An Index of Andre Norton’s Witch World pt. 9

Compiled by Juanita Coulson (1996)
Commissioned by Andre Norton for the writing of
“The Warding of Witch World”

 

 

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SECTION III Titles Wh > Z

TITLE  WRITTEN BY APPEARS IN

REFERENCE

ABBREVIATION

Whispering Cane

Carol Severance

Tales of the WW 3

Whisper                           

The White Road

Charles de Lint

Tales of the WW 1

Whiter

Witch World

Andre Norton

 

WW

Wolfhead

Michael D. Winkle

Tales of the WW 3                 

Wolf

Year of the Unicorn               

Andre Norton                      

 

Yofu

Zarsthor’s Bane

Andre Norton

 

Zar



"Whispering Cane"
by Carol Severance
in Tales of the Witch World 3

Major Characters
Keron = Chieftain of outlaw warriors. His forebears were from Rimsdale. He made a pact with evil magic to rule Lelanin.
Sionna = Of Old Ones' blood. All her male kin killed by invaders, her newborn daughter by Keron's magic.
Tammon = Sionna's elderly aunt, who reared her. Priestess.
Tersan = Sionna's mate, killed by Alizonder invaders.

Locales
Lelanin Valley = Cane-rich. Had traded peacefully for years with Rimsdale. Entry to Lelanin's secret bay unknown even to the Sulcar.
Rimsdale = Keron's seacoast holding. Its first dwellers had lived with Old Ones.

Magic
red stone = In Keron's sword hilt -- a talisman of his pact with the Dark.

Customs
Lelanin grief burial = -- See General Info.: Customs

Object
Lelanin Chieftain's feathered crest = Keron wore one at the mourning feast, to Sionna's outrage.

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"The White Road"
by Charles de Lint
in Tales of the Witch World

Major Characters
Saren = Sixteen. A bony inn slavey. Cut her hair, took alias "Sardul," and followed Carnen along the White Road.
Carnen = A former hire sword in Jorby. Had a crippled leg. A wise Woman advised him to seek the White Road.
Gunnora = -- See General Info.
Kurnous = -- See General Info.

Locales
Nordendale = Where Saren grew up.
Hall of the Henge = Inhabited by ghosts of the selfish dead.
Herdsman's Halt inn = In Nordendale. Saren worked there.

Minor Characters
Andnor = wise woman who sent Carnen on his quest.
Abear = Forwood's son.
Big Ran Jenner = Of Nordendale. Gaunt, after the war.
Bindon = Herdsman living three days' march north of Forwood's. Forwood advised Saren to try there for room and board.
Capper = Of Nordendale. Lost his legs in the war.
Elsdon = Of Jorby. Hired swords to fight under him.
Erard = Saren's betrothed. Fell at Battle of Ruther's Pass.
Forwood = Friendly herdsman "Sardul" met on her trek.
Gully = Nordendale warrior. Returned from war with arm in sling.
Nichol = Son of Theodric of Nordendale; returned alone from the war, bearing his father's axe.
Signe = Forwood's wife.
Theodric = Of Nordendale, killed in the war.
Torrie = Daughter of Forwood and Signe.

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“Witch World”
by Andre Norton

Major Characters
Simon Tregarth = Tall, slim, black hair ageless, thin-lipped, long face. Cornish ancestors. Born in Matacham, PA, a mining town. Enlisted U.S. Army 3/10/39. Lieutenant Colonel serving with Berlin's occupation forces until framed and imprisoned.
Jaelithe = Slender, ivory-colored skin, long black hair, dark eyes, triangular face. Witch jewel: an oval crystal.
Koris = Captain of Estcarp's Guard; son of Hilder. Handsome face, blue-green eyes, wheat-yellow hair. Abnormally short powerful chest and shoulders, narrow waist, slender legs, long arms. Calls
himself Koris the Misshapen, the Ugly, or the Ill-Fashioned.
Loyse = Daughter of Fulk mother-right inheritance to Verlaine. Small, slim, narrow, long-fingered hands, a fine-boned face. Lank, yellow-white hair worn in thick braids -- before she had assumed disguise as "Briant".

