Age of the Five

Age of the Five is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Trudi Canavan, recounting the story of Auraya, a young priestess who rises to the highest rank in her world's religious hierarchy, only to find that there may be more to the Gods she worships than she was led to believe.

Cover	Title	Year	ISBN
	Priestess of the White	November 2005 (Australia) 2 February 2006 (UK)	ISBN 1-84149-386-4 (UK hardback) ISBN 1-84149-515-8 (UK Paperback)
[1]
	Last of the Wilds	April 2006 (Australia) 1 August 2006 (UK) 18 January 2007 (UK)	ISBN 0-06-081591-4 ISBN 1-84149-387-2 (UK hardback) ISBN 1-84149-516-6 (UK paperback)
[2]
	Voice of the Gods	November 2006 (Australia) 1 July 2007 (UK)	ISBN 0-7322-7871-6 ISBN 1-84149-388-0 (UK hardback)

Plot Overview

Priestess of the White

Age of Five is a world where humans worship five gods (known as 'The Five')

• Chaia, God of Kings
• Huan, Goddess of Fertility
• Lore, God of War
• Yranna, Goddess of Women
• Saru, God of Gambling

The People who worship these five gods are known as Circlians, who live in Hania in northern Ithania. These were the only surviving gods after the War of Gods. The Circlians are guided by the White, the gods chosen rulers. They consist of:-

• Juran – Oldest and strongest of the White
• Dyara – Second oldest and most powerful of the White
• Rian – An unquestioning fanatic. He is also the weakest sorcerer among the white.
• Mairae – The most frivolous and sensual of the white
• Auraya (later replaced by Ellareen in 'Voice of the Gods')

The Whites are the representatives of the gods in the mortal world. Immensely powerful thanks to Gifts bestowed to them by the Five, the White rule Northern Ithania according to the advice of the gods. Whites are expected to show total obedience to the Circlian gods, with disobedience severely punished as demonstrated by Auraya's removal at the end of "Last of the Wilds", due to her failure to obey the gods' orders to kill Leiard.
The story begins with Auraya, a girl who lives in Oralyn, a large village in Hania. Auraya is with Leiard, a Dreamweaver and Auraya's mentor, who is in search of cures for her sick mother. Dreamweavers are better at healing than the Circlians but the Dreamwaver’s founder and head, Mirar, was killed by Juran of the White for seduction of the people. Circlians hate Dreamweavers and refuse to utilise their healing skills. Auraya solves a dispute which arises between the Dunwayans, a warrior clan, and the Circlians. Impressed by her negotiating skills, she is offered the chance to become a priestess, which she then accepts. Later, it is revealed that Auraya has ascended to the rank of a high priestess. In the ceremony to select the final member of the White, Auraya is chosen by the Five.
Auraya was given a pet veez named Mischief. Her first mission is to create a peace treaty with the Somreyians. Somrey is a country where Dreamweavers have a significant presence in the court. Dreamweaver Elder Arleej, the Head of the Dreamweavers resides there. Auraya later appoints Leiard as Dreamweaver Advisor to the White. Leiard has lots of memories of Mirar. Dreamweavers have the ability to perform a ritual known as a memory link in which people can link memories of each other as a way of sharing knowledge and experiences. By using Leiard's knowledge of Dreamweaver customs, the Treaty is negotiated and signed. In the meantime Rian encounters a sorcerer as powerful as himself, which he later discovers is one of the Voices, which the Circlians thought were a deceased or non-existent set of gods. Then, on the return journey from Somrey, Auraya encounters and is defeated by Kuar, the First Voice of these new gods. In the battle she learns how to fly, a unique gift that no other sorcerers have - not even the White.
Meanwhile, Emerahl, an Immortal living in an Island for over 100 years, has heard of a priest called by the people where she lived in her lighthouse. She is forced to leave the Island due to the arrival of the priest in the fear the White could discover who she was. Due to the Circlian priest's search for her, she changes herself to a young girl of 21 and joins a brothel as a prostitute.
Upon Auraya's return, she forms a close friendship with the Siyee, the flying people of Si. They live in far Northern Ithania and are smaller than humans, who the Siyee refer to as "landwalkers". The gods asked the White to unite all of the Northern Ithania. The White therefore decide to attempt to agree a treaty with the Siyee. As a result, Auraya is sent to Si, the land of the Siyee, using her Gift of flight. Before her departure to Si, Auraya and Leiard become secret lovers, and continue their affair in the form of dream linking, a Skill that is most commonly practiced by Dreamweavers and forbidden in Northern Ithania. During her stay in Si, Auraya manages to successfully form a treaty with the Siyee.
A war has been declared between White and Pentadrians after Sennon signed a treaty with the Pentadians. The Pentadrians live in southern Ithania and are led by the Voices of the Gods. They are similar to the White in that they are the Gods' chosen representatives, with Kuar as the First Voice of Gods, Imenja as the Second Voice, Vervel as Third Voice, Genza as the Fourth Voice and Sharneya as the Fifth Voice. Leiard resigns in the fear that the White might discover his affair with Auraya by reading his thoughts. Leiard starts talking to Mirar in his mind. Juran comes to see Leiard and asks that Leiard leaves Auraya and depart immediately. When Auraya searches for and finds Leiard, she sees him in the brothel with the prostitute, unaware that it is Mirar in control of his mind and body, and regrets that she loved him. War breaks out between the Circlians and Pentadrians. Finally Auraya gives the final blow and kills Kuar, the first Voice. The Pentadrians surrender to the Circlians. While Leiard is on the battlefield healing, Emerahl sees Mirar in Leiard and takes him with her.

