Child of the Dark Prophecy (2004)

The Great Tree of Avalon is a fantasy novel by T. A. Barron, published by Penguin Young Readers Group. The book is the ninth novel in the 12-book series known as Merlin Saga. It was originally published as The Great Tree of Avalon: Child of the Dark Prophecy, the first novel in The Great Tree of Avalon trilogy, and is set in a world made up of a great tree and its seven roots inhabited by creatures.

Plot summary

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Avalon started its life as a magical seed that beat like a heart, planted by Merlin in earlier books from the Merlin Saga. Soon it grew into a huge tree, having members of every existing species living in its 7 root-realms. Élano, the sap of the Great Tree, is a liquid that has the power to create, with powers far greater than that of Merlin himself.

For the first several centuries of Avalon's existence, the creatures lived in harmony, guided by the religion of Avalon, the Society of the Whole, its followers known as Drumadians, named after a wood in The Lost Years of Merlin. The Society was started by Elen and Rhiannon, mother and sister to Merlin respectively, also characters from The Lost Years of Merlin. The Society promotes harmony between all races, and the upkeep of the Great Tree, which sustains them all. However, sometime after Elen died, Rhiannon, called Rhia, resigned as High Priestess and left, never to be seen again.

Peace is shattered by the War of Storms, a war that included almost all of the races in Avalon and lasted for several centuries. The beginning of the war was heralded by the darkening of the stars in the constellation the Wizard's Staff. The war was only resolved by the Treaty of the Swaying Sea, crafted by the mysterious Lady of the Lake and by Merlin. After the war ended, Merlin said that he would probably not return to Avalon, and that Avalon's problems must be solved by Avalonians. As a parting gift he, with the help of his friend Basilgarrad the dragon, flew up to the stars and rekindled the darkened constellation.

All was well until the Lady of the Lake again appeared, this time to say a prophecy that begins: "A year will come when stars go dark,/ And faith will fail anon--/ For born shall be a child who spells/ The end of Avalon."

During the foretold Dark Year, the majority of creatures in Avalon forbade childbirth, killing all children born in spite of the moratorium. Despite this, rumors persist of a child being born in the Flamelon stronghold in the root-realm Rahnawyn or Fireroot.

17 years after the Dark Year, things are going badly. A drought appears in realms Olanabram, Brynchilla, and El Urien; humans become anthropocentric and arrogant; and the stars in the Wizard's Staff are again darkening, one by one. Characters Tamwyn, Elli, Nuic, Henni, Llynia, and later Batty Lad, must journey to the Lady of the Lake to find out what is happening, and how they can stop it.

Eventually, it is revealed that a sorcerer, Kulwych or White Hands, a servant of the evil spirit Rhita Gawr, has dammed the river that sustains the three realms named above with the sole purpose of collecting enough of the water, which has élano, a powerful life-giving substance, to produce a pure and powerful crystal. For this, he needs Merlin's staff, Ohnyalei, which has been for seventeen years in the keeping of Tamwyn's foster-brother, the eagleman Scree, who was also born in the Dark Year.

Characters

Main characters

Tamwyn: A young man who has, for the majority of his lifetime, lived in the realm of Rahnawyn with his adopted brother, Scree. He has suspicions that he might be the Dark Child, as he is born in the Dark Year and seems to think there is a hidden darkness in him. His name means Dark Flame in the language of the flamelons, his mother's people. He is also very adventurous.

Scree: An eagleboy, having the ability to change between human form and that of an eagle. After his mother was murdered, he was adopted by Tamwyn's mother, and raised by her until he was ten years old. As their mother attempted to teach the two the art of portalseeking, wherein the traveler is teleported through the vascular system of Avalon itself, she is killed by the assassin-like birds called ghoulacas. Later, visiting the portal, Tamwyn and Scree are attacked by the birds again; the two boys enter the portal to escape. Tamwyn is sent to Olanabram or Stoneroot, while Scree returns to Rahnawyn or Fireroot. The two then spend the next seven years in search of one another.

Elliryana Lailoken/Elli: A young and newly minted priestess at the Society of the Whole. Her parents were killed in gnome raids; she was kept in slavery for the majority of her life, clinging to the only remnant of her parents: a harp made by her father, who was a priest in the Society of the Whole, that was later accidentally destroyed by Tamwyn the first day they met. After escaping, shortly before the events of this book took place, she went to the Drumadian compound to become a priestess, hoping to follow in her father's footsteps. Her memories continue to haunt her.

Nuic: Elli's faithful maryth; one of the diverse creatures voluntarily bound in partnership to Drumadian priests and priestesses. He is an old creature, often referring to ancient events at which he was present. He is a small pinnacle sprite; a rotund mountain-dweller whose color changes according to his thoughts and emotions. He is often sarcastic and impatient, though he is wise and witty.

Rhita Gawr: A shape-shifting, immortal spirit who seeks to dominate all the worlds. He emerges slowly into physical form throughout the first two books. He is arrogant, cruel, egocentric, and prone to undervaluing all whom he meets.