Against All Things Ending

by Stephen R. Donaldson

How had Clyme carried him so far?

  Why were they still alive?

  Why were they no longer fleeing?

  At last, he forced himself to look toward the east; and as he did so, the tsunami struck the cliff. In that instant, his entire reality became thunder and tumult as savage as the destruction of Ridjeck Thome.

  Time seemed to pause as though the Arch itself recoiled in dismay. He felt stubborn rock shaken to shards and scattered. He heard cliffs scream as they clung to their moorings. He saw an immeasurable mass of water rise and rise, its surge crowned with froth and luminescence as if it were full of stars. Concussions shook the world. But he could not separate one detail from another. They were all one, all too much for his mind to contain; and they appeared to take no time. No time forever.

  Water broke over the promontory; inundated it; plunged from its sides; swept forward. It spouted like a tremendous geyser from the rent where Foul’s Creche had once stood. Spray stung Covenant’s eyes until he could not see. It soaked his clothes, drenched his many wounds. Yet Clyme and Branl stood where they were, rigid as defiance. Apparently they believed that they had estimated the tsunami’s reach exactly; that it would not take them.

  Too weak to protest, Covenant lay in Clyme’s arms and awaited the fate that the Humbled had chosen.

  In front of him, the wave’s force was split by the wedge of the promontory, deflected by the shape and bulk of the stone. Higher turmoil crashed against the cliffs on either side. Sweeping over granite toward Hotash Slay, the tsunami parted; recoiled against itself; poured away. At the end of its rush, it climbed to the knees of the Masters. It slapped against the first bluffs of the Hills. Then it began to spill backward. Its sweep would have dragged anyone weaker than the Haruchai with it.

  When time resumed its inexorable beat, Covenant understood that he was going to live.

  After a while, he was able to think again. Eventually he was able to look away from the receding waters. But when he regarded his companions, their flat stoicism made him flinch. It reminded him that they had left the Ranyhyn behind.

  Sighing to himself, he wondered whether he would ever again draw a breath that did not taste of salt and death. If the Humbled whistled, other Ranyhyn would come. And they would know how to find their way through the maze. But their fidelity would not make the loss of Mhornym and Naybahn less grievous. It would not relieve the necessity of Joan’s end.

  By degrees, Covenant regained the sensation of passing moments. Through the star-pricked darkness, he watched the seas subside, thrashing against the cliffs. On either side, sections of stone had calved like glaciers. Slabs the size of Revelstone’s prow, or of Kevin’s Watch, continued to topple, unregarded by the lashing ocean. And as the waves shrank to the scale of a more ordinary storm, he saw that the end of the promontory was gone, broken by the brunt of the tidal-wave. Every hint or relic of the Despiser’s former habitation had collapsed, leaving no sign that it had ever existed.

  Still Clyme and Branl stood where they were, as unmoved as icons. For a time, Covenant wondered why they remained, expressionless and dour. Then he realized that they were waiting for the Ranyhyn.

  Waiting for Mhornym and Naybahn, and refusing to mourn, until hope became impossible.

  Even then, they might not permit themselves sorrow. They were Haruchai: they had done what they could. To their way of thinking, grief was a form of disrespect. Any admission of loss would dishonor the sacrifice of the Ranyhyn.

  Vexed by the self-inflicted wound that was the Haruchai version of rectitude, Covenant twisted against Clyme’s arms; asked to be put down. When the Master set him on his feet, he feared that he would prove too weak to stand. But he splayed his legs, braced himself on Clyme’s shoulder, and refused to crumble. Then he withdrew his hand, kept himself upright.

  He needed at least that much distance from the intransigence of the Humbled. His own mute lament demanded it.

  Gradually he became aware that dawn was near. The pallor in the east was faint: he could not be sure of it. Nonetheless his wan health-sense interpreted the darkness. His surviving nerves assured him that this night was nearly done.

  Perhaps when the sun rose, the Humbled would consent to leave Hotash Slay so that he could at least try to return to Linden and Jeremiah and Stave; to Mahrtiir and the Swordmainnir.

  Linden would recognize his sadness and his sins. Her companions would understand them.

  But the sun did not rise.

  By tentative increments, the east paled. Slowly a preternatural gloaming spread across the Sunbirth Sea until it diluted the dark over Hotash Slay and the Shattered Hills. In contrast, the stars overhead grew strangely distinct, eerie and fragile. They seemed closer, drawing near to bewail their plight. The Humbled became vaguely visible, as if they stood in dusk or shadow. At their backs, the Hills crouched like megalithic beasts. But there was no sun.

