Storm Constantine

At first, further south, it's thought that Wraeththu are merely a violent gang of urban punks, so when Calanthe, a strikingly beautiful Wraeththu (or "har") arrives at the farm, Pellaz finds him intriguing, a part of the hitherto-unseen wild outside world. Meanwhile, Cal finds Pell's innocence and beauty irresistible. Pell slips away with Cal into the barren lands to the south. Cal's destination is Saltrock, where his friend Seel Griselming has established an early settlement, and where Pellaz can be Incepted into Wraeththu. From there Cal wants to go to Immanion, fabled First City of Wraeththu, a city that (unbeknownst to Cal) isn't even on the same continent. Enchantments is told entirely from Pellaz's point of view, cobbled together from his notes and journals.

--So now you're thinking "aha, so this is merely a quest tale!" Far from it, and don't be fooled! As the series unfolds, you'll discover these books are an exploration of human feelings using Wraeththu as a sort of foil: supposedly, hara (plural of "har") are above petty human emotions like love and hate that, they say, helped bring about Man's downfall. In reality, Wraeththu are no more immune from emotions than we ourselves, and the (forbidden?) love that develops between Cal and Pellaz becomes a driving force throughout the series. Of course, complications arise: Other characters fall in love with Pell and Cal and they develop (mostly fleeting) outside interests in turn....but at heart, this is a tale about love that knows no bounds, not even death.

Jump to Summary of Book 1

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Pellaz's Inception into Wraeththu at Saltrock settlement must be accomplished by receiving an infusion of blood from a higher-caste Wraeththu adept, initiating the changes in his own body. The adept who appears at Saltrock is not the expected hienama, or holy one, but a har called Thiede, whose power and stunning appearance instill awe and respect (and distrust) from other hara. Thiede is a pivotal figure in all three books, and only later is his true identity revealed.

Pell's transformation takes about three days and is "fixed" permanently by (finally!) having intercourse with Calanthe. Heretofore, Cal's Wraeththu semen would have killed the human Pellaz. Hereafter, they are inseparable in feeling, and decades of separation and even "death" can't make them forget -- to the dismay of certain others!

--Cal and Pell, while both Wraeththu now, still resemble human males to outward appearance. Some readers get uptight at this point in Book 1, mentally unready for what seems to be a carnal, homosexual relationship. Strictly speaking this isn't quite the case: during aruna, or sex between hara, one adopts a male role ("ouana") and the other the female ("soume"), so physically the basic act is similar to human intercourse. Wraeththu are fully a different species from homo sapiens, but for more provincial readers the seemingly gay relationship can be unsettling. I think Storm's treatment of sexuality and gender (male=fire, woman=water, etc.) transcends such contemporary interpretations, but mileage for more conservative readers might vary. Gay readers, naturally, generally find Cal and Pell's relationship to be more familiar and even poignant.

With Cal's support, Pellaz begins his caste-progression, mostly a matter of honing his newfound psionic abilities with some healthy earth-magick thrown in. They also witness one unique Wraeththu ability called Grissecon: occult power gained through aruna and channeled for a purpose. Pellaz can only advance to low levels at Saltrock because a higher-caste tutor is required, so they decide to seek out the desert-dwelling Kakkahaar tribe, known for their mysticism, whose leader Lianvis has the necessary skills. After a tough journey to the desert Pell receives training from Lianvis and meets his consort Ulaume, a har of surpassing beauty, vanity -- and jealousy. Pell advances his caste to Acantha level, but he and Cal also discover blood sacrifice and with it, the darker paths that Wraeththu magick can take.

They depart the Kakkahaar and the desert with relief and shortly find themselves accosted by the Irraka tribe, poor and caste-less, who have fallen from the Path. There, by using newly-empowered mind-magick, they liberate themselves and a badly-injured prisoner, Cobweb. Cobweb is the consort of Terzian, a powerful and respected leader of the warlike Varr tribe, and it is to Terzian's stronghold at Galhea and his manor house, We Dwell in Forever, that Pell and Cal take Cobweb. Terzian and Cobweb, a true mystic, have been able to work the ultimate Wraeththu magick: they have birthed a son, Swift.

