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in: Books, Series

The Vows and Honor series

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TarmaAndKethry

Cover of Tarma and Kethry omnibus edition

The Vows and Honor series is about the adventures of Tarma and Kethry. All but two[1] of their stories are included in the three book series:

The Tarma and Kethry saga began with short stories published in anthologies. They were not written in any chronological order. After five were published, Mercedes Lackey wrote a novel, The Oathbound (1988), which included a new adventure and new material, plus four of the five published stories.[2][3] She followed this immediately with an all-new full length novel, Oathbreakers (1989), about their time in a mercenary company. Lackey continued to write more stories about the pair, which were published in Sword and Sorceress anthologies - and still not in chronological order. All but one of the uncollected stories published from 1985 to 1993 were finally collected in Oathblood (1998),[1] along with two new stories of their post-mercenary life.[4]

Lackey has written one additional Vows and Honor story since then: "Landscape of the Imagination", published in the Crossroads and Other Tales of Valdemar anthology (2005).

From the publisher: Tarma[]

"Born to the Clan of the Hawk of the nomadic Shin'a'in people, she saw her entire clan slain by brigands. Vowing blood revenge upon the murderers, she became one of the sword-sworn, the most elite of all warriors. And trained in all forms of death-dealing combat, she took to the road in search of her enemies..."

From the publisher: Kethry[]

"Born to a noble house, sold into a hateful "marriage," she fled life's harshness for the sanctuary of the White Winds, a powerful school of sorcery. Becoming an adept, she pledged to use her talents for the greatest good. Yet, unlike other sorcerers, Kethry could use worldly weapons as well as magical skills. And when she became the bearer of a uniquely magical sword which drew her to those in need, Kethry was led to a fateful meeting with Tarma."

"Sword-Sworn": The Beginning (collected in Oathblood)[]

"Sword-Sworn" is the earliest chronological story, as it tells of Tarma's tragedy, her vow, and her search for revenge. Then she meets Kethry, who helps her get revenge, and they swear their Oath to be sisters so that Kethry can help re-found the clan.

  • "Sword Sworn" (c) 1985 (Originally published in Sword and Sorceress III, collected in Oathblood) - Tarma's traumatic story, transformation, and revenge, including how she met Kethry

Adventure years[]

The Oathbound (1988)[]

Main article: The Oathbound
Oathbound

"United by sword-spell geas and the will of the Goddess, Tarma and Kethry swore a blood oath to carry on their mutual fight against evil. The blood oath also allowed the Tale'sedrin clan to remain alive by having the clan live through Kethry's children. Together, swordmaster and sorceress set forth to fulfill their destiny."

After their adventures in Sword-Sworn, the pair is headed towards the plains to reclaim the clan banner. When they stop in Mornedealth to raise funds, Kethry confronts her traumatic past.

After reaching the clans, the pair realize they will need both a reputation and funds to fulfill their dream of re-founding the clan and opening a school. In the Pelagiris Forest, Kethry summons a kyree to be her familiar, but Warrl bonds with Tarma instead. They start out on the mercenary life, escorting caravans. The rest of the book consists of the complete text of four previously published stories.[2]

More adventure years short stories (collected in Oathblood)[]

These stories are also about their wanderings. This is the approximate chronological order:

Adventures published outside of the three-book series[]

Two Tarma and Kethry adventure years stories were published outside the three-book series. Chronologically, they can be approximately assumed to take place bracketing the "Keys" episode, respectively:

Interwoven listing[]

A non-canon guesstimate of the approximate chronological order, using any hints, clues, references, and even the weather:

Post-adventure years, including Kethry's children:

Oathbreakers (1989)[]

Oathbreakers
Main article: Oathbreakers

After making their reputation, Tarma and Kethry join a mercenary company, Idra's Sunhawks, to accumulate funds to re-found the clan and start their school. Two years later, Idra disappears. Tarma and Kethry search for her, and their investigation leads to massive change in an entire nation.

"When Idra, leader of the crack mercenaries known as the Sunhawks, failed to return from a journey to her home kingdom of Rethwellan, Tarma and Kethry, warrior and mage, set out in search of their vanished leader. Sisters of sword and spell, their fates bound together by a Goddess-sworn oath, they were eternally pledged to fight the forces of evil.

"And evil had indeed cast its shadow over Rethwellan. Idra, so they were told, had left long ago on a search for a legendary magical sword which could reveal which of her two brothers was meant to become the new king. With the princess gone, her [older] brother had been branded an outlaw and her [younger] brother had claimed the throne. Both instinct and mage lore told Kethry and Tarma that all was not as it seemed, that both Idra and her people were in terrible jeopardy. Yet would their Goddess-given powers, aided by those of a Herald of Valdemar, proves strong enough to break the dark enchantment possessing this land?"

Post-mercenary short stories (collected in Oathblood)[]

Oathblood

Kethry marries and bears children to re-found the clan, and they start their school.

"Now they have pledged to train others to fight for their cause, starting a new school for young, would-be warriors and fledgling White Winds mages. But training young fighters and wizards turns out to be far more complicated and perilous than they expected - and when two of their prize students are kidnapped, Tarma and Kethry must draw upon all of their combined skills to answer the call of their destiny in ways they never imagined!"

By the Sword[]

Although By the Sword is not part of the Vows and Honor series, the retired Tarma and Kethry have significant roles in the first third of the book.

Characters in the Vows and Honor series[]

British cover of the omnibus edition of Vows and Honor

British cover of the omnibus edition of Vows and Honor

Places in the Vows and Honor series[]

Terms in the Vows and Honor series[]

Also see: Shin'a'in terms and phrases[]

Mercenary Companies[]

This is a short list of mercenary companies mentioned in the series.

Notes[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Two Tarma and Kethry stories were published outside the three-book series. They are "A Dragon in Distress", co-written with Elisabeth Waters in 1995, and "Landscape of the Imagination", published in 2005. Both stories are set in their adventure years.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The stories were "Keys", "Turnabout", "Blind Desire" and "Should Old Acquaintance".
  3. ↑ Unfortunately, their initial adventure, Sword Sworn (1985), was not included.
  4. ↑ The new stories written for the Oathblood collection were "Spring Plowing at Forst Reach" and the "Oathblood" novella.

See Also[]

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