Alchymist twoe-3

by Ian Irvine

  Finally it was Irisis's turn for trial. For some reason, she clung to the fantasy that her sentence would be set aside.

  It was not to be. Not a single witness came forward to defend her.

  'I beg leave to defend Crafter Irisis Stirm,' said Flydd.

  'Denied,' Ghorr replied. 'For the reasons already stated.'

  The master of the executions raised his voice. 'Since no witness has spoken up to oppose the verdict, the sentence is confirmed. Crafter Irisis Stirm has been found guilty of treason. Take her to the place of execution to await her fate.'

  The guards dragged her away. To her left a burly executioner was honing the blades of his flensing tools, so sharp and fine that they could, in the hands of a master such as he, remove the skin of a living human without nicking the flesh. Beside him, the master disemboweller polished the edges of his scalpels, gougers, slitters, reamers, renders, crushers, grinders and pluckers.

  Last in the line, the master dismemberer rubbed at a speck of rust on one of his bone saws and frowned. Irisis was so struck by the sight — the men and the tools that would undo flesh and organs and part her sinews from their bones — that she did not even hear the sentence confirmed on Flydd.

  Fyn-Mah cried out in anguish. Flydd looked up at her and the light finally dawned. He gave her a look of infinite ten-derness, then made a sign to her with his left hand. Irisis could not read it but Fyn-Mah forced a smile. The scrutator bore an ethereal expression as they dragged him across to join the others. Xervish Flydd had come to terms with his fate.

  'Master Flenser,' he said, nodding to the first of the executioners, I trust you've a keen blade on those knives of yours. I'm a sensitive man and my skin is particularly thin, after the work your father did on me some decades back.'

  'Never fear, old fellow,' said the master flenser. 'I'm an artist of rare skill, if I say so myself. I'll have the hide off you so quick you'll never know it's gone.'

  'Oh, I'll know all right,' chuckled Flydd. 'Just don't let them make a handbag out of my backside. My dignity couldn't stand the strain.'

  'Don't worry, surr,' said the master flenser. 'I'll treat you with the respect you deserve.' Irisis thought he was being ironic, until he added quietly, 'I'm sorry, surr. I'd rather peel anyone in the world than you, but your conviction is a legitimate one.' He spread his hairy hands as if to say, what's an honourable man to do?

  'Of course you must do your duty, Master Flenser,' said Flydd. 'I would not ask anything else of you.'

  Flydd was having similar jocular words with the master dis-emboweller and the master dismemberer when the master of the executions shouted, 'Quiet, if you please. The executions will now begin.' He consulted his list, saying, 'We will take them in order of the trial. The first will be Pilot Inouye.'

  Two soldiers lifted Inouye under the arms. She was such a frail little figure that either of them could have carried her in one hand. They propelled her forwards, her feet skipping across the canvas. It appeared that she was going willingly to her death, though had they stood her up she would have fallen down again.

  The master flenser was selecting his initiating knife when the master of the executions spun around, looking confused. Fusshte was shouting and waving at him. The master of the executions ran across, conferring with the scrutator, then called out to the soldiers, 'No, bring her back, lads.' 1b the witnesses he said, 'The scrutators bid me to execute the greatest criminal and traitor first, in case the enemy should attack. 'Ex-Scrutator Xervish Flydd,' he went on, politely, 'if you would be so kind as to step into theflensing trough.'

  For a fleeting moment Flydd looked shocked, as though not expecting his end to come quite so soon. He nodded, raised his right hand in salute to the other prisoners, and then to Irisis, and stepped over the side. The flensing trough was like a long metal bathtub with a broad platform on either side. A pipe ran from below the plughole down through the hole in the centre of the canvas platform.

  'Would you care to disrobe and take your place on the right-hand platform?' said the master flenser. 'On your back, if you please, with your legs spread. Take your time. Make yourself comfortable.'

  Again that muffled wail from Fyn-Mah. Flydd's hand was shaking and his knees would scarcely hold him. He dropped the sheet, settled his scrawny backside on the platform and swung his legs up. Looking around, he caught Irisis's eye. Flydd attempted a smile, but not even he could pull it off at this moment.

  Irisis's heart went out to the man, though her own end would come soon enough. 'Take heart, Xervish,' she said. 'It'll be over more quickly than you think.'

  He gave a stifled, mirthless laugh. 'Somehow, that's not nearly as comforting as when I said it to you.'

