plain sight in the middle of an open field from directly under the eye of their father and the local doctor. A year later, Mrs. Mendal hears Matthew's voice in the field. Later, Mr. Mendal hears it too. Then his voice fades away. They never hear it again.
May, AD 1864:
(“Ride Proud, Rebel”) Drew Rennie rides in Morgan's cavalry and is joined by his cousin Boyd, while the rest of his family supports the Union. (This is after Morgan's Raid on Ohio and escape from prison there, during the latter part of his campaign in Kentucky.) The book covers Morgan's crossing of the Tennessee River and follows on to the end of the Civil War. At that point, Drew finally learns that his father is still alive and living in Arizona; so he goes to find him.
Circa AD 1865 - 1866:
(“Rebel Spurs”) Drew Rennie goes out to Arizona and finds his father, presumably.
Circa AD 1870?:
(“Velvet Shadows”) Tamaris Penfold is hired by Alain Sauvage as a companion for his half-sister Victorine. Victorine proves to be leagued with D'Lys, an evil voodoo priest, in an attempt to control San Francisco through blackmail and threats. However, they find that Mary Ellen "Mammy" Pleasant (an actual historical figure) is already doing this in a more neutral manner and is angered to encounter rivals. Tamaris, aided by Pleasant and Sauvage, manages to defeat their evil. Victorine and D'Lys flee San Francisco; Pleasant continues to rule San Francisco; Tamaris marries Sauvage.
(“Sword in Sheath”) About the same time, Datu Cooms, an ex-Confederate naval officer, begins to be a power of both trade and piracy in the islands of the Sulu Archipelago.
(“At Swords Point”) Also about the same time, in the aftermath of the Franco- Prussian War, the Duchy of Sternlitz is annexed by Belgium (it was formerly an autonomous part of the Netherlands). Duke Ludwig Carlos, an explorer, does not seem heartbroken to be relieved of the responsibilities of rule.
Parallel world, Empire of Amun, circa AD 1876?:
(“Wraiths of Time”) Chaka rallies the people of the Nome of the Elephant in a rebellion which lasts two years before it is suppressed by the Pharaoh Unie. [Chaka rallied the Zulu to resist the English in our world.]
Circa AD 1890:
(“Sword in Sheath”) Abdul Hakroun, believed to be a descendant of the Sulu sultans, also becomes a power in the Sulus. He only lost a trading war once - with Datu Cooms.
Circa AD 1890-99:
(“At Swords Point”) Ludwig Carlos, the Duke of Sternlitz, disappears somewhere around the Gobi Desert. He is rumored to have been killed by natives. Since no descendants of his are known, the line is declared extinct. In reality, he had married the Lady Mei, a Manchu of the old Imperial House, before he died. His son rules the local clans more by virtue of his mother's blood than his father's.
June 23, 1900:
("The Long Night of Waiting") The Mendals erect a stone where their children disappeared, hoping still that they will come back.
Parallel world E625, circa AD 1910:
(“Quest Crosstime”) The end of the second war between New Britain and the Toltec Empire. A period of armed neutrality follows for the next 50 years, during which the Empire has trouble with the frontier in the north and Russian colonists in the West.
Parallel world E625, AD 1912:
(“Quest Crosstime”) The lords of the Toltec Empire attempt an uprising, which is quickly suppressed.
Circa AD 1934:
(“The Prince Commands”) Michael Karl, raised in America, learns that he is really the Crown Prince of Morvania. He goes there, is captured by the Werewolf (a bandit), then escapes and is rescued by "Frank Ericson" - whom he tells only that he is a member of the Crown Prince's court. Soon he learns that 'Frank Ericson' is not the American writer he pretends to be - he is actually a leader of the Royalist party which is secretly planning to make the previous Crown Prince Urlich Karl, whom they believe is still alive, the King of Morvania. Michael Karl joins their cause (with some reluctance); but just before the day of the planned uprising, the Royalists in the capitol learn that one of their supporters has sold them out. Michael Karl rides out to warn the Royalists in the countryside of the danger. He finds them in the camp of the Werewolf, who turns out to be no other than the missing Urlich Karl - who Michael Karl knew as 'Frank Ericson'. Michael Karl leads the regiment which is his hereditary responsibility through the battle to capture the capitol, and manages to capture the greatest of the King's enemies. After a great deal of clean-up, King Urlich Karl is crowned, the bad guys are legally dealt with, and Prince Michael Karl decides to stay and serve his new country and king.
