Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword of Avalon Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  TWENTY

  TWENTY-ONE

  TWENTY-TWO

  TWENTY-THREE

  TWENTY-FOUR

  TWENTY-FIVE

  TWENTY-SIX

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  EPILOGUE

  AFTERWORD

  OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES

  Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Ravens of Avalon

  Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Ancestors of Avalon

  Priestess of Avalon

  Lady of Avalon

  The Forest House

  The Mists of Avalon

  ROC

  Published by New American Library, a division of

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,

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  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:

  80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  First published by Roc, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  First Printing, December 2009

  Copyright © The Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Trust and Diana L. Paxson, 2009

  All rights reserved

  REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

  Paxson, Diana L.

  Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Sword of Avalon/Diana L. Paxson.

  p. cm.

  eISBN : 978-1-101-15194-5

  1. Avalon (Legendary place)—Fiction. I. Bradley, Marion Zimmer. II. Title.

  PS3566.A897M345 2009

  813’.54—dc22 2009024978

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

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  To Steve,

  fellow forger of words.

  NAMES IN THE STORY

  PEOPLE

  PEOPLE OF THE ISLAND OF THE MIGHTY

  (Names in parenthesis are people dead before the story begins. Names in capital letters indicate main characters. A + marks figures known from legend.)

  Acaimor—an Ai-Utu boy, one of Mikantor’s Companions

  Adjonar—Ai-Zir, one of Mikantor’s Companions

  Agraw—Cimara’s bridegroom

  Alder—a girl of the Lake Village

  Analina—a student at Avalon

  Anaterve—a trader of Belerion, father of Analina

  ANDERLE—Lady of Avalon

  Badger—headman of the Lake Village

  Beaver—a Lake Village boy, one of Mikantor’s Companions

  Belkacem—priest and lore master at Avalon

  Beniharen—an Ai-Ilf boy, one of Mikantor’s Companions

  Chaoud—an Ai-Zir farmer

  Cimara—princess and later queen of the Ai-Zir, Mikantor’s cousin

  Curlew—a hunter, one of the moor folk of Belerion

  Durrin—a priest and bard of Avalon, father of Tirilan

  (Eilantha—temple name of Tiriki)

  Ellet—a young priestess from the Ai-Giru

  Eltan—king of the Ai-Ushen, brother of Ketaneket

  Eltanor—a senior priest of Avalon

  Eran—the smith at Avalon

  GALID—a chieftain of the Amanhead clan of the Ai-Zir

  Ganath—an Ai-Giru boy studying on Avalon and later a healer

  Goosey and Gander—twin children of the Lake Village

  Grebe—Mikantor’s foster brother, one of his Companions

  Hino—Galid’s fool

  Iftiken—king of the Ai-Giru

  Irnana—cousin of Anderle, wife of Uldan and mother of Mikantor

  Izri—one of Galid’s men

  Kaisa-Zan—High Priestess of the Ai-Utu

  Keddam—one of Galid’s warriors

  Ketaneket—queen of the Ai-Ushen, sister of Eltan

  Kiri—an old priestess

  Larel—a priest of Avalon

  Leka—High Priestess of the Ai-Akhsi

  Linne—High Priestess of the Ai-Giru

  Lycoren—a chieftain of the Ai-Akhsi

  Lysandros—of Troian descent, one of Mikantor’s Companions

  Menguellet—queen of the Ai-Akhsi

  (Micail—Prince of Ahtarrath in the Sea Kingdoms, high priest of the Temple of Light, and later, of Avalon)

  MIKANTOR (Woodpecker)—dispossessed prince of the Ai-Zir

  Muddazakh—Galid’s champion

  Nuya—High Priestess of the Ai-Zir

  Olavi—High Priestess of the Ai-Siwanet

  Orlai—a farmer of Azan

  (Osinarmen—temple name of Micail)

  Pelicar—Ai-Ilf, one of Mikantor’s Companions

  Ramdane—one of Galid’s men

  Redfern—Miko’s foster mother

  Romen—Ai-Utu, one of Mikantor’s Companions

  Rouikhed—an Ai-Akhsi boy trained at Avalon, one of Mikantor’s Companions

  Saarin—High Priestess of the Ai-Ushen

  Sakanor—King of the Ai-Utu

  Shizuret—High Priestess of the Ai-Ilif

  Soumer—one of Galid’s warriors

  Squirrel—an old man of the elder folk of the Vale

  Tanecar—son of Queen Ketaneket of the Ai-Ushen

  Tegues—Ai-Giru, one of Mikantor’s Companions

&nbs
p; (Tiriki—Princess of Ahtarrath, high priestess of Avalon)

  TIRILAN—Anderle’s daughter and heir

  Ulansi—Ai-Zir, one of Mikantor’s Companions

  Uldan—war leader of the Ai-Zir

  Urtaya—queen of the Ai-Utu

  Vole—a Lake Village boy studying on Avalon

  Willow Woman—Badger’s mother, headwoman of the Lake Village

  Zamara—queen of the Ai-Zir, sister of Uldan

  PEOPLE OF THE MIDDLE SEA AND NORTHERN LANDS

  Aelfrix—a boy from the City of Circles

  +(Agamemnon—King of Mycenae, victor of Troia)