  'Begin, Master Flenser!' roared Ghorr, striking a pose for the artists and the chroniclers. 'I'll double your fee if you can take this scoundrel's skin off in one piece — I've a special use for it.'

  The master flenser looked hurt. 'I don't need a bribe to do my best, surr' He took up his knife, eyeing Flydd's prone figure as if choosing the best spot to begin, though both knew that the procedure was prescribed in the manuals of his art. Flensing began in the centre, at the most sensitive place, and worked out in all directions.

  'Hold just a moment,' cried Fusshte. 'There's something wrong.'

  'I've done everything exactly as set down in the rituals!' the master of the executions exclaimed.

  'I'm not talking to you!' Fusshte snarled. He looked around wildly, then ran to Chief Scrutator Ghorr. 'One of the greatest villains of all is missing. Where the devil is the arch-traitor, Artificer Cryl-Nish Hlar?'

  THE END OF VOLUME THREE

  Glossary

  Names (main characters in italics)

  Aachim: The human species native to Aachan, once conquered and enslaved by a small force of invading Charon (the Hundred). The Aachim are great artisans and engineers, but melancholy or prone to hubris and arrogance. In ancient times, many were brought to Santhenar by Rulke in the fruitless hunt for the Golden Flute. The Aachim flourished on Santhenar but were later betrayed by Rulke and ruined in the Clysm. They then withdrew from the world to their hidden mountain cities. The ones remaining on Aachan gained their freedom after the Forbidding was broken, when the surviving Charon went back to the void. Two hundred years later, volcanic activity on Aachan had become so violent that it threatened to destroy all life on the planet. The Aachim sought for a way of escape and one of them, Minis, managed to contact Tiaan on Santhenar, because of her amplimet, and charmed her. The Aachim ' showed her how to open a gate between Aachan and Santhenar. She thought she was saving her beloved, Minis, and a small number of Aachim, but when they came through, they were a hundred and fifty thousand, a host ready for war, in eleven thousand mighty constructs.

  Barkus: Deceased master crafter of controllers at the manufactory, uncle of Irisis, who allowed her to read his uncensored copies of the Great Tales.

  Bifis: A noble Aachim from Stassor, a brilliant mathemancer and geomancer.

  Cryl-Nish Hlar: A former scribe, prober in secret and reluctant a icer, generally known as Nish.

  Eiryn Muss: Halfwit; an air-moss grower and harmless pervert, he turned out to be the scrutator's prober (spy) in the manufactory, and vanished, but reappeared in the west.

  Elienor (Clan): Elienor was a great Aachim heroine of ancient times, who almost defeated Rulke when the Hundred invaded Aachan. She was the founder of ostracised Clan Elienor.

  Faellem: A long-lived human species who have passed out of the Histories, though some may still dwell in isolated parts of Santhenar.

  Flammas: A kindly, forgetful mancer. Ullii spent five years in his dungeon, the most pleasant time of her life.

  Flangers: A soldier and hero in past battles against the lyrinx.

  Forgre: An Aachim and associate of Malien; a brilliant spy.

  Fusshte: A treacherous member of the Council of Scrutators.

  Fyn-Mah: The querist (chief of the municipal intelligence bureau) at Tiksi and a loyal supporter
of Xervish Flydd.

  Ghorr: Chief Scrutator and Flydd's enemy.

  Gtthaelith: An eccentric, amoral ge-omancer and mathemancer who dwelt at Nyriandiol. Because of his dismal early years he is obsessed with controlling everyone and everything in his life. When unable to do this the stress causes him to have panic attacks. His overriding goal is to understand the nature of the physical world, so as to control it too.

  Gyrull: Matriarch of the lyrinx city at Snizort. A powerful, far-sighted mancer, profoundly intelligent.

  Haani: Tiaan's adopted sister, accidentally killed by the Aachim in Tirthrax.

  Halie: A scrutator on the Council and former supporter of Flydd.

  Inouye: The pilot of Jal-Nish's air-floater, stolen by Fyn-Mah. Inthis: Vithis's clan of Aachim, since time immemorial first of the eleven clans (First Clan). All Clan Inthis, apart from Vithis and Minis, were lost in the void when the portal between Aachan and Tirthrax was opened.

  Irisis Stirm. Crafter, originally in charge of the controller artisans at the manufactory; niece of Barkus; one time lover of Xervish Flydd, now a friend and comrade-in-arms.

