Midnight Tides/Chapter 1

Listen! The seas whisper
And dream of breaking truths
In the crumbling of stone

Hantallit of Miner Sluice

Year of the Late Frost
One year before the Letherii Seventh Closure
The Ascension of the Empty Hold

Breach by Thirteen

Hiroth village

Trull Sengar

Trull Sengar, a Tiste Edur, is sole witness to the breaking of an agreement between the Edur and the Letherii, who have sent ships to illegally harvest seals in Edur waters. He returns home to report this back to his father, Tomad Sengar, and a council is called by the Warlock King, Hannan Mosag, who has recently succeeded in uniting the six Edur tribes for the first time.

Trull greets his older brother, Fear, who is betrothed to Mayen. He is also privately concerned by his unblooded younger brother, Rhulad, who appears to show undue interest in Fear's future wife. Fear later informs Trull that Rhulad has spoken against him as a coward because he does not seek out opportunities to fight. Trull is angered at Rhulad's gall.

At the council, the Warlock King, a powerful warlock using the power of Kurald Emurlahn, is guarded by five hostage princes from the other Edur tribes, known as the K'risnan, and a Shadow wraith. Trull recounts his story to the gathering at the Warlock King’s command and the Edur are outraged. Hannan Mosag is due to meet with Letherii representatives at the Great Meeting in two cycles of the moon and suspects the Letherii have purposefully violated the treaty to shape the negotiations. He promises his warriors vengeance, but by his own fashioning through the power of Kurald Emurlahn as wielded by his K’risnan.

Udinaas

Udinaas, a Letherii Indebted, is a slave to the Sengar family after being captured during another seal raid thirteen years previously. He is in love with Feather Witch, another Letherii slave and a witch/seer who casts the Tiles of the Holds for divination. On his way to attend a casting Udinaas sees a white crow-–a bad omen. He hurries to prevent Feather Witch from scanning the Holds, but it is too late and she has already begun. As she reads the casting she is attacked by an invisible force. Udinaas throws himself at the invisible beast. He is wounded, but manages to hurt the creature and free Feather Witch before he loses consciousness.

Trull Sengar

The meeting with the Edur tribes finishes, but Trull, his brothers Fear and Rhulad, and father are asked to remain behind by the Warlock King. He tells them he has a task for them, to travel east and north beyond the Edur lands into the snow and ice plains to retrieve a gift that had been shown to him in a vision. When their wandering brother Binadas Sengar returns, he will accompany them along with Theradas and Midik Buhn. The Warlock King warns them they must not allow their flesh to directly touch the gift.

Udinaas

Before returning him to consciousness, Feather Witch informs Udinaas in a dream that they were attacked by a Wyval but are now being healed by Uruth Sengar, Trull’s mother, using the power of Kurald Emurlahn. Feather Witch warns Udinaas that the power of the Edur has lost its purity. Hearing of the attack, Hannan Mosag joins Uruth and notes the Wyval blood on Udinaas' clothes. He is concerned that the slave might be infected by the Wyval, and worried that Feather Witch may be more powerful than they knew. Uruth tells him she sensed very little power from the slave girl, or that it was being hidden from her. They both agree that the latter cannot be the case and leave the slaves to be cared for by Uruth.