Seoman Snowlock

Seoman Snowlock is a fictional character in Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series. He is variously known as Simon Mooncalf, Snowlock, and Seoman. His birth name, given to him by his mother, is Seoman, meaning 'waiting' in Williams' invented language of Erkynlandish. 'Simon' is the Westerling version of that name.
Background
Seoman was the only child of Susanna, a maid in the Hayholt, and of Eahlferend, a local fisherman and descendent of Eahlstan, the former Fisher King of the Hayholt. Both died, Susanna whilst giving birth to him, and Eahlferend in a boating accident before the birth. Simon was taken in by Rachel the Dragon, the strict but kindly chamber maid mistress.
Soon after Simon's fourteenth birthday, events take place which affect both Simon and the realm of Osten Ard, and the boy is soon flung into a series of misfortunes as enemies both mortal and immortal conspire to destroy both Simon and the world as he knows it.
The Hayholt
Simon works as a kitchen boy in the great castle called Hayholt. His daily nemesis is his caretaker, Rachel the Dragon who despairs that the boy will ever amount to anything. She is grateful when Doctor Morgenes, the local castle doctor and historian asks to have Simon assist him in his chambers. Simon is ecstatic until he learns that Morgenes doesn't mean to teach him magic, but merely how to read and write.
Then old King John Presbyter dies at last at a great age and his eldest son Elias becomes king. There is strife and tension between Elias and his younger brother Prince Josua, which Simon accidentally one day witnesses in the nave of the church. There he sees a slender dark haired youth spying on the two princes. Later he catches this spy who names himself Malachias. After the first year of Elias' reign, things begin to go inexplicably downhill in the kingdom and Prince Josua disappears.
During all these intrigues, Simon works as a labourer as well as working on his apprenticeship with Doctor Morgenes. While roving the castle, as he is wont to do, Simon stumbles upon a terrible secret; Prince Josua is held prisoner by the evil alchemist and priest, Pryrates, who is also the king's closest counsellor. He rushes to Morgenes with the news and together they set Josua free. Morgenes has to employ magic, which he calls the Art, but doing so is as good as leaving a signature for Pryrates to find. Josua escapes through the tunnels beneath Hayholt which is the ruins of the old Sithi castle, Asu'a. He is only a couple of hours gone, when Pryrates appears at Morgenes' chambers accompanied by soldiers. Morgenes is killed in a magical battle with Pryrates that allows Simon to escape through the tunnels below the castle with his work on the life of King John, a work containing information considered valuable during the coming struggles. Nearly mad with thirst, shock, and sadness, Simon is tormented by whispering voices in the dark until at last, after hours in the earth, he stumbles into the lichyard, near Thisterborg, beyond the castle and town.
There on the hill of Thisterborg, he witnesses a rite of evil magic performed by Pryrates. The king is also there as well as several white-faced, white-haired demon creatures. One robed figure is there also, one that fills Simon with more fear than all the others together. Horrified, Simon runs from the scene into Aldheorte forest.
Aldheorte Forest
Simon stumbles through the forest, full of fear and more mundane hunger. He had never had to provide for himself and is quite helpless while he travels away from Hayholt. He decided to go to Josua at his castle Naglimund, towards the north but the road is far longer than he anticipated. Almost two weeks later, he sneaks to a cottage to try to steal some food, when he hears a rustling noise near the cottage. Investigating, he sees a strange human-like creature caught in the cotsman's trap and unable to get loose. With sudden insight, Simon realise that the creature before him is a Sitha man, one of the ancient lost folk. Looking like a human but with golden cat eyes, gold-brown skin, lavender hair and odd bird-like movements. Simon tries to free him but is interrupted by the cotsman returning. The man tries to kill the Sitha who fights valiantly back, but on sudden impulse Simon kills the cotsman with a stone and frees the Sitha. The Sitha runs away then but not before shooting a white arrow at Simon. A new voice then advise Simon to take the arrow, as it signifies a debt from the Sitha towards Simon.
The new voice belongs to Binabik, a troll from the far north. The trolls, or Qanuc in their own tongue, look like small humans, child-sized but strong, usually with black hair, black eyes and brown skin. They live far in the north in the mountains called the Trollfells and are only rarely seen by humans. Binabik though was apprenticed to Ookequk, his people's Singing Man until his master's death. Upon that death, Binabik decided to complete his master's errand to the south rather than return to his home. One of those errands was to take care of Simon, a last message from Morgenes to Ookequk. Binabik accompanies Simon on his road to Naglimund.
