Lamentation of the Marked (The Marked Series Book 3)

by March McCarron

  Mountsend: A Dalish mining town, north of the Verdant Peaks. Childhood home of Bray Marron.

  Nerra: A long abandoned desert city in Adourra. It was the closest city to the Confluence, and the former home of the old Chisanta.

  Pauper's King: Celebrated outlaw, who leads a massive organization of highwaymen, thieves, pickpockets, and conmen. Steals to redistribute wealth, practices non-violence. Real name is Linton Bearnall.

  Peer Gelson: A Dalish Chiona with a gift for reading texts in all languages. As a former orphan, he serves as an advocate for orphaned children in addition to working with Bray Marron and Adearre Mallez on matters of criminal justice.

  Place of Five: see Aeght a Seve

  Quade Asher: A Dalish Chiona man with a gift for persuasion and charm, which spreads from him like mind-control. He aspires to conquer Trinitas and the Chisanta, so that every living spirit might be under his influence. Formerly an archeologist, he has great interest in historical artifacts.

  Rinny Samble: A Dalish Cosanta who once lived on the streets of Accord and worked as a pickpocket for the Pauper’s King. After being marked, she maintained a relationship with the Pauper’s King and worked with the poor.

  Roldon Green: A Dalish Cosanta, good friend to Yarrow, Ko-Jin, and Arlow. He has a gift for communicating with animals.

  Sacrifices of the Chisanta: There are four sacrifices: (1) Propagation, or the ability to conceive children (note: this cannot be made if one already has a child, or is incapable of having one), (2) Contact, or the ability to touch another person (to do so post-sacrifice would cause both parties immense pain), (3) Identity, or an individual’s memories and knowledge, and finally (4) Mind, or sanity—a person who makes the fourth sacrifice is no longer themselves. No sacrifice can be made without an understanding of what is to be lost and a feeling of regret.

  Smugglers and Scrutineers: A game played by children in which competing groups each have a treasure that must be protected. The team that collects all of the treasure wins.

  Spiritblighter: The enemy of man, an entity which seeks to destroy human souls during the journey from their human bodies to the Spirits’ Home. A spirit burdened by sin travels more slowly, increasing the chances of being blighted.

  Spirits' Home: Where human spirits go after death.

  Su-Hwan, Pak: A Chaskuan Cosanta and Elevated, friend to Peer. She grew up in an orphanage. She can remove gifts from a Chisanta, but only if she knows the gift. If a Chisanta has two gifts, she can remove one and not the other. She must know that the Chisanta is present and choose to remove their gift.

  Tearre: The martial art practiced by the Chiona, in which an individual splits his or her mind in half and the two sides spar each other.

  Temple, the (Chisanta): A temple in western Daland where newly marked Chisanta are tested and divided; where the two halves meet to discuss matters that concern both.

  Trevva Alzier: An Adourran Chiona with a gift for locating people. After Quade’s coup, she began traveling with Roldon and formed a close bond.

  Trinitas: The united kingdom comprised of three culturally and ethically distinct nations: Daland, Chasku, and Adourra.

  Vendra Alvez: An Adourran Cosanta and chemistry expert, who focused primarily on drugs and poison. Granddaughter of Dedrre Alvez. Right-hand woman to Quade Asher.

  Whythe Livington: A Dalish Cosanta Elevated with a passion for art. He can block other Chisanta gifts. His ability has an area of effect that spreads out from him, which can be stepped into and out of again. He can consciously exclude people from his effect if he knows they are near.

  Yarrow Lamhart: A Dalish Cosanta with the ability to read the emotions of those he loves. A scholar, he studies and interprets the transcripts of the past Fifths.

  Zarra Elver: A blind Adourran sword master who formerly trained Ko-Jin. First introduced in Maturation of the Marked: A Ko-Jin Novella.

  Previously in The Marked Series…

  Division of the Marked Summary

  Part One:

  Fourteen-year-old Yarrow Lamhart is marked as a Chisanta and must leave his home in Glans Heath, saying goodbye to his 10 siblings and parents. He meets Bray Marron, an orphaned girl who had been sexually abused by her uncle, and they bond immediately. They also meet Arlow Bowlerham, an aristocrat’s son, and Peer Gelson, an awkward boy who had been living with a set of unloving foster parents. During their travels, the group is beset by highwaymen—a group who work for the Pauper’s King, famed outlaw of Trinitas.

