High Deryni (47 page)

S
TEPHEN
de Longueville—a soldier of Bran Coris ordered to test Cordan's sleeping potion.

T
HIERRY,
Master—a clerk to Lord Martin of Greystoke; detained and interrogated by Morgan and Duncan on the Dhassa road.

T
HOMAS
Cardiel, Bishop—Bishop of Dhassa, age forty-one; leader of the Interdict schism with Arilan.

T
HORNE
Hagen—a member of the Camberian Council; full Deryni.

T
IERCEL
de Claron—youngest member of the Camberian Council; full Deryni.

T
OLLIVER,
Bishop Ralf—Bishop of Coroth and Morgan's prelate, age fifty.

*T
ORIN,
Saint—one of the patron saints of Dhassa, associated with forests.

T
ORVAL
of Netterhaven, Baron—a messenger sent by Wencit to Kelson's camp as hostage; killed by Warin and Duncan.

V
IVIENNE,
Lady—a member of the Camberian Council; full Deryni.

V
OLMER,
Lord—an agent of Wencit.

W
ARIN
de Grey—a self-appointed messiah who believes himself designated to destroy Deryni.

W
ENCIT
of Torenth, King—sorcerer king of Torenth, at war with Gwynedd.

W
OLFRAM
de Blanet, Bishop—senior of the twelve itinerant bishops of Gwynedd; sided with Bishops Cardiel and Arilan in the Interdict schism.

A
RJENOL
—duchy in eastern Torenth, held by Duke Lionel, a kinsman of Wencit.

A
RRANAL
Canyon—northern passage through the mountains separating Torenth from Marley, which Duke Ewan's army is assigned to hold.

B
ELDOUR
—capital city of the Kingdom of Torenth.

B
ETHENAR
—honor of one of the ancient families of the Eleven Kingdoms.

C
ARBURY
—seat of the Bishop of Carbury, Creoda.

C
ARDOSA
—disputed border city in the mountains between Torenth and Eastmarch.

C
ARTHMOOR
—duchy of Gwynedd bordering Corwyn and the Royal Honor of Haldane, held by Prince Nigel.

C
ASSAN
—duchy in the northwest of Gwynedd bordering the earldom of Kierney and the Meara Protectorate, held by Duke Jared McLain.

C
LAIBOURNE
—duchy far to the north of Gwynedd, held by Duke Ewan MacEwan.

C
OAMER
Range—mountains on the southern border of Llyndruth Meadows, separating the Cardosa Defile from the Dhassa area.

C
OROTH
—ducal capital of Corwyn.

C
OR
Ramet—field where Kelson and the rebel bishops agreed to rendezvous.

C
ORWYN
—duchy of Gwynedd held by Duke Alaric Morgan, inherited from his Deryni mother, Lady Alyce de Morgan.

C
ULDI
—city associated with Saint Camber; burial place of Lady Alyce de Corwyn de Morgan; also the burial place of her daughter Bronwyn and Kevin McLain, who was Bronwyn's betrothed.

D
HASSA
—free holy city, seat of the Bishop of Dhassa, Thomas Cardiel, and meeting place of the Gwynedd Curia; known for its woodcraft and the shrines of its patron saints, Torin and Ethelburga, which guard it south and north.

D
OL
Shaia—Kelson's campsite in Carthmoor, just outside Corwyn.

D
RELLINGHAM
—town where General Gloddruth agreed to meet Kelson and his army en route to Cardosa.

E
LEVEN
Kingdoms—ancient name for the entire area including and surrounding Gwynedd; eleven kingdoms can no longer be traced.

E
SGAIR
Ddu—the Black Cliff, prison fortress of Cardosa Castle.

G
ARWODE
—village near Saint Torin's shrine.

G
RECOTHA
—university city, site of the Varnarite School; seat of the Bishop of Grecotha, Bradene.

G
WYNEDD
—central kingdom in the Eleven Kingdoms, ruled by the Haldanes of Gwynedd.

H
ALDANE
—royal duchy comprising the central portion of the kingdom of Gwynedd, traditionally held by the Haldanes of Gwynedd.

H
ORTHNESS
—holding of one of the ancient families of the Eleven Kingdoms.

J
ASHAN,
Lake—lake guarding the southern approach to Dhassa, at Saint Torin's, passable by ferry.

J
ENNAN
Vale—village in Corwyn, near the northwest border; site of a skirmish between Prince Nigel's troops and rebel peasants.

K
HARTHAT
—site of the marketplace where Thorne Hagen first found Moira.

K
HELDISH
Riding—northern area, under direct Crown rule; famous for its weavers.

K
IERNEY
—former earldom of Lord Kevin McLain, bordering Cassan, the Meara Protectorate, and Gwynedd Crown lands.