Locales
Alizon
Estcarp
Karsten
River
Tor Marsh
Aliz = Opposite Sulcarkeep on the bay.
Es
Eyrie of the Falconers
Garthholm on the River = Karsten town Simon bypassed when he was mind-summoned by Jaelithe and hurrying on to Kars.
Hole of Volt = On Karsten's west coast, north of Verlaine Keep.
Kars
Sippar
Sulcarkeep = On Nw tip of Estcarp's western peninsula. Walls and watchtowers guard land side; seaward walls ran straight down to waterline; rock arms protected its harbor. A power projector of technology unknown to Simon supplied heat and light and was used to destroy the port to prevent its falling into Kolder hands.
Verlaine Keep = Karsten coastal fortress between two rugged capes.
Yle = Kolder's mysterious outpost on Estcarp's western peninsula. Guarded by invisible barrier.

Minor Characters
Aldis = Duke Yvian's mistress the real power behind Karsten's throne. An innocent-looking wanton velvety voice.
Bettris = Fulk's mistress; dark-eyed, plump, sharp little teeth.
"Briant" = Loyse's Disguise-name and form: a youthful blank shield.
Caluf = Ingvald's man. Challenged the "false Falconer" later helped Simon backtrail that imposter.
Donnar = A soldier escorting Aldis to "the Wise Woman of Kars".
Duarte = Member of old Karsten nobility sent to arrange Loyse's marriage. Small, thin; a tic constantly twitching his lower lip.
Faltjar of the Southern Gate = Leader of Falconer party who met Simon's group. Later captured by "man-buyers" of Gorm.
Firtha = A maid Aldis sent to ask preliminary questions of "The Wise Woman of Kars".
Fulk = Loyse's father a younger son of Farthom, in Karsten's northern hills. By marriage, was Master of Verlaine Keep as long as his daughter lived, or until he sired a son. (If she died before then, he lost the holding to her mother's kinsmen.) Flamboyant; red-gold hair, well-cut but fleshy features.
Garnit = One of two youths of Karsten's minor nobility beaten by captors before being sold to the "man-buyers" of Gorm.
Guardian = Leader of Estcarp's witches.
Halsfric = Soldier escorting Lady Aldis. Searched quarters of "The Wise Woman of Kars".
Hanson = Simon's chief enemy on Earth.
Herlwin = Koris's former comrade; converted to zombie by Kolder.
Hilder = Late Lord Defender of Gorm. 1st wife: A Torwoman, Koris' mother. 2nd: Orna, seamaster's daughter, mother of Uryan.
Hunold = Lord Commander of Kars. Yvian's comrade during their mercenary days. Smooth-cheeked, fox-faced courtier appointed to witness the ax marriage. Won possession of Jaelithe on a bet.
Ingvald = Karstenian; Simon's Lieutenant after the Horning.
Jivin = Riding master serving with Koris fellow survivor of the escape from Sulcarkeep.
Jothen = Karsten Shieldman. With Marc, brought the bound Jaelithe into Fulk's hall at Hunold's order.
Karn = One of the best scouts in Simon's border troop.
Kotchev = Assassin Simon eliminated before he met Jorge Petronius.
Lampson = Another assassin, "dealt with efficiently" by Simon.
Lathor = Scout in Simon's border command.
Lord of Wings = Falconers' Leader.
Magnis Osberic = Master Trader of Sulcarkeep; sought Estcarp's aid against Gorm and the Kolder. Big, ruddy, with bushy eyebrows and a tawny mustache. Wore bear helm and bear hide cape.
Marc = Karsten Shieldman accompanying ducal agents to Verlaine.
Midir = Soldier of Gorm; converted into a zombie ambusher.
Nalin of the outer heights = Chief of Falconers; met Koris' party and Simon after they left the Hole of Volt.
Orna = Hilder's well-dowered second wife, mother of Uryan. When Hilder died, she invited the Kolder onto Gorm.
Petronius, Dr. Jorge = Keeper of Siege perilous. Small, urbane, wore thick-lensed glasses.
Reston = Youth of Old Race killed by Karsten captors who later sold his two friends to "man-buyers" of Gorm.
Sarcasi = A previous "client" of Dr. Petronius.
Sammy = A dangerous assassin newly-assigned to trail Simon. .
Sandar of Alizon = Estcarp's foe; a target of the Game of Power.
Santu = Soldier serving with Treqarth during the time of rivings.
Siric = Title: Reverend Voice. Elderly, paunchy, red-faced priest. The Temple of Fortune's witness of Loyse's ax marriage to Yvian.
Tandis = Falconer, former marine captured by "man-buyers".
Tunston = Koris' senior under officer, posted to the Guardian's Great Keep reliable but unimaginative.
Uryan = Son and heir of Hilder; Koris' half-brother.
Volt = Old One. Legendary leader of a humanoid avian race which came to Witch World before man. "Volt of the Ax"; "Volt who throws thunders". His corpse: a beaky nose, sharp—pointed chin, deep-set eyes, hair growing to a peak-crest     (bound with an upright plume), hands with ring-laden claws, holding a huge ax.
Vortgin = Attache of Estcarp's embassy in Kars warned Jaelithe to flee the chaos which would follow Yvian's Horning edict.
Vortimer = Estcarp's Ambassador to Karsten; fled the Horning.
Waldis = Boy from a Karsten border homestead; followed his master, Ingvald, into Simon's service.
“Wise Women of Kars” = Name and guise Jaelithe assumed in Kars.
Wolverstein = A previous "client" of Dr. Petronius.
Yvian = Duke of Karsten, a former mercenary.