  When they arrive at the Chisanta Temple, the children must go through a brutal testing process. They learn that the Chisanta are split into two types: Cosanta and Chiona. The Cosanta are more meditative, and the Chiona more aggressive. Yarrow passes the test on the first day and is named Cosanta; he receives the gift of knowing the feelings of those he loves. Bray bonds with a group of children with varied backgrounds: Ko-Jin, a handicapped boy; Adearre, a shy boy from the south; Rinny, a girl who had picked pockets for the Pauper's King; and Roldon, a friendly boy who loves games.

  During this time, Bray discovers the body of a murdered Chiona and learns that some of their class have gone missing. She passes the test, at last, as Chiona, and gains the ability to phase through solid objects. She bonds with her fellow Chiona—Peer, who can read texts in any language, and Adearre who is hyper-perceptive. Yarrow, in the mean time, becomes good friends with Arlow, who finds it amusing to keep his gift a secret, and Ko-Jin, who is gifted physically with strength. Yarrow also meets Dedrre, an old inventor who serves as a mentor.

  Bray attends the funeral of the murdered man. There, she meets Dolla, who will become her mentor in criminal justice, and Quade Asher, the murdered man’s partner in archeology.

  Part Two:

  A decade passes, in which, every year, more and more marked children go missing. Yarrow becomes an expert in the Fifth (Chisanta who have made the final sacrifice and become mindless truth-sayers). Bray, along with Adearre and Peer, spends years investigating a string of teen abductions.

  A marked girl dies in a fire, causing Yarrow, Ko-Jin, Bray, Peer, and Adearre to band together for an investigation. At first, they butt heads and tensions are high. The friction comes to a head in a fight between Bray and Yarrow, before they finally agree to trust each other.

  The group chases clues to Accord, the capital, and they begin to teach each other their respective cultural practices—Yarrow teaches the Ada Chae, a warrior dance, and Bray the Tearre, the mental exercise of fighting oneself. In Accord they discover that house fires just before the day of marking have become a common occurrence, they visit with their old friend Arlow, they prevent the king from being assassinated at a ball, and they learn that Vendra—an expert on drugs and Dedrre’s granddaughter—is involved in the string of murders.

  Part Three:

  The group travels to Easterly Point in search of answers, where they discover the truth: a man named Quade Asher has been abducting marked children and killing their families in fires. He is creating an army. The use of the ‘Sphere of Chisanta’ helps these young people make sacrifices, and in return they receive exceptional gifts. The group also learns that Arlow is on Quade’s side. Bray and the group attempt to steal the Sphere away from Quade, only to learn that the mysterious object strips a Chisanta of his or her gifts, which leads to the entire group being captured. They spend a month chained, forcibly drugged, and neglected before finding an opportunity to escape.

  During their flight, Vendra shoots and kills Adearre and recaptures Peer. A severely injured Yarrow, in order to get himself, Bray, and Ko-Jin away, makes the first sacrifice: he uses the Sphere to see a vision of his potential daughter, then gives up the ability to conceive children in order to gain the gift of teleportation. He takes them away to Chiona Isle, to heal and spread the word of what has happened.

  Epilogue:

  Peer, drug-addled, sees visions of Adearre, whom he had always secretly loved. Quade asks him to help translate the portions of the Fifth’s prophecies t
hat are in an all-but extinct language called Deltish, and Peer refuses. Quade gives a speech to a large crowd of his kidnapped youths, as well as traitor Chisanta, proclaiming that they have been ‘Elevated,’ and it is time for them to take control of Trinitas.

  Elevation of the Marked Summary

  Bray Marron and Yarrow Lamhart, still weak from their time in captivity, search the former rooms of the villainous Quade Asher. They find his mother’s address on a letter. Meanwhile, Arlow Bowlerham meets with Vendra, Quade’s right-hand woman, and the two of them discuss Quade’s plan to assassinate the king. Arlow, whose thoughts are clouded by Quade’s gift for persuasion, initiates the assassination attempt.

  Sung Ko-Jin arrives in time to witness the death of the king. Feeling Ko-Jin’s concern, Yarrow and Bray teleport to the palace. The three of them fight against the group of corrupted guardsmen, while Prince Jo-Kwan and the queen hide. The group begins to search for the princess, Chae-Na, hoping to find her before the assassins. Along the way, the queen is fatally wounded. When they at last find the princess, Yarrow teleports the entire group back to his hometown, Glans Heath. Arlow Bowlerham, a short while later, wakes to find himself surrounded by the dead and the dying. Quade arrives to take up the throne. He soothes Arlow’s concerns with his unnatural charm.

  Peer Gelson, who never escaped Quade’s clutches, finds himself on a never ending train ride. He is heavily drugged, and in this state he hallucinates conversations with his recently killed friend and secret love, Adearre. He is watched by two young people, two of Quade’s Elevated, who can remove a Chisanta’s gifts: Su-Hwan and Whythe. He knows that he is bait set for Bray.

  The next morning, in Glans Heath, the group splits up. Yarrow and Bray go to visit with Yarrow’s family, while Ko-Jin and the royal siblings walk into town to speak with the local constable. They both quickly discover that Quade has accused the three of them of assassinating the king and queen, and are forced to flee the town after a run-in with the law.

  Arlow, sent on Quade’s orders, meets a woman named Mae, who is the sister of the infamous criminal and champion of the poor, the Pauper’s King. Arlow speaks with the Pauper’s King himself. Quade wants Arlow to spy on this group, but he will only be allowed to do so if he takes all of the steps to formally join the band of criminals. Arlow reluctantly agrees.

  Bray, Yarrow, Ko-Jin, Chae-Na, and Jo-Kwan take up lodgings in a rough cottage in a far flung village called Cagsglow. Upon arrival, Bray and Yarrow slip away for some intimacy, while the others clean their new hideout. Meanwhile, still aboard the same train, Peer is confronted with Quade Asher himself. He is forced to translate prophecy for Quade, but he makes a new connection with his young guard, Su-Hwan.

  While Arlow steals food for the first time as a part of his initiation, Yarrow and Bray travel to Accord in search of Peer. They do not find him, but they discover that Quade is collecting information on all Chisanta, and they take a youth named Fernie for questioning. Bray learns from the lad that Peer is being kept on a train, and they begin planning his rescue.

  Arlow’s task is complicated when The Pauper’s King discovers that Quade Asher has rounded up all of the pick-pockets in Accord and sent them to a work camp. To prove his new loyalty, he and Mae board a train—the same train that Peer has been riding for weeks—to go and save the captured youths.

  Yarrow and Bray teleport on top of the train, but are quickly discovered and a fight ensues. Peer, hearing the noise and not knowing its cause, decides it is the best time to try for an escape, and his guard Su-Hwan plans to leave with him. Yarrow and Bray fight their way to Peer’s compartment, but find it empty. The Fifth, a girl who speaks truths, is accidentally killed. They encounter Quade but manage to escape.

  Bray happens upon and threatens Arlow Bowlerham further down the train, and when Mae believes that Arlow’s life is in danger, she shoots Bray in the back. Peer and Su-Hwan find them then, and Yarrow teleports them—Peer, Su-Hwan, himself, and a mortally wounded Bray—away from the train.

  Yarrow, unwilling to let Bray die, sacrifices his ability to touch others in exchange for the gift of healing. He saves Bray. While Bray and Peer share a tearful reunion, Yarrow teleports to Cagsglow to inform Ko-Jin of what happened. He says that he is no longer able to teleport others with him, as this requires skin-to-skin contact. As an experiment, Ko-Jin and Yarrow touch, only to suffer enormous pain.

  Based on the Fifth’s prophecies, Yarrow decides he wants to travel to far-away Adourra to seek answers. Bray, Peer, and Su-Hwan, meanwhile, travel to Quade’s hometown, where they speak with his mother and learn that Quade had a sister who had long ago run away, and whom Quade had tried in vein to find. Peer begins to drug himself to cope with his grief.

  Arlow, in Accord, meets briefly with Vendra, who is acting very peculiarly. She leaves him a note that explains Quade’s gift, and implores Arlow to fight against it. Reading this letter causes Arlow extreme mental and physical distress, but slowly he feels his mind returning to him.

