Gods of Nabban (2 page)

Ghatai—One of the seven devils, bonded with the Grasslander chieftain and wizard Tamghiz.

Ghu—Stray who followed an assassin home one day from the streets of Gold Harbour and wouldn't leave. Horseman, fugitive slave—saviour, so far as Ahjvar is concerned, and the dying gods of Nabban might agree.

Gomul—Slave of the stables at the White River Dragon, who rescued the infant Ghu from the river.

Gorthuerniaul—Praitannec translation of the name Evening Cloud. See Niaul.

Gurhan—The hill-god of Marakand.

Guthrun—Northron camel-leech, caravaneer of Kharduin's gang.

Hadidu—Nour's foster-brother and widowed brother-in-law; priest of Gurhan in Marakand.

The hag—See Hyllau.

Haliya—An eastern desert woman in Kharduin's gang.

Hana (Zhung Hana)—First Minister under Emperor Otono.

Holla-Sayan—Westgrasslander caravan-mercenary. See the Blackdog.

Huong (Zhung Huong)—Brother of Ti-So'aro; imperial officer; governor of Dernang under Ghu.

Hyllau—The ghost which possessed Ahjvar for much of his life.

Ilbialla—A lost well-goddess of Marakand.

Irtennin—A half-demon Grasslander hero of legend; a constellation. His tribe was said to have settled the Western Grass.

Ivah—Grasslander wizard, caravaneer, scholar, scribe; daughter of An-Chaq (I) and of the devil Tamghiz Ghatai.

Jang—A slave in the castle gardens at the White River Dragon; becomes one of Yeh-Lin's pages and takes the Daro clan-name.

Jasberek—The most mysterious of the seven devils; bonded with the wanderer Anganurth.

Jian—One of the co-ruling sacerdotal queens of Darru and Lathi, who are also called the Wild Girls.

Jilin (Lai Jilin)—Author of a classic treatise on the dramatic arts.

Jiot—One of the two dogs who followed Ghu from Marakand; tan and black.

Jochiz—One of the seven devils; bonded with Sien-Shava, a wizard from the islands in the ocean south of Nabban.

Jui—Ghu's other dog; white and grey.

Jula—Orphaned child adopted by Prince Dan.

Kaeo—Slave-actor and singer of the company of the Flowering Orange; of Dwei Clan before his impoverished and desperate mother sold him. An agent of the rebel Prince Dan, and possibly a prophet.

Kangju (Nang Kangju)—An imperial wizard of Plum Badge rank; he is a dreamer of true dreams.

Ketkuiz—A shaman of Denanbak, belonging to the folk of the goddess Galicha.

Ketsim—A Grasslander warlord who followed Ivah's father Tamghat until the latter met his end; then a mercenary in the service of the Lady of Marakand in the conquest of the Duina Catairna.

Kharduin—A caravan-master, exile of a tribe of the eastern deserts; lover and business-partner of Nour; friend of Ivah.

Kiaswa (Swajui Kiaswa)—An elderly priestess of the Mother. The Swajui clan-name is taken from the shrine of the springs of the Mother's rising.

Korat (Daro Korat)—Kho'anzi, or high lord and border lord, of Choa Province and head of the Daro Clan; a man of Traditionalist leanings; Ghu's former owner.

Koulang—Bithan-born son of Wolan; a caravaneer of Kharduin's gang.

Kufu—A slave in the castle gardens of the White River Dragon; becomes one of Yeh-Lin's pages, taking the clan-name Daro.

The Lady of Marakand—Late goddess of the city of Marakand.

Lau—Name under which Rat serves in Princess Buri-Nai's household.

The Leopard—The byname by which Ahjvar was most recently known when he was an assassin of the Five Cities. He has used it on previous occasions as well.

Liamin—Slave and personal attendant of Lord Daro Korat, trained as a physician's assistant.

Lin (Nang Lin)—name sometimes used by Yeh-Lin; quite possibly her original name, as the courtly “Yeh-Lin” is rather grander than the status to which she claims she was born.

The Little Sister—One of the three great rivers of Nabban; also the long-gone goddess of that river, who became a part of Mother Nabban.

Maka—An imperial soldier of Buri-Nai's household troop.

Marnoch—King of the Duina Catairna; betrothed to Deyandara.

Meli—A weaver; a former slave of the Kho'anzi of Choa Province; a rebel and bandit.

Mia—A slave and actress of the company of the Flowering Orange in the Golden City.

Miara—Ahjvar's lover, a widowed wizard murdered in Praitan long ago.

Mikki—A bear—sometimes. A Northron half-demon. Also a carpenter.

Min-Jan—Emperor of Nabban at the time of the devils' wars; son of Yeh-Lin. His descendants use Min-Jan as their clan-name.

