by K V Johansen
ALSO BY K. V. JOHANSEN
Blackdog
The Leopard
The Lady
Published 2016 by Pyr®, an imprint of Prometheus Books
Gods of Nabban. Copyright © 2016 by K.V. Johansen. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a website without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Characters, organizations, locales, and events portrayed in this novel either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Cover design by Liz Scinta
Cover illustration by Raymond Swanland
Cover design © Prometheus Books
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Johansen, K. V. (Krista V.), 1968- author.
Title: Gods of Nabban / K. V. Johansen.
Description: Amherst, NY : Pyr, an imprint of Prometheus Books, 2016.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016012441 (print) | LCCN 2016019561 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781633882034 (softcover : acid-free paper) |
ISBN 9781633882041 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Gods—Fiction. | Demonology—Fiction. | BISAC: FICTION /Fantasy / Epic. | GSAFD: Fantasy fiction. | Occult fiction.
Classification: LCC PR9199.3.J555 G63 2016 (print) | LCC PR9199.3.J555 (ebook) | DDC 813/.54—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016012441
Printed in the United States of America
For Tristanne and Marina
On the nature of the demons, gods, and devils, from the common introduction to the cycle of histories of the devils’ wars told and sung by the Northron skalds:
The demons—Though the demons may wander all the secret places of the world, their hearts are bound each to their own place, and though they once served and once defied the Old Great Gods and are no friends to humanfolk, they are no enemies either, and want only to be left in peace.
The devils—In the days of the first kings in the North there were seven devils escaped from the cold hells where the Old Great Gods had sealed them after the war in the heavens, and their names were Honeytongued Ogada, Jasberek Fireborn, Vartu Kingsbane, Tu’usha the Restless, Jochiz Stonebreaker, Dotemon the Dreamshaper, and Twice-Betrayed Ghatai. And there were seven wizards, who desired to know yet more, and see yet more, and to live forever. The seven devils, having no place, had no body, but were like smoke, or like a flame. They hungered to be of the stuff of the world, like the gods and the goddesses and the demons at will, and as men and women are whether they will or no, and having a body, to find a place. So they made a bargain with the seven wizards, that they would join their souls to the wizards’ souls, and share the wizards’ bodies, sharing knowledge, and unending life, and power.
The gods and goddesses of the high places and the waters—As all should know, the gods and the goddesses of the earth live in their own places, the high places and the waters, and are bound each to their own place, and aid those who worship them, and protect their own.
The Old Great Gods—They watch and judge and cherish the souls of humanfolk after death and take no part in the affairs of the living world, save once only, when the pleas and prayers of the folk and the gods and goddesses of the earth themselves brought them into the world, to defeat and bind the seven devils . . . but afterwards the Old Great Gods withdrew again to their own place, to await the souls of humanfolk in the heavens beyond the stars.
Contents
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
PART ONE
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER V
CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER X
CHAPTER XI
CHAPTER XII
CHAPTER XIII
CHAPTER XIV
CHAPTER XV
CHAPTER XVI
PART TWO
CHAPTER XVII
CHAPTER XVIII
CHAPTER XIX
CHAPTER XX
CHAPTER XXI
CHAPTER XXII
CHAPTER XXIII
CHAPTER XXIV
CHAPTER XXV
CHAPTER XXVI
CHAPTER XXVII
CHAPTER XXVIII
CHAPTER XXIX
CHAPTER XXX
PART THREE
CHAPTER XXXI
CHAPTER XXXII
CHAPTER XXXIII
CHAPTER XXXIV
CHAPTER XXXV
CHAPTER XXXVI
CHAPTER XXXVII
CHAPTER XXXVIII
CHAPTER XXXIX
CHAPTER XL
CHAPTER XLI
CHAPTER XLII
CHAPTER XLIII
CHAPTER XLIV
CHAPTER XLV
CHAPTER XLVI
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
[Freeborn Nabbani are listed by their personal, rather than clan, name.]
Aoda (Daro Aoda)—A priestess of Father Nabban in Dernang.
