The following images were created specially for the Inktober Challenge 2023. Jake Parker created Inktober in 2009 as a challenge to improve his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. It has since grown into a worldwide endeavor with thousands of artists taking on the challenge every year. The original challenge was to draw an image with ink at each of the 31 days of October and post it with the hashtag #inktober. Since 2016 an official prompt list is also published
For the 2023 Inktober Shadaan put again a Malazan themed prompt list together. After drawing objects and creatures in previous years, this year's Malaztober Challenge will be the Locations of Wu edition. Kudos to Shadaan for all the work!
Participating artists[]
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Day 1 – Malaz City[]
'My travels have brought me to the heart of the old Empire. Here I hope to begin my search for the visage of night. The matron will reward me for my piety.' - Myzilik of New Morn, Age of the Shattered Sky.
Malaz City was an island city and the birthplace of the Malazan Empire. The city was located on a small Island, southeast of Quon Tali.
Day 2 – The Stormwall[]
'In Malaz I met an ancient claiming to have stood on the Stormwall. A Koreli volunteer, he had fought the Stormriders and lived. He claimed to have guarded a noteworthy champion. This spectre in red bore a mask of Ebon hue, black as the void. The riders avoided that one. When his turn was done this warrior left the Stormwall by warren, his form wreathed in amber flame. The otataral chains were all that remained...now fused to the stone.' - Myzilik travel journal, Age of the Shattered Sky.
The Stormwall. A defensive fortification over a hundred leagues long, straddling the Dead Shore of Korel Island. The wall was built to guard from attack by the Stormriders.
Day 3 – Li Heng[]
'From the harbors of Malaz City we sailed to the continent of Quon Tali. The Napan sea welcomed our ship with warm currents. My crew and I disembarked at Cawn, travelling into the grass covered planes of this blessed continent. Oh, if the Matron could be besides us as we crested the hills. Li Heng! the fortress city. If ever there was a skykeep's envy upon the face of Burn. It is here we shall trade our oils for information and an audience with an initiate of D'rek. The profits will see us to the island of Kartool. I must remember to replenish our stock of medicines.'
- Myzilik travel journal, Age of the Shattered Sky.
Li Heng, a city famous for its titanic walls which could be seen from as far as a day's travel away.
Day 4 – Kartool[]
'Kartool, the old seat of the worm. I have walked the streets and smelt the oils of decay that permeate this city. The spiders skitter everywhere and weave their traps. I feel caught by the ancient ghost of their god. I am told it is here the champion I seek begun his pilgrimage. This champion now travels to holy Raraku. The heat will serve my scales well...'
- Myzilik travel journal, Age of the Shattered Sky.
Kartool is a city located on an island off the east coast of Quon Tali. It's known for being infested by fist-sized paralt spiders.
Day 5 – Raraku[]
"I have seen him! At the edge of the isle once called the Pan'arak. An oasis at the center of all things. There, on the fourth hill, did he awaken something, and the land gave answer. Serc and another flavor, there is a hint of spice in the air. I would hurry after him, but these winds interrupt the matrons gift."
- Myzilik of New Morn, a witness.
Raraku is a holy site on the continent of Seven Cities. Events in the book have transformed the land, but the spirits remain.
Day 6 – Darujhistan[]
"Sit oil-blood, let us talk. Your pursuit of me grows tiresome." This from a whisper behind me. "Then I am discovered in fair Darujhistan." "You are bold to track me. I sense it is this mask upon my face that you seek. I would let you know the mask is inflicted upon me. It is not a choice." I turn to observe the champion in red, surrounded by blue light, a head enveloped in darkness. "The Visage sits ill upon you." "I am here to find a means to rid me of it. I feel in this our interests align."
- Myzilik of New Morn, a witness.
Darujhistan, the city of blue lights. The "City of Cities" located on the southern shore of Lake Azur, in the centre of the continent of Genabackis.