  Ko-Jin, still in Cagsglow protecting the king and princess, is alarmed when he sees people approaching. However, he discovers that it is only his old friend Roldon and several other Chisanta, who are on the run from Quade. He welcomes them to stay. Meanwhile, Arlow proves his loyalty to the Pauper’s Men by rescuing the abducted pick-pockets from a work camp.

  Yarrow discovers a strange place, south of an abandoned city called Nerra, hidden within a desert. There, he walks up a stairway that seems to lead nowhere, and finds himself in a physical version of the Aeght a Seve, the Place of Five. At the center he sees a new tree growing from within a burnt, dead one. A shadow of his departed friend Adearre emerges from the tree to explain that the place is called The Confluence, and that it is where the world of the Spirits and the human world collide.

  When Yarrow touches the tree, he has a vision of a man from long ago named Charlem Bowtar. He learns many things about the Chisanta of old: that they existed to protect the Confluence, that they tested children and trained them, and that the original meaning of the word Chisanta was a couple—one Cosanta and one Chiona—who are spirit-mates, or bevolders.

  Bray, Peer, and Su-Hwan travel to a remote island where they believe Quade’s sister to be living in secret. On the way, Peer chooses to cease drugging himself, and goes through a painful withdrawal. They succeed in finding Quade’s sister, Ellora, who has built a life for herself as an art teacher with her husband and child. She tells them about Quade’s past—all of his sins and how fearsome he was, even as a young boy. Bray takes careful notes, especially writing down the one insult that Ellora had given her brother, which had caused him to lose his composure.

  Yarrow, after his vision, feels a surge of fear from his family in Glans Heath. He teleports there and is immediately put to sleep by a poison dart. Meanwhile, Quade puts out in every newspaper that he has rounded up the families of those Chisanta whom he deems “defectors,” and threatens to publicly execute them in one month’s time if those he seeks do not hand themselves over. Ko-Jin’s mother and Bray’s abusive uncle are both on the list. Bray, Peer, and Su-Hwan sail south to Accord, while Ko-Jin, Jo-Kwan, Chae-Na, and his other Chisanta companions travel overland in the same direction. At the same time, Yarrow is tortured for information, including having his pinky finger cut off. He fears he will lose control in the face of Quade’s ability.

  Arlow attends a meeting of the Pauper’s Men, in which they create a plan to undermine Quade. Bray and her friends, and Ko-Jin and his companions, each craft a plan to stop the execution. Yarrow, fearful that he will reveal his vision of the Confluence, chooses to make the third sacrifice, thereby losing his memory.

  On the day of the execution, a massive crowd gathers in the central plaza of Accord. A group of Elevated with exceptional gifts work together to immobilize every Chisanta hidden in the crowd, and to strip them of their gifts. Ko-Jin’s plan to use a vaporized sedative is quickly thwarted by an Elevated girl with telekinesis. Quade’s people begin moving through th
e crowd and killing Chisanta where they find them.

  The Pauper’s people, who are unaffected, charge the stage and attack. Able to move again, Bray, Peer, and Su-Hwan mount the stage. Peer knocks out Whythe, thereby returning them their gifts. Su-Hwan strips Quade of his ability, revealing his true and terrible face to the entire assembly. Bray prompts the crowd to chant the hateful words of his sister, so that they might see him lose control of his temper. From above, Chae-Na shoots an arrow at Quade, but hits only his shoulder. Before he can be killed, Quade surprises everyone by teleporting away—a gift that no one knew he possessed.

  After the danger has passed, Bray and Ko-Jin go looking for Yarrow in the palace dungeon. Yarrow, unsure of his own identity and untrusting, hides from them. Bray finds, instead, her uncle and chooses not to kill him, though she had always intended to. Assuming that Yarrow is not there, they go off to find a woman named Trevva who has a gift for finding people. Arlow, knowing exactly which cell Yarrow had been tortured in, goes to find his friend. He takes Yarrow out of that place, and they, along with Mae, ride away from the city.

  A week later, Ko-Jin has become a general and has enforced a strict quarantine on the city. Before anyone may enter, they must spend five days in solitude, to prevent Quade’s influence from polluting the city once more. Jo-Kwan is officially crowned king, and he announces a pardon for all those who had been under Quade’s spell. He proclaims that they will be recruiting for a new military, and that all able bodied men, and, for the first time, women, are encouraged to volunteer.