Furies

Powerful Furies of Alera

Furies enable Alerans to employ furycrafting, a form of sorcery, so say the Canim.

Description

Furies are elemental spirits (earth, water, fire, air/wind, metal, and wood) that inhabit all aspects of Alera. Some are small and cannot be seen, and the others are powerful enough to manifest when called upon by their wielders. There also exist "Great Furies," the most powerful and ancient of these spirits, by which Alerans swear and curse. They manifest as geographic formations of great elemental power, such as volcanoes and oceans, and are more often restrained or provoked than explicitly commanded, and then only by fury-crafters of exceptional strength. Many Alerans are unaware of the Great Furies' actual existence, imagining them to be more mythic than real, but this disbelief is incorrect. The greatest fury is the Superfury Alera but she is kept secret, known only to the House of Gaius.

History

While Proto-Aleran ruins at Appia — the ruins of the Roman Empire’s missing Ninth Legion, no doubt— show no sign of fury-crafting ability amongst humans of the past, the Aleran people at the present day manifest personal furies in their early childhood or adolescent years, and control them with their minds. They are used to aid them in whatever task undertaken from housework to combat. This fury-based magic is accomplished in one of two forms. First, an Aleran may draw from the strength of their fury to increase their own. For example, earth crafters often draw physical might from the ground, through their furies, to allow them to lift loads far too heavy for normal people, while wind crafters can increase their speed and metalcrafters their endurance. The second form of fury-crafting is to "manifest" a fury. This involves the fury taking a visible form, often the shape of an animal, though taking the shape of a human is not unheard of. Manifested furies are necessary for the most powerful forms of fury-crafting, including flight (windcrafting) and healing (watercrafting).

Most Alerans display some type of rudimentary ability in all areas of fury-crafting, but tend to specialize in only one or two types. High Lords and their offspring generally show considerable talent in all areas of fury-crafting well beyond the capabilities of a typical person, indicating that heredity plays some role in fury-crafting. Residents of large cities typically treat furies as generic entities while those in rural areas forge close personal bonds with specific furies usually tied closely to particular natural landmarks. All Alerans of sufficient talent and strength in fury-crafting to be named to the Citizenry are obligated by law to marry someone with similar strength, in the interest of producing children with strong fury-crafting ability.

During "Princeps' Fury", the First Lord is shown to have a fury named Alera that he can commune with as if the fury was a human. She is an amalgam of all the fury types. She came into being when the first Gaius Primus took stone from all over Alera and incorporated it into the mural in the First Lord's meditation chamber. The fury takes the form of a woman, and her eyes constantly change color, from the color of steel (Metal fury) to the colors of gemstones, such as emerald (Earth) and sapphires (Water). Her clothing has been described of being made of thick, shimmering fog (Air), and her face is youthful, while her hair is gray with streams of red (Fire). She appears to Tavi at the very end of "Princeps' Fury", and says that his grandfather called her Alera. She is the source of much of the power always held by the First Lord above his fellow High Lords. She can give a fury-crafter unmatched power but her help tends to have wide-reaching consequences.

Great Furies

The oldest, greatest, most powerful furies known of in the land of Alera. There may be more scattered across the entire world, Carna. Great furies are typically not tamed, not claimed. They are too wild, too strong. Examples: Mt Kalus in Kalare, Mount beneath Alera Imperia, Mt Garados, and Alera (Fury) — but she is unique and different. Many Alerans do not know these great elemental beings exist, even though everyone swears by them. “By the great furies, we will hold the wall!” and “Crows and bloody furies!”

Amara frowned. “Great furies…what…I mean, there are actually…?”

Gaius’s mouth gained an edge of grim amusement. “You think we swear by them simply for show? No. They exist, the Great Furies. A dozen or so that I’m aware of. Creatures so old and vast that our entire existence upon this world, a thousand years of growth and strife, is less than the span of an eyeblink to them.(Captain’s Fury, ch 13)

Six Types of Furies

Earth Terra

Earth Furies are typically composed of stone or earth and are summoned from the ground. Earthcraft can be used to gain strength, track and hunt by sensing people or animals touching the earth, manipulate the earth, calm animals, and inspire lust. A manifested earth fury can attack directly and can carry a crafter across the ground as if on a raft. Alerans have used earthcrafting to create roads, along which earthcrafters are able to use the strength of the furies in the ground to significantly increase their travel speed. Earthcraft is disrupted when contact with the ground is lost.

