Epouventor

Chronicles of the stone of Ward:

" Wardstone Chronicles" (also known under the name of the Books of the epouvantor in France, and " the last apprenti" in America) are a series of books written by Joseph Delaney and published by Random House. The hero of the series is a 14 years old boy, named Thomas J. Ward, who is apprentice of a " épouvanteur". Its adventures are told in the books. Four books of the series were written to date: - " The Spook' S Apprentice" : in French " The apprentice of the épouvanteur" - " The Spook' S Curse" : " Curse of the épouvanteur" - " The Spook' S Secret" : " The secrecy of the épouvanteur" - " The Spook' S Battle" , which will appear soon in French.

Main characters

* Thomas Ward, known as Tom :

The apprentice of Grégory, is the hero of the history. All the books are told from its point of view, and it always plays the important role there. Tom is the seventh wire of a seventh wire. One learns in the second book from the series which his/her mother is a witch lamia originating in Greece and which his/her father saved it when he was sailor. Tom achieved many things, in spite of his lack of experience. He overcame the witch Malkin mother, blocked a goblin eventror, destroyed the Plague, a creature remaining in the catacombs of the cathedral of Priestown, and drew up herself against powerful Gologoth, the lord of the winter.

It maintains a great friendship, although strongly disapproved by its Master, with Alice, a young witch. It also seems to have feelings for her. Into volume 4, Mab, a witch of the clan of Mouldheels, falls in love with him and is very jealous of Alice. But Tom does not share his feelings, and after Mab is betrayed and revealed its cruelty, he promises to him to return one day in Pendle to lock up it in a pit.

It is a devoted, respectful and endowed apprentice, although rather disobeying. He is intelligent, but he enters sometimes in conflict with his Master, who in particular reproaches him for listening to his heart too much rather than his head.

One does not know large-thing in connection with his appearance, but he was written in " The Spook' S battle" , the volume 4, qu ' it has the green eyes. It is left-handed, just like Mr. Gregory.

* John Grégory:

It is the epouvantor of the County, and the Master of Tom. John Gregory has mysterious passed that one gradually will discover. In the beginning, he was a priest but after being itself scrambled with his brother, it doubts the existence of God and becomes a epouvantor.

Grégory is a demanding, serious and miserly in compliments, but nevertheless good and courageous Master. Like all wire of a seventh seventh wire, John Gregory is left-handed.

In its past, it had relations with several women. Initially Emily Burns, a woman originating in the same village as and promised to him with the one of his/her brothers. They fell in love and left to live together. His/her brother forgiven to him forever. Thereafter, Emily was wearied of him but they remained good friends. One learns his death in volume 3. When it had just become Epouvanteur, Gregory met Meg, a witch lamia dreaded in all the County. Malgrès its duty of epouvantor, it could not be solved to lock up it in a pit because they liked passionately. He finally married it. Tom meets Meg in volume 3. Gregory makes it take without its knowledge a potion which makes it lose the memory, to make him forget that it is a witch and avoid imprisoning it in a pit. At the end of this volume, Gregory, malgrès its love for Meg, lets it turn over in its country, Greece, with his/her Marcia sister.

It has a brother named Andrew which is his/her only brother remained in life and a skilful metal worker. Tom meets it for the first time in the second book. He has another brother who is priest. Tom also saves it of a goblin with Horshaw in volume 2, but he dies of the continuations of his wounds. Gregory and its brother did not speak themselves any more, because Emily Burns preferred the epouvantor to him. However, it has nevertheless to witness its funeral.

Gregory is described by Tom like resembling a wolf. It has the green eyes, has a gray beard and the hair grisonnants. It is thin and very extremely.

Tom respects his Master particularly. In spite of its age, Grégory is still strong, but it gets now old, and its force decrease…

* Alice Dean:

It is the only true friend of Tom, outwards perhaps of Grégory. Alice is the niece of a very malefic witch, Lizzie the Osseous one, and lives with it in the first volume.

