by B. V. Larson
-BVL
Brand:
The primary POV of the series, he starts off as a young, fairly innocent character and grows into a powerful hero. Nearly half the series is told from his point of view. He’s human and wields the Axe with Ambros the Golden embedded in it, a Jewel that gives magical combat powers. Brand must always struggle to maintain his humanity throughout the books, battling with the greed and bloodlust caused by the Jewels. He’s destined to save the world and become the king of humanity.
Corbin:
Brand’s cousin and companion. He serves to remind Brand of what he once was, a simple river-boy. He grows to become a leader of human troops.
Telyn:
Brand’s girlfriend and companion. She’s the major love-interest of the series. When adventuring, she’s a rogue with minor magical powers. She eventually becomes Brand’s wife and has children with him.
Gudrin:
The main character from the Kindred (Battle Axe Folk). She’s a skald (bard) and tells many of the stories that tie the present to the past and give backstory. Becomes the Queen of the Kindred and eventually wields Pyros the Orange Jewel.
Modi:
A tough, experienced warrior of the Kindred who teaches Brand how to fight and wants the Axe for himself. (Or any other power he can find). He has trouble controlling his baser urges. His greed drives him to strive with dragons in book 4.
Myrrdin:
He is the classic wizard based upon Merlin (who is a Welsh figure). He is a half-elf, bastard son of Oberon and a peace-maker between Elf and human in the first five books. He slowly turns from good to evil over the course of the series. He is screwed over by his father in book six, and becomes a villain in book seven. He wields Vaul, the Green Jewel of Life.
Oberon:
The King of the Elves. He’s extremely odd and tricky. Seems to be both ancient and young at the same time. He might kill for a laugh, or give a great gift he feels is justified. Sometimes wicked, sometimes good, always clever and strange. He possesses the Blue Jewel with power over storms at the start of the books, but loses it, which causes a war to break out.
Tomkin:
A wild Wee Folk character. These are leprechaun types, tiny scampering thieves. They behave somewhat like elves, but are less powerful or rational. Tomkin grows into a powerful ally for Brand by book six. He is one of the Wee Folk involved in stealing the Blue Jewel from Oberon.
Piskin:
A major villain. Piskin is pure evil from start to finish. A Wee Folk of the worst sort, a baby-stealing monster (a changeling) who becomes extremely powerful over the first five books. He gains control of the Red Jewel and wields Blood Magic in the fifth book. He is defeated in book five.
Puck:
An elf prince, son of Oberon. Falls in forbidden love with Mari. Dies fighting against the dead king in book six.
Mari:
A young female human caught up in horrific events. She becomes pregnant with Puck’s child and is sought by Piskin for her special half-breed child’s blood. Throughout the series, she plays a major role through no fault of her own. She does her best and grows up quickly.
Herla:
The big villain of the first three books. An Dead horseman who leads a company of followers. He owns the Lavender Jewel and the Bloodhound (the Red Jewel) at the start. Held in check by Oberon, he begins to hunt humans again when the elves lose their strength.
Old Hob:
A giant goblin lord. He’s a cowardly villain who can be bullied, but always tries to sneak and trick his way out of danger. He eventually gains control of the Lavender Jewel and uses it to sneak around and fly.
Twrog:
A half-wit giant who loves to eat pigs—especially smoked hams. He plays a small, but important, role in the early books. His story is tied to the history of the Green Jewel and is proof Myrrdin isn’t as pure as he pretends to be.
Voynod:
The Dark Bard. An undead crooner who serves Herla. He is a strong villain early on.
The White Lady:
An undead ghost with succubus-like powers. She has her own goals, but can be dealt with unlike most of the Dead.
King Arwan:
A thoroughly evil lich. King of the Dead. Plays a big part in book six, marshaling an army to march against the Haven. He wields the Death Jewel.
Trev:
Son of Puck and Mari, he’s a half-elf child with startling abilities and a fondness for adventure. He will gain the Quicksilver Jewel in book Eight, after participating in various adventures in books six and seven. By book nine, he’s a major companion of Brand’s.
Slet:
Slet starts off as an irritation, but by the end of the series becomes a force on his own. He does a lot of growing up and learns about the power and terror of the worst of the Jewels.
Morgana:
The arrival of the White Witch heralds the end of the series. She is manipulative and very powerful.
Appendix C: Mythological and Historical Characters
(Listed in the order of their appearance)
Author’s Note:
The world and peoples of the Haven Series were based upon the original fairy legends of the British Isles, plus some Norse material used as a basis for the Kindred and the Wurms. In most cases, I tried to make the characters and races in the books match up to the real beliefs of the average person in Northern Europe in the Dark Ages. Many of these tales were transcribed by Hans Christian Anderson, the Grimm brothers, but the core of my material comes from the original text of the Mabinogion. These stories are OLD, dating back at least to the Iron Age in Britain.
Similarities to other fantasy works are due to the fact that the other authors used the same source material. For example, Tolkien based his Black Riders on the Wild Hunt, which play a major part in the first three stories of the Haven books. Many authors have used an old wizard character, most of which are based upon Merlin (or Myrrdin in the Haven series, which is the welsh spelling of Merlin).
Many of the locations referenced, such as Mount Snowdon, can actually be found in northern Wales (“Cymru” in Welsh). I’ve visited most of them personally.
-BVL
Twrog:
Twrog was the name of a seventh century welsh saint, but in the oldest tales of folklore he was a giant who was said to have hurled a boulder down from a mountain into a village in anger. There is an actual stone in Wales known as Twrog’s stone, marking the spot where it landed.
Herla and the Wild Hunt:
The original Wild Hunt was an ancient mythological evil. Led by Herla in the English version, or Woden in the Germanic version, they were spectral and always terrifying. In various versions of the story they may be fairies or undead.
