The Gathering of the Lost

by Helen Lowe

lantern boats: river craft used in Ij; the annual races are held during the Festival of Masks

  Lathayra: a land south of Emer

  Low of Meraun: a code followed by the Derai House of Peace

  Lawr: honor guard, serving the House of Night

  Leto Ilvaine: grandson of Prince Ilvaine

  Lien: assassin of Ij

  Lily of Ormond, the: Ghiselaine, Countess of Ormond

  Linden: Winter Country shaman and spring-singer for Rowan Birchmoon’s clan

  Linnet: companion to Ghiselaine, Countess of Ormond

  Lion Throne: throne and also court of the Shah of Ishnapur

  Lira: guard, formerly serving the House of Night

  Long Pass: main pass into Emer when coming from the River

  Lord Bonamark: Marklord of Bonamark, in Emer

  Lord Captain: overall commander of the Patrol

  Lord Falk: Castellan of the Northern March of Emer

  Lord Isrradin: Ishnapur’s ambassador to the River lands

  Lost: Derai with old powers who have fled the Wall of Night and disappeared into Haarth

  Luin: page in the ducal palace at Caer Argent

  lurkers: common name for a species of Swarm minion; also smotherers

  Lyinor: legendary lady of Emer and doomed springtime love of the hero Rolan; both are remembered in a spring song

  Madder: red roan warhorse, belonging to the squire Jarna

  Madness: condition associated with Jaransor

  Main Road: road that runs the length of the River lands, maintained by the Company of Engineers from Ar and kept safe by the Patrol

  Maister: Haarth term for a scholar or teacher

  Maister Carick: see Carick

  Maister Gervon: priest of Serrut and teacher at Normach

  Malian: only child of the Earl of the House of Night, also known as Heir of Night, Child of Night, and Daughter of Night

  Malisande: companion of Ghiselaine, Countess of Ormond

  Mallow: Normarch horse, allocated to Carick

  Manan: Normarch inn wife and healer

  Many-As-One: name the Swarm of Dark’s adherents call themselves

  march: border territory of Emer

  mark: see Land Marks

  Marten: guard in the service of Normarch

  Masters of Ij: heads of the Three of Ij; also includes the leaders of the princely and merchant houses

  Mayanne: one of the Nine Gods of the Derai

  Meraun: the Healer, one of the Nine Gods of the Derai

  messenger horses: horses, usually black, belonging to the Derai messenger corps; famed for their endurance and speed

  Mhaelanar: Defender (or Defender of Heaven), one of the Nine Gods of the Derai, also called the Beloved of the Nine, Great Strategist, and Shield of the Derai

  mindburned: result of a form of psychic attack; see mindsweep

  mindspeech: communicating directly from mind to mind, an old Derai power; see powers

  mindsweep: a wave of psychic power, designed to sweep away any obstacle in its path

  Minstrels’ Island: one of the central islands forming the city if Ij; location of the College of Minstrels

  Miro: assassin of Ij

  moon-bright helm: part of the arms of the hero Yorindesarinen; see Nhenir

  Morin: honor guard, serving the House of Night

  Mother Goddess: see Imulun

  Mykon Ambard: envoy of the Assassins’ School and great-nephew to Prince Ilvaine

  Naia: caretaker of the heralds’ Guild House in Ij

  Nerion: Malian’s mother, the Earl of Night’s former wife

  Nerys: honor guard, serving the House of Night

  Nevi: boatman of Ij

  New Keep: newer, inhabited stronghold of the Keep of Winds

  Nhairin: former High Steward of the Keep of Winds

  Nherenor: a Swarm envoy in Emer

  Nhenir: moon-bright helm, part of the arms of the hero Yorindesarinen

  Nindorith: a power of the Darkswarm

  Nine Gods: nine gods of the Derai: Hurulth, Kharalth, Mayanne, Meraun, Mhaelenar, Ornorith, Tawr, Terennin, Thiandriath

  Nine Houses: nine Houses of the Derai Alliance

  Nine Queens: nine priestess-queens who jointly rule Jhaine

  Nirn: Swarm sorcerer

  Normarch: stronghold of the Castellan of the Northern March

  North Gate: northern exit from the city of Ij, on island known as The Sleeve

  Oakward: secret society, said to exist in Emer to resist evil

  Oath, the: see Blood Oath

  Old Earl: current Earl of Night’s father, Malian’s grandfather, now deceased

  Old Empire: empire said to have existed prior to the Derai arrival on Haarth, stretched from Jaransor to Ishnapur

