Dweomer (Deverry Cycle) - Magical Objects

Magical Objects

A number of magical objects have been described throughout the novels. Some of them are:

Bronze Knife: Dallandra brought a crude-looking weapon to the physical plane from Evandar's realm. It has the ability to harm Guardians manifesting on the physical plane because it exists simultaneously on both planes. On the Guardians' plane it can change to a bronze-tipped spear.

Crystal Pyramids: A pair of truncated crystal pyramids, one white and one black, which when touched together, allow passage between Annwn and the world the ancestors of the Deverrians originally left. The one use that we see of them, in "The Spirit Stone", leaves the user's hands badly burned. (Although it's very clear he didn't know what he was doing.) In "The Shadow Isle," an underground shapeshifting race, the Dwrgi, have a whole basket of the white and black crystals that they have taken from Horsekin graves, along with other treasures.

Curse Tablet: A lead tablet with Marryn's name and a curse written on it. Nevyn was unable to disenchant it, so he placed it in a special container which sealed its power.

The Great Stone of the West: Nevyn created this talisman of the noble virtues to guide the conscience of Deverry's king. It is inhabited by spirits referred to as "planetary spirits," which can communicate with the Great Stone's possessor, who hears their words inside his or her head. From the way they interacted with Jill, they appear to have a rather coarse and snarky manner. Nevyn explains it as the spirits taking the noble sentiment of pride a bit too seriously.

Rose Ring: This finger ring, made of dwarven silver is engraved with roses on the outside, and with Elvish sylabary characters on the inside, which read "Ar Zo Sa Soth E Lor Ez O Haz." These characters spell out the name of a dragon, whom the ring's wearer can a command. It was enchanted by Evandar.

Silver Casket: Nevyn placed the curse tablet inside a box made of dwarven silver, and placed dweomer seals upon it, to contain the tablet's influence and prevent it from harming Marryn.

Silver Daggers: The daggers which are the emblem of a special band of Deverrian mercenaries and which gives them their name, all have two dweomer workings placed upon them. The first creates a strong antipathy to the spiritual aura of the Elcyion Lacar. As a result, the metal will glow with dweomer light if there are any elves nearby. Dallandra believes that the daggers siphon life-energy from elves to generate the light, so that it would be dangerous for one of the Elcyion Lacar to handle or be near one of them for an extended period of time. In later books, it is revealed that the daggers are capable of causing injury directly to the etheric doubles of elves, resulting in wounds that do not heal.

The other spell causes the weapon to return to its "true owner" by a sequence of seeming coincidences if it is lost. However, because all the Deverrian smiths who know how to create the special alloy the daggers are made of were taught by the Dwarven smith Otho, all the silver daggers created in Deverry see Otho as their "true owner."

Since Rhodry is half-elf, the daggers glow near him as well. In "Daggerspell", after Rhys exiles Rhodry, Cullyn of Cerrmor gives Rhodry his dagger and pledges him to the silver daggers. In "Darkspell" Jill takes Rhodry to Otho to ask the smith if he can change the spell to keep it from glowing -which Otho is able to do. But in "A Time of Exile" it comes clear that in canceling the antipathy spell, Otho also inadvertently changed the "true owner" spell. That dagger sees Rhodry as its true owner.