The Lair of Bones

by David Farland

  It was a fine night, surprisingly mild. Starlight and a rising moon dressed the hills in silver. To Averan's senses, everything was a wonder. It was well past the first of the month of Leaves, and the trees had all begun to turn to their autumn colors. To the north, the hills rolled away, each hump riding the back of the last, until the fair fields of Mystarria glistened in the distance. Off to the east, the Alcair Mountains rose up as sharp as blades, with snow glistening at their peaks. Everywhere, crickets sang among the fields, and Averan peered up at the stars, which seemed to loom just out of reach up in the heavens. None of them were falling.

  Averan felt as if a huge burden had lifted from her chest. She sat astride a gray mare, holding her black staff.

  “Tell all the people,” Averan said, “that the reavers will trouble them no more. The hosts of the Underworld shall never come against them again.”

  “Are you sure that you want to go back?” Borenson asked. “There will always be a place for you at the manor, if you wish.”

  Averan shook her head. “Don't worry for me. You're going to your home. I'm going to mine. There is much work to be done still, and I must remain vigilant.”

  Borenson nodded, unable to even guess what burdens the child would have to endure. The reavers needed an Earth Warden to protect them. Even he had to know what that meant. Dark times lay ahead.

  “Still,” Borenson said, “if ever you find yourself yearning for sunlight on your face, or a fair bed, or another person to talk to… “

  “I'll know where to find you,” Averan finished for him.

  Averan climbed down from her horse, and gave Borenson a hug. He squeezed her tightly, and wished never to let her go. Averan still felt small in his embrace.

  Averan hugged him close one last time, and Borenson saw tears glisten in the young woman's eyes.

  At least there is still a small part of her that is human, Borenson thought, and he rejoiced in that.

  Averan said good-bye to Gaborn and Binnesman, and of that tearful meeting, little can be said. She had found in Binnesman a father that she had never known, and now she would lose him again.

  Then Averan stood in the mouth of the cave for a moment, just breathing the fresh air. A small breeze suddenly stirred the trees, and went hissing through the grasses, and Averan looked as if she took that as a sign to depart. Placing Iome's old crown upon her brow to light the way, she turned and strode back into the Underworld.

  GLOSSARY

  Blood metal: an extremely rare metal used for creating forcibles, the magical branding irons that are needed so that attributes can be transferred from one person to another. Blood metal is dull red in color, extremely soft, and melts at low temperatures.

  Bright Ones: a race of beings in the netherworld, they are manlike, but better than men in every way—wiser, stronger, smarter, swifter. Those who have seen the Bright Ones describe them as “perfect” men. Wizards claim that mankind descended from them.

  Darkling Glory: a creature of the netherworld, the Darkling Glory is a vile creature with vast wings, somewhat human in appearance, with dark skin and feathers. The Darkling Glory consumes light, and seems to have power over the wind.

  Days: a Days is a historian who will typically follow a lord or lady about in an effort to chronicle the history of mankind. Each Days gives up his or her name upon joining the order, and simply is called Days for the rest of his life.

  As a group, the Days claim to be in service of the Time Lords, a race of beings that most folk consider to be mythical. Though the Days have sworn never to interfere in the affairs of mankind, their influence is great, for every lord knows that upon his death, the Days will publish a history of his doings, and thus he will not want to be seen in an evil light. Furthermore, there are rumors that in the past, some Days have broken their vows and supplied information to their lords about goings-on abroad.

  Upon joining the sect, each Days grants an endowment of wit to another, who then grants the same endowment in return. Thus, the Days become twins that share one mind. For most people, this arrangement would lead to madness. But the Days are so committed to their cause that they endure this arrangement gladly.

  One of “twinned” Days thus spends his time observing what happens in the world, while the other chronicles what they have observed.

  Since the chroniclers all live upon the same isle, it is possible for the Days collectively to keep track of all that is happening in the world and to share information almost instantly.

  Dedicate: a person who has granted an attribute to his lord. A Dedicate who has granted brawn will be weak. One who has granted wit will be an imbecile. One who has granted stamina will be sickly. Thus, Dedicates are always handicapped in some way, but hold an exalted place in society. They are usually pampered and protected by their lord.

  Dedicates' Keep: a special fortress or part of a fortress where a Runelord houses his most valuable assets, his Dedicates.

  duskins: a race of small creatures, somewhat manlike, that long ago inhabited the Underworld. They were craftsmen of consummate skill and magicians of renown. The reavers killed the last of the duskins thousands of years before Gaborn Val Orden.

