Stormhold

Stormhold is a fictional country from the book Stardust (1998) by Neil Gaiman. It is the backdrop for the adventures of Tristran Thorne, his father Dunstan Thorne, the star named Yvaine, Septimus and the witch Lamia (Stardust). It is the capital city of Faerie, a magical world found past the gateway in the British city of Wall.

Location

Stormhold is hidden by a gateway which is found in the east of the city Wall. Wall is described as being a night's drive away from London. The gateway is guarded by the ancient yet formidably strong Guard, who only stops on May 1, when a market comes to town in the meadow just north of the wall.

Residents of Wall
*Tristran Thorn:-The hero of the story. A quiet, kind-hearted yet somewhat reckless young man. His adventures take him to the other side of the Wall and into the land of Stormhold.
*Dunstan Thorn:-Tristran's father. He broke the law by escaping to Stormhold and falling in love with the Slave Girl/Una, fathering Tristran.
*Victoria Forester:-The most beautiful of all the Wall girls, and the original object of Tristran's desire. Infatuated by her beauty, he is oblivious to her shallow and selfish nature.
*Daisy Hempstock:-Tristran's stepmother who mostly ignores him.
*Louisa Thorn:-Tristran's half-sister, who mocks and riducules him.

Government

In the novel, Stormhold is the name of the citadel where the royal family live. In the film it is the name of the magical kingdom. Stormhold is a monarchy ruled by a king, known as the Lord of Stormhold. The King of Stormhold in the film was played by Peter O'Toole.

The kings of Stormhold father many children, most of them male, and when the king dies the last surviving son becomes the rightful king and takes the Power of Stormhold, a magical topaz (in the film it's a ruby) which the ruling king wears, into their possession. Eagerness to become the rightful male heir has made fratricide very popular amongst the lords and princes of Stormhold. Fortunately, no princess nor lady of Stormhold is in danger of death as only a male can claim the throne. Nothing is known of the queens of Stormhold.

Fallen Stars

In both the novel and the film, stars are extremely valuable and powerful "objects" of power, despite the fact that the stars of the skies of Stormhold are living, breathing humanoid women of great beauty. It is a fallen star, named Yvaine that acts as a spur of the quest of three of the novel and film's main characters, Lamia, Tristan and Septimus.

A fallen star can be greatly beneficial to whomsoever encounters her (all the stars of Stormhold are female), for the heart of a star possesses immense powers of regeneration. Should a witch or a warlock devour the heart of the star, then they shall be granted centuries of youth. If an ordinary mortal, such as Septimus were to eat it, then he would become immortal. Others search for the star, such as a black market trader named Ferdy the Fence, who specialises in selling magical tools; and a witch named Ditchwater Sal. The fact that stars are living, breathing beings with the same emotions and feelings as regular humans mean nothing to those who seek the heart of the unfortunate star who has fallen.

The Story

In the book and film the King of Stormhold has one daughter and seven sons, all of them by three deceased wives. He slaughtered all twelve of his brothers single-handedly before his father even felt poorly, then murdered his father and took the Power of Stormhold and made himself the king. He is irritated that four of his seven sons, Primus, Secundus, Tertius and Septimus, are still alive and well. Three of them, Quintus, Quartus and Sextus, have been killed off by their brothers and watch as pale, shadowy observers. Septimus, the most ruthless of the family and his father's favourite, pushes Secundus from the king's bedchamber window as his ailing father and brothers, alive and dead, watch in amusement. Princess Una, the only female of the family and the only child besides Septimus that the king has any affection for, is absent from her father's deathbed and has been missing for years. All suspect Septimus has killed her as he was the last person to see her alive and he has a fondness for killing. He denies this act, nonchalantly saying "Why would I kill my sister while these cretins are still alive?"

After the dying King enchants the jewel and dies, it flies off into the heavens, knocking a star from the sky in doing so. The star, really a celestial beauty named Yvaine, plunges to the woodland of Stormhold and attracts a lot of unwanted attention: The Lilim, three ancient and evil sorceresses witness her fall to earth. Withered and frail, time has sapped the three evil witches of most of their powers of sorcery, and they are reaching the end of their lives. They are desperately seeking a way to restore both their magical powers and extend their diminishing lifespan. By reading the entrails of their sacrificial animals, Lamia the leader of the Three Sisters, sets off to find Yvaine so that she may steal her youth and therefore ensure she lives to see the next age of the world. In preparation for a long journey, Lamia devours the remains of the last fallen star's heart: one that fell four centuries ago and was captured, tricked and killed by the witches. Upon eating the heart, she is restored to a young and beautiful woman, although this is only temporary. Her two sisters Empusa and Mormo remain in their lair to guide Lamia whenever she needs help in finding the star. Unbeknown to them, Lamia has the intention of keeping the star's heart for herself.

