Daughter of Blood (69 page)

Nine of the table's twelve sections were gold now, the images of the simurgh and the centaur, the sphinx and the gryphon all burning bright. Malian halted by what she guessed was Fire's place, studying the firedrake and thinking that she should have made a scroll for Raven as well . . . Then again, he had said that Fire was making its alliance with her, rather than rejoining the Derai. Reluctantly, she looked beyond the firedrake to the two segments that remained clouded, any image no more than a turn of shadow within their murk. Salar and Nindorith: she was almost afraid to think their names, in case the Ascendants became aware of what she was doing.

“They will not know,
”
Amaliannarath told her.
“The way here has been closed to both since the Sundering, as it was for me. I could not have come here now if you had not brought me and the others allowed me in. But I am dead, so can no longer be part of the crucible.”

“Yet even with you here,” Malian said, “the table—like the Derai and the Sworn—is no longer whole. How much difference will that make, in seeking to restore the Fire?”

Malian sensed Hylcarian deliberate.
“We were born Twelve,”
he said finally,
“so even if the other two were present, Amaliannarath's loss might tip the scales against us.”

“I doubt Salar would be capable of reentering the crucible now.
”
Amaliannarath was dispassionate.
“He has spent too long in the maelstrom.”

“But you are right to be concerned, Child of Night.”
Now the ten entities spoke as one. “
With three of the Twelve absent, we cannot assume that the alchemy of our beginning can be replicated. Restoration may fail, or what is reborn may be Other than what we were before.”

Yet even if the whole enterprise was doomed to failure from the outset, Malian knew she could not turn back. “If only the shield had remained whole and the arms of Yorindesarinen intact.” She spoke her regret aloud. “They might have countered Amaliannarath's loss.”

Hylcarian's thunder rumbled about tree and table.
“A buckler made of metal shattered. But
you,
Malian, are
the shield of heaven, the aegis of Mhaelanar born into the world. Just as it was Yorindesarinen'
s will and courage that stopped the Worm, not the arms she bore.”

Again, the ten voices spoke as one. “
Do what
must
be done, Chosen of Mhaelanar. Take your god-forged sword and drive it into the table's heart.”

Not a stake, Malian thought, understanding at last, but a sword—for this place, with the table as its core, was undoubtedly the heart of the Derai Alliance. “Are you sure?” she asked at last. Her voice sounded small against the surrounding vastness, the intonation that of the child Malian, from when she had first come here.

“Child of Night, there is no other way.”
The summer thunder was muted now, Hylcarian's voice gentle.
“Iriellirin may wear the phoenix form, but we were all born from Terennin's fire, which must return to ash before it can reignite.”

“But you don't know for certain that it will.”

“What in all the worlds and across time is ever certain? Yet even if everything we hope for comes to pass, we will not be reborn with the strength, built up over long aeons, that was ours before the Night of Death. That is part of the price we must pay to be made new.”

The Night of Death . . . Malian wanted to ask whether Raven's account of the Sundering was true and whether what she was about to do now could undo that, but the time for both questions and doubt was past. One way, or the other, she thought—and drew the frost-fire sword, the blade already glowing white as it cleared the sheath. The armring, too, was silver fire, and she knew that Nhenir, the moon-bright helm, would be as she had first seen it: black adamantine steel decorated with pearl and silver, with the phoenix wings swept up to either side and wrapped about the casque. Malian lowered the visor that was shaped into the dawn eyes of Terennin over her own, so no glamour or working born of power would cloud her vision, and closed both hands around the sword's hilt, raising it high.

“Now, Child of Night!”
Ten voices reverberated as one between the fiery doors. Reaching deep within herself, Malian
released the power she had kept banked for so long, hiding from both the Derai and the Swarm. Wreathed in silver flame and anchored in the Song of Haarth, she drove the frost-fire sword down, deep into the table and through it, into the heart of the tree—and the twelve-sided room exploded in fire, hurling her into a void beyond thought, memory, and time.

Here ends The Wall of Night Book Three,

Daughter Of Blood

To be continued in The Wall of Night Book Four,

The Chaos Gate

Aarion:
House of Blood Honor Guard in Jad's eight-unit

Aeln:
Night honor guard in Asantir's escort

Aeris:
city kingdom in the lands beyond the River

Aikanor:
Heir of Night at the time of the Derai civil war and Great Betrayal

Aithe:
lieutenant in the Prince of Fire's personal guard

Aiv:
House of Blood groom

Alliance:
alliance of the nine Houses of the Derai; also
Derai Alliance

Amaliannarath:
Darksworn Ascendant, most closely associated with the nation of Fire

Amarn:
Darksworn adept, sworn to the sorcerer Nirn

Ammaran:
Heir of Blood over four hundred years before, last of an older line

Amrathin:
Earl of Blood over four hundred years before, last of an older line

Anchor, the:
Grayharbor inn

Andron:
smith to Grayharbor's town guard, also a fire-watch captain

Anvin:
a Son of Blood, sixth child of the Earl of Blood; full brother to Kharalthor, Hatha, Liankhara, and Sardonya; half brother to Parannis and Sarein; also half brother to Myrathis

