Temper of Wisdom Summary

This topic summarizes the events of Lynn Abbey's The Temper of Wisdom novel.

The Story
The Temper of Wisdom begins three weeks after the events of the prior book, The Forge of Virtue, and six months after Lord British's fateful descent into the newly formed Underworld.

The Return
After a frustrating week in Yew, and two weeks on the road to Britain, Jordan Hawson finds himself sitting on a stool before the great wizard Annon. The magician counts to three, creating glowing glyphs in the air using In Lor. Jordan opens his eyes, attempting to see the symbols. Althea, Balthan, Drumon, and Jordan's brother Darrel wait, although Squirt is less than patient. Jordan's eyes pulse with the magic, and although he knows the common magic runes he can not read the floating symbols.

Annon tells the friends that Jordan's eyes, and his mind, are fine--the fault is in the miscast magic that affects them. It would fade, in time, and Jordan can wear it. Annon gives them coin enough to see them home, and as they set out, Shamino joins him to watch. The old friends discuss Blackthorn's apparent corruption, the shades and the growing Resistance. The regent has sent Inquisitors to the Peerage estates, including Hawksnest; that one a truly evil man named Lohgrin.

Drum takes a few silver to repay some of his guild debts, Balthan takes more to buy reagents from the apothecary, and Squirt runs off. When they return, they purchase as much food as they can before passing through the gates of the city. Before long, they are caught in a summer squall, which keeps up all evening. Eventually, they stop to camp beneath some trees, but the rain continues the next day. When they reach the charterhouse, twelve miles outside of Britain, they spot an Inquisitor and decide to move on. They stay in a teamster's turnabout that night, not trusting the washed out roads and unable to reach the next charterhouse.

A teamster meets them during the night, greeting Balthan as a magician which unnerves him. She allows them to sleep within the covered tent, and to ride with her the following day. When they reach a stream running three feet above its bridge, she convinces Drum, Balthan, and Jordan to aid her in guiding the wagon while Darrel takes the reins. As they wade through the muck, the wagon slips, but they manage to brace the wheels and make it across.

The storm finally lifts as they set camp for the night. Balthan creates glyphs for Jordan, thinking only a few will be enough for him to recover, but after twenty seven with no signs of change, the mage is exhausted. The next morning, they retreat into the dark wagon to try more runes. Balthan plans to add mandrake, to strengthen the glyphs, but he has no mana. Jordan files into a range, accusing Balthan of conspiring against him and nearly breaks the mage's neck--an eerie echo of the miasma that so affected him in Britain.

They pass Malamunsted estate, where Jordan traded his favorite horse, the Valorian Fugatore. Without the now-defaulted loan to recover him, they pass by and continue their journey. They enter the northern boundary of Hawksnest, passing Rosignel villa. The mud keeps them from the estate for one more night. Jordan, after five hundred thirty two glyphs, can see no more than when he was first blinded, and dreads the meeting with his father the next morning.

Girding himself with Honor, Sacrifice and Valor, the virtues of Courage, he mentally prepares himself by shedding his feelings. Balthan confronts him, and the rage seizes Jordan once again. He tosses the mage from the front of the wagon, nearly causing him to be run down. Balthan crawls into the wagon canopy, invoking Mani to take away the worst of the pain.

At Hawksnest, Lord Erwald Ironhawk and Lady Barbara come to meet their sons, but Jordan's blindness causes a bittersweet reunion. The black-clad figure of Lohgrin stands beside them, and when Balthan looks at the Inquisitor, he could see the darkness of the wraiths within him. Drumon warns the mage that Lohgrin has turned the household against him. The farrier pretend to give chase to the escaping Wanderson, while Balthan escapes.

The Conspiracy
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Trivia

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