Tristran Thorne from the village of Wall has travelled to Stormhold and Yvaine's location via means of a magical tool known as a Babylon candle. He vowed to his "true love" Victoria that he'd bring her back the fallen star so she'd marry him, unaware that the star was really an injured woman. Yvaine reluctantly agrees to go with Tristan and the two form an unlikely friendship on the way, eventually falling in love. However, they quickly learn that Yvaine is in peril in Stormhold: the stars plead with Tristan as he sleeps to protect Yvaine, as no star is safe in the accursed land of Stormhold. The last to fall, four centuries ago, was captured by the Lilim, who cared for her and healed her until her heart was glowing, for youth can only be restored if the consumed heart is shining at its happiest. Lamia conjures up an inn and turns her two goats into human servants, even though each spell counteracts her youth, making her older than she was before. Primus encounters Tristan who is desperately seeking Yvaine. They arrive at the inn, where Yvaine was taken by a unicorn and has been pampered by Lamia, posing as the innkeeper's wife, until her heart is glowing. Luckily for her, Primus and Tristan butt in before Lamia can cut Yvaine's heart out. Enraged, Lamia slits the throat of Primus, and moves toward the star and the boy, but they escape by means of the remains of Tristan's Babylon candle. Lamia shrieks in fury and Tristan and Yvaine are stuck upon a cloud high above Stormhold. Tristan had ordered Yvaine to "think of home" as he lit the candle. Apparently, the magical candle was torn between two separate ideas of home: Yvaine thought of her home, Tristan thought of his and now they are stuck halfway between the two. A heated argument breaks out, and Tristan and Yvaine officially detest each other.

The star and Tristan are then taken on board a sky vessel owned by Captain Shakespeare, a pirate with a fearsome reputation but is really a camp cross dresser. He realises Yvaine is a star but promises to keep her safe from those who mean her harm, including a shady black market merchant, Ferdinand "Ferdy" the Fence. Meanwhile Septimus finds the remains of Primus and learns of Yvaine. He seeks her because she has their precious topaz, and also because he also wants to eat her heart and make himself the immortal king of Stormhold. Lamia is closing in on Yvaine, yet now she is losing more and more of her youth, and thus has become even more determined to kill Yvaine. Soon, Tristan encounters an old witch known as Madame Semele, or Ditchwater Sal and her unnamed Slave Girl, who is in fact his blood mother. An earlier encounter with Lamia caused Sal to be cursed by the sorceress, meaning she will never see, touch or perceive Yvaine in any way. Tristan is turned into a rodent by the old crone out of spite and Yvaine reveals her love for him, thinking he cannot understand her.

Upon being restored to human form, Tristan says he knows Yvaine loves him and he returns her love. He travels home to Wall, taking a lock of Yvaine's hair to show Victoria. But if Yvaine entered England by crossing the wall, she'd solidify into celestial rock and die. Tristan realises this too late. He rushes to try and prevent Yvaine from following him across the threshold into the human universe. The Slave Girl of Ditchwater Sal saw Yvaine leave for the Wall, and managed to prevent her from entering the human world and freezing to rock. However, Lamia has tracked down Yvaine and taunts an interfering Ditchwater Sal. In revenge for casting a spell over her, Lamia moves to kill Sal and both witches battle with their magic, but Lamia triumphs. This act of magic reducing her to an ancient crone once more. She then abducts Yvaine (and the Slave Girl, for the sake of it) back to the decrepit Hall of the Lilim. Septimus has also kept up his pursuit of the star and follows, after finding the charred remains of Sal.

