The Seventh Tower is a series of six books written by Garth Nix. It is the result of a joint partnership of Scholastic and LucasFilm. The series narrates a story where human beings live in a world that rests beneath a veil, blocking it from the sun and leaving it in complete darkness, and how two children fought to keep it that way. The two children are Tal and Milla, both of which come from two distinctly different societies. They journey for a simple-enough quest, until discovering a sinister plot hidden in the darkness. A war dormant for a thousand years is rekindling. A pact was broken, and evil that was thought to have been defeated ages ago is slowly and secretly letting its presence be felt. Danger looms, and it is up to two children and a small band of unlikely heroes to save their Dark World. The books are as follows:
- The Fall (2000)
- Castle (2000)
- Aenir (2001)
- Above the Veil (2001)
- Into Battle (2001)
- The Violet Keystone (2001)
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Background
The series began when an editor from Scholastic emailed Nix saying he liked Nix's previous book Sabriel, and that he'd be glad to work with him on something in the future. A few months later, Nix received another email from the editor saying Scholastic and LucasFilm were working to create a new fantasy series. He asked if Nix would be interested, to which Nix replied that he might be. They discussed it back and forth through email. Several months later, Scholastic and Lucasfilm gave Nix a general list of "influences and ideas" to base the series on. However, Nix was still given much freedom to expand from it to create a story of his own. "In a way, each of the ideas and influences on the original list was like a seed," says Garth Nix. "The seeds were planted in my imagination and things have grown from them, and I have helped them grow and shaped them to fit into the story." Among the points included on the list was a world "where it is always night for some reason" and characters with magical companions of some sort. [1] The series was written at a rather quick pace, as fast as three to four months per book. By June of 2000, the first book entitled The Fall came out. The Seventh Tower has since went on to sell more than one million copies in the US.
The world
Chosen
These are the "Masters of Light and Shadow", possessing magical control over Sunstones and shadows. They live in a Castle of seven towers below the Veil. A Chosen is judged by his ranking in society, which is determined by their color level. They are as follows:
- Violet
- Indigo
- Blue
- Green
- Yellow
- Orange
- Red
- Underfolk
Violet is the highest while Red is the lowest. Each color has its own designated tower. A person ascends or descends color levels by his/her accomplishments/failures. If a person is demoted below Red level, they become an Underfolk, doomed to serve for the rest of his or her life. There are ways that a person may be demoted directly to Underfolk regardless of their current level. Among these are losing all your Sunstones and losing your Spiritshadow. There are white levels throughout the castle that are neutral territory. The entire Chosen is governed by an Emperor/Empress.
Underfolk
Underfolk are the servants of the Castle of the Chosen. They are born to serve their chosen masters until they die, without ever a chance of being promoted. They are not allowed to possess a Sunstone, and they have regular shadows. A Chosen may automatically be demoted to Underfolk level for any number of reasons, including losing their Sunstone and losing their Spiritshadow. They are generally associated with the color white.
Shadowguards
Every Chosen, upon being born, gets a shadowguard bound to them in Aenir. These creatures protect their master Chosen until their Chosen binds a much more powerful Spiritshadow when they come of age. They are then freed back to the land of Aenir. Shadowguards, unlike Spiritshadows, may shift their shape to anything. They appear like regular shadows, and are significantly weaker than a Spiritshadow.
Spiritshadows
Each Chosen, upon reaching thirteen, must go to the spirit realm of Aenir and bind a creature to serve as his or her Spiritshadow. Binding a powerful Spiritshadow helps a Chosen's ranking in society. A law states that Spiritshadows may not harm other Chosen. Spiritshadows replace a Chosen's shadowguard. They are bound to their masters until their masters die, in which case the Spiritshadow will fade away. Spiritshadows without a master (otherwise known as 'free Spiritshadows') are prohibited from the Castle. A Spiritshadow feels to some extent what their master feels, including pain and emotions and vice versa.
Day of Ascension
This is the day where every Chosen would enter the dream world of Aenir. For those coming of age, this is their chance to bind a Spiritshadow. It is forbidden to enter Aenir before the Day of Ascension.
Icecarls
The Icecarls are a semi-barbaric woman-dominated population living outside the Castle of the Chosen on the Ice. Unlike Chosen, they fear magical shadows and curses anyone who possesses one. Icecarls are very honorable people. One has the right to commit suicide if they have done something dishonorable. The Icecarls are separated into clans, each clan having their own ship (although in this case, the ships travel on ice, not water). Each clan is headed by a Crone. Clan ships follow Selski migration around the Dark World. Arriving back to where they began would be called a circling, which roughly equivalents one year. Selski are huge beasts that inhabit the Ice, and are a source of food and various items for the Icecarls. Other creatures among the Icacarls are Merwins, horned ceatures, and Wreskas, creatures pulling their sleighs.
Crones
Icecarl women possessing magical abilities. Crones' eyes become cloudier as they age, giving the appearance of blindness. They govern to entire Icecarls. There are Crones in each clan ship, while more important Crones are found in the Ruin Ship. Crones are aware of the Chosen and their Castle (as opposed to Chosen, who believe there is nothing outside their Castle but ice). High-ranking/more experienced Crones are called 'Mother Crones'.
