by Ian Irvine
‘Nothing you say can change her fate,’ said Jal-Nish, with a look so hideous that it made Nish’s flesh creep.
‘No. Take me instead.’ He threw out his arms in entreaty, weeping so hard that he could barely see.
‘You?’ said Jal-Nish. ‘But you are my beloved son.’
‘That’s not what you said when you condemned me to death at Snizort.’
‘I was wrong about you, my son. Since then, you have proven yourself. I am well pleased with you, Cryl-Nish, for without you I would not have her.’
‘Then grant me one small favour. Please, Father. Give her life into my custody.’
‘A favour?’ Jal-Nish pretended to consider it. ‘And what will you give me in return?’
‘Anything, Father. Just name it.’
‘Then serve me, Cryl-Nish. I could force you, with the compulsion I laid on you at Gumby Marth, but I’d rather you aided me willingly. Be my son and heir as you have never been. Stand at my right hand and help me tame this unruly world.’
Out of the corner of his eye Nish saw the nose of the air-dreadnought peeping from behind the trees. Flydd and Yggur must have armed themselves. If they’d found enough power to overcome his greatly weakened father, it might be all right after all.
Nish felt a glimmer of hope. ‘Yes, Father. I will serve you.’
‘Splendid. And in return, I give her life into your custody.’
‘Thank you,’ said Nish, surprised that it had been so easy. ‘What would you have me do with Irisis?’
‘Guard,’ said Jal-Nish, inclining his head towards Nish.
The guard handed Nish his sword.
‘I don’t understand,’ said Nish, clenching the hilt so tightly that his arm shook.
‘Take her head from her shoulders, Nish, if you truly would serve me.’
‘But …’ Nish looked from Jal-Nish to Irisis, then back to Jal-Nish. ‘You promised to save her life.’
‘I did not; only to give it into your custody. And so I shall, for you to give me what you promised in return. Anything I want, I believe you said. I want her head.’
‘And if I do not?’
‘The guard does it for you. You have rather a dilemma, Cryl-Nish.’
Nish felt as if his eyes were boiling out of his face. Then he snapped and leapt at his father, swinging the sword in a wild arc.
‘You made the wrong decision, Son,’ said Jal-Nish, placing his hand into the left-most tear, and Nish’s blade glanced harmlessly off the renewed shield. Jal-Nish raised his hand and one of the bags of the air-dreadnought burst with a boom. It turned sharply and wobbled across the sky, out of sight.
All hope was lost. Irisis, his beautiful Irisis, was on her knees, her slender neck laid bare. She gazed lovingly up at him and, strangely, Irisis was smiling.
‘I always knew it would come to this,’ she whispered. ‘Farewell, Nish. You’ve been the best friend any woman could hope for.’
This was what Minis had been talking about, long ago in his construct, when he’d foreseen the death of one of Nish’s friends. Nish ran at the guard but he was always going to be too late. The man swung his sword high and, even as Nish wailed, ‘No!’ he brought it down. The blade was keen and it made barely a sound, doing the business.
Too late. It was done. There was nothing anyone could do for Irisis now. Nish fell to his knees and screamed until blood ran from his mouth.
‘Take Cryl-Nish Hlar to the deepest cell in Santhenar and lock him in,’ said Jal-Nish. ‘After you have served your term – ten years, my son – I will make the offer again. Be my right hand and I will set you free. Refuse and you’ll get another ten.’
‘I will never serve you,’ Nish said numbly. ‘Never!’ he roared at the empty sky.
‘We’ll see,’ Jal-Nish said indifferently.
Nish’s rage built up until he felt that his head would explode. He fought it down, forcing himself to become as hard and cold as his father, for that was the only way he could survive. And then he saw a way – the only way to bring something good out of this most evil of all days. He ran halfway across the square and threw out his arms to the silent gathering.
‘The greatest hero of the war has sacrificed herself that I should live. Without Irisis Stirm, none of us would be here today.’ Nish could feel his tears welling and fought them all the way. No time for mourning now. He must get it out before the guards took him. ‘Irisis is the one person who never compromised, no matter who she faced. There has to be a purpose behind her sacrifice, and I will make it my own. I will survive whatever this monster does to me. I will endure, and you must endure with me, for the coming years are going to be the cruellest in all memory.’
