the dark is rising sequence

The Dark is Rising is the name of a five-book series by Susan Cooper, as well as the name of the second of the five books. The series tells of a fantastic struggle between the forces of good, called The Light, and the forces of evil, called The Dark. In chronological order, the books are Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark Is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King, and Silver on the Tree. In The Dark Is Rising, this struggle begins with Will, an eleven-year-old boy who learns that he is an Old One, destined to wield the powers of The Light in an ancient struggle with The Dark. His task is to find and join the pieces of one of the Things of Power before the forces of The Dark can stop him. Throughout the other novels, other characters are introduced, both members of The Light and The Dark and also humans, who have agreed to be bound with these forces and assist them in this struggle, the struggle for the fate of mankind.

Glossary

Characters

Simon, Jane and Barney Drew: The main characters of the first novel, the Drew siblings are human children who have known Merriman as their Great Uncle Merry for years, and now get caught up in the battle between The Light and The Dark and the search for the Things of Power. Will Stanton: The main character of the second novel, he is the seventh son of a seventh son. His birthday marks the beginning of his rise to power as an Old One. The Dark is Rising is the story of how he comes to power and joins the six signs of the Old Ones to fight The Dark back in order to maintain the calm. Merriman Lyon: Merriman is the first Old One. He and Will Stanton have a special bond as each of them is one end of the long line of Old Ones. It is said that with the birth and coming to power of Will Stanton, the circle of Old Ones is complete. Old Ones: Ancient and immortal, the Old Ones must serve The Light and wage war against The Dark. The struggle is to determine the destiny of mankind: while The Light fights for freedom and free will, The Dark fights for chaos and confusion and the subversion of man's free will. The Lady: The Lady is a powerful creature, a being of the Old Magic. The Lady has befriended Merriman and although she cannot help The Light directly, she shows that she is sympathetic to their cause. During a critical time in the book, Will Stanton makes a critical mistake and finds that it severely weakens The Lady. The Rider: A servant and lord of The Dark, The Rider becomes Will Stanton's archenemy. He acts as a lord of The Dark in this series as Merriman acts as a lord of The Light. The Walker: A human being who agrees to serve Merriman in an old time, The Walker provides The Dark with critical access to innocent people. His betrayal of Merriman seems largely due to his anger at Merriman's use of him in protecting The Book of Grammarye. He was also chosen by the Old Ones to bear the Sign of Bronze until such time as Will Stanton comes to claim it. The Sleepers: Ancient knights who served during the time of King Arthur who are awakened by the Harp in The Grey King and who serve as a force to battle the dark during the last battle in Silver on the Tree. Pendragon: Another name for King Arthur, in this series, the person who is predestined and wields the sword that is used to cut The Midsummer's Tree. Bran Davies is his name. Wil meets him in Wales during The Grey King Rook: The rooks are servants of The Dark and attract their forces wherever they are seen. Farmer Dawson: An Old One who lives near Will Stanton and presents him with his first Sign.

Artifacts

The Signs: A circle quartered (divided evenly in four sections) by a cross. There are six signs joined together, each made of a different material and representing a different element: wood, bronze, iron, water, fire, and stone. Things of Power: The Old Ones have four Things of Power that will be used in the final battle which will allow them to defeat The Dark: the circle of Signs, The Grail, The Harp, and The Sword. The sword is obtained in Silver on the Tree. Over Sea, Under Stone and Greenwitch tell of the grail. The Grey King is the story of the harp. The Book of Grammarye: An ancient book, it teaches Old Ones about their powers and through it they actually experience the use of them. This book is protected by a device that if touched, will detonate and destroy any human that attempts to gain access to the book. This powerful book is further protected in that it is written in a language that only an Old One can read and understand. The Grail: Presumably the source of the Holy Grail legend, it is an artifact of power used by The Light. There are markings on it in a language called Og, which is long lost, but the Old Ones can read it because of their gift of tongues. The Sword: An ancient sword, used by the heir of King Arthur to cut the ripe branch of the midsummer's tree. It is named Eirias. The Harp (The Harp of Gold): A harp that is obtained by The Light in The Grey King in order to wake the Sleepers in preparation for the final battle.

The Magics

Old Magic: A powerful magic and more ancient than The Light or The Dark, only the Old Magic has the strength that is required to end the struggle permanently. In the final battle that is described in Silver on the Tree, the Old Magic is used. Wild Magic: A powerful magic, but not as strong as the Old Magic, it first is used in the The Dark Is Rising to provide strength to the forces of The Light in the book's final battle between The Light and The Dark. High Magic: A strong magic, a spell of this type is used by the Old Ones in Greenwitch to be able to communicate with her and plead for The Grail.

Rhymes

Small rhyming prophecies serve to guide the protagonists throughout the series. This is one, which is often quoted in parts as they become relevant to the story:

When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back;
Three from the circle, three from the track;
Wood, bronze, iron; water, fire, stone;
Five will return, and one go alone.

Iron for the birthday, bronze carried long;
Wood from the burning, stone out of song;
Fire in the candle-ring, water from the thaw;
Six Signs the circle, and the grail gone before.

Fire on the mountain shall find the harp of gold
Played to wake the Sleepers, oldest of the old;
Power from the green witch, lost beneath the sea;
All shall find the light at last, silver on the tree.

This second rhyme only references events in The Grey King and Silver on the Tree:

On the day of the dead, when the year too dies,
Must the youngest open the oldest hills
Through the door of the birds, where the breeze breaks.
There fire shall fly from the raven boy,
And the silver eyes that see the wind,
And the light shall have the harp of gold.

By the pleasant lake the Sleepers lie,
On Cadfans Way where the kestrels call;
Though grim from the Grey King shadows fall,
Yet singing the golden harp shall guide
To break their sleep and bid them ride.

When light from the lost land shall return,
Six Sleepers shall ride, six Signs shall burn,
And where the midsummer tree grows tall
By Pendragons sword the Dark shall fall.

Y maent yr mynyddoedd yn canu,
ac y maer arglwyddes yn dod.

(The last two lines are in Welsh and translate into English as "The mountains are singing / and the lady comes".)

Miscellaneous

Old Speech: This is the spoken form of the ancient language of the Old Ones. When an Old One comes to power, this language is used instinctively by the Old One when speaking to members of The Light or The Dark. Will Stanton begins to do this without even realizing it. When an Old One speaks the Old Speech in front of a normal human, it will sound like gibberish.