The Riddle-Master of Hed

The Riddle-Master of Hed is the first book in a High Fantasy trilogy, The Riddle of the Stars, by Patricia A. McKillip that takes place in a Standard Fantasy Setting with a Morality Kitchen Sink. The other two are Heir of Sea and Fire and Harpist in the Wind.

Morgon was a student before his parents died and he became the land-ruler of Hed. He was born with a birth mark of three stars on his forehead which are the subject of prophecy, although he tries to ignore that. When the High One's harpist, Deth, comes to visit during his travels, he informs Morgon that Raederle of An's hand in marriage was promised to whomever could defeat Peven of Aum in a riddle game and that An has been in an uproar ever since Peven told the last person to challenge him that he was too late. Morgon admits that he won Peven's crown in a riddle game and resolves to go with Deth to visit Raederle and offer himself in marriage.

Before they can get very far, their ship is attacked by shape-changers who are determined to kill The Starbearer aka Morgon. For his very life, Morgon travels with Deth to the High One on Erlenstar Mountain in search of an answer to the riddle of three stars.

The second book follows Raederle of An, Lyra of Herun, and Morgon's sister Tristan as they search for Morgon, Deth, and the High One, who are all now considered missing ever since Morgon reached the High One and fell out of all contact. The third book deals with the growing war against the shape-changers and the continuing search for the truth about the High One.

The main characters:

• Morgon of Hed: aka The Star-Bearer. He is the Prince of Hed and least important of land-rulers. He was born with three stars on his forehead which are the subject of some of the oldest unsolved riddles. Before his parents died Morgan attended Caithnard where he studied riddle mastery. Shortly before the first book he secretly bet his life in a riddle game that hundreds of men have died attempting. He keeps the crown he won under his bed and just wants to farm.

• Deth: The High One's harpist and Morgon's closest friend and mentor. He guides Morgon to Erlenstar Mountain.

• Raederle of An: Princess of An, promised by her father Mathom to the man who would defeat Peven and protagonist of the second book.

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Tropes used in The Riddle-Master of Hed include:

• Action Girl: Lyra of Herun, who is herself the leader of the Morgol's all-female guard.
• Actual Pacifist: Morgon until he is betrayed. He is brought back to himself, brutally and then broken in half all over again out of necessity.
• The Aloner: Astrin, Deth, Morgon and Har.
• Amazon Brigade: The Morgol's guard.
• Amplifier Artifact: The twelve-sided crystal Raederle finds that more than does the job for a simple reflection spell.
• Anguished Declaration of Love: Deth to Morgon. (Unusually for this trope, a familial rather than romantic love.)
• Arcadia: Hed.
• Bad Dreams: Morgon dreams about Deth's harping.
• Becoming the Mask: Deth.
• Belly of the Whale: Morgon, during the year in which Ghisteslwchlohm imprisons him. Since the land-rule passes to Eliard, everyone assumes Morgan is dead.
• Big Bad: The shape-changers; the one impersonating Eriel is heavily implied to be the mastermind.
  • Big Bad Wannabe: Ghisteslwchlohm thinks he's got everything under control- and then he runs into the Earth-masters and ends up their mind-controlled puppet.
• Big No: Morgon's Great Shout at the end of the first book.
• Blow You Away
• Broken Pedestal: Master Ohm/Ghisteslwchlohm and Deth, for most of the last two books until the whole scope of his plan is revealed.
• Call to Agriculture: Morgon wants to be a peaceful farmer, not the Chosen One.
• The Chosen One: Morgon.
• Deadpan Snarker: Deth.
• Dead Person Impersonation: Multiple times throughout the series.
• The Dragon: Ghisteslwchlohm ends up forced to play this role to "Eriel" and the Earth-masters.
• The Drifter: Deth
• Dysfunctional Family: Morgon's family - Morgon, Eliard and Tristan - and Raederle's - currently Mathom, Raederle, Duac and Rood.
  • And let's not forget the ruling family of Ymris - Astrin, Heureu, and Heureu's shape-changer wife Eriel.
  • The remaining ruling families seem surprisingly well-adjusted, for people who can live a thousand years, see through walls and turn themselves into trees.
• Elemental Powers: Hereditary in humans and highly developed in the Shape-changers. Magic doesn't seem to be limited to one particular element, but some characters specialize.
• Elements of Nature: Earth, Fire, Water and Wind.
• Engagement Challenge: Raederle has been offered by her father to the man who can defeat Peven in a riddle game. It's been considered unwinnable for centuries before Morgon comes along.
  • Although the father reveals later that he'd had a pair of prophetic visions: one of a certain young man winning the game, and the other of Raederle being in love with that man. The "challenge" was just to prevent anyone trying to push him into arranging a political marriage that might keep her from the man she loved.
• Evil Sorcerer: Ghisteslwchlohm
• Expy: The author is an explicit fan of The Lord of the Rings, and while this series is considerably different as a whole, there is one example of this- Ghisteslwchlohm bears a striking resemblence in many respects to Saruman.
• Eyes of Gold: All the Morgols of Herun have them; it's a side-effect of the power that lets them see through solid objects.
• Fake King: Ghisteslwchlohm.
• Fallen Hero: Morgon in the second book.
• Fiery Redhead: Raederle and her brother Rood.
• Fingore: Deth is a foremost a harpist even after his hands are destroyed as punishment by Ghisteslwchilohm.
• Fisher King: The land-rulers are all benevolent examples.
• Forced to Watch: Deth, if not by Ghisteslwchlohm then by his own conscience and because there's nothing he can do to save Morgon.
• Functional Magic: Inherent Gift is pretty common, particularly among land-rulers and their families; the whole world is filled with Wild Magic; Rule Magic has largely disappeared with the wizards but returns with them.
• Geometric Magic: Dodecahedrons.
• Ghost Amnesia: After winning their riddle game with his life, Morgon reminds Peven of the names of his children.
• God Was My Co-Pilot: You know the one.
• Half-Human Hybrid: Raederle; her family's Earth-master heritage is very pronounced in her.
• Have You Seen My God?: The High One
• Heroic Albino: Astrin
• Hidden Depths
• High Fantasy
• It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Morgon attempts to tell Raederle this. Fortunately for everyone, she convinces him otherwise.
• Kill Me Now or Forever Stay Your Hand: Morgan has a literal Sword Over Head scene with Deth at the end of Heir of Sea and Fire.
• Kill the Ones You Love: It's always been part of the plan that Morgon has to kill Deth.
• Language of Magic: Magic is a unique hodgepodge of functional music, language, sympathetic geometry and elemental.
• Loads and Loads of Characters: So many there's an index at the end of the book.
• Make Me Wanna Shout
• Magical Assassin: A shapeshifter nearly suffocates Morgon with a song.
• Magical Land
• Magic Music: Very much so, the highest example being Morgon's harp, which he can barely play.
• Meaningful Name: Deth and Rood, who is willing to strip to make a point. Also Yrth 'earth' and Raederle 'riddle', referring to her ancestry.
• Milky White Eyes: Astrin
• Mind Rape: For a long time this is Morgon's life under Erlenstar Mountain.
• Modest Royalty: Many of them, but especially Morgon.
• Morality Kitchen Sink
• My Master, Right or Wrong: Played straight and subverted with Deth, the High One's harpist.
• Mythopoeia
• Nature Spirit: The shape-changers.
• No Pronunciation Guide: Raederle. Ghisteslwchlohm. Many other people in Herun, who tend to go by nicknames to work around this.
• Noble Fugitive: The High One is nearly murdered by his heir.
• Nothing Is Scarier: A riddle about a King of Hed who was pursued into his home by a monster and when he finally opened the door nothing was there.
• The Obi-Wan: Deth
• Offing the Offspring: The shape-changers's children.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: We hear a lot about Morgon finally managing to turn Ghisteslwchlohm's power against him and escape; unfortunately, it's all either secondhand or long after the fact.
• One-Scene Wonder: Rood and the Mathom and Duac Show.
• Only One Name
• Omniscient Morality License: Deth only does what he must and he's willing to take any punishment for doing what's necessary.
• Our Ghosts Are Different
• Overly Long Name: A Herun tradition, apparently, which is why they all go by shortened versiona of their names - e.g. Elrhiarhodan and her daughter Lyraluthuin are El and Lyra to their friends
• Physical God: The High One and the Earth-masters.
• Rage Against the Mentor
• Really Seven Hundred Years Old: The wizards, shape-changers, and a few of the land-rulers live an indefinitely long time.
• Rebellious Princess: Raederle of An, Tristan of Hed and Lyra of Herun.
• Resigned to the Call: It takes a few near-death experiences for Morgon to even consider going to the High One and asking him to figure things out.
• Rignt Justified Fantasy Map: It seems that human colonisation of the High One's realm came from over the Eastern sea, and never extended into the harsh Bad Lands further West.
• Royal Blood
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Due to the small size of their kingdoms and each land-ruler's psychic connection to his or her own land.
• Pursued Protagonist: Deth and Morgon.
• The Quiet One: Deth.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: The shape-changers. Sealed Amorality In A Can?
• Shoot the Dog: So many times.
• Silent Scapegoat: Deth.
• Soundtrack Dissonance: Because it's all he can do, Deth plays Morgon his harp while Morgon's being mind raped.
• Spell Book: Of the most obscure and impractical kind. Opening them is the first challenge.
• Standard Fantasy Setting
• Stern Chase: Morgon and Deth in the final book
• Sympathetic Magic
• Take Up My Sword: Deth to Morgon
• Thanatos Gambit: The High One.
• Thousand Year Reign: The High One's succession.
• Treacherous Advisor: Sort of. Played straight and then subverted.
• Unexpected Successor: Yrth had absolutely no clue.
• The Unpronounceable: One of the wizards is actually called "Iff of the Unpronouncable Name"; it turns out his full name has to be sung, not spoken, and even then it took a while to work out the tune.
• Wizarding School: Lungold had one, before Ghisteslwchlohm destroyed it.
• Wizards Live Longer:
• The Wise Prince: Deth and Morgon.
• World's Most Beautiful Woman: Played with, in that Raederle is officially the second most beautiful woman "in all the Three Portions of An."
• Words Can Break My Bones: "The Great Shout" is a variation on this - psychic shouting that can do a remarkable amount of damage.
  • Or harvest quite a lot of tree nuts.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: The shape-changers themselves and anyone with enough natural talent and willpower.
• You Are in Command Now: Morgon. Twice.