His voice shook, but firmed as the guards came at him. ‘Let the name Irisis become a rallying cry for the resistance. Let the resistance grow until not even the tears can stand against it. And on that day we will tear down this evil tyrant –’
‘Knock him down!’ snarled Jal-Nish, and one of the guards clubbed Nish to the ground.
‘Take him to the cells. Let him begin his ten years without delay.’
Two soldiers dragged Nish off.
‘When he comes out, he’ll only have one ambition left – to serve.’ Turning to the shocked and silent crowd, Jal-Nish said softly to the soldiers, ‘The world will be mine, and there is nothing anyone can do to prevent it. Prepare for the aftermath.’
THE END
OF THE WELL OF ECHOES
Nish’s tale continues in
THE SONG OF THE TEARS
GLOSSARY
NAMES (MAIN CHARACTERS IN ITALICS)
Aachim: The human species native to Aachan, once conquered and enslaved by a small force of invading Charon (the Hundred). The Aachim are great artisans and engineers, but melancholy or prone to hubris and arrogance. In ancient times, many were brought to Santhenar by Rulke in the fruitless hunt for the Golden Flute. The Aachim flourished on Santhenar but were later betrayed by Rulke and ruined in the Clysm. They then withdrew from the world to their hidden mountain cities. The ones remaining on Aachan gained their freedom after the Forbidding was broken, when the surviving Charon went back to the void. Two hundred years later, volcanic activity on Aachan had become so violent that it threatened to destroy all life on the planet. The Aachim sought for a way of escape and one of them, Minis, managed to contact Tiaan on Santhenar, because of her amplimet. The Aachim showed her how to open a gate between Aachan and Santhenar. She thought she was saving her beloved, Minis, and a small number of Aachim, but when they came through, they were a hundred and fifty thousand, a host ready for war, in eleven thousand mighty constructs.
Chissmoul: An instinctive thapter pilot, shy but known for her reckless verve at the controller of her machine.
Cryl-Nish Hlar: A former scribe, prober in secret and reluctant artificer, generally known as Nish. Nish has grown greatly since the tale began and is now the trusted confidant of Xervish Flydd.
Daesmie: A farspeaker operator.
Eiryn Muss: Halfwit; an air-moss grower and harmless pervert, he turned out to be the scrutator’s prober (spy) in the manufactory. He vanished, subsequently turned up when Flydd went to the west, but was sent out from Fiz Gorgo on a spying mission and did not return.
Elienor (Clan): Elienor was a great Aachim heroine of ancient times, who almost defeated Rulke when the Hundred invaded Aachan. She was the founder of Clan Elienor, the least of the Aachim clans, who, since coming to Aachan with Vithis, have been ostracised for allowing Tiaan to escape with a construct.
Faellem: A long-lived human species who have passed out of the Histories, though some may still dwell in isolated parts of Santhenar.
Flangers: A soldier and hero in past battles against the lyrinx, he is stricken by guilt for his part in shooting down a Council thapter, and desperate to atone.
Fusshte: A treacherous member of the Council of Scrutators, second to Ghorr.
Fyn-Mah: Former querist (chief of the municipal intelligence bureau) at Tiksi an
d a loyal supporter of Xervish Flydd, she nurtures a secret passion for him.
Ghorr: Chief Scrutator of the Council of Scrutators, and Flydd’s enemy.
Gilhaelith: An eccentric, amoral geomancer and mathemancer who dwelt at Nyriandiol. Because of his dismal early years he is obsessed with controlling everyone and everything in his life. When unable to do this the stress causes him to have panic attacks. His overriding goal is to understand the nature of the physical world, so as to control it too. He was captured by the lyrinx so he could aid their excavations in the tar pits at Snizort, and subsequently taken to their underground city of Oellyll, beneath Alcifer, from which he has since been rescued (against his will by Tiaan) and taken to Fiz Gorgo. There Yggur, mistrusting him, cast him into prison and Gilhaelith’s geomantic attempts to escape led the scrutators to Fiz Gorgo.
Gyrull: Matriarch of the lyrinx city at Snizort. A powerful, farsighted mancer, profoundly intelligent.
Haani: Tiaan’s adopted sister, accidentally killed by the Aachim in Tirthrax.
Halie: A scrutator on the Council and a former supporter of Flydd.
Inouye: The pilot of Jal-Nish’s air-floater, stolen by Fyn-Mah and now used by Flydd. Inouye is a sad little creature, terrified that her children and her man have been executed because she was forced to ally with Flydd.
