Voster Brotherhood

Brother Nold says the brotherhood works in Calandra to prevent the wars and religious persecution that destroyed the Voster homeland in Kenn. Its mission is political as well as protective, with emissaries placed near royal authority.

Hain describes the Voster as divided in belief: most now sign the Eight, while a minority, including Hain, believe in the Divine and question the accepted histories. His own hope is to break the ties that bind him to Calandra so he can return to Kenn and his family’s graves.

Hain expects his brothers to oppose Caspia because destroying the source of Calandra’s magic would cost the Voster their power over blood oaths and treaties. He also says the brotherhood has tolerated suffering in Kenn and Calandra for too long, putting his aims at odds with other Voster interests.

The brotherhood’s long-absent High Priest is its visible enforcer when old Voster magic seals or compels royal decrees. His presence with the Turans gives the Chain of Sevens magical force beyond an ordinary political command.

The brotherhood operates through coordinated priests with divided assignments and loyalties. Brother Dime says Ransom is loyal to the High Priest, while Dime and Brother Skore take responsibility for moving Odessa and Evangeline toward Ozarth.

Internal magical oaths constrain what Voster priests can say and do. Those restrictions help explain why members withhold direct answers even when they are involved in urgent magical matters.

Ransom explains that the brotherhood fractured during an ancient internal war, when zealots who opposed its ideals were killed and surviving exiles formed the Kennin. Association with the Kennin is treated as a lethal betrayal, and Ransom believes the High Priest would act without mercy if he learned that Brother Dime was working with them.

The brotherhood’s long-absent High Priest enforces the Chain of Sevens when its old magic seals or compels royal decrees. His presence with the Turans gives the decree magical force beyond an ordinary political command.

Ransom explains that the High Priest trained his magic to command wind and water, use blood in bonds, and recognize and draw Lyssa from Ransom’s blood.

Brother Dime takes control of Odessa and Evangeline’s escape through Ellder’s hidden tunnel. His air magic extinguishes their lantern without touching Odessa, allowing him to lead them unseen into the forest; Odessa follows because Ransom trusts him.

A Voster priest teaches the old language and demonstrates control over several forms of magic: he summons water from a tree, freezes an injured woman’s burn, drives smoke from the forest, blasts bariwolves with wind, and drains five infected monsters of their blood until they die. Odessa does not know whether this blood-draining ability is common to all Voster, and the priest refuses to answer questions about his rank or identity.

Hain is an old Voster from Kenn who rejects the brotherhood’s accepted histories and belongs to the minority that believes in the Divine. He warns Caspia that other Voster will resist her if she threatens the source of Calandra’s magic, while his own goal is to break the ties binding him to Calandra so he can return to Kenn and his family’s graves.

In Caspia’s time, Brother Dime binds Andreas’s royal treaties with Voster magic, confirming the brotherhood’s direct authority over the new king’s oaths.

Brother Skore explains that Voster magic is poisonous to the Starling bloodline and reveals that he was once Brother Nold, when he wore red. This indicates a change in his Voster affiliation or presentation, but the chapter does not explain why it occurred.

Ransom believes the brotherhood is the foundation of the Shield of Sparrows’ magical bonds, but he also says the Voster will not answer to a mortal king. The brotherhood stands behind rulers of its choosing, giving it political power independent of the crowns that rely on its magic.

Four Voster priests attack Andreas and Caspia in the Quentis throne room, using air and painful magic. Two move toward the doors after hearing Odessa cry. Caspia believes the priests intend to kill the Starling descendants so those descendants cannot take the Voster’s magic.

Odessa’s father says the Voster do not know Caspia killed four of their priests because he burned the bodies, destroyed evidence, and silenced witnesses. He expects the brotherhood to try to stop the destruction of the orbits and believes its suspicion of Odessa’s Starling heritage threatens his own survival.

Skore explains that Voster magic is poisonous to the Starling bloodline, which is why Odessa can feel it as pain. He can suppress his own power enough that Odessa feels no pain in his presence.

Voster magic bends air and water and uses blood magic to create unbreakable bonds. Priests can also levitate, though Odessa understands the brotherhood as unable to shake the earth or throw fire.

The brotherhood’s magic is required to seal the Shield of Sparrows with the blood of the contracting royals. Two Voster priests stand at the altar while the High Priest places his hands on the treaty and completes the painful sealing.

The brotherhood has investigated Lyssa for years alongside Zavier and has tried without success to find a cure. Its members can sense that Lyssa is wrong or unnatural, and their investigation has ruled out the crux as its source.

Voster magic can be trained or attuned to manipulate different fluids and substances. Ransom explains that this training allowed the High Priest to teach his magic to recognize Lyssa and draw it from Ransom’s blood.

Sparrow regards the brotherhood’s blood-oath magic as a tool used to manipulate kings and bind her against her will. She declares that she will never trust the Voster, and her father agrees that he will not trust them either.

When Odessa asks whether the Mavins know any members of the Voster brotherhood, Thora reacts angrily, orders Odessa never to speak of the brotherhood in her presence again, and leaves the cave.

Faxon says the brotherhood is extremely secretive and that the library contains no account of its inner workings. He knows only the public-facing facts that the Voster manipulate fluids and seal blood-signed treaties, including the Shield of Sparrows sworn by every king in Calandra.