Isn't it a bit weird that no one ever meets another necromancer or person randomly in death. They are always going into death for a specific purpose to find and defeat someone, but wouldn't you sometimes just randomly meet another necromancer in the river who might be in death hundreds of miles away?

Or is it a proximity thing where you'll only see people/spirits in death that are near you in the physical world?

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2015 Lireal Fanart

SPOILERS FOR ABHORSEN:

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Where Abhorsen bells come from:

Each bell is quenched in the river of death at a corresponding gate.

Nine bells and nines zones of death. Somehow chartered and freemagic.

Astarael must forge the special bells herself and has sendings bring them to the new Abhorsen.

Astarael can probably forge a new set of Pan Flutes for Abhorsen in Waiting as well.

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The swords are weird. Binder changes inscription when in Ancelstierre fighting Kerrigor but isn't actually very useful. Perhaps it imbues the wielder with some sort of strength against the influence of dead. Sabriel is impaled on it fighting Kerrigor which may have helped her.

Touchstones dual swords don't have a name a can remember, and seem to just glow a little, but do very little else.

Nehima definitely provides Lirael with some passive protection through the charter. When mixed with the pan pipes the inscription changes to "Remember Nehima". Does that imply there is some hidden importance to Nehima or is it just that it was the sword that sacrificed itself to bind Orannis and worthy of remembering? Maybe Nehima was some free magic thing that helped the Shiners split the Orannis orb in two during the original binding.

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What did Lirael actually see in the dark mirror at the ninth gate before facing hedge?

Something vague like the destroyer had vaporized 6 worlds before being imprisoned by the Bright Shiners because they wanted to make the charter.

Could they have let the destroyer eat Moggett and then chuck that collar on to make another sketchy cat out of Orannis?

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Such a cool world.

I'm working on a Reading Journal spread for Lirael and I want to do a library theme. I'd like to draw the books mentioned in the story, but I can only remember Creatures by Nash, The Book of Remembrance (or something like that), and the Book of the Dead. I only have the audiobook, so I can't easily go back and check out other Book titles. Does anyone remember what other books she reads?

I read Sabriel, Liriael and Abhorsen years ago. About to start Clariel...how much does it matter that I don't remember them well? Same question for Goldenhand. If it matters, does anyone know of a good synopsis?

In Lirael, at the end of Chapter 6, we learn some of the configurations of the Nine Day Watch. I was wondering if anyone had found significance with these numbers? Particularly 1586?

From the Old Kingdom Wiki: “Typically the Nine Day Watch lasts for nine days and consists of 49 Clayr. However, in certain situations, if the Watch aims to See somewhere or something problematic, then more may be summoned; in their attempts to See the Red Lake in Lirael, the size of the watch increases vastly, including a Ninety-Eight, a Hundred and Ninety-Six, and a Seven Hundred and Eighty-Four. Eventually the Watch goes right up to a Fifteen Sixty-Eight, the largest a Watch can be, which includes nearly every Awoken Clayr.”

My first instinct was to check if 1568 was a number in the Fibonacci sequence. I think it would be neat symbolism with how the Sight works, and generally how time is often talked about as cyclical. It is not a Fibonacci number.

The best I’ve done is confirmed every stated Watch size is a multiple of seven. This lines up nicely with the seven bells of the Abhorsen. Has anyone noticed significance of seven outside of these two examples? Does it tie into the lore of Charter Magic anywhere? Are you seeing a different pattern with the number of Clayer in the Watch?

I have a theory, and it could possibly have been discussed before. Mixing the 3 bloodlines can produce someone special. Literal (a rembrancer) was the by product of Clayr and Abhorsen. Maybe the “recipe” for wallmaker is abhorsen and royalty. Let me know your thoughts.

All right, this is gonna be long. This is a combination of confirmed order and my own speculation. It doesn't help that the Abhorsen title can skip generations.

Key: Blue is Clayr sight, Green is Abhorsen title, Orange is Royal claim. Bubbles with question marks or gender symbols are unknown parents/siblings

1. Abhorsen: First of Her line, built The Abhorsen's House

2-11.

Ulamiel: Built the underground Garden "in a time of peace"

12. Kalliel: Dug the Well, potentially killed by Astarael and left there

13. Kalliel’s Grandson: Seals the Well

14. Lerantiel: Book on Making Necromantic Bells etc. Builds a chain to bind a Greater Dead

15-45.

Soraniel: (200 years after Lerantiel) Officially banishes Greater Dead Lerantiel fought, Chain is then placed in Ullamiel's Garden

Feriniel

Madarael “Ader”:(700 years before Sabriel) Retired and works at the Academy Clariel briefly attends

Kariniel: "Hunt Mad"-Mogget, potentially built Hillfair

Tyriel: (600 years before Sabriel) “Deadbeat Abhorsen”, Clariel’s Grandfather

Belatiel: vows to restore faith/integrity in Abhorsens, succeeds Tyriel

*400 years Before Sabriel, Hillfair is Destroyed

*200 years before Sabriel, Touchstone's mother(of the line of Talthiel) rules The Old Kingdom

Unknown Abhorsen seals Touchstone in Holehallow

46. “Weather Witch”

47. “W.W” nephew

48. Jerizael

49/50. Alliel and Jerimiel (Order Unknown)

51. Tizaniel: Fights Kerrigor alongside Terciel. Terciel’s G-G Aunt

52. Terciel: Fights Kerrigor alongside Tizaniel. Sabriel and Lirael’s father

53. Sabriel: Current Abhorsen, Queen, married to King Touchstone, binds Kerrigor

54. Lirael: Abhorsen in Waiting, Remembrancer, 2nd Assistant Librarian Clayr

Unknown/Theorized Placement

Yezael: before Tyriel, built Shed on Island

Cassiel: before Tizaniel, Lirael wields Their bells

Bannatiel: before Tizaniel, Walking staff contains hidden dagger

Keramitiel: before Tizaniel, assassinated beside the House on Riverbank

EDIT: I believe since 600 years puts either Beletiel or Tyriel at 21 Generations(unclear since Tyriel is Abohorsen during Clariel and Beletiel inherits it at the end), meaning Madarael(she lived to be 100, 4 generations) is either the mother of Feriniel or the sister of Kariniel. Either way, she abdicated and returned the Bells to Feriniel.

EDIT II. based on timeframe, I believe A47(weather witch's nephew) was the one to seal away Touchstone, but that may be off by one generation( 47 was male, 48 was Jerizael.)

https://preview.redd.it/12ic58bi3bhc1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a7a4f6f1ad954007deb14b5ec7968fe9b74a69c2

https://preview.redd.it/ofgg4abi3bhc1.jpg?width=3007&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=abccf4968a447c1ada6a4f535ef0c8852a537fee

So i reread the series and my hyperfixating ass has decided I want to piece together the timeline. I used the wiki and my own book copies. There are Abhorsens who have a definitive place in the timeline, others who are vague and some only named. I've extrapolated and while i can't officially give them a number, there is a rough outline(I might publish it later).

Heres the problem. There is a contradiction, specifically about the Paperwings.

Mogget tells us that the 46th Abhorsen, who he just calls a "Weather Witch" created the paperwings. Doing rough math, that puts their creation about 200 years before the events of Sabriel. Except that Clariel takes place about 600 years before that, and the Clayr and Abhorsens have access to them. That is a HUGE time gap. How do i reconcile that? should I treat it as an error on Mogget's part, That W.W popularized them, making them more readily available?

Any feedback is welcome, Thanks :D