''Strands of Starlight'' is a novel written by

Gael Baudino Gael Baudino (born 1955) is a contemporary American fantasy author who also writes under the pseudonyms of Gael Kathryns, Gael A. Kathryns, K.M. Tonso, and G.A. Kathryns. She attended college at the University of Southern California. Sometime bef ...

and published in 1989. It is the first in the Strands of Starlight

tetralogy A tetralogy (from Greek τετρα- ''tetra-'', "four" and -λογία ''-logia'', "discourse") is a compound work that is made up of four distinct works. The name comes from the Attic theater, in which a tetralogy was a group of three tragedies ...

. The other novels are '' Maze of Moonlight'', ''

Shroud of Shadow ''Shroud of Shadow'' is a novel written by Gael Baudino in 1994. It is the third in the Strands of Starlight tetralogy. The other novels are '' Strands of Starlight'', '' Maze of Moonlight'', and '' Strands of Sunlight''. Plot introduction The ...

'', and '' Strands of Sunlight''.

Plot introduction

The protagonist of Strands of Starlight is Miriam, a young woman living a fugitive life in the fictional land of Adria, which is set in medieval Western Europe circa 1350. She has a mysterious gift of healing and suffers persecution because of it.

Plot summary

Miriam's parents expel her at a young age because of her powers of healing, and she wanders for years. At the age of eighteen Miriam falls into the hands of Catholic authorities, denounced as a witch. Grievously injured by her tormentors, Miriam escapes, and Mika, a traveling midwife, takes her in and nurses her back to health. After curing one of Mika's patients of eclampsia, Miriam goes on the run again. As she travels through the forest, she comes upon Baron Roger of Aurverelle, a nobleman out hunting who has been mauled by a bear. After she heals him, he rapes her and leaves her for dead. Inhabitants of Saint Brigid, one of the Free Towns, find her and summon Varden, an elf, to help heal her injuries. While recovering in Saint Brigid, she realizes that the Elves have the power to change people. Formulating a plan for revenge on Baron Roger, she convinces Varden to perform a

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

upon her to make her larger and stronger, able to engage in armed combat. Another Elf, Terrill, agrees to train her in the Elven way of armed combat. The change goes as planned, but she comes to realize that it has made her not completely human, and she is gradually becoming an elf. Aloysius Cranby, the bishop who had imprisoned Miriam, tracks her by imprisoning and interrogating Mika the midwife and comes to Saint Brigid. After days of fruitless searching for Miriam the human, Cranby realizes that Miriam the elf is just one of several elves welcome in the village when she kills one of his companions, though he never realizes the two Miriams are one and the same. Deeming this information more important than completing his original task, he flees the village, and Varden kills him to keep this secret safe. Miriam persuades Terrill to go with her to free Mika from the Inquisition's prison. In a final full-contact sparring match with Terrill, Miriam concludes her transformation into an Elf. As a symbol of acceptance of her completed change, she formally takes the Elvish form of her name, Mirya. She and Terrill go on to infiltrate the prison. Using their Elven senses and agility to find humanly-impossible ways of piercing the tight security, they make their way to the dungeon, free Mika, slaughter the inquisitors, and flee. After leaving the city, Mirya, Mika, and Terrill return to Saint Brigid. Still unable to abandon her quest for vengeance, Mirya uses her Elven powers to search through all of the potential futures, and she forces into reality what had been only a dimly possible future, wherein Baron Roger and she can duel. As a result, Baron Roger conceives the idea of arranging a sham

hawking Hawking may refer to: People * Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), English theoretical physicist and cosmologist *Hawking (surname), a family name (including a list of other persons with the name) Film * ''Hawking'' (2004 film), about Stephen Haw ...

trip in nearby Beldon forest, where Mirya will be waiting for him, so that he will have the privacy to violate a young woman in his care. When Roger arrives, Mirya initiates a sword battle with him. Finally, Mirya prevails over him, wounding him mortally. Realizing only then that keeping him alive is better than killing him, she heals him then uses her powers to remake his mind so that he is less aggressive, less ambitious, and committed to keeping the Free Towns safe.

Characters in ''Strands of Starlight''

Elves

*Varden - in some senses a leader among elves. A healer of great power. *Natil - it is implied in the series that she is the first and eldest of the all of the elves. Skilled at playing the wire-strung harp. *Terrill - one of the few elves to carry a sword. *Talla - only described as having curly red hair and blue eyes. *Mirya - the human Miriam after her transformation.

Humans

*Miriam - a human with the gift of healing. *Charity - a young girl, who used to be the miserable Leather Woman before Varden reshaped her and gave her a second chance at life. *Mika - a midwife who takes in Miriam after she escapes. *Roxanne - a wise woman in the village of Saint Brigid. Varden's lover. Daughter of Francis and sister to Michael, Charlotte, and Kay. *Aloysius Cranby *Roger of Aurverelle - Baron of Aurverelle. A huge man, terrifically strong, prone to murder and rape with no conscience. *Francis - the blacksmith of Saint Brigid. Kay and Roxanne's father. *Kay - priest of Saint Brigid. *George Darci *Janet Darci - George's daughter.

Historical figures and events mentioned in ''Strands of Starlight''

*The Beghards *The

Brethren of the Free Spirit The Brethren of the Free Spirit were adherents of a loose set of beliefs deemed heretical by the Catholic Church but held (or at least believed to be held) by some Christians, especially in the Low Countries, Germany, France, Bohemia, and Norther ...

*The Cathars *The Cluniac order *The

Fraticelli The Fraticelli (Italian for "Little Brethren") or Spiritual Franciscans opposed changes to the rule of Saint Francis of Assisi, especially with regard to poverty, and regarded the wealth of the Church as scandalous, and that of individual church ...

* John Hawkwood * Hildegard of Bingen *The

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

*The

Minorites , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

* Pope Clement VI *

Pope Benedict XII Pope Benedict XII ( la, Benedictus XII, french: Benoît XII; 1285 – 25 April 1342), born Jacques Fournier, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1334 to his death in April 1342. He was the third Avignon pope. Benedict was a careful p ...

Editions

* (US mass market paperback, 1989, New American Library, cover art by

Thomas Canty Thomas Canty (born 1952) is an illustrator and book designer in the field of fantasy literature. Career Thomas Canty is credited with pioneering a style of book cover painting and design influenced by such 19th century romantic artists as Alphon ...

) * (US mass market paperback, 1989, Penguin Books, cover art by

) *

ASIN Asin Thottumkal (born 26 October 1985), known mononymously as Asin, is a former Indian actress who appeared predominantly in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. She has received three Filmfare Awards. She beg ...

B000N4ZE2M (US mass market paperback, 1994, New American Library, cover art by

) *

B000LV9P9U (US mass market paperback, 1989, New American Library, cover art by

) * (UK mass market paperback, 1991, Futura Orbit) * (UK mass market paperback, 1991, Futura Orbit) *

OCLC OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...

58725476 (Audio book - Volunteer Services for the Visually Handicapped, 2005)

Citations

{{reflist American fantasy novels 1989 American novels Roc Books books