Nine Words in Winter
A Short Story by Caralyn Inks
Edition Used for Analysis:
[Tales of the Witch World 1] (1989) Published by TOR, PB, 0-812-54757-8, 978-0-812-54757-3, $3.95, 343pg ~ cover by Victoria Poyser
Synopsis:
Mag`ra’s house is ransacked and her prize possession is gone. She then discovers that while she was off helping birth a new sow the village was sacked and her craft-daughter Zaya is missing. She suspects a new Lord of Dark has taken over the land and then sets out to confront him. Along the way she must gather up nine words that will assist her power. When she confronts the new Lord, she gets help from several surprising sources including her prize possession.
Timeline Points:
- p171. 'For eighty-one years she'd [Mag'ra] lived in these hills as Lore Mistress and healer for the small villages strung throughout the long narrow valley called Min's Hold. Even the brigands who lived in the high places, the Sharoon Hills, came to her for healing and the old knowledge.'
- p172. 'For the most part these outlaws had lost their homes and families in the long war with the Hounds of Alizon and the resultant internal strife in High Hallack.'
- p174. 'If she [Mag'ra] made good time, dusk would see her at Sharoon Keep, the abandoned hold the brigands had made their own.'
- p187. 'Historically the setting is near the time of Ully the Piper. Min's Hold is not too far from Coombfrome.'
Sorcerer's Notes:
Sometime after the Year of the Unicorn.
The Sorcerer’s recommend that you read next: White Road, The