Earthcrafting Knights are called Knights Terra.

Wind/Air Aeris

Windcraft can be used to fly, control the wind, to increase speed and agility, to see farther by bending air into a lens, or into an echo chamber to allow voice communication without the need for watercrafting (although the effective range is much shorter). Strong crafters may be able to bend the air to make objects or people seem invisible or to create lenses of air to focus light into a damaging beam. It can be used to manipulate the weather, including the creation of lightning. One blind Cursor was said to be able to "see" by sensing the currents of air in the room. It has also been shown to greatly improve the perceptions and reaction times of a skilled crafter. Windcraft is disrupted by earth, particularly in the form of salt.

Windfuries are one of the few to commonly manifest in the wild, such as windmanes during furystorms.

Windcrafting Knights in the Legions are called Knights Aeris, such as Tribune Antillus Crassus. In one case, Knights Aeris gathered up lightning bolts during a thunderstorm, to employ against the enemy in battle. ⚡️

The Knights Aeris had gathered up the swirling energy of a dozen thunderbolts from a storm that had come through before first light. The strokes of lightning rumbled and crackled back and forth between the Knights, blue-white beasts caged in a circle of windcrafting. Their growling thunder rolled out ahead of the advancing host, concealing the sound of marching (FLF chapter 31)

Water Aqua

Androcles, a water fury

Watercrafting can be used for healing, communicating over large distances, reading emotions, shape-shifting, keeping a youthful appearance, and manipulating water. One crafter has displayed the ability to extend and sharpen their fingernails into weapons. Watercrafting may also be used to drown a person on land if the fury is not sufficiently negated. Watercrafters hold limited legal authority and perform truthfinds under the legal authority of a steadholt or higher. Although some watercrafters can divine whether a person is emotionally attempting deceit, skilled Cursors, spies, (and overly stubborn children) can learn, through practice and concentration, to dampen these emotions and inhibit or negate the ability. The emotional environment can also have a negative effect on the crafter's ability to function if surrounded by sufficiently strong or toxic emotions, particularly in large panicked crowds. Watercrafting can be disrupted if the person is cut off from the element, or surrounded with fire or stone.

Watercrafters are typically employed as healers to the legions and are called Knights Aqua. They are also employed as water witches aboard ship, to help enable smooth sailing and to avoid leviathans.

Fire Ignus

Firecrafting can be used to control firelight to subliminally manipulate passionate feelings such as joy, anger, and fear; to create and manipulate flames for either constructive or massively destructive purposes; to create cold by extracting heat from an object, which at an advanced level can freeze water in seconds. The most powerful firecrafters can create white-hot spheres that vaporize anything within them and sear all objects within a large radius; Manifested fire furies may attack directly, sometimes taking the shapes of animals such as birds and snakes. Firecrafting can be disrupted by water.

Firecrafting Knights called Knights Ignus

Metal Ferrous

Metalcrafting is commonly used in swordplay as crafters can increase and decrease the hardness of metal, allowing them to strike and block blows with diamond-hard blades and make metal shields more flexible to absorb a greater amount of impact force than normal. Metalcrafters are able to fight in complete darkness as they are able to sense the metal weapons around them. It is can also be used in forging weapons and other metal objects. Metalcrafters are able to temporarily reduce or ignore certain sensations or feelings, allowing them dramatically increased pain tolerance and physical endurance. Although they gain speed, accuracy and deadly ability in combat, due to their weapons becoming an extension of themselves, metalcrafters do not become physically stronger, nor does metalcraft give them skills they have not learned, and they still require metal weapons/armor to make the most of their abilities. The deadliest swordmasters are also able to augment their abilities with earth and wind to become stronger and faster. Some metalcrafters have displayed the ability to manifest a metal fury, which has the effect of temporarily transforming the crafter's body into metal (in an effect reminiscent of Colossus from the X-Men). The process is only skin deep, as the skin inside the mouth remains flesh. It is quite painful, however the metalcraft necessary to accomplish it also provides protection from pain. Metalcrafting is disrupted by wood.