(In these early days of Wraeththu the procreation process was fraught with danger; no-one really knew if it would work, or even how. Pure-born hara at this time are quite rare; nearly all hara were once human males and were Incepted in their teens. Cobweb, who was soume (female) during their intercourse, had hosted a "pearl" inside himself, which was ejected from him, still growing, after a few weeks. A few weeks later an infant harling, Swift, emerged.)

Pellaz and Calanthe are welcomed to Terzian's stronghold as the saviors of his consort, and Cobweb is healed. Terzian falls in love with Calanthe, though, and is deeply hurt when Cal elects to continue with Pellaz; Cobweb naturally hates Cal (at least for now :)) and is overjoyed to see the two leave. These events at Terzian's home are important, and form the backdrop for Book 2, Bewitchments.

A feeling of dread and dire foreboding hangs over them as they head away from Terzian's house. Just a few days later disaster strikes. They are fired upon by a straggly human survivor, and Pellaz is killed instantly by the bullet. Stunned, Cal grieves over the body for a day, then buries it; his story picks up elsewhere.

....Pellaz's narrative resumes as he realizes that he is not dead, but that his conscience and essence have been transferred into a new (but sorcerously similar) body by Thiede, who has greater plans for the young har. Ironically, Pellaz now finds himself back on the way to Immanion, graceful capital of the powerful and advanced Gelaming tribe of Wraeththu. He wonders what became of Cal but at first, he's in no shape to do much about it; then he discovers to his sorrow that his seemingly-instant rebirth consumed several years, out in the normal world.

Escorted by the beautiful yet dour Vaysh, they stop in the new Wraeththu city of Ferelithia, a happy and prosperous place, and Pellaz meets a striking har named Caeru ("Rue") Meveny. Believing now that Cal thinks him dead after the passage of years, Pell takes aruna with Rue and conceives a son by him. Storm describes their coupling through Pellaz's eyes with her usual panache:

"...after that, reality disappeared. With that unity we could have exploded the world. A microcosm flared in Rue's body, and I was the god that moved it."

The mighty Thiede awaits them in Immanion. He engineered Pell's temporary death to get him away from Calanthe to suit his own designs: to make Pellaz Tigron (king, emperor) of Immanion. Immanion's sitting Gelaming oligarchy, the Hegemony, objects, but Thiede has his way, in part because he IS the very first Wraeththu, with powers very nearly godlike. Pellaz is crowned Pellaz-har-Aralis, Tigron of Immanion, in Thiede's hopes that Pell's innocence -- that very quality that Cal admired when he first discovered him on the farm -- will make him a wise and just ruler....who just incidentally answers to Thiede.

So, everything's resolved, right? Everyone's happy? Nope! In his heart Pellaz still pines for Calanthe, and Caeru comes to Immanion with Pellaz's infant harling in tow, demanding an audience with the newly crowned Tigron. Mostly through Thiede's will Caeru is made Tigrina to Pellaz; Pellaz will have nothing to do with his new consort. And on that curious and bittersweet note, Book 1, The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit, ends.

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Her characters are vividly described and you find yourself really caring about them. Does Pell welcome Rue, or is his heart still truly given to the wild, unpredictable Calanthe? Speaking of the incredibly charismatic Cal, we know he's still out there somewhere; what happened to him? Does he go back to Terzian and his Varrish stronghold? Does Pell ever mesh with the Hegemony in Immanion, or do those snotty Gelaming always look down on him as a country-rube newcomer?

I enjoyed this first book so much that, after some frantic searching for the second book, Bewitchments, I knuckled under and bought it, imported, hardback and signed (!) so I could continue. I admit it, I was desperate! Now, thanks to Tor, the entire series is included in the Wraeththu trade-paperback omnibus in the US.

Reviews: Enchantments | Bewitchments | Fulfilments | Reviewer Paul W. Cashman's home page