Magic
Game of Power = Runic symbols painted on a table: A brown and gold hawk represented the Kolder lord of Gorm a red square encasing a horned fish = Fulk of Verlaine a blue-green diamond framing a fist holding an ax = Aldis of Karsten. Small manikins of these subjects were passed through sweet smoke, then placed on the runes symbolizing their living counter-parts. The witches, Simon, and "Briant" held models while the Guardian instructed them to "think now upon the one between whom and you has been the trial of power or tie of blood. Put from your mind all else but this one whom you must reach and bend." When the Game was complete, all but one of the models' heads had been deformed, and their counterparts came under the witches' control.
Shape-changing magic = -- See General Info.     Used when Jaelithe and her companions were trapped in Kars.
Place of Power = Deep within Verlaine Keep. A residue of old magic forced Jaelithe and Loyse up wide, rough-hewn stone steps to a flat block marked by sinister grooves; this opened under a break in the roof.
Siege Perilous = Stone of Power; found by Arthur and Merlin and incorporated into Round Table. Jorge Petronius rediscovered the it: Three unpolished, unshaped, angular gray stones formed an arch; a fourth stone, the seat, lay below. The far Gate into Witch World = two red stone pillars.
Water Spell = -- See General Magic.
Witch jewel = -- See Web and General Info.

Customs and Expressions
Ax marriage
Blank shield = Loyse took that disguise, and the alias "Briant".
Hand of the Over Guardian = Estcarpian reference to deity.
Nornan = A deity Koris swore by, vowing not to return to Gorm.
Oath of the Sword and Shield, Blood and Bread = Warriors' vow. Used by Falconers, and by Simon's fighters seeking hospitality: "I ask of you now the shelter given when two war not upon each other, but live commonly by the raised blade."
Peace of the Highways = -- See General Info.
Rats of Nore = A curse: "May the Rats of Nore forever gnaw him night and day."
Stone of Engis = A sacred object Karstenians swear by.
Three Times Horning = Pogrom against the Old Race. Duke Yvian's messengers announced the edict with blasts on a silver plated horn.

Animals / Creatures
Alizonian war dogs = Lean, snake-headed hounds ran with boneless fluidity. were pursuing Jaelithe when Simon met her.
Assassin beast = Small, deadly creature; tried to kill Jaelithe while she and Simon hid from hunters. Curved, white, needle-sharp teeth set in flat, narrow head furred body. Intelligent red eyes glowed with hate for intended victims. Trilled and hissed.
False hawk = Construct sent to spy on Simon's party. Genuine skin and feathers; innards a mass of delicate metal fittings, wheels, wires, and a motor of alien design. An Outworld invention.

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"Wolfhead"
by Michael D. Winkle
in Tales of the Witch World 3

Major Characters
Wylona = Heir of Ellskeep, daughter of Torak and Amiell trained as a fighter.
Amarrok = Lived among Old Ones; lay in ensorcelled sleep for ages. Wolf's head, long, spindly arms and legs, plumelike tail, and furred body with white band on chest and stomach. Bipedal or quadruped.
Belita = Ellskeep's wise woman and wylona's friend.

Locales
Dragonsback = Outlaws' lair; stronghold of the Shadow. Built on a cliff face, a cave of the Dark within.
Blue Temple = Of turquoise stone. Arched entry; single chamber had two windows: north and south. Shrine along west wall.
Ellskeep = Of Ellsdale. Bordered Waste on north and west.
Lormill = Village near Ellskeep.
Ronansdale = South of Ellsdale, whose refugees sought haven there.

Minor Characters
Akria = Gnarrel's mother and leader of a pack.
Alvred = One of Kegan's guardsmen.
Amiell = Wylona's mother; died twelve years before the invasion.
Bittard = Outlaw serving Shekkar.
Ghislain = Lord of Ronansdale. Friendly to Ellskeep.
Gnarrel = Leader of the pack in Amarrok's absence.
Gwart = Amarrok's mentor in ancient times. He persuaded his followers to avoid the Great Wars' chaos through "sleep".
Kegan = Captain of Ellskeep's Guard.
Leofric = One of Kegan's guardsmen.
Lady Nabora = Torak's cousin; accompanied Wylona in the flight.
Shekkar = Outlaw leader who wore only wolf pelts; Amarrok's foe.
Tarak = Late Lord of Ellskeep. Of Sulcar ancestry.
Lady Varda = Torak's cousin, accompanied the flight from Ellskeep.

Magic
Turguoise amulets = Given to Wylona by Amarrok; she distributed them among her people.
wolf effigy = The pot in which it lay emitted red smoke. Poorly made, the effigy fooled the Dark into taking Sherrek instead of Amarrok.

Things
Creeping plaque = Tarok's elder brother died of it.
The Alliance = of Lords Imgry, Savron, and Wintof, to defeat Alizon.
dagger = Amarrok gave one to Wylona: had a wolfshead-shaped pommel.

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“Year of the Unicorn”
by Andre Norton

Minor Characters
Gillan = Old Race features, black braids. "No beauty". was captive child on Alizonian ship, then fostered in Lord Furlo's household, then at Norstead Abbey.
Herrel = "The Wronqhanded". Tall, slim, with green eyes under slanting brows and black hair. were form: snowcat his mask-helm, sword pommel-head, and belt buckle were carved snowcats. Mother:
Eldris of Car Do Prawn's Redmantle Clan; Father: Hyron.
Halse = "The Strongarmed". Slightly taller than Herrel and wide-shouldered. Red-eyed. Were form: red bear.
Hyron = Captain of the were-Riders' Pack, and Herrel's father. were form: war stallion.

