''Saga of the Noble Dead'' (also known as ''The Noble Dead Series''), written by Barb Hendee and J. C. Hendee, wife and husband duo, is a set of chronological books in series, and chronological series in a saga that tells the story of protagonists drawn together in a struggle against the little-known and little believed-in Noble Dead (higher undead such as

vampires A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

) that herald the return of a long forgotten age in a fantasy world. It begins with an unlikely trio drawn together as

charlatan A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through pretense or deception. One example of a charlatan appears in t ...

s who use their skills to cheat peasants by the common superstitions concerning the undead. They find that not all superstitions are completely false.

Series

Series 1

Composed of six

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s, it tells the story of Magiere (a

dhampir In Balkan folklore, a dhampir () is a mythical creature that is the result of a union between a vampire and a human. This union was usually between male vampires and female humans, with stories of female vampires mating with male humans being rar ...

: a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

/human hybrid), Leesil (a half-elf, an

elf An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic peoples, Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in Norse mythology, North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'' ...

/human hybrid, with a dark past), and Chap (an elemental Fay born into the body of a majay-hì, elven hounds of a wolf lineage). In Series 1, Book 1, S1B2: ''Dhampir'', Magiere is unaware of her inner nature, the discovery of which leads the trio into a tangled path that uncovers hints of the Forgotten History. At the start of the story, the two "

half-breed Half-breed is an obsolete term to offensively describe a person of mixed race. In the United States, it has often historically referred to half Native American and half European/white. Use by governments United States In the 19th century, the ...

s", together with Chap, make a living pretending to be 'vampire-hunters'. They cross paths with genuine vampires, one form of the Noble Dead or highest form of the undead. This leads to the protagonists being driven from home on a quest.

Series 2

Comprising three novels, it centers on a new trio composed of two secondary characters from Series/Phase 1 and one new character: Wynn Hygeorht (the young journeyer "sage"), Chane Andraso (a "young" vampire obsessed with Wynn), and a two-year-old majay-hì named Shade (daughter of Chap, from series/phase 1, and Lily, a wild majay-hì female). This series also introduces to the second (spiritual) form of the three major forms of Noble Dead, the first being the vampire (physical) form as encountered previously. Book 1 of this series begins about a year after the end of Series/Phase 1 on a different continent in the city of Calm Seatt, royal city of the nation of Malournè and home to the founding branch of the Guild of Sagecraft. Wynn has returned to her guild branch, escorted to the city limits by Magiere, Leesil, and Chap. On Wynn's arrival at guild, her documents and journals are seized, for the guild leaders do not want what they contain to become public knowledge. Wynn sets out to recover the texts and her journals in the hope of uncovering why a mythical war of a past age left humanity with an unknown Forgotten History. She does so under the protection of two who are innate enemies and have followed her from across the world: Chane Andraso, a vampire, and Shade, a very young majay-hì whose kind are known to hunt and eradicate the undead.

Series 3

Wynn is reunited with Magiere and Leesil and Chap, and other old characters return as well.

Spin-off: Mist-Torn Witches

Novels

;Noble Dead Saga *Series/Phase 1 # ''S1B1: Dhampir'' (2003, ) # ''S1B2: Thief of Lives'' (2004, ) # ''S1B3: Sister of the Dead'' (2005, ) # ''S1B4: Traitor to the Blood'' (2006, ) # ''S1B5: Rebel Fay'' (2007, ) # ''S1B6: Child of a Dead God'' (2008, ) *Series/Phase 2 # ''S2B1: In Shade and Shadow'' (2009, ) # ''S2B2: Through Stone and Sea'' (2010, ) # ''S2B3: Of Truth and Beasts'' (2011, ) *Series/Phase 3 # ''S3B1: Between Their Worlds'' (2012, ) # ''S3B2: The Dog in the Dark'' (2012, ) # ''S3B3: A Wind in the Night'' (2014, ) # ''S3B4'': First and Last Sorcerer (2015, ) # ''S3B5'': The Night Voice (2016, ) ;Sidestories :''Tales from the World of the Saga of the Noble Dead'' * Homeward ** ''Homeward'' (March 2014, ) by Barb Hendee — compendium edition containing "The Keepers", "The Reluctant Guardian", "Captives", "Claws", "The Sleeping Curse", "Silent Bells" # ''The Game Piece'' (April 2012, ) by Barb Hendee # ''The Feral Path'' (June 2012, ) by Barb Hendee # ''The Sapphire'' (July 2012, ) by Barb Hendee # ''The Keepers'' (August 2012, ) by Barb Hendee ## ''The Keepers'' ## ''Captives'' (April 2013, ) by Barb Hendee — Sequel to "The Keepers" ## ''Claws'' (June 2013, ) by Barb Hendee — Sequel to "Captives" ## ''The Sleeping Curse'' (July 2013, ) ## ''Silent Bells'' (August 2013, ) # ''The Reluctant Guardian'' (September 2012, ) by Barb Hendee * Bones of the Earth ** ''Nameless'' (February 2015, ) by J.C. Hendee — compendium edition containing "Karras the Kitten", "Karras the Cat", "Karras the Nameless" # ''Karras the Kitten'' (May 2012, ) by J.C. Hendee # ''Karras the Cat'' (October 2012, ) by J.C. Hendee # ''Karras the Nameless'' * Tales of Misbelief ** ''The Forgotten'' (2017, ) omnibus volume # ''The Forgotten Lord'' (February 2013, ) by Barb Hendee # ''The Forgotten Mistress'' (September 2013, ) by Barb Hendee # ''The Forgotten Village'' (June 2014, ) by Barb Hendee # ''The Forgotten Daughter'' by Barb Hendee * Sagecraft # ''Puppy Love'' (June 2013, ) by J.C. Hendee ;Spin-offs : ''Codex of the Noble Dead'' (planned) by J.C. Hendee * ''Mist Torn Witches'' series # ''The Mist-Torn Witches'' (May 2013, ) by Barb Hendee # ''The Witches in Red'' (May 6, 2014, ) by Barb Hendee # ''Witches with the Enemy'' (5 May 2015, ) by Barb Hendee # ''To Kill A Kettle Witch'' (May 2016, ) by Barb Hendee * ''Dead Seekers'' series # ''The Dead Seekers'' (2017, ) by Barb Hendee

Characters

;Magiere A dhampir (half-human half-vampire), protagonist and primary character of the saga as a whole. ;Leesil (Leshil) A half-human half-Elf (an'Croan), protagonist and primary character of the saga as a whole. ;Chap A fay-hound (majay-hi), protagonist and primary character of the saga as a whole. ;Wynn Hygeorht A human scholar (sage) as an additional character of the first series/phase and a protagonist of the saga as a whole as of the second series/phase. ;Welstiel Massing A vampire, main antagonist of the first series/phase in the saga. ;Chane Andraso A vampire, antagonist in the first series and a main character in the second series/phase and beyond in the saga. ;Shade A fay-hound (majay-hi), a main character of the second series/phase and beyond in the saga. ;Ore-Locks Iron-Braid A dwarf, a main character of the second series/phase of the saga.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website: NobleDead.org

The Vampire Memories website (Barb Hendee) - BarbHendee.org
Fantasy novel series Horror novel series High fantasy novels