ALSO BY CHRIS WILLRICH
The Scroll of Years
The Silk Map
Published 2015 by Pyr®, an imprint of Prometheus Books
The Chart of Tomorrows: A Gaunt and Bone Novel. Copyright © 2015 by Chris Willrich. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a website without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Characters, organizations, locales, and events portrayed in this novel either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Cover illustration by © Kerem Beyit
Cover design by Nicole Sommer-Lecht
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Willrich, Chris, 1967-
The chart of tomorrows : a Gaunt and Bone novel/Chris Willrich.
pages ; cm
ISBN 978-1-63388-058-0 (softcover) -- ISBN 978-1-63388-059-7 (ebook)
I. Title.
PS3623.I57775C48 2015
813’.6—dc23
2015001966
Printed in the United States of America
In memory of Jane Eades, Georgia Grytness, and Anne Rohweder
CONTENTS
Imago Bone’s Notes on People, Places, and Things
Prologue: Ash-Lad
Chapter 1: Mechanisms
Chapter 2: Otherfolk
Chapter 3: Runemark
Chapter 4: Storm
Chapter 5: Huginn
Chapter 6: Rubblewrack
Chapter 7: Muninn
Chapter 8: Jokull
Chapter 9: A Journey to Kantenjord
Chapter 10: Skalagrim
Chapter 11: Chroniclers
Chapter 12: Escape
Chapter 13: Torfa
Chapter 14: Changelings
Chapter 15: A Journey to Kantenjord, Continued
Chapter 16: Straits
Chapter 17: Ruin
Chapter 18: Skrymir
Chapter 19: Draug
Chapter 20: Wolves
Chapter 21: A Journey to Kantenjord, Continued
Chapter 22: Pyres
Chapter 23: Chooser
Chapter 24: Seter
Chapter 25: Council
Chapter 26: War
Chapter 27: Fossegrim
Chapter 28: Siege
Chapter 29: Sisterhood
Chapter 30: Larderland
Chapter 31: A Journey to Kantenjord, Continued
Chapter 32: Champions
Chapter 33: Fates
Chapter 34: Reunion
Chapter 35: Portals
Chapter 36: Queens
Chapter 37: Hearts
Chapter 38: A Journey to Kantenjord, Continued
Chapter 39: Gambit
Chapter 40: Yesterday
Chapter 41: Tomorrow
Chapter 42: Today
Chapter 43: Chosen
Chapter 44: The Middle
Chapter 45: Peace
Chapter 46: Summit
Acknowledgments
About the Author
IMAGO BONE’S NOTES ON PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS BECAUSE HE IS GETTING OLDER
AND HIS MEMORY IS TAXED
A-Girl-Is-A-Joy: Also, Joy Snøsdatter, Joy. Daughter of Snow Pine. Chosen to be the Runethane, champion of the Bladed Isles. It might have gone easier for her if she hadn’t.
A Tumult of Trees on Peculiar Peaks: Also known as the Scroll of Years. A landscape painting that either contains or accesses a pocket dimension of accelerated time. You see, Gaunt? I can use magical jargon too.
Aile: A headwoman of the Vuos people. I heard of her much later, yet somehow I feel she belongs here.
Alder: A former wizardly apprentice, my comrade at the Gull-Jarl’s steading.
Alfhild: A human raised as one of the fey uldra-folk. A princess of the uldra, no less. It seems to have affected her mind.
All-Now, the: Mirabad term for the compassionate creator of the universe.
Anansi: An exploratory ship from Kpalamaa.
Arngrimur Townflayer: One of the Nine Wolves. You may notice a theme in their names.
Arnulf Pyre-Maker: One of the Nine Wolves.
Ash-lad, or Askelad: A peasant hero from folktales.
Aughatai: Jewelwolf’s horse. There was something very wrong with that horse.
Beinahruga: Cairn.
Bone: A fool. No, that’s not all. An old fool.
Brambletop: A young woman of Larderland. It hurts to think of her now.
Breakwing Island: A troll-inhabited island beside Spydbanen.
Cairn: A Chooser of the Slain.
changeling: A troll or uldra child, left in place of a kidnapped human child.
