Night Angel (series)

The Night Angel Trilogy

The Way of Shadows Shadow's Edge Beyond the Shadows
Author	Brent Weeks
Cover artist	Illustrator: Calvin Chu Design: Peter Cotton
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy
Publisher	Orbit
Published	2008
Media type	Print (Mass Market Paperback)

The Night Angel Trilogy is a fantasy series written by Brent Weeks. The story follows the life of Kylar Stern as he struggles as a guild rat to become the ultimate wetboy, then tries to leave it all behind and finally becomes the avatar of justice: the Night Angel.

Plot summary

For a detailed synopsis of the novels, see the relevant article for each book.

Series

1. The Way of Shadows
2. Shadow's Edge
3. Beyond the Shadows

Characters in the series

Main article: List of characters from The Night Angel Trilogy

Setting

The story is set on the continent of Midcyru.

Magic

The Talent

The Talent is the magic most commonly used in Midcyru. A Talented individual must have three different components to be able to express their Talent outwardly. The first is their Glore Vyrden, or life magic. This is the reserve that stores the power that can be directed as the user wishes. The second component is the ability to refill one's glore vyrden when it's empty - if one doesn't possess it, then they can use magic only once or twice during their whole lives. A person with such an ability usually replenishes their glore vyrden by absorbing sunlight or light from other sources. The final component is a conduit allowing the use of one's Glore Vyrden however they desire. This conduit can be small or blocked, limiting the maximum amount of magic one can use at a single time. A non-existent conduit is the sign of a ka'karifer, one ready to bond and use the ka'kari artifacts.

Magus and Maja

In the series, a male mage is called a Magus, with Magi as its plural form. While a Maja is a female mage, with Magae as its plural form.

Red Magi

Red Magi tend to use fire magic. Solon Tofusin is an example of a powerful Red Mage.

Green Magi

Green Magi are Healers. Dorian Ursuul had trained with the Green Magi.

Blue Magi

Also known as the Makers, the Blue Magi specialize in the creation of magical artifacts. Feir Cousat is an example of a Blue Mage.

Ka'karifer

One who uses a ka'kari. Some Ka'karifers have no conduit for their Talent before bonding the ka'kari, but the ka'kari provide them with one. In this case a Ka'karifer is someone who calls a Ka'kari. However, if the ka'kari ever leaves the ka'karifer, as in the case of Durzo Blint, the conduit remains.

Vir

The vir is used by Meisters, Vürdmeisters and the Ursuul family. Vir users are also referred to as wytches, though this term insults them. When the people of Khalidor pray to Khali, their goddess, she takes a small portion of their glore vyrden and siphons it into her "reservoir" of magic; she then returns however much she desires back to them as vir. Like the Talent, it can act as an extension of the physical being. The difference between vir and Talent is that the vir is living, and has a measure of sentience, mostly because it is part of Khali. Many Meisters and Vürdmeisters who find themselves in harm's way will be protected by it unintentionally. It is described as a magical parasite. It opens new channels in the user's Talent, so initially a vir user will have stronger Talent, but the vir eventually consumes all the user's Talent permanently.

A Meister's or Vürdmeister's strength in the vir is measured in shu'ra. There are thirteen shu'ra; however, only the Godking can attain the thirteenth. The shu'ra is determined by how much of the body is covered by the vir, which appears as a black, living tatoo of vines on the body of a Meister. Usually only the wytch's arms show vir, but stronger vir users, such as Dorian and Garoth Ursuul, are almost completely covered in vir when they choose to display it. The Ursuuls are the only Meisters who can hide their vir and bring it to the surface of their bodies at will. According to Neph Dada, the Ursuuls are also capable of tearing the vir out of another wytch. Curoch also has the power to destroy the vir contained in a wytch's body.The Ursuul family's hidden vir can be stopped by stopping the physical expression of it, which appears to be the only weakness of their ability to hide their vir. The Ursuuls can control the vir but Khali controls the reservoir of vir.

Meisters

Meisters are the lowest rank and most common users of the vir. They usually do not display much on their arms. All ranking officials in Khalidor are at least Meisters, but most offices do not appear to take strength into great consideration. For example, Godking Wanhope's Keeper of the Dead is only a meister of the third shu'ra.

Vürdmeisters

Vürdmeisters are more powerful meisters. To become a Vürdmeister, a meister must pass at least the 10th shu'ra. Vürdmeisters are able to effectuate summons, while most meisters appear not to be able to.

