Midnight Tides/Chapter 5

Against the flat like thunder
Where the self dwells between the eyes,
Beneath the blow the bone shattered
And the soul was dragged forth
To writhe in the grip
Of unredeemed vengeance...

The Last Night of Bloodeye
Author unknown
(Compiled by Tiste Andii scholars of Black Coral)

Hiroth village

Udinaas

While the Tiste Edur burn the Beneda body on a pyre, Udinaas repairs nets on the shoreline. A shadow wraith is haunting the slave. The wraith tells him he was once a Tiste Andii who followed the youngest child of Mother Dark and fought the K'Chain Che'Malle. But he was betrayed and murdered, imprisoned in ice, and finally torn loose to serve his slayers. The wraith calls himself Wither and no longer wishes to serve the Edur. He asks to hide in Udinaas' shadow, and promises to help serve the slave, becoming the the eyes behind him, who no one else can see or hear. Wither speaks to him of the betrayal perpetrated on the Andii by Scabandari and the Edur, and Udinaas realises that the shadow wraiths are not Edur, but the bound souls of the Andii. Wither asks Udinaas to hunt along the shore and find something of his to return it to him. It turns out to be a sorcerously invested arrowhead. Wither asks Udinaas to resurrect it by chipping at the surrounding calcifications.

Hiroth lands

Seren Pedac

Binadas Sengar leads the party of Seren Pedac, Buruk the Pale, and Hull Beddict towards the Hiroth village. The smoke tells him there is a funeral being held. Seren tells the anxious Binadas to go ahead to his people, and after he has left she tries to dissuade Hull from using the Edur to exact his revenge on the Letherii. He refuses to listen. As they approach closer to the village Seren notes that there are more shadow wraiths than usual, an army of wraiths, and wonders if they are all the ancestors of the Edur.

A ghostly figure (Silchas Ruin) suddenly stands upon the path, tall and white with dull red eyes. Two scabbards, both are empty. Wraiths surround the figure's feet as if in worship. She approaches as the figure addresses her, telling her of a dragon having once dragged itself along the very trail they are walking, and wonders that the Edur did not sense his presence. He speaks of the power of mortals over demons and gods and then leaves. Seren turns to Buruk who has given away that he witnessed a casting of the tiles before leaving Trate and the figure's appearance was foreseen. She questions him as to what he learnt. Buruk tells her the Seventh Closure nears and the Holds are awakening – all of them.

Hiroth village

Trull

Trull Sengar and his brothers are preparing to leave on the quest Hannan Mosag has given them. He is concerned over the revelations at the Stone Bowl, and the ambitions the Warlock King may cherish. Fear reveals to Trull that he is now Weapons Master over all the tribes and Hannan Mosag wants him to create, train, and lead a true army of Edur. They note the arrival of the Acquitor, Seren Pedac, and Hull Beddict, betrayer of the neighbouring tribes. Rhulad calls the Letherii fools for selling them iron when the two peoples are on the brink of war. Fear remarks that the Letherii king, Ezgara Diskanar, does not have absolute control over his people like Hannