The Archon's Assassin

by D. P. Prior

  MALDARK THE FALLEN

  Dwarf of Aethir. Leader of the Guardians of Eingana. Betrayed Eingana to Sektis Gandaw. Later realized his error and helped to rescue her. For his penance, sailed through the Abyss and passed through a portal to Earth. Continued to sail the waterways for hundreds of years. Killed by mawgs when he came to the aid of the Templum fleet (book 2: Best Laid Plans). His hammer concealed a piece of the statue of Eingana.

  MALKUTH

  The Light Side of Aethir. Divided from Qlippoth by the Farfall Mountains. Home to indigenous creatures of Aethir who are the dreams of the Cynocephalus. Also home to those Sektis Gandaw kidnapped from Earth.

  MARESMEN

  Husk hunters, entrusted by the Senate of New Jerusalem with preventing incursions from Qlippoth into Malkuth. The maresmen themselves are part husk.

  MAWGS

  Meldings of Sektis Gandaw. Flesh-eating creatures who flourish on the Anglesh Isles of Earth.

  MEPHESCH

  A homunculus. Leader of the Sedition.

  MILO

  A luminary.

  MOUNT SARTIS

  Volcano on Aethir. Home to Sartis.

  NARCUS

  A luminary.

  NEW JERUSALEM

  The capital city of Malkuth on Aethir, and once considered the last bastion of the free against the rule of Sektis Gandaw. The city’s gigantic Cyclopean Walls were a penance and parting gift of the dwarves following their betrayal of Eingana and the whole of Creation. New Jerusalem is presided over by an elected Senate, and fashions itself to a great extent on the mythical past of the city of Aeterna on Earth.

  NIGHT HAWKS, the

  Guild of rogues in New Jerusalem.

  NILS FARGIN

  Son of Buck Fargin from New Jerusalem.

  NOUS (Noos)

  Deity. The Son of Ain. Worshipped by the Templum under the Patriarchate of the Ipsissimus. Individual worshippers are known as Nousians. Symbolised by an endless knot, said to contain all the mysteries of Creation—all eminently reasonable, but beyond human ability to unravel in their entirety. Wisdom only comes through the Sword of Faith, which cuts the infinite knot.

  NOUSIA

  The combined lands of the Nousian Theocracy. The Templum Empire.

  OAKENDALE

  Village in Western Sahul.

  OTTO BLIGHTEY

  The Liche Lord of Verusia. First of the Nousians. Once a contemplative in the Old Religion at the time of the Ancients, roughly equating to our middle ages, Blightey had a succession of dark visions (having penetrated the veil between Earth and Aethir through the austerity of his devotion and contemplation). The dreams showed him ways to draw upon the magic that spilled forth from Aethir’s dark side, and whispering voices promised him great power and eternal life. He had heard the voice of the Dweller, the first begotten of the Demiurgos.

  Blightey prolonged his life at the expense of others—initially tentatively, leaching on their psychic energies, but finding his needs ever greater, until he needed their deaths. He left the Old Religion to pursue his hunger—both for lives and for wisdom. He discovered much of the nature of things through alchemy and later science. He also discovered something of the ontological secrets of the cosmos.

  Due to his wisdom, he became the most respected thinker in the Templum that emerged from the ashes of the Old Religion in the aftermath of the Reckoning. He brought in elements from other religions and esoteric traditions, claiming the Old Religion had perished because it was false.

  Although the Templum still sought the truth of Nous, Blightey’s amendments buried the perennial wisdom beneath layers of obfuscation. The Templum stuck with Blightey’s reforms as they were seen as strengthening a once weak religion with elements of popular appeal and a ladder of grades for the more ambitious.

  Betraying the trust the Templum held in him, Blightey murdered the Ipsissimus and the Keeper of the Sword of the Archon. Taking the Ipsissimal Monas and the Sword, he used their combined power to render his skull impervious to attack, but before he could do the same for his body, he was captured and burned at the stake. The skull had learned to suck the souls from the living, and so it was locked in a casket made from scarolite that the Archon brought from Aethir. The casket was taken to Aethir and cast into Gehenna, falling into the Abyss.

  Blightey escaped from the casket, killed a demon, and took its body, along with the black sword it wielded. He terrorized the Cynocephalus on the threshold with Gehenna, and stole his armor.