Ar:
city of the River

Ara-fyr:
border watch in southern Aralorn

Aralorn:
realm of Haarth, located south of the River

Aralth:
chamberlain to the Earl of Blood

Aranraith:
a leader of the Darksworn, Prince of the House of Sun

Aravenor:
Lord Captain of the Patrol

Arcolin:
lieutenant to Aranraith; formerly Swarm envoy in Emer

Asantir:
Commander of Night

Ascendant:
Sworn term for three of their greatest powers, magical beings associated with each of their three nations respectively: Salar for Sun, Nindorith for Lightning, and Amaliannarath for Fire

Ash:
River tinker

Asha:
Night honor guard in Garan's eight-unit

Ash Days:
the half way point between Autumn's Eve and Autumn's Night in Haarth's Southern Realms

Audin Sondargent:
Emerian knight, nephew to the Duke of Emer

Autumn's Eve:
the autumn equinox

Autumn's Night:
the Southern Realms festival dedicated to Kan that marks the transition from autumn to winter; also known as Winter's Eve

Awl Lane:
Grayharbor wynd, off Sailcloth Street

Bajan:
House of Blood warrior from Bronze Hold

Banath:
Honor Captain to the Earl of Blood

Bane Hold:
satellite fortress of the House of Blood

Baris:
House of Blood groom

Barren Hills:
uninhabited hills to the north of Grayharbor and south of the Border Mark

Battlemaster:
primary war leader of the House of Blood

Betrayal War:
Derai civil war, five hundred years earlier; also
Great Betrayal

black blades:
weapons of power, commonly associated with the hero, Kerem

black spear:
weapon of power; see also
Great Spear; black blades

Blood:
shortening of House of Blood
;
may also refer to
Blood, the

Blood Gate:
main entrance into the Red Keep and a fortress in its own right

Blood, the:
includes the 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:
an oath that has bound the Derai since their civil war and institutionalizes the schism between the warrior and priestly castes; also
the Oath

Border Mark:
stone pillar that marks the boundary between the Gray Lands and the Barren Hills, and by implication, the Wall of Night and the rest of Haarth

Brave Hold:
satellite fortress of the House of Blood

Bronze Hold:
satellite fortress of the House of Blood

Brother Selmor:
scholar priest in the Temple of Night

cadre:
unit of Derai or Darksworn power users

Caer Argent:
capital of Emer

Carick:
graduate of the University in Ar, a city of the River lands, who journeyed to Emer as cartographer to its Duke

Cataclysm:
period of extreme natural disaster, followed by war, that brought down Haarth's 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

Cendreward:
province of Emer

Chaos Worm:
according to legend, the deadliest foe ever sent by the Swarm against the Derai; also
Worm; Worm of Chaos

Che'Ryl-g-Raham:
Sea House navigator for the ship of the same name

Che'Ryl-g-Raham
, the:
Sea House ship

Child of Light:
see
Yorindesarinen

Child of Night:
see
Malian

Citadel of Stars:
principal stronghold of the House of Stars

Chosen of Mhaelanar:
prophesied hero who will lead the Derai for the final victory over the Swarm, to be born of the Houses of both Stars and Night; also
the one

civil war:
waged between the Derai Houses five hundred years ago; see also
Night of Death
and
Great Betrayal

Cloud Hold:
satellite fort of the Keep of Winds

Code, the:
see
Honor Code

Commander of Night:
overall military Commander of the House of Night; see also
Asantir

Corlin:
warrior-priest from the House of Adamant

Court of the Rose:
main stronghold of the House of the Rose

Crow:
Southern Realms sword-for-hire, traveling with Raven

Crow, the:
companion bird to the Huntmaster

Dab:
Red Keep guard, assigned to Lady Myrathis; watch partner to Taly; also
Dabnor

Daile:
Patrol officer from the Hedeld fort

Dain:
House of Blood honor guard, second in Jad's eight-unit

Dalay:
senior Morning priest, deputy to Sirit

damosel:
a young Emerian woman of knightly or noble birth

Dancer of Kan:
follower of the god Kan, usually a member of the Ijiri Assassins' Guild or Ar's Shadow Band

darkspawn:
term for low-level servants of the Swarm of Dark, also
'spawn

Darksworn:
vanguard of the Swarm of Dark

Darrar:
House of Blood farrier

Daughter of Blood:
title given to daughter of a ruler of Blood

Defenders of Blood:
term for wyr hounds

Derai:
warlike race, alien to Haarth, comprising an alliance of Nine Houses. They arrived on Haarth fifteen hundred years before, together with their traditional enemy, the Swarm of Dark. The Derai are fighting an aeons old war to prevent the Swarm obliterating the universe. They are divided into three societies or castes: warrior, priest, and a caste comprising both warrior and priestly talents but focused on specialist skills.