Chart of Tomorrows, The: The Winterjarl’s protean book, full of cryptic passages and alarming maps.
Chooser of the Slain: An agent of the old gods of the Bladed Isles.
Claymore: A troll.
Clifflion: Grand Khan of the Karvaks.
Corinna: Princess, later queen, of Soderland. I was never sure where we stood with her, but I was always sure she was in charge.
Crypttongue: A magic sword Gaunt wielded for a time. I hate magic swords.
Deadfall: A sapient magic carpet. Before I met it, those words would not have seemed frightening.
Dolma: An exiled warrior of Xembala. For a time she helped my son. I am grateful.
Draug: A spirit creature found upon the sea and within the Straits of Tid. Draugar can take the forms of dead folk you’ve known.
Draugmaw: An unnatural, gigantic maelstrom. It has Draugar in it.
Einar Bringer of Wailing: One of the Nine Wolves.
Eldshore, the: A slowly crumbling but still mighty continental empire.
Erik Glint: A foamreaver and Larderman.
Eshe: Priestess, wanderer, warrior, spy. Possibly our employer.
eventyr: Fairy tales.
Everart: Rabble-rouser of Soderland. Quite good at it.
Fiskegard: Independent-minded islands founded by fishermen, nominally part of Oxiland, periodically filled with itinerant workers. I came from a family of fishermen, and the scent was like home.
Five Fjords: A shaky alliance of the towns of Lillefosna, Vestvjell, Vesthall, Grimgard, and Regnheim.
Floki: A slaver.
Foamreaver: Can be a seafarer, trader, raider, or all of them together.
Freidar: An old tavernkeeper and Runewalker. Husband of Nan. Kind to Innocence, he was a good companion when we sailed aboard Leaping Bison.
Gamellaw: A region governed by old laws under which steadings are the unit of civilization, not nations. Takes in Svardmark from the Morkskag to the Chained Straits, and all of Spydbanen.
Garmsmaw Pass: A mountain pass connecting Garmstad territory to northern Svardmark.
Garmstad: A town and territory allied to Soderland.
Gaunt: What I call Persimmon when we’re about our errands. The other half of my mind.
Gissur Mimurson: An Oxiland chieftain.
Gold-Jarl, or Gull-Jarl: Ruler of the small country of Gullvik.
Grawik: The steading of Ottmar Bloodslake.
Great Chain of Unbeing: A huge artifact absorbing the power of the dragons whose immense bodies gave form to the Bladed Isles.<
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Grunndokk: A town paying tribute to the Gull-Jarl.
Gullvik: Name of a town and a small domain in Svardmark.
Gunlaug: An overseer at the Gull-Jarl’s steading.
Haboob: An efrit, a spirit of the desert.
Hakon: The retired king of Soderland.
Harald the Far-Traveled: Chieftain of the Laksfjord region.
Havtor: A slave in the Gull-Jarl’s steading. May his name be honored.
Haytham ibn Zakwan ibn Rihab: Inventor and gentleman of Mirabad, daring to combine natural philosophy and magic. He gave the world ballooning. I might regret that, had I never flown.
Heavenwalls: Vast fortifications of Qiangguo—and beyond!—which somehow channel the land’s vital breath.
Hekla: Huginn Sharpspear’s companion. I think she was more formidable than he.
Huginn Sharpspear: A chieftain, lawyer, and tale-teller of Oxiland.
Imago: What Persimmon calls me, amid the least or greatest dangers.
Inga: She was half of the duo responsible for Peersdatter and Jorgensdatter’s Eventyr. A mighty fighter, and brave.
Innocence Gaunt: Our son.
Ironhorn: A Karvak general.
Ivar Garm: Lord Mayor of Garmstad Town.
Jaska: A girl who turned Innocence’s head in Oxiland.
Jegerhall: The steading of Arnulf Pyre-Maker.
Jewelwolf: Wife of the Grand Khan and a powerful leader in her own right. As if that wasn’t enough to make me nervous, also knowledgeable in magic. Sister of Steelfox.
Jokull Loftsson: Strongest of the Oxiland chieftains.
Jotuncrown: A settlement of humans in thrall to the troll-jarl in the Trollberg.
Joy: What we all called A-Girl-Is-A-Joy.
