The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip
"The Forgotten Beasts of Eld" is a fantasy novel centered on Sybel, a gifted wizard who lives a tranquil life atop a mountain, surrounded by a unique collection of magical animals she can summon and tame. Her life takes a dramatic turn when she is entrusted with Tamlorn, a boy believed to be an orphan, who is actually the son of Drede, the king of a rival kingdom. As Tamlorn grows, he becomes aware of his true heritage, which entangles Sybel in a bitter conflict between the House of Sirle and the kingdom of Eldwold.
Throughout the narrative, Sybel grapples with complex emotions, including love, betrayal, and the desire for revenge against those who have wronged her. The story explores her relationships with Tamlorn, who longs to know his father, and Coren, a warrior who harbors feelings for her yet wishes to use her powers for his cause. As tensions escalate, Sybel faces challenging moral dilemmas and ultimately must confront the darker aspects of her own desires.
In a pivotal moment, she chooses to release her magical beasts, allowing them to act of their own accord, which leads to a resolution that prevents further bloodshed. This act of self-reflection and relinquishing control helps Sybel reconcile her relationships and find peace, illustrating themes of redemption, the consequences of revenge, and the complexity of human emotions in the face of conflict.
On this Page
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
First published: 1974
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Fantasy—high fantasy
Time of work: The present
Locale: The land of Eldwold
The Plot
In The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, the beautiful wizard Sybel has the power to call and tame a collection of wondrous animals. Her calm life is shattered when she takes in Tamlorn, a supposedly orphaned boy who is at the center of a long-standing war. As Tamlorn grows up and becomes aware of his heritage, Sybel is forced to become involved in the outside world. When confronted with conflicting needs of love and revenge, Sybel must struggle to overcome her betrayal of both herself and those she loves most.
Sybel, the daughter of wizards, lives contentedly alone atop her mountain until Coren, a warrior of the House of Sirle, brings to her a baby boy. Coren tells Sybel that the babys dead mother was Sybel’s aunt and the queen of Eldwold, and that his father, Corens brother, was slain in the recent battle in which Sirle was soundly defeated. Now little Tamlorn is endangered by the war between Sirle and Eldwold. Coren begs Sybel to care for Tamlorn, and she reluctantly agrees. She is assisted by Maelga, an old witch living nearby.
As Tam grows up among Sybel’s fantastic menagerie, Sybel comes to love him dearly. She knows that Tam actually is the son of Drede, the king of Eldwold and sworn enemy of the House of Sirle. Rok, the lord of Sirle and Corens eldest brother, desperately wishes to overthrow Drede. He sends Coren back to Sybel to try to persuade her to use both Tamlorn and her considerable wizardly powers to defeat Drede. Coren, who has fallen in love with Sybel, is unable to coax her into fighting for Sirle. Tam has also discovered his parentage and wishes to live with his real father. Drede, pleased to have his son back but fearing that Sybel will use her powers against him, hires a wizard to control Sybel. She is able to defeat the wizard with the help of one of her magical beasts, and Coren takes her to Sirle as his wife.
Sybel harbors hatred for Drede and desires revenge as much as the Sirle brothers. She conspires with Rok to use her powers and her animals—including a dragon, a lion, and a riddle-spouting boar—to destroy Drede. Sybel thus betrays the trust of both Coren and Tam, who believed she had given up her need for revenge.
Maelga and Cyrin the boar reawaken twinges of guilt in Sybel over what she has done. Then, on the eve of battle, Sybel herself is almost destroyed by one of her more fearsome and not easily controlled beasts. Realizing that the price of revenge is too high, Sybel releases all of her animals from her control and returns to her isolated mountain to let fate decide the battles outcome. Even without Sybel to command them, her animals destroy Drede, rescue Tamlorn, and lure the soldiers away from the battlefield to stop the war before it starts. By facing and overcoming the ugliness within her own heart, Sybel is able to save her relationships with Coren and Tam and achieve her hearts desire.