by Helen Lowe
Malian swallowed. She could not stop her hands tightening on the scabbard, even though he would see the sign of tension. Her mouth was dry, unable to frame another question. And if he refuses me, she thought, do I also lose the sword?
“I was there by the Butterworth tower,” Aravenor continued. Her head jerked back and one of his hands shifted, closing over hers. “Your seeking would not have found me because I am largely immune to magic—that is one of the abilities Emuun and I share, and a major reason, I imagine, why Rhike mistook me for him.”
Immune, Malian thought: of course—another thread out of the oldest histories. But if he had been in Butterworth, then he would have witnessed her failure. She was not surprised when he withdrew his hand.
“I was there,” Aravenor repeated quietly. “As I said, I have admired your abilities for some time. But the night before last, in Butterworth, I admired you. I thought you just might be worth every scrap of that tattered prophecy.” Raven’s irony colored Aravenor’s slight smile. “We are yours—if you will have us, Malian of Night.”
A Darksworn House, Malian thought, and wondered if the world might shatter. But rainwater still dripped from the shrine’s eaves and the rest of the Haarth day continued on its course, apparently untroubled.
Aravenor stepped back, lifting his hands from the sword, and Malian took it fully into her own. Slowly, she drew the weapon clear of its sheath, listening to Nhenir’s deep silence as she tested the blade for weight and balance. Faith has been kept, she thought, remembering her conversation with the Ara-fyr. “I will honor the pledge made, so long ago,” she said softly. “I take back what is rightfully mine—and will have the House of Fire as my own.”
The answering shock of power jolted through the sword’s hilt and up her arm. Silver fire blazed from her armring and along the blade, turning it to glittering frost—and Nhenir sang. The paean was an exultation of fire and moonlight and ice, and Malian’s farseeing answered, clear as a winter dawn. Far away on the Wall of Night she saw her father’s head lift from contemplation of a cold hearth, his shoulders straightening. In a hold close to the Gray Lands, in a room without windows, a huddled figure lifted a ravaged face, life creeping back into her lightless eyes as though she, too, heard Nhenir’s song.
“Nhairin,” Malian whispered, but the song was already fading and her farsight with it. She was shaking, too, from the aftermath of her illness, the shock of power, and the fire of her vision. Gently, Aravenor took the sword from her and sheathed it, then knelt and buckled belt and scabbard around her waist—a squire’s duty, but she could not have managed it for herself just then. She rested a hand on his shoulder and the world steadied.
“I will have the House of Fire as my own,” she repeated quietly. “For as long as you will freely follow me.” And still the world stayed whole.
He stood up. “And I, Malian of Night,” he said, in the voice that was both Raven’s and a stranger’s, “will ride in your shadow. Either until I meet my death, or together we find the far side of the long conflict between the Swarm and the Derai.”
Here ends The Wall of Night Book Two,
The Gathering of the Lost;
To be continued in The Wall of Night Book Three,
Daughter of Blood.
