Back to The Sundering (ElemenstorLance Collection)|
by Merth Lemon
As is typically the case with Chronosorcellors, the life story of Yar the Sorcerial represents a unique challenge--namely, that "chronological order" ceases to be a straightforward literary proposition. For example, Yar was responsible for the destruction of "matchstick city" Ferngravellia some 300 years before he was born. Which is challenging on its own, long before someone asks whether Yar would ever have been born had Ezermethalon grown powerful enough to carry out its rumored plans of crushing Yar's homeland. For the most part, ElemenstorLance authors have avoided these problems by relegating Chronosorcellors to bit-parts; Fyar Duliec, Sutoill Coynkadence and Tower Spiralstair may appear all the time (so to speak), but rarely are they the focus of the stories they appear in.
Recognizing that universe-bending timesorc'ley-run-amok at the level of the "first" Master Chronosorcellor poses a unique and potentially insurmountable problem, but contracted nonetheless to write a book about him, Merth Lemon decided to limit his approach to the life of Yar leading immediately up to The Sundering in 10,435. Thus, despite being titled "The Sorcerial Yar," this particular volume may have been more accurately entitled "The Spica Wars."
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this book is that, in order to properly depict Yar's dualistic hero/villain nature and avoid the chronology problems his life presents, the book is actually a selection of loosely-connected short stories. For example, there is one short story about Yar's initial relationship with the Maid of Minuschitae, Vaxin the Tiny. In this story, Yar is commanding and charming and powerful. Yet the story of 9519, which culminates in the death of Vaxin and her husband, Rothgar the Lice Free, at Yar's hands, portrays Yar as dark and obsessed. The primary element unifying every story is Yar's incredible fatalistic approach to everything, including his own actions. There is a certain bleak resignation in everything he does, leaving readers with the distinct impression that Yar is a reluctant player in a drama he did not write on a stage he feels a little bit sorry for but is committed to ravaging just the same.