  Earth King: a king who has been granted the greatest of all protective powers, the Power of Choosing, so that he may “save a seed of mankind” through the direst of calamities. With this power, the king may see into the hearts of men and Choose those that he wants to save. Once a person is Chosen, the Earth King not only recognizes when the person is in danger but will also be able to send a warning, which bursts into the Chosen's mind, telling them how to avoid danger. There have only been two Earth Kings in recorded history, Gaborn Val Orden and Erden Geboren, but legends say that long ago there were others whose names are now forgotten.

  Earth Warden: a wizard who is committed to preserving the earth, usually a single species of plant or animal. The Earth Warden is granted protective and healing powers by the Earth in return for his or her service. Note that an Earth Warden may be either a human or an animal.

  endowment: a gift of an attribute, usually given to a lord by his vassal.

  An endowment remains in force only so long as both parties remain alive. Thus, if a lord dies, the attribute returns to the giver. If the vassal dies, the lord will lose the attribute. So it becomes incumbent upon the lord to keep his vassals safe and healthy.

  Endowments can be transferred only between communal mammals. Thus, a magician can take an endowment from a dog and grant it to another dog, or to a man. This is sometimes done to create faster horses and camels for use in war, or to transfer unusually powerful endowments, such as scent, from an animal to a human.

  Attributes that can be transferred include:

  sight—the ability to see clearly and in low light.

  hearing—the ability to hear soft sounds and broader frequencies.

  smell—the ability to detect scents.

  brawn—the ability of the muscles to constrict forcefully.

  grace—the ability of the muscles to relax.

  metabolism—increases the speed at which cellular processes take place

  wit—allows the receiver to store memories in the brain of the giver.

  stamina—increases the ability of the receiver to heal him- or herself and sustain trauma.

  Voice—increases the ability to control the tone, pitch, and volume of one's speech. With training, a Runelord can use his gifts of Voice to become overwhelmingly persuasive.

  glamour—reshapes the face and body of the receiver so that he or she becomes more beautiful and seductive. It also robs self-esteem from the giver and transfers it to the receiver.

  will—transfers willpower to the receiver.

  facilitator: a magician who specializes in transferring attributes from one person to another. He does this by use of magical branding irons called forcibles.

  flameweaver: a wizard who serves the Power of Fire.

  force horse, force elephant, force dog: an animal, usually used in w
ar, that has had its natural abilities boosted by receiving endowments.

  force soldier: a warrior who has been granted the right by his lord to receive endowments.

  forcible: a branding iron, made of blood metal, which magically allows attributes to be transferred from one lord to another. The forcible is small, almost wandlike, and can have one of several runes at its tip. The shape of the rune determines which attribute that the forcible will transfer. The forcible is destroyed in the process of transferring endowments.

  frowth giant: One of several types of giant in the known world, the frowth is the largest, standing nearly seventeen feet tall. The frowth is covered with long, silver hair. The frowth is omnivorous, but favors meat. Though unable to communicate with humans well, the frowth sometimes allow themselves to be hired as laborers or mercenaries.

  Glories: a race of benevolent creatures from the netherworld that have some-times made contact with men, and at least once aided them in times of trouble. Those who have beheld Glories describe them as creatures of light that communicate powerfully through thought. Beyond that, words fail.

  Indhopal: a cluster of nations to the west of Rofehavan, most of which have either a desert, temperate, or tropical climate. The people of Indhopal typically have darker skin than those of Rofehavan, though there are many people of fair skin. Note that Indhopal is the most populace region of the world, containing an estimated half of all mankind.

  Inkarra: a large realm south of Rofehavan that covers nearly half of the known world.

  Inkarrans: a subspecies of human that are adapted to a nocturnal lifestyle. These pale men and women typically have white skin, silver or cinnabar-colored hair, and silver eyes. Though they do not look much different from normal humans, the offspring of a normal human and an Inkarran is like a mule, unable to breed.

  Invincible: an elite warrior from Indhopal who has been granted a minimum of fifty endowments.

  loci, locus: a race of creatures that seem to be pure evil. Undying and insubstantial, they will often take control of a man, like a parasite living within its host, in order to spread destruction. Wizards will tell you that they were created when the One True World was shattered, and that “just as our world is a shadow of the One True World, the loci are but a shadow of our great enemy, the Raven.”

  netherworld: sometimes called the One True World, the netherworld is another planet, most probably on another plane of existence. According to legend, the One True World was the first home of mankind, and was bound together in perfection by magic runes, until the Raven, a creature of pure evil and an enemy to mankind, sought to take control. The runes that bound the universe into one were shattered, and a thousand, thousand shadow worlds came into being. Gaborn's world is one of these shadow worlds, and the netherworld is all that is left of the One True World. It is unreachable by normal men, but powerful magicians can sometimes open doorways to the netherworld.

  nomen: a race of fearsome, bipedal giants that came across the seas in times of old, riding in black ships. The nomen's appearance is somewhat like that of a jackal.