Day 7 – Y'Ghatan[]
We found an inn. There, my new acquaintence surrendered their tale. "I recall waking within a burning abyss." The ebon mask tilted, as though weighed down with memories. "I knew of nothing else save the flames above me and below. I fought my way to the surface and emerged from the earth, a smoking ruin behind me. " "Ah yes, the fires of Y'ghatan burn within you." I noted. "Yours was not an easy ascent." I told the champion of my new resolve to free them of the visage and present it to the Matron as a gift. To do this, I suggested we seek wisdom from the house of darkness itself.
- Myzilik of New Morn, a humble servant.
Y'ghatan, the first holy city.
Day 8 – Moon's Spawn[]
Darujhistan at our back, we set out heading east for Black Coral. My new compatriot wished to make the journey by foot. "Tell me friend, do you know of the Tiste Andii?" "I know a little from my travels in Quon Tali. They are an elder race, not much unlike your own Matron, led by a lord only now it is a different lord? They travel by a shard of the moon and wield darkness like a blade." "A fair description, but to call Moon's Spawn a mere shard is a breathtaking injustice... Alas it has met its fate, but in its day, it was a sight to behold. As disinclined as I am to acclaim Nahruk heresy even I could not deny its splendour." "Would that I had seen it." "It is my worry, my friend, that you will."
- Myzilik of New Morn, an amiable companion.
Moon's Spawn, the fang of darkness, a floating mountain and the chosen stronghold of the Tiste Andii.
Day 9 – Black Coral[]
We approach the city of Black Coral, winding past the burrows, a testament to an old war. The Darkness envelopes us, almost an embrace. Despite this we are stopped at the gates. A rider on a dead steed approaches. A retinue of soldiers fan out behind her. We are told not to enter. A dragon roars in the distance. Ah, she smells the oils. "Would I could explain, I am no Nahruk." "It would not matter to her, 'new' morn is far too recent a memory." the rider observes. A second roar, the darkness congeals around us. "I am called Nadera and I am here to take you to the one that made that thing on your face. I would warn you, this is not an offer my lord would let you refuse." "And where would such a one be?" My companion asks. She smirks and already the answer is clear. "Tell me Oil-blood, can you swim?" Matron preserve me.
- Myzilik of New Morn, a dry companion.
Black Coral, a city shrouded in perpetual darkness. Home to a mix of Tiste Andii and the free people of Coral.
Day 10 – Hood's Gate[]
The woman from Black Coral opened her warren, an odour of dust and decay erupted from the rent in the air. Stepping through we were confronted by two towering pillars. A path wound its way past these pillars continuing off into the horizon. "This place is familiar to me." commented the champion. "Hood's own?" "Not for some time now. Truly you suffer under the visages weight. let us hurry, I would not test the shepherds." the dead steed turns away from the gate. I note some longing in its hollowed eyes and reflect.
- Myzilik of New Morn, Age of the Shattered Sky.
Hood's gate, a threshold, to the afterlife, different to each observer.
Day 11 - Moon's Spawn[]
Eventually, an anchor point was reached within Hood's hold. Something pulled at us, drawing us in but pushing our guide aside. Without much warning we fell heavily upon the floor of a great hall. The first feeling was pressure. An immense weight. As I'd feared, we are drawn into the depths. To be drowned at a mere 3 centuries! Oh Mael, turn away! And yet, despite of the pressure, we drew breath. My companion looked up first, freezing in place as though cast of stone. I followed my companions gaze and realized that before us, lit only by the ocean beyond, sat an ancient being. The creature was darkness itself, a font of power unbridled. Of course we did not drown, I thought to myself. Two oceans cannot inhabit the same place. A voice rang out to fill the hall. "That mask, was a gift." "Unappreciated it would seem." "None of my gifts are."
- Myzilik of New Morn, an appraiser of well-made gifts.
One man's ruin is another man's refuge.
