The Sight (Clement-Davies novel)

The Sight is a novel written by David Clement-Davies about a pack of wolves. The pack members are: Huttser, Palla, Khaz, Kipcha, Brassa, Bran, Larka and Fell, though Kar and Palla's brother Skop join later.

Plot introduction

At the beginning of the novel, a Dragga (the term a wolf uses for the dominant male of a pack) named Huttser, and his mate, the Drappa (The term for dominant female), Palla, seek a cave in the side of a mountain in which Palla had grown up, and where she can nurse the pups that were growing in her womb. They are trying to find this cave in order to raise their cubs in secret from Morgra, Palla's evil half-sister. Many dark rumors have cropped up around Morgra, and some say that she is afflicted with a feared power known as the Sight. Morgra has dark intentions for the wolf pack, which revolve around a legend which brings the wolves together with their most feared enemy: Man. The family experiences trying times and survives through death, sorrow, and pain to stand against Morgra and her hatred.

Characters

• Larka is the main character and, like Morgra, has the Sight. At first she is terrified, but as the story progresses she learns to control her power. Because of Morgra's "curse" all her pack dies except her mother and father, her brother (who in the middle of the book fell though the ice on a river and then lost his memory), and her best friend and possible mate, Kar. She has a pure white pelt and gold eyes. She dies while killing Morgra in order to save the child, a death she foresaw that causes great distress to her family and potential mate, Kar.
• Fell is Larka's brother. He has a pure black pelt with yellow eyes with a sliver of green in the right eye. As a pup he pretended he was scared of nothing. After he fell though the ice he was found by Morgra and brainwashed to make him believe he was Wolfbane. Larka brought him back to believe in who he really was and help bring about the Vision. Fell also has the Sight, although this is not clearly stated until Larka confronts him in Harja.
• Morgra is the main antagonist. She possesses the Sight, and is Palla's half sister. She was believed of being a pup killer, which was an accusation brought about by a tragic misunderstanding revealed to the pack by Brassa. Her Helper, a bird companion that helps any wolf with the Sight learn to see through the eyes of birds, is a raven named Kraar.
• Huttser is Larka and Fell's father and Dragga of the pack. He is described as a large silver wolf with reddish flecks in his tail. His sister is Kipcha.
• Palla is Huttser's mate, and the Drappa of the pack. She is Morgra's half sister, and has a brother named Skop. Though the books do not mention her main fur color, it is said that she has a long, slim muzzle and bushy silver ears.
• Kar is an orphan who accompanies Skop to the main pack, and is then left with them when Skop leaves to join the rebel pack. He and Larka were best friends and could possibly have been mates. He is described as looking like a true Dragga, but often is shown to be slightly cowardly and more of a Sikla. He had two brothers who were taken and killed by Morgra. He has a dark grey pelt.
• Brassa is the pack's oldest member. She was the nurse who raised Palla and Skop as pups. She knew of Morgra's innocence in the pup killing, but said nothing to defend her. She dies of a lump in her stomach, brought on by the guilt of her lie and its ties to the legend.
• Khaz is the Beta, or second-in-command. He is described as having gray fur with a red bushy tail, and has the second strongest jaws in the pack. He falls into a wolf pit later in the book, laden with spikes at the bottom, and dies.
• Bran (wolf) is the pack's Sikla, or weakest member. He is very skittish and often backs away from confrontations. However, he fights off a group of the Night Hunters to save his pack, later dying from the wounds he had sustained in the process. He had a distinctive smudge of black around his right eye.
• Kipcha is the sister of Huttser. She mates with Khaz secretly, but she and her unborn pups die as she is smashed against a rock when she falls into a river.
• Skart, a steppe eagle, is Tsarr's Helper and mentor. When Larka was trapped in the fire, Skart saved her life by showing her a way out of the flames. He then becomes Larka's Helper as well as Tsarr's.
• Skop is Palla's brother and also the one that brought Kar to the pack, but then left in search for the Rebels. He couldn't find the Rebels, and after a few years, found a lone wolf in a cave and pleaded for food and shelter, while carrying the burden of a large wound on his side. He soon found out that the lone wolf is none other than Kar. He then dies slowly.
• Slavka is the leader of the rebel wolves. She was forced to kill her own cubs when she was younger, leading to her fiery need for revenge and bitterness, when she meets Huttser and Palla. Originally completely anti-superstition, after she met Larka, she began to believe. Morgra gained control of her after she released the Searchers, spirits of the dead. After Morgra and Larka died, Morgra's power over Slavka was lost and Slavka approached Huttser, Palla, Kar and Fell for forgiveness.
• Tsarr is Larka's mentor. He is an old wolf who had the Sight, but it faded. He helped Jarla to steal the human child. It was his idea for the child to ride on wolves' backs such as Tsarr's back after realizing he's too heavy to carry in their mouths. Tsarr was one of the main wolves to protect and raise him. Tsarr died trying to rescue the baby from Morgra, and failed. He was very close to Bran. His Helper is Skart.
• Tsinga is Brassa's sister. Brassa and Tsinga had a falling out as young wolves. Tsinga is a fortune teller who lives on her own in the Valley of Shadows. She is blind and feared by others. The pack seek her out to help Larka with the Sight and to tell them how to escape Morgra's curse.
• Bran (human) is the human child that was stolen from his family and is used for Larka, and the Sight. He is named after Bran the wolf. Jarla, Tsarr, and Larka all died for the human cub so he can live. This human child was found by the wolves, except for Morgra. After Tsarr failed to save Bran, it was Huttser who rescued him, and brought the child on his back, to safety. In the end, Fell brought Bran back to his home. Fell knew that the child wasn't happy saying good bye, but Fell knew he had to.
• Jarla is a grey wolf who suckled Bran at first. Then she was killed by Rebels and passed the duty on to Larka.