  Old Keep: original Keep of Winds, now abandoned

  One: prophesied hero who will come to unite the Derai and defeat the Swarm, predicted to be born of the Blood of the Houses of Night and Stars

  One-to-Come: see One

  one voice: term for the herald habit of speaking in unison

  Onyx: horse belonging to the Emerian squire Girvase

  Orn: Swarm warrior

  Ornorith: known as Ornorith of the Two Faces, one of the Nine Gods of the Derai, Goddess of Luck; depicted as having two, masked faces, looking in opposite directions

  Orth: warrior of the House of Swords

  outsiders: Derai term for the non-Derai peoples of Haarth

  Patrol: corps that keeps the peace along road and river, between the independent cities of the River lands

  Perfumed City: capital city of Ishnapur

  powers: supernatural and magical powers of the Derai, once used to combat the Swarm of Darkness. They include: ability to command objects and forces, both natural and physical; understanding the speech of beasts and birds; acute eyesight and hearing, including seeing in the dark and hearing outside normal human range; chameleon ability to blend into surrounding materials and elements; dreaming; empathic spirit bond; farseeing and foreseeing; fire calling; illusion working; mindspeaking; mind- and spiritwalking; psychic shielding; prophecy; seeking; truthsaying; and weatherworking

  Prince Ath: head of the Athiri, one of the princely families of Ij

  Prince Ilvaine: head of the Ilvaine kin, one of the princely families of Ij

  Princess Coreil: head of the Coreil kin, one of the princely families of Ij

  Raher: Emerian knight in training

  Raptor of Darkness: Swarm power, a psychic vampire and eater of souls

  Rastem: First of a Jhainarian Seven, serving Queen Zhineve-An

  Raven: hedge knight

  Rhike: Swarm adept

  Rindle: river in the Northern March of Emer

  River, the: lands along the Ijir River system, mainly comprising city states such as Ij, Terebanth, and Ar. Also known as the River lands

  river port: Ij’s port for barges and galleys plying the Ijir and its tributaries

  Ro: damosel of Normarch

  Road Gate: gate where the great Main Road enters the city of Ij

  Rolan: legendary hero of Emer and doomed springtime love of Lyinor; both are remembered in a spring song

  Rowan Birchmoon: shaman of the Winter People, consort of the Earl of Night; see also Winter Woman

  Sable: horse belonging to the damosel Alianor, in Emer

  Salan: herald of the Guild house in Ishnapur, brother to Ileyra

  Sarathion: lieutenant to the Lord Captain of the Patrol

  Sark: guard in the service of Normarch

  Sarus: veteran sergeant of the Earl of Night’s Honor Guard

  School of Assassins: Ijiri School of Assassins; one of the Three of Ij

  Sea House: House of the Derai Alliance, traditionally known as “the navigators”

  Sea Keep: stronghold of the Sea House

  Seasonal Analects: rare work by the famed poet J’mair of Ishnapuri

  Secret Isle: island of Ij, home of the School of Assassins

  seeing: power to
foretell and see future events

  seeker: one with power to seek out the hidden and find the lost

  seeking: active use of a seeker’s power

  seer: one who has the power to foretell and see into the future

  Selia: damosel of Normarch

  Ser Alric: knight of Wymark, in Emer

  Ser Amain: captain of Lady Bonamark’s knights-at-arms

  Ser Bartrand: Bartrand Ar-Griffon, captain of Normarch

  Serinna Sondcendre: queen of the Midsummer tourney in Emer; cousin to Ser Ombrose Sondargent, the Duke’s champion

  Serivis: toll clerk of Farelle, on the River

  Ser Ombrose Sondargent: Duke of Emer’s champion, but also his nephew; cousin to Audin Sondargent. Hirluin Sondargent

  Ser Rannart: knight commander of Normarch

  Serru: southern Aralorn name for Seruth

  Serrut: Emerian name for Seruth

  Seruth: one of the three gods of the River and lands beyond, the lightbringer and guardian of journeys

  Seven: name of a power working, sacred to Imuln

  Seven, a: elite Jhainarian warriors bound together in a unit; escort of the priestess-queens of Jhaine and may also be associated with the Ishnapuri magi