Moon's Spawn Throne room
Day 12 - Letheras[]
The being explained the nature of the mask to us. He told us the visage of night was a gift to his grieving daughters that bestowed unto them a measure of his own strength, Something the other would not abide. To remove it the maskless daughter had to come close and caress the masked daughters face. In removing the visage one daughter would share a memory of import to the other. The being had hoped the two would steal from each other enough times as to fully appreciate each other. It would seem they had found a way to inflict this gift upon an innocent instead.
To remove it, the mask would need to be touched by both daughters. "I last saw one of my daughters in Letheras. She loved the waters of the river running through the city. At sunset it was green, like an emerald. she was fond of such things..."
- Myzilik of New Morn, a witness.
Lether once locked away from the rest of Wu. Lether was a jewel of a city. Garish, terraced and littered with domes and towers. The city was cut by a river, Its opulence as prevalent as its history with debt.
Day 13 – Capustan[]
"My other daughter is another matter entirely. Last I saw her, she was walking away from the Gates of Capustan." "She dwelt in the city of Capustan?" The champion in red seemed struck by the words. "Indeed, the fallen city, reborn. I suppose she was not pleased with the city's revival. An absence of misery holds no interest for her." I nodded in understanding. "So we seek strife and there we shall find her?" The entity nodded its head. "I wish you luck in this, for too long have my daughters been their mothers' children. It is time they experienced some grace."
- Myzilik of New Morn, a witness.
Capustan, a city once besieged by hunger itself. Consumed, hollowed out, refilled.
Day 14 – Coral[]
The being ended our discussion with a wave of his hand. We found ourselves in darkness. The champion found then that the visage of night could navigate in the complete absence of light. I was led forward by hand. Half a day's walk, then suddenly we were expelled. We found ourselves in an opulent chamber. Before us a man, Tiste Andii in origin, painting a mural. "The siege of Coral?" I remarked, "quite a depiction. my kin speak of the day often." "Yes, a poignant day for my people as well." The artist continued to work. "I take it the consort has spoken to you? for him to deliver you here..." "My apologies. Where are we and, who are you?" "You are within my castle in Black Coral. I am called Nimander. My scales grew cold. "Forgive us this intrusion, Lord." "I take no offense-." It was then that I noticed my companion had already stepped through a warren. Kurald Galain, I could not follow through Galain. "I shall pursue the one called Envy. You shall pursue Spite." The warren closed, and I stared at the spot for but a moment. I turned back to Lord Nimander, studying his work. It was then that I heard a Dragons screech. "My Lord... could I trouble you for a map?"
- Myzilik of New Morn, an unwelcome guest.
Coral was a harbor city on the continent of Genabackis, well defended and at one point the Pannion Domin's seat of power.
Day 15 – Silver Lake[]
Lord Nimander shared some advice, suggesting I seek Spite on Drift Avalii. I set off, choosing Rashan for my journey. The Hounds flushed me out short of the Lamatath plains. It wasn't long before I found what I sought. I happened across a Caravan of the dispossessed as I began preparations. They invited me to their fire. A Guard spoke for the group. She was a large Sunyd woman with scars on her wrist. She shared tales of Northern Genabackis. She recounted a tale of her shattered homeland and the time the Shattered God first paid the slavers a visit. "Would I had seen it." I grinned. "Indeed. On that day, oil-blood, we all stood witness." Her tale inspired. My ritual would work I could feel it. Here in that one's shadow, Tellan would respond. It was then that I threw my newly gifted map into the fire, drawing deep from the Matrons essence I summoned a demon.
- Myzilik of New Morn, a witness.
Silver Lake, a hamlet known to the Teblor situated on northern Genabackis. The hamlet grew into a town at the edge of a body of water of the same name.
Day 16 - Drift Avalii[]
The demon licked at its claws amidst the devastation of the camp. The Sunyl woman had been the hardest to sacrifice, with her death the pact was complete. I demanded the demon carry me to the island of Drift Avalii. It grinned its consent. It did not take long for the map demon to find the Island. The creature was a specialty of the Trygalle Trade Guild. A well-trained but costly thing afforded to New Morn in exchange for access to healing unguents. We arrived on the island to sounds of battle. I rushed to the source only to witness several Andii, and Edur battle a single woman. She had dark hair and wore leathers shrouded by a green cloak. Spying me enter the clearing the woman snarled, veering into an Eleint and leaping into the air. Without any form of consent, my demon grabbed me by the waist and threw me. The Soletaken woman turned towards me jaws snapping. I unleashed Rashan.
