The Curse of Chalion

Cazaril is a noble in the land of Chalion, but was betrayed and sold into slavery to the barbaric Roknari. After nearly two years as a galley slave, he returns to a regional court where he once resided and is hired as tutor to Iselle (second in line for the throne of Chalion after her brother Teidez) and her handmaid Betriz, to whom he is attracted. Iselle and Teidez's mother Ista also lives with them, but is considered mad.

He accompanies Teidez, Iselle and Betriz to the capital, where he encounters his betrayer, Dondo, whose brother Martou is chancellor to the ailing monarch Orico. Orico spends much time in his menagerie, run by the Roknari exile Umegat. The corrupt Dondo makes friends with Teidez (to further his own ambitions) and introduces the boy to various vices. He also arranges a marriage between a horrified Iselle and Dondo. In desperation, Cazaril calls on the Bastard (one of the five gods) for a miracle of death magic, knowing that if it kills Dondo, he must perish as well. Dondo dies, but Cazaril does not, finding himself now a saint (an agent of the gods) gifted with second sight. With the help of Umegat (another saint), he learns that the royal family of Chalion is under a generation-old curse, and that Orico is only sustained through the cleansing magic of the sacred animals in the menagerie. He also learns that Dondo's soul and the Bastard's death demon are both trapped inside a tumor in his body, with the demon trying to bring about his death so it can return to the gods with the required two souls.

Deceived by Dondo, Teidez destroys the menagerie and severely injures Umegat, but a wound he sustains in the process becomes infected and proves fatal. Orico collapses, leaving Iselle soon to ascend the throne, but her power is constrained by Martou, who spreads rumors that she is unstable like her mother. Cazaril informs Iselle of the curse, and his belief that since Ista married into the curse, Iselle might be able to marry her way out of it. She dispatches him in secret to arrange her marriage to the heir of Ibra, a neighbouring country. He speaks to Ista on the way, and learns of a prophecy that the curse can be broken by a man "willing to lay down his life three times for the House of Chalion."

In Ibra, he finds that he and the heir, Bergon, have already met. They were galley slaves together, and he voluntarily took a severe beating meant for the boy. Informing Bergon of the curse, they convince Bergon's father to agree to the marriage. They return to Chalion, fighting through an ambush set by Martou. Iselle flees from Martou, and she and Bergon are married. However, Cazaril discovers that, rather than freeing Iselle from the curse, it has descended on Bergon as well.

Martou and his men try to kill Bergon and recapture Iselle. Cazaril fights them off, enabling the couple to escape, but is captured. Martou stabs him with his sword, hitting Cazaril's tumor and releasing the demon, which takes away the souls of Cazaril, Dondo, and Martou. Cazaril meets the Daughter (another of the five gods). With his soul expanded by his third death (taking the fatal beating for Bergon, invoking death magic for Iselle, and being killed by Martou), the Daughter can use Cazaril to reach into the physical world and lift the curse. She then returns him to his body.

Iselle is crowned as ruler of Chalion, with Bergon as her consort and their children to inherit both lands. Cazaril is made chancellor, and he and Betriz are happily married.

The Curse of Chalion and other books in the World of the Five Gods series are set in a world loosely based on southern Europe during the time of the Reconquista, or Spanish Reconquest. The states of Chalion, Ibra, and Brajar are fictional equivalents of Castile and León, Aragon, and Portugal, respectively.[3] In Bujold's world,[4] these states are in the south and are subject to invaders from the north, the Roknari, who correspond to the Muslims during the Reconquest.[3]

Characters in The Curse of Chalion also have historical equivalents. Iselle of Chalion is based on Isabella I of Castile, Bergon of Ibra is based on Ferdinand II of Aragon, and their secret marriage reflects the secret betrothal of Isabella and Ferdinand. The character Teidez corresponds to Alfonso Prince of Asturias.[3]

The book has received a number of reviews.[5][6] It was nominated for the 2002 Hugo Award for Best Novel.[1] The World of the Five Gods series won the Hugo Award for Best Series in 2018.[2]

• Publisher's page for The Curse of Chalion
• Bujold Nexus's Chalion index; includes link to map of Ibran Peninsula
• The Curse of Chalion at Worlds Without End