Unhewn Throne 01 - The Emperor's Blades (73 page)

“I am not asking,” Kaden replied, stiffening his voice. “Valyn, I need your Wing back in the capital and soon, to sort out what happened there before the trail goes cold.”

“Then we’ll go visit the Ishien first, and then we’ll
all
go to the capital.”

Kaden opened his mouth to try to explain it once more, then closed it. Perhaps he could convince his
umial
and the others, and perhaps he could not—that was beside the point. He never asked for his eyes, but they burned just the same.

“Tan and I are going,” he said once more. “The rest of you are returning to Annur. There is no more to the matter unless you would disobey your Emperor.”

Pyrre chuckled and opened her mouth to speak. For a moment Kaden thought he’d made a fool of himself. They were thousands of leagues from the Dawn Palace, lost in a labyrinth of mountains, fleeing from the people he had been born to command. Why should a Skullsworn, a renegade monk, and a Kettral Wing leader listen to him, a boy with one robe to his name?

Then, all in one motion, Valyn stood. Kaden rose stiffly to his feet as well, in time to see his brother touch a hand to his blades before kneeling and placing his knuckles to his forehead.

“It will be as you say, Your Radiance. I will make the birds ready at once.”

When Valyn finally raised those black eyes, Kaden could see nothing in them, not even his own reflection.

GODS AND RACES, AS UNDERSTOOD BY THE CITIZENS OF ANNUR

R
ACES

Nevariim—
Immortal, beautiful, bucolic. Foes of the Csestriim. Extinct thousands of years before the appearance of humans. Likely apocryphal.

Csestriim—
Immortal, vicious, emotionless. Responsible for the creation of civilization and the study of science and medicine. Destroyed by humans. Extinct thousands of years.

Human—
Identical in appearance to the Csestriim, but mortal, subject to emotion.

T
HE
O
LD
G
ODS, IN ORDER OF ANTIQUITY

Blank God, the—
The oldest, predating creation. Venerated by the Shin monks.

Ae—
Consort to the Blank God, the Goddess of Creation, responsible for all that is.

Astar’ren—
Goddess of Law, Mother of Order and Structure. Called the Spider by some, although the adherents of Kaveraa also claim that title for their own goddess.

Pta—
Lord of Chaos, disorder, and randomness. Believed by some to be a simple trickster, by others, a destructive and indifferent force.

Intarra—
Lady of Light, Goddess of Fire, starlight, and the sun. Also the patron of the Malkeenian Emperors of Annur, who claim her as a distant ancestor.

Hull—
The Owl King, the Bat, Lord of the Darkness, Lord of the Night, aegis of the Kettral, patron of thieves.

Bedisa—
Goddess of Birth, she who weaves the souls of all living creatures.

Ananshael—
God of Death, the Lord of Bones, who unknits the weaving of his consort, Bedisa, consigning all living creatures to oblivion. Worshipped by the Skullsworn in Rassambur.

Ciena—
Goddess of Pleasure, believed by some to be the mother of the young gods.

Meshkent—
The Cat, the Lord of Pain and Cries, consort of Ciena, believed by some to be the father of the young gods. Worshipped by the Urghul, some Manjari, and the jungle tribes.

T
HE
Y
OUNG
G
ODS, ALL COEVAL WITH HUMANITY

Eira—
Goddess of Love and mercy.

Maat—
Lord of Rage and hate.

Kaveraa—
Lady of Terror, Mistress of Fear.

Heqet—
God of Courage and battle.

Orella—
Goddess of Hope.

Orilon—
God of Despair.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BRIAN STAVELEY has taught literature, religion, history, and philosophy, all subjects that influence his writing, and holds an M.A. in creative writing from Boston University. He lives in Vermont with his wife and young son.
The Emperor’s Blades
is his first novel.

bstaveley.wordpress.com

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

THE EMPEROR’S BLADES

Copyright © 2013 by Brian Staveley

All rights reserved.

Cover art by Richard Anderson

Map by Isaac Stewart

A Tor Book

Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

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New York, NY 10010

www.tor-forge.com

Tor
^®
is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Staveley, Brian.

      The Emperor’s Blades / Brian Staveley.—First Edition.

         p. cm.—(Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne; Book 1)

      “A Tom Doherty Associates Book.”

      ISBN 978-0-7653-3640-8 (hardcover)

      ISBN 978-1-4668-2843-8 (e-book)

      1.  Fantasy fiction.   I.  Title.

  PS3619.T3856E47 2014

  813'.6—dc23

                                                 2013025451

e-ISBN 9781466828438

First Edition: January 2014