Magical Artifacts

Ka'kari

Created by Ezra the Mad, based on the Black ka'kari that he discovered, and given to the Six Champions. They are described as a glowing, metallic balls. When the user desires, the ka'kari covers their body like a second skin and gives them power over a specific element. This is activated by crushing said mettalic ball which becomes a liquid and then covers the body. They also grant the user immortality, although they can still be killed in a way unaffiliated with the powers of their ka'kari. For example, the bearer of the silver ka'kari could be drowned or burned to death. The only known way of destroying a ka'kari is with the sword Curoch.

Black Ka'kari

The original ka'kari, it was found by Ezra. He tried to replicate it but was only able to make inferior copies. Not much is known about it, but it is ancient and extremely powerful. It is sentient in nature, so it chooses the user. It chose Acaelus Thorne over Ezra and Jorsin Alkestes. It can telepathically communicate with the bearer, and has an often sarcastic sense of humor, similar to Durzo's, presumably from spending seven hundred years with him. It is known as the Devourer and the Sustainer; it devours most things it touches, including magic, except for the bearer. The black ka'kari allows the bearer to become perfectly invisible to everyone except mages. It is also able to bring the bearer back to life after being killed. In doing so, the sacrifice of new life is ending anothers, this person being someone the bearer loved, either as friend or loved one. This death is not immediate but it is imminant.

Silver Ka'kari

Originally given to Arikus Daadrul. Once bonded, the silver ka'kari makes the user impervious to blades and other metals. The Globe of Edges in Cenaria was thought to be the silver ka'kari, but was a forgery. This could be the item that Garroth Urrsul wanted but is never made specific.

Red Ka'kari

Originally given to Corvaer Blackwell, also known as Corvaer the Red. Once bonded, the red ka'kari gives the user power over fire. It was hidden inside Mount Tenji by Durzo Blint in an attempt to keep it away from the Wolf. This action turned Mount Tenji into an active volcano.

White Ka'kari

Originally given to Trace Avagulania. Once bonded, the white ka'kari gives the user the power of glamour. Glamour being defined as a weave to give the bearer an illusion to others. Trace, reputed to be horribly ugly, became the most beautiful woman ever seen. Using the power given to her by the ka'kari, she became the Khalidorian goddess Khali.

Brown Ka'kari

Originally given to Oren Razin. Once bonded, the brown ka'kari gives the user power over the earth. The user can become a thousand-pound brute with skin made of stone. A much younger Durzo Blint gave it to the Wolf before deciding he needed to keep the artifacts safe from the Wolf.

Green Ka'kari

Originally given to Irenaea Blochwei. Once bonded, the green ka'kari gives the user power over plant life. It is believed to be somewhere in Ladesh.

Blue Ka'kari

Originally given to Shrad Marden. Once bonded, the blue ka'kari gives the user power over water. It also is said to allow the user to drain the liquid from a man's blood. It was thrown into the ocean by Durzo Blint, which created the Tlaxini Maelstrom.

Curoch ( The Sword of Power )

Created by Jorsin Alkestes and Ezra, it is the companion to Iures. It is also called the Sunderer and is said to give the wielder near-limitless power. The wielder can also change its appearance and shape at will. Because of its power, only a very strong magi or maja can wield it without killing themselves. It is coveted by many, and after being lost for ages it was found by Dorian Ursuul, Feir Cousat and Solon Tofusin. At the end of the series, it is either taken by Kylar Stern along with Iures or the Dark Hunter takes it back to Ezra's Wood.

Iures ( The Scepter of Law )

Created by Jorsin Alkestes and Ezra the day before Jorsin's demise and it is the companion to Curoch. It gives the wielder the power to make and undo extremely complicated weaves with ease. It also has the power to record any weaves created near it and it remembers those weaves forever. Like Curoch, the wielder can also change Iures' appearance and shape at will. Durzo Blint and Kylar both use Iures disguised as the sword Retribution.