Glossary
Abjured: Jhainarian epithet for the renegade queen Zhehaamor and her Seven
Academy: Ijiri Academy of Sages, one of the Three of Ij
Academy Island: one of the central islands forming the city if Ij; location of Academy of Sages
Ado: Emerian knight in training
Aeln: honor guard, serving House of Night
Aenide: younger sister to Jarna, a Normarch squire
Aeris: city kingdom in the lands beyond the River
Aldermere: liege-hold of Falk of Normarch, Castellan of Emer’s Northern March
Alianor: companion of Ghiselaine, Countess of Ormond
Alliance: See Derai
Alric of Vast: Emerian knight, from the Wymark
Amaliannarath: a power of the Swarm
Ambardi: merchant family of Ij, of the lesser nobility
Amarn: Darkswarm adept, sworn to the sorcerer Nirn
Annot: damosel of Normarch
Ar: city of the River
Arad: one of Queen Zhineve-An’s Seven
Aralorn: land south of the River
Aranraith: a leader of the Darkswarm
Aravenor: a captain of the Patrol
Arcolin: a Swarm envoy in Emer
Argent: one of the main rivers of Emer
Arin: lieutenant to the Lord Captain of the Patrol
Arn: Emerian knight in training
Arun-En: town on the Wildenrush
Asantir: formerly captain of the Earl of Night’s Honor Guard and now Commander of Night
Asha: an honor guard serving House of Night
Assassins: see the School of Assassins
Athiri: princely family of Ij
Audin Sondargent: Emerian knight in training, nephew to the Duke of Emer
Avice: damosel of Normarch
Aymil: guard in the service of Normarch
Barren Hills: uninhabited hills to the south of the Border Mark
Barrowdun: clan territory of the Emerian Hill people
Bartrand Ar-Griffon: Captain of Normarch; see also Ser Bartrand
Baz: blacksmith in Butterworth
bellbird: songbird native to the Ij area
black blades: weapons of power, commonly associated with the hero Kerem
black spear: one of the legendary black blades
Black Tower: fortress and original ducal palace in Caer Argent; said to date back to the Old Empire
blood oath, a: powerful binding used by the Derai where the one swearing draws their own blood; it can never be broken
Blood, the: includes Earls of the Derai and any of their blood kin. Traditionally, the Blood have been closely linked to the power of the Golden Fire
Blood Oath, the: oath that has bound the Derai since the Time of Blood and institutionalizes the schism between the warrior and priestly castes
Bonamark: one of the seven marks of Emer; shortening of Bonacon Mark
Boras: priest of the House of Adamant, from the Keep of Stone
Border Mark: stone pillar that marks the boundary between the Gray Lands and the Barren Hills
Brackwater: islet on the seaward side of Ij
Brania Sondmurre: damosel of Normarch
Bridge of Boats: pontoon bridge in Ij, joining Minstrels’ Island to Landward
Butterworth: village in southern Aralorn
Caer Argent: capital of Emer
Carick Maister: graduate of university in Ar, a city of the River lands, newly appointed as cartographer to Duke of Emer
Caril Sondargent: Duke of Emer
Castellan: ruler of an Emerian march
Cataclysm: period of extreme natural disaster, followed by war, that brought down the Old Empire; believed to have occurred as a result of the Derai’s arrival on Haarth
Cave of Sleepers: cavern of sleeping warriors, deep within the Gate of Dreams
Chaos Worm: according to legend, the deadliest foe ever sent by the Swarm against the Derai
Child of Night: see Malian
Chosen of Mhaelanar: prophesied hero who will unite the Derai for the final victory, born of both the House of Stars and the House of Night
Cloud Hold: satellite fort of the Keep of Winds
Col: master archer at Normarch
College: Ijiri College of Minstrels, one of the Three of Ij
Commander of Night: overall military commander of the Keep of Winds and the House of Night
Company of Engineers: corps based in Ar, on the River, that maintains the great Main Road
Conclave: yearly meeting of the rulers of Ij
Conservatory: main performance hall of the College of Minstrels, in Ij
Coreil: noble family of Ij
Count Ambard: leader of Ambardi family of Ij
/>
Crosshills: Emerian village, in the Northern March
Cynithia Ambard: Mykon Ambard’s mother, Prince Ilvaine’s niece
Dame Nelys: chaperone of the Girls’ Dorter, at Normarch
damosel: young Emerian woman of knightly or noble birth
Dancer in Shadows: one of the three gods of Ij, patron of assassins; see also Kan, Karn, Ka