Plot synopsis

Age of the Five plays in a universe where there is a pantheon of five gods (the "Five"), the only apparent survivors of a war (known as 'The War of the Gods') where formerly there were hundreds of gods walking the Earth. These five gods control the destiny of the Northern half of the world through a priesthood known as the "White", their five representatives in the human world (assumed to be the single country of Ithania). Pitted against them is the Southern part of Ithania, claiming in turn to worship five different gods, known as the "Voices of the Gods". Both factions vie and eventually war for control over their opponents.

Auraya, the main character, is chosen to be a White. She starts off with diplomatic missions, and later moves on to fighting in one major battle between the north and the south. She discovers that she has innate powers that far exceed her peers, indeed it later turns out that she is a potential new "Wild" - a group of powerful immortal sorcerers who have been persecuted under the will of the gods. Later in the series, the Wilds are discovered to be at the final stage before god-hood themselves, and they uncover a means to kill the existing pantheon of gods. Through the novels, Auraya's attitude towards her gods changes from complete obedience to distrust and eventually hatred, as she comes to realize their flaws and moral defects.

In the end, the pantheon of gods are killed by the Wilds. The epilogue reveals that humanity spends the next fifty years warring in the void of power they leave behind until, in a possible parallel with Constantine, a new religion with an imagined single all-powerful god is adopted by an Emperor to keep the peace.

The Five

After the War of the Gods, in which many deities were killed, only six gods were left alive. Following the suicide of the sixth, Sorli, the remainder established themselves as the gods of all Ithania, creating two separate and rival traditions to worship them- the Pentadrians and the Circlians. Taking on different names and images for each religion, the Five spent their time playing games with humanity, pitting their two religions against each other, and convincing each faith that the other religion was heretical. The Five were known as the Circle in the Circlian religion, and as the Five to the Pentadrians. They were represented by the White in the Circlians, and the Voices of the Gods to the Pentadrians.

The five were killed when the 6 wilds surrounded them and created a void. When the wilds drew all the magic away an area of magic was left in the middle of the newly created void. Although the Gods could have survived until the magic flowed back, freeing them, Chaia, trying to protect the humans from the other Gods continuing influence drew all the magic into himself, finally killing himself and the other 4 gods.

To the Ciclians, the Five were:

• Chaia, God of Kings
• Huan, Goddess of Fertility
• Lore, God of War
• Yranna, Goddess of Women
• Saru, God of Gambling

To the Pentadrians, the Five were:

• Sheyr, God of Prosperity
• Hrun, Goddess of Love
• Alor, God of Warriors
• Ranah, Goddess of the Moon and Fire
• Sraal, God of wealth

Chaia/Sheyr

Known as Chaia, God of Kings to the Circlians, and Sheyr, God of Prosperity to the Pentadrians, Chaia was a legendary seducer on a par with Mirar, who was hated by the immortals and Dreamweavers for his sexual habits. Using magic to pleasure his lovers in a way no physical sensation could match, he left young women mad and shells of their former selves when he grew bored and cast them aside. Alternatively, as Auraya's lover, Chaia protected her and interceded many times on her behalf, showing her the treachery of Huan and saving her from being raped and killed by Nekaun. Chaia also killed the other members of the Five when he committed suicide.

Huan/Hrun

Known as Huan, Goddess of Fertility to the Circlians, and Hrun, Goddess of Love to the Pentadrians, Huan was notorious for her capriciousness and cruelty. Deforming and torturing thousands of humans to create mutants such as the Siyee and Elai, Huan was hated by Dreamweavers and immortals alike. She was initially a supporter of Auraya, but after the White's refusal to kill Mirar or let the goddess possess her, Huan persecuted Auraya, attempting to kill and maim her on multiple occasions.

Reception

'A wonderfully and meticulously detailed world, and an edge-of-the-seat plot, this book is a must for lovers of good fantasy' Jennifer Fallon
'Canavan is a natural storyteller' Emerald City
‘Containing everything you want from a fantasy tale’ DeathRay
‘High calibre fantasy from one of Australia's best’ SFRevu^[3]

References

1. ^ "Priestess of the White: Age Of The Five Book One". Little Brown official site. http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/Title/9781405504461. Retrieved 2009-05-01. 
2. ^ "Last of the Wilds: Age Of The Five Book Two". Little Brown official site. http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/Title/9781405504485. Retrieved 2009-05-01. 
3. ^ "Voice Of The Gods: Age Of The Five Book Three". Little Brown official site. http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/Title/9781841493886. Retrieved 2009-05-01.