L
INDESTARK
—honor of one of the ancient families of the Eleven Kingdoms.

L
LYNDRUTH
Meadows—grasslands at the foot of the Cardosa Defile; site of the final confrontation between Kelson and Wencit.

M
ARBURY
—seat of the Bishop of Marbury, Ifor.

M
ARLEY
—earldom held by Bran Coris.

M
EARA
—crown protectorate to the northwest of Gwynedd; the kings of Gwynedd are also princes of Meara.

N
YFORD
—city of origin of the itinerant Bishop Richard of Nyford.

P
ELAGOG
—holding of one of the ancient families of the Eleven Kingdoms.

P
URPLE
March, the—vast meadowlands north of Rhemuth under Crown rule; one of the titles of the kings of Gwynedd is Lord of the Purple March.

R
AMOS
—site of the infamous Council of 917; promulgated stringent anti-Deryni measures that set limits on the ability of Deryni to own property and forbade them to hold office, enter the priesthood, etc.

R
ENGARTH
—site of the betrayal of Duke Jared's army by Bran Coris Earl of Eastmarch.

R
HELJAN
Range—mountains separating Torenth from Eastmarch; site of the walled city of Cardosa.

R
HEMUTH
—capital city of Gwynedd.

R
HENDALL
—area famed for its blue lakes.

R
HORAU
—holding of one of the ancient families of the Eleven Kingdoms.

R
'KASSI
—desert kingdom south and east of the Hort of Orsal; famed for its blooded horses.

S
AINT
Ethelburga's Shrine—shrine of the patroness of Dhassa, guarding the northern approach to Dhassa.

S
AINT
Neot's—former Deryni monastic school, now in ruins; located in the Lendour Mountains between Corwyn and Dhassa.

S
AINT
Senan's Cathedral—seat of the Bishop of Dhassa, Denis Arilan.

S
AINT
Torin's—shrine of the patron saint of Dhassa, south of the city of Dhassa and Lake Jashan.

S
TAVENHAM
—seat of the Bishop of Stavenham, de Lacey.

T
OPHEL
Peak—mountain visible from Thorne Hagen's castle.

T
ORENTH
—vast kingdom to the east of Gwynedd, ruled by the Deryni King Wencit of Torenth.

V
ALORET
—interim capital of Gwynedd during the Festillic Interregnum; seat of the Archbishop of Valoret, Edmund Loris, and site of the Abbey of Saint Mark; located between Eastmarch and the Haldane Honor.

V
ARIAN
—holding of one of the ancient families of the Eleven Kingdoms.

822
The Festillic Coup. Ifor Haldane is deposed and executed. Festil I is crowned in Valoret, which becomes the new Festillic capital. Interregnum begins, lasting eighty-two years.

THE FESTILLIC KINGS OF GWYNEDD

846
Camber of Culdi born at Cor Culdi.

900
King Blaine dies; Prince Imre succeeds to the throne.

904
The Restoration. King Imre is deposed and executed; Cinhil Haldane, great-grandson of Ifor Haldane, is crowned in Rhemuth.

905
Unsuccessful attempt by Imre's supporters to overthrow the Restoration; Camber dies.

906
Camber of Culdi canonized by the Council of Bishops.

917
First of the great Deryni persecutions; Council of Ramos repudiates Camber's sainthood, forbids all use of magic on pain of anathema, bars Deryni from holding high office, inheriting lands without direct Crown approval, from entering priesthood.

THE POST-INTERREGNUM KINGS OF GWYNEDD

1081
Prince Brion born.

1087
Prince Nigel born.

1091
Alaric Morgan born.

1092
Duncan McLain born.

1095
King Donal dies; King Brion succeeds to the throne; Lady Alyce de Corwyn de Morgan dies following the birth of her daughter Bronwyn.

1100
Lord Kenneth Morgan dies; Alaric Morgan goes to court as a royal page.

1104
King Brion marries Jehana.

1105
Brion and Morgan slay the Marluk.

1106
Prince Kelson born.

1120
King Brion assassinated; King Kelson succeeds to the throne; Kelson slays Charissa, daughter of the Marluk, at his coronation.

1121
The Cardosa Campaign; King Kelson overcomes Wencit of Torenth at Llyndruth Meadows.

The primary genetic factor governing standard Deryni inheritance seems to be a simple sex-linked dominant carried on the X chromosome (designated X'). Thus, Deryniness per se is determined by the maternal line—not the paternal—and a male child displaying the Deryni capabilities must have had at least a heterozygous (X'X) Deryni mother.