At the Hall of the Lilim, Tristan and Septimus meet and form an unlikely alliance. They burst roaring into the castle, interfering with the witches' plot. Yaine is tied down to a sacrificial altar, and Lamia and Mormo are preparing to kill her. The Prince moves to kill the Slave Girl, thinking her to be a witch, and is shocked when she turns out to be his long-lost sister Una. A vicious battle ensues where the now frail and haggard Lamia and her sisters, Empusa and Mormo, salvage the last of their magical power. Empusa and Septimus battle in a dual of steel and fire; Septimus manages to triumph by killing Empusa with her sacrificial carving knife used to dissect their animals. Una hurries over to Tristan and reveals she is his mother. Mormo moves to avenge her dead sister, but is torn apart by caged ferrets and wolves Tristan sets free. Incensed, Lamia kills Septimus with a voodoo doll by breaking his limbs and drowning him. Tristan and Lamia then battle face to face, the withered and ancient hag uses the voodoo doll to reanimate the corpse of Septimus, so that Tristan is distracted whilst she deals with the chained up star. The corpse almost wins, but Tristan crushes him beneath a chandelier and battles with Lamia, who herself is a skilled swordfighter. Lamia overpowers the boy, glances at the ruined corpses of her sisters, and with a furious shriek, Lamia almost cuts the boy open...then releases the star, to the surprise of Tristan and Yvaine. The old witch sobs that her sisters are dead and that the joys of youth and beauty are now meaningless. She tells them to leave and they merrily run off, with Una awaiting them outside. But it was a trick. using her magic, the witch slams and locks the doors to the castle. Then using her powers to shatter thousands of mirrors, driving Yvaine and Tristan back to the altar, she reveals her true plan. Lamia needed Yvaine's heart to rejuvenate herself, and had she killed Tristan, Yvaine's heart would be broken and all its regenerating powers rendered useless forever. As Lamia advances on the boy and the star with her carving knife, Yvaine's love for Tristan produces a magical radiance of light that vapourises the witch. Tristan is the last male of royal blood and is crowned King of Stormhold. He and Yvaine live happily for many years, before returning to the sky to live as twin stars.

Residents of Stormhold

*Yvaine:-An evening star, fallen to Stormhold after being knocked out of the sky by the Power of Stormhold. She is in grave danger; no star is safe in Stormhold.
*Ditchwater Sal (AKA Madame Semele):-An old witch who belongs to the Sisterhood of The Lilim. She earns her trade as a flower seller, and has Una working for her as a slave. In the film she is killed by Lamia.
*The Lilim:-Three ancient, evil witches. In the book they are nameless; they lost their names long ago. In the film they are Lamia, Empusa and Mormo. Their leader is Lamia, the main antagonist of the film and the book though in the book she is simply referred to as "the Witch-Queen." The Lilim seek Yvaine, as by consuming her heart, they will be rejuvenated to young and beautiful women.
*Princess Una:-The only daughter of the King of Stormhold and the mother of Tristan. She is a beautiful young woman who works as a slave for Ditchwater Sal. She is freed in the film as Sal is murdered by Lamia.
*Septimus;-The seventh-born son of the King of Stormhold. A ruthless and merciless killer, and a skilled assassin. He is responsible for many of the deaths of his brothers. He is also a suspect in his sister Una's sudden vanishing from the royal household.
*The Lord of Stormhold:-The father of the seven princes and the sole princess of Stormold. He is galled to see that three of his seven sons remain alive, when he single-handedly murdered all of his own twelve brothers. Upon his deathbed, he sends his remaining sons in search of the topaz which will enable them to claim the throne.
*Captain Shakespeare:-A pirate and shipmaster of a sky vessel that gathers bolts of lightening. Although he has a fearsome reputation, he is in fact a camp transvestite.
*Billy:-An old farm goat turned into a human innkeeper by Lamia in order to set a trap for Yvaine.
*Bernard (Brevis in the book):-A farmboy enslaved and turned into a goat, and then into a girl, by Lamia, even though every spell she casts rots away more of her precious youth.
*The Stars:-In Stormhold, stars are in fact humanoid women of great beauty, similar to angels. As Tristran sleeps after Yvaine escapes his clutches, the stars whisper to him of the great danger Yvaine is in and warn him of the terrible fate the last fallen star met in Stormhold.

Miscellanea

*The royal children of Stormhold have been named in Latin in the order they were born: Primus the firstborn; Secundus the second; Tertius the third; Quartus the fourth; Quintus the fifth; Sextus the sixth son; and Septimus the seventh son. Una is the sole daughter and her name means "One".
*The three witches, Lamia, Empusa and Mormo, are all named after vampiric female demons from Greek mythology.
*Septimus is the seventh child of his family, as his name suggests. In Angie Sage's Septimus Heap book series, the main character is also named Septimus and is the seventh son of the seventh son.