Locales
Arm of Sparn = (Hh) Landmark on the brides' route north.
Car Re Dogan = (Arv) Ruined fortress against evil, raised by wizardry in ancient times.
Casterbrook = (Hh) Landmark on brides' route.
Croffkeep = (Hh) Brides stayed there overnight a mountain fort, half-manned since the war.
Dimdale = (Hh) North of the Abbey.
Falcon Fist = (Hh) A crag east of Norstead.
Fast Ridge = (Hh) Visible from the Abbey.
Gorge of Ravenswell = (Hh) North of Norsdale.
The Gray Towers = (Arv) Home of the Were-Riders.
Harrowdale = (Hh) North. Road narrowed there. Isolated farms.
Hockerdale = (Hh) Further north. Sharp descent into valley.
Neave's Fane = (Arv) Sorcery for evil purposes cannot exist there; it lies half the land away from The Gray Towers.

Minor Characters
Were-Riders = Hyron: Pack Leader, Were-stallion; Herrel, snowcat; Halse = were-bear; Hulor = were-boar; Harl; Hisin.
Dame Alousan = Norstead Abbey's healer and medicine maker.
Aldeeth = were bride from southland. Family badge: salamander.
Alianna = Were's bride.
Lady Eldris = Of Redmantle Clan; seduced by Hyron. Their son Herrel rejected by her family when he began shapeshifting.
Lady Gralya = Wife of Lord Jerret, a notorious skirt lifter; so Gralya sent her pretty sister Kildas off to be a Were's bride.
Lord Furlo of Thantop = Fostered Gillan. Killed by invaders.
Lady Freeza = Furlo's widow. Fled to Norstead Abbey; died there.
Hounds of Alizon = who captured Gillan: Captain = squinty eyes, big nose Smarkle; Thacomber; Macik; Yacmik.
Lord Imgry = High Hallack's war leader, the bride's escort.
Kildas = Harl's bride. Voluptuous.
Past-Abbess Malwinna = -- See Crys
Marimme = Imgry's near-kin; family crest: hippogryph. Hysterical would-be Were's bride. Gillan took her place.
Neave = An Old One. -- See General Info.
The Seven Lords = Were-Riders probably would serve them, in time.
Solfinna = Of Wasscott Keep. Thin, poorly dressed Were's bride.
Sussia = Coastal Heiress. Helped Gillan take Marimme's place.
Lady Tolfana = Plain, sharp-tongued, high-born; not chosen.
Abbess Yulianna = Head of Norstead Abbey.

Peoples and Races
Were-Riders = A very old people. Once had few limits to powers: until they loosed what they could not rule. were made wanderers for a set number of years until stars reached new patterns. Then the Weres could seek Arvon's gate and ask for re-admittance.
The Four Clans = (Arv) Redmantle, Goldmantle, Bluemantle, and Silvermantle. Live very long lives; otherwise close kin to humans.
River and Lake race = (Arv) (Krogan?)
Woods and Forest race = (Arv)

Magic
cloak-spell = A pleasant, masking illusion. The Weres took weapon-oath to abide by that with their brides.
Fetches = Simulacrums of the living, appearing to those who are away, generally foretelling death.
Herbs = Gillan's amulet herbs, in a rune•stitched pouch, were angelica, purple mallow, ivy leaf, and rowan berries. She also carried moly, to break illusions.
Mirror magic = Mirrors are said to kill demons.
recalling spell = -- See General Magic
screamer = A thing of Dark Power which prevents Weres' returning to human forms. The length of a forearm, it emits shrill, piercing high notes. Broken, it dissolves in stinking, oily black smoke.
The Setting Up of the Kings = Rulers of an Elder Age, ensorcelled Guardians of Arvon, buried standing, looking ever outward. Their successors abide among them for a night when needing council.
Weres' banishment spell = -- See General Magic

Terms, Expressions, and Customs
The Great Bargain = Pact between the Lords of High Hallack and the Were-Riders -- brides in exchange for war alliance.
That Which Abides = Omnipotent force; deity.
hinder-cord = Produces seeming lameness in a horse.
Fold Gather = Where lords offer their daughters to suitors.
Year's Turn = -- See Customs
Bride feast = Couple eats from single plate.
Heraldic House badges = Wyvern, basilisk, salamander, phoenix.
"A stoat introduced to a house of hens..."
"By the Horns of Khather" (Alizonian oath)
Abby Hours = Hour of the Fifth Flame
                          Hour of Last Light
                          Hour of Great Silence