- Myzilik of New Morn, a witness.
Drift Avalii, an island that moves about the Quon Tali continent. Home to old mysteries.
Day 17 – Morn[]
It is not in one's nature to fight a Soletaken. Eleint. The revered ones. To share a soul with chaos itself! To face such a thing is not what one is bred to do. When Gunth'an Mach travelled to old morn, she learnt the truth of things. The K'Chain Che'Malle had not been driven to extinction by our war with the Nahruk. No. We succumbed to our inability to change. Indeed, Individual thought was dangerous to the nest. But if carefully guided, individual agents could become the fulcrum the nest needed to adjust. Human children, raised to the scent of obeisance. Raised to manipulate the warrens and the oils, turning them against our enemies. K'Chain Churok she had nicknamed us. Like blades at the arm. Even so, it is not in our nature to fight the Eleint. But it is in our blood to try.
- Myzilik of New Morn, a weapon.
Morn. A barren wasteland with a rent in the sky, once the site of tremendous sorceries, a last-ditch effort to turn the world to ruin.
Day 18 – Bastion[]
Two soldiers stood at the gates of Bastion, sharing some bread and a cut of meat. The city had once been something significant, a true seat of power. But recent times had been hard, the lake had disappeared, trade had died out. The war had reduced Bastion to little more than a hovel. The two soldiers contemplated their future. The last member of the Pannion revival cult had been crucified last week. The angry mob found itself lacking a focus, without much to rage against on the outside inevitably the hate turned inward. 3 days later the town had experienced its first 'True' murder. Both soldiers knew where things were going. They'd served a very long time. "We need to leave this place." The first soldier observed. "Aye, it's all turning bad." "I saw the mayors widow bite the butcher yesterday. Haven't seen her since. Worse still todays cut is unusual." "Aye, It's a bit gamey." The soldiers chewed. Above them they saw a grinning demon speed out of a rent in the sky. A dragon tore its way past shortly after. The Beast spat a gout of flames at the demon, but the demon spun out the way, slipping into another hole in the sky. The dragon screamed in fury, tearing after the demon. The soldiers continued to chew. "Perhaps we should leave right now?" "Perhaps we should." Neither soldier moved.
- Bastion, Age of the Shattered Sky.
Day 19 – Faces in the Rock[]
The woman held me aloft, my arm in her other hand, torn from my shoulder. Her raven hair cascaded down her face, the same fury she'd held in her Soletaken form rode her brow like a storm. She had caught me at last, and as I'd suspected, I was no match. "My lady, I meant no offence." I coughed up bile. struggling to continue. "I merely wished to grab your attention." "Such a thing will cost you more than you can pay." I saw then her fury was not directed at me. "Lady, I seek one of your kind, an ascendant named Spite." The woman grinned maliciously. "I am she." "Matron be praised. Sister Spite, I have word from your father." "Hah!" she scoffed "he sends an abomination to me with a message? Speak then lizard." "Your sister, Lady Envy. has recovered the visage of night." The ascendant narrowed her eyes. "Impossible, she promised!" "And you believed her?" And for a second staring into her eyes, I saw genuine panic.
- Myzilik of New Morn, a humble messenger.
The Seven Faces in the Rock were worshipped by the Teblor. However, as deities go, theirs was a singular deceit.
Day 20 - Blackdog Forest[]
She began her march South, claiming to sense her sister's intentions. I suppose living with a sibling as long as they had afforded one...insight. She spoke of the hundreds of times her sister had failed to be true. The thousands of times her sister had betrayed her. By the seventh day we had entered Black Dog Forest. in the mud, surrounded by swamp. She turned to stare at me, a wild look in her eye. "I've had enough of her deceit. I'll kill her first, then I'll murder that sad excuse of a father. I'll be an orphan! free of these tangles! free of these lies! free!" I saw a hope in her eyes, ancient, wise and terrible.