  Shadow Band: initiates of Kan sworn to protect the Princes of Ar; not aligned with the Ijiri Assassins’ School

  Shah: title of the ruler of Ishnapur

  shielding: power to conceal objects or people from both physical and psychic search

  siren worm: powerful minion of the Swarm

  Sirith: city of the River, feuding with Emaln

  smotherers: see lurkers

  Solaan: instructor for the squire training at Normarch

  Sondargent wolf: nickname for Ser Ombrose Sondargent, the Duke of Emer’s champion

  Sorriyith: a captain of the Jhainarian Guard, from Ishnapur

  Southern Realms: the lands of Haarth that lie between the great deserts beyond Ishnapur; also called the Southern Lands

  Stoners: derogatory term for Derai from the House of Adamant

  spring song: song form that celebrates Emer’s tradition of springtime love

  springtime love: Emerian tradition of romance between young men and women of the knightly and noble classes, where politics and family duty make marriage unlikely

  swallowtail swords: twin swords with curved tips, favored in Haarth’s South

  Swarm of Dark: enemy of the Derai; a vast entity comprising many fell creatures; see also darkspawn, Darkswarm, Darksworn, Many-As-One

  Swift: river in the Northern March of Emer

  Syrus: one of Queen Zhineve-An’s Seven

  Tarathan of Ar: herald of the Guild, from the Guild House of Terebanth, a city on the River

  Tasarion: current Earl, hereditary ruler of the House of Night

  Tasian: Heir of Stars at the time of the Great Betrayal

  Telemanthar: Swordsman of the Stars, an ancient hero of the Derai, twin brother of Errianthar the Priestess

  Temple in the Rock: one of the oldest shrines to Imuln in Emer

  Temple quarter: temple complex in a Derai keep, comprising the temples and adjunct buildings dedicated to all of the Nine Gods, plus living quarters of the priesthood

  Temple of Night: the temple precinct in the Keep of Winds

  Temple of Seruth: precinct in Ij dedicated to the god Seruth

  Teneseti: noble family of Ij, allied to the Ilvaine

  Tenneward: one of the six wards of Emer

  Ter: honor guard, serving the House of Night

  Terebanth: city of the River

  Terennin: one of the Nine Gods of the Derai, known as both the Far-seeing and Farseer, also the Artisan or Artificer, as well as the Lord of the Dawn Eyes

  Teron: follower of the Earl of Night

  The Leas: a meadow area on Emer’s nothern march and the site of a former village

  The Sleeve: an island in the northern part of the city of Ij, where the North Gate is located

  Three: common foreshortening of the Three of Ij

  Three of Ij: the three main powers that rule the city of Ij: sages, minstrels, and assassins

  Tibalt: Emerian knight in training

  Tirorn: warrior of the House of Swords

  Token-bearer: one who bears a ring said to have been made by Terennin, which is called the Token

  Torlun: priest of the House of Adamant, from the Keep of Stone

  Two-Faced Goddess: see Ornorith

  Var: initiate priest, serving in the Temple of Night

  Vast: Emerian town in Wymark, on the border with the Southern March

  Vern: initiate priest, serving in the Temple of Night

  Vertward: one of six inner wards of Emer, lying to the west and south of Caer Argent

  Vhirinal: an Ephor of the city of Terebanth, on the River

  Wall: common foreshortening of the Wall of Night

  Wall of Night: vast mountain range that protects Haarth from the Swarm, garrisoned by the Derai Alliance, and said to have been created by the House of Night; also called Shield-wall of Night

  Wards: six administrative territories surrounding Caer Argent in Emer, ruled by the Lords Warden and named for heraldic colors: Vertward, Gulesward, Azurward, Murreward, Tenneward, and Cendreward

  weirdling: House of Swords term for a magic user

  Welun: Normarch smith

  were-hunt: a power of the Swarm

  were-hunters: individuals that comprise a were-hunt

  Western Mountains: range that froms the western border of Emer

  Westgate: one of the largest islands forming the city of Ij, and the one closest to the western Road Gate; contains several market squares and a large warehouse quarter with headquarters of several major trading houses and embassies from other River cities

  Westwind Hold: satellite fort of the Keep of Winds

  Wildenrush: a major tributary of the river Ijir

  Winter Country: vast steppes in the north of Haarth, inhabited by the Winter People

