- Note: The Dolls did not consider themselves as individuals, and the characters are essentially the same, with no personality differences, so they link here. See the list at the bottom of this page.
A Doll is a magical Construct created by the mages of the Eastern Empire before the founding of Valdemar. Doll bodies are human-shaped, with two arms and two legs with jointed limbs. They are sewn of canvas over an endoskeleton, with a suggestion of eyes, a nose, and a mouth, but not a real face.[1] The 'brain' of a Doll is actually a vrondi, an air elemental, trapped in a breakable bottle located in the construct's torso. The vrondi are lured in by a trap created by exploratory mages of the Eastern Empire, and given a choice of slavery or death.
Dolls serve at the Imperial Court in the era of Kordas Valdemar. They are assigned as servants to each guest, where they perform such functions as valet, maid, porter, guide, errand runner, and any other service the guest demands. Dolls perform all of the physical or boring work behind the scenes at court which was formerly done by humans: cleaning, laundry, tailoring, caring for animals or children, gardening, record keeping, etc.
Merrin says, "They don't need rest, they don't need food, they can't be hurt."[1] That is not entirely true; if the bottle containing the vrondi breaks, it dies. But there are no rules concerning the treatment of Dolls, so they can be abused and even destroyed at the whim of a human.
Imperial guests may dress them or decorate them how they like, but the Dolls all must wear "the distinct red tabards with the purple wolf's-head of the Imperial servants."[1] This is to remind guests that the Dolls actually belong to the Emperor. Vrondi fundamentally love the truth, which makes it impossible to enlist them as spies, as many courtiers learned over the years.
Upon his arrival at court, Kordas Valdemar is astounded to see them everywhere, performing the work formerly provided by humans. They are all identical and do not refer to themselves in the first person. They are surprised that Kordas treats them with courtesy and as individual, sentient beings.[1][2]
Three dolls are assigned to Kordas and Beltran while at court. Kordas decides to mark them separately and names them by their mark: Star, Rose, and Clover.
Individually, vrondi are not terribly bright. However, as their servitude continued, the individual intelligences occupying the Dolls merged into a kind of hive mind - interconnected and far more intelligent.[2] What one knows, they all know. They found themselves capable of very minor sabotage - they speak only the truth ... but not all of it. Star explains that they can choose to treat information from other Dolls as "hearsay" and not report it when questioned by humans.
Kordas eventually commits to freeing all of the vrondi from their imprisonment in the Doll bodies. He has the Dolls bring the Imperial mages' notebooks and instruments to try to find the solution.
The Dolls became vital to the Valdemarans' flight from the Eastern Empire. They supplied key information, Gate passes, order blanks, and access to the Emperor.[3]
During the continued migration of the evacuees, the Dolls served as tireless labor and instant communication between parties.[4]
Notable dolls[]
- Star - primary assistant to Kordas at the Imperial palace
- Clover - secondary assistant to Kordas at the Imperial palace
- Rose - assistant to Kordas after the evacuation[4]
- Record-keeper - the first Doll ever created, the most knowledgeable and something of a leader of the Dolls
- Feather - first Doll to arrive at Crescent Lake [reference sought]
- Dern - abused Doll, became assistant to the Doll repair Mage[4]
- Amethyst - assistant to Delia; a beautifully decorated Doll whose Imperial master was kind[4]
- Ivy - visited Kordas when the Companions were created
SPOILERS[]
The Dolls were finally freed by Pebble's mother, an adult Earth Elemental.[4] Ivy briefly returned to reassure Kordas before the first Companions appeared.[5][reference sought]