  No sun at all.

  When he peered upward, Covenant saw that the stars were winking out. One at a time, they vanished from the infinite heavens. A few died in rapid succession, others at longer intervals; but they were all doomed. Within a handful of days, every star would perish, extinguished by the unforbidden hunger of the Worm.

  Here ends

  Against All Things Ending

  Book Three of

  “The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.”

  The story concludes in Book Four

  The Last Dark.

  Glossary

  Abatha: one of the Seven Words

  Acence: a Stonedownor, sister of Atiaran

  Ahamkara: Hoerkin, “the Door”

  Ahanna: painter, daughter of Hanna

  Ahnryn: a Ranyhyn; mount of Tull

  Aimil: daughter of Anest, wife of Sunder

  Aisle of Approach: passage to Earthrootstair under Melenkurion Skyweir

  a-Jeroth of the Seven Hells: Lord of wickedness; Clave-name for Lord Foul the Despiser

  ak-Haru: a supreme Haruchai honorific; paragon and measure of all Haruchai virtues

  Akkasri: a member of the Clave; one of the na-Mhoram-cro

  aliantha: treasure-berries

  Alif, the Lady: a woman Favored by the gaddhi

  amanibhavam: horse-healing grass, dangerous to humans

  Amatin: a Lord, daughter of Matin

  Amith: a woman of Crystal Stonedown

  Amok: mysterious guide to ancient Lore

  Amorine: First Haft, later Hiltmark

  Anchormaster: second-in-command aboard a Giantship

  Andelain, the Hills of Andelain, the Andelainian Hills: a region of the Land which embodies health and beauty

  Andelainscion: a region in the Center Plains

  Anele: deranged old man; son of Sunder and Hollian

  Anest: a woman of Mithil Stonedown, sister of Kalina

  Annoy: a Courser

  anundivian yajña: “lost” Ramen craft of bone-sculpting

  Appointed, the: an Elohim chosen to bear a particular burden; Findail

  Arch of Time, the: symbol of the existence and structure of time; conditions which make the existence of time possible

  Ardent, the: one of the Insequent

  arghule/arghuleh: ferocious ice-beasts

  Asuraka: Staff-Elder of the Loresraat

  Atiaran: a Stonedownor, daughter of Tiaran, wife of Trell, mother of Lena

  Audience Hall of Earthroot: maze under Melenkurion Skyweir to conceal and protect the Blood of the Earth

  Aumbrie of the Clave, the: storeroom for former Lore

  Auriference, the: one of the Insequent, long dead

  Auspice, the: throne of the gaddhi

  aussat Befylam: child-form of the jheherrin

  Bahgoon the Unbearable: character in a Giantish tale

  Banas Nimoram: the Celebration of Spring

  Bandsoil Bounds: region north of Soulsease River

  Banefire, the: fire by which the Clave affects the Sunbane

  Bann: a Bloodguard, assigned to Lord Trevor

 
Bannor: a Bloodguard, assigned to Thomas Covenant

  Baradakas: a Hirebrand of Soaring Woodhelven

  Bareisle: an island off the coast of Elemesnedene

  Bargas Slit: a gap through the Last Hills from the Center Plains to Garroting Deep

  Basila: a scout in Berek Halfhand’s army

  Benj, the Lady: a woman Favored by the gaddhi

  Berek Halfhand: Heartthew, Lord-Fatherer; first of the Old Lords

  Bern: Haruchai slain by the Clave

  Bhanoryl: a Ranyhyn; mount of Galt

  Bhapa: a Cord of the Ramen, Sahah’s half-brother; companion of Linden Avery

  Bhrathair: a people met by the wandering Giants, residents of Bhrathairealm on the verge of the Great Desert

  Bhrathairain: the city of the Bhrathair

  Bhrathairain Harbor: the port of the Bhrathair

  Bhrathairealm: the land of the Bhrathair

  Birinair: a Hirebrand, Hearthrall of Lord’s Keep

  Bloodguard, the: Haruchai, a people living in the Westron Mountains; the defenders of the Lords

  bone-sculpting: ancient Ramen craft, marrowmeld

  Borillar: a Hirebrand and Hearthrall of Lord’s Keep

  Bornin: a Haruchai; a Master of the Land

  Brabha: a Ranyhyn; mount of Korik

  Branl: a Haruchai; a Master of the Land; one of the Humbled

  Brannil: man of Stonemight Woodhelven

  Brinn: a leader of the Haruchai; protector of Thomas Covenant; later Guardian of the One Tree