  Hundreds of years passed, during which Blightey whispered dark secrets from the Abyss to an Old World scientist called Sektis Gandaw. With the help of homunculi from Aethir, Gandaw constructed a portal machine and used it to bring Blightey through. Gandaw, however, did not remain subservient, having grown beyond superstition and magic. He rebelled against Blightey and used technology to drive him into the forests of Verusia.

  PARDES, the Abbey of

  Nousian Abbey founded in Sahul by the Gray Abbot.

  PAX NANORUM (Nan-or-oom)

  “Peace of the dwarves.” A black battle axe etched with sigils, formed from the essence of the Demiurgos by the homunculi. Also known as the “false” Pax Nanorum.The true Pax Nanorum is the mythical Axe of the Dwarf Lords, which features in the legends of Arnoch.

  PERFECT PEAK, the

  The mountain of Scarolite designed by Sektis Gandaw and built by the dwarves and the homunculi.

  PETE

  Soldier from the Great West, stationed in Britannia. “Puny Pete.”

  PLAGUEWIND, Master

  Leader of the Dybbuks guild in New Jerusalem. Wears a mask at all times. Rumored to be a stygian sorcerer from Qlippoth.

  PLANE SHIP

  A dimensional ship used by the homunculi and Sektis Gandaw to travel between the worlds.

  PORTIS

  Fishing town on the shores of the Chalice Sea in Malkuth, Aethir.

  PROJECTION GAUNTLET

  Sektis Gandaw’s instrument for generating and controlling a gigantic black hand.

  QLIPPOTH

  The dark side of Aethir. The land of nightmares.

  QUEENIE’S FINE DINER

  Formerly Dougan’s Diner. Albert’s restaurant in New Jerusalem. Named after his mother. Headquarters of the Night Hawks.

  QUINTUS QUINCY

  Foppish poet and playwright from New Jerusalem. An utter failure who spends his days drinking. Also the name Albert gives to Ludo’s mule.

  RAPHOE

  Largest of Aethir’s three moons.

  RECKONING, the

  The cataclysm that destroyed the world of the Ancients on Earth more than nine-hundred years ago (2,256 AD). Faced with the destruction of his people, the Dreamers—the last humans not to succumb to the technological despotism of Sektis Gandaw—Huntsman used the power of the Statue of Eingana to tear open the veil between Earth and the Dark Side of Aethir. The creatures of the Cynocephalus’s nightmares poured through and destroyed the known world. Sektis Gandaw escaped to Malkuth, on Aethir, in a plane ship.

  The dark magic of Aethir gradually withdrew like the tide going out, but not until the technological achievements of the Ancients lay in ruins, their secrets consigned to the archives of the emerging Templum.

  REYNOLDS

  Commander of the Fencibles in Hallow, Britannia.

  RHIANNON KWANE

  Farmer’s daughter from Oakendale, Western Sahul. Former postulant of the Templum of the Knot in Sarum. After the Nousian flight from Sahul, becomes a Sea Fencible in Britannia. Possesses the black sword of Callixus, which she acquired during the Battle of the Homestead in book 2: Best Laid Plans.

  RUGBEARD

  Dwarf, originally from Arx Gravis. Former teacher of the Annals. General jack-of-all-trades. Left Arx Gravis during the Ravine Butcher’s first massacre. An alcoholic resident of New Jerusalem. Killed by a sentroid beneath the Perfect Peak in book 3: The Unweaving.

  SABAS

  Chef on the Aura Placida. A Numosian. Killed by mawgs in book 2: Best Laid Plan
s.

  SAHUL

  Country in the southern hemisphere of Earth under the rule of the Zaneish dynasty. Last bastion of the rebels against Sektis Gandaw’s Global Technocracy before the Reckoning. One of the few countries still to defy Nousian hegemony.

  SAMUEL (SAMMY) KWANE

  Rhiannon’s younger brother. Apprenticed by the Dreamer Hunstman in book 1: Sword of the Archon, and now Clever Man of the Barraiya People in Sahul.

  SANDAU, Private

  Soldier from the Great West, stationed in Britannia.

  SAPHRA

  Daughter of Rhiannon.

  SARTIS

  Fire giant. Last of the Jötunn. With the gauntlets given him by the Cynocephalus, he destroyed his own people.

  SARUM

  Port city in Sahul. Was the capital before Jorakum was built.

  SCAROLITE

  Black and green ore, harder than steel, and with seemingly magical qualities. Originates in Gehenna, but strains can be found closer to the surface. There are scarolite mines outside the dwarven city of Arx Gravis.

