Outside the office, I owe too many people to possibly thank them enough: My family, the Lafond Clan, for their unceasing encouragement. Wabi, the Ministers of Awesome, the Mooncastlers, Brides of the Lizard God, and all the rest of my friends for never failing to make life larger, more bizarre, and more satisfying than I could ever have imagined on my own. And of course my wife, Margo Arnold, who despite having lived with me through the highs and lows of writing the first novel, didn't even blink when I proposed doing it all again.
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Glossary
All Pathfinder Tales novels are set in the rich and vibrant world of the Pathfinder campaign setting. Below are explanations of several key terms used in this book. For more information on the world of Golarion and the strange monsters, people, and deities that make it their home, see The Inner Sea World Guide, or dive into the game and begin playing your own adventures with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook or the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box, all available at paizo.com. Fans of Salim should check out the previous novel, Death's Heretic, and those interested in learning more about Hell should consult Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Princes of Darkness, Book of the Damned, Vol. 1.
Abaddon: Evil plane devoted to destruction and home to daemons.
Aeons: Mysterious and powerful race of creatures dedicated to preserving balance in the multiverse.
Agathions: Guardian race of the enlightened plane of Nirvana.
Angels: Race of good-natured creatures native to Heaven, Elysium, and Nirvana.
Ankar-Te: District in Kaer Maga where some of the most exotic residents can be found, and where necromancy is legal.
Asmodeus: Devil-god of tyranny, slavery, pride, and contracts. Lord of Hell.
Augurs: Organization of Kaer Magan trolls who read the future in their own entrails in exchange for payment, trusting their regeneration to heal them again.
Axis: A plane of absolute order, entirely urban in nature. Also known as the Eternal City.
Ayngavhauls: Species of devils dedicated to spreading blasphemy and heresy.
Azata: Residents of the lawless but good plane of Elysium.
Bloatmage: A spellcaster who grotesquely overloads her circulatory system in order to gain greater magical power.
Boneyard: Pharasma's realm, where all souls go to be judged after death.
Caulborn: Race of eyeless alien scholars that consume and record thoughts and memories.
Cayden Cailean: God of freedom, ale, wine, and bravery. Was once mortal, but ascended to godhood.
Cheliax: A powerful devil-worshiping nation.
Cleric: A religious spellcaster whose magical powers are granted by his or her god.
Core District: One of the open-air districts in Kaer Maga, surrounding the city's central lake.
Daemons: Evil, nihilistic residents of Abaddon who exist to devour mortal souls.
Deimaviggas: Race of devils devoted to the spread of atheism.
Demons: Evil denizens of the plane of the afterlife called the Abyss, who seek only to maim, ruin, and feed on mortal souls.
Devils: Fiendish occupants of Hell who seek to corrupt mortals in order to claim their souls.
Dwarves: Short, stocky humanoids who excel at physical labor, mining, and craftsmanship.
Elves: Long-lived, beautiful humanoids identifiable by their pointed ears, lithe bodies, and pupils so large their eyes appear to be one color.
Exscinders: Angels dedicated to hunting down dangerously blasphemous texts.
Fiends: Creatures native to the evil planes of the multiverse, such as demons, devils, and daemons, among others.
Freemen: Kaer Magan abolitionist organization, formed primarily from escaped and freed slaves.
Garund: Continent south of the Inner Sea, renowned for its deserts and jungles.
Gnomes: Small humanoids with strange mind-sets, originally from the fey realm of the First World.
Golarion: The planet on which the Pathfinder campaign setting focuses.
Great Beyond: The planes of the afterlife.
Half-Elves: The children of unions between elves and humans. Taller, longer-lived, and generally more graceful and attractive than the average human, yet not nearly so much so as their full elven kin. Often regarded as having the best qualities of both races, yet still discriminated against.
Half-Orcs: Bred from humans and orcs, members of this race have green or gray skin, brutish appearances, and short tempers, and are mistrusted by many societies.
Halflings: Race of humanoids known for their tiny stature, deft hands, and mischievous personalities.
Heaven: Plane of good and lawfulness ruled by angels, where many good souls go after they die.
Hell: Plane of evil and tyrannical order ruled by devils, where many evil souls go after they die.
Hemotheurge: Bloatmage.
Highside Stacks: Wealthy tower district in Kaer Maga.
Inner Sea: The vast inland sea whose northern continent, Avistan, and southern continent, Garund, are the primary focus of the Pathfinder campaign setting.