Shield Maidens
A group of experienced Icecarl warrior women residing in the Ruin Ship. They hunt down dangerous creatures and are a sort of law-enforcers among the Icecarls. Shield Maidens are led by an older, higher ranking, and more experienced warrior known as a 'Shield Mother'. A hand of Shield Maidens consists of 12 warriors led by one Shield Mother.
Sword-Thanes
The male equivalent of a Shield Maiden, although they are less prominent in the Icecarl community and work alone.
The Ruin Ship
A large ship which houses top Crones and Shield Maidens resting for centuries in the foothills. It is most important ship of the civilization of the Icecarls. Unlike the rest of the ships, which are made from bone and hide of animals, the Ruin Ship is made of metal that never rusts. It is five times the size of an average Icecarl ship, and is the model in which all ships are based on.
Aenir
Aenir is a magical spirit world which can only be entered by using a Sunstone and reciting a spell. Unlike the Dark World, Aenir has no veil and is exposed to the sun. They are inhabited by various creatures which the Chosen bind as their Spiritshadows or shadowguards. Because Aenir is a place of magic, not many things are what they appear to be, making the place quite dangerous. Only Chosen enter Aenir during the Day of Acsension. At this time, of-age Chosen would bind their own Spiritshadow while adults would treat it as a vacation.
Sunstones
Stones which have their own light and heat. They are grown from crystals originating in Aenir. They are "charged" by exposing them to sunlight for extended periods of time. The "charging" is done above the Veil in large nets. The larger a stone is and the longer it is exposed to the sun, the more powerful it will be. They are a part of everyday life for the people of the Dark World, used in everything from giving light to cooking food. Chosen children are given weaker Sunstones, compared to the Primary Sunstone which older kids and adults use. A person may have more than one Sunstone. However, a Chosen who loses all his or her Sunstones shall be demoted to an Underfolk. Some uses of a Sunstone:
- gives off light
- gives off heat
- can be used to heal
- can be used to fire heat rays
- used by Chosen to respectfully greet each other
- used to bind Aenirians to be Spiritshadows
- used to tell time
- create illusions (such as Tal creating a mini Veil to hide on the red tower)
- provide protection from light based attacks (this function will quickly result in the stone shorting out)
The Veil
The Veil is a shroud of darkness that covers the world from the sun, giving it eternal darkness with only Sunstones to depend on for light. It was created to protect the people of the Dark World from the creatures of Aenir. The Veil is presumably quite thick. Thick enough to take many moments to cross. Inside it, there is absolutely no light or sound.
Keystones
In each tower, there is a Keystone which keeps the Veil running. It can be sealed or unsealed. Once all Keystones are unsealed, the Veil will shut down. Each keystone has a guardian, Chosen who are assigned to protect their Keystones. The seven Keystones can be found at the top of each tower.
The Hall of Nightmares
Dreaded by the Chosen, it is a form of punishment in the Castle. It is headed by Fashnek. The victim would be placed inside a glass globe. Sleeping gas knocks him/her out, entering a dream state. In his/her dream, Fashnek enters and controls it, turning it into a nightmare where the victim cannot wake out of until Fashnek allows it. Those who have been to the Hall of Nightmares are seldom ever the same again. The victims would often twitch uncontrollably, or would cease to laugh and smile. Ironically, the glass globe used for the nightmares was originally created to help people with bad dreams.
Main characters
- Main article: Characters from The Seventh Tower
- Tal — A thirteen-year-old Chosen boy from the Orange Order.
- Milla — An Icecarl girl around Tal's age wishing to be a Shield Maiden. She belongs to the clan of the Far-Raiders.
- Adras — A Storm Shepherd that became Tal's Spiritshadow. He is the brother of Odris.
- Odris — A Storm Shepherd that became Milla's Spiritshadow. She is the sister of Adras.
- Ebbitt — Tal's eccentric Great-Uncle.
- Sharrakor — A free shadow long believed to be the Empress's Spiritshadow. He takes over the body of Shadowmaster Sushin.
- Shadowmaster Sushin — A Chosen high in the rankings of the Orange Order. For most of the story, he is under the control of Sharrakor.
- Crow — An Underfolk rebelling against the Chosen for the freedom of his people (i.e., his fellow Underfolk).
- Fashnek — Chosen in charge of the Hall of Nightmares. Half his body has been replaced by shadow, making him feared by other Chosen.
- Malen — A young Crone; daughter of the Shield Mother Arla.
- Rerem — Tal's father; guardian of the Orange Keystone.
- Graile — Tal's mother.
Quotes about the series
- "I'm pleased that LucasBooks, in collaboration with Scholastic, is expanding into an exciting new realm of fantasy with The Seventh Tower. I've always believed that reading encourages children of all ages to use their imagination, and I hope that the adventure that unfolds in The Seventh Tower series will take readers on a new journey of the mind."
- "We are thrilled to join LucasBooks in this venture. Lucasfilms' extraordinary ability to create new worlds, combined with Scholastic's established expertise in publishing new successful series in the children's market, make this partnership an exciting venture."
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- — Barbara Marcus, president of Scholastic Books [3]
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- "Often, I get the feeling that the story is really happening somewhere and all I'm doing is trying to work out the best way to tell it."
- "Garth Nix has created a wonderful fantasy world with this series...The young boy Tal and his reluctant (and somewhat grumpy) companion Milla are an interesting pair and their journey is full of surprises. Garth has a great gift for characterization and pacing, and he has a sly sense of humor which always entertains."
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- — Claire E. White, The Internet Writing Journal [5]
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