Six-Crossed Knot

A series of stories written by Silbrith based on All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. The name of the collection is derived from a custom spell Diana weaves for Jack Blackfriars in the third novel, The Book of Life. Jack is introduced in the second novel, Shadow of Night, and continues to play a role for the rest of the trilogy, but much of his story is yet to be explored. This series is designed to fill in some of those blanks.

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• Six-Crossed Knot on FanFiction
• Six-Crossed Knot on Archive of Our Own
• Six-Crossed Knot on Wattpad
  Stories 1 through 9 are published as a single work on Wattpad: Dream's Shadow.
  Stories 10 through 13 are published as a single work on Wattpad: Lion's Gambit.

• Six-Crossed Knot Pinterest board

Six-Crossed Knot Stories

1. Madison Ghosts: October 2009. Madison, New York. As Diana and Matthew prepare to timewalk to the Elizabethan era, those who will be left behind discover common ground. Prologue to the later stories in the series.
2. Knot of One: February 1591. London. Matthew knows that Diana will have to make a difficult adjustment to Elizabethan England, but he's unprepared for the challenges he'll face.
3. Night's Witness: February 1591. London. Diana acquires a greater appreciation for the School of Night.
4. Shadow's Dream: May 1591. London. A nightmare from Jack's past becomes real.
5. Unpathed Waters: June 1591. London. Diana attempts to safeguard those who will be left behind when she and Matthew return to the 21st century.
6. Adrift: August 1591. London. Jack's life heads in a new direction after the departure of Diana and Matthew.
7. Golden Bubble: 1593. Diana and Matthew have now been gone for two years, and Jack is ten years old. During an outbreak of the plague, he loses some of his innocence.
8. Illusion's Voice: Autumn 1599. A crisis leads sixteen-year-old Jack to reconnect with a few friends from his past.
9. Walking Shadows: In the summer of 1603, an outbreak of the plague has profound consequences for Jack.
10. Masque: Spring 1604. Philippe chances upon Jack during a trip to England.
11. Powder Keg: In the fall of 1605, a political crisis ensnares two of Jack's closest friends.
12. No Love Lost: In 1621, Jack becomes enmeshed in a dangerous liaison.
13. Winter's Rages: Jack's fortunes change during the English Civil War. 1645.
    
14. Players' Drift: In 1666, Jack helps Freyja with a high-stakes gamble at the court of Louis XIV.
15. Gamesmanship: Fall 1704. The complications Jack gets into with Isaac Newton are nothing compared to those awaiting him at the court of Queen Anne.
16. Fretwork: 1727-1742. A chance meeting with Voltaire changes the trajectory of Jack's life. Gerbert tells Ysabeau about Jack's relationship to Freyja.
17. Jagged Shoals: 1790-1794. Jack and Leonard participate in rescue missions during the Reign of Terror.
18. Virtue's Cloak: 1812-1856. When a mysterious vampire targets witches, Jack gets caught in the fallout.
19. Tangled Knots: 2007-2010. Long believed dead, Benjamin resurfaces. He's convinced he has the perfect weapon to bring about the downfall of the de Clermonts.
20. Harm's Repair: 2010-2011. As a new era begins, Benjamin strikes an unexpected target.

Main Characters in Six-Crossed Knot. See the Six-Crossed Knot Pinterest board for visuals.

