The novel is set in the parallel universe of Lyrian, a world distinct from all others (with every other referred to as "the Beyond"). This uniqueness stems from the fact that it was intentionally created by an unnamed, extremely powerful Wizard. This ambiguous figure created Lyrian using the language he invented, Edomic. Edomic, when spoken and "commanded" properly, enables the user to manipulate the matter and energy of Lyrian in a variety of ways, but only in Lyrian. However, to use Edomic in this way requires great natural talent and many years of practice, leading "Edomic adepts” to be extremely rare. All living things resist magic, and to use magic you need energy. Humans came to inhabit Lyrian by accidentally transporting themselves there through gateways on Earth. In this way, every human on Lyrian is at some point descended from a "Beyonder"., Elizabethan English has become the dominant language, because wizards interested in the Beyond used it as a code language. More and more scholars used it, then civilians decided to learn it. English became the common language, being synonymous with power and knowledge in Lyrian. The technology level is about that of Earth's Middle Ages, supplemented by Edomic and other elements of magic. Roads are both few and primitive, with nature dominating the majority of the landscape. A ruthless wizard (extremely powerful Edomic user), Maldor, has slowly but surely conquered almost all of Lyrian, oppressing the people to an extreme degree.
Plot Summary
This section may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience. Specifically, Too long summary. Please help by removing excessive detail that may be against Wikipedia's inclusion policy.(May 2024) ( Learn how and when to remove this message )
Beyonders follows the exploits of a slightly neglected, thirteen-year-old boy, Jason Walker.
Jason leads a relatively normal life until one day at the zoo, when he notices strange music coming from the mouth of a hippo. While leaning over the hippo tank's guard rail, he falls in. The hippo swallows him, but instead of being digested, he's transported to a different world called Lyrian.
After wandering a short way, he learns that the group of musicians playing the music that he heard are called the Giddy Nine and that they plan to ride a raft over a nearby waterfall. In an attempt to save them, he talks to the rescue squad present and asks them why they are not rescuing the band. The archer states that they are just there so that if someone decides to turn back they can help. Before the raft reaches the end of the waterfall, Jason pushes the little man with one arm into the river and grabs the archer's bow with an arrow attached to a rescue line. He aims to shoot the line onto the boat in order to give the band something to grab onto, but instead, his shot goes awry and the arrow pierces the shoulder of one of the musicians. One musician is able to jump to shore before the line is cut by the archer but the rest plummet off the edge of the waterfall. The archer had helped the little man out the river so the archer and the little man who was part of the rescue squad pursue Jason for interfering, so Jason runs off into the woods.
After this, Jason aimlessly wanders into the Repository of Learning, where he's informed by the Librarian/Loremaster that it's an extremely difficult place to reach. The Loremaster offers Jason food, shelter, and virtually unlimited access to the Repository's enormous wealth of books– except the forbidden second story. Jason accepts the offer, figuring that there would be no better place for him to discover a way home than one of such vast knowledge.
Finding the books on the first floor to be of little use, he lets curiosity overwhelm him. After discovering the method by which to open the extremely complex lock (almost a puzzle) guarding the second floor, Jason ventures inside at night. He finds the place (as well as the books inside) to be eerie and sinister. After wandering about for a bit, he stumbles across a large text entitled, The Book of Salzared. The book is bound in living human skin, from a displacer. Upon opening it, Jason discovers a strong warning stating that anyone who reads further will place themselves in peril. He reads on, valuing the potential to discover a way home over the risk involved. After reading a short section describing the first syllable of a mysterious word to defeat Maldor, the evil wizard ruler of Lyrian, he closes the book, when a seemingly human eye opens out of the cover. Terrified, Jason panics, dropping the book and his candle and making a racket. Stumbling in the dark, he's found by the loremaster's dog, who leads him to the loremaster. The loremaster then informs Jason that he's sealed his own fate, and must leave immediately in search of someone called the Blind King. After being given directions to the Blind King as well as some food, Jason leaves the Repository of Learning.
