Jennifer Roberson's "Sword Dancer" Series Quiz

Answer: Sandtiger

"Sandtiger" was the name he gave himself after he killed one of these ferocious desert beasts. For his efforts he got a necklace of sandtiger claws, four deep scratches on his cheek, and his freedom from slavery to the Salset.

Answer: Delilah

Del hires Tiger initially to find Osmoon the slave trader, then as a guide in the South. Eventually it becomes much, much more complicated.

Answer: He's never named.

The stud never acquires a name - he's simply known as the stud. Osmoon and Osman were slave traders who soon learned to fear a woman with a sword. Julah is a city in the south.

Answer: Punja

The Punja is a big desert where the Salset, a wandering tribe, and former owners of Tiger, live. The Sahara is a desert in Africa, a chula is the Salset word for slave, and Julah is a city in the south.

Answer: Singlestroke

Notice I said "first sword" - Tiger actually had two named blades throughout the series. The first was Singlestroke, which he named because it only took a single stroke to beat his opponents. His other named blade was Samiel, which was lost in the fight against Chosa-Dei. Boreal was Del's blade. Sting is from the "Lord of the Rings" series.

Answer: A Northern magical sword

A jivatma is a northern magical sword, made by the person to wield it. The making of a jivatma is very involved, with most of the work done by the eventual owner. To activate it the blade must be sung to. Tiger doesn't have a very good voice, however.

Answer: Lovely

While all four words have similar meanings, the first book states, "In Southron lingo, the word means lovely." With her ice-blue eyes, thick and blonde hair, and finely-honed body I imagine that she was, indeed, lovely. "Bascha" is used commonly throughout the series as a generic term for many women.

Answer: She sings while she uses her sword.

Her sword early on, a jivatma that named itself Boreal, is keyed and best activated with song. The song is usually verbal, although Del does state that the song can be sung within the head when necessary. It doesn't have to be the same song each time. Tiger has a jivatma at one time as well. Both swords are lost during the battle with Chosa Dei.

Answer: Aqivi

When Tiger and Del meet in the cantina, Tiger is drinking aqivi.

Answer: Alimat

Alimat was the premier school for sword dancers in the south. Staal Ysta was where Del learned her skills. Skandi was where Tiger finds out he was born. Abbu Bensir was Tiger's primary rival.

Answer: He shows the aketni how to turn sand into grass.

The idea came to him while watching the stud leave a urine trail. The urine made miniature rivers. When Tiger showed the aketni, they rejoiced since he showed them a way to make the sand into grass. Del's brother, an oracle, also declared Tiger the jihadi.

Answer: Skandi

Tiger is a Stessoi, one of the original gods-descended Eleven Families. His mother fell in love and created a child with someone of a lower caste than she, which was absolutely forbidden. Tiger is also IoSkandic, because he was born with magic. Males of the Stessoi who are born with magic eventually go mad, and are sent to IoSkandi to protect themselves and their families.

Answer: 17 years

At the end of the series Tiger is 40 years old, and Del is 23 - 17 years older.

Answer: 3

The first, Kalle, is Del's daughter that she gave up so she could pursue the people who had enslaved her brother and raped her. The second, Nayyib-Neesha, Tiger didn't find out about until Neesha purposely sought him out. Neesha's mother was a borderlander that Tiger had proudly told that she was the first woman he had slept with as a free man.

The last, Sula, is the daughter they made together. Sula was named after the woman who helped Tiger become a free man.

Answer: Sword Sworn

In "Sword Dancer", the first book of the series, Tiger gets an inkling that he might have magic. In "Sword Maker", he makes a magic sword. In "Sword Born", Tiger learns that he was born of magic, and that he only has another 10 to 12 years of life left.

In "Sword Sworn", he pours all of his magic into his found jivatma, then breaks it, so that he can live a longer life with Del and their children. Thank you for playing!