X'X-XY

X'Y

Only one X' factor is necessary for the individual to display the full spectrum of Deryni capabilities; nor is there any appreciable difference between the power potentials of male and female, X'Y and X'X. One may readily see, however, that because of the double X configuration of the female, there is the possibility of an X'X' combination. This so-called “double-Deryni,” a homozygous Deryni female, is no more powerful than her heterozygous sisters, however, for the X' factor is not cumulative. The only advantage that a homozygous Deryni female would have over a heterozygous Deryni female is that all of her offspring would be Deryni—and even this is not a significant difference, since the prime factor appears to strengthen the X chromosome carrying it, so that a heterozygous Deryni female is likely to pass on the X' to her offspring rather than the X. (X' eggs are more hardy than X eggs, and more likely to be fertile.) This propensity of the X' chromosome to be passed on in preference to the X accounts, in part, for the survival of the Deryni through the great persecutions. Following are the probable outcomes of any Deryni mating, with non-Deryni offspring shown in brackets:

A second Deryni factor, carried only on the Y chromosome, is the basis for the human assumption of Deryni powers. (The potential for this phenomenon was discovered by Camber of Culdi and Rhys Thuryn in the mid-890s, though they would not have been aware of any genetic basis for it.) This factor, when activated, is fully equal to the X' factor in power capacity, but is, of course, passed on only through the male line. Hence, a male showing the potential for assumption of Deryni power certainly had a father with the same capability—though this factor may be held and passed without the carrier's knowledge for generations, as may the X' factor. By itself, the Y' factor will not confer Deryni powers on a male child, for the assumption of power is a difficult and tedious process and may be hampered or enhanced by numerous psychological and physiological factors.

As for those rare individuals who seem to display this potential for power assumption without the requisite Deryni parentage to account for it (Sean Lord Derry, for example), we may find that this is due to a long-dormant Y' factor that has been passed on unwittingly for several generations. Unless the carrier of a Y' factor (or the X') is discovered by a true Deryni, and is informed and guided in realizing this potential, he or she will likely never become aware of this capability.

Nor is the potential to assume Deryni power limited to one bearer at a time in any given family, though the Haldanes have always encouraged this belief, probably to lessen the likelihood of arcane dueling among potential heirs when the succession was in question. Nigel Haldane may be somewhat aware of the truth of the matter; he carries the Y' factor, as do his three sons, and both he and Conall had the Haldane potential activated while Kelson was still alive. In earlier generations, however, it is easy to see how, in a collateral branch of a family carrying the power assumption potential, as Nigel's is destined to become, that the very awareness of this heritage could be lost—and who is to say how many Haldanes might have spread their seed and sired a line of potential Deryni? Derry, descendant of a long and noble line, may well have gotten his potential this way—perhaps as far back as seven or eight generations. And in an individual of peasant origin, like Warin de Grey? The
droit du seigneur
may account for many anomalies of birth.

The two Deryni factors, X' and Y', are independent, however—which means that both may be present in a given individual—by definition, male, because of the Y' factor. Again, the Deryni factors are not cumulative, so an X'Y' male would have no appreciable advantage over an X'Y male or an XY' male; however, an X'Y' Deryni might be able to use his powers with greater efficiency, since the powers assumed through the Y' factor come upon him fully functional, with no practice necessary. (An X'Y Deryni must learn to use his powers and hence may be at a disadvantage if he has not had the benefit of formal training.) Thus Kelson, who carries the double-prime configuration X'Y', was able to function as a fully trained Deryni from the start, as soon as he had fully assumed his father's powers—even though he had had no formal schooling in the use of those powers and had not suspected his X' inheritance. His father Brion likewise came to power at full potential, without training, from the power ritual of
his
father. Jehana, on the other hand, whether an X'X or an X'X' Deryni, had never permitted herself to use her inheritance and hence could be easily defeated by the puissant and practiced Charissa, descendant of a long line of proficient Deryni sorcerers.

This examination of the genetic nature of Deryniness points up another important point: that the myth of being only “half-Deryni” (having only one parent who is Deryni) is exactly that—a myth. Since the X' is the only factor governing full Deryni inheritance, Deryni like Morgan and Duncan, with Deryni mothers only, are just as much Deryni as Kelson, Charissa, or any other “full Deryni.” Since Deryniness is inherited in its entirety from either parent, there is no half-way measure. One is either Deryni or not. The prime factors make all the difference.

A GENETIC RETROSPECTIVE, THIRTY YEARS LATER

Over the past three decades, many readers of the Deryni Saga have spent many hours puzzling over the genetic aspects of what makes a person Deryni. Like them, I have become aware that the matter is far more complicated than I posited as a fledgling author, pretty much fresh out of medical school (and with the genetic understanding of the early 1970s), and while the Deryni universe was still taking shape—and it is still evolving. As the back history has gradually unfolded, I have developed further and perhaps more plausible explanations for the Deryni's extraordinary powers.