  Winter Woman: see Rowan Birchmoon

  Wolf: Winter Country shaman; Rowan Birchmoon’s uncle

  wolfpack: River and Emerian term for an outlaw band

  wolf’s head: an outlaw

  Wymark: one of the six marks of Emer; shortening of Wyvern Mark

  wyr hounds: hounds of the Derai, able to track psychic trails and those with psychic powers

  Xeria: a priestess of the House of Stars at the time of the Great Betrayal, reputed to be one of the greatest power wielders born to the Derai; also called Star of the Derai

  Yorindesarinen: greatest hero of the Derai. Heir of the House of Stars in her day, she slew the Worm of Chaos but died of the wounds received in that battle; also referred to as the Child of Stars

  Yris: Patrol river pilot

  Zarn: one of Queen Zhineve-An’s Seven

  Zharaan: a priestess-queen of Jhaine in the years following the Cataclysm

  Zhehaamor: a priestess-queen of Jhaine

  Zhineve-An: a priestess-queen of Jhaine

  Zorem: one of Queen Zhineve-An’s Seven

  Acknowledgments

  When I wrote the Acknowledgments for The Heir of Night (The Wall of Night Book One), I said that “writing the first book in a series is always a major undertaking.” Well, as I have found out, writing a series is a major undertaking, and the second book is as significant, if not more so, than the first. In the case of The Gathering of the Lost, the natural pressure on the second-in-series to keep the momentum of the first book going was compounded by the fact that in the year from September 4, 2010, my home city of Christchurch suffered three major earthquakes (7.1, September 4; 6.3, February 22; 6.3, June 13) and over 8, 000 noticeable recorded aftershocks, many of these significant events in their own right. Living in this environment, and in particular dealing with the citywide and property-level damage that followed both the February 22 and June 13 earthquakes, all made for a challenging writing environment.

  So there are people I would like
, and need, to thank, who have made a difference in getting this book written under extremely difficult circumstances.

  Firstly, my lead editor, Kate Nintzel of HarperVoyager USA, for her patience, understanding, and encouragement under very trying circumstances. But also, for her love for and understanding of the story and what I am trying to do with it. Thank you, Kate, for always being part of the solution.

  And to the UK team at Orbit, particularly Bella Pagan and Joanna Kramer, who have also been consistent in their concern and support.

  I also owe particular thanks to my agent, Robin Rue, and her assistant, Beth Miller, who were always there to help keep the writing path as smooth as possible.

  One of the consequences of both the February and June earthquakes was liquefaction, a phenomenon where the ground turns to slurry, and silt and floodwater are spewed to the surface. Our property was relatively hard hit, and so I would like to thank the forty-five people who turned out over three days to help us dig out in February, including my cousin Christine, and friends Joffre, Janine, Peter, Irene, Petra, Kayley, Andrew, Susi, Tina, Paul, Dave, James, and their friends and roommates, and all the helpers from Aikido Shinryukan Canterbury.

  I also need to thank all those who helped again on June 13: Joffre, Dave, Caroline, Susi, Peter, Fitz, Ram, Shane, and Chris—as without their help I would not have met my July 1 deadline for completing this book.

  Other, equally valuable disaster assistance that helped me to keep going and keep writing in 2010-2011, was provided by Lou Stella, Wen Baragrey, Jacqui and Colin Church, and Jenny Grimmett and Mike Elston. I also very much appreciate the three-week, dedicated writing retreat offered by Mary and Frank Victoria, as the time away from continual aftershocks enabled me to really get traction on finishing the book. My very sincere thanks to you all.

  A writer always owes profound thanks to those who read the raw manuscript and offer constructive feedback—in this case, Andrew Robins, Irene Williamson, Peter Fitzpatrick, and Chris Whelan. All provided invaluable insight and assistance, for which I am extremely grateful.

  Publication day, coming after months and years of hard work, is always an exciting moment. As part of the launch fun around The Heir of Night (The Wall of Night Book One) I ran a competition on my blog, with the winner’s name to be used for a character in The Gathering of the Lost. The winner was Jan Butterworth. Jan, I hope you enjoy the appearance made by your character.

  Last but not least, and as always, I wish to thank my partner Andrew for his unfailing encouragement and support. Good times, bad times—what more can you say?