Sorcerer's Son and The Crystal Palace by Phyllis Eisenstein
"Sorcerer's Son" and "The Crystal Palace" are novels set in a magical universe where individuals harness supernatural powers through study and the control of demons from various elemental realms. The story begins with the sorcerer Smada Rezhyk, who, feeling threatened by other sorcerers, seeks to secure his position through a marriage proposal to Lady Delivev. After she refuses, he manipulates the situation using one of his demons, Gildrum, to seduce her, leading to the birth of their son, Cray.
As Cray grows up, he becomes determined to uncover the truth about his father, embarking on a quest filled with friendship, betrayal, and the discovery of his own magical potential. In the sequel, "The Crystal Palace," Cray, now restless and searching for purpose, becomes infatuated with a girl named Aliza, who is isolated by her grandfather's sorcery. As Cray learns more about Aliza's tragic circumstances, involving her missing soul and her grandfather’s sinister motives, he vows to rescue her from her fate.
The narratives explore themes of identity, the struggle against manipulation, and the quest for freedom, as Cray ultimately confronts powerful sorcery to save those he loves and reshape his destiny. Through their journeys, the characters navigate challenges that test their bonds and their understanding of power and autonomy.
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Sorcerer's Son and The Crystal Palace
First published:Sorcerer’s Son (1979) and The Crystal Palace (1988)
Type of work: Novels
Type of plot: Fantasy—magical world
Time of work: Undefined
Locale: A world similar to medieval Earth
The Plot
Both novels are set in a universe in which magical powers are achievable by concentrated study and by harnessing the powers of demons, supernatural beings from the realms of Fire, Water, Air, and Ice. At the beginning of Sorcerer’s Son, the sorcerer Smada Rezhyk, who enslaves fire demons to gain power over metal, is peering uneasily at his sorcerous neighbors. To protect himself, he has proposed marriage to the Lady Delivev, who has no demon slaves but whose sorcery is based on more natural, gentle control of weaving creatures and woven objects. Her polite refusal sends Rezhyk into a fit of paranoia, an occupational hazard among sorcerers.
To distract Delivev while he weaves metal clothing that will not be under her influence, Rezhyk sends Gildrum, one of his demons, to her in the guise of a handsome, wounded knight. Gildrum bears enough of Rezhyk’s semen to impregnate her. The seduction is successful, but Gildrum is genuinely attracted to Delivev and leaves her only because he must do as Rezhyk commands.
Delivev’s son is called Cray. His childhood is happy, but as he grows up he determines to become a knight like his supposed father and to find out why his father has never returned. Unknowingly, he receives supernatural encouragement in his quest, whenever Gildrum can steal moments from Rezhyk’s service. Cray becomes friends with Feldar Sepwin, a young man who is an outcast because of mismatched eyes.
Even after Gildrum fakes evidence that the knight is dead, Cray and Feldar continue on their quest to what was supposedly his home castle but discover that no such knight had served there. The two friends go to the Seer Helaine’s cave to learn the origin of the shield Gildrum left at the knight’s supposed grave. Cray again fails to find news of his father at the castle from which the shield came, but the kindly lord there gives him training so that he might become a knight himself. Cray, however, must leave to follow his obsession. Following the Seer’s advice, Cray and Feldar explore the supposed grave, but they find no body. Realizing that magic is involved, Cray decides that the only way he can find his father is to become a sorcerer himself.
Because Cray’s mother is unable to give him the training he needs, he offers himself as apprentice to Rezhyk, who by now has become completely paranoid but who fears to reveal his guilt by rejecting Cray immediately. Instead, Rezhyk bullies Cray mercilessly, attempting to make the young man quit voluntarily. Gildrum befriends Cray, but Cray figures out the identity of his biological father and leaves Rezhyk’s castle in dismay. Rezhyk instructs Gildrum to kill the boy, but the demon evades the command. Cray realizes that it must have been Gildrum who carried the sorcerer’s seed to Delivev. They become allies to destroy Rezhyk. Gildrum transports Cray to the various demon realms, in each of which Cray meets many who are intrigued with the idea of a human who would rather try to befriend them than enslave them. Cray vows to break the sorcerous rings that enslave demons, freeing them irrevocably, as soon as he can.
Meanwhile, not knowing what has happened to her son, Delivev sends an innocent inquiry to Rezhyk, who takes it as a declaration of war and attempts to incinerate her and her home. While she defends herself, Cray and his demon army attack Rezhyk’s castle. The boy kills his genetic father to save his mother and his emotional father. Gildrum settles into human form to live with Delivev, and Cray decides to continue his sorcerous studies.
At the beginning of The Crystal Palace, the basic situation has changed little. Cray is increasingly restless but uncertain of what he wants. Feldar, Cray’s friend, is apprenticed to the Seer Helaine. He discovers a magical mirror that reveals one’s heart’s desire, but it gives Cray only pictures of an unfamiliar little girl in an unknown place. Over the years, however, as the girl grows into a beautiful young woman, Cray becomes obsessed with her. With Gildrum’s aid, he locates her home, in a crystalline structure at the intersection of the human world and the realm of Ice.
Going there with demon companions, Cray attracts the attention of the girl and is admitted into the crystal palace. Her name is Aliza, and she tells Cray that her grandfather, the sorcerer Everand, has left her in isolation except for one ice demon slave so that she can study to acquire sorcerous mastery over Ice. She is perfectly content with the arrangement, but Cray perceives that she has had extremely limited contact with anything outside her dwelling and vows to widen her experience. She becomes interested, even curious, but remains distant from him even as he becomes more emotionally involved with her.
On the way to Delivev and Gildrum’s castle, Aliza visits the Seer’s cave to find out what her heart’s desire might be. The mirror crumbles, and the Seer discovers that Aliza cannot have normal desires because she literally lacks a soul. It has been removed and hidden by her grandfather so that he will always have control over her.
Despite Aliza’s protests that she is comfortable as she is, Cray and his allies begin investigating Everand. They discover that he actually is a puny sorcerer who was embittered as a young man when his parents rejected him after his sorcerous master died without giving him any real power. Everand killed his own daughter and her lover to gain possession of their child, Aliza, in a scheme to gain power for himself through her single-minded studies. When Everend confronts Cray and Aliza, he admits his purpose, but he uses Aliza’s soul to cause her so much pain that Cray withdraws rather than see the woman he loves hurt.
With his demon friends and the covert aid of Everand’s single ice demon slave, Cray attacks Everand’s stronghold and kills him. In Aliza’s crystal home, they discover the hiding place of Aliza’s soul. It is guarded by sorcerous barriers, so Cray must take it into himself, nullify the magic, and breathe it into her through a kiss. With her soul restored, Aliza clings to Cray, and the two begin a life together.