(“The Jargoon Pard”) The werewolf legends which are capitalized on by Urlich Karl in this book (and which are probably courtesy of Montague Summers' famous book of werewolf lore) show up later in other were stories.
Circa late 1930's:
(“The Sword is Drawn”) Both in our world and Andre's, the Cleveland Press World Friends' Club was founded to create understanding among different cultures by having children from Cleveland, Ohio become pen pals with children from around the world.
Circa AD 1936-37:
(“Sword in Sheath”) Abdul Hakroun 'retires'. His sons carry on the business on a smaller scale, under their father's watchful eye. The Japanese do not interfere with them.
Circa AD 1938:
(“Ralestone Luck”) A down & out family move back to their ancestral home (Pirate's Haven in Louisiana) and search for their lost family talisman.
March 10, 1939:
(“Witch World”) Simon Tregarth enlists in the US Army. He will rise through the ranks, receive a battlefield promotion from sergeant to lieutenant, and eventually reach the rank of lieutenant-colonel before being court-martialed.
September 1939:
[Germany invades Poland, and World War II begins.]
May 19, 1940:
(“The Sword Is Drawn”) Rotterdam falls, Joris van Norreys dies, the necklace called "the Flowers of Orange" is placed in a safe which cannot be opened for two years, the ancient mansion of the Norreys family burns after a German bomber crashes on it, and Lorens van Norreys, heir to the wealth and power of the House of Norreys, sets off for Java, a Dutch territory which is still free.
June 2, 1940:
(“The Sword Is Drawn”) Lorens writes to his friend Lawrence in America, telling him the combination of the safe in which the Flowers of Orange is hidden and asking him to tell the Free Dutch about it if he should be killed. He then heads for Java, a Dutch territory which is still free, where his cousin Piet van Norreys manages the Singapore-Java Airline.
May-June 1940:
[Dunkirk.]
Parallel world, August 1940:
(“The Crossroads of Time”) Germany begins round-the-clock air attacks [The Battle of Britain]. In this world, almost all British airfields are destroyed by the end of September. The English used their fleet to attempt withdrawal to Canada; some soldiers and civilians escape.
Parallel world, October 1940:
(“The Crossroads of Time”) The US sends some ships to aid the British withdrawal. But on October 10, the Battle of the Channel began, along with the battle for the Channel Islands. On October 15, Japan attacked the US with waves of carrier- based planes all along the West Coast. San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles were laid waste. The US attempted to bring back its naval ships from England. Japan took the Pacific. Australia was invaded and its forces driven to the outback. Southern California and Alaska were invaded as well. The US drove Japan back to the sea, only to be attacked on the East Coast by German raiders.
Eventually, the Nazis bombed and invaded Canada and New York. Americans and Free British fought the Nazis street by street. When Hitler conquered London, he flew there with Nazi leaders and made a victory speech. In the middle of the speech, Hitler was interrupted by a massive no-return Allied bombing raid. He never did get back on the air....
December 8, 1941:
(“The Sword Is Drawn”) On the same day as Pearl Harbor (across the international dateline), Java is invaded. Piet and Lorens van Norreys destroy their secret airfield in Sumatra.
April 8, 1942:
(“The Sword Is Drawn”) Lorens writes from Sydney to tell his friend Lawrence how he reached Australia back in December or January; he'd been too weak to write till then.
April 21, 1942:
(“The Sword Is Drawn”) Lorens writes from America to Lawrence as he races from Sydney to Rotterdam to retrieve the Flowers of Orange.
June 1942:
(“The Sword Is Drawn”) Lorens writes from London to tell Lawrence what happened and that he is going back to the Netherlands again to join the resistance.
Circa AD 1945:
(“At Swords Point”) The Soviets take Manchuria from the Japanese. The Duke of Sternlitz and his heir attempt twice to escape to the coast but fail.
Spring, AD 1945:
(“Sword Series”) Lorens van Norreys is released from a German prison camp by Allied forces. He writes to his friend Lawrence Kane, but his letters are returned because Kane is part of Operation Lincoln. Norreys assumes that Kane is dead ("The Sword Is Drawn"). At the same time, Captain Boone, his second-in command Lieutenant Lawrence Kane,Master-Sergeant Sam Marusaki, and others participate in Operation Lincoln, the brainchild of Colonel Thurston. They successfully liberate a secret Japanese POW slave camp and sub base in the Sulu Archipelago (“Sword in Sheath”).
