History Literature / Chalice

Unfortunately, not very many people - including Mirasol herself - have a lot of confidence in her ability to adequately fill the role of Chalice. Even fewer are willing to put any faith in their strange new Master. And if Mirasol and the new Master can't make themselves secure enough in their roles as the demesne's leaders, there are people ready and waiting to take advantage of their weakness to sieze control - even if it causes the Willowlands to tear itself apart in the process.

* DreamingOfThingsToCome: Inverted. A local legend tells that if a woman sleeps on a certain hill, she will dream of the man she's going to marry. Mirasol tries it when she first learns that she might have to marry Horuld for the sake of the demesne, but instead of dreaming of the man she ''will'' marry, she dreams of the man she ''would'' have married if she'd remained a simple woodskeeper instead of becoming Chalice.
** [[spoiler:She does see the man she will marry that night on Listening Hill. The magic might have decided that she didn't need a prophetic dream if he was going to show up in person.]]

* BadassNormal: Despite being apparently the only Court title of the twelve to come with no magical powers, the Grand Seneschal is still the third-ranking member of the Court because he's the one that actually handles the day-to-day administering of the Demsne.

* NarrativeFiligree: Par for the course for a Robin McKinley novel, this is a world richly described in exhaustive detail, and we hear more about beekeeping and managing a demesne than is strictly necessary to advance the plot (but still a lot of fun to read, if you're into that style).

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Most of the members of the Circle are only known by their titles, including the Master and the Grand Seneschal. Mirasol only learns the latter's actual name[[note]]Nicandimon, "Nicci" for short[[/note]] at the very end of the book; the Master's original name is mentioned partway through the story[[note]]it's Liapnir[[/note]], but seems to be regarded as something [[ThatManIsDead belonging to his former identity]], and not even the narration ever calls him by it.

* UnexpectedSuccessor: As younger brother to the previous Master, the new Master ''should'' have remained heir apparent until his brother had a child of his own, but the older brother had him packed off to the priesthood of Fire to get him out of the way. Because elemental priests physically transform into their element as they progress through the levels of the priesthood, there was absolutely no expectation that he would return, until his older brother died suddenly with no heir and it became necessary to call the younger brother back from the priesthood to take over the role.

* BeeBeeGun: Mirasol's power as Chalice causes her bees to behave in some very unusual ways.

* NoNameGiven: Most of the members of the Circle are only known by their titles, including the Master and the Grand Seneschal. Mirasol only learns the latter's actual name[[note]]Nicandimon, "Nicci" for short[[/note]] at the very end of the book; the Master's original name is mentioned partway through the story[[note]]it's Liapnir[[/note]], but seems to be regarded as something [[ThatManIsDead belonging to his former identity]], and not even the narration ever calls him by it.

* ContrivedClumsiness: The Overlord uses a very malicious form of fake clumsiness to set the Master up for a MortonsFork: he "trips" within the Master's reach, forcing the Master - a former priest of elemental fire - to choose between catching and involuntarily burning him (an insult) or letting him fall (also an insult).

''Chalice'' is a 2008 novel by Creator/RobinMcKinley, set in the demesne of Willowlands. Willowlands' [[FisherKing Master]] and his Chalice have recently died under less than pleasant circumstances, and the late Master's older brother has been called back from his initiation into the priesthood of elemental Fire to take over as the demesne's new Master - to some opposition, since becoming a priest of Fire has left him no longer entirely human.

* FoodPorn: Mirasol's power works primarily through honey, which she collects from her own beehives, and the book features several lovingly detailed descriptions of different kinds of honey and its various colors and flavors.

* DreamingOfThingsToCome: Subverted. A local legend tells that if a woman sleeps on a certain hill, she will dream of the man she's going to marry. Mirasol tries it when she first learns that she might have to marry Horuld for the sake of the demesne, but instead of dreaming of the man she ''will'' marry, she dreams of the man she ''would'' have married if she'd remained a simple woodskeeper instead of becoming Chalice.

** Every Chalice has an elemental affinity through which they employ their power. It's normally water or wine, but rarer cases are mentioned of Chalices who work best through more unusual liquids such as brine, milk, and [[BloodMagic blood]]. Mirasol's power works through honey.

* FisherKing: Each demesne has not only a FisherKing Master, but an entire Fisher ''Court'' composed of twelve members: Master, Chalice, Grand Seneschal, Prelate, and the "minor circle" composed of the Clearseer, Keepfast, Landsman, Oakstaff, Sunbrightener, Talisman, Weatheraugur, and (presumably) an eighth member whose title isn't mentioned anywhere in the book. If the Master, Chalice, and the rest of the court don't work together smoothly or properly live up to their roles, the entire demesne suffers in all manner of very tangible ways, from unusually skittish livestock and poorly-producing crops all the way up to wildfires and earthquakes.

* NoNameGiven: Most of the members of the Circle are only known by their titles, including the Master and the Grand Senechal. Mirasol only finds out their names at the end of the book.

* FisherKing: Each demesne has not only a FisherKing Master, but an entire Fisher ''Court'' composed of twelve members: Master, Chalice, Grand Seneschal, Prelate, and the "minor circle" composed of the Clearseer, Keepfast, Landsman, Oakstaff, Sunbrightener, Talisman, Weatheraugur, and (presumably) an eighth member whose title isn't mentioned anywhere in the book. If the Master, Chalice, and the rest of the court don't properly live up to their roles, the entire demesne suffers in all manner of ways.

* ContrivedClumsiness: One of the primary antagonists uses a very malicious form of fake clumsiness to set the Master up for a MortonsFork: he "trips" within the Master's reach, forcing the Master - a former priest of elemental fire - to choose between catching and involuntarily burning him (an insult) or letting him fall (also an insult).

* HeroicSacrifice: Subverted. The Master is all set to throw himself on his challenger's sword during their TrialByCombat, in the hopes that his voluntary sacrifice will keep the land from tearing itself apart during the transition to a new (and foreign) Master. However, Mirasol and her ''enormous swarm of bees'' object very strenuously his plan.