Mornelithe Falconsbane was the use-name of the final incarnation of Ma'ar. 'Mornelithe' is actually a Kaled'a'in word meaning 'hatred that returns,' with the connotation of returning multiple times through the ages for revenge.[1] He took the name 'Falconsbane' after destroying a perlin falcon bondbird, Karry.[2]
Falconsbane was a ruthless blood-path Adept who became a problem during the reign of Queen Selenay. Ma'ar began this incarnation decades earlier[3] by taking over the body of one of his descendants, the Shin'a'in An'desha. When young An'desha ran away from the plains to find refuge amongst the Tayledras, he got lost along the way and attempted a fire spell. This was how Ma'ar recognized that one of his descendants was worthy of his possession, and so he rushed in.
During this life, Falconsbane altered his own body to have more catlike features and a perverse sexual nature. He first tested these alterations on the body of his daughter, Nyara. For his own form, he combined the features of man and lynx, giving himself tawny gold hair, fanged canine teeth, and gold-green slit-pupilled eyes.
Mornelithe Falconsbane by Larry Dixon
Falconsbane enslaved and broke Starblade, elder of k'Sheyna Vale and father of Darkwind k'Sheyna. He forced Starblade to crack the k'Sheyna heartstone in an effort to steal its power for himself. This corrupted the heartstone and caused the deaths of many k'Sheyna mages, as well as polluting the vale.
Falconsbane was thrice defeated by the combined efforts of Elspeth, Skif, Darkwind, Firesong, Nyara, Need, Hydona, Treyvan, Tre'valen, and Dawnfire. The first time, he teleported at the last moment and spent weeks regaining his power before returning to his lair. The second time, he was cast into the Void when Nyara struck his makeshift heartstone.
Falconsbane was pulled from the Void by a faulty Gate spell cast by King Ancar of Hardorn, who enslaved him and forced him to help with Ancar's attacks on Valdemar. Here, An'desha was able to get a bit of control of his body back, and was helped by Tre'valen and Dawnfire, now Avatars of the Shin'a'in Goddess, to search through Falconsbane's memories.
Falconsbane was defeated the final time when he was run through with the sword Need by his daughter Nyara. When his spirit fled the body to await a new incarnation, he was chased into the Void by Firesong and destroyed completely--although it is believed the gods may see fit to return him to the world in the physical form of a slug or something of that nature.
The Shin'a'in Goddess granted An'desha his body back and returned both his features and his calendar age, leaving him only with the striking slit-pupiled cat-eyes as a reminder of Falconsbane.
In the series[]
Mornelithe Falconsbane appears in the following works:
- Winds of Fate, Mage Winds, volume 1
- Winds of Change, Mage Winds, volume 2
- Winds of Fury, Mage Winds, volume 3
References[]
- ↑ Winds of Fate, Chapter 10
- ↑ Winds of Fate, Chapter 20
- ↑ Winds of Fury, Chapter 7: "His [Andesha's] body might be over half a century old"