- Myzilik, a witness. Age of the Shattered Sky.
Blackdog Forest - Once the site of conflict between the Malazan army and the Crimson Guard and allied forces. A site remembered for its mosquitos, leeches, poisonous snakes and blood sucking lizards.
Day 21 – Ugarat[]
The journey, she explained, had to be by foot, over land and then by sea. To find her sister, the connection had to be sensed, here on the face of Burn. It was their malicious intent towards one another. Sibling love. "It's all a big game to her lizard. All of it, every little detail, an elaborate dance across the board." We sat at the edge of Oach harbour awaiting our ship. I poured rye wine in our cups as she spoke. "I had controlled a continent once. She stole it. Ugarat had been the worst. I was there when Enqura burned the scrolls. Relics from the empire I had helped Dessimbelackis build...I could hear Envy cackle as the Malaz army made its way towards the city gates." I raised a glass in commiseration. Knowing well the tale of Ugarat's fall. The lady chuckled. "Oh we fought in earnest then Lizard. I tore her favourite dress, it was perfect."
- Myzilik, a witness. Age of the Shattered Sky.
Ugarat a city of knowledge and scholarship located in Seven Cities. The site of an important battle in the Malazan incursion of the continent for a variety of reasons.
Day 22 – Assail[]
Our ship arrived along the coast of the Sea of Gold. Spite used her warren to guide the ship. I helped as much as I could. My remaining arm wove Mockra about us, shifting Maels attention away. Spite grew ever more animated with each passing league. The daughter of darkness trembled with emotion. I realized then, this was it. Envy was there, waiting. I thought of the crimson champion and the visage of night. Why here? why this place of all places? My eyes inexorably, searched inland, gazing up, towards the Blood range, Towards the Ice Plain Peaks. Something called to us. I smelt old ice on the wind. Old Ice and something akin to...judgement.
- Myzilik, a witness. Age of the Shattered Sky.
Assail - A continent in flux. Alive with potent magics and ancient mysteries.
Day 23 - Kurald Emurlahn[]
When we arrived in Mantle, Spite demanded a way into Rashan. I recall reaching for the warren and finding the route interrupted. Spite spoke then. "Not Rashan then, she would want to avoid that here...Emurlahn then." Spite unveiled her power, tearing a path into a grey world of shifting shadow. she nodded. "Close now, her and one other" She pointed a finger and I followed it to a figure in the fog-shrouded distance "your champion, only not anymore." "Sister. It is good to see you doing well." A creature of vanity stepped out from behind a wall. she was a vision of beauty and grace. She smelt like betrayal "We are in a special land sister. So much of the old made new. Fathers power is weak here. Come now, let us split the mask. Let us share." Spite sneered. "The only thing I'll split is your head from your shoulders." Envy smiled. "I'd still be the better-looking sister," Spites eyes flashed then. I turned to make peace, It was in that moment, my guard lowered but a fraction, that the champions fist found my temple.
- Myzilik of new morn. This side of blind.
Kurald Emurlahn - The most ephemeral warren, subject to all the other warrens yet beholden to none.
Day 24 - Pale[]
Envy had proven difficult to find. Hers was a trail of distraction and abandon, a random collection of misfortune. Soon it grew easier to see the signs, the visage of night seemed to gravitate to her work. A union broken here; a fortune squandered there. A pattern emerged, a path to ruin. She walked in histories wake, like a revenant. Eventually, I found this creature on the outskirts of Pale. She sat on a hill, expectant, welcoming. She asked me to kneel. It took every ounce of strength imbued in me to refuse. "Admirable." Looking to the city she smiled. "He would not have bowed either." She turned back towards me, her fingers tapping the glass in her hand. "But those days are done now. Come along, we need an artisan, a hammer...and a judge."