While travelling towards the house of Geloë, a witch who knew Ookequk and Morgenes, they save Malachias and a young girl, Leleth, from a pack of hounds. At the house of Geloë, it is revealed that Malachias is a girl named Marya who is taking a message to Josua from his niece, the princess Miriamele. Leleth was a handmaiden to the princess and left the castle with Marya. She was savaged by the hounds however and stays with Geloë to heal. The three then continue towards Naglimund, chased by hunters of the king with hounds bearing the mark of Stormspike, the home of the Norns in the farthest North. Binabik is wounded by an arrow in his chest and with great difficulty Simon and Marya get Binabik and themselves to Naglimund.
Naglimund
Upon arrival in Naglimund, Binabik is healed and Simon is sent to train as a soldier by Josua. It is then that Josua calls a raed to decide what they may do against Elias. There it is revealed that Marya is the Princess Miriamele herself, to the dismay of Simon who had started to have feelings for Marya. It is on one of these raed nights, that everyone is surprised by the arrival of an old man named Jarnauga. He is a member of the League of the Scroll, to which Morgenes and Ookequk had also belonged and to which Binabik now belongs after his master's death. They are keepers of knowledge and lore and secretly works to protect Osten Ard against the evil in the north. Their founder, King Eahlstan Fiskerne, had found evidence that the Sithi prince Ineluki had not truly died but assumed an undead form and is now gathering his forces in Nakkiga amongst the Norns. He now rules as the Stormking, a creature held together by hate and a thirst for vengeance. Jarnauga is the one who tells the assembled people the history of the Sithi and the fall of Asu'a, as well as what the nature of the enemy is that face them now. Simon is terribly excited by it all, not yet realising the dangers they will all face.
It is found in Morgenes' book however that three swords exist that can combat this supernatural evil, three swords that were made not of the substance of Osten Ard. First is the sword Minneyar, made from the last iron from the vanished west from whence the Rimmersmen came; the second is the sword Thorn, made from the metal of a fallen star; and the third is Sorrow, made by Ineluki by blending witchwood and iron, two substances which are anathema to each other. An ancient riddle written by the mad monk Nisses, tells of the three swords and how the swords "must come again", apparently to save Osten Ard. That night Simon dreams of Morgenes who tells him to beware the "false messenger".
It is known that from what Simon had seen the night of escape, that Sorrow is now in the hands of King Elias, the seal to his unholy bargain with Ineluki. Thorn is thought lost in the sea with the great knight Camaris and no-one knows what became of Minneyar. Towser, old King John's jester however, informs them that Thorn isn't lost and that it went into the north with a squire of Camaris'. It is then decided that a small group, consisting of Binabik, Simon and four other soldiers, including Sludig, a Rimmersman, (who hates the Qanuc like Binabik) and Simon's soldiering instructor, Haestan, must go into the unmapped north to retrieve the sword Thorn. On this mission goes Binabik, Simon and four other soldiers.
In the northern end of Aldheorte forest, they are attacked and one of the soldiers is killed. They are saved by a group of Sithi and taken to the Sithi's hunting lodge. There Simon again sees the Sitha he had saved, Jiriki, who turns out to be the son of the ruling House. Prince Jiriki and his kinsman An'nai travel with the small band to the north, partially in payment of the debt Jiriki owes Simon.
Yiqanuc
Upon reaching the mountain where Thorn is said to have been taken, they find the remains of a camp and Thorn, frozen fast to the ground. While trying to dislodge the black sword, the ice dragon, Igjarjuk, appears and attacks them. Simon manages to free Thorn, and bravely defends against the dragon, striking it in the face, but is burned by the dragon's blood. He awakes in the fastness of Yiqanuc, ancestral home of the trolls, where Jiriki names him Snowlock and shows him where the dragon had marked him, a long burn scar on the side of his face and swathe of white hair.