• Diana Bishop: Witch. History professor at Yale University specializing in alchemy. Wife of Matthew Clairmont.
• Sarah Bishop: Witch. Diana's aunt. Together with her partner Emily Mather who is also a witch, she reared Diana upon the death of her parents.
• Matthew Clairmont: Vampire. Scientist and scholar, specializing in evolutionary biology and neuroscience. A member of the de Clermont family of vampires. Born in 1509 in France. Reborn at age 37. In Elizabethan England known as Matthew Roydon.
• Marcus Whitmore: Vampire. Physician at Oxford specializing in evolutionary physiology. Son of Matthew Clairmont. Born around 1755 in New England. Reborn in 1781 when he was in his late 20s.
• Miriam Shephard: Vampire. Research scientist at Oxford specializing in population genetics. Thousands of years old. Reborn when she was in her thirties.
• Jack Blackfriars: Street urchin adopted by Diana and Matthew.
• Gallowglass: Vampire. Matthew's nephew.
• Annie: Fourteen-year-old witch. Brought into the Roydon household to help Diana.
• Philippe de Clermont: Vampire. Matthew's father.
• Ysabeau de Clermont: Vampire. Matthew's mother and maker.
• Freyja de Clermont: Vampire. One of Philippe's daughters. Also known as Fanny.
• Pierre and Françoise: French vampires. Servants to the de Clermonts.
• Stidolph: Elizabethan leader of gang of thieves. Jack's former master. (Original Character)
• Goody Alsop: Elizabethan witch. Member of the St. James Garlickhythe gathering.
• Susanna Norman: Elizabethan Witch. Member of the St. James Garlickhythe gathering. Her two sons are Jeffrey and John.
• Andrew Hubbard: Vampire king of London. His extended family includes vampires, witches, and daemons. Leonard Shoreditch, Amen Corner, and Bryn Walbrook (original character) are members of his flock.

The School of Night

• Thomas Harriot: Historical figure. Daemon. Mathematician and astronomer.
• Henry (Hal) Percy, Earl of Northumberland: Historical figure. Known for his interest in science, alchemy, and cartography.
• Walter Raleigh: Historical figure. Explorer, spy, and writer.
• Christopher (Kit) Marlowe: Historical figure. Daemon. Playwright and poet.
• George Chapman: Historical figure. Dramatist, poet, and translator.

Background information about All Souls Trilogy.

Diana Bishop is a young historian at Yale University with impeccable credentials. Her graduate degree is from Oxford. She's a specialist in the history of alchemy. Among her hobbies are rowing and yoga. She also happens to be a witch, descended from a line of witches going back at least to Bridget Bishop, the first woman to be executed as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts.

Diana's parents died when she was a young child. She was raised by her aunt Sarah and Sarah's partner Emily, both of whom are also witches. When Diana was growing up, she tried to hide her nature, but in the first novel, A Discovery of Witches, events quickly change her perspective.

In the world of All Souls, there are four types of humanoids. Those with special abilities—witches, vampires, and daemons—exist in dwindling numbers and freely associate with humans. As with humans, individual members run the spectrum from good to evil. A prime example is found in Diana's personal story. Early in the first novel, she learns her parents were killed by fellow witches. Although witches and vampires normally don't associate with each other, she falls in love with a vampire named Matthew Clairmont.

Diana explains that vampires tend to be scientists or doctors, and Matthew is no exception. When she meets him in Oxford, he is a scientist specializing in biochemistry. She later learns that he was born in 500 AD in France. Vampires have learned to satisfy their need for blood discreetly and legally. Turning a human into a vampire is only rarely performed and the resulting vampire becomes a member of their sire's family. Matthew is assisted in his scientific research by his son Marcus Whitmore, who was a surgeon's assistant during the American Revolution before being reborn by Matthew. Miriam Shephard, another vampire and a specialist in population genetics, works with Matthew and Marcus.

In the first novel of the trilogy, A Discovery of Witches, Diana meets Matthew and falls in love. Simultaneously she discovers forces are working against both her and Matthew. Diana learns the truth about her parents' deaths and why her witch powers were concealed. At the end of the story, Diana and Matthew timewalk to the England of 1590 in order for her to learn how to use her powers. The second novel, Shadow of Night, relates their adventures in England, France, and Prague during the years 1590-1591. In the third novel, The Book of Life, Diana and Matthew return to the present day for a resolution of the conflict threatening to engulf them.

For further reading:
Deborah Harkness's website
All Souls Trilogy Wiki
Deborah Harkness: A Discovery of Witches Review
Why Everyone Should Read the All Souls Trilogy