Ahjvar—Former assassin of the Five Cities cursed to remain undying in the world; now a companion to his onetime groom and shield-bearer Ghu; also called the Leopard. A long lifetime ago, prince and king’s champion (or rihswera) of the Duina Catairna in Praitan. See also Catairlau.
An-Chaq (I)—A wizard-talented daughter of Emperor Yao of Nabban who fled west; mother of Ivah.
An-Chaq (II)—Wizard, artist, stone-carver.
An-Chi—Yeh-Lin’s daughter, a wizard who sided with her brother Min-Jan against their mother.
Anlau—See Rat.
Anri—Captain of the Wind in the Reeds, the imperial order of spies and assassins, under Emperor Otono.
Ario (Zhung Ario)—a banner-lord of Zhung Musan’s army who defects to Ghu.
Attalissa—Goddess of the lake and town of Lissavakail in the mountains called the Pillars of the Sky, west of Marakand beyond the Four Deserts.
Awan (Shouja Awan)—A priest drawn to Ghu’s service, who had helped him years before when he was a runaway.
Baril—Yuro’s second-in-command over the horses and stables of the White River Dragon, a slave of Daro Korat’s.
Barrast—An ox, possibly a demon aurochs, of Grasslander legend; a constellation.
Baya (Dwei Baya)—A banner-lady, niece of Dwei Ontari.
Big Yen—General servant and compound watchman at the Flowering Orange playhouse in the Golden City.
The Blackdog—Formerly the guardian dog-spirit of Attalissa, now bonded to its last host, the Westgrasslander caravaneer Holla-Sayan, as a double-souled shapeshifter.
Bolan (Lai Bolan)—High lord of Argya, rebel against Buri-Nai, self-styled prince.
Buri-Nai—Princess, later empress, of Nabban and eldest child of Emperor Yao; full sister of Emperor Otono, half-sister of Dan and of An-Chaq.
Buryan—Praitannec caravaneer (from the Duina Noreia); member of Kharduin’s gang; cousin of Seoyin.
Catairanach—Goddess of the Duina Catairna in Praitan, who cursed Catairlau to live as an undying host for the soul of Hyllau.
Catairlau—A prince, wizard, and king’s c
hampion of the Duina Catairna roughly ninety-some years before this time; counted among the kings of the duina by the bards. See Ahjvar.
Chago—A slave horseman of Daro Korat’s; a contemporary of Ghu’s.
Chichi—An imperial slave; drummer for Buri-Nai’s boat.
Dan—Youngest son of the late emperor Yao; Traditionalist and rebel; sometimes uses his mother’s clan-name Dwei rather than the imperial Min-Jan.
Debira—Serakallashi caravaneer of Kharduin’s gang.
Deyandara—A Praitannec princess and singer; former student of Yeh-Lin’s. Ghu calls her “the little bard”; Ahjvar looks on her as a granddaughter.
Diman—An assassin of the Wind in the Reeds assigned to Princess Buri-Nai’s household; later captain of the company.
Dotemon—One of the seven devils, bonded with the Nabbani wizard, empress, and usurper Yeh-Lin.
Dolan (Dwei Dolan)—An old peasant woman met by Ahjvar and Ghu in a deserted village in southern Alwu Province.
Duri—Slave house-master at the castle of the White River Dragon.
Etic—A legendary Grasslander hero; a constellation.
Evening Cloud—See Niaul.
Father Nabban—God of the high places of all Nabban, who came into being when all the gods of the land became one to defeat Yeh-Lin Dotemon during the devils’ wars.
Faullen—A Praitannec warrior of Deyandara’s household.
Gahur (Hani Gahur)—A lord of the Hani Clan; General Zhung Musan’s second-in-command.
Galicha—Goddess of a spring in Denanbak, the deity of the chieftain Ganzu’s folk.
Ganzu—Chieftain of a tribe in Denanbak.
The Gentle Sister—One of the three great rivers of Nabban; formerly also a goddess.
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 Da
n.
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.