Morgra and the Pup

A vixen was rooting around the den one day. Morgra was the only one who saw it, and so grabbed a pup to save it from the vixen. However, in her panic she bit down too hard, and so when she went to bury it, the pack found her and accused her of stealing and killing it. Later it was found out that Brassa was the only one in the pack who witnessed this, but did not stand up for her. Rumour was that Morgra felt bitter that couldn't have pups of her own, so she stole a pup from her own pack. After tasting a fellow wolf's blood, it was said that a wolf couldn't get enough and so kept killing its own. She was then banished from her pack for something she did not do.

The Searchers

The Searchers are the ghosts of wolves that have died. They can be summoned by the Summoning Howl, which can only be used by one with the power of the Sight. If the Searchers touch a living wolf, then that wolf can have its mind read and controlled by the one that used the Summoning Howl. The Searchers are neither good nor evil, but they have to do what the Summoner commands. These wolves are found in the "Red Meadow" that can only be reached when a wolf who possesses the Sight makes a kill, sleeps, and then calls Fenris's name (a Varg god). Once that has been done they can walk the pathways of death, but there is a chance that they might not be able to return.

The Balkar

The Balkar (also called "Night Hunters") are a group of Draggas, or alpha male wolves, who do Morgra's bidding. They are vicious and will do anything their leader asks of them (though not always without some uncertainty about it) even if it will lead them to their own death. Before, they were led by Tratto, a great Dragga who let all wolves live in peace and freedom, who then was murdered by Morgra, who fed him lies in his old age. Eventually his blessing was changed into Larka's blessing.

Sight

The Sight is a power that very few wolves have, and it is difficult to control. Only a very small amount is known about the Sight, and most wolves consider it to be a myth. Wolves who have the gift of the Sight have potential to have these powers:

1. The ability to see though the eyes of Lera(wild animals) and feel their pain when hunting them.
2. The ability to look into water and see visions of the past, present and future.
3. The ability to talk to birds and to see through the eyes of a bird. (Goes with the first power)
4. It is believed by some that the true power of the Sight is to heal one's mind and body.
5. To bring forth the Vision, by looking through the eyes of a human at the citadel of Harja. The wolf to use this power has the power to enslave all the Lera to their will.
6. To howl to the Searchers/Fenris, and either summon them to do one's bidding, or enter the Red Meadow (or field of the dead) and speak with the dead, summoning them with fresh meat from a recent kill.
7. The ability to look into the eyes of other Lera and control their will.

References

• David Clement-Davies official Website
• The Sight, Book Review
• David, Clement-Davies. The Sight. Macmillan Children's Books.