The Paths of the Dead (Viscount of Adrilankha)

by Steven Brust

  They took the long path down to Kieron Road, and took this eastward across the canal, both Röaana and Ibronka recognizing places they knew from their arrival in the city. They were, we should say, quite remarked upon as they passed through Adrilankha. Some of these remarks expressed curiosity, others surprise, and a few amusement; while there were one or two that nearly passed the bounds of what a gentleman could tolerate regarding ladies in his company. We say “nearly” because, in the first place, this was no longer the Khaavren of old, who welcomed any opportunity to test his steel against another’s, and, in the second, because the merest glance from the Tiassa was sufficient to cause the comments to be bitten back into the mouths from which they nearly emerged. Ibronka and Röaana, of course, did not deign to give notice to any remarks or comments of any kind, and Clari quite wisely kept her own thoughts or reactions entirely to herself, and so in this way they at length passed out of the city along what was still called the Eastgate Road in spite of the fact that there had not been an East Gate since the city walls had been taken down, which had happened thousands upon thousands of years before (at least, according to those who claim the city was once walled; the prevailing opinion among historians is that Adrilankha had never been a walled city, in which case the name “Eastgate Road” presents its own puzzle, but one which we hope the reader will forgive us for merely making an observation upon without following it with the careful exploration that, perhaps, it merits).

  Although keeping a careful watch for brigands, they nevertheless made moderately good time, achieving fifteen miles on the first day, and nearly twenty on each of the next two. They slept out in the open, under the sky, taking turns watching. There being only four of them, and there being as well a need to keep one on watch at all times as they slept, by the fourth day they were all sufficiently exhausted as to get a late start, and to decide to retire early; which they repeated on the sixth day. If Khaavren was annoyed at this delay, he gave no signs of it.

  In this way, then, it happened that by early evening of the sixth day they had passed the Collier Hills, and, riding down in the twilight, Khaavren at last was able to see, with a pleasure that can hardly be described, the lights of Brachington’s Moor twinkling in the deepening gloom ahead.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to David S. Cargo, with whom I consulted on the economics of feudal expansion, and Ilona Berry, who helped with geography. Thanks to Beki Oshiro, who did some great research for me. Thanks to Terry McGarry for outstanding copyediting. Without some timely remarks by Jason Jones, the books would have been worse by twelve inches or so.

  As always, thanks to Robert Sloan, a.k.a. Adrian Morgan, who did so much work on Dragaeran history and background.

  Much thanks for heroic Scribblification to Pamela Dean, Will Shetterly, and Emma Bull (who also threw in the title).

  It would, in addition, be manifestly unfair if I did not mention the various Dragaeran fan pages, most particularly Mark A. Mandel’s Web site, Cracks and Shards, which, at this writing, is at: world.std.com/~main/Cracks-and-Shards/. I continually found myself using this site as a reference to avoid tripping over my own feet, especially with such matters as timing and geography. Thanks to this, most (or at least, many) of the inconsistencies between this book and my other works set on Dragaera were introduced maliciously, rather than by accident.

  Notes

  1 I know that “bungalow” implies a single-story dwelling, but it is also the only possible translation for the Northwestern “tyuk-kö,” which is what the original mss uses. Take it up with Paarfi.—SB

  2 As far as I can determine, the “noted historian” in question is Paarfi himself.—SB

  3 Steve adds that he got that last one from Gene Wolfe. As a perusal of Wolfe’s many fine works will demonstrate, this method works for him, too. You may therefore be confident that you now know how to write like all three of these excellent authors, Paarfi and Brust and Wolfe as well; so if it happens that your ambitions lie in that direction, you must concede that purchasing and reading this book was a sound investment of your time and money.

  This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  THE PATHS OF THE DEAD: BOOK ONE OF THE VISCOUNT OF ADRILANKHA

  Copyright © 2002 by Steven Brust “Publisher’s Note” copyright © 2002 by Emma Bull “Some Notes Toward Two Analyses of Auctorial Method and Voice” copyright © 2002 by Teresa Nielsen Hayden

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

  Edited by Teresa Nielsen Hayden

  A Tor Book

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

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  Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

  eISBN 9781429997331

  First eBook Edition : April 2011

  First edition: December 2002

  First mass market edition: August 2003