Ceur'caelestos ( The Blade of Heaven )

Ceur'caelesetos, or Blade of Heaven, is the Ceuran's legendary sword. Ceuran Law states that the bearer of the Blade of Heaven is King of Ceura. The sword is made of pure mistarille. There is a dragon on each side of the blade with a gap at the mouth, from which fire is produced whenever danger or magic is near. On the hilt there is a mark of two crossed war hammers. The hilt also contains a very large and pure red ruby. It first appears when Feir is running from Lantano Garuwashi and he has to confront him with Curoch. Curoch takes on the appearance of this blade, which Lantano Garuwashi takes from Feir. Kylar then steals the blade and throws it into Ezra's Wood. Feir enters the Wood to retrieve it, and receives instructions on how to recreate Ceur'caelestos. He then travels to Black Barrow and forges a perfect replica of the sword, which he gives to Garuwashi. However, the replica does not breathe fire like the original, as Feir cannot find a ruby to bind the necessary magic into. Immediately before the inspection of the sword by a Ceuran mage, Solon brings a suitable ruby to Garuwashi, completing the sword. Thus, Ceur'caelestos existed only as a legend before Feir forged it.

Politics

Legitimate rulers

High King

The prophesied king to become ruler of all the realm. He was born on a special day and has a moon dragon on his arm. Logan Gyre assumes the title of High King, becoming the overlord of Khalidor, Lodricar, Cenaria and Ceura.

Godking

The ruler of Khalidor from the Ursuul bloodline. Godkings are the only meisters capable of reaching the thirteenth shu'ra. They have a high degree of control over the vir and are able to rip out the vir of other meisters.

Royal titles

Most of Midcyru's countries are monarchies ruled by kings (Cenaria, Friaku), queens (Waeddryn), emperors (Seth) or regents (Ceura).

Criminal Underworld

Sa'kagé

The Sa'kagé are the criminal underworld of various cities across Midcyru, the most powerful and evident one being Cenaria's and the least powerful being in Caernarvon. In Cenaria they control all of the crime in the city, including the prostitution, smuggling, assassinations, the guilds, etc. In the first book Durzo Blint is also controlled by the Cenarian Sa'kage. They are also the reason that Khalidor didn't invade Cenaria straight away, the Sa'Kage controlled everything and the royalty controlled next to nothing, Khalidor wanted to control the Sa'Kage to allow them to take Cenaria in a single attack. The word "Kagé" means the Shadow. Sa'kagé means Lords of the Shadow.

Shinga
The Shinga is the head of the Sa'kagé. Momma K was the Cenarian Shinga for over fifteen years, hiding behind various puppet Shingas to keep her identity a secret. She gave up her title to Jarl, who declared himself Shinga and was supported by Momma K. Consequently, many of those who knew the identity of the real Shinga thought Jarl was only another puppet. After Jarl's assassination, Momma K assumes the role of Shinga again, while conspiring with Logan Gyre to get rid of the Sa'kagé at the same time.

The Nine
The council to the Cenarian Shinga, consisting of nine of the most important Sa'kagé members. The Nine and the wetboys are the only people who know the true Shinga's identity. They are all given title though not all are brought to light. One of the known titles is Master of Coin which Count Drake used to hold until he left th Sa'kagé (being the only one to do so and live, as said by Blint himself). Another being the Mistress of Pleasures which Momma K holds. This means that she is in control of all the brothels and the employees that staff them. This also means that she is the head of intelligence for the Sa'kagé.

Wetboys

Wetboys are the perfect killers that use the Talent. Wetboys despise common assassins, as an assassin has a target, because assassins sometimes miss. Also assassins have targets, wetboys have deaders, because once a wetboy accepts a contract that person's days are numbered. Wetboys are like assassins like a tiger is a cat.

Religion

The Night Angels

The bearer of the black ka'kari is considered the Night Angel. The Night Angels have the three faces of Vengeance, Mercy and Justice.

The Hundred Gods

Most peoples of Midcyru believe in the Hundred Gods or at least in some of them. Priests to the Hundred Gods are called hecatonarchs.

Nysos

One of the Hundred Gods. Nysos is the god of semen, blood and wine, and all potent liquids, Nysos is considered by Durzo Blint to be a lie, just like all the other gods. However, he is the only deity worshipped by wetboys. Nysos has a large following in Seth, where wine is their economy's mainstay.

The One God

The One God is never referred to as being the god of any particular religion, and characters throughout the series that worship The One God are also never referred to as being part of any particular religion. The One God's name affirms that it is a Monotheist religion. There are similarities that The One God shares with the God that is worshiped in many religions today. (Particularly the Christian God, as Elene once spoke from actual scripture that is located in the Holy Bible.) The One God is also referred to many times as just "God".

