The Hallowed Hunt

by Lois McMaster Bujold

The principal characters are Ingrey, a disgraced and landless aristocrat, who received a wolf spirit in childhood and spends most of the story discovering how, why and to what effect; Ijada, the heiress of a desolate woods in which the Darthacans finally conquered the warriors of the Weald 400 years earlier; and Wencel, who has extended his life for centuries by taking over the bodies of others, mainly his own descendants, for a purpose that is finally revealed.

At a time when the Hallow King is dying, Ingrey is sent by his lord to take custody of Ijada, who has killed one of the king's sons, and bring her to the capital. Ingrey immediately learns that the victim was attempting to accumulate the spirits of animals, including a leopard which now dwells in Ijada. As they travel together, Ingrey realizes on the one hand that he is in love with Ijada and on the other that he feels compelled to try to kill her. With the help of a sorceress and Ijada, he gets rid of this geas, but in the process he frees the wolf spirit he acquired as a boy. They meet Wencel, who seems to have many answers to the questions they have, but also an obsession with the long-ago loss of the independent culture of the region, when the Darthacans conquered the old Hallow King and replaced the old religion with Quintarianism. Wencel's cruel purpose involves the fusing of the old and new kingship in a vengeful act, and Ingrey, with the help of Ijada and others, must prevail to save the souls bound by magic.