The Fortress Series

The Fortress Series

Fortress is a series of fantasy novels by science fiction and fantasy author C. J. Cherryh, published by HarperCollins. They are set in a medieval fantasy world with a 15th century feel and feature magic, sorcery, medieval warfare, politics and other elements common to the High Fantasy subgenre. The first book in the series, Fortress in the Eye of Time, was published in 1995 and followed by Fortress of Eagles in 1998, Fortress of Owls in 1999, Fortress of Dragons in 2000 and Fortress of Ice in 2006.

Unlike some works of high fantasy, Cherryh makes a clear distinction between wizardry (learned like writing and mathematics), sorcery (force of character) and magic (born gift) in this series. Wizardry in the Fortress series is a deliberate act—a technical manipulation of paranormal power to achieve a desired outcome. Sorcery is similar in its deliberate application, but Cherryh reserves the word here exclusively for nefarious spellcasting in the service of evil ends (what might traditionally be called "black magic").

But "magic" itself is something altogether different in the Fortress series. Here, magic is an innate characteristic of a person or object, more like a force of nature than a technical discipline. Places, the Name of a Person and certain Words have strength in them and their knowledge. It is also distinct from wizardry and sorcery in its ability to create effects without consequence. Wizardy must be undertaken with careful study, as it follows the premise that every action causes a reaction. Like choosing to knock over a domino in a room full of other dominoes, a wizard must be careful and precise which domino he knocks over, less he knock over other dominoes in the process. Magic, by contrast, operates outside of these concerns. A user of magic is free to wield his power to whatever end he has the power to effect, without having to worry his actions will result in anything other than his intended goal.

The principles follow certain ancient beliefs of the Celtic people that there is a secondary world overlapping ours where spirits ghosts and the fey (also called faeries) live superimposing our world. Within the novels, Tristen calls this the Gray place, where revenants and happenings get imprinted on Places. Certain rules must be kept within this world, thoughts can be perceived more easily and projected within this world and mortal's dreams slip here as well. It is easily understood why the Sihhë kings and lords of old were perceived as gods, when these beings could use this different 'Place' of existence at will and teleport using magic.