WW: ss - Were-Flight

The Sorcerer's Conspectus:

A comprehensive view of Andre Norton's Witch World

by Lotsawatts

Were-Flight

A Novella in the [Witch World Saga] by Lisa Woodworth

[Expanded Reading Order] [Bibliography Page] [Read it Here] [Return to Contents]

Edition Used for Analysis:
[Tales of the Witch World 3] (1989) Published by TOR, PB, 0-812-54757-8, 978-0-812-54757-3, $3.95, 343pg ~ cover by Victoria Poyser

Synopsis:

Coming Soon

Timeline Points:

p405. Tirath rode into the abbey at Rhystead (somewhere in the north) with Khemrys on her back and a dying Herwyd across her saddlebow. Tirath's House fallen to Hounds of Alizon during Invasion of High Hallack.
p406. Tirath met Herwyd in the fens¹ when she was sick from fever and he cared for her until she was well. They then exchanged vows before riding north 'seeking news of her kin and of the fighting brothers from which he'd become separated.² In time Khemrys was born.³ When Khemrys was 11 her mother Tirath died.
p407. 'a few scant months' after Khemrys born Herwydin dies.⁴
p408. Three years pass since her mother's death. Near the end of the Year of the Sphinx the abbess dies and is replaced by an outsider, abbess Rosera.
p414. Khemrys is 16 years old (Old enough to marry).
p415. Khemrys Changes into a Pard for the first time.
p417. Several months pass. Khemrys changes and cannot return to the Abbey.
p419. Harlyn arrives at Rhysdale late afternoon in late summer. He and his horse Keldar had ridden far over a couple years: "from The Waste south even unto Trevamper, site of the Great Fair of the Dales".
p.421. Harlyn hears of Khemrys's transformation, now a few months past. A woman of Power sings a song about Khemyrs with sympathy for her plight and later tells Harlyn that he is to seek out Khemyrs as part of a pattern laid out by Gunnora (p.422). As he leaves he feels Khemyrs's eyes on him. (p.423)
p424. Years turning (into Year of the Orc). Month of the Snow-Bird.
p425. Month of the Frost Sprite.
p428. Was Year of the Harpy, now Year of the Orc.
p430. "Seeing them [the flames] brought to mind my mother's face, bending her will to See what lay ahead in the scrying bowl."⁵
p437. Harlyn reveals he is also a Were.

Sorcerer's Notes:

Khemrys's Age	Note Years⁶	GURPS Year	Timeline Year	Alizon Year	Event
-	Year of the Gryphon	Year of the Gryphon	Year of the Gryphon	1033	Tirath & Herwydin meet near Sorn Fen & marry
0	Year of the Fire Drake	Year of the Fire Drake	Year of the Fire Drake	1034	Khemrys born, Herwydin dies sometime this year.
1	Year of the Hornet	Year of the Hornet	Year of the Hornet	1035	Or Herwydin dies early this year.
2	Year of the Unicorn	Year of the Unicorn	Year of the Unicorn	1036
3	Year of the Red Boar	Year of the Red Boar	Year of the Red Boar	1037
4	Year of the Gargoyle	Year of the Fox Maiden	Year of the Hippogriff⁷	1038
11	Year of the Manticore	Year of the Kobold	Year of the Lamia	1045	Tirath dies
12	Year of the Barrow-Wight	Year of the Snow Cat	Year of the Chimera	1046
13	Year of the Cameoleopard	Year of the Horned Hunter	Year of the Sphinx	1047
14	Year of the Sphinx	Year of the Lamia	Year of the Harpy	1048	The old abbess dies near the end of this year and is replaced by an outsider, abbess Rosera.
15	Year of the Nix	Year of the Chimera	Year of the Orc	1049
16	Year of the Lamia	Year of the Harpy	Year of the Kobold	1050	Khemrys changes for the first time; she also turns 16 in the spring this year.⁸
17	Year of the Chimera⁹	Year of the Orc	Year of the Werewolf	1051¹⁰	Khemrys finally "captured" by Harlyn

For sake of completeness, the Coulson Index/GURPS/compiled timeline is continued here, but it's probably not necessary to include in the main table.

5	Year of the Mandrake	Year of the Phoenix	Year of the Roc	1039
6	Year of the Wyvern	Year of the Hippogriff	Year of the Basilisk	1040
7	Year of the Winged Bull	Year of the Roc	Year of the Black Adder	1041
8	Year of the Horn Worm	Year of the Basilisk	Year of the Gorgon	1042
9	Year of the Dragon Horse	Year of the Black Adder	Year of the Fox Maiden	1043
10	Year of the Gorgon	Year of the Frost Giant	Year of the Horned Hunter	1044

Footnotes:
1. Legacy from Sorn Fen
2. This would have to be after the Were-Riders joined the war in the Year of the Gryphon. see: Year of the Unicorn and Gryphon in Glory
3. Probably in spring of the Year of the Fire Drake.
4. Most likely late in the Year of the Fire Drake, though it could have been early in the Year of the Hornet too.
5. He goes on to mention that this was among his earliest training. This seems very odd. His age isn't mentioned but he seems not much older than Khemrys. Being a Were he'd have to either be among the original Riders or one of their children. However, Herrel seems the only hybrid among them and they certainly don't treat Gillan well after learning of her Power. In any case he'd have to be born the same year Khemrys was to be 16 here.
6. Andre Norton seems to have had a compilation of her own years for the series, which may be found here. Some years match with GURPS, others do not. I include them here because they do include a Year of the Sphinx, which GURPS does not.
7. Since Eydryth is born in the year of the Hippogriff and she needs to be 13 in the Year of the Werewolf (when Kethan is 14) this can't be any other year name.
8. It is warm enough for Khemrys to sneak outside without extra clothing and several months pass through the year. Harlyn notes that he chases Khemrys through the end of summer, through fall, and into winter. (p.428)
9. Followed in the notes by the Harpy, Orc, Werewolf, and Horned Cat
10. This plainly won't work given that Kethan was born in the Year of the Red Boar and is 14 in the Year of the Werewolf - which ought to be this year. There's no easy fix for this since the story basically adds in two years. At best the Year of the Harpy should be the Year of the Kobold and the Year of the Orc should be the Year of the Werewolf. There's no way to integrate her timeline otherwise without making her 14 in the Year of the Harpy. However, in the Gurps Timeline this works out fine. Given this story was written about the same time as the publication of GURPS, it's entirely probable the author was shown that timeline of years and used it. Given the use of the Year of the Sphinx (which appears in a timeline Norton made, but not in GURPS), it's possible she combined the two, since Coulson's Index doesn't quite follow the years Woolworth laid out either.

The Sorcerer’s recommend that you read next: Were-Hunter

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Formatted and Edited by Jay Watts ~ May, 2022

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