Authors: K. V. Johansen
Gods of Nabban
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, photocopyÂing, reÂcordÂing, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a website without prior written permission of the publisher, exÂcept in the case of brief quotations emÂbodied 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: GodsâFiction. | DemonologyâFiction. | BISAC: FICTION /Fantasy / Epic. | GSAFD: Fantasy fiction. | Occult fiction.
Classification: LCC PR9199.3.J555 G63 2016 (print) | LCC PR9199.3.J555 (ebook) | DDC 813/.54âdc23
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 demonsâ
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 devilsâ
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 watersâ
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 Godsâ
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
[Freeborn Nabbani are listed by their personal, rather than clan, name.]
Aoda (Daro Aoda)âA priestess of Father Nabban in Dernang.
AhjvarâFormer 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)âA wizard-talented daughter of Emperor Yao of Nabban who fled west; mother of Ivah.
An-Chaq (II)âWizard, artist, stone-carver.
An-ChiâYeh-Lin's daughter, a wizard who sided with her brother Min-Jan against their mother.
AnlauâSee Rat.
AnriâCaptain of the Wind in the Reeds, the imperial order of spies and assassins, under Emperor Otono.
Ario (Zhung Ario)âa banner-lord of Zhung Musan's army who defects to Ghu.
AttalissaâGoddess 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)âA priest drawn to Ghu's service, who had helped him years before when he was a runaway.
BarilâYuro's second-in-command over the horses and stables of the White River Dragon, a slave of Daro Korat's.
BarrastâAn ox, possibly a demon aurochs, of Grasslander legend; a constellation.
Baya (Dwei Baya)âA banner-lady, niece of Dwei Ontari.
Big YenâGeneral servant and compound watchman at the Flowering Orange playhouse in the Golden City.
The BlackdogâFormerly 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)âHigh lord of Argya, rebel against Buri-Nai, self-styled prince.
Buri-NaiâPrincess, later empress, of Nabban and eldest child of Emperor Yao; full sister of Emperor Otono, half-sister of Dan and of An-Chaq.
BuryanâPraitannec caravaneer (from the Duina Noreia); member of Kharduin's gang; cousin of Seoyin.
CatairanachâGoddess of the Duina Catairna in Praitan, who cursed Catairlau to live as an undying host for the soul of Hyllau.
CatairlauâA prince, wizard, and king's champion of the Duina Catairna roughly ninety-some years before this time; counted among the kings of the
duina
by the bards. See Ahjvar.
ChagoâA slave horseman of Daro Korat's; a contemporary of Ghu's.
ChichiâAn imperial slave; drummer for Buri-Nai's boat.
DanâYoungest son of the late emperor Yao; Traditionalist and rebel; sometimes uses his mother's clan-name Dwei rather than the imperial Min-Jan.
DebiraâSerakallashi caravaneer of Kharduin's gang.
DeyandaraâA Praitannec princess and singer; former student of Yeh-Lin's. Ghu calls her “the little bard”; Ahjvar looks on her as a granddaughter.
DimanâAn assassin of the Wind in the Reeds assigned to Princess Buri-Nai's household; later captain of the company.
DotemonâOne of the seven devils, bonded with the Nabbani wizard, empress, and usurper Yeh-Lin.
Dolan (Dwei Dolan)âAn old peasant woman met by Ahjvar and Ghu in a deserted village in southern Alwu Province.
DuriâSlave house-master at the castle of the White River Dragon.
EticâA legendary Grasslander hero; a constellation.
Evening CloudâSee Niaul.
Father NabbanâGod 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.
FaullenâA Praitannec warrior of Deyandara's household.
Gahur (Hani Gahur)âA lord of the Hani Clan; General Zhung Musan's second-in-command.
GalichaâGoddess of a spring in Denanbak, the deity of the chieftain Ganzu's folk.
GanzuâChieftain of a tribe in Denanbak.
The Gentle SisterâOne of the three great rivers of Nabban; formerly also a goddess.