Simon is horrified to hear that both Binabik and Sludig are being held prisoner with a death-sentence over them. Sludig for being one of the hated Rimmersmen and Binabik for apparent oath-breaking. Jiriki leaves for his home in Aldheorte since he was summoned by his parents but Simon fights in the court for Binabik and Sludig. At last it is Binabik's betrothed Sisqui who helps them and his friends are freed. They now travel south again with the sword towards the Stone of Farewell, called Sesuad'ra in the Sithi language.
After entering the northern part of Aldheorte again, they are attacked by a witchgirl and separated when Simon charges into the night. After long fruitless searching, Binabik and Sludig continue on towards Josua and the Stone with the sword Thorn. Simon, however is rescued from cold and hunger by Aditu, Jiriki's sister. She takes him, against all rules, to their last great House, Jao e-Tinukai'i in the heart of Aldheorte forest.
Jao e-Tinukai'i
With magic, although that is not what the Sithi call it, they enter from winter into summer into the heart of the last Sithi stronghold. The whole city is woven of silky cloth of all different colours and Simon as awed by its beauty. He is aghast, however, when is told by Jiriki and Aditu's parents that he will not be allowed to leave again, since mortals aren't allowed in the city. Simon cannot bear this confinement and begs Jiriki to let him leave, but the Sithi prince cannot go against a Word of Command from his parents.
Simon is also extremely lonely, since only Jiriki and Aditu even deign to notice him, let alone talk to him. One night however, he is summoned to visit the eldest of the Sithi, First Grandmother, Amerasu Shipborn, Jiriki's great-grandmother. She was born on the ships that sailed the Gardenborn to Osten Ard and is very old and powerful. She sifts through Simon's thoughts and all the things he has seen, then sends him on his way.
A few days later, a meeting of all the Sithi in Jao e-Tinukai'i is called and Simon also attends. There Amerasu speaks to her people and warns them against what her own great-grandmother and the only of the Gardenborn older than herself, Utuk'u Queen of the Norns, intends. Simon also realizes then that Ineluki the Stormking was Amerasu's son and that she had discerned his thoughts and intent. Before she can reveal such however, Utuk'ku appears through the "witness" and kills Amerasu to silence her. A huntsman from Nakkiga with a whole pack of their hounds appear then and attack the Sithi at random. Many are injured and some die, including Jiriki and Aditu's father.
In the aftermath of this horror, Simon is released and allowed to leave. Aditu guides him to the Stone of Farewell, where he is welcomed by Binabik, Sludig and Josua.
Sesuad'ra
Simon learns at the Stone that Naglimund had died a terrible death, with only the Prince and about ten other people escaping. Hundreds and thousands of disaffected refugees have made their way to the Prince at the Stone however, swelling their ranks. Simon is knighted by Josua for his services and is made part of the Prince's counsels. He is glad to be reunited with Binabik, Sludig, Geloë and Leleth, but disappointed to find that Miriamele had left Naglimund before its fall and hasn't reappeared yet.
Soon after Simon's arrival, they learn that a large force of soldiers, sent by King Elias, are about to attack the Stone and prepare accordingly. Against all odds, they Prince and his band of refugees defeat the force sent against them, but Simon learns the true horror of war and battle. The night of their victory celebration, Aditu returns to the Stone bearing a message for Josua that the Sithi are riding to the aid of the beleaguered Hernystiri nation, their allies of old. For the first time in 500 years, the Sithi are again riding to war, and Aditu is assigned to stay with Prince Josua as an advisor. She quickly befriends the Prince's pregnant wife Vorzheva, but is distrusted by most of the mortals on Sesuad'ra. Not long after that they learn the staggering news that the sword Minneyar is the same sword as Bright Nail, king John's sword that was buried with him only three years before.
Soon after Aditu's appearance, Miriamele returns from the south with Duke Isgrimmnur, a young Wrannaman scholar, Tiamak, and a large old man who turns out to be the great knight Sir Camaris, whom everyone had thought dead and lost. Miriamele is changed however, her "adventures" in the south having been as horrible and fantastic as those that Simon had in the north. When Josua refuses to listen to her concerning her father the king and what they must do, she decides to leave again for the Hayholt. Simon, however, discovers her in the act of leaving, and insists on accompanying her. A few hours after their "escape" from Josua's camp, Binabik is sent after them to find and return the two "runaways".
