Quiz Quicksilver (The Fae & Alchemy Series Book 1) Callie Hart

The Quicksilver Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of the Fae & Alchemy Series Book 1

If you've finished Quicksilver, the first book in Callie Hart's Fae & Alchemy Series, challenge yourself with this comprehensive 20-question quiz. Questions span the entire story, from Saeris's desperate climb in Zilvaren to the final revelations in the labyrinth. Mixing multiple-choice and short-answer formats, the quiz covers eight plot/sequence questions, five character motivation questions, four theme/symbol questions, and three synthesis questions. After the quiz, you'll find a complete answer key with brief explanations linked to key events. For more resources, see the main book page, questions and answers, or the ending explained.

Quiz Questions

Plot/Sequence (Questions 1–8)

1. After Saeris steals the golden gauntlet, where does she first try to hide it?

  • A) Under her bed in the Third Ward
  • B) In a bag she carries to Elroy's glass workshop
  • C) Inside the Hub's eastern wall
  • D) With her brother Hayden at Kala's tavern

2. What is the name of the ancient sword embedded in stone that Saeris draws from the platform in the Hall of Mirrors? (Short answer)

3. How does Kingfisher transport Saeris from the Winter Palace to his stronghold Cahlish?

  • A) Through a quicksilver pool
  • B) Via a shadow gate
  • C) On horseback across Yvelia
  • D) Using a flying chariot

4. Who leads the vampire horde from Sanasroth that attacks across the frozen River Darn?

  • A) Taladaius
  • B) Malcolm
  • C) Belikon
  • D) Harron

5. What is the name of the Fae village that celebrates the longest night, where Saeris faints after hearing the phrase "Annorath mor"? (Short answer)

6. Using the shards of Danya's broken sword and quicksilver, what does Saeris forge for Lorreth?

  • A) A protective relic ring
  • B) A new god-sword named Avisiéth
  • C) A quicksilver coin
  • D) A dagger called Widow's Bane

7. Under the blood oath, what must Saeris obey? (Short answer)

8. Who is revealed as the hidden heir to the Yvelian throne?

  • A) Carrion Swift
  • B) Lorreth
  • C) Everlayne
  • D) Kingfisher

Character Motivation (Questions 9–13)

9. Why does Saeris initially agree to stay in Yvelia after the blood oath?

  • A) To learn alchemy
  • B) To save her brother Hayden from the Third Ward
  • C) Because Kingfisher forces her at swordpoint
  • D) To avoid execution by Queen Madra

10. Why does Kingfisher refuse to call Saeris by her given name, later explaining that "Osha" means "most sacred"? (Short answer)

11. What motivates Queen Madra to order Saeris's execution?

  • A) Saeris killed two guardians
  • B) Saeris has Fae blood
  • C) Madra suspects Fae involvement in Saeris's fighting skills
  • D) Madra wants to destroy the Third Ward as an example

12. Why does Carrion Swift reveal he is a Daianthus during the labyrinth confrontation?

  • A) To claim the Yvelian throne
  • B) To poison Malcolm with his blood
  • C) To escape the labyrinth
  • D) To prove his loyalty to Saeris

13. Why does Fisher initiate a waiting period on the mating bond with Saeris? (Short answer)

Theme/Symbol (Questions 14–17)

14. What does the quicksilver most symbolically represent in the novel?

  • A) Memory and hidden truth
  • B) Only a dangerous substance
  • C) A source of wealth
  • D) A weapon of mass destruction

15. The chant "Annorath mor" is repeated throughout the book. What does it roughly translate to? (Short answer)

16. What does the fox Onyx primarily symbolize for Saeris?

  • A) Her wild, untamable side
  • B) Companionship and loyalty
  • C) A link to her past in Zilvaren
  • D) The danger of trusting Fae creatures

17. What does the silver pendant that Kingfisher gives Saeris symbolize in the story?

  • A) A mark of ownership
  • B) A protective connection between them
  • C) A key to the quicksilver gates
  • D) A wedding token

Synthesis (Questions 18–20)