- The Crimson champion, Age of the shattered sky.
Pale - Site of a 3-year siege. A siege perpetuated by the Malazan empire, resisted in part thanks to efforts by Anomander Rake.
Day 25 – Baruk's Tower[]
I followed Lady Envy, my movements not my own. It seemed, whatever protection the visage offered had limits. Envy explained her plan as we arrived in Darujhistan having travelled round Lake Azur. "The visage is not infallible. Oh no, Very much the opposite. I've studied it, I see how it might require...a subtle touch. Father always underestimated our deft talents. Our first task is to collect the tool we need. To this end I have employed an old friend." She opened an ornate gate leading into a well kept estate. A man stood in the courtyard. Portly, a face wizened with time. In his hands he held a warhammer. He raised the weapon. his eyes bloodshot with weariness. "With this my favor is done." "Oh yes. An exceptional job dearest Baruk." She plucked the weapon from the old mans hands smiling. "Now for the hard part." Envy opened a path into shadow stepping through. Baruk held my eye before I stepped through, the warning clear.
- account of the Crimson champion, Age of the shattered sky.
Baruk's Tower was the tallest of many within his well-maintained and carefully warded estate. Baruk was a high alchemist and leader of the T'orrud Cabal.
Day 26 – Shadow Keep[]
I saw Lady Envy revel in her victory. Spite had found her, here in the warren of shadow. Everything was in place. The timing was perfect. I felt myself attack Myzilik, surprised by her utter control of me. The sorceress laughed. "It's all coming together sister." Envy cocked her head, examining the mask on my face "Father thought this would bring us together and it has." "Your plan has holes." "We will shore the holes up with confidence and beauty." "Fly by the seat of our pants you mean." "Indeed. Shall we? All is ready for my triumph. Shadowthrone will hold him back, as he must. His interests are clear. Akhrast Korvalain will aide our effort." "Ever a desire for balance." Spite observed. We found ourselves directly infront of a structure, a mass of translucent planes. A shifting play of light and dark. Shadowkeep. Before it, upon a shelf of granite stood a tall pale demon, its face covered by a shroud, its multijointed limbs carried the invested war-hammer. "The lamb shall kneel." It said. A voice as course as the stone beneath my feet. I felt myself comply. All illusion of resistance gone. The judge raised the hammer. My eyes closed.
-Account of the crimson champion, Age of the shattered sky.
Shadowkeep - seat of shadowthrone, a conceit.
Day 27 – Tremorlor[]
I woke to the scent of sand and old wood. I opened my eyes to a shifting plane of shadows. A figure stood above me, like shadows convulsing, a disagreement given form. I noticed tangled branches around me, reaching for me. "An Azath! You would condemn me to endless torment!" "The Matron chose well. I will be brief. I have my hands full today. Envy and Spite have brought their fathers attention upon my realm." I realised then, to whom I spoke. "Shadowthrone, ruler of meanas." "Yes yes, there will be time for reverence later. I have a vacant position in my house. Will you serve me and get rid of these women?" "I am sworn to my nest! I canno-" I fell, screaming. a branch reached for me. I flung Rashan clinging to serc, A branch latched upon my foot. I screamed again, tearing at it. A Branch reached for my face but then I was out of reach, floating before shadowthrone once more. "Apologies lord, I will serve." "Good. I have my thief. Take this." The God threw a dagger at me. I caught it. and my mind filled with manic laughter.
-Myzilik, a thief of High House Shadow, Age of the shattered sky.
Tremorlor - A House of the Azath, attributed to life.
