Midnight Tides/Chapter 15

Black glass stands between us
The thin face of otherness
Risen into difference
These sibling worlds
You cannot reach through
Or pierce this shade so distinct
As to make us unrecognizable
Even in reflection
The black glass stands
And that is more than all
And the between us
Gropes but never finds
Focus or even meaning
The between us is ever lost
In that barrier of darkness
When backs are turned
And we do little more than refuse
Facing ourselves.

Preface to The Nerek Absolution
Myrkas Preadict

Tiste Edur Borderlands and Kraig's Landing

Seren Pedac

Seren Pedac is traveling south from Tiste Edur territory with Buruk the Pale as Shadow wraiths stalk them. Seren touches a cliff containing trapped wraiths and hears their voices clearly. These wraiths are controlled by someone who feeds on their rage, gaining strength with each death. The wraiths recognize Seren, calling her one of the Two Mistresses of the Hold.

Seren learns of Buruk's debts and he admits he is being blackmailed, made indebted, and working as a spy under the guise of a merchant. She advises him to become less useful to those controlling him. Together they reach the border town of Kraig's Landing and find an encamped regiment surrounds the area, with ships docked there displaying the banners of the King and the Ceda. Three powerful Letherii mages, Nekal Bara, Arahathan, and Enedictal, prepare a preemptive strike on the Tiste Edur villages. The mages in coordination unleash a devastating attack that wipes out entire Edur villages, flattening homes and people. The Letherii erupt in celebration, and Seren and Buruk head to a tavern. Buruk declares that he is back in his homeland and will never leave. The next morning, Seren awakens drugged on a barge, realizing Buruk has dosed her to dull her thoughts. He explains he needs her incapacitated until they reach Trate, hinting at complex feelings, admitting she held his heart. Later, a dockhand wakes Seren at night, and she goes in search of Buruk’s house, only to find that Buruk has hung himself.

Tiste Edur Borderlands

Trull Sengar

Icarium's timepiece by SimiofDoom

Trull Sengar witnesses the aftermath of a sorcerous attack, with smoke rising from the ruins of the Tiste Edur villages, confirming their worst fears. The Edur people had preemptively evacuated in anticipation of Letherii tactics, hiding in the southern mountain slopes and now marching toward Kingdom of Lether under invisibility webs. Many Nerek slaves left behind were killed in the attack.

The Edur are now strengthened by new allies, some summoned demons enslaved by the Edur, and the Jheck, the sword-worshipping warriors led by B'nagga the Dominant. Rhulad's summons has drawn these forces together, with the K'risnan mages offering to use their enhanced powers, drawn from Rhulad's sword, to attack the Letherii stronghold at High Fort. Trull, however, begins to question the source of this power, though his brother Fear scuttles this.

Trull is sent ahead with a scouting party, among which is Ahlrada Ahn, a dark-skinned Edur around whom wraiths swarm. Trull feels his authority slipping and wrestles with his growing unease about Rhulad's new powers, but no one heeds his concerns. The group's captain, Canarth, harbours a deep resentment toward Trull, and together they encounter and kill a Faraed scout, a death that fills Trull with disgust. As they advance, they cross an ancient bridge, a relic of Icarium, which appears to be a timekeeping device marked with writings from the mysterious "Tusked Man."

The Refugium

Udinaas

Udinaas is shown more of Letherii's past. Wither shows him about the First Empire, the T'lan Imass, and the Soletaken Ritual. The ships of the First Empire spanned all six continents, conquering various non-human races like the Fenn, Tarthenal, Barghast, Trell, and Jheck. The Emperor became seven, but they were scattered, and the kingdom fell to the T'lan Imass. Udinaas harbours a hidden Wyval within him, which Wither conceals, keeping him undetected.

Feather Witch finds him and asks him to go into his dream realm and he agrees. She presses a burning tile of fire onto his arm, transporting them inside the fiery realm, filled with still mortal Imass warriors and a lone human boy. The Imass, Ulshun Pral, takes them to a wrecked Meckros city ruined on the land, which seems to have been pulled from Udinaas' world. The Imass remain unaware they are dead. Here they speak of the Edur, the Beast Hold and the Eres'al. Within the city Feather Witch admits to having witnessed Udinaas' rape by Menandore and they speak of it. Feather Witch had summoned the Wyval thinking the Tiles of the Holds could free her, and now she resents the Wyval blood within Udinaas.

They return to the Imass and talk to the human boy, who speaks their language and is named Rud Elalle. The name means "Found Ellale". He says he was raised by the Imass, and has been aging rapidly as he is only seven weeks old. He believes his father was named Araq Elalle, who is now dead, but the boy is actually the son of Udinaas by Menandore. Udinaas disowns him, viewing him only as a "seed", and he is a draconic Soletaken from his mother's side.

With the boy translating, Ulshun Pral tells them the story of their refuge, bringing them to a vast, seemingly limitless, cavern containing a squat twelve-sided tower with 12 gates to other Warrens. When they had first arrived it was a world of storms, with countless beasts escaping the gates to fight amongst themselves. Their sole Bonecaster sacrificed herself, drawing upon the power of stone and earth, to seal the breaches, leaving her body the roughly human-shaped cairn of stone that still stands before the tower and stranding her people.

Feather Witch realises they are in a Hold, which Ulshun Pral calls an overflow of Starvald Demelain. He connects the Hold to a host of dragon names, including T'iam, Kalse, Silannah, Ampelas, Korbas, Kessobahn, Olar, and says the way has since been sealed by the mixed-blooded Soletaken (such as Draconus, Rake, Osserc, Silchas Ruin, Scabandari, Sukul Ankhadu, and Menandore). Udinaas asks Feather Witch to take him home, away from the son forced upon him by Menandore and the Imass tribe who do not realise they just ghosts.

The Reach

Yan Tovis

Atri-Preda Yan Tovis of the Letherii Army, also called Twilight, is on the coast. She sees three hundred thousand Edur arriving and realizes she must surrender her post. Though the Edur have superior numbers, they are also riding something dark within the sea.