  Jal-Nish Hlar: Acting Scrutator; Nish's father. He suffered massive injuries from a lyrinx attack and begged to be allowed to die, but Nish and Irisis saved his life. Now, hideously maimed, he has a bitter loathing for them both, and an unquenchable desire to be the greatest scrutator of all.

  Joeyn (Joe): An old miner, Tiaan's friend, who died in a roof fall. Klarm: Scrutator for Borgistry. A handsome, cheerful man, despite his dwarfish stature. Lemuir: A sergeant in Jal-Nish's army.

  Liett: GyrulVs daughter, and a lyrinx with unarmoured skin and no chameleon ability; a talented flesh-former and brilliant flier who yearns to lead her people, even though she is regarded as incomplete. She has a turbulent relationship with Ryll. Liliwen: Daughter of Troist and Yara, twin of Meriwen. Luxor: A conciliatory Aachim clan leader.

  Lyrinx: Massive winged humanoids who escaped from the void to Santhenar after the Forbidding was broken. Highly intelligent, many of them are able to use the Secret Art, most commonly for keeping their heavy bodies aloft in flight. They have armoured skin and a chameleon-like ability to change their colours and patterns, often used for communication (skin-speech). Some lyrinx are also flesh-formers: they can change small organisms into desired forms using the Art. In the void they used a similar ability to pattern their unborn young so as to survive in that harsh environment. As a consequence, they are not entirely comfortable in their powerful but much changed bodies. The lyrinx were forced to abandon their culture and heritage in the void. Their lives are entirely martial, and some of them are beginning to regret their loss and wonder what to do about it once they've won the war. Maigraith: A great heroine of olden times, one-time lover of Yggur and the great love of Rulke's life.

  Malien: A venerable but ostracised Aachim living in Tirthrax. A heroine from the time of the Mirror (also known as the Matah). She helped Tiaan make the thapter, or flying construct. Meriwen: Daughter of Troist and Yara, twin of Liliwen. Merryl: A slave who taught human languages to the lyrm Snizort; also known as Tutor. He was kind to Tiaan. Minis: A young Aachim man of high status; foster-son of V Tiaan's dream lover who was forced to spurn her when r Aachim came through the gate to Tirthrax. He feels guilty about his treatment of her, yearns for her but is totally in the thrall of Vithis.

  Mira: Yara's sister who dwells at Morgadis, embittered after the loss of her husband and her three sons in the war. She communicates by skeet with a coalition of like-minded people. Nish fled her home in fear of his life after an unfortunate liaison which ended with a misunderstanding.

  M'lainte: Flydd's mechanician, in charge of balloon and air-floater construction. Mylii: Ullii's long-lost twin brother for whom she has been searching all her life. Nish: Cryl-Nish's nickname. Numinator, the: A mysterious figure mentioned by Flydd when in his cups, said to control the Council of Scrutators. Nylaitl, the: A malicious creature created by Ryll and Liett's flesh-forming. It killed Haani's aunts and attacked Tiaan. Nish destroyed it after it attacked him and Ullii near Tirthrax. Ranii Mhel: An examiner; mother of Nish.

  Rulke: The greatest of all the Charon, he created the first construct.

  Ryll: An ostracised wingless lyrinx who captured Tiaan and subsequently used her in flesh-forming. He was an honourable lyrinx and after Tiaan saved his life he allowed her to escape from Kalissin. He later captured her again when she came to Snizort looking for Gilhaelith, and used her in the pattemers. Seeker: Ullii. Also, one who can sense the use of the Secret Art, or people who have that talent, or even enchanted objects. Talis the Mapmaker: An Aachim and associate of Malien. Tchlrrr: A young soldier in Troist's army.

  Tiaan Liise-Mar: A young artisan; a visual thinker and talented controller-maker. With the amplimet, she picked up Minis's cry for help, fell in love with him and carried the amplimet all the way to Tirthrax, where she used it in opening a gate to Aachan, to save Minis and his people. She subsequently helped Malien make a thapter in Tirthrax, departed in it, attacked the Aachim camp and later crashed near Nyriandiol when the amplimet refused to do what she wanted. Her back was broken in the crash. She was taken to Nynandiol by Gilhaelith, who began to teach her geo-mancy. When he was kidnapped by Gyrull and taken to Snizort, she followed in the thapter but was captured and put to use in the patterners, to pattern torgnadrs or node-drainers. This was only partly successful, because of her broken back, so the lyrinx flesh-formed it to repair her spine. After Snizori was abandoned, Merryl helped Tiaan to escape the pattemers.