Moth—Northron skald, storyteller, warrior, singer, devil . . . The name preferred by Ulfhild Vartu, q.v.

Mother Nabban—The one goddess of Nabban, who came into being from the merging of all the goddesses of all the waters of Nabban to defeat Yeh-Lin Dotemon during the devils' wars.

Mulgo Miar—Pine Lord, highest ranked of the imperial corps of wizards, under Buri-Nai; defected to Prince Dan.

Musan (Zhung Musan)—General serving Buri-Nai; victor in retaking Choa Province.

Nai (Daro Nai)—A soldier of Lord Daro Korat's household.

Nasutani—A young Grasslander woman in Kharduin's caravan-gang.

Nawa—Eldest of the co-ruling sacerdotal queens of Darru and Lathi, who are also called the Wild Girls.

Niaul—Dark bay Denanbaki stallion given to Ahjvar by Ghu, who did not quite steal him from Lord Daro Korat. Short for Gorthuerniaul, q.v.

Nour—A Marakander wizard and caravaneer, lover and business-partner of Kharduin, whom he keeps on the straight and narrow, mostly. Close friend of Ivah.

Ogada—One of the seven devils, bonded with the Northron wizard Heuslar. Rumoured slain in the north a generation or two previously.

Ontari (Dwei Ontari)—A Dwei Clan lord, Prince Dan's right-hand man.

Oro (Gar Oro)—A scout of Dwei Ontari's forces.

Oryo—Captain of the imperial bodyguard of giants.

Osion (Daro Osion)—A woman of Dernang who joined Lord Sia's rebels.

Otono—Emperor of Nabban; brother of Buri-Nai, An-Chaq, and Dan.

Raku (Daro Raku)—A Daro Clan lord, cousin of and military commander for Lord Daro Korat.

Rat—A young woman of many talents; a Dar-Lathan or, as she would say, of Darru—or of Lathi. She may choose not to be specific.

Rozen—A Praitannec warrior of Deyandara's household.

Rust—A camel belonging to Ghu, or at least stolen by Ghu, which comes to the same thing.

Salar—An eastern desert caravan-mistress.

Sand—Another camel, also belonging to Ghu.

Sanguhar—An emperor of Nabban.

Sen—A slave of the stables at the White River Dragon.

Seoyin—A colony-Nabbani man from Two Hills; caravaneer and cook in Kharduin's gang and cousin of Buryan.

Shaiveh—Grasslander
noekar
, or vassal, of Tamghat's; Ivah's late bodyguard and lover.

Shui—Young daughter and heir of the Denanbaki chieftain Ganzu, poisoned by Nabbani assassins.

Sia (Daro Sia)—Daro Korat's son; an adherent of the Traditionalist philosophy, rebel against the empress and an ally of Prince Dan. Not, however, someone remembered fondly by Ghu.

Sien-Mor—A wizard from the islands south of Nabban; became the devil Tu'usha; sister of Sien-Shava.

Sien-Shava—A wizard from the islands south of Nabban; went to the north and became the devil Jochiz; brother of Sien-Mor.

Silla (Yeon Silla)—A poet beloved of an empress.

Sisu (Gar Sisu)—A young imperial wizard of Palm Badge rank.

Snow—A white stallion born on Father Nabban's mountain. Belongs, so far as Ghu and the horse are concerned, to Ghu, whatever Daro Korat, the lord of Choa and legal owner of the horse, may have to say about it.

Sohi—A Denanbaki woman, wife of the chieftain Ganzu and mother of Shui.

Storm/Styrma—A Northron bone-horse, or necromantic creation made from the soul-memory and skull of a long-dead horse, of Moth's. Currently misplaced . . .

Sujin—A slave of Daro Korat's stables who joined Sia's rebellion.

Sula (Lai Sula)—An imperial general under Buri-Nai.

Tai'aurenlo—A god of “the burning hills” in Lathi, father of the three Wild Girls who lead the tribes.

Tamghat—Name used by the Grasslander warlord and devil Tamghiz Ghatai at the time of his conquest of the mountain lands of the goddess Attalissa; Ivah's father. His followers took the tribal name Tamghati from him.

Tamareva—A woman of the southern islands living in Nabban; a dealer in mother-of-pearl and an agent of Prince Dan's.

Ti—A slave from the castle kitchens of the White River Dragon; taken by Yeh-Lin to be her page, she gives him her clan-name, Nang.

Ti-So'aro (Zhung Ti-So'aro)—A Zhung banner-lady; officer in Zhung Musan's imperial army who defects to Ghu.

Toba—An elderly shaman of Dar-Lathi, counsellor of the queens.

Toi (Lai Toi)—A deserter from the imperial army.

Tu'usha—One of the seven devils, bonded with the Islander wizard Sien-Mor.