The bloodhound in the series is a direct translation of the myths surrounding Herla’s beginnings as a human king. Tricked by the king of the fairies, he was doomed to ride with his huntsmen and the blood-drinking hound for eternity.
Wee Folk:
The leprechauns of Ireland, the Pixies of Cornwall and the changelings were believed to be plaguing everyone in Britain until about a century ago when the old myths died out. In the Haven books, these characters are collected together into the race known as the Wee Folk. Changelings (such as Piskin in the books) were by far the most dastardly of the crew, as every parent who had a child that did not develop properly began to suspect it was a changeling in the old days. Exorcisms and worse things were often done to remedy the situation.
Brand:
Brand is based upon the Arthurian legends. Early on, he draws the Axe Ambros from a tree, just as Arthur pulled Excalibur from the anvil. His association with Merlin, however, and later on Morgana, definitely went in different directions when compared to the original texts.
Oberon:
Oberon (also spelled Auberon) was the king of the fairies in medieval myths. He appears most famously in Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. He was a major player in German, French and English myths for many centurie
s. Traditionally a trickster, a sorcerer and an elf, he was an enchanting villain and the root cause of many tragic tales. He generally appears as small, but very handsome, and sometimes is found riding a white goat.
Myrrdin:
Myrrdin is the welsh version of merlin. A commonly appearing character throughout European folklore is the mysterious wandering wizard. Gandalf the Grey, along with countless others, are shadows of this long tradition in literature. In the Haven series, Myrrdin is half-elf, and tortured by his divided heritage. He is good in some stories, evil in others, just as the sorcerers tended to be in legends.
Goblins:
Small, evil grotesques common throughout European folklore. Greedy, dangerous and possessing small magical abilities, Goblins have long played the part of the villains in countless old stories.
Shining Lady:
The Shining Lady is a succubus, and a ghost. She seduces men and leads them into folly with her supernatural charms. As in folklore, she invades the dreams of others as well as enchanting them while awake. In the books, Brand is continually plagued by the Shining Lady and her schemes.
Puck:
Puck is a mischievous character from common lore. An elf or hobgoblin, the name Puck is to be found in every northern European country’s folk stories. Barrie’s Peter Pan is an example of this type of character in literature. In almost every case, he appears as a prankster and a knave. Villagers were warned of his enticements and tricks via pamphlets in the 1600s.
In the Haven books, Puck starts off as an elf without a purpose other than indulging himself. But as the stories play out, he falls in love and becomes a responsible member of society.
The Wisps:
The ghostly lights known by a dozen names in a dozen lands, such as Will-o’-the-wisp, often mislead people into danger. In the Haven series, these are combined with stories of flying, colorful people who are tiny and friendly. Literary examples of this sort of thing would include Barrie’s Tinker Bell.
Old Hob:
A century or two ago, children were sternly warned concerning Old Hob. He bore a lantern and wandered marshlands. His lights would lead one astray from the safe path, often into a watery death in a swamp or pond.
Redcap:
Murderous, ghostly creatures, redcaps were said to haunt the ruins of castles destroyed in battle. They were vengeful spirits in the northern reaches of England, feared for their blood-stained caps which they had to dip into the living blood of victims in order to stay alive.
Gnomes:
The Gnomes in the Haven world are earth spirits. They are elementals unlike most of the races, which are more humanoid. In recent literature, they’ve become interchangeable with elves and dwarves, sort of a mixture of both. But in the Haven series they are much more alien and unnatural.
Snowdon:
Snowdon is a real mountain, the tallest mountain in the British Isles outside of Scotland. Snowdon is the mythological birthplace of the red dragon of Wales, which is on their flag to this day. The entire region of Snowdonia is probably one of the greatest centers of tales of monsters and legends that can be found anywhere in Europe. Many of the Haven stories center on the mountain, above and below ground, for just this reason.
Kobolds:
Kobolds were primarily a Germanic creature. They were generally small, and those that lived in mines were hunched and ugly. They were bestial at times, rather like goblins. The name for the element cobalt comes from kobold, as early miners blamed kobolds for creating the poisonous arsenical ores that cobalt is typically found in.
Fafnir:
Fafnir was a great dragon in Norse mythology, slain by the young hero Sigurd. The dragon guarded a horde of gold. In the myth, a fight broke out over who should have the gold after the dragon died, and some think this dragon’s story was retold in Tolkien’s Battle of the Five Armies after Smaug’s demise. In the Haven books, Fafnir possesses the Jewel Pyros, rather than gold.
King Arawn:
In Welsh mythology, Arawn ruled the otherworldly Kingdom of Annwn. He was king of the Dead, and often referred to as the death-lord.
Morgana, the White Witch:
A villain from Arthurian tales, Morgana (or Morgan le Fay) was a witch and an enchantress that used seduction and magic to achieve her ends. Like C. S. Lewis’ version of this character, mine isn’t a good-hearted soul.
End of Appendices
From Author: Thanks Reader! You have finished the Haven Series. If you enjoyed the books, please write a review or two to support the series and let new people know what’s in store for them.
-BVL
Be sure to read the rest of the Haven Series by B. V. Larson!
THE HAVEN SERIES
Volume I: Haven Magic
(First three books: Amber Magic, Sky Magic, Shadow Magic)
Volume II: Dark Magic
(Books 4 thru 6: Dragon Magic, Blood Magic, Death Magic)
Volume III: Dream Magic (Series finish)
UNSPEAKABLE THINGS SERIES
Technomancer
The Bone Triangle
Visit BVLarson.com for more information.
Table of Contents
Contents:
Book VII: Dream Magic
Appendix A: The Nine Jewels
Appendix B: Major Characters
Appendix C: Mythological and Historical Characters