Inthis: Vithis’s clan of Aachim, since time immemorial first of the eleven clans (First Clan). All Clan Inthis, apart from Vithis and Minis, were lost when the portal between Aachan and Tirthrax was opened, to Vithis’s unending grief.
Irisis Stirm: Crafter, originally in charge of the controller artisans at the manufactory; niece of Barkus; one-time lover of Xervish Flydd, now a friend and comrade-in-arms.
Jal-Nish Hlar: Acting Scrutator; Nish’s father. He suffered massive injuries from a lyrinx attack and begged to be allowed to die, but Nish and Irisis saved his life. Now, hideously maimed, he has a bitter loathing for them both, and an unquenchable desire to be the greatest scrutator of all. He stole the tears formed by the destruction of the Snizort node but was subsequently eaten by the lyrinx at the battle of Gumby Marth.
Joeyn (Joe): An old miner, Tiaan’s friend, who died in a roof fall.
Kattiloe: A young thapter pilot.
Kimli: A young thapter pilot
Klarm: Scrutator for Borgistry. A handsome and cheerful man, despite his dwarfish stature.
Liett: Gyrull’s daughter, and a lyrinx with unarmoured skin and no chameleon ability; a talented flesh-former and brilliant flier who yearns to lead her people, even though she is regarded as incomplete. She has a turbulent relationship with Ryll.
Liliwen: Daughter of Troist and Yara, twin of Meriwen.
Luxor: A conciliatory Aachim clan leader.
Lyrinx: Massive winged humanoids who escaped from the void to Santhenar after the Forbidding was broken. Highly intelligent, many of them are able to use the Secret Art, most commonly for keeping their heavy bodies in flight. They have armoured skin and a chameleon-like ability to change their colours and patterns, often used for communication (skin-speech). Some lyrinx are also flesh-formers; they can change small organisms into desired forms using the Art. In the void they used a similar ability to pattern their unborn young so as to survive in that harsh environment. As a consequence, they are not entirely comfortable in their powerful but much changed bodies. The lyrinx were forced to abandon their culture and heritage in the void. Their lives are entirely martial, and now some of them are beginning to regret their loss and wonder what to do about it once they’ve won the war.
Malien: A venerable but ostracised Aachim living in Tirthrax. A heroine from the time of the Mirror (also known as the Matah). She helped Tiaan make the thapter, or flying construct, subsequently took her to Stassor and then on to Fiz Gorgo.
Meriwen: Daughter of Troist and Yara, twin of Liliwen.
Merryl: A slave who taught human languages to the lyrinx in Snizort; also known as Tutor. He was kind to Tiaan.
Minis: A young Aachim man of high status; foster-son of Vithis; Tiaan’s dream lover who was forced to spurn her when the Aachim came through the gate to Tirthrax. He feels guilty about his treatment of her, yearns for her, but is totally in thrall to Vithis. Minis is so weak and vacillating that he couldn’t even choose to save Tiaan from Vithis. He was maimed during her escape in a construct.
Mira: Yara’s sister who dwells at Morgadis, embittered after the loss of her husband and her three sons in the war. She communicates with a coalition of like-minded people by skeet. Nish fled her home in fear for his life after a liaison which ended with an unfortunate misunderstanding.
M’lainte: Flydd’s mechanician, the genius who built the first air-floater.
Myllii: Ullii’s long-lost twin brother for whom she had been searching all her life. He was accidentally slain by Nish.
Nish: Cryl-Nish’s nickname.
Numinator, the: A mysterious figure mentioned by Flydd when in his cups, said to secretly control the Council of Scrutators.
Nylatl: A malicious creature created by Ryll and Liett’s flesh-forming. It killed Haani’s aunts and attacked Tiaan. Nish destroyed it after it attacked him and Ullii near Tirthrax.
Orgestre: General Orgestre is Grand Commander of the Army of Greater Borgistry.
Rulke: The greatest of all the Charon, he created the first construct. He was killed at the time the Forbidding was broken.
Ryll: An ostracised wingless lyrinx who captured Tiaan and subsequently used her in flesh-forming. He was an honourable lyrinx and after Tiaan saved his life he allowed her to escape from Kalissin. He later captured her again when she came to Snizort looking for Gilhaelith, and used her in the patterners. After the destruction of Snizort, Ryll went to Oellyll, where he was put to work to create a flisnadr, or power patterner.
Seeker: Ullii. Also, one who can sense the use of the Secret Art or people who have that talent, or even enchanted objects.
