The Annals of the Chosen

"The Annals of the Chosen" is a trilogy by Lawrence Watt-Evans.

The trilogy is set in the world of Baroken. All magic in Baroken is based on "ler". Magic is broken into two types. "Ler" of the first type are linked to a specific object. There are "ler" of plants, places, animals and things. Priests negotiate with these "ler" so that people can live in peace with them. Some "ler" can be very demanding. The second type of "ler" are not linked to any specific place and can be more abstract in nature. Wizardry is related to these "ler". However, unlike priests, wizards don't negotiate. They control these "ler" by binding them to talismans.

Baroken is ruled by a powerful wizard called the Wizard Lord. A group of wizards called the Council of Immortals select the Wizard Lord, who then reigns until death or he chooses to resign. The source of the Wizard Lord's power is a collection of talismans, given to him by the Council of Immortals, that make him much more powerful than the other wizards. The Wizard Lord is responsible for dealing with any wizard that goes rogue and attacks the general population. He also provides some public services like weather control.

Since the Wizard Lord's talismans make him extremely powerful, a problem occurs if the Wizard Lord himself goes rogue. Even combined, the other wizards would have great difficulty in dealing with him. When a Wizard Lord goes rogue, he is referred to as a Dark Lord.

When the first Dark Lord occurred, the surviving wizards created the Chosen to deal with the problem. The Chosen are just ordinary people who have taken an oath to deal with any Dark Lord that occurs. Although, the Council of Immortals may request that they remove a Wizard Lord, the Chosen have the final authority to declare that a Wizard Lord has become a Dark Lord and may make the decision even if not asked by the Council of Immortals.

In addition to enhanced immunity to magic that each member has, the Chosen have two major advantages to help counter the Wizard Lord's power. First, each member has specialised magic that is designed to help with some aspect of a mission to kill a Dark Lord. Second, the talismans that give the Dark Lord his enhanced power only function if the corresponding member of the Chosen is alive. This means each time he kills one of the Chosen, he loses some aspect of his power and if they are all killed, all of his talismans lose their power and the Council of Immortals can easily deal with him. The Chosen are also mostly immune to each other's magic.

The Chosen

The Leader

Magical Abilities:
*"Persuasion": Can convince people to do things they don't want and when he speaks, all in earshot have no choice but to listen
*"Planning": Can make plans quickly and they have a disproportionally large chance of working

Curse:
*Must convince one person (or thing if no people are available) to do something they wouldn't have done, once a day

Talisman: Command

Linked Talisman: Glory
*Increases the Wizard Lord's aura of authority, making him difficult to disobey

The Swordsman

Magical Abilities:
*"Swordsmanship": Has enhanced skill with a sword or any swordlike weapon, so that he is the greatest swordsman in Barokan. Will always win a fair duel with anyone.

Curse:
*Must practice his swordsmanship for an hour a day

Talisman: Blades

Linked Talisman: Strength
*Increases the Wizard Lord's physical strength and endurance

The Archer

Magical Abilities:
*"Stealth": can greatly reduce the chances of people noticing that he is there.
*"Bowmanship": Enhanced skill with a bow, so that he is the greatest archer in Barokan.

Curse:
*Must hit 12 difficult targets per day

Talisman:arrow

Linked Talisman: Weather
* Grants weather control

The Seer

Magical Abilities:
*"Location": Knows where the Wizard Lord and the members of the Chosen are at all times (Chosen can be shielded)
*"Insight": Somethings just knows important facts

Curse:
*Must meditate for 1 hour each night to listen to the "ler"

Talisman: Sight

Linked Talisman: Warding
*Allows the Wizard Lord to determine the location of the Chosen (can be shielded)

The Speaker

Magical Abilities:
*"Tongues": Can speak and understand all languages, including "ler's"

Curse:
*Must listen to all voices around her

Talisman: Tongues

Linked Talisman: Names
*Allows the Wizard Lord to determine the true name of every person and animal. Knowing its true name allows him to control any animal.

The Beauty

Magical Abilities:
*"Beauty": is physically the most beautiful woman in Baroken and this is then enhanced further by magic
*"Healing": has the healing ability of a strong priest

Curse:
*Cannot conceive
*Cannot switch off her magical beauty enhancements (which would make her just the most beautiful woman in Baroken)

Talisman: ???

Linked Talisman: Health
* ???

The Thief

Magical Abilities:
*"Stealing": Enhanced ability to steal
*"Lock-picking": Can open (nearly?) any lock

Curse:
*3 times a day, open a lock without a key or steal something (but can give it back later)

Talisman: ???

Linked Talisman: Crafts
* ???

The Scholar

Magical Abilities:
*"Lore": Will remember anything he is ever told, but only if it is true. He is a store of accurate knowledge.

Curse:
*Must learn one new fact every day.

Talisman: opened book

Linked Talisman: Memory
*Allows the Wizard Lord to remember any true name he ever knew. Even without the Seer's linked talisman, it allows him control animals whose name he previously determined.

Books

"The Annals of the Chosen" trilogy:

*"The Wizard Lord" (2006)
*"The Ninth Talisman" (2007)
*"The Summer Palace" (in progress)