  Tirior: A manipulative Aachim clan leader.

  Troist: An ambitious junior officer in the army destroyed by the lyrinx at Nilkerrand. He formed a smaller army out of the survivors. Troist became a general much loved by his troops. Nish rescued his daughters Liliwen and Meriwen from ruffians, and again when they were lost in an underground labyrinth.

  Ullii: A hypersensitive seeker, used by Scrutator Flydd to track Tiaan and the amplimet. She accompanied Nish to Tirthrax in the balloon and found Tiaan, but Malien intervened. Nish and Ullii escaped in the balloon but a lynnx tore it open and they landed in the trees. The nylatl attacked and Ullii helped to defend Nish, after which they made love in the balloon. But it attacked again and when Nish was carried away on the baUoon, Ullii was devastated. Her talent failed her for a while, but subsequently she was used by Jal-Nish at the manufactory, before being rescued by Flydd and taken to Nennifer, then west to help in the war at Snizort. Flydd promised to help her find Mylii but lied to her about it, and Ullii is furious with him.

  Vithis: Minis's foster-father; an Aachim from Aachan and the head of Inthis First Clan, who led the Aachim to Santhenar. When all First Clan (except Minis) were lost in the gate, he became angry and bitter. He forced Minis to repudiate Tiaan. He subsequently led the Aachim across Santhenar but did not hold to his original purpose, to seize land, instead pursuing Tiaan and her thapter across the continent of Lauralin.

  Xabbier Frou: A lieutenant in Jal-Nish's army, and a long-lost childhood friend of Nish.

  Xervish Flydd: The scrutator (spymaster and master inquisitor) for Einunar He is now commander-in-chief of all the scrutators'forces at Snizori, charged with defeating the lyrinx army there. Secretly, he was also required to sneak into Snizori and destroy the lyrinx's node-drainer. He, Irisis and Ullii succeeded but the device he'd been given was faulty, destroying both node-drainer and node in a catastrophic explosion. The field vanished, rendering both the army's clankers and the Aachim's constructs useless, and the soldiers defenceless against the attacking lyrinx.

  Yara: A brilliant advocate, wife to Troist.

  Yggur: A great long-lived mancer of ancient times.

  Major Artefacts, Forces and Powerful natural Places.

  Alcifer: The long-abandoned city of Rulke the Charon, in Meldorin. The entire city was held to have been a magical construct and it still has an aura of barely leashed power.

  Amplimet: A rare hedron which, even in its natural state, c
an draw power from the force (the field) surrounding and permeating a node. Very powerful. Inexplicably, Tiaan's amplimet shows signs of a crystal instinct or purpose, for in Tirthrax it communicated with the node and woke the trapped Well of Echoes. It also communicated with nodes elsewhere, denied Tiaan control when she wanted to take the thapter places it did not want to go, and drew threads of force throughout Snizort, including to the node and to Gilhaelith.

  Anthracism: Human internal combustion due to a mancer or an artisan drawing more power than their body can handle. Invariably fatal (gruesomely).

  Booreah Ngrurle (the Burning Mountain): A large, double-cratered volcano in northern Worm Wood with a blue crater lake. It has a strange and powerful double node. Gilhaelith's home, Nyriandiol, is built on the inner rim of the crater.

  Clanker: An armoured mechanical war cart with six, eight, ten or rarely twelve legs and an articulated body, driven by the Secret Art via a controller mechanism which is used by a trained operator. Armed with a rock-throwing catapult and a javelard (heavy spear-thrower) which are fired by a shooter riding on top. Clankers are made under supervision of a mechanician, artisan and weapons artificer. Emergency power is stored in a pair of heavy spinning flywheels, in case the field is interrupted.

  Construct: A vehicle powered by the Secret Art, based on some of the secrets of Rulke's legendary vehicle. Unlike Rulke's, those made by the Aachim cannot fly, but only hover, and therefore cannot cross obstacles like deep, wide ditches, cliffs, very steep slopes or rugged terrain (see Thapter).

  Controller: A mind-linked mechanical system of many flexible arms which draws power through a hedron and feeds it to the drive mechanisms of a clanker. A controller is attuned to a particular hedron, and the operator must be trained to use each controller, which takes time. Operators suffer withdrawal if removed from their machines for long periods, and inconsolable grief if their machines are destroyed, although this may be alleviated if the controller survives and can be installed in another clanker.