Tiaan Liise-Mar: A young artisan; a visual thinker and talented controller-maker. With the amplimet, she picked up Minis’s cry for help, fell in love with him and carried the amplimet all the way to Tirthrax, where she used it in opening a gate to Aachan, to save Minis and his people. She subsequently helped Malien make a thapter in Tirthrax, departed in it, attacked the Aachim camp and later crashed near Nyriandiol when the amplimet refused to do what she wanted. Her back was broken in the crash. She was taken back to Nyriandiol by Gilhaelith, who began to teach her geomancy. When he was kidnapped by Gyrull and taken to Snizort, she followed in the thapter but was captured and put to use in the patterners, to pattern torgnadrs or node-drainers. This was only partly successful, because of her broken back, so the lyrinx flesh-formed it to repair her spine. After Snizort was abandoned, Merryl helped Tiaan to escape the patterners. She was subsequently captured by the Aachim, escaped back to Tirthrax, and travelled with Malien to Fiz Gorgo, ‘rescuing’ Gilhaelith on the way.
Tirior: A manipulative Aachim clan leader.
Troist: An ambitious junior officer in the army destroyed by the lyrinx at Nilkerrand. He formed a smaller army out of the survivors. Troist became a general much loved by his troops. Nish rescued his daughters Liliwen and Meriwen from ruffians, and again when they were lost in an underground labyrinth.
Ullii: A hypersensitive seeker, used by Scrutator Flydd to track Tiaan and the amplimet. She accompanied Nish to Tirthrax in the balloon and found Tiaan, but Malien intervened. Her talent failed her for a while, but subsequently she was used by Jal-Nish at the manufactory, before being rescued by Flydd and taken to Nennifer, then west to help in the war at Snizort. She escaped from Snizort with Flydd and Nish, where they discovered that she had become pregnant to Nish in the balloon. Ullii had just found her long-lost brother, Myllii, whom the scrutators had used to find her, when he was accidentally killed by Nish. Ullii lost her baby and, consumed by a lust for revenge on Nish, was captured by Ghorr and used to hunt down Flydd and his allies, which she eventually did.
Vithis: Minis’s
foster-father; an Aachim from Aachan and the head of Inthis First Clan, who led the Aachim to Santhenar. When all First Clan (except Minis) were lost in the gate, he became angry and bitter. He forced Minis to repudiate Tiaan. He subsequently led the Aachim across Santhenar but did not hold to his original purpose, to seize land, instead pursuing Tiaan and her thapter across the continent of Lauralin. After Minis was maimed, Vithis retreated to the Foshorn, seized land there and closed the borders.
Xervish Flydd: The scrutator (spymaster and master inquisitor) for Einunar. He was commander-in-chief of all the scrutators’ forces at Snizort, charged with defeating the lyrinx army there. Secretly, he was also required to sneak into Snizort and destroy the lyrinx’s node-drainer. He, Irisis and Ullii succeeded but the device he’d been given was faulty, destroying both node-drainer and node in a catastrophic explosion. The field vanished, of course, rendering both the army’s clankers and the Aachim’s constructs useless, and the soldiers defenceless against the attacking lyrinx. Flydd was blamed for the subsequent defeat, stripped of his position and condemned to die as a slave hauling constructs out of the mire. He escaped with Nish and after many adventures eventually ended up at Fiz Gorgo. He is determined to overthrow the corrupt scrutators, knowing that they can never win the war.
Yara: A brilliant advocate, wife to Troist.
Yggur: A great long-lived mancer of ancient times, subsequently found to be still living at Fiz Gorgo. After Flydd’s company seeks refuge there, he comes to aid them in their quest to overthrow the scrutators, though he and Flydd will ever be rivals.
MAJOR ARTEFACTS, FORCES AND POWERFUL NATURAL PLACES
Alcifer: The long-abandoned city of Rulke the Charon, in Meldorin. The entire city was believed to have been a magical construct and it still has an aura of barely leashed power.
Amplimet: A rare hedron which, even in its natural state, can draw power from the force (the field) surrounding and permeating a node. Occasionally can be very powerful. Inexplicably, Tiaan’s amplimet shows signs of a crystal instinct or purpose, for in Tirthrax it communicated with the node and woke the trapped Well of Echoes. It also communicated with nodes elsewhere, denied Tiaan control when she wanted to take the thapter to places it did not want to go, and drew threads of force throughout Snizort, including to the node and to Gilhaelith.