  Aiaison—eldest son of the King of Tiryns

  +Aletes—great-grandson of Heracles and of Iolaos, leader of the Eraklidae attacking Korinthos

  Bodovos the Bear—commander of the guard at the City of Circles

  +(Brutus—a prince of Troia who emigrated with his followers to the Isle of the Mighty)

  Buda—sister of Bodovos, mother of Aelfrix

  +Doridas and Hyanthidas—Kings of Korinthos

  +(Erakles [Heracles]—disinherited prince of Argos, hero, ancestor of the Eraklidae)

  Katuerix—smith at Bhagodheunon

  +(Klytemnaestra—wife, and murderer, of Agamemnon)

  +Kresfontes—son of Aristomakhos, brother of Temenos and Aristo demos, great-great-grandson of Erakles, leader of the attack on Tiryns and Mykenae

  Leta—daughter of Aletes

  Lord Loutronix—Master of Dikes and Locks, City of Circles

  Maglocunos—King of the Tuathadhoni

  Melandros—chariot driver and lover of Aiaison

  +(Menelaos [Menelaus]—King of Sparta, husband of Helena)

  Naxomene—Queen of Tiryns

  +(Odikeos [Odysseus]—king of the Ionian Isles, hero of Troia)

  +(Orestes—son and avenger of Agamemnon, father of Tisamenos)

  +(Persaios [Perseus]—heir of Tiryns and founder of Mykenae)

  Phorkaon—King of Tiryns

  Tanit—a slave girl in the service of Queen Naxomene

  Thersander—a trader from Korinthos

  +Tisamenos—King of Mycenae

  Tuistos, Mannos and Sowela—priest-kings and -queen of the City of Circles

  VELANTOS—bastard son of the King of Tiryns, a smith

  POWERS

  HONORED AT AVALON

  Banur—the four-faced god, destroyer/preserver; ruler of Winter

  Caratra—daughter or nurturing aspect of Ni-Terat, the Great Mother. Venus is Her star

  Manoah—the Great Maker, Lord of the Day, identified with the Sun; ruler of Summer

  Nar-Inabi—“Star-Shaper,” god of the night, the stars and the sea; ruler of Harvest time

  Ni-Terat—Dark Mother of All, Veiled aspect of the Great Mother, goddess of the Earth; ruler of Planting time

  HONORED BY THE TRIBES

  “Achi”—Exalted or Enduring One, used as a title of respect or a name for the goddess of upwelling power

  Achimaiek—“Grandmother,” Crone Face of the Goddess

  The Chiding One—proto-goddess later called Ceridwen

  Guayota—the Evil One, appears as a dog

  Magek—the Sun god

  HONORED IN THE LANDS OF THE MIDDLE SEA

  Apollon—Apollo

  Arei—Ares

  Athana—Athena

  Castor and Pollux—twin demigods, sons of Zeus (also the names given by Velantos to his war axes)

  Diwaz—Zeus

  Epaitios—Hephaestus

  E-ra—Hera

  Ereias—Hermes

  Keraunos—Thunderer (Zeus)

  Lady of the Doves—Aphrodite

  Lady of the Forge—an aspect of Athena

  Paion—Apollo

  Posedaon Enesidaone (Earthshaker)—Poseidon

  Potnia—“the Lady,” a general goddess-title

  Potnia Theron—Lady of the Beasts, or Nature

  PEOPLES

  Ai-Akhsi—People of the Ram

  Ai-Giru—People of the Frog

  Ai-Ilf—People of the Boar

  Ai-Siwanet—People of the Hawk

  Ai-Ushen—People of the Wolf

  Ai-Utu—People of the Hare

  Ai-Zir—People of the Bull

  Akhaeans—the people of the Peloponnese

  Danaans—peoples of southern Greece

  Dorians—peoples of northern Greece

  Elder Folk—people of the oldest blood of the Island of the Mighty, now living on the edges of the arable land; includes the people of the Lake Village and the moors of Belerion

  Eraklidae, Children of Erakles—the Dorians, said to be descended from the offspring of Heracles

  The Tribes—dominant culture of the Island of the Mighty

  Ti-Sahharin—the Sacred Sisters, priestesses to the tribes

  Tuathadhoni—proto-Celtic people north of Danube Plain

  PLACES

  Aman river—the Avon that flows through Wiltshire and Dorset

  Amanhead clanhold—Galid’s home

  Akhaea—the Peloponnese and Central Greece

  Akhsian—territory of the Ai-Akhsi—the Dales, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria

  Argolid—the plain below Argos, including Mykenae and Tiryns

  Azan—the “Bull-Pen,” territory of the five clans of the Ai-Zir—Dorset, Wiltshire, Gloucester, Oxfordshire

  Azan-Ylir—Center of Azan, hold of the Henge Plain clan—modern Amesbury

  Barrow of the Three Queens—Three Spinsters’ dolmen, Devon

  Belerion—an area in Utun—southern end of Cornwall

  Bhagodheunon—Dun of the Beeches, near Wurzberg, Germany

  Carn Ava clanhold—Avebury

  City of Circles (old Zaiadan)—located between modern Heligoland and Eiderstedt on the Jutland coast

  Girun—territory of the Ai-Giru—Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk (Anglia)

  Gorsefield—Shovel Down, near Chagford, Devon

  The Henge—Stonehenge