But the key concept, around which nearly all of the key conflicts in Deryni history seem to revolve, always seems to come back to some aspect of a single question: Just what is it that makes a Deryni? Today, well into the first decade of the twenty-first century, it has become increasingly obvious that the question is far more complicated than a simple sex-linked gene marker.

We know, for example, that people with Deryni powers—or at least with powers
like
Deryni—do crop up from time to time, both male and female—and not just from plot necessity! We also know that there are talents within the broad spectrum of Deryni powers that are not accessible to all Deryni. The Healing talent would appear to be the most notable of these, surfacing only rarely—and the bearers of this gift usually are male. (We know that one of Evaine's daughters was a Healer—and that this was remarked upon, even before her birth. The legendary Jodotha was also a female Healer.) A possible explanation for this apparent imbalance is that the emergence of this particular talent in females renders the carrier more fragile than her male counterparts, less apt to survive to adulthood.

The Healing talent would appear to be further differentiated, in that some Healers can block the powers of other Deryni, even other Healers—but not all Healers can do this. Indeed, we have met only three, thus far: Rhys Thuryn, Tavis O'Neill, and Sylvan O'Sullivan. Were these men anomalies, even among their own kind, or is it simply that no Healer had ever thought to use his powers in this manner before Rhys discovered it quite by accident? We know that Dom Queron tried and failed to emulate what Rhys had accomplished—and he was a highly trained and skilled Healer as well as a powerful Deryni. (For that matter, we must consider whether the blocking ability is even unique to Healers. What if certain non-Healer Deryni can also block powers, but we simply have not encountered any of them?)

From here we progress to the very intriguing matter of human assumption of Deryni powers, apparently first exploited by Camber, Evaine, and Rhys when they discovered this propensity in Cinhil Haldane and made it part of his preparation to reclaim the crown of Gwynedd. Whether the so-called Haldane potential is unique to this particular genetic line or is only a specific instance of a more generally occurring phenomenon, we do not know.

We do know, however, that some individuals of no previously known Deryni lineage are able to assume at least some Deryni-like powers. Whether this simply taps into a preexisting reservoir of unrecognized or forgotten Deryni lineage or else somehow activates a purely human factor, enabling hitherto absent abilities, we do not know. Some such individuals may descend from Deryni originally blocked by Tavis O'Neill or Sylvan O'Sullivan during the brief heyday of Revan's baptizer cult, 917–922; and some supposed humans will descend from Deryni by-blows, as noted previously.

It is possible, too, that the right circumstances do enable some humans of no Deryni background to assume some powers like those of the Deryni. Close association with functioning Deryni sometimes seems to awaken some of the most rudimentary psychic characteristics commonly present in Deryni, such as mind shields and some slight ability to resist psychic probes and attempts to control. Most recently, in
In the King's Service
and
Childe Morgan
, we have seen aspects of such psychic awakening in Zoë Morgan and her father, Kenneth, through close association with Alyce de Corwyn. Derry's early propensity for magic could also stem from such association, at least in part, though after his rough treatment at the hands of Wencit of Torenth—and later, by Wencit's sister Morag—he may be too scarred ever to regain his previous openness to Deryni magic, even after the healing ministrations of Morgan and other benign Deryni.

Bran Coris is another example of a supposed human taking on Deryni-like powers, though it may be that he had unwittingly experienced initial stirrings of psychic potential through close association with his Deryni wife, Richenda—which, in turn, might have facilitated Wencit's efforts to subvert him with the promise of power. In a possibly related occurrence, Duke Lionel is described in the first trilogy only as a kinsman of Wencit—the husband of Wencit's sister Morag—and also allegedly has assumed powers. However, in keeping with later expansion of the Torenthi bloodlines, which reveals that Lionel is the scion of another powerful Torenthi family, the dukes of Arjenol—and half-brother to Mahael and Teymuraz, destined to cause so much trouble for Kelson a decade later—we must surmise that Lionel, the king's brother-in-law and the father of Wencit's presumed heirs, actually must be a very powerful Deryni in his own right, and that Wencit only
claimed
that Lionel's powers were assumed, to strengthen his rough wooing of Bran Coris.

Such is the nature of making things up as one goes along, and trying to remain true to established canon while still keeping the world-building moving forward. After thirty-five years, with fifteen novels in the Deryni cycle (not to mention numerous short stories set in that universe), I still find it somewhat amazing that I have managed to remain as consistent as I have. In the end, however—and for the purposes of telling a good story—I suppose that Deryni are what I say they are. However, I do promise that I will do my best, if at all possible, to avoid summoning too many
dei
out of the
machina
!