Chronicles of Ancient Darkness

Chronicles of Ancient Darkness

The six books that make up the series
Wolf Brother Spirit Walker Soul Eater Outcast Oath Breaker Ghost Hunter
Author	Michelle Paver
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy
Publisher	Orion
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback), audiobook (CD & cassette)

WARNING: THIS WILL RUIN THE BOOKS FOR YOU

Big text

Chronicles of Ancient Darkness is a series of six fantasy books from British author Michelle Paver, her first books for children.^[1] The books chronicle the adventures of Torak, an adolescent boy from the Wolf Clan, and his friends Renn and Wolf. The main story arc revolves around Torak and his quest to defeat the Soul Eaters, a group of evil clan mages who seek out to destroy all life in the forest.

Since the May 30, 2004 release of the first book in the series, Wolf Brother, the series has gained critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide. Wolf Brother became a national bestseller in the United States, and the rights to the series were bought by 20th Century Fox to be made into major motion pictures.

The books are set 6000 years ago in the pre-agricultural Stone Age. The main character, Torak, alone in the world, soon meets a lone wolf cub, Wolf, with whom he can communicate (having spent around three months in a wolf den as a baby). A girl named Renn, who is part of the Raven Clan, soon befriends them and supports them throughout the series. Torak's quest, along with Renn and Wolf, is to defeat the Soul Eaters, a group of former clan mages who have turned to evil, and who seek to control the forest.^[2]

The series consists of six books, first published between 2004 and 2009 and has chapter heading illustrations by Geoff Taylor.

Main characters

Torak, the main character, begins the series as a naïve, defensive, and curious boy of twelve. Over the course of the novels, he acquires several spiritual titles, including "Spirit Walker", and "Soul Eater": this last title causes numerous difficulties. He is slow to mature emotionally, but from the fourth book on he is described as taller and brave, in sharp contrast to the short, scrawny boy portrayed in the first three books. He becomes protective of Renn in the later books as they grow closer: this often annoys and frustrates her. He has the power to vanquish the Soul-Eaters and at first despises his power: he eventually grows to accept it.

Renn, the niece of the Raven Clan's leader, Fin-Kedinn. She is the same age as Torak. She is described as slim and small in the first few books. She is portrayed as tough, courageous and expert in archery. She has been forced into becoming a mage all her life because of her skill with magic. Torak, Wolf and Fin-Kedinn are her only true friends. Renn is often described through Torak's eyes as older and beautiful. She is often frustrated by his seeming thoughtlessness.

Wolf, a grey wolf, is Torak's guide and adoptive brother. He grows from a wobbly cub to a young adult over the course of around a year, but stays with Torak and Renn throughout the series of books. As a cub he is black, but he matures to a strong, steely grey tinged with red, with black about the shoulders. He has amber-golden eyes. At first he hates Renn intensely, and in the chapters that written are from his point of view, he initially refers to her as the "female tailless" (his word for humans) or "bad female tailless": as he develops affection to her, he begins to call her "pack-sister". The author gives him an unusual vocabulary which often describes exactly what things are: for example, he refers to fire as "Bright Beast-that-Bites Hot". Wolf eventually finds a female wolf called Darkfur, with whom he produces cubs.

Fin-Kedinn is the wise leader of the Raven Clan, Renn's uncle and Torak's adopted father. In the past he was best friends with Torak's father and his brother Tenris, both of whom were ambitious to become mages. Fin-Kedinn was in love with Torak's mother, but she loved Fa and followed him into exile when they fled the Soul-Eaters. Fin-Kedinn has won the respect of all the clans and even that of Wolf, who admire the 'lead wolf who smells of raven' because he has the habits of a wolf, such as only sleeping for short periods of time. Although impassive and refusing to show emotion, Fin-Kedinn cares deeply for both Renn and Torak.

The Soul-Eaters are a group of mages who set out to combine their powers for the good of all people, but became corrupted and now wish to have power over everyone. There were initially seven of them. Torak's late father, Fa, was one of them before rejecting their desire to take power and going into hiding in the forest, along with his wife. They remained in exile for 12 years, before Fa's death at the beginning of the first novel.

Story

Wolf Brother

Main article: Wolf Brother

Torak is twelve years old when his father is killed by a bear which has been possessed by a demon. As he is dying, he tells Torak to swear to find the Mountain of the World Spirit and ask for the Spirit's help in destroying the bear. On his journey he encounters Wolf, a lone wolf cub whose family has been killed by a flash flood. Wolf becomes Torak's guide. Torak and Wolf are captured by the Raven Clan; they are befriended by Renn, the prickly and outspoken niece of the clan's leader Fin-Kedinn. Torak appears to be the fulfilment of a prophecy about a "listener" who will give his heart's blood to the Mountain of the World Spirit, kill the bear and defy the Soul-Eaters, a group of erstwhile shamans who were once healers but brcame power-hungry and now use their magic for selfish ends. Torak, Wolf and Renn journey to the Mountain, collecting the three parts of the precious stone that Torak needs to offer to the World Spirit. Renn's brother Hord follows Torak. On the Mountain, as the bear gets closer, Torak and Hord fight. Wolf runs off, taking the stone to the mountain, as Hord and the bear are killed in an avalanche. Wolf leaves to join a pack of wolves and Torak returns to the Raven Clan.

