Riddle of Stars by Patricia A. McKillip
"Riddle of Stars" is a fantasy trilogy that follows the journey of Morgon, the Land Ruler of Hed, who bears three mysterious stars on his forehead. The narrative begins with Morgon winning the hand of Raederle through a riddle game but soon finds himself under attack by Shape Changers, who are responsible for his parents' deaths. As he embarks on a quest to marry Raederle, he discovers his role as the Star Bearer after receiving a sword from the revived children of the Earth Masters. In the second volume, "Heir of Sea and Fire," Raederle seeks answers about her own inherited magical powers while trying to protect Morgon from the relentless pursuit of the Shape Changers and the wizard Ghisteslwchlohm. The third part, "Harpist in the Wind," sees Morgon and Raederle navigating dangers in the High One's Realm, culminating in a climactic battle that reveals deeper truths about their powers and the nature of the Shape Changers. Ultimately, Morgon’s journey leads to a resolution that brings peace to his realm, after confronting the complex legacy of his ancestry and the lawlessness of the Shape Changers. This trilogy intricately weaves themes of destiny, power, and the struggle for understanding within a richly imagined world.
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Riddle of Stars
First published: 1979 (contains The Riddle-Master of Hed, 1976; Heir of Sea and Fire, 1977; and Harpist in the Wind, 1979)
Type of work: Novels
Type of plot: Fantasy—high fantasy
Time of work: Undefined but resembling medieval Europe
Locale: The High One’s Realm
The Plot
Riddle of Stars was first published in three separate volumes. The Riddle-Master of Hed concerns itself primarily with Morgon, the Land Ruler of Hed, a young man with three mysterious stars on his forehead. Morgon has won a riddle game with a dead king, entitling him to the hand of Raederle, the second most beautiful woman in An. When he leaves Hed to ask Raederle to marry him, he is attacked repeatedly by Shape Changers. Morgan discovers that the Shape Changers were responsible for the deaths of his parents, who were trying to bring him a harp with three stars. The Shape Changers are wild and lawless killers. They do not care whom they hurt as they pursue and harass Morgan.
Under a mountain in Isig, Morgan discovers a cave containing the children of the Earth Masters. These children have been turned to stone, but Morgan’s presence revives them long enough for them to give him a sword with three stars embedded in it and to name him the Star Bearer. After he receives the sword, Morgan, who has been trying to avoid his destiny and return to Hed, bows to the inevitable. He follows Deth, the High One’s harpist, to Erlenstar Mountain. There, instead of receiving answers from the High One, his mind is painfully stripped of the awareness of the Land Rule of Hed by the wizard Ghisteslwchlohm. As Morgan lies in torment in the darkness, he is haunted by the sound of Deth’s harping.
Heir of Sea and Fire begins with Raederle of An, Morgan’s sister Tristan, and the Land Heir of Herun, Lyra, commandeering a ship and sailing toward Erlenstar Mountain, where they hope to get answers from the High One about whether Morgan is alive and why the High One allowed him to be tortured. While they are traveling, Raederle is set upon by Shape Changers. One of the Shape Changers informs Raederle that she has inherited their magical abilities. Raederle realizes she desires that incredible power, and the desire scares her.
When the women learn that Morgan is still alive, Lyra and Tristan return to their own lands, but Raederle goes to the College of Wizards seeking answers to the riddle of her own powers. Morgan finds her there and warns her that even though Ghisteslwchlohm is tracking him, he is still seeking Deth in order to kill him. When Morgan leaves, Raederle uses her powers to bargain with the ghosts of An, forcing them to protect the stranger abroad in their land so that he can arrive safely in her family’s hall. She intends that the ghosts should protect Morgan, but they mistakenly escort Deth to the hall, where Morgan finds him. When Morgan raises his sword to kill Deth, the harpist sets him a riddle, and Morgan allows Deth to depart. Raederle is afraid that she has become something so powerful that it is nameless, but Morgan sees her for herself and names her. Raederle vows that she shall remain with Morgan, no matter how perilous his future path, as he seeks the answers to the riddles of his destiny.
Harpist in the Wind follows the adventures of Morgan and Raederle as they travel the High One’s Realm. Raederle still fears her legacy and refuses to change shape. It is dangerous for her and Morgan to travel in their own forms because the Shape Changers and Ghisteslwchlohm are following them.
Morgan and Raederle meet Deth, who has been scarred by Ghisteslwchlohm. When, with Deth’s help, Ghistesl-wchlohm captures them, for love of Raederle and the Morgan of Herun, Deth refuses to help the wizard bind Morgan. The Shape Changers attack, and Deth apparently is killed. Morgan and Raederle manage to escape, and Raederle finally agrees to learn how to change shape.
Morgan eventually realizes that the Shape Changers are really Earth Masters, a race so powerful that they created, then nearly destroyed, the High One’s Realm. He begins gathering the power of Land Law to him. This involves interfering with the bindings between the Land Rulers and their realms, but the rulers trust Morgan and give him access to their minds and their secret stores of knowledge.
When it becomes apparent that the final battle for the Passing of the Age will be fought on Wind Plain, all the rulers gather their armies and go there. On Wind Plain, at the top of a tower hidden by illusion, Morgan finds Deth, who turns out to be the High One. Deth explains that he needed to hone Morgan into a wild and powerful weapon so that he could both understand the lawless power of the Shape Changers and be strong enough to overcome them. Deth then looses the winds. A great battle is fought during which Deth dies. Morgan’s heritage passes into his mind, and he uses the winds to bind the Earth Masters, alive but harmless, inside Erlenstar Mountain. As the trilogy closes, Morgan joins Raederle in Hed and finally begins to feel his beloved realm settling down to its well-earned peace.