After arriving at the Blind King's decrepit keep, Jason learns that the "Blind King" is really Galloran, a broken hero who already tried and failed on the same quest that Jason is now committed to. A few moments after learning of Galloran's true identity, Jason is introduced to Rachel, a girl his age from 'the Beyond", who arrived in Lyrian by walking through a stone arch. Galloran then tells them that they are crucial to a prophecy spoken by a powerful seer, one in which they will destroy the tyrannical wizard emperor, Maldor. Galloran points out that the easiest (though still extremely difficult) way to accomplish this is to seek the Word, a powerful spell that will destroy Maldor when spoken in his presence. The first syllable of the Word has already been discovered by Jason at the repository of learning ('a'). Each syllable of The Word is protected by a guardian, each of whom will only reveal their syllable to those embarked on the quest to destroy Maldor. However, some syllables have also been written down (such as the one at the repository of learning), removing the necessity of directly seeking out the guardians of those syllables. They may only speak or write The Word in its entirety once, after which the individual that did so will forget it. Since Jason was the only one to read the book containing this information, Rachel may opt out. However, she decides to join him. Satisfied with their decision, Galloran presents Jason with a dagger whose blade shoots out of the handle at the pressing of a button on the pommel, while Rachel is given an Orantium sphere, a type of grenade with an explosive crystal encased in glass that explodes when exposed to air or water. He also names Jason as the lord of a previously fallen estate. After being given a starting point by Galloran, Jason and Rachel embark on a quest for the Word.
Jason and Rachel go down a cliff to reach the first guardian in a submerged cave. Jason goes into the cave, and Rachel follows. They then learn the fourth syllable of the word and that it has six syllables, and that they should visit a disgraced lord named Nicholas Dangler in Trensicourt for further clues to the locations of the syllables. The pair manage to avoid the giant crab guarding the exit, and it kills an enchanted hound that was pursuing them for Maldor.
On the way to Trensicourt, Jason and Rachel encounter the lone survivor of the Giddy Nine, a man named Tark. Jason manages to talk Tark out of his survivor's guilt, and convinces him to join the rebellion against Maldor. They also meet a Ferrin, a displacer capable of separating and reattaching his limbs. Ferrin joins Jason and Rachel on their journey, and helps them both when they are attacked by the rescuers from the Giddy Nine, who have been conscripted by the emperor's men. One of the rescuers is killed by Ferrin, and the trio is arrested by the constable. Jason, Rachel, and Ferrin escape and travel to Trensicourt, where Ferrin is forced to separate from Jason and Rachel due to his previous execution inside the city.
Jason and Rachel meet with Nicholas Dangler, and learn that the third syllable is hidden within a chamber in the castle. The only way to access this chamber is by beating the Trensicourt Chancellor at a battle of wits. Nicholas had been disgraced for challenging and losing to the chancellor. Jason uses his status as lord to challenge the Chancellor, and miraculously manages to beat him and learn the third syllable in the process.
That night, Jason is attacked and almost killed by an assassin in the night, but manages to escape. The ruler of Trensicourt also shows Jason that he has received an invitation to Harthenham, a paradisaical castle where Maldor invites his enemies in exchange for their allegiance.
Jason, under the pretense of leaving for Harthenham, meets with Ferrin and Rachel and travels to the location of the fifth syllable, an island in the center of a strange lake called Whitelake. The water in Whitelake does not allow boats to float, however it hardens when put under pressure. Rachel manages to run to the island in the center of the lake before collapsing of exhaustion. Afterwards, she finds a cave and meets a displacer named Malar, who has been reduced to a severed head and arm only. Rachel learns the next syllable and Malar also reveals that Ferrin is most likely working for Maldor. After returning to shore, Ferrin simply confirms this is true and he parts ways peacefully from Rachel and Jason.
Rachel and Jason head to the location of the sixth syllable, a prophet living in the swampy Sunken Lands. On the way, they are attacked by Maldor's men, but are saved by a man named Jasher. Jasher is one of the Amar Kabal, capable of resurrecting if their "seed" is planted again. In the Sunken Lands, they meet the prophet's daughter, Corinne, who is unable to leave her home in the Sunken Lands due to special puffballs that cause memory loss. The group successfully collect the sixth syllable, and also learn that Galloran had hidden the second syllable as a tattoo on the body of a man named Kimp, who works for Maldor. Jasher reveals that Kimp lives within Harthenham, and decide to use Jason's invitation to get inside.