Darin: guard in the service of Normarch
darkspawn: term for minions of the Swarm of Dark
Darkswarm: another name for Swarm of Dark
Darksworn: vanguard of the Swarm of Dark
Daughter of Blood: title given to a daughter of the Earl of Blood
Defender: see Mhaelanar
demonhunters: servants of Ishnapuri magi who track and kill demons
Denuli: merchant clan of Ij
Derai Alliance: formal alliance of the nine Houses of the Derai
Derai: warlike race, alien to Haarth, comprising nine Houses and worshipping nine Gods. They arrived on Haarth fifteen hundred years before and brought with them their traditional enemy, the Swarm of Dark. The Derai, fighting an eons old war to stop the Swarm obliterating the universe, are divided into three societies or castes: warrior, priest, and a third caste that comprises both warrior and priestly talents but is focused on some other skill
desmesne: Emerian term for the holding of land, whether large or small, associated with a particular castle
Doria: Malian’s nurse, killed in a surprise attack on the Keep of Winds, five years before
dorter: Emerian term for a hall or dormitory for either young men or women of the knightly and noble classes
drinker of blood: see Kan
Ducal Guard: the elite guard of the Duke’s of Emer
Duke of Emer: ruler of Emer; see also Caril Sondargent
Dunmuir Slough: extensive wetland in the Emerian Hills
Eanar: honor guard, serving the House of Night
Earl of Night: hereditary ruler of the House of Night
Earl of Swords: hereditary ruler of the House of Swords
eave owl: small owl, native to the River, found in both city and countryside
Eight: ward, protective against magic
Elite: title for commanders in Ar’s Shadow Band
Elite Cairon: a leader of the Shadow Band
Emaln: city of the River; feuding with Sirith
Emalni: citizens of Emaln
Emer: a land of Haarth, located south of the River
Emeriath: figure from Derai legend, who appears in the songs and stories concerning Kerem the Dark Handed
empathy bond: also spirit bond: an empathic/psychic link between two Derai that can be either one or two-way; usually occurs between two who are either blood kin, lovers, or very close friends
Emuun: Swarm agent
Enna: damosel of Normarch
Ephors: elected rulers of the River city of Terebanth
Erennis: prince of Ar, one of the major cities on the River
Eria: initiate priestess, serving in the Temple of Night
Erron: horsemaster at Normarch
facestealer: minion of the Swarm
Fair Maid of Emer: Ghiselaine, Countess of Ormond
Falath: one of Rowan Birchmoon’s hounds
Fall of Night: feared twilight of the Derai and then all worlds, should the House of Night ever fall
Farelle: city of the River
farsight: power of farseeing, ability to see events across physical distance and time
Festival of Masks: spring festival of Ij
First: captain of a Jhainarain Seven
First Kin: first degree of kinship to the direct line of the Blood of any of the nine Houses of the Derai; common meaning is “cousin”
First Night: vigil, sacred to women, held on the first night of the Midsummer festival dedicated to the goddess Imuln
Forsaken: Jhainarian epithet for the renegade queen Zhehaamor and her Seven
Garan: honor guard, serving House of Night
Gate of Dreams: a place between worlds and times that can be reached through dreams or via mind- or spirit-walking
Gate of Winds: main entrance into the Keep of Winds, and a fortress in its own right
Ghiselaine: Countess of Ormond, a region of Emer
Gille: Emerian knight in training
Girls’ Dorter: hall that houses the Normarch damosels
Girvase: Emerian knight in training
Gol: warrior of the House of Swords
Golden Fire: a power and strength of the Derai that once burned in the nine keeps, until the Great Betrayal
Grayharbor: northenmost settlement between the River and the Wall of Night
Gray Lands: desolate plains that adjoin Wall of Night
Great Betrayal: refers to the Derai civil war and its intended end when the peace feast turned into a night of slaughter between House and House, warrior and priest, kin and kin
Guild House: place where heralds reside, found in every River city
Guild of Heralds: society of messengers, said to have special powers, based in the River lands; see also heralds
Guyon: Emerian knight in training
Haarth: the world in which this story is set
Haimyr the Golden: minstrel of Ij, great-nephew to Prince Ilvaine; friend and retainer to the Earl of Night
