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The Harbinger Cycle

A Tetralogy in Four Parts by Tycho Brahe

Released along side the last three books of The Elemenstor Cycle (if you consider Book 10, Book 11 and Book 12 to be the last three, as most true fans do) these books explored the life of Harbinger Portent from birth to death. The tale spans the 13,907 years of the Harbinger's life.

It is suspected that the fifth book, if released would deal with Harbinger Portent's life after his ignoble death at the hands of Char Reyarteb, a time when he existed as a being known as the Ocumen.

The fandom's reaction to the series is evenly split into two camps - those who find the series a compelling and revealing read into the origins of the greatest Elemenstor of all time, and those who were dissapointed by the avante-garde experimental writing techniques and overall lack of action sequences. Many often reccomend readers "skip to the fourth book and leave it at that".

The Cycle

• Book 1: All Paths Lead to the River
• • Summary: A tale of young Ynitsed Onsah; his childhood, awkward adolescence, and early adulthood
  • Quirks: This book is written from the perspective Mayeur of Pizzlemoore in office during Ynitsed's early years; the character is never named.
  • Representative Quote: "Dad," said the young one who would one day become the most powerful figure ever to walk Battal, "I've got hairs . . . growing . . . down there!"
• Book 2: Cathedral and Harbinger
• • Summary: The tale of the long years spent by Onsah in the order of the harbingers, amassing knowledge and status and unlocking secrets.
  • Quirks: Several pages of this text were printed reversed, inversed, or at times cyphered. This may have been typographical error, or an expression of the secret and hidden nature of the Harbinger Mysteries, depending on your reading of the book.
  • Representative Quote: "My student," said the eldest harbinger, "answer me this: If a tree falls in the forest, and it lands on a giraffe clapping with one hand, does it make a sound?" Onsah scratched his head, "The giraffe or the tree?"
• Book 3: Starfall
• • Summary: The axis on which the series turns comes at the beginning of this book when Harbinger Portent discovers the Starborn Gem. A young Petago Kerrik finally makes his appearance half way through this book.
  • Quirks: Intercut with the flowing adjective rich text of the book are long sections where dialog is presented in animal sound effects, often from various languages; described as "a bold stylistic move to convey emotion and context without burdening the reader with tedious specific dialog." A few scenes also appear to be drastically abbreviated and intercut with cartoon or comic book style sound effects, thought to be a reaction by Tycho Brahe to Realmworlds Editors insisting that he include more action sequences in his lofty rhetoric and the rich internal lives of his characters.
  • Representative Quote: The Harbinger looked upon his student, never breaking eye contact he quietly uttered, "Moo," his face an unreadable mask.
• Book 4: The Unsunderer
• • Summary: Heavily featuring Harbinger Portent's relationship with his so-called "Second Students", the tale ends with the unsundering, and the betrayal, the final chapter setting the scene for the coming Century of Fire and meshing nicely with several of the P&P RPG suppliments set in this era, beginning where the novel left off.
  • Quirks: This tale is arguably the best written, although each chapter seems to be written in a wildly different, although compelling style. Perhaps this would lay the groudwork for the later re-releases of Book 1.
  • Representative Quote: (somebody should pick their favorite)