Jason infiltrates Harthenham and finds Tark inside, having received an invitation after killing men working for Maldor. Jason manages to identify the final piece of the Word, and he and Tark hatch a plan to escape. Jason is challenged to a duel with the host, and he chooses billiard balls as a weapon, easily winning thanks to his pitching skills from Earth. They are joined in their escape by men named Tristan and Drake. Drake is a seedling like Jasher, but on his final life. The four leave but are attacked by Kimp and a pack of dogs. Tristan, Jasher, and Kimp are killed in the ensuing battle, and Jason is captured.
Drake rescues Jason and the two continue to Felrook, where Maldor lives. Jason gains an audience with him and uses the Word, however, it is revealed that Maldor actually masterminded the Word himself to distract those who wished to harm him. Jason is imprisoned and tortured.
Jason is rescued by Ferrin, who takes him to a portal back to Earth and sends him through. Jason resists, and ends up pulling Ferrin's severed hand along with him. Jason lands back on Earth, on an unknown farm, and swears to find a way back to Lyrian to save his friends.
Theme
The main theme of Beyonders: A World Without Heroes can be broadly interpreted as stressing the importance of moral responsibility and personal sacrifice in service of a greater cause. Lesser themes are Jason's coming of age, as well as his realization that the individual must sometimes accept unwanted responsibilities for the good of all. The presentation of Jason as a character focused on personal honour and resistance to temptation are in line with the symbolism of his being the last "true" hero of Lyrian.[citation needed]
The Phantom Tollbooth is a children's fantasy adventure novel written by Norton Juster, with illustrations by Jules Feiffer, first published in 1961. The story follows a bored young boy named Milo who unexpectedly receives a magic tollbooth that transports him to the once prosperous, but now troubled, Kingdom of Wisdom. Along with a dog named Tock and the Humbug, Milo goes on a quest to the Castle in the Air seeking the kingdom's two exiled princesses, named Rhyme and Reason. As Milo learns valuable lessons, he finds a love of learning in a story full of puns and wordplay, such as exploring the literal meanings of idioms.
Koshchei, also Kashchei often given the epithet "the Immortal", or "the Deathless", is an archetypal male antagonist in Russian folklore.
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz is the fourth book set in the Land of Oz written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by John R. Neill. It was published on June 18, 1908 and reunites Dorothy Gale with the humbug Wizard from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). This is one of only two of the original fourteen Oz books to be illustrated with watercolor paintings. It was followed by The Road to Oz (1909).
Elminster Aumar is a fictional character appearing in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. He is also known as the Sage of Shadowdale, and is depicted as a powerful wizard featured in several novels by Forgotten Realms creator Ed Greenwood. Certain aspects of his appearance and demeanor seem to echo Gandalf, Merlin, or Odin.
Vocal percussion is the art of creating sounds with one's mouth that approximate, imitate, or otherwise serve the same purpose as a percussion instrument, whether in a group of singers, an instrumental ensemble, or solo.
Shining Soul II is an action role-playing game for the Game Boy Advance. It was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture, as the sequel to Shining Soul and part of the Shining series.
Katherine Matilda "Kit" Hunter is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Amy Mizzi. Kit made her first on-screen appearance on 25 April 2003 and made her final appearance as a regular character in February 2004 but continued to reappear in a recurring capacity, making her final appearance on 3 July 2007. Kit's storylines have included battling alcoholism, falling for Noah Lawson, being stranded in the bush with Kim Hyde and subsequently falling pregnant with his baby.
Beyond Witch Mountain is a 1982 American science fantasy television film directed by Robert Day. It is a sequel to Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) and is the third installment in the Witch Mountain franchise. While most parts were recast, including Tia and Tony, Eddie Albert returned to play Jason O'Day from the original 1975 film.