Spirit Walker

Main article: Spirit Walker (novel)

The clans fall prey to a stalking sickness. Torak embarks on a search for a cure, which takes him to mysterious islands where the Seal Clan live. The Seal Mage, Tenris, promises to help him make a remedy. Torak meets a Seal Clan boy named Bale, who later becomes his friend. While on the island, Torak discovers that he is a spirit walker: his souls can move into other creatures, allowing him to feel and think as they do, but still remain himself. Tenris is not as helpful as he originally seemed: he is one of the Soul Eaters and plans to increase his powers by eating Torak's heart and becoming a spirit walker. Torak finds out that Tenris is actually his uncle. As Tenris is about to kill Torak, Renn wounds Tenris, allowing Torak to escape. Tenris is killed by an orca. Eventually, they discover the reason for the mysterious sickness is that Tenris sent enslaved children to poison juniper berries.

Soul Eater

Main article: Soul Eater (novel)

In their desire to subjugate all the clans, the Soul Eaters have captured a range of hunting animals - including Wolf - which they will sacrifice to unleash demons. They plan to control the demons with a fire opal. Torak and Renn make a dangerous journey across the frozen wilderness into the Far North to rescue Wolf; their friendship is tested to the limits and they become separated. They escape, but not before the Soul Eaters brand Torak against his will as one of them. Renn, meanwhile, has possession of the fire-opal and is about to sacrifice herself to destroy it. Nef, one of the Soul Eaters, saves her and sacrifices herself instead, to repay Torak's father for a favour he once did her. Fin-Kedinn and some of the Raven Clan make the journey North and save Renn and Torak, and bring them back home.

Outcast

Main article: Outcast (Michelle Paver novel)

After the secret of his Soul Eater mark is discovered, Torak is cast out by the clans, though Renn fiercely and furiously does all she can to stop it. Bale, who has travelled to the forests from his island in the sea, teams up with Renn to go after him: Renn helps him and then both Renn and Bale follow him as Torak wanders, suffering from insanity. Renn and Bale fight along the way, as Bale treats Renn condescendingly because of his beliefs about women, and he is confused about how strong and insistent Renn is. Renn sends help to Torak in the form of two ravens, which Torak has named Rip and Rek. While Torak is recovering his reason, Seshru the Viper Mage, a Soul Eater, uses her powers to draw him to her so she can control him. Renn and Bale together defy clan law by trying to help Torak. Seshru is revealed to be Renn's mother. Torak shows the clans that destroying him will not help them in their struggle against the Soul Eaters, and they accept him back. Fin-kedinn makes Torak his foster son. Renn is about to kill Seshru, but Bale steals her bow and kills Seshru himself, because Renn would be tainted if she killed her own mother. Fin-kedinn changes Torak's outcast tattoo , making him part of all types of clans.

Oath Breaker

Main article: Oath Breaker (novel)

Bale is murdered by Thiazzi the Oak Mage, who then takes the final piece of the fire opal. Torak vows to avenge Bale's death, and with Renn, Wolf and Fin-Kedinn follows Thiazzi into the Deep Forest where the Forest Horse and Auroch (sic) Clans are at war. As Torak, Renn and Fin-Kedinn are about to enter the Deep Forest, Fin-Kedinn is injured and turns back. Torak and Renn discover that Thiazzi is controlling the Deep Forest clans by impersonating their mages. A forest fire takes hold and Torak and Renn are separated. Torak finds his way to Thiazzi, while Renn is kidnapped by a Deep Forest tribe. She defies the tribe and their belief that women can't be mages, by insisting that she is a mage and showing them her bond with Wolf and the ravens, Rip and Rek. She is then kidnapped by Thiazzi and imprisoned in a giant, hollow tree, where she cuts herself free in time to avoid choking on smoke. She climbs to the top, from where she sees Torak fighting Thiazzi. She throws a burning brand of wood to Torak, and a burning ember sets fire to Thiazzi's hair. He falls to his death as Eostra's Eagle Owl snatches the fire opal from the Oak Mage. Many months later, Wolf and his mate Darkfur show Torak and Renn their new cubs.