Hamar Sondsangre: Emerian knight in training
Hawk: Emerian Hill chieftain
Heir of Night: designated successor of the Earl of the House of Night; see also Malian
helm of concealment: River phrase for the helmets used by the Patrol
heralds: messengers trained by and bound to the Guild of Heralds, based on the River; see also Guild of Heralds
Heris: itinerant scribe
Herun: tracker at Normarch
High Hall: main hall of a Derai fortress
High Steward: head steward, oversees most of the civilian affairs of a Derai keep; see also Nhairin
High Tor: landmark in the Emerian hills
Highvert: seat of the Lord Warden of Emer’s Vertward
Hillholt: clan territory of Emerian Hill people
Hills: hill country lying partly in Emer, partly in Aralorn
Hirluin Sondargent: Duke of Emer’s heir
Hirn: Emerian Hill chieftain
hold: satellite fort of the main Derai strongholds on the Wall
Honor Captain: captain of a Derai Honor Guard; see also Asantir
Honor Guard: an elite guard specially sworn to protect the lives of Derai leaders, mainly the Earls of the Nine Houses
House of Adamant: priestly House of the Derai Alliance
House of Blood: warrior House of the Derai Alliance
House of Morning: priestly House of the Derai Alliance
House of Night: warrior House of the Derai Alliance; claims to be the “first and oldest” of all the Nine Houses
House of Peace: priestly House of the Derai Alliance
House of Swords: warrior House of the Derai Alliance
Houses: name given by the Derai to the nine separate clans or peoples who comprise the Derai Alliance; see also Nine Houses
Hunt of Mayanne: a power that dwells beyond the Gate of Dreams
Hunt, the: see Hunt of Mayanne
Hylcarian: Golden Fire of the Keep of Winds; see Golden Fire
Ij: the Golden, greatest city of the River, built on the delta between the river Ijir and the sea
Ijir: the main river of the lands known as the River
Ijiri: person or thing native to Ij
Ilaise: damosel of Normarch
Ileyra: herald of the Guild house in Ishnapur; sister to Salan
Ilkerineth: a leader of the Darkswarm
Ilvaine: one of the great merchant families of Ij
Imul: southern Aralorn name for Imulun
Imuln: Emerian name for Imulun
Imulun: Mother Goddess, one of the three gods of the River and the lands beyond
Innor: honor guard, servi
ng the House of Night
Ishnapur: fabled city and empire in the south of the known world, which borders the great western deserts of Haarth
Isolt: damosel of Normarch
Isperia Katran: Master of the Academy of Sages; kin to Prince Ilvaine
J’mair: famed poet of Ishnapur, whose work has survived down centuries
Jan: girl in the village of Butterworth, in Aralorn
Jaransor: range of uninhabited hills west of the Gray Lands
Jarna: Emerian knight in training
Jehane Mor: herald of the Guild, from the Guild House of Terebanth, a city on the River
Jhaine: a land of Haarth, located on the route to Ishnapur
Jhainarians: people hailing from Jhaine, also the Shah of Ishnapur’s elite auxiliary troops; see also Seven, a
Jharin: Darkswarm adept, sworn to the sorcerer Nirn
Ka: Aralorn name for Kan
Kalan: friend of Malian’s, born to the House of Blood
Kan: one of the three gods of the River and lands beyond; see also Dancer in Shadow, drinker of blood
Karn: Emerian name for Kan
Katrani: merchant family of Ij; allied to the Ilvaine
Keep of Stone: stronghold of the House of Adamant
Keep of Winds: stronghold of the House of Night
Kelmé: child prince in the history of Ar; the Shadow Band was formed to protect his life
Kerem the Dark Handed: ancient hero of the Derai
Keron: honor guard, serving the House of Night
Khelor: a Darksworn leader
Kiyan: First of Queen Zharaan of Jhaine, who lived in the years following the Cataclysm
Kyr: guard, formerly serving the House of Night
Lady Bonamark: wife of the Lord of Bonamark, in Emer
Lady Sarifa: demonhunter, from Ishnapur
Land Marks: Emerian administrative territories lying between the six inner wards and four outer marches, ruled by the Marklords. The marks are named for heraldic beasts: Allerion, Bonacon (called Bonamark), Chough, Griffon, Lyon, and Wyvern (called Wymark)
Landward: island in the city of Ij, immediately to the north of the river port and joined to Minstrels’ Island by a pontoon bridge; see also Bridge of Boats
Lannorth: lieutenant of the Earl of Night’s Honor Guard