Simeon was the second of the six sons of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite tribe, The Tribe of Simeon, according to the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible. Biblical scholars regard the tribe as having been part of the original Israelite confederation. The tribe is absent from the parts of the Bible. Some scholars think that Simeon was not originally regarded as a distinct tribe. However, many Biblical scholars believe that Simeon isn't regarded as a distinct tribe due to the scandal involving Zimri. The Blessing of Moses before his death had omitted the Tribe of Simeon because Jacob had castigated him Genesis 49:5-7, and because of the terrible affair of Baal-peor.
The President's Lady is a 1953 biopic by 20th Century Fox directed by Henry Levin. The screenplay by John Patrick was adapted from the eponymous 1951 novel by Irving Stone, based on the life of American president Andrew Jackson and his marriage to Rachel Donelson Robards. Sol C. Siegel produced the film with Levin as associate producer. The musical score is by Alfred Newman and the cinematography by Leo Tover.
Brandon Mull is an American author best known for his children's fantasy series, Fablehaven, as well as Dragonwatch, The Candy Shop War, the Beyonders trilogy, and the Five Kingdoms series. He also began the Spirit Animals series.
Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic is a fantasy-comedy two-part British television adaptation of the bestselling novels The Colour of Magic (1983) and The Light Fantastic (1986) by Terry Pratchett. The fantasy film was produced for Sky1 by The Mob, a small British studio, starring David Jason, Sean Astin, Tim Curry, and Christopher Lee as the voice of Death. Vadim Jean both adapted the screenplay from Pratchett's original novels, and served as director.
Battle for Terra, originally screened as Terra, is a 2007 American animated action-adventure science fiction film, based on the short film Terra, about a race of beings on a peaceful alien planet who face destruction from colonization by the displaced remainder of the human race. The film was directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas who conceived it as a hard-edged live action feature with photo-real Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) environments. The close collaboration with producing partner and investor Snoot Entertainment redirected the project to become fully animated and appeal to younger audiences. The film features the voices of Evan Rachel Wood, Luke Wilson, Brian Cox and James Garner among others.
Solresol, originally called Langue universelle and then Langue musicale universelle, is a constructed language devised by François Sudre, beginning in 1817. His major book on it, Langue Musicale Universelle, was published after his death in 1866, though he had already been publicizing it for some years. Solresol enjoyed a brief spell of popularity, reaching its pinnacle with Boleslas Gajewski's 1902 publication of Grammaire du Solresol.
The Scarecrow is a 2009 novel written by American author Michael Connelly. It was Connelly's 21st book and the second featuring as the main character Jack McEvoy, a reporter now living in Los Angeles, and FBI agent Rachel Walling. As a result, the novel is a sequel to the events in Connelly's 1996 book The Poet, although another Connelly novel, The Narrows, was published in 2004 as the "official" sequel to The Poet. The book was published in the UK and Ireland on May 12, 2009, and in the US and Canada on May 26, 2009.
Jonathan "Jack" West Junior is the main character in a book series by Australian author Matthew Reilly. He appears in the books Seven Ancient Wonders, The Six Sacred Stones, The Five Greatest Warriors, The Four Legendary Kingdoms, The Three Secret Cities, The Two Lost Mountains, and The One Impossible Labyrinth.
Jai Sharma is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Chris Bisson. He made his first on-screen appearance on 11 September 2009, alongside his brother Nikhil. In 2013, Bisson temporarily departed Emmerdale on 24 January because of the birth of his child and returned at the end of March that year.
Resistance: Burning Skies is a first-person shooter video game for the PlayStation Vita, part of the Resistance series. The game was developed by Nihilistic Software and published by Sony Computer Entertainment in May 2012. It was announced in August 2011 at Gamescom. In the game, players control the character of Tom Riley, a firefighter who fights against an enemy called the Chimera during their invasion of the United States.
The Trials of Apollo is a pentalogy of fantasy adventure and mythological fiction novels written by American author Rick Riordan that collectively form a sequel to the Heroes of Olympus series. It is set in the same world as Riordan's Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series and references characters and happenings from earlier stories. A supplementary book, Camp Jupiter Classified, has also been released in addition to the main series.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