Metalcrafting Knights called Knights Ferrous.

Wood Flora

Woodcrafting can be used to manipulate plants and wood, such as the crafter being able to bend the bow in someone's hand or to instantly shape wood into tools. It can be used to track persons or prey, to bend massive bows to allow arrows to fly farther and faster, and to increase the accuracy of arrows. Woodcrafters are able to use nearby foliage to hide themselves and others from detection, which is referred to as a 'veil'. The use of woodcrafting requires nearby wood or plant matter, living or dead, in order to use, and can be disrupted by metal.

Woodcrafting Knights called Knights Flora

Wild Furies

The land of Alera is filled with many different types of furies, and an individuals ability to craft in their element can be aided, or hindered by the land they are on. When in hostile territory (e.g. the hold of an opposing steadholder or High Lord) a crafter may come into conflict with those furies, or they may come to the aid of the native steadholder against intruders.

In addition, wild furies friendly to the crafters on their homeland may be called on to create greater affects than could be achieved by the crafter on their own, calling a flood for example. However, the wild fury will only do what it wants and is not under the control of the crafter who is calling on it.

Wild furies, like the mountain Garados and Thania Lilvia may have an entire distaste for humans, and attempt to harm them. This could take the form of yawning chasms opening up unexpectedly, or massive deadly storms with deadly hail, and windmanes.

Gaining Furies

During the events of First Lords Fury, it is revealed it is possible for Alerans to gain furies by willing the fury to bond with them. Aquitainus Attis is shown fighting several enormous furies during the battle at Riva, though it is later revealed he was only pretending to bond these furies (they were his furies all along) in an attempt to lure out the Vord Queen during the battle.

During the final battle against the Vord in Calderon Valley, the Vord Queen attempts to bond the great furies Garados and Thana Lilvia, in an attempt to harness their power.

Named furies

Multitype furies

Alera (Fury): Fury of Alera

Fire furies

Garados: Great Volcano Fury (possibly a multi-type fury of earth and fire)

Kalus: Great Volcano Fury

Phyllis: Count Gram's fury

Water furies

Rill: Water fury of Isana

Androcles: Water fury of Max

Immi: Water fury of Otto

Almia: Water fury of Roth

Bernice: Water fury of Foss

Wind /Air furies

Cirrus and Amara

Cirrus: Amara's fury, shaped like a white horse

Thana Lilvia: Great Fury, windmane, guards Mt. Garados

Earth Furies

Brutus: Bernard's Fury, in the shape of a huge dog or wolf

Garados: Great Volcano Fury in the Calderon Valley

Kalus: Great Volcano Fury

Vamma: Fidelias’ earth fury

Lithia: Lady Placidus Aria’s earth fury

Thumper: Frederic's Fury

Wood Furies

Cyprus

Cyprus: Bernard’s Lesser Fury, a small dryad

Etan: Fidelias’ Fury

The Slive: Captain Demos‘ entire ship The Slive is a Wood Fury

The Slive, a Wood Fury Ship

Theories

Class Lectures

See Academ's Fury chapter 18, where Tavi and Max discuss Academy lectures on Anthropomorphism:

“Anthropomorphic Theorem,” Tavi said. “There are a number of different ideas about how much of the furies are truly intrinsic to their nature, and how much is something that we cause them to become.” Tavi shrugged. “We command furies with our thoughts…” (AF, ch 18)

“That’s what Imposed Anthropomorphic Theory states. Maybe part of our thoughts also shape how our furies appear to us. Maybe a wind fury on its own doesn’t look like anything much at all. But when a crafter meets it and uses it, maybe that crafter, somewhere in his head, believes that it should look like a horse, or an eagle, or whatever. So when that fury manifests in a visible form, that’s what it looks like. ..And that’s the predominant view in the cities and among most Citizens.” (AF, ch 18)

“But other scholars support the Natural Anthropomorphic Theory. They insist that since the furies are each associated with some specific portion of their element—a mountain, a stream, a forest, whatever— that each has its own unique identity, talents, and personality.” —-— “Which is why a lot of folks in the country name their furies?” Max guessed. ——- “Right. And why the city folk tend to sneer at the idea, because they regard it as paganus superstition. (AF, ch 18)

• etc. etc.

