The Long War 02 - The Dark Blood
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Lorkesh – guardsman
Lux – watch sergeant of Ro Tiris
Lyssa – child in the Brown chapel
Mirabel of Arnon – brothel owner in Ro Arnon
Mott – a bandit
Parag of Weir – a mercenary of Hallam Pevain
Randall of Darkwald – squire to, in succession, Sir Leon Great Claw, Brother Torian of Arnon, and Brother Utha the Ghost
Robin of Tiris – watchman of Ro Tiris
Rodgar – child in the Brown chapel
Tobin of Cozz – blacksmith and fixer
THE PEOPLE OF ROWANOCO
The Ranen of Fjorlan
The high lords of Fjorlan have, since the first, sought to keep their names alive through their children. Those of minor houses are afforded no such honour and many deliberately strike their father’s name due to dishonourable actions.
The house of Teardrop – named for Alguin Teardrop, the first high thain of Fjorlan.
Ragnar Teardrop Larsson – father to Magnus Forkbeard Ragnarsson and Algenon Teardrop Ragnarsson – deceased
Magnus Forkbeard Ragnarsson – younger brother to Algenon Teardrop Ragnarsson, priest of the Order of the Hammer, friend to Lord Bromvy – deceased
Algenon Teardrop Ragnarsson – high thain of Ranen, elder brother to Magnus Forkbeard Ragnarsson – deceased
Ingrid Teardrop Algedottir – daughter to Algenon Teardrop Ragnarsson
Alahan Teardrop Algesson – son to Algenon Teardrop Ragnarsson, heir to the hall of Fredericksand
Oleff Hard Head – chain-master of Fredericksand
Wulfrick the Enraged – axe-master of Fredericksand
Thorfin Axe Hailer – lore-master of Fredericksand
Samson the Liar – old-blood of the Ice Giants
The house of Summer Wolf – an ancient and respected house, named for Kalall Summer Wolf
Aleph Summer Wolf Kallsson – thain of Tiergarten – deceased
Halla Summer Wolf Alephsdottir – daughter to Aleph Summer Wolf, axe-maiden
Borrin Iron Beard – axe-master of Tiergarten – deceased
Tricken Ice Fang – chain-master of Tiergarten
Earem Spider Killer – warrior of Tiergarten
Rhuna Grim – cloud-mistress of Tiergarten
Father Brindon Crowe – priest of the Order of the Hammer
Heinrich Blood – novice of the Order of the Hammer
The house of Hammerfall – home of the cloud-men and the Wolf Wood
Grammah Black Eyes – new thain of Hammerfall
Rexel Falling Cloud – axe-master, survivor of the dragon fleet
Moniac Dawn Cloud – axe-master
Anya Coldbane (Lullaby) – wise woman of Rowanoco
The berserkers of Varorg
Timon the Butcher – berserker of Varorg
Rorg the Defiler – berserker chieftain
The house of Ursa – a new house with no honourable lineage, they name as they see fit
Rulag Ursa Bear Tamer – the Betrayer, sits in the high thain’s hall. Previously thain of Jarvik, father to Kalag Ursa
Kalag Ursa Rulagsson – lordling of Jarvik
Jalek Blood – axe-master of Jarvik
Father Oryk Grey Claw – priest of the Order of the Hammer
The Ranen of The South Lands
The Free Companies are common folk who earn their names of honour and have never sought nobility or family names.
Wraith Company – protectors of the Grass Sea
Horrock Green Blade – captain of Wraith Company, commander of Ro Hail
Haffen Red Face – axe-master of Ro Hail
Freya Cold Eyes – wise-woman of Ro Hail
Micah Stone Dog – young axe-man of Ro Hail
Darron Moon Eye – priest – deceased
Scarlet Company – protectors of South Warden
Johan Long Shadow – captain of the Scarlet Company
Mathias Flame Tooth – axe-master of South Warden
Dragneel Dark Crest – priest of Brytag the World Raven
THE PEOPLE OF KARESIA
The Seven Sisters – enchantresses, formerly of Jaa, now of Shub-Nillurath
Saara the Mistress of Pain – leader of the Seven Sisters, bears no mark
Ameira the Lady of Spiders – marked with the sign of a spider’s web – deceased
Katja the Hand of Despair – marked with the sign of a howling wolf
Sasha the Illusionist – marked with the sign of a flowering rose
Lillian the Lady of Death – marked with the sign of a hand
Shilpa the Shadow of Lies – marked with the sign of birds in flight
Isabel the Seductress – marked with the sign of a coiled snake
The wind claws – men who give their life to Jaa
Dalian Thief Taker – greatest of the wind claws
Larix the Traveller – deceased
Kal Varaz – servant of the Seven Sisters
Kamran Kainen – servant of the Seven Sisters
The hounds – criminals serving as the Karesian army
Izra Sabal – whip-mistress of the hounds
Turve Ramhe – whip-master of the hounds
Common folk
Al-Hasim, prince of the wastes – exile and thief, friend to the house of Canarn
Emaniz Kabrizzi – book-dealer of Ro Weir
Jenner of Rikara – Karesian smuggler, brother to Kohli
Kasimir Roux – adjutant to whip-mistress Izra Sabal
Kohli of Rikara – Karesian smuggler, brother to Jenner
Voon of Rikara – exemplar of Jaa, missing somewhere in Karesia
THE GODLESS
Kirin – a mongrel race, neither Ro nor Karesian
Rham Jas Rami – assassin, dark-blood and friend to Bromvy Black Guard of Canarn
Zeldantor – son to Rham Jas Rami, slave to Saara the Mistress of Pain – deceased
Keisha of Oslan – dark-blood and daughter to Rham Jas Rami
The Dokkalfar – an ancient race of non-human forest-dwellers