  SCHWARZWALD, the

  The “Black Forest” in Verusia.

  SEDITION, the

  Group of homunculi, led by Mephesch, who are opposed to the Demiurgos.

  SEKTIS GANDAW (Sek-tis Gan-dor)

  Born in the Old World of the Ancients in England in AD 1568, he was a student of Dr. Dee and studied alchemy and occult science. Otto Blightey spoke to him in his dreams from the Abyss, when the Liche Lord had been cast there by the Archon. He was introduced to the homunculi, and developed technology to prolong his life.

  He became Professor of Science at a leading university, and selectively released his technological secrets to build an international corporation, forcing his rivals out of business and monopolising all areas of the technology industry. He expanded his empire until his Global Tech corporation dominated the whole world, and only the Dreamers and a scatter of refugees in Sahul held out against him.

  Blightey remained his shadowy advisor until Gandaw succeeded in bringing the Liche Lord back from the Abyss. Gandaw, and the world, had moved on, however, and Blightey proved something of a disappointment. Their ideas conflicted, and a power struggle ensued. Gandaw had been preparing for such an event, and used his technology to force Blightey into the forests of Verusia.

  At the time of the Reckoning, Gandaw fled to Aethir in a plane ship. After the Reckoning, when Blightey rose to a position of great influence in the new Nousian religion of the Templum, Gandaw started to rebuild his power on Aethir. Using plane ships, he kidnapped humans from Earth and experimented on them, forcing evolution into each and every direction in an attempt to gain control over the building blocks of life. Technology alone had failed: this time he would learn to unweave Creation and rebuild it—better than before—in his own image.

  He spent centuries improving his technology, creating new variants of DNA, and seeking the power to un-create—power he had learnt was to be found in the grandmother of all life on Aethir: Eingana.

  Devising machines to draw the essence of Eingana from the world, Gandaw pursued her until she fled in the form of a snake.

  He created a new race of dwarves to mine the scarolite the homunculi had revealed him. With the patience of the immortal, he sent them out into Aethir to build their own civilisation and left them clues as to the ‘real’ source of their life—the Serpent Goddess, Eingana.

  Eventually the dwarves found the hybrids who were sheltering Eingana. Gandaw attacked, but some of the dwarves betrayed him and joined the other side. Eingana evaded him, until he fooled the leader of the dwarf Guardians of Eingana, Maldark, into delivering her to him.

  Gandaw petrified the snake with his machines, and immediately set about harnessing her power in order to begin the Unweaving. of all Creation.

  Maldark and his Guardians realized their mistake and tried to set things right. They stormed Gandaw’s mountain with the hybrids and stole back Eingana’s statue. Maldark was the only Guardian to survive, along with four out of hundreds of hybrids.

  Centuries later, Sektis Gandaw reacquired the Statue of Eingana (book 2: Best Laid Plans) and once more attempted the Unweaving. This time, he was opposed by Deacon Shader, the Nameless Dwarf, and Rhiannon Kwane. Eingana was restored to the form of a giant serpent and consumed Sektis Gandaw whole.

  SENTROIDS

  Spherical robots of Sektis Gandaw, used for security and hunter-killer missions.

  SEVENTH HORSE, the

  Cavalry of the Elect. At one time, Deacon Shader was their captain. Honored for their valor at Trajinot, when their charge broke the Verusian line and won the day for the Templum forces.

  SHADRAK THE UNSEEN

  Diminutive albino assassin. Onetime Sicarii in Sarum, now leader of the Night Hawks in New Jerusalem.

  SHIELD OF WARDING, the

  Made by the Cynocephalus to ward against magic.

  SICARII, the

  Assassins guild, with members in every major city of Sahul.

  SILVANUS, Ipsissimus

  Successor of Ipsissimus Theodore. Supreme ruler of the Templum.

  SKEYR MAGNUS (Skeer Mag-nus)

  Lizard man. Magnus escaped the Perfect Peak, having stolen a projection gauntlet.

  SOLOMON JONAS

  Oakendale lad. Member of the White Order.

  SOUR MARSH

  Sentient swamp that originates in Qlippoth but flows beneath the Farfall Mountains and infects Malkuth.

  STANE

  One of Lorgen’s Verusians.

  STONE-EATERS

  Beetles enhanced by Sektis Gandaw. Can eat through rock and metal.