Furies of Alera

There is some evidence to say that furycrafting is not an innate ability known to the Aleran people, but rather that furies live within the realm of Alera, and as it's citizens the Alerans grew to understand and bond with furies over the centuries they settled there. There are examples non-Alerans learning furycrafting, specifically Kitai, a Marat, and the Vord Queen. Though this may be due to Kitai's unique bond with Tavi and the Vord Queen's imitation of Kitai.

The Icemen seem to practice a form of watercrafting as well. There is no documented sighting of a manifested waterfury from any Icemen, but their ability to control water and sense the emotions of others is very similar to watercrafting.

Proto Alerans

There is debate among Aleran scholars as to whether their ancestors, the Proto Alerans, were able to utilize furycrafting. Magnus the Cursor / Maestro Magnus the lecturer and author, believes the Proto Alerans were unable to furycraft, as evidenced by their ruins at Appia, and ancient primitive tools, such as mules / catapults, and the ancient writings on clay tablets he unearthed at Appia.

Given the premise author Jim Butcher was given as inspiration for the series, combining the ideas of a Lost Roman Legion and Pokemon, the Alerans of the Codex Aleran series may be implied to be a real Ninth Roman Legion, lost mysteriously near Hadrian’s Wall at the Scottish border, and finding themselves in the fictional world of Carna, where they built the realm of Alera. See Roman Empire cross-referenced with Codex Alera.

Manifesting Furies

The manifestation of furies is a frequent subject of debate among furycrafting scholars. In general it appears furycrafters who grow up in the edges of the realm in steadholts are more likely to manifest their furies with a persona, such as an animal or humanoid, while those growing up in large cities are less likely to manifest their furies with any personality or specific form. This may be due to the rough conditions of those living in steadholts, who more frequently interact with powerful wild furies and must rely on their own furies to survive, thus forming closer bonds to their furies. It could also be due to the mindset of Alerans living in cities, some of whom look down upon those with manifested furies as evidence they grew up in the countryside. During his training in Captain's Fury, Tavi remarks how desperately he desires to manifest a fury, as he considers this as evidence of his power in furycrafting.

See chapter 18, Academ’s Fury, and see Lectures section above.

Fury Personas

It is unclear if the personas manifested by furies are their own identities, or if they are personified by the projection of a personality by their furycrafter.

For example, Max and Crassus Antillus were not permitted by their father Antillus Raucus to manifest their furies, forced to only see their furycrafting as a form of power. However, because Raucus ignored teaching them much about watercrafting, each of the brothers have manifested their waterfuries as large lions made from raging water. This occurred after they each read the same book in their family library containing the story of a powerful lion made of water. This would support the idea the brothers gave their furies a persona based off a story that inspired them.

On the other hand, the well defined personalities and identities of the furies of steadholt citizens support the idea that furies reveal their true forms to those they bond closely with. Brutus, Rill, Cirrus and other furies each have their own quirks and personality traits, even occasionally acting without their furycrafter's permission.

In addition, the presence of manifested wild furies, such as the windfuries of Calderon Valley and the great furies Garados and Thana Lilvia give more credence to the idea of furies having distinct identities. Garados and Thana Lilvia are both very territorial, and attack an trespassers who come close with Windstorms and avalanches.

The presence of the fury Alera, a fully intelligent fury linked to the land of Alera itself, provides additional evidence to the idea of the intelligence of furies.

Cursing

Furies can be used as a curse or merely an expletive, such as “By the great furies!” It is sometimes paired with "bloody" or "blighted."