Many different forms of
magic are used within the series and are not always referred to as such. However, the supernatural occurrence can be roughly divided into three parts: Songs, Half Creatures, and Stones of Power.
Songs Singers use the Songs of Power to manipulate, heal and punish those around them. There are five Songs, which are listed in The Echorium Anthem at the start of each book: •
Challa - The dream song, often used to calm people or produce healing sleep. It is considered the easiest Song to learn, and the least harmful. •
Kashe - The laughter song, used to waken people or heal through mirth. •
Shi - The crying song, used to force people to confront pain and heal through tears. •
Aushan - The fear song, used to bring hidden fears to life and punish misbehavior. The most dangerous song commonly used. •
Yehn - The death song, used to close doors in the head. In mild cases, causes people to forget, and in severe ones can create a form of 'living death'. The most dangerous of the Songs, and one only used very occasionally. The Songs are amplified through certain materials, including bluestone, khiz and water, and have the most effect when sung to a relaxed individual by five Singers on the corners of a Pentangle. In addition to each Song's individual properties, they can all be used to contact Half Creatures and communicate over distance with bluestones. The Singers have other magical abilities related to the Songs, including listening over great distances and listening to determine if someone is lying to them.
Half Creatures Half Creatures are half-human, half-animal sentient beings living in secluded areas of the world. All Half Creatures are protected under treaty from being hunted or enslaved, and while not all can speak aloud, they can communicate using Wild Speech with each other, and with certain Singer novices. There are four types, each with distinct abilities and ways of life.
Merlee Merlee is half-fish, half-humans inhabiting the seas around the Isle of Echoes. They live in large shoals, each presided over by one dominant male. Their children hatch from eggs, and at a young age resemble tadpoles, which live in pouches inside their mothers. Merlee have the power to control the weather on the ocean, creating storms, mists or clear days depending on their mood and their relationship with those on the ships currently travelling. They are notoriously forgetful, and may have to be reminded several times to maintain the weather asked of them. Although they cannot speak human languages, the merlee have a close relationship with Singers, and often communicate through Wild Speech with novices on the Isle, although they are closest to Rialle, who maintained to ability to speak with them into adulthood and lives in a cave in order to remain close to them.
Quetzal Quetzal are half-bird, half-human beings living in The Quetzal Forest. They have wings as well as arms, and beaks instead of mouths, and come in a variety of colours. They hatch from brightly coloured eggs in treetop nests, and although colourless eggs are sometimes laid, they are considered by the mothers to be unlucky and are rolled out of the nest. Quetzal naturally flock together in groups, and all quetzal share access to a collective Memoryplace, to which every quetzal can add. By accessing the Memoryplace using yellow flowers, it is possible for humans to learn about both the past and the possible futures of the world. Because of the extreme accuracy of the Memoryplace, quetzal are natural mimics. They cannot generally speak human languages except while mimicking, but under Frazhin's control Night Plume and his flock learned to speak, as well as how to produce bows and arrows fletched with their own feathers.
Naga Naga are half-human, half-water-snake, and live in rivers and other fresh water. Their children are born from eggs in caverns near the Fall of Clouds, and all naga obsessively collect glittering objects, generally called "sparklies". They can be communicated with only through Wild Speech, and can be called to from most river banks.
Centaurs Centaurs are half-horse, half-humans living on the Purple Plains. They live in herds ruled over by a stallion, and their horse bodies are shades of blue and purple ranging from nearly white to nearly black. They wear mare's-hair tunics on their upper bodies, and are the only Half Creatures able to communicate through human speech, although they generally use a form of Wild Speech known as Herd. Every adult in the herd carries a herdstone, and to join the herd foals must independently travel to the Dancing Canyons and extract a herdstone of their own from the rock. Centaurs can use these herdstones to bend light around themselves, rendering the herd invisible from the outside, and they used this ability to hide their existence from humans until the events of Crystal Mask. Centaurs have developed powerful kicks for hunting and defence which make them very dangerous to attack.
Stones of Power Several forms of stone in the series are shown to have magical properties; in
Dark Quetzal, these are referred to as the three Stones of Power of the Earth: the blue (bluestone), the green (herdstones) and the black (khiz crystal).
Bluestone Bluestone is the material the Isle of Echoes is made of, and it has many properties related to the Singers. Its presence amplifies the power of the Songs, and for this reason the Echorium is constructed out of it. It can also help transmit Songs and messages over great distances: when the Second Singer travels, he often takes with him a piece of bluestone with which to contact the Echorium. Although bluestone is only found on the Isle and is considered very valuable, it is occasionally given away as a "trust gift" to those who make treaties with Singers, so that they can be sung to over a distance if the need arises.
Khiz Khiz, sometimes called khiz-crystal or crystal, is a black crystal with many properties similar to bluestone. In addition to conducting the Songs and relaying messages over large distances, it controls and views people's thoughts and memories. Treated khiz can also help resist the Songs' power, and sap people nearby of their will. Khiz is mined primarily in The Sunless Valley in the Purple Plains, and is the weapon of choice for Frazhin. Frazhin often carries a khiz-spear with which to control people around him, and after Song Quest he uses khiz masks to hide his disfigurement, apparently replacing some of his injured body parts with khiz. Many parts of the series revolve around the khiz. In
Song Quest, the khiz was worshipped, with Frazhin as its priest, using it to control thoughts and force others to tell the truth. In
Crystal Mask, Frazhin created a khiz mining operation in The Sunless Valley and built the Khizalace out of the crystal. He also used a pair of khiz masks to communicate with Yashra over long distances and to allow her to wipe people's memories, and a piece of khiz crystal was placed in Kherron's throat to disable his singing voice. In
Dark Quetzal, placing khiz in nests is used to make Half Creatures loyal to Frazhin, and khiz is shown to be able to control the quetzal Memoryplace, both as a khiz spear and as the Fane, a giant ball of the crystal, which Frazhin seals himself inside.
Herdstones Herdstones are green stones extracted from the Dancing Canyons. They can be used to bend the light around an area, rendering anyone in that area invisible from the outside. As they are very hard to extract from the rock, they are primarily used by centaurs, although one is also possessed by Shaiala. ==Locations==