  STONER, Colonel

  Officer from the Great West, stationed in Britannia.

  STYGIANS

  Husks from Qlippoth, renowned for their dark sorcery.

  TAJEN

  A luminary.

  TECHNOCRAT

  A title of Sektis Gandaw.

  TEMPLUM, the

  The People of Nous on Earth, presided over by the Ipsissimus. Servants, of Truth and Love. Bound by the Virtues and guided by scriptures from before the time of the Ancients collected in the Liber.

  TEMPLUM JUDICIARY

  The Templum’s enforcers of orthodoxy.

  THANATOS

  Mysterious roving planet that harvests the dead.

  THANATOSIAN

  Creature from Thanatos. One was captured and experimented upon by Sektis Gandaw (book 3: The Unweaving). They have hollow bones, and membranes beneath their arms, which enable them to glide. Preternaturally fast, and with advanced senses. Perfect killers.

  THECLA CAWDOR

  A Verusian woman.

  THUMIL

  A dwarf. Member of the Council of Twelve in Arx Gravis. Formerly Marshal of the Ravine Guard, and a friend of the Nameless Dwarf. Married to Cordana.

  TRAJINOT

  Town on the border of Gallia and Verusia. Site of a major battle between the Nousian Theocracy and the forces of the Liche Lord, when Deacon Shader led the Seventh Horse in a decisive cavalry charge.

  UNWEAVING, the

  Sektis Gandaw’s plan to unmake all of Creation using technology powered by the Statue of Eingana.

  VADE IN PACE

  “Go in Peace” The inscription on the Sword of the Archon.

  VAMBRACE

  Devices worn on the forearm. Used by Sektis Gandaw and his homunculi for remote control and communication.

  VERUSIA (Ver-oos-ee-ah)

  Country on Earth, under the control of the Liche Lord, Otto Blightey.

  VOID, the

  The empty place. The eternal dark that divides the world of Creation from the Supernal Realm.

  VRAAJO

  A mawg witch doctor.

  WHITE ORDER, the

  Order of Nousian knights established by Deacon Shader in the village of Oakendale.

  WOLFMALEN

  Town in Verusia’s Schwarzwald. Wolfmalen Castle is the base of Otto Blightey, the Liche Lord.

  YARDY<
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  One of Lorgen’s Verusians.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  D.P. Prior is the bestselling fantasy author of the Nameless Dwarf and Shader series.

  Raised on a diet of old school Sword and Sorcery, and later influenced by the Heroic Fantasy of David Gemmell, the literary epics of Stephen R. Donaldson, and the "grimdark" offerings of Joe Abercrombie, Prior combines the imaginative daring of the old with the realism, tight point of view, and gallows humor of the new.

  As well as being a prolific author, D.P.Prior is also an experienced fiction editor with an impressive portfolio of clients (http://homunculuseditingservices.blogspot.com).

  He has also worked as a personal trainer, and is a competing member of the US All-Round Weightlifting Association.

  Website: http://dpprior.blogspot.com

  Twitter: @NamelessDwarf

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dpprior

  Email D.P. Prior with comments, feedback, questions, and donations of wine: derekprior@yahoo.co.uk

  For freebies, special offers, and notification of new releases from D.P. Prior, please subscribe to the New Release Mailing List: http://on.fb.me/1bDEBXz

  ALSO BY D.P. PRIOR

  The Nameless Dwarf

  The Ant-Man Of Malfen

  The Axe Of The Dwarf Lords

  The Scout And The Serpent

  The Ebon Staff

  Bane Of The Liche Lord

  The Nameless Dwarf: The Complete Chronicles

  Shader

  Sword Of The Archon

  Best Laid Plans

  The Unweaving

  The Archon’s Assassin

  Rise Of The Nameless Dwarf (forthcoming)

  Saphra (forthcoming)

  Against The Unweaving: Shader: The Entire First Trilogy

  Legends Of The Nameless Dwarf

  Book 1: Return Of The Dwarf Lords (forthcoming)

  Book 2: King Of Arnoch (forthcoming)

  Carnifex (forthcoming)

  The Memoires of Harry Chesterton

  Thanatos Rising

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  COPYRIGHT

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  MAP OF NOUSIAN THEOCRACY

  MAP OF AETHIR

  NIGHT OF THE GUILDS

  BENEATH THE BASILICA

  THE DEMIURGOS’S DISCIPLE