Ilit
-God of the Wind, patron of the Litse tribe and member of the Upper Circle of the Pantheon
Ilumene
-a former member of the Brotherhood
Introl, Tila
-advisor to Lord Isak
Ironskin, Tachos
-Raylin mercenary of Chetse origin
Isak
-Lord of the Farlan, Chosen of Nartis and Duke of Tirah
Jackdaw (Prior Corci)
-former monk of Vellern
Jeil
-Farlan ranger assigned to Lord Isak’s Personal Guard
Jesters, the
-Demi-Gods and Raylin mercenaries, sons of Death
Karkarn
-God of War, patron of the Menin tribe
Kehla (of the Dawn Light)
-an Aspect of Tsatach
Kelet, Sir Veyan
-Farlan nobleman and Ascetite
Kels, Abbot
-Farlan cleric, head of an abbey in Saroc
Keneg
-Menin soldier of the Cheme Third Legion
Kenn, Shuel
-Merchant from Scree and Farlan agent
Kerin, Swordmaster Orayn
-Commander of the Swordmasters and Knight-Defender of Tirah
Kitar
-Goddess of Harvest and Fertility, member of the Upper Circle of the Pantheon
Lady, the
-Fate, Goddess of Luck
Lahk, General
-Farlan white-eye, commander of the forces in Tirah
Larat
-God of Magic & Manipulation, member of the Upper Circle of the Pantheon
Larim, Shotein
-Menin white-eye mage, Krann to Lord Salen and Chosen of Larat
Lecha, Tachrenn Erach
-Chetse legion-commander of the Ten Thousand
Leferna, Priata
-member of the White Circle, leader of the uprising in Tor Milist
Legana
-Farlan devotee of the Lady, employed as an assassin and spy
Lehm, Suzerain Preter
-Farlan nobleman
Lehm, Countess Rais
-Farlan noblewoman
Lesarl, Chief Steward Fordan
-principal advisor to the Lord of the Farlan
Leshi
-Farlan Ascetite soldier
Leteil, Lord
-white-eye Lord of the Yeetatchen tribe and Chosen of Amavoq
Luripp, Count Aras
-nobleman from Scree
Macove, Count Perel
-Farlan nobleman and member of the Brethren of the Sacred Teachings
Malich, Cordein
-deceased necromancer from Embere
Mariq, Shan
- Farlan battle-mage
Matak Snakefang
-Raylin mercenary
Mayel
-a novice from Abbot Doren’s monastery, native of Scree
Mehar, Lieutenant Garap
-aide to General Gort of the Knights of the Temples
Meqao (Hunter of the Silent Wood)
-Aspect of Amavoq
Mihn ab Netren ab Felith
-failed Harlequin, now friend of Lord Isak
Mikiss, Koden
-Menin army messenger
Mistress
-Raylin mercenary
Mochyd, High Chaplain
-Farlan cleric. High Chaplain of the Farlan, head of the Chaplain branch of the Cult of Nartis
Morghien
- a drifter of Embere descent, known as the man of many spirits
Nai
-manservant to Isherin Purn, the necromancer
Nartis
-God of the Night, Storms and Hunters. Patron of the Farlan tribe and member of the Upper Circle of the Pantheon
Nelbove, Suzerain Atar
-Farlan nobleman
Nerlos, Suzerain Jai
-Farlan nobleman
Nostil, Queen Valije
- Aryn Bwr’s queen, first owner of the Skull of Dreams
Nostil, Prince Velere
- Aryn Bwr’s heir, first owner of the Skull of Ruling
Ortof-Greyl, Colonel Harn
-member of the Knights of the Temples
Panro
-Zhia Vukotic’s manservant
Portin, Prior
-Farlan cleric, prior of an abbey in Saroc
Purn, Isherin
-Menin necromancer once apprenticed to Cordein Malich
Quistal, General
-Centaur tribal chief and general of the Menin armies
Rojak
- Minstrel originally from Embere, first among Azaer’s disciples
Roqinn
-Farlan white-eye cleric, High Priest of Belarannar in Tirah
Salen
-Menin Lord of the Hidden Tower and Chosen of the God Larat
Saljin Man, the
-daemon sent to plague the Vukotic tribe
Saroc, Suzerain Fir
-Farlan nobleman and member of the Brethren of the Sacred Teachings
Sebe
-member of the Brotherhood
Seliasei
-minor Aspect of Vasle that now inhabits Morghien
Selsetin, Suzerain Pelan
-Farlan nobleman
Shalstik
-Elven oracle who predicted the return of the last king
Shandek
-a criminal from Scree
Shart
-Menin soldier of the Cheme Third Legion