Circa 1945-46:
(“The Sword Is Drawn”) Lorens van Norreys helps restore art treasures looted by the Nazis to their rightful owners. The records of the House of Norreys, which contain exact records of many famous gems, are a great help in this work.
(“Witch World”) At about the same time, many famous war criminals disappear, evading capture thanks to the peculiar services of Dr. Jorge Petronius.
Circa AD 1946:
("By a Hair") After the Soviets take over a small Baltic country, Dagmar Kark betrays her husband Ivor, a Resistance leader, to Colonel Andrei Varoff. When she goes to Mald and the Countess Ana for help in getting a son for Varoff, they use their magic to ensure that she bears her dead husband's child. Varoff kills Dagmar and himself, but the boy survives to be raised by the Countess Ana, his true mother.
(“Sword in Sheath”) About the same time: 6 months after their discharge from the OSS at the end of WWII, Lawrence Kane and Sam Marusaki travel to Malaysia to find a downed pilot and (unofficially) to be another set of eyes for the US. Kane is astonished to find that his pen pal, Lorens van Norreys, after working for the resistance and getting sent to a camp, is alive, well, and trying to start up the new House of Norreys. Piet died in his plane on a mission to Arnhem. Kane, Marusaki and Norreys travel together on the “Sumba”, a Dutch freighter. After learning the fate of the pilot and rooting out a nest of holdout German and Japanese higher- ups, they form a company with Abdul Hakroun, the native islanders and the crew of the “Sumba” to exploit the pearl beds and other wealth of 'the Forbidden Place'. Kane and Marusaki ponder Norreys' job offer.
Circa AD 1946-1954:
(“The Sword Is Drawn”) Kane and Marusaki accept Norreys' job offer; Lorens van Norreys moves to New York and re- establishes the House of Norreys as a force in the world of gems. His success is due in large part to his skill as a jewelry designer. One of his most famous designs, the cupid and imp, was conceived while in hiding on his quest for the Flowers of Orange. Meanwhile Norreys, Marusaki, and Kane draw upon old Resistance contacts both shady and respectable to create a new, unofficial organization which fights the Cold War.
Circa AD 1950?:
("Through the Needle's Eye") Miss Ruthevan sews herself into her own private world.
Circa AD 1953?:
(“At Swords Point”) The Duke of Sternlitz and his heir attempt to escape from Communist Mongolia through Tibet. They fail and are captured. The Duke is killed while being questioned as to the hidingplace of the Bishop's Menie. His son Frederick Floris Pieter Sternlitz, unaware of his father's death, is told that if he gives the Soviets the Menie his father will be spared. He agrees and goes with them to the Netherlands and Belgium.
Circa AD 1954?:
(“At Swords Point”) Quinn Odocar Anders planned to go to the Netherlands and finish a book left unfinished by his dead father, Dr. Wilson Anders. Before he can leave, his brother Stark, an intelligence agent for the US, is killed suspiciously. At his dead brother's request, Quinn Anders brings Lorens van Norreys a souvenir sent just before his brother was killed. When it proves to be part of the Bishop's Menie, a famous collection of jeweled figurines from the forgotten Duchy of Sternlitz on which his dead father was writing a book, Anders persuades Norreys to help him find the men who killed his brother and the rest of the Menie. He is aided in his quest by Marusaki and Kane, as well as the secret organization of which the House of Norreys is a part. He also ends up restoring the rightful Duke of Sternlitz to his kin as well as finishing his father's book on Prince-Bishop Odocar.
(“Witch World”) Around the same time, Colonel Simon Tregarth is tricked into dealing with the black market while a part of American occupation forces. He is court-martialed, put in prison, and stripped of his commission. When he is released, he returns to Europe and becomes involved in organized crime there. [Possibly the same organization with which Lorens has connections.]
Circa AD 1956:
(“The Crossroads of Time”) Blake Walker, a native of Columbus, Ohio, travels to New York City [where else would they name a street Patroon Place?] to go to art school at Havers. He has a premonition of danger and opens his hotel room door to find a man about to be shot. Blake saves the man's life and is led to believe he is an FBI agent. Eventually he learns that the man and his fellows are actually Wardsmen from Vroom, an alternate Earth which has the secret of crosstime travel. Blake assists them in countering the megalomaniac plans of the renegade Wardsman Pranj, is captured by Pranj, and escapes crosstime to several different parallel worlds. He eventually finds the Wardsmen again; they capture Pranj and bring Blake back to Vroom. Blake enters into training as a Wardsman.