  Brow Gnarlfist: a Giant, father of the First of the Search

  caamora: Giantish ordeal of grief by fire

  Cable Seadreamer: a Giant, brother of Honninscrave; member of the Search; possessed of the Earth-Sight

  Cabledarm: a Giant; one of the Swordmainnir

  Caer-Caveral: Forestal of Andelain; formerly Hile Troy

  Caerroil Wildwood: Forestal of Garroting Deep

  caesure: a rent in the fabric of time; a Fall

  Cail: one of the Haruchai; protector of Linden Avery

  Caitiffin: a captain of the armed forces of Bhrathairealm

  Callindrill: a Lord, husband of Faer

  Callowwail, the River: stream arising from Elemesnedene

  Cavewights: evil creatures existing under Mount Thunder

  Cav-Morin Fernhold: former Forestal of Morinmoss

  Ceer: one of the Haruchai

  Celebration of Spring, the: the Dance of the Wraiths of Andelain on the dark of the moon in the middle of spring

  Center Plains, the: a region of the Land

  Centerpith Barrens: a region in the Center Plains

  Cerrin: a Bloodguard, assigned to Lord Shetra

  Chant: one of the Elohim

  Char: a Cord of the Ramen, Sahah’s brother

  Chatelaine, the: courtiers of the gaddhi

  Chosen, the: title given to Linden Avery

  Circle of Elders: Stonedown leaders

  Cirrus Kindwind: a Giant; one of the Swordmainnir

  clachan, the: demesne of the Elohim

  Clang: a Courser

  Clangor: a Courser

  Clash: a Courser

  Clave, the: group which wields the Sunbane and rules the Land

  clingor: adhesive leather

  Close, the: the Council-chamber of Lord’s Keep

  Clyme: a Haruchai; a Master of the Land; one of the Humbled

  Coercri: The Grieve; former home of the Giants in Seareach

  Colossus of the Fall, the: ancient stone figure guarding the Upper Land

  Consecear Redoin: a region north of the Soulsease River

  Cord: Ramen second rank

  Cording: Ramen ceremony of becoming a Cord

  Corimini: Eldest of the Loresraat

  Corrupt, the: jheherrin name for themselves; also the soft ones

  Corruption: Bloodguard/Haruchai name for Lord Foul

  Council of Lords, the: protectors of the Land

  Courser: a beast made by the Clave using the Sunbane

  Creator, the: maker of the Earth

  Croft: Graveler of Crystal Stonedown

  Crowl: a Bloodguard

  croyel, the: mysterious creatures which grant power through bargains, living off their hosts

  Crystal Stonedown: home of Hollian

  Currier: a Ramen rank

  Damelon Giantfriend: son of Berek Halfhand, second High Lord of the Old Lords

  Damelon’s Door: door of lore which when opened permits passage through the Audience Hall of Earthroot under Melenkurion Skyweir

  Dance of the Wraiths, the: the Celebration of Spring

  Dancers of the Sea, the: merewives; suspected to be the offspring of the Elohim Kastenessen and his mortal lover

  Daphin: one of the Elohim

  Dawngreeter: highest sail on the foremast of a Giantship

  Dead, the: spectres of those who have died

  Deaththane: title given to High Lord Elena by the Ramen

  Defiles Course, the: river in the Lower Land

  Demimage: a sorcerer of Vidik Amar

  Demondim, the: creatures created by Viles; creators of ur-viles and Waynhim

  Demondim-spawn: another name for ur-viles and Waynhim; also another name for Vain

  Desolation, the: era of ruin in the Land after the Ritual of Desecration

  Despiser, the: Lord Foul

  Despite: evil; name given to the Despiser’s nature and effects

  dharmakshetra: “to brave the enemy,” a Waynhim

  Dhorehold of the Dark: Forestal of Grimmerdhore

  dhraga: a Waynhim

  dhubha: a Waynhim

  dhurng: a Waynhim

  diamondraught: Giantish liquor

  Din: a Courser

  Dire’s Vessel: Giantship used by the Swordmainnir to convey Longwrath

  Doar: a Bloodguard

  Dohn: a Manethrall of the Ramen

  Dolewind, the: wind blowing to the Soulbiter

  Doom’s Retreat: a gap in the Southron Range between the South Plains and Doriendor Corishev