The closer Simon and Miramele get to the Hayholt the more they see evidence of the King Elias & the Stormking's depravities. Many towns are virtually empty and the land is sickened and dying. They are captured by Firedancers, human adherents to the Stormking, maddened by his touch on their minds. With the help of Binabik, they escape.
Asu'a
Simon, Miriamele, and Binabik reach the Hayholt, where they dig into King John's barrow in order to retrieve Minneyar, said to have been buried with him. Somehow, the sword is missing, and another hole in the barrow reveals that someone else had taken it. Simon, in exploring this hole, falls through the soil into the tunnels below. The tunnels were part of Asu'a, the old Sithi castle fallen into ruin. The Sithi ghosts cause voices and visions, while Simon wanders the dark tunnels. Eventually, Simon climbs out of the tunnel and into the Hayholt himself. Unfortunately, he is captured and thrown into the king's fiery forge to be a metalworker. After antagonizing the forge's master, Inch, Simon is bound to the enormous waterwheel in the forge.
After several days, Simon falls into a coma-like state, and enters a part of the Dream Road in-between life and death. The strange little girl Leleth is here as well, showing him visions of the past. Leleth, however, expends too much energy showing these visions to Simon and dies, leaving Simon stuck in a featureless void, unable to return to his body in the real world. At last, he senses another presence and meets Maegwin, daughter of dead king Lluth of Hernystir. In the corporeal world she is also in a coma, induced by one of Ineluki's undead servants in Naglimund. Maegwin reveals her feelings for Count Eolair, but does not wish to return to the real world, fearing the pain and horror there. She bravely sacrifices herself, transferring her energy to Simon so that he can return to his body.
Simon is unexpectedly cut loose by Earl Guthwulf, an old courtier of Elias' court who had been struck blind in a fight with Pryrates. Simon realizes that the sword Guthwulf used to cut Simon free is none other than Minneyar. Inch finds them, but Simon crushes him using the waterwheel. They flee the forge through more dark tunnels and escape to Guthwulf's underground den. Guthwulf then develops fever and dies. Simon takes the sword, listens to its "song," and follows its pull to the top of Green Angel Tower.
When Simon arrives in the topmost chamber of the tower with Minneyar in hand, both Elias and Camaris are there, along with Cadrach, Miriamele, and Binabik. The three holders of the three Great Swords are forced by Pryrates to cross them. The priest uses the Words of Unmaking to channel the power of the swords into Elias, creating a home for Ineluki. He invokes the five Houses, or A-Genay'asu'e, using their power in combination with the Pool of Three Depths to turn time backward, allowing the Storm King to return. Pryrates then attempts to control the Storm King, but is killed. Miriamele kills Elias with the White Arrow of the Sithi before Ineluki could fully manifest himself. Elias, the vessel of Ineluki's spirit dies, and Ineluki dies with him. Green Angel Tower collapses, but Simon and his friends escape in time.
The aftermath
Great is the ruin left behind by the battle, and all are uncertain as to who must rule now, since Josua had been killed by Elias in the Tower just before the spell. It is then that it is revealed that Simon is the descendant of Eahlstan Fiskerne who had once ruled in the Hayholt. Simon and Miriamele also admit their love for each other, thus is the future of the royal line sealed.
Late one night, Simon and Miriamele are awakened by a noise outside their tent, and to their shock and amazement, it is Prince Josua. He had not died as all had assumed but was merely knocked unconscious. Camaris had carried him from the tower then disappeared. Josua then tells them that he is not the son of King John, but of Camaris, a love story as old as time and very reminiscent of Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot. He also never wanted to rule, hating every minute of it and now sees his "death" as a perfect escape. He will return to his wife and twin children and open an inn with them and study as a scholar. Against all odds, Simon is then reunited with his foster mother Rachel, who had hidden out in Hayholt during the whole war.
A year later shows a reunion of the main characters who participated, with all well again. Simon is king and Miriamele his queen. Jiriki and Aditu have survived the battle with Utuk'ku, Binabik is well and has returned to his betrothed Sisqi and Josua sent secret greetings to those of the inner circle who know the truth. Count Eolair of Hernystiri also arrives and is told by Simon of his Maegwin's sacrifice. On this meeting the story of Seoman Snowlock and company ends.

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