Derai-dan:
Derai combat code, includes armed and unarmed techniques

Dread Pass:
mountain pass in the Wall of Night

Duar:
warrior in the Prince of Fire's personal guard

Eanar:
Night honor guard in Garan's eight-unit

Eanaran:
Earl of Night over four hundred years before

Earl:
title for a hereditary ruler of a Derai House

eight-guard:
Derai military unit; also eight-unit

elemental:
magical entities associated with fire, air, water, or earth, servants to the Great Djinn; see also
fire elemental

Elite Cairon:
commander in Ar's Shadow Band

Elodin:
Star knight, escort captain to Tirael
;
also Elodinel

Elv'Ar-i-Anor
:
Sea House ship

Emer:
realm of Haarth, located south of the River

Emeriath:
figure from Derai legend, associated with the hero Kerem

empathy bond:
psychic link between two Derai that can be either one- or two-way, usually between blood kin, lovers, or very close friends

Emuun:
agent of the Swarm, kinsman to Nirn

Eria:
initiate Night priestess, serving in the Old Keep watch

facestealer:
class of Swarm adept

Falath:
Rowan Birchmoon's hound; keeps vigil by her grave

Farelle:
city of the River

Faro:
Grayharbor street urchin

fell lizard:
class of Swarm minion

Fire:
one of the three nations of the Sworn

fire elemental:
specific magical entity derived from fire, a familiar to Emuun

First:
captain of a Jhainarain Seven

First Kin:
first degree of kinship within Derai society

First Line:
refers to the Earl, his or her immediate family, and their First Kin among a House's ruling kindred

Forward Hold:
satellite fortress of the House of Blood

Fray:
lord of the House of Blood's Bane Hold

frost-fire sword:
one of the three magical arms of the hero Yorindesarinen

Garan:
eight-guard leader in the Earl of Night's Honor Guard

Gate of Dreams:
supernatural realm between planes of existence; also the Gate

Gate of Winds:
main entrance into the Keep of Winds and fortress in its own right

geas:
magical binding the frost-fire sword placed on the House of Fire

Gervon:
former facestealer in guise of priest of Serrut, and teacher at Normarch

Ghiselaine:
Countess of Ormond, a region of Emer

Girvase:
Emerian knight, trained at Normarch

Golden Fire:
former allied power and bulwark of the Derai, that once burned throughout the Wall of Night's nine keeps

Granian:
Star knight and herald; also Granianned

Grayharbor:
port and northernmost town between the River and Wall of Night

Gray Lands:
desolate plains that adjoin the Wall of Night

Gray Taan:
weapons' trader in Terebanth

Great Betrayal:
refers to both the Derai civil war and the peace feast that ended in slaughter, extinguishing the Golden Fire

Great Djinn:
powers, native to Haarth, that inhabit the southern deserts

Great Gate:
portal that Derai power wielders opened between worlds to allow the Alliance to come through to the world of Haarth

Great Spear:
weapon of power; see also
black blades

Guild House:
place where heralds reside, found in every River city

Guild of Heralds:
River-based society of messengers; see also
heralds

Haarth:
world in which this story is set

Haimyr the Golden:
minstrel of Ij, friend and retainer to the Earl of Night

Halcyon
:
merchant ship, registered out of Port Farewell

Half-Blood:
derogatory term for
Myrathis

Hamar Sondsangre:
of Aldermere, Kalan's Emerian identity

Hani:
Aralorn Hill horse, belonging to Raven

Hatha:
a Daughter of Blood, second child to the Earl of Blood; twin to Kharalthor and full sister to Huern, Liankhara, Sardonya, and Anvin; half sister to Parannis and Sarein; also half sister to Myrathis

Hedeld:
trading post on the Telimbras, north of Ar, with a Patrol fort nearby

Heir:
designated successor to the hereditary ruler of a Derai House

Heir of the Derai:
alternate title for the Heir of Night, since Night leads the Nine Houses of the Derai; see also
Malian

heralds:
messengers sworn to the River-based Guild of Heralds

Heris:
itinerant scribe, an identity adopted by Malian

High Hall:
main hall of a Derai fortress

Hills of the Hawk:
see
Jaransor

hold:
satellite forts of the main Derai keeps on the Wall

Honor Captain:
commands a Derai Honor Guard

Honor Code:
code governing honorable conduct in all aspects of Derai life, particularly combat and war; also
Derai Code;
the
Code

Honor Contest:
contest of arms to select a Derai
Honor Guard

Honor Guard:
elite guard units sworn to protect the lives of Derai leaders

House:
Derai name encompassing each of the nine separate peoples who comprise the Derai Alliance; see also
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; the “first and oldest” House

House of Peace:
priestly House of the Derai Alliance

House of Sea:
House of the Derai Alliance, primarily mariners

House of Stars:
House of the Derai Alliance, renowned as enchanters

House of Swords:
warrior House of the Derai Alliance

House of the Rose:
House of the Derai Alliance, primarily diplomats but also artists