The Betrayed Sorceress is the first Thorgal story, published in the belgian edition of "Tintin Magazine" from mars to october 1977. It was first published as an album in Le Lombard editions in 1980 along with the second album and second part of the story 'The Island of Frozen Seas. The first album also contains the short story "Almost Paradise" published in Tintin in 1979.
Sentenced to death by Gandalf-The-Mad king of the Vikings of the North for loving his daughter, Thorgal is saved by a mysterious red haired woman. As gratitude, Thorgal must accept to serve her for one year without asking questions. He soon learn that she also seek revenge on Gandalf.
The Betrayed Sorceress provides examples of
- As You Know: The way Slive provides the exposition of Thorgal's backstory.
- Best Served Cold: Slive had 10 years to avenge her capture by Gandalf.
- Big Damn Heroes: Sharn saves Thorgal from an evil dwarf.
- Book Ends: The story begins and ends at a cliff near the sea.
- Brains and Brawn: the two guardians of the castle are a huge sword-wielding giant and a sorcerous dwarf (the latter being the more dangerous).
- Chained to a Rock: Thorgal is chained to the Ring of the Sacrifice by Gandalf-the-Mad for being loved by Gandalf's daughter. Thorgal is soon rescued by the Sorceress Slive.
- Characterization Marches On: Thorgal is much more angrier and vengeful than later in the series including the prequel stories.
- Cool Boat: Slive returns to her island on her Ice Drakkar.
- Death Glare: Sharn gives one to Gandalf when the latter is about to kill his unconscious owner.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- There's a narration that is dropped by the third album.
- The issue is 30 pages long but later stories are 45 pages long. Also the story was published in Tintin as a five parters of 6 pages each which makes the abrupt changes of scenery and time skips jarring in the published album.
- Slive mentions that Gandalf has been a widower since the birth of Aaricia. In Aaricia's self titled album, her mother died when she was a little girl. This is fixed in the official english translation.
- Gandalf mentions that Slive is centuries years old which doesn't match the reveal in "The Island of Frozen Seas". Also the Ice Drakar Slive summons at the end is never seen again. It's likely that Slive was intended to have a more mystical origin.
- The entire episode where Thorgal faces a giant and a dwarf who are brothers clashes with the later worldbuilding as giants and dwarves are otherwise entirely seperate species. We are also told that they protect the "guard tower of the icy realm of Niflhel". Niflhel, like the other realms of Norse Mythology, is later established to be a separate dimension and not a place you can just walk to without supernatural means.
- Forced to Watch: Gandalf ties his daughter Aarica on his boat so he can forces her to watch her lover Thorgal sentenced to death. He certainly not the father of the year.
- In Medias Res: The story opens with Gandalf sentencing Thorgal to die tied on a rock. Slives later exposits the hero's backstory.
- In-Series Nickname: Slive tells early on that Thorgal is known as "Son of the Storms" because of his hot temperedness. "Son of the Storms" is also the title of the first chapter.
- It's a Small World, After All: Slive reveals at the end that the beach where they all are is the verry place where Gandalf captured her. Also it's has been ten years, day for day, minute for minute.
- Moses in the Bullrushes: No one knows where Thorgal is from. His last name is Aegirson because he's suspected of being the son of the sea Giant Aegir
- Plot Hole: Somehow, Sharn - a quadrupedal wolf - manages to climb a cliff and a tower in order to rescue Thorgal from the dwarf.
- Rage Against the Heavens: Thorgal rages against Odin for letting him die without getting his vengeance on Gandalf just before Slive shows up.
- Scars Are Forever: On the second page, Gandalf gives Thorgal his iconic scar on his cheek.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Thorgal and Aaricia are etablished as this. Thorgal is just a skald while Aaricia is a viking princess.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Thorgal at the end of the story renonces his vengeance because he's sick of violence.
- The Unreveal: Whatever Slive intended to inflict to Gandalf before the Baalds attacked them is left unknown.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It's unclear what happened to the rings of Freyr after Gandalf free himself of theiri influence. Either, Slive took them with her or she let them in the snow.
- We Will Meet Again: Slive return to her island on her ice Drakkar and promises that she will have revenge and reminds Thorgal that he still owns her eleven months of his life.
Almost Paradise provides examples of:
- Bittersweet Ending: Thorgal and Skadia escapes the garden but Skadia dies soon after. At least, she was happy in her last moments.
- Departure Means Death: Ingrid and Ranghild warns Skadia that if she leaves the garden, time will catch her up. Skadia ignores them.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The opening narration explicitely put the story around 1000 AD. The series never uses datation again and all but ditched the pretense that it takes place on our world.
- Horse Jump: In order to escape a pack of wolves, Fural attemps to jump over a ravine but fails.
- Mistaken for Afterlife: When Thorgal wakes up in the garden after his fall, he assumes he's in the Walhalla.
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Out of Order: The short story was written and takes place between "The Island of Frozen Seas" and "Three Ancients of the Realm of Aran" because Fural who dies appeared in the former but not in the latter. It was added to the first book in order to fill the 45 pages format. - No Immortal Inertia: After leaving the glacier, Skadia rapidly ages in her sleep. Thorgal finds her dead in the morning.
- Passed in Their Sleep: Skadia passes away in her sleep.
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Fural, Thorgal's horse from the two first albums die a the beginning of this story.
- Unwanted Harem: Ingrid and Ranghild propose Thorgal to marry them and their sister Skadia. Thorgal rejects the offer since he want to get out of the place.
- What Happened to the Mouse?:
- Thorgal injures the cat Loki in order to find the way out of the maze. It is never seen again although one can assume he aged rapidly just like its owner.
- Oddly enough Aaricia isn't mentionned at all. It's pretty jarring that Thorgal never brings the fact that he's already married or engaged when Ingrid and Ranghild propose to marry him. It's never adressed what Aaricia did during Thorgal's one year of absence.
