The Annals of the Chosen

Lore & Background

The trilogy is set in Barokan, where magic is based on ler—spirits linked to objects or abstract concepts. Priests negotiate with ler, while wizards bind them to talismans. Barokan is ruled by a Wizard Lord, selected by the Council of Immortals and given powerful talismans. If the Wizard Lord goes rogue, he becomes a Dark Lord. The Chosen were created after the first Dark Lord was defeated to deal with such threats. They have enhanced immunity to magic and specialized abilities, and their talismans are linked to the Wizard Lord's power: each Chosen's death diminishes his power, but the talismans still function.

Reader's Guide

The Annals of the Chosen trilogy is significant for its structured magic system and the concept of a balanced counterforce to absolute power. The Chosen are not wizards but ordinary people with specific magical gifts and curses, each tied to a talisman that also empowers the Wizard Lord. This interdependence creates a strategic dynamic where the Dark Lord must kill the Chosen to weaken them, but each death also diminishes his own abilities. The trilogy explores themes of trust, betrayal, and the limits of authority, particularly through the secret role of the Traitor, introduced after the events of The Wizard Lord. The series offers a nuanced take on the 'chosen one' trope by making the Chosen a team with defined roles and vulnerabilities.

Did You Know?

• The Chosen include a Leader, Swordsman, Archer, Seer, Speaker, Beauty, Thief, Scholar, and a secret Traitor.
• The Wizard Lord's talismans still function if a Chosen dies, but his power is diminished.

The Dual Magic of Barokan

The world of Barokan operates on a dual magic system rooted in a force called ler, divided into two fundamentally different categories. The first type of ler is tethered to a specific entity—a plant, an animal, a place, or an object. Priests serve as intermediaries, negotiating with these ler so that everyday life can proceed without conflict, though some ler prove particularly demanding in their requirements. The second type of ler exists independently of any single object and tends toward abstraction. Wizards work with this second category, but rather than negotiating as priests do, they exert direct control by binding ler to talismans. This fundamental distinction between negotiation and domination shapes every political and social institution in Barokan, from the priesthood to the ruling wizard. The entire trilogy by Lawrence Watt-Evans—The Wizard Lord (2006), The Ninth Talisman (2007), and The Summer Palace (2008)—is built upon this framework, exploring what happens when the balance between these two approaches to power is threatened.

The Chosen: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Burdens

The Chosen are not born into power or trained in wizardry. They are ordinary individuals who have sworn an oath to confront and, if necessary, kill a Wizard Lord who has turned into a Dark Lord. Each member carries a specialized magical gift tailored to a particular aspect of that mission: the Leader persuades, the Swordsman wields unmatched blade skill, the Archer moves unseen and strikes with lethal precision, the Seer tracks positions, the Speaker understands every language including those of ler, the Beauty heals, the Thief opens locks and takes what is needed, and the Scholar retains every true fact ever told to him. Yet each gift carries a curse—a daily obligation that serves as a constant reminder of the cost. The Leader must convince someone to do something unwanted each day; the Swordsman must practice for an hour; the Archer must hit twelve difficult targets. These curses ensure that power in Barokan is never without price.

The Wizard Lord and the Dark Lord Problem

Barokan is governed by a single supreme wizard, the Wizard Lord, selected by the Council of Immortals and serving until death or voluntary resignation. His authority rests on a collection of talismans that make him vastly more powerful than any other wizard in the world. Among his duties are dealing with rogue wizards who threaten the general population and providing public services such as weather control. However, the system contains a fatal flaw: if the Wizard Lord himself turns against the people, even the combined force of all other wizards would struggle to stop him. Such a figure is called a Dark Lord. The first Dark Lord's emergence forced the surviving wizards to create the Chosen—a group of ordinary oath-sworn individuals granted the final, unilateral authority to declare a Wizard Lord a Dark Lord, even without the Council of Immortals requesting it. This institutional design reflects a world that learned, through catastrophe, that no single concentration of magical power can be left unchecked.

The Talisman Counterbalance

The most elegant mechanism in the trilogy's design is the link between the Chosen's talismans and the Wizard Lord's powers. Each Chosen member carries a talisman—Crown, Small Sword, Golden Arrow, Glass Orb, Small Tongue, Silver Mirror, Iron Key, Open Book, or Coin—and each corresponds to a specific power the Wizard Lord wields. The Crown amplifies his aura of authority; the Small Sword grants him physical strength and endurance; the Golden Arrow gives him weather control; the Glass Orb lets him locate the Chosen; the Small Tongue reveals true names; the Open Book preserves his memory of any true name he ever knew; and the Coin ensures he cannot mistrust the Chosen Traitor. The Silver Mirror and Iron Key correspond to powers called Health and Crafts, whose full effects remain unspecified. Critically, these linked talismans only function while the corresponding Chosen member remains alive. Every time the Dark Lord kills one of them, he forfeits that aspect of his power. If all are slain, his talismans become inert and the Council of Immortals can deal with him easily. This creates a brutal strategic calculus: the Dark Lord must weigh the cost of each kill against the power he retains.

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