Sheln, Brother-Captain Tanao
-a member of the Brethren of the Sacred Teachings
Shinir
-a Farlan Ascetite agent
Shotir
-God of Healing and Forgiveness
Shyn
-criminal from Scree
Siala, Mistress Fora
-ruler of Helrect and Scree, member of the White Circle
Soldier, the
- one of the five Aspects of Death known as the Reapers
Spider
-crime-lord of Scree
Styrax, Kastan
-white-eye Lord of the Menin and Chosen of Karkarn
Styrax, Kohrad
-white-eye son of Lord Styrax
Styrax, Duchess Selar
-white-eye mage, wife of Lord Styrax and mother of Kohrad
Tael, Sergeant-at-Arms
-Farlan soldier
Teviaq
-Demi-God, Raylin mercenary and daughter of Amavoq
Thonal, King Emin
-King of Narkang.
Thonal, Queen Oterness
-Queen of Narkang
Tildek, Suzerain Esh
-Farlan nobleman. Elder brother of Knight-Cardinal Certinse; his sister, Karlat’s mother, was married to the Duke of Lomin
Tiniq
-Farlan ranger and brother of General Lahk
Torl, Suzerain Karn
-Farlan nobleman
Tremal, Harlo
-member of the Brotherhood
Triena
-Goddess of Romantic Love and Fidelity, part of the linked Goddesses who together cover all the aspects of love
Tsatach
-God of Fire and the Sun, patron of the Chetse tribe
Ushell
-Goddess of the Mountains, Aspect of Belarannar
Vasle
-God of Rivers and Inland Seas
Veck, Cardinal
-Farlan cleric, second only to the High Cardinal
Veil
-member of the Brotherhood
Vellern
-God of Birds
Vener, Telith
-General of the Knights of the Temples and ruler of Raland
Veren
- first God of the Beasts, killed during the Great War
Verliq, Arasay
-celebrated mage and academic, killed by Lord Styrax
Vesna, Count Evanelial
-famous Farlan soldier from Anvee
Vrerr, Duke Sarole
-ruler of Tor Milist
Vrest
-God of Beasts
Vrill, Duke Anote
-Menin white-eye general
Vukotic, Prince Koezh
-ruler of the Vukotic tribe, cursed with vampirism after the Last Battle
Vukotic, Prince Vorizh
- younger brother of Koezh, cursed with vampirism after the Last Battle and subsequently driven insane
Vukotic, Princess Zhia
-youngest of the Vukotic family, cursed with vampirism after the Last Battle
Wither Queen, the
- one of the five Aspects of Death known as the Reapers
Woren, Private Merir
-soldier from Scree, member of the Knights of the Temples
Xeliath
-Yeetatchen white-eye who has the Skull of Dreams fused to her hand
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Having had more than a few people to thank regarding Stormcaller, I was determined here to simply write ‘screw everyone else; this was all down to me’.
However, while that might apply for most of the text there’s also the bigger picture of keeping me if not normal, then as close to it as is feasible - and that’s been a collective effort worthy of recognition. My family can never be appreciated enough, and several others I must mention: Ian of the legendary feet, who put up with my evil side for longer than a normal person could; Liv, the honorary little sister who keeps me sane and amused at work; and Fi, who is simply unique in so many lovely and hilarious ways. The Davies boys do sterling work getting smacked around a court and then dragging me to the pub, while Phil, Vik and Vince all further encourage my bad habits. My readers also deserve thanks: Robin ‘I see dark things’ Morero, my favourite brother Richard, and champion cynic-cum-proofreader, Heidi.
Lastly, there’s one contribution that could only be described as above and beyond. I’m not sure anyone could be paying Jo Fletcher, editor extraordinaire, enough to spend so long reining in my fractured thought-processes and imposing some discipline on a deeply childish mind. It would certainly have broken the spirit of a lesser person and she must be racking up the good karma as a result.