Iridian Fold: Secretive organization in which pairs of male lovers seek to achieve perfect symbiosis.
Kaer Maga: Anarchic free city in Varisia, located inside a vast and partially hollow ring of stone left behind by an unknown and ancient culture.
Kaer Magan: Someone or something from Kaer Maga.
Lady of Graves: Pharasma.
Machorei: Iridian Fold term with a meaning similar to "blood brother."
Maelstrom: Plane of absolute chaos, whose form is constantly shifting.
Material Plane: The fundamental plane of existence on which Golarion resides, and to which humans are native. The "normal" world.
Morrignas: Type of psychopomp dedicated to tracking down and dealing with those who flout death's laws.
Necromancy: School of magic devoted to manipulating the power of death, unlife, and the life force, particularly undead creatures.
Orc: Race of humanoids with green or gray skin, protruding tusks, and warlike tendencies. Almost universally hated by more civilized races.
Outer Planes/Outer Sphere: The various realms of the afterlife, where most gods reside.
Pharasma: The goddess of birth, death, and prophecy, who judges mortal souls after their deaths and sends them on to the appropriate afterlives.
Pharasma's Spire: The plane on which Pharasma's realm may be found.
Pharasmin: Of or related to the goddess Pharasma or her worshipers.
Phistophilus: Breed of devils devoted to corruption through contracts and binding agreements.
Plane: One of the realms of existence, such as the mortal world, Heaven, Hell, and many others.
Psychopomp: Race of extraplanar creatures dedicated to serving Pharasma and preserving the natural order of life and death.
Pure Legion: Rahadoumi military order devoted to keeping their nation free of religion.
Rahadoum: Atheist nation where religion is outlawed.
Rahadoumi: Of or related to Rahadoum.
Ring District: Kaer Magan district situated inside the city's hollow curtain wall.
River of Souls: Unending procession of recently deceased souls traveling from the Material Plane to Pharasma's Boneyard for judgment.
Sarenite: Of or related to the goddess Sarenrae or her worshipers.
Sarenrae: Goddess of the sun, honesty, and redemption. Often seen as a fiery crusader and redeemer.
Sorcerer: Someone who casts spells through natural ability rather than faith or study.
Sweettalker: Ethnic and religious group that believes speech is holy, and whose members thus sew their own lips shut. Found primarily in Kaer Maga.
Szerik: Iridian Fold term meaning several things, including one or both members of a bonded Iridian Fold pair, as well as the concept of perfect communication and integration they seek to achieve with each other.
The Bottoms: District in Kaer Maga run primarily by the Freemen.
Thuvia: Desert nation south of the Inner Sea, famous for the production of a magical elixir which grants immortality.
Trolls: Large, stooped humanoids with sharp claws and amazing regenerative powers that are overcome only by fire.
Varisia: Frontier region at the northwestern edge of the Inner Sea region.
Wizard: Someone who casts spells through careful study and rigorous scientific methods rather than faith or innate talent, recording the necessary incantations in a spellbook.
Xavorax: Caulborn city located deep below Kaer Maga.
Table of Contents
Teaser
Dedication
Map
Chapter One: Not That Kind of Priest
Chapter Two: City of Strangers
Chapter Three: The Devil's Due
Chapter Four: The Twice-Born
Chapter Five: Reanimations
Chapter Six: The Last Vampire
Chapter Seven: Thought and Memory
Chapter Eight: Tower of Night
Chapter Nine: The Quivering Palace
Chapter Ten: Old Wounds
Chapter Eleven: The Common House
Chapter Twelve: The Redemption Engine
Chapter Thirteen: The Iridian Fold
Chapter Fourteen: Heathen Stone
Chapter Fifteen: Heaven's Hound
Chapter Sixteen: House of the Redeemed
Chapter Seventeen: Arathuziel the Chained
Chapter Eighteen: The Path of Knowledge
Chapter Nineteen: The Great Library
Chapter Twenty: Cinders and Censors
Chapter Twenty-One: The Lower Collection
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Iron City
Chapter Twenty-Three: The Fallen Fortress
Chapter Twenty-Four: Showdowns
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Desert of Nothing
Chapter Twenty-Six: The Antipode
Chapter Twenty-Seven: In Light of Recent Developments
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Gathering Storms
Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Spire's Edge
Chapter Thirty: Pulling Threads
Chapter Thirty-One: Aftermaths
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Glossary
Pathfinder Tales: The Redemption Engine Page 39