  Doriendor Corishev: an ancient city; seat of the King against whom Berek Halfhand rebelled

  drhami: a Waynhim

  Drinishok: Sword-Elder of the Loresraat

  Drinny: a Ranyhyn, foal of Hynaril; mount of Lord Mhoram

  dromond: a Giantship

  Drool Rockworm: a Cavewight, leader of the Cavewights; finder of the Illearth Stone

  dukkha: “victim,” Waynhim name

  Dura Fairflank: a mustang, Thomas Covenant’s mount

  Durance, the: a barrier Appointed by the Elohim; a prison for both Kastenessen and the skurj

  durhisitar: a Waynhim

  During Stonedown: village destroyed by the Grim; home of Hamako

  Duroc: one of the Seven Words

  Durris: a Haruchai

  EarthBlood: concentrated fluid Earthpower, only known to exist under Melenkurion Skyweir; source of the Power of Command

  Earthfriend: title first given to Berek Halfhand

  Earthpower: natural power of all life; the source of all organic power in the Land

  Earthroot: lake under Melenkurion Skyweir

  Earthrootstair: stairway down to the lake of Earthroot under Melenkurion Skyweir

  Earth-Sight: Giantish power to perceive distant dangers and needs

  eftmound: gathering place for the Elohim

  eh-Brand: one who can use wood to read the Sunbane

  Elemesnedene: home of the Elohim

  Elena: daughter of Lena and Thomas Covenant; later High Lord

  Elohim, the: a mystic people encountered by the wandering Giants

  Elohimfest: a gathering of the Elohim

  Emacrimma’s Maw: a region in the Center Plains

  Emereau Vrai: Kastenessen’s mortal lover, now victim to She Who Must Not Be Named

  Enemy: Lord Foul’s term of reference for the Creator

  Eoman: a unit of the Warward of Lord’s Keep, twenty warriors and a Warhaft

  Eoward: twenty Eom
an plus a Haft

  Epemin: a soldier in Berek Halfhand’s army, tenth Eoman, second Eoward

  Esmer: tormented son of Cail and the Dancers of the Sea

  Exalt Widenedworld: a Giant; youngest son of Soar Gladbirth and Sablehair Foamheart; later called Lostson and Longwrath

  fael Befylam: serpent-form of the jheherrin

  Faer: wife of Lord Callindrill

  Fall: Haruchai name for a caesure

  Fangs: the Teeth of the Render; Ramen name for the Demondim

  Fangthane the Render: Ramen name for Lord Foul

  Far Woodhelven: a village of the Land

  Father of Horses, the: Kelenbhrabanal, legendary sire of the Ranyhyn

  Favored, the: courtesans of the gaddhi

  Feroce, the: denizens of Sarangrave Flat, worshippers of the lurker, descended from the jheherrin

  Fields of Richloam: a region in the Center Plains

  Filigree: a Giant; another name for Sablehair Foamheart

  Findail: one of the Elohim; the Appointed

  Fire-Lions: living fire-flow of Mount Thunder

  fire-stones: graveling

  First Betrayer: Clave-name for Berek Halfhand

  First Circinate: first level of the Sandhold

  First Haft: third-in-command of the Warward

  First Mark: Bloodguard commander

  First of the Search, the: leader of the Giants who follow the Earth-Sight; Gossmer Glowlimn

  First Ward of Kevin’s Lore: primary cache of knowledge left by High Lord Kevin

  First Woodhelven: banyan tree village between Revelstone and Andelain; first Woodhelven created by Sunder and Hollian

  Fleshharrower: a Giant-Raver, Jehannum, moksha

  Foamkite: tyrscull belonging to Honninscrave and Seadreamer

  Fole: a Haruchai

  Foodfendhall: eating-hall and galley aboard a Giantship

  Forbidding: a wall of power

  Forestal: a protector of the remnants of the One Forest

  Fostil: a man of Mithil Stonedown; father of Liand

  Foul’s Creche: the Despiser’s home; Ridjeck Thome

  Frostheart Grueburn: a Giant; one of the Swordmainnir

  Furl Falls: waterfall at Revelstone

  Furl’s Fire: warning fire at Revelstone

  gaddhi, the: sovereign of Bhrathairealm

  Gallows Howe: a place of execution in Garroting Deep

  Galt: a Haruchai; a Master of the Land; one of the Humbled

  Garroting Deep: a forest of the Land

  Garth: Warmark of the Warward of Lord’s Keep