Day 28 – Azath[]
The newly appointed thief left Shadowthrone, freeing the God to make its way through Tremorlors doors. The Lord of shadow arrived in the hall of the Deadhouse. There he found another awaiting him. "Apologies for my delay." Draconus loomed within the hall. "I expected you to be guarded, What of your hounds?" "All quite busy dealing with other fires. No, it is just the two of us I'm afraid." "You trust my intent then?" Draconus asked. The shadowed figure cocked its head. Opening a door out into the yard beyond. "Trust? no, certainly not that. Approval. That would lie closer to the mark. A scheme within a scheme. We could have been friends, you and I." "Unlikely." The Elder God followed Shadowthone through the door. "My daughters..." "A point well made." The two watched the Azath sluggishly consume a demon, its head and shoulders were scored raw, the creature bit at the roots, fighting the house. It had taken two weeks to get this far. and now the house had started to give ground. "A Finnest of darkness. 'a gift!' Ha! they will be furious." "Do your part usurper, and I shall do mine." "yes yes, now shoo, ascend into the firmament or whatever it is what you hoary elders get up to is it not? Leave us simple God's to garden. Oh yes, I have some weeding to do."
- Collusion, Age of the shattered Gods
An Azath House was a place of mystery established in the malazan world to serve as an anchor. a bridge in the world connecting magic to space and time. It was also a prison, holding onto those that would abuse it.
Day 29 – The Great Spire[]
Envy was the first to notice the deciet. The warren seemed to fracture as the hammer fell. In an instant everything shattered. laughter filled their heads. Kurald Emurlahn fell apart. "A trick!" Envy growled. The feint dissipated revealing their position atop a spire in an arid wasteland. The hammer hit the visage, booming like thunder. Elder night bloomed, tearing the weapon apart. Spite roared a warning to the Judge "Above you!" The Forkrul Assail moved a second too late. The oil-blood drove his blade into the creature's forehead, ichor bursting from the wound. As if of one mind Envy and Spite reached for the visage unveiling their warrens, Darkness enveloped them, the mask falling away. For the first time in an age the Crimson Champion could think for himself. Impossibly pale skinned the warrior reached for Kurald Thyrllan The tower erupted. Darkness and Light met. The tower shook as the finnest took root...
- Seed, Age of the shattered Gods
The Great Spire - a stronghold, controlled by the Forkrul Assail. Site of a ritual no longer in use...
Day 30 – Lightfall[]
Darkness met light, a gateway forged and the champion found his feet at the Shore. The Liosan sensed the souls of the Tiste people, the air held weight. The Liosan reflected. A presence seemed to settle before him, expectant. "Ah yes. Draconus and his gifts. A path he has forged for us here, where our blood drenches the soil. A bridge..." The presence did not respond. "My entire life I have been shackled to duty. I am a soldier. Soldiers march forward. In duty's name we have wrought horror upon ourselves and upon others and ever we march forward." The Liosan balled his fist. "Many times, I have yearned to say it is enough. Many times, I have yearned to stand still. To let this duty rest." The Liosan looked forward into the darkness. "I suppose he delivers me here, to finally ask. Was this enough?"
- Account of the Crimson Champion, Age of the shattered Gods
Lightfall - The first Shore, site of a great battle.
Day 31 – Kurald Galain[]
In an infinite void a lizard sat on a rock, aware of the emptiness around him. The darkness was absolute. Would this have been the result had he brought the visage to the Matron? An unveiling? the anchoring of Kurald Galain, leaving the last of the K'chain Che'malle stranded? Myzilik felt the darkness shift then, embracing him, the warrior closed his eyes. A sense of release rode the wind. When the oil-blood finally opened his eyes he saw the realm of elder night, The vista left him breathless. Draconus had manipulated his daughters, using them to build a bridge. He could not make her cross. No, something else had done this, something here had healed. The oil-blood reached into the darkness and felt it give way. A gesture and Rashan folded into itself, an incomplete key opening a way back to the world he knew. Myzilik sat, staring. After a while he let the way close. The one-armed thief repeated this action twice more, finally resolving to let the way stay closed. Looking about he decided to set out east. "I'll need to find a better gift." And so a new journey began.
- Account of Myzilik of New morn, Age of the shattered Gods
Kurald Galain - Home of the Tiste Andii, Domain of Mother Dark.