Animals and Creatures
Rathkas = Mare Herrel gave Gillan to ride.
Roshan = Herrel's stallion -- dappled grey-brown. Its horsecloth was a snowcat's skin.
wenzal = Creature of the Dark. Cowardly when alone, but often hunts in packs. Furred, scaled wolf-thing with a mane of stiffened spines. Shape-shifts to small, brown, scale-covered beast one-third its larger form, wearing a travesty of a human head.

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“Zarsthor’s Bane”
by Andre Norton

Major Characters
Brixia = Survived fall of the House of Torgus in Moorachdale. Sun-browned and scarred dark blond shoulder-length hair.
Dwed = Fostered in Eggarsdale. Younger son of the Marshal of Itsford. Carried Lord Marbon's shield after Jartar died.
Eldor = Lord in Varr, he made a pact with a Dark Power to curse Zarsthor and all his line.
Lord Marbon = Lord of Eggarsdale, his wits disarrayed by grief. Tall, dark, slanting brows, cropped dark hair. A shambling gait.
Uta = The cat accompanying Brixia. Grey-blue, soft, thick fur; eyes sparked red at night.
Zarsthor = Ancient enemy of Eldor, locked in eternal struggle with him, baring his Sword of Mind and Will's shield against the Bane.

Locales
An-Yak = City within water, where Marbon sought the Bane.
Eggarsdale = Marbon's isolated border home near The Waste.
Kathal = Eldor's hall.
The Pass of Ungo = Where Marbon was hurt and Jartar slain.
Moorachdale = Brixia's home.
Torgus = Brixia's House, named for an illustrious ancestor.

Minor Characters
Hamel = Former servant at Eggarsdale.
Jartar = Marbon's foster-brother, killed in battle at the Pass of Unqo twelve months before the story opens.
Kuniggod = Brixia's nursemaid. She rose from sickbed (Deep Chill) to see Brixia safe out of Moorachdale when the keep was overrun. Died at the nearby moon shrine.
Lalana = Green-haired lady at the feast in Eldor's hall.
Lonan = Soldier healed by Jartar's herb skills.
Shaver = Former servant at Eggarsdale.

Magic
Banishing chant = "Blood to bind, blood to sow, blood to pay, So it is demanded" (to break the evil vines' spell). ,
Harvesting chant = "For my use, spare me of your bounty, green sister. Rich is your store, the fruit of your body... That which you freely give, that alone shall I take."
White Heart = The magic flower Bixia plucked from the tree.
Zarsthor's Bane = Also known as Star Bane: An oval stone filmed over by Shadow, bespelled and encased in a box.

Terms and Phrases
By the Fangs of Oxtor = Used by Dwed.
Llan's Stone = A thing of Power, bested by Torgus, Brixia's ancestor, a victory celebrated ever since in song.

Creatures
Bird woman of the Waste = Grotesquely female, feathered breasts, with flight feathers at her wrists. Taloned, four-fingered hands and avian feet. Crested and tailed. Her enemies: serpentlike desert dwellers.
Bug-eating glants = grey-red in color.
leapers = Rabbits
six-legged lizards
Thas

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The End of Witch World Dictionary


Source Material is from the Andre Norton Collection archived at the Cushing Memorial Library @ Texas A&M University

Reproduced on this website by permission of the Andre Norton Estate


Copyright ~ Estate of Andre Norton
Online Rights - Andre-Norton.com
Donated by - Estate of Andre Norton

 Digitized and edited by Jay P. Watts aka: “Lotsawatts” ~ May 2017

Duplication (in whole or parts) of this document for profit of any kind NOT permitted.

 

 

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