Katta, called the Mad: One of many names for the wandering monk of the Undetermined whom we knew. A big-hearted person, though I think he regarded me as a miscreant. Truly I have no idea why.
Kantenings: The humans of the Bladed Isles, excepting the Vuos, who stand apart.
Kantenjord: It means something like “Edge-lands.” Outsiders know it better as the Bladed Isles.
Karvak Realm: The empire of the Grand Khan.
Karvaks: The mightiest nomads of the steppes.
Klarvik: A town in Soderland.
Kolli the Cackling: One of the Nine Wolves.
Kollr: A young follower of the old gods in Oxiland, whom Innocence befriended.
Kpalamaa: A mighty realm of the South. If Qiangguo is not the world’s most advanced nation, it is this.
Laksfjord: A surprisingly pleasant community near the Morkskag.
Langfjord: The steading of Kolli the Cackling.
Lardermen: Elite group of foamreavers, who made their name bringing supplies past a blockade.
Leaftooth: Head monk of the Peculiar Peaks.
Liron Flint: Explorer, treasure hunter, friend.
Loftsson’s Hall: Steading of Oxiland’s most powerful chieftain, with many allied folk nearby.
Lysefoss: A settlement beside a spectacular waterfall. I’d have appreciated it more if we hadn’t been running for our lives.
Malin: She was half of the duo responsible for Peersdatter and Jorgensdatter’s Eventyr. A brave soul. An unusual mind.
Meteor-Plum: The guardian of the Scroll of Years sometimes goes by this name.
Mirabad: Name for both a great city and the caliphate it commands. Once its power made the world tremble; its wealth and learning still make the world envious.
Morkskag, the: The haunted forest that divides “civilized” Svardmark from the Gamellaw.
Mossbeard: A troll.
Muggur Barrow-Friend: One of the Nine Wolves.
Muninn Crowbeard: Once a foamreaver styled “Surehand.” He changed, more than once.
Nan: An old tavernkeeper and Runewalker. Wife of Freidar. Those two were kind to Innocence and did as much as anyone could to protect their homeland. I, a selfish man, am in awe.
Nine Smilodons: The Karvak soldier we traveled with for a time.
Nonyemeko: Captain of Anansi.
Northwing: A taiga shaman in service to Steelfox. Powerful as friend or enemy. I would know.
Numi: A Swan-church novitiate whom Innocence befriended.
Ostoland: A heavily wooded island, of somewhat insular folk.
Ottmar Bloodslake: One of the Nine Wolves.
Oxiland: A volcanic realm, and some associated islands, in Kantenjord’s northwest. A bleak country, settled by stubborn people with notions of democracy. Clearly they are mad. It’s tempting to join them.
Painter of Clouds: Swanlings use this term for what Mirabad’s people call the All-Now; they got the name from the People of the Brush.
Peersdatter and Jorgensdatter’s Eventyr: A surprisingly useful book of folktales.
Peik: A boy from Klarvik, by his own account absolutely the most truthful person that this or any other world has known.
Persimmon: See Gaunt. She is the one who should be writing this down; she has the gift for words. But she forgets little and doesn’t see the need. She remembers the time I did this, and the time I did that, and the other thing. And yet she is still with me.
Qiangguo: A vast realm of the East. If Kpalamaa is not the world’s most advanced nation, it is this.
Qurca: Steelfox’s peregrine falcon, bonded to her spirit.
Rafnar Dragon-Axe: One of the Nine Wolves.
Ragnar: Half-brother of Corinna of Soderland.
Red Mirror: A Karvak soldier.
Roisin: A Swanling priestess. A fine person, surely, but a little too cozy with slavers.
Rolf: A young Swanling of Oxiland, whom Innocence befriended.
Rubblewrack: A troll, or so she appeared.
Runethane, or Runemarked Queen or King: The one who commands the energies of the Great Chain of Unbeing.
Runewalkers: Traditional mages of Kantenjord. Their power derives from tracings of mystic runes. Some of their tracings are enormous.
Ruvsa: Pirate queen of Larderland.
Schismglass: A magic sword, akin to Crypttongue but antagonistic.
Skalagrim the Bloody: One of the Nine Wolves. I’ll say no more about him.
