Stone of Farewell

infobox Book |
name = Stone of Farewell
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = US Hardcover Edition
author = Tad Williams
cover_artist = Michael Whelan
country = United States
language = English
series = Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn
genre = Fantasy
publisher = DAW Books
release_date = August 1990
media_type = Print (Hardback and Paperback)
pages = 608 (Hardback)
isbn = ISBN 0-88677-435-7 (US Hardback)
preceded_by = The Dragonbone Chair
followed_by = To Green Angel Tower

"Stone of Farewell" is the second novel in Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy. The saga follows a young man named Simon as he is caught up in an epic adventure.

Plot introduction

The advancing might of Ineluki the Storm King and his undead minions threatens to lock the world in eternal winter unless the forces defying him can discover the secrets of the League of the Scroll and unite humans, Sithi, and Qanuc in a battle for the future of Osten Ard.

Plot summary

After the cliffhanger ending of "The Dragonbone Chair", we find that Simon, the scullion-turned-warrior, has wrested the legendary sword Thorn from the frozen lair of Igjarjuk, the ice dragon. The dragon's blood, scalding his face and turning some of his hair white, earns him the new name Simon Snowlock, but while his scars may brand him as a dragonslayer, he's much the same young man he was before.

As Simon recovers from his wound, Binabik the troll and Sludig the Rimmersman are being tried for crimes against the Qanuc people. Sludig's crime is merely being a Rimmersman, a traditional enemy of the Qanuc, while Binabik is charged with abandoning his fiancée, Sisqi, before marriage. Jiriki, a Sithi prince who owes Simon several favors, isn't inclined to help Simon free his imprisoned friends. Eventually, Simon does manage to free Binabik and Sludig, where the friends head south to deliver Thorn to Prince Josua.

Meanwhile, the exiled prince Josua and his ragged band of survivors flee from the ruins of Naglimund. They head for Aldheorte Forest, trying to escape the swords and arrows of their enemies, all the while trying to reach the Stone of Farewell, where the League of the Scroll believes they will be able to regroup and recuperate. Elsewhere, Josua's niece Miriamele is traveling undercover in the dubious company of the monk Cadrach, a drunken sot. Daughter of the evil King Elias, she is at constant risk of being discovered and captured. Duke Isgrimnur, also having gone undercover, hopes to find Miriamele and return her to her uncle Josua before she is harmed or captured, either by her father or by others. At the same time, Maegwin, the Hernystiri princess, teeters between desperation and insanity while searching deep in the earth for some salvation for her refugee people.

After surviving many perils, Simon becomes the only mortal to enter Jao e-Tinukai'i, last refuge of the Sithi. The band led by Prince Josua, though betrayed by the chieftain of the nomadic Thrithings-folk, eventually reaches the Stone of Farewell, where they wait for the arrival of Simon and the blade Thorn. As King Elias consolidates his power, the Storm King's blight brings permanent winter to most of Osten Ard, and the remaining defenders ready for a decisive battle at the Stone.

Major characters in "Stone of Farewell"

Qanuc

*Binabik
*Sisqi (Bibabik's "betrothed")
*The Herder and Huntress

ithi

*Jiriki
*Ineluki the Storm King
*Amerasu (Jiriki's great grandmother)
*Aditu (Jiriki's sister)

Erkynlanders

*Simon Snowlock
*Prince Josua Lackhand
*King Elias
*Guthwulf, Earl of Utanyeat
*Princess Miriamele

Rimmersmen

*Sludig
*Duke Isgrimnur

Hernystiri

*Cadrach
*Maegwin (daughter of King Lluth)

Other or unknown

*Geloë
*Pryrates
*Tiamak the Wrannaman
*Sir Camaris
*Utuk'ku the Norn Queen

External links

* [http://www.tadwilliams.com/stone_farewell.html Tad Williams discusses "Stone of Farewell"]