She handles Tom by making it release the witch Mère Malkin, but, taken remorse, the assistance then to escape her aunt. She comes from Pendle. His/her mother was Malkin and his/her father was Deane, although they did not practice sorcery. They died very early, this is why Alice was placed under the guard of her aunt.

In the first book, Alice Deane seems to be an young girl under the influence of the evil. However, in the other volumes, it shows a very honest friend towards Tom. She helped it much, to see saved (sometimes Grégory with) on several occasions. For example, in volume 2, it obliged the Plague not to make of evil with Tom and Gregory, making it possible Tom to destroy it, or, in volume 3, it saves the life of Gregory by looking after using plants its pneumonia. But it is noticed that she hesitates to help Mr. Gregory when he is in bad posture, stressing that he would probably not have made the same thing for it, but always ends up doing it.

As a niece of a witch, she knows practices of magic, like the preparation of the antidotes, and seems to have a gift with botany. She knows also Latin. She is also very gifted for " renifler" approach of people, or to feel things which are remote, or which it are produced in the close past. She uses also the magic of the mirrors, for example for espionner remotely people. In Chipenden, the epouvantor makes him recopy his books and it takes part in the training of Tom by transmitting to him what his/her aunt taught him.

She is rather feminist, one sees it in particular when she proposes in Tom to cook in her place.

She does not like the fact that Mr. Grégory does not rely on her, and sometimes that he puts it at the variation, and is often source of conflicts between Tom and his Master. It is undoubtedly thanks to Tom that Grégory did not block Alice. She remains at the border between the good and the evil. Nevertheless, it and Tom are very attached, and it says that Tom him " appartient" , because it imposed its " to him; marque" of witch, who will never be erased. Thanks to that Tom could escape Mab, which tried to have it in volume 4. Mab is in addition one of worst enemy of Alice. Jealous of the friendship of Alice with Tom, she swore to kill her one day.

Alice is known as rather tall, with beautiful brown eyes and of long black hair. Tom describes it like very pretty. It carries pointed shoes, like the majority of the witches.

The question is: can one trust him?

* Mom:

Mom is the name given to the mother of Tom. It is a very mysterious woman. We discover in book 2 that it is a witch lamia become bénévolente. She meets the father of Tom when he saves the life in Greece to him, her country of origin. She was then related to a rock by a money chain, condanmée to die, because she is exposed to the sun that she does not support. Whereas the sun starts to burn the skin to him, the father of Tom, then marine whose boat made stopover, alerted here by its tears, it protects from his body and using his shirt. When the sun lies down, the father of Tom delivers it and she embraces it to thank it. They live one moment in the house of the mother of Tom in Greece, then return in the County and marry. It gives him 7 wire, but we let us know only 3 of them. (Jack, James and Thomas.)

Mom has a small part of her house, right under the attic, which it keeps verouillée. After the death of the father of Tom and the departure of his mother for Greece, although the farm returns to Jack, his/her older brother, Tom inherits this part, with the great displeasure of Jack, jealous. Besides that will cause him many troubles in volume 4.

The part of Mom is an infallible fortress against the obscure one, which will be very useful to Tom in volume 4. One discovers in this same volume what the cases contain which are in this part: there is memory of the mother of Tom, such as her wedding gown as well as the shirt of her husband who protected it from the sun, the money, the diaries, grasses and potions. 2 of the cases contain the sisters of the mother of Tom, therefore the aunts of Tom. She can be awaked only with the moonlight, which Tom made to escape Mab. They prove to be wild lamias, which will act as " keep corps" in Tom.

*La prophecy of Tibb:

In volume 4, an indicator named Tibb sees the future of Tom. He says to him that its future will be very sad and solitary. Its Master will have died. He also sees a girl, soon a woman, who will love Tom, to betray it, and finally to die for him. This girl can be Mab, which betrayed it thereafter, then acknowledged that she liked it before Tom it is not betrayed in his turn, with the assistance of Alice. But it is more probably Alice. Tom thinks itself has these two possibilitées and thinks that prophecy is terrible if it refers to Alice.

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