18. How does Saeris's understanding of power change over the course of the novel?

  • A) She learns that brute strength is the only real power
  • B) She discovers that true power requires sacrifice and cooperation
  • C) She realizes power is an illusion
  • D) She decides power must be taken by force

19. In what way does the quicksilver's selective memory in the forging scene (the ballad of Ajun Gate) echo the epigraph's warning about memory? (Short answer)

20. What is the primary narrative significance of Saeris becoming a hybrid vampire-Fae at the end of the book?

  • A) It makes her a monster feared by both Fae and vampires
  • B) It allows her to be with Kingfisher without dying
  • C) It gives her the power to single-handedly destroy Malcolm's army
  • D) It fulfills the exact prophecy from the oracle's book

Answer Key

Plot/Sequence

  1. B – Saeris brings the gauntlet to Elroy's workshop in a bag. Elroy reacts in fury, fearing guardian reprisal. (Chapter 2: Glassmaker)
  2. Solace – Saeris draws this ancient sword from the stone platform in the Hall of Mirrors. (Chapter 5: Heretic)
  3. B – Kingfisher forces her through a shadow gate to his stronghold Cahlish, invoking the oath. (Chapter 16: Shadow Gate)
  4. B – Malcolm, the vampire king, appears on the far bank of the Darn River with his horde. (Chapter 21: Ice Breaker)
  5. Ballard – In this village during the longest night celebration, Saeris hears the whisper "Annorath mor" and faints. (Chapter 25: Ballard)
  6. B – Saeris melts the shards of Danya's sword, adds quicksilver, and forges Avisiéth for Lorreth. (Chapter 29: Ballad of the Ajun Gate)
  7. Any command from Kingfisher – The blood oath's fine print compels Saeris to obey Fisher's orders. (Chapter 14: The Fine Print)
  8. A – After the amphitheater battle, Carrion reveals that Fisher's father hid him as the true heir to the Yvelian throne. (Chapter 45: Choose Wisely)

Character Motivation

  1. B – She agrees because Fisher swears a blood oath to retrieve one human from Zilvaren; she chooses her brother Hayden. (Chapter 13: Duress)
  2. Because her true name "Osha" means "most sacred" in Old Fae, and his mother's oracle prophecy foretold her arrival. (Chapter 35: Oracle)
  3. C – Madra dismisses Saeris's claim that she taught herself to fight, suspecting Fae taught her. (Chapter 4: The Price)
  4. B – Carrion reveals he is a Daianthus and his blood is poisonous to vampires; he uses it to poison Malcolm during the labyrinth fight. (Chapter 42: That’ll Cost You)
  5. To protect Saeris from his worsening quicksilver madness. (Chapter 35: Oracle)

Theme/Symbol

  1. A – The quicksilver holds memories, whispers secrets, and connects realms. It represents hidden truth and the danger of forbidden knowledge. (Various chapters, especially 8, 10, 28)
  2. "Release us" – The captive souls of Gillethrye chant this phrase in the amphitheater, and Saeris later releases them. (Chapter 39: Annorath Mor!)
  3. B – Onyx is a rescued fox that stays by Saeris, representing loyalty and her need for a companion in the hostile Fae world. (Chapters 12–13)
  4. B – The pendant (Fisher's relic) protects his sanity from quicksilver corruption. When he gives it to Saeris, it forges a protective bond between them. (Chapters 6, 8, 9)

Synthesis

  1. B – Throughout the novel, Saeris moves from relying on theft and violence to understanding that forging alliances, making sacrifices (her secret, her blood, her transformation), and cooperating with sentient quicksilver give her true power.
  2. The epigraph warns "memorize everything," but in Chapter 29, the quicksilver erases everyone's memory of the Ajun Gate ballad except Saeris's. This shows that memory is selective and that the quicksilver controls how knowledge is preserved—paralleling the warning's emphasis on vigilance. (Epigraph and Chapter 29)
  3. B – Saeris agrees to Taladaius's offer to become a vampire to survive her fatal wounds. This hybrid state allows her to remain with Fisher (who is Fae) without dying from the bond or from the quicksilver sickness. (Chapter 43: Another Way, Chapter 45: Choose Wisely)