Tyr Dyus the Daylight Sky – warrior and Fell Walker
Tyr Nanon the Shape Taker – warrior of the Heart and soldier of the Long War
Tyr Rafn – warrior of the Heart – deceased
Tyr Sigurd – warrior of the Heart
Tyr Vasir – warrior of the Drow Deeps
Vithar Joror – shaman of the Heart
Vithar Jofn – shaman of the Heart
Vithar Loth the Tree Father – shaman and Fell Walker
Vithar Xaris – shaman of Narland
Mysterious others
Ryuthula – Gorlan mother
Torian’s shade – apparition and servant of the One God
Magnus’s shade – apparition and servant of Rowanoco
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Is the second book cursed? Is it the ‘difficult second book’? Do writers struggle to replicate the good points of their debut? If I’ve managed to avoid these things, I have the following people to thank: Simon Hall, Kathleen Kitsell, Marcus Holland, Benjamin Hesford, Scott Illniki, Carrie Hall, Martin Cubberley, Tony Carew, Karl Wustrau, Mark Allen, Paolo Trepiccione, Terry and Cathy Smith, Becci Sharpe, Mathilda Imlah, Diane Banks.
ABOUT THIS BOOK
In the court of every city in the lands of Ro, an enchantress sits.
And in the minds of that city, each enchantress weaves a song. She sings of the liberation of the land; the taming of the highland tribes; the birth of a precious new race; the world united under a single creed.
Yet none sing of the murder of the young Prince Christophe; of the rebellion of Canarn; of blighted gods stirring from their endless slumber; nor the lonely quest of a father to avenge the children that were stolen from him.
But every song, as every life, must come to an end…
ALL THAT WAS DEAD WILL RISE.
ALL THAT NOW LIVES WILL FALL…
REVIEWS
‘Sieges, catapults, battles, longswords, beheadings a-plenty, profanity
and bloody mayhem. Brilliant.’
SFFWorld
‘Interesting, enticing, thrusts you towards the next instalment.’
SFX
‘Martin meets Lovecraft.’
SCiFiNow
ABOUT THIS SERIES
THE CHRONICLES OF THE LONG WAR
In the long ages of deep time, uncountable millennia before the rise of men, there lived a race of Giants.
Continents shifted and mountains rose and fell as the Giants fought the Long War for the right to possess the lands of their birth. The greatest Giants, mortal beings of huge size and power, lived long enough, fought hard enough and gained enough wisdom to become gods.
Rowanoco, the Ice Giant, claimed the cold northern lands and was worshipped by the men of Ranen. Jaa, the Fire Giant, ruled the burning desert sands to the south and chose the men of Karesia as his followers. The Stone Giant, known only as the One, held dominion over the lush plains and towering mountains of Tor Funweir, and his followers, the men of Ro, believed they had the right to rule all the lands of men. Other Giants there were also, though their names and their followers are thought lost, and their empires buried, as victims of the Long War.
The Giants have long since left these lands to the humans, but their followers still worship them, invoke their names daily and aggressively maintain their laws. The Giants themselves sit beyond the perception of humans in their halls beyond the world while their most trusted followers fight the Long War in their stead.
I. THE BLACK GUARD
The city of Ro Canarn burns. By royal decree, its noble line is named Black Guard, and struck from past and future histories throughout the lands of Ro.
For the Red Army is on the march. Those who oppose its advance risk the bloody fate of house Canarn, and strange accidents befall those who dare question the King’s new advisors – the Seven Sisters. And called from the long ages of deep time, the children of a dead god are waking with a pitiless cry—
ALL THAT WAS DEAD WILL RISE
ALL THAT NOW LIVES WILL FALL...
The Black Guard is available here.
II. THE DARK BLOOD
In the court of every city in the lands of Ro, an enchantress sits.
And in the minds of that city, each enchantress weaves a song. She sings of the liberation of the land; the taming of the highland tribes; the birth of a precious new race; the world united under a single creed.
Yet none sing of the murder of the young Prince Christophe; of the rebellion of Canarn; of blighted gods stirring from their endless slumber; nor the lonely quest of a father to avenge the children that were stolen from him.
But every song, as every life, must come to an end…
ALL THAT WAS DEAD WILL RISE.
ALL THAT NOW LIVES WILL FALL...
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A. J. SMITH has been devising the worlds, histories and characters of the Long War chronicles for more than a decade. He was born in Birmingham and works in secondary education. @Smith23AJ
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The story starts here.
First published in the UK in 2014 by Head of Zeus Ltd.
Copyright © A. J. Smith, 2014
The moral right of A. J. Smith to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (eBook) 9781781852293
ISBN (HB) 9781781852262
ISBN (XTPB) 9781781852279
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