  Powers, the: the four primal forces that grant gifts to mankind.

  Earth—grants primarily protective and restorative powers.

  Fire—grants primarily destructive powers and insight.

  Water—grants healing powers and stability.

  Air—grants chaotic powers.

  Raj Ahten: one of the most powerful Wolf Lords of all time. Raj is Indhopalese for “Supreme Ruler”; Ahten is a Taifan surname that means “Lord of the Sun.” Raj Ahten began his career as a rapacious young prince who nevertheless gained the admiration of his people. By secretly raiding caravans that carried forcibles from one nation to another, he secretly amassed tremendous power and soon took over the nation of Kartish, gaining a near stranglehold on the blood-metal market. Using this position of power, in a matter of seven short years he was able to conquer half of the people in the world. In time he became a flameweaver of great power.

  reaver: a type of subterranean carnivore that has long been an adversary to man. The reavers are large, often weighing as much as ten tons, and standing taller than a bull elephant. The reaver walks on four legs, but has a pair of long fore-arms. Their hides are so thick that they almost seem to be exoskeletons. Reavers have no eyes, but instead use philia, eel-like sensory organs on their heads and jaws, to smell and to sense vibrations. Reavers seem to be as intelligent as men, and are capable both of making weapons and casting magic spells.

  Rofehavan: a group of kingdoms in the northeast bound together by a common heritage and language.

  Runelord: any man or woman who has both been granted tracts of land to protect, and the endowments necessary to protect them.

  runelore: the accumulated knowledge of the making of runes (magical symbols). Note that there many types of runes other than those that are molded onto the heads of forcibles. There are Runes of Protection, runes to strengthen metal and stone, runes that give magical properties to implement. Indeed, according to the mages, all runes are but one part of a huge master rune that once bound the universe together.

  Sum of All Men: in myth, the Sum of All Men was Daylan Hammer, a lord who had taken so many endowments that he could not die. According to some, Daylan Hammer still lives.

  Toth: a race of Underworld creatures with obvious similarity to reavers. The toth were hunted to extinction by the legendary King Fallion, whose worldships crossed the sea so that he might hunt them in their lairs. The toth were smaller than reavers, and easier to kill. But they were also powerful magicians, and had domesticated reavers much as a man might domesticate a war dog.

  Underworld: a vast region beiowground that is inhabited by strange animals and plants—animals such as the great worms and the reavers. Caverns that connect the Underworld to the surface are rare, but those who dare enter find a world brimming with tunnels and warrens where strange creatures live.

  vector: a person who channels endowments to a lord. This is a person who has received endowments from others, and then has granted an endowment of the same kind to his lord. Thus, for example, a man who has given brawn to a lord might be called upon to take endowments of brawn from others, so that the endowments can all be funneled together to his lord. This way, a lord who desires great strength, for example, might take a single endowment of brawn from a man and then ride out to war. As he rides, the facilitators can continue transferring endowments now to the Dedicate, so that the lord might receive hundreds or even thousands of endowments in this manner.

  The only problem with this methodology is that if the vector is killed, then the lord loses all of the endowments that the vector channeled at once. Thus, slaying a vector can significantly weaken a lord.

  warrior of unfortunate proportion: a warrior who has taken endowments, but who is not well-balanced. For example, if a warrior takes several endowments of brawn, but none of grace, he will tend to become muscle-bound. If he does not take metabolism, then he will move slowly, and all of the strength in the world won't save him from a much faster opponent.

  wight: the spirit of a dead man or creature.

  wizardborn: a person who is born with magical powers.

  Wolf Lord: originally a Wolf Lord was a person who took endowments from dogs, a practice that somewhat changed the nature of the lord, particularly if he ventured to take endowments of wit from a dog. The wolf lord tended to become more feral, more vicious, and more voracious than common men—a trait much prized in war, but shunned in times of peace. Thus, most Wolf Lords throughout history have not been noblemen but are instead highwaymen and bandits.

  Note, however, that though the practice is shunned, many lords have posed strong moral arguments for the practice throughout time, and many a lord has secretly preferred taking endowments, such as stamina, from a dog, rather than risking the health and safety of a human.

  Figuratively, a Wolf Lord is anyone who forces others to give endowments by blackmail.

 

  David Farland, The Lair of Bones