The Night Angel Trilogy is a fantasy series written by Brent Weeks. The story follows the life of Azoth (later Kylar Stern) as he struggles as a guild rat to become the ultimate wetboy (an assassin with magical talent, such as the ability to muffle sound or to block an attack), but then tries to leave it all behind and finally becomes the avatar of retribution: the Night Angel.
Series
The Way of Shadows
Shadow's Edge
Beyond the Shadows
Prequel: The Perfect Shadow
Characters in the series
Setting
The story is set on the continent of Midcyru, mainly in the country of Cenaria and in its capital city which shares the same name.
Magic
The Talent
The Talent is the magic most commonly used in Midcyru. Talented individuals must have three different components to be able to express their Talent outwardly. The first is their Glore Vyrden, or life magic. This is the reserve that stores the power that can be directed as the user wishes. The second component is the ability to refill one's glore vyrden when it is empty - if one does not possess it, then one can use magic only once or twice during one's whole life. A person with such an ability usually replenishes the glore vyrden by absorbing sunlight or light from other sources. The final component is a conduit allowing the use of one's glore vyrden however one desires. This conduit can be small or blocked, limiting the maximum amount of magic one can use at a single time. A nonexistent conduit, large glore vyrden and the ability to absorb large amounts of energy through the skin and eyes are the signs of a ka'karifer, one ready to bond and use the ka'kari artifacts. Also, people who are ka'karifers can call out to ka'kari, but once they bond, they cannot do so anymore.
Magus and Maja
In the series, a male mage is called a Magus, with Magi as its plural form. A Maja is a female mage, with Magae as its plural form.
Red Magi
Red Magi tend to use fire magic. Solonariwan Tofusin is a Sethi red mage in line for the throne and is very Talented, considered to be one of the strongest red mages of his time.
Green Magi
Green Magi are healers. Dorian Ursuul trained with the Green Magi in an attempt to use healing magic to possibly save him from the inevitable madness that afflicts all prophets, achieving the rank of Hoth'Salar (Brother of Healing).
Brown Magi
Also known as the Makers, the Brown Magi specialize in the creation of magical artifacts. Feir Cousat is an example of a Brown Mage.
Ka'karifers
Ka'karifers are those who use a ka'kari. These people have no conduit for their Talent, but the ka'kari provides them with one if they bond with one of the seven. In this case, a ka'karifer is someone who calls a ka'kari. However, if the ka'kari ever leaves the ka'karifer, as in the case of Durzo Blint, the conduit remains. Known ka'karifers include: Arikus Daadrul Corvaer Blackwell Trace Arvagulania Oren Razin Irenaea Blochwei Shrad Marden Acaelus Thorne/Durzo Blint Kylar Stern/Azoth
Vir
The vir is used by Meisters, Vürdmeisters and the Ursuul family. Vir users are also referred to as wytches, though this term insults them. The prayer that the Khalidorians say to their goddess is actually a spell that empties a small portion of their glore vyrden into her "reservoir" of magic; she then returns however much she desires back to them as vir. Like the Talent, it can act as an extension of the physical being. The difference between vir and Talent is that the vir is living, and has a measure of sentience, mostly because it is part of Khali. Many Meisters and Vürdmeisters who find themselves in harm's way will be protected by it unintentionally. It is described as a magical parasite. It opens new channels in the user's Talent, so initially a vir user will have stronger Talent, but the vir eventually consumes all the user's Talent permanently.