Ulfhild—A Northron warrior and wizard, sister of one of the first Kings in the North; King's Sword of Ulvsness; bonded with the devil Vartu. See Moth.

Urumchiat—A Grasslander shaman and hero of legend; a constellation is named after him.

Vardar—One of Kharduin's caravaneers; of the Malagru hillfolk.

Vartu—One of the seven devils, bonded with the Northron wizard Ulfhild. See Moth.

Vixen—Deyandara's dog.

Wey (Shouja Wey)—Owner of the acting company of the Flowering Orange, and of Kaeo.

The Wild Girls—Sacerdotal co-ruling queens of the tribes of the jungles and highlands of Darru and Lathi; human-born daughters of the god Tai'aurenlo.

The Wild Sister—The greatest of the rivers of Nabban, and the goddess of that river, absorbed into Mother Nabban.

Willow (Daro Willow)—Illegitimate daughter of Daro Korat's youngest daughter.

Wisan (Lai Wisan)—A wizard of the Plum Badge rank; the diviner who testifies at Kaeo's trial.

Wolan (Daro Wolan)—A Nabbani man in Kharduin's gang, originally from Choa Province.

Yao—Late emperor of Nabban, called “Bloody Yao.” Father of Otono, Buri-Nai, An-Chaq, and Dan.

Yeh-Lin—A wizard of Nabban; formerly an emperor's wife, usurper, empress, exile, and conqueror. Bonded with the devil Dotemon.

Yuro—Daro Korat's slave-born master of horses and later castellan; the man largely responsible for what upbringing Ghu had before he fled.

Zial and Wujian—Legendary lovers in a quite-probably tragic Nabbani epic.

PART ONE

CHAPTER I

Something stalked him through his dreams. She was hungry, reaching . . . 
Hyllau, reaching for him. The Lady of Marakand, but her face was burnt black, charred and flaking away like Hyllau's and she closed her mouth over his, pressing down on him, tongue forcing . . . He caught her by the throat, to choke and throttle, to end this one slavery, at least—

There was more strength than one might think in Ghu's compact frame. He jerked Ahjvar's arms open, away from his neck, and pinned him to the ground like a wrestler. Ahjvar woke as his head thumped the earth and the ground hit him hard in the back.

Bunched muscles turned to water, as if he had run to the point of exhaustion. Ghu's fingers bit into his wrists, forcing Ahjvar's arms down as he leaned over him, a knee heavy on his chest. The blind dark of a cloudy night wrapped them; their fire was nearly smothered in its ashes.

“Awake?”

He couldn't answer yet. Breath wheezed and sobbed in his throat.

Ghu released his grip, cautiously, and Ahjvar rolled away, arm over his face, shaking, teeth clenched on the plea. He could not ask to be set free; he had promised, so he would not, not yet. But he had to swallow the words, choking on them.
Let me go. Let me die now. I can't do this.

Ghu put an arm over him, pulled close and held him tightly, till his shuddering eased to mere shivering against a cold that was not the autumn air.

“Hush.” The command was hardly more than a stir of air against him. “Listen. I was going to wake you before long anyway. They've caught up. We're watched.”

There was nothing to hear but his own harsh gasping, still too fast, too shallow, too loud.

“Shh, shh. It's all right, Ahj.” A hand on his chest, breath in his hair. Encircled, safe. The Lady was dead. Hyllau's very soul was destroyed. He caught at Ghu's hand, gripped it, but didn't push him away. Lay still that moment longer, being safe and trying to settle his breathing, to be awake and sane and of some use.

He remembered. They had been stalked through the hills all that day, since early in the morning. Six riders on horseback, never closing in, never letting themselves, they thought, be seen. Ghu had kept the dogs, white and grey Jui and dun Jiot, in close, though they had been alert and bristling, wanting to investigate. Most likely the six were after the camels and, if they had seen it, Ahjvar's sword and the rings in his ears; they couldn't think Ahjvar and Ghu had any other wealth, just two more masterless wanderers come east from the defeat of Marakand's mercenaries at the Orsamoss. They might be ragged and growing gaunt with short commons, but to such men they would still be worth robbing. There was the gold and sea-ivory of the sword's hilt and the camels were still in good condition, better fed than their masters. Ghu cared for them well and had stolen only the best to start with, not but what the Praitannec kings had owed him more than the price of two camels for their victory.

When no attack came by dusk, Ahjvar and Ghu had made their camp with a careful eye to the ground. Trying to outrace the dogged pursuit, when they had no safe fastness to run to, seemed futile, as did making any great effort to lose them in the hills. Besides . . . they had been fairly certain who the six were. If the brigands lost Ahjvar and Ghu, they would only go looking for other prey, less able to deal with them.