Maerad - The Riddle

The Riddle

Further signs are given in Thorold that something is wrong at the heart of the Light, when the Rite of Renewal nearly fails and is only completed at the timely intervention of Cadvan. Evidence suggests that Maerad's role in this is more complicated than that of a normal Bard. Readers are also given the first indication that she is susceptible to the temptations of the Dark and that the Treesong was split by Sharma, the Nameless One, in his attempt to become immortal in a similar manner to the Elementals, who owned the Treesong. In order to prevail against the Dark and the Nameless, Cadvan and Maerad must journey north to uncover the secret of the Treesong. It is also implied that she has developed romantic feelings towards Cadvan but these are hindered by her fear of men.

Surviving an attack at sea by a Stormdog, a weather creature created by the Winterking Arkan, Maerad and Cadvan make the journey North. Thereafter the reader sees a deterioration in the relationship between Cadvan and Maerad. This is further exacerbated when she mistakenly kills Ilar of Desor, a Bard who attempts to take them into custody after they are named as outlaws by Enkir. This is taken by Cadvan to be a sign of Maerad's inner, human darkness and a result of her wild, amoral elemental powers. When they are attacked in the mountain passes by servants of the Winterking, Maerad is distressed to find she is unable to join her own power to that of Cadvan, which seemingly results in his death in an avalanche. In fact, the horse Darsor had saved both Cadvan and himself by bolting into a cave in the side of the mountain.

Rescued by Ardina, the dying Maerad is tended by Mirka, a reclusive, mountain-dwelling woman who is a member of the Pilani. Upon her recovery Maerad journeys to the Pilani capital, Murask, where she is introduced to her father's twin sister Sirkana and to a cousin named Dharin. Dharin is tasked with taking Maerad to the Fire Islands to consult the Wise Kindred, an Inuit-like nation living far to the north, regarding the Treesong. Following her meeting with their Singer, a necromancer named Inka-Reb, Maerad is captured by Jussack raiders in the service of the Winterking Arkan and taken to his stronghold, Arkan-da. There, she is enchanted and kept beneath his sway, as he thinks to keep her with him, to be his Queen. Though he is in some ways cold and cruel, Maerad finds herself attracted to Arkan, and her hatred of him is tempered when she discovers he has been betrayed by the Nameless and does not consider himself Sharma's ally. In her conversations with the Winterking she learns that her lyre, which belonged to her mother Milana, bears runes which form one half of the Treesong. Although Arkan can tell her what they mean, he is unable to reveal the music of the Treesong itself. It is believed that Sharma, the Nameless, has the other half of the song in his domain of Den Raven in the south.

Ardina helps Maerad to escape Arkan by assuming the form of a Wolf while simultaneously creating a semblance of herself to confuse the Winterking. Together they escape the fury of Arkan, who unleashes a terrible storm upon them, and journey with a wolf pack to the Annaren border. Still in wolf form, Maerad is intuitively drawn to her birthplace, the now destroyed city of Pellinor, where she finds Cadvan and Darsor camping among the ruins, having been told by Ardina to await her return there. She assumes human form again - much to Cadvan's surprise – and they resume their quest.

Her story resumes in the fourth book, The Singing, having been interrupted by the third book's focus on her younger brother, Hem.