Turn the page for a sneak preview of
THE GRAVE THIEF
CHAPTER 1
Evening fell with a whisper. The day’s thick-falling snow had abated with the failing light and now, as the sky turned deepest blue, the air was clear and still. Venn felt the silence of the forest stretch away in every direction, disturbed only by his own laboured breath and heavy footsteps. The bite of the chill night air was savage, and he urged himself on, knowing he had to reach the clearing before the cold took him. Too many travellers misjudged their journeys and succumbed. The Vukotic could keep their Saljin Man; winter was a daemon all on its own in these parts.
At last he reached the clearing and, against all common sense, stopped at its edge staring dumbly forward. It has been years since he had last been here. The Land itself seemed to catch its breath, as if waiting for the tremors his return would bring. At last he stepped forward into the clearing, the ruin of his people hidden in his shadow.
He walked hesitantly, somewhat humbled by the grand, silent scene. Above him pink wisps of cloud catching the last of the light provided an unearthly backdrop for the place he had never expected to see again. The only sounds were his boots crunching through the snow and the occasional creak and groan of laden branches in the forest behind. He fumbled at his bearskin, trying to tug it tighter around his shoulders, but the weight of his shadow made it hard and after two attempts he gave up, leaving it open at his throat. His goal was visible now, and that was all that mattered.
The entrance to the cavern was only a hundred paces off, crowned by snow-burdened dwarf pines that covered much of these crumpled mountains. It abutted a long slow rise in the ground that continued for miles into the distance and formed one of the two crooked ‘legs’ of what was called Old Man Mountain. There was a shrine to a God no one remembered, derelict, yet still imposing, near the top. Venn remembered visiting it once, out of youthful curiosity. The God, whatever his name was, had been stooped and aged, like the bare mountain that served as his memorial. He had been no match for Ushell when the reckoning came.
Venn paused halfway to the entrance and looked back over the expanse of pine studded by enormous cloud-oaks like nails driven part-way into the slopes, but before he could dwell on his childhood love of this view Jackdaw’s wheezing broke the spell. Shaking his head, Venn turned away. He had been spared the sight of Jackdaw’s twitching tattoos and scowling face, as well as the man’s incessant chatter, that final day at least, and for that much, Venn was glad. Once the former priest had cast the spell to bind himself within Venn’s own shadow, he had learned not to waste his strength on complaints.
The cavern entrance up ahead was unchanged since he had first marched out into the Land, his swords strapped proudly to his back and his white mask hiding the man underneath. Free-standing brass braziers on either side of the enlarged cleft cast a weak light over the darkened interior and the sap of fresh spitting pine cones mingled with incense in the evening air. Each brazier stood atop an octagonal stem thicker than a man’s waist, high enough that some priests had to stand on tiptoe to see over the battered edge.
They were centuries old and had suffered during those years. Venn remembered his disappointment when he had learnt the truth about the faint markings that covered the braziers. He had thought them incantations in a secret language, when instead they were only scratches, the effect of weather and time, of careless priests and gales tipping them onto the stony ground. His father had huffed and frowned at his imagination where others would have laughed.
Was that the first step on this path?
he wondered.
That first loss of wonder: was that the day I saw my father as something other than an otherworldly servant of the Gods? Where once I beheld priestly robes and a half-mask of obsidian shards, I found just a tired man with thinning grey hair and a piercing wheeze when he slept
.
‘Hey—! Hey, you!’
Venn stopped walking. He didn’t turn, knowing the speaker would have to walk into his line of sight. The speaker turned out to be a round-faced priest, his arms laden with logs. In his ear Venn heard an intake of breath from Jackdaw. He was invisible and near-incorporeal, at least as long as he stayed in Venn’s lee, and yet Jackdaw remained a coward.
Venn recognised the priest despite the smooth black porcelain that hid half his face. They were of a similar age and from the same clan, which had forced them to be something approximating friends as children. Corerr was his name, a foolish, fat little boy who’d grown up into a bewildered junior priest who’d never even lost his puppy-fat in the process, a man still sent to fetch the wood for the fires in the cave though there were doubtless younger priests to do that tiresome duty.