Khali

Worshipped by the people of Khalidor. It turns out that Khali is Trace, the bearer of the white ka'kari; however, the relation between Khali and the Strangers isn't totally clear. Dorian said that Khali was just an ally of the strangers. Trace may have allied herself with one of the Strangers when Durzo used the black ka'kari's magic to kill her. Khali uses the power of the Ka'kari's compulsion powers to control Khalidor and others.

Vürdmeisters' summoning magic

There are many creatures that are only created by Vurdmeisters.

Ferali

A Ferali is a fearsome and terrible creature created from the bodies and souls of tortured prisoners. A ferali has the ability to absorb living creatures into its body and use the bones and tissue to become larger and more powerful. It is covered in mouths that will trap and consume a victim alive after even the slightest contact. A ferali is not bound to one shape but can change to any shape it pleases as to use the bones more effectively. When a ferali is created then the creator must host a stranger. Garoth Ursuul hosts two strangers, Lust and Pride. They are fearsome in battle as most magic is simply deflected and any wound heals instantly. A ferali can be "ridden" or possessed by a powerful user of vir and used against his enemies. If a ferali is not consuming others it will consume itself, and eventually die. Two of the Ferali in the Trilogy are Tatts and Lily, both prisoners form the deepest level of the Maw, the Hole. Kylar Stern loses an arm to a ferali before it is killed.

Krul

Krul are created by binding the spirit of demons known as Strangers into human bones. A krul is like a zombie in that it doesn't feel pain or fear and can be raised again after being killed, however, a krul needs to eat to sustain its energy. The bones do not have to be in human shape, however, and many krul have been created by placing human bones into the shape of a horse or dog. This is more difficult, however, because they wish to be in the form of a human, not an animal. Then, if they are given clay and water, they can form muscle, flesh, and ligaments around the bones. Once they are formed, they become living beings. They eat, they sleep, and they defecate. They do not feel as other creatures do.

Krul can speak, but not very well. They can see better in the dark, but they cannot see as far, presumably because eyes are difficult to create. As such they are poor archers. While they can feel fear, they almost never do because they know that if their physical body dies that they will most likely be remade sometime in the future. A krul is almost perfectly obedient. They have a powerful hate toward the living, powerful enough that it overrides their sense of self preservation. If a krul is locked in a room with a person, and are told that if they kill the person that they will die as well, the krul will always choose to kill and die in turn. This was carried out with both men and women, even children. The krul cannot create anything, even weapons of war. They only exist to destroy. They eat human flesh, and it seems to make them stronger.

The Strangers use a base 13 number system and it confines the krul to a certain order. A meister can lead 12 krul himself, but to lead 13, he must master a white krul called daemon. Daemons are fast, over 6 feet tall, and take more magic to create. 13 krul form a squad. A platoon is composed of 13 squads, or 169 krul and therefore 13 daemons. To control the 13 daemons a bone lord must be raised. The bone lords speak well, they possess more intelligence and they can used talent-based magic. 13 bone lords make a legion, to control a legion a fiend must be raised. 13 fiends make an army, which is 28,561 krul. To lead an army, the raising of an arcanghul is necessary. To lead 13 armies, a Night Lord must be raised. It is said that with a Night Lord, Khalidor conquered most of the Freeze. Legend says that when Roygarius Ursuul had raised 13 Night Lords, slaughtering more than 5 million people, Khali came into the world.

Ferozi

Yet another foul creature that can be conjured by meisters. They are only mentioned by name.

Titan

A Titan is a huge creature possessed by a Stranger. Like krul, Titans can be raised over and over by meisters. Titans look like blue-skinned men from the front, with huge leathery wings, spikes along their spine, and a rat-like tail. In battle, they are surrounded by Red strangers referred to as fire ants. The Fire ants fight with very sophisticated techniques.

Pit wyrm

A pit wyrm can be summoned by a Vürdmeister of sufficient power. The wyrm is preceded by a small white flying homunculus which is released on the target. After several seconds, the fabric of space is ripped apart and the wyrm appears to devour the homunculus and anything around it. The wyrm itself is difficult to destroy, however, the homunculus can be misdirected so that the wyrm doesn't do the intended damage. A direct confrontation between pit wyrm and ferali at Pavvil's Grove has shown that a grown-out ferali can defeat a pit wyrm.

References

Official Homepage of The Night Angel Trilogy

Orbit Books (publisher)