When she gets there, Sabriel realizes that the stone was broken because a Charter Mage-one of the Old Kingdom's powerful, practicing wizards-was sacrificed on the stone, further evidence that evil is afoot.

Sabriel, who's been taught necromancy by her father, plans to visit a broken Charter Stone, which should give her easier access to Death. The Old Kingdom has magical nodes called Charter Stones, which are kind of like Wi-Fi hot spots for magic. Maps of the Old Kingdom aren't the kind of thing you can pick up at a nearby service station, so Sabriel knows she needs to visit Death in order to summon a spirit guide, who can direct her to Abhorsen's House. Taking this as a sign that her dad is in bad trouble, Sabriel leaves school the next day to travel beyond the nearby Wall and into the Old Kingdom in search of her father.Īt the Wall, commanding officer Colonel Horyse remembers Sabriel's dad and lets her cross the heavily guarded Wall into the snowy, uncharted land of the Old Kingdom. That night, a creature from Death arrives at Wyverley and delivers the Abhorsen's most prized possessions to Sabriel: a set of necromantic bells and an enchanted sword. When Sabriel's father misses their standing date for a magical long-distance chat though, Sabriel starts to worry.

In contrast to the land of the Old Kingdom, which is ruled by Charter Magic, Ancelstierre is a lot more like early 20th-century England-think swords and sorcery vs. Somehow we get the feeling this isn't the last time we'll see Kerrigor, the monster who disappears deep into Death to leave baby Sabriel very much alive.Įighteen years later, Sabriel has grown up to be a successful student at Wyverley College in a place called Ancelstierre. So although Abhorsen can't save Sabriel's mom, who died during childbirth, he ventures into Death to retrieve baby Sabriel from the clutches of a monster in Death's quite literal icy river. He has the power to walk into Death itself, and send people into (and out of) Death's alternate plane of existence. The Abhorsen is a necromancer, which basically is a wizard who deals with death. Just kidding-though her story would be incredibly short were it not for her father, the Abhorsen.

Baby Sabriel makes a dramatic entrance into the magical world of the Old Kingdom by immediately dying at birth.

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