Ghost Hunter

The Eagle Owl Mage, Eostra, sends a shadow sickness among the clans, and makes her owl kill one of Wolf's cubs and fly off with another. Renn and Torak venture to the Mountain of Ghosts with a grieving Wolf to stop Eostra from killing all life in the forest. When Renn injures her leg because of Eostra's demon dogs, Torak leaves without her: when she has recovered, she goes after him, furious. Torak is captured by a strange boy named Dark who has been cast out by his clan. After much pleading, Dark releases Torak and ventures with him to the Mountain of Ghosts. There they meet Renn, who had stopped to rescue Darkfur, who had gone miles in the snow with an infected wound to rescue her last cub. They find Eostra summoning the ghosts of the dead Soul Eaters, including Torak's father. The Walker, who appeared insane when Torak and Renn previously met him in Wolf Brother, arrives and reveals himself to be Narrander, the seventh Soul Eater thought to have been killed in a great fire years before. Narrander summons the Hidden People to cause a rockfall. Eostra falls into a crevice, pulling Torak with her. Shortly afterwards, Wolf finds Torak's body and forces Torak's spirit to re-enter it. Renn, Dark, Rip and Rek reunite with Torak and Wolf. Three months later, Dark is named the new Raven Mage, and, after saying goodbye to Fin-Kedinn and promising to return one day, Torak and Renn continue on their travels with Wolf, Darkfur, the surviving cub Pebble, and ravens Rip and Rek.

Development

In 1980, while Paver was attending Oxford University, she had the idea of writing a story about a young boy and a wolf cub. She scribbled down a few pages of a rough draft taking place in the 9th century, focusing on an orphaned boy with his wolf cub. Displeased with the rough draft, she locked the story away.

Fifteen years after writing the original rough draft, while Paver was hiking by herself in southern California, a large female Brown bear with two cubs walked onto the trail she was following. Paver was aware that brown bears are at their most dangerous when they have cubs, and any sudden movement might cause the bear to attack. Paver began singing "Danny Boy" to the bear in an effort to show she meant no harm. The bear approached Paver, swaying its head from side to side and smelling her. She began backing up very slowly until the bear was out of sight, and she then fled the scene. Several years later, while looking through a pile of old notes, she stumbled upon the rough draft she had written in 1980. She felt the story was missing something, and her mind raced to the memory of her encounter with the bear, and the plot of Wolf Brother unfolded before her. Paver began researching the timeline of her story, and she travelled to northern Finland to research how the people in her book would have lived nearly six thousand years ago. After hours in the library and much travel, Paver began writing the book. Wolf Brother was published in September 2004, and shortly after the book's publication Paver began work on the next book in the series.

Research

Paver researched extensively while developing the book. In addition to academic study, she travelled to north-eastern Finland, where she trekked with a field guide over 300 miles across the forests. In order to gain an understanding of life in the New Stone Age, they used only the sort of tools and clothing which would have been available 6000 years ago, slept in a traditional laavu shelter in a sleeping bag made of reindeer skin, and ate only foods which Stone-Age hunter-gatherers would have been able to utilise.In addition, she spent time at a wolf reserve studying the wolves and observing their behaviour.^[3]

Two new possible series

In March 2007, in a question-and-answer session conducted on a fansite, Paver announced that there may be a prequel series to the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. She also said that she had not been able to give it much thought as she was too bound up with the story of Torak, Renn and Wolf.^[4]

According to Surrey Life magazine in March 2010, Paver is currently working on a new series for the same readership as the Chronicles. She said "It will still be set in pre-history, but at a slightly later time and a different part of the world." She also revealed that a volcano would definitely come into it at some point.^[5]

In November 2010, fanforum Chronicles of Ancient Darkness published the following announcement:

After months of speculation, we can finally tell Clanners that yes - there WILL be another BIG series by Michelle - and it will be published by Puffin Books! The new series will be called GODS AND WARRIORS. It's set during the Bronze Age in the Mediterranean, and Michelle has already begun work on it. "I've been overwhelmed by Puffin's passion for GODS & WARRIORS", says Michelle. "As a child, my bookshelf was crammed with Puffin paperbacks, and I'm thrilled that my next series will become part of that tradition."

Film rights

In 2004, 20th Century Fox purchased the rights to make feature films of the book series. The first book in the series, Wolf Brother, has been optioned from $250,000 against $1 million. The film series will be produced by Ridley Scott and Erin Upson. A script is in production, according to an answer to a fan letter.^[6]

There has been no recent news in the past years on the production of the film.

References

1. ^ "An Interview With Michelle Paver". The New York Times Sunday Book Review. July 15, 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/books/review/interview-paver.html. Retrieved 18th June 2010. 
2. ^ "Author Interview - Michelle Paver". BookBrowse website. undated. http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm?author_number=1109. Retrieved 18th June 2010. 
3. ^ Paver, Michelle. "Author essay". Harper Collins. http://www.harpercollins.com/author/authorExtra.aspx?authorID=27786&isbn13=9780060728250&displayType=bookessay. Retrieved 23rd October 2011. 
4. ^ "The Clan - The Front Page". Jointheclan.com. http://www.jointheclan.com/. Retrieved 26th July 2010. 
5. ^ "Wimbledon wanderer Michelle Paver, author of the best-selling Chronicles of Ancient Darkness". Surrey Life magazine. March 2010. http://surrey.greatbritishlife.co.uk/article/wimbledon-wanderer-michelle-paver-author-of-the-best-selling-chronicles-of-ancient-darkness-19550/. Retrieved 5th August 2010. 
6. ^ "The Clan - The Front Page". Torak.info. http://www.torak.info/. Retrieved 26th July 2010. 

External links

• Michelle Paver's official website
• Chronicles of Ancient Darkness website