Skrymir Hollowheart: Lord of trolls in Spydbanen and, effectively, everywhere else.
Skyggeskag, the: An elder forest in Soderland, cousin to the Morkskag.
Snow Pine: Once known as Next-One-a-Boy or simply Next One. A bandit of Qiangguo and a companion to Persimmon and me. Our best friend.
Smokecoast: The largest settlement of Oxiland.
Soderland: Strongest and richest of the local kingdoms, principalities, chiefdoms, and what-have-yous. Therefore, the biggest target.
Splintrevej: Maze-like scattering of islands in the heart of Kantenjord.
Spydbanen: The northeastern of Kantenjord’s main islands, and home to its most violent jarls, including the troll-jarl. The Vuos people live in its extreme north.
Steelfox: A princess of the Karvak Realm, determined to conquer the Earthe in the memory of her father, the first Grand Khan. Even with all that in mind, I liked her.
Storfosna: A town in Soderland.
Stormhamn: A town in Soderland.
Sturla’s Steading: The home of Huginn and Hekla.
Styr Surturson: An Oxiland chieftain.
Surtfell: The great volcano of Oxiland.
Svanstad: The capital of Soderland and largest city in the Bladed Isles.
Svardmark: Kantenjord’s largest island, home to what passes for its civilized lands.
Swan Goddess: The deity said to have sacrificed herself to save the world. Accounted the daughter of the Painter of Clouds.
Swanisle: An island nation, closer to the continent than are the Bladed Isles. Gaunt’s homeland. Legend has it it’s the petrified body of the Swan Goddess. I am not weighing in on this.
Swanling: The Kantenings call the Swan Goddess’s followers this.
Tlepolemus: A fellow far-traveled adventurer who became a Larderman.
> Torfa: Jokull Loftsson’s wife. By report, an exemplar of Kantening ferocity.
Trollberg, the: The troll mountain-fortress beside Jotuncrown.
uldra: A varied nonhuman folk who sometimes dwell underground and sometimes in other worlds entirely.
Undetermined, the: An enlightened being venerated in the East.
Varmvik: A town in Soderland.
Vatnar: An important churchman of Oxiland.
Vinderhus: A whaling community in Oxiland.
Vuos: A human community distinct from the Kantenings. They herd reindeer and have shamanistic beliefs.
Vuk: A man of the Wagonlords on the continent, my comrade at the Gull-Jarl’s steading.
Walking Stick: An itinerant official of Qiangguo. Also a wulin warrior, capable of esoteric combat moves. A good ally, and a bad enemy, to have. He’s been both.
Wiglaf: A legendary warrior, whose fate was tied up with the swords Crypttongue and Schismglass. I don’t envy him.
Winterjarl, the: Harbinger of Fimbulwinter and Ragnarok, or so we thought.
Wormeye: A troll.
Xembala: A paradisiacal eastern land, a source of ironsilk. There are times I’d like to be there.
Yngvarr Thrall-Taker: One of the Nine Wolves. He surprised us at the end.
PROLOGUE
ASH-LAD
The Lardermen fished the castaway from the sea’s gray clutches in a place where no island rose and no wreckage lay. The maelstrom that men named the Draugmaw was not so far from that place, yet it was strange to find no broken remnant of the boy’s vessel.
“There now,” said the captain, not unkindly. “You’re warm and safe, drinking my aquavit and eating the finest Larderman gruel. Who might you be?”
“Deadfall,” the ashen-faced lad muttered between shivers and sips and bites, looking around the deck in fear. “Deadfall.” The boy, who looked no older than thirteen, seemed to spy little to cheer him. The sky of fading summer was a billowing tapestry of white and gray, shading to black. The pirates below were a rough-looking bunch to be sure, scowling below the black flag of the skull and crossed meat cleavers.
“Anyone make anything of that?”
“That’s southern talk,” said the mate. “The part I can make out anyway. Something about death and falling. I don’t think he’s from Kantenjord at all.”
“Death. Falling. A boy from nowhere. This is ill-omened. I had a dream, you see. A girl riding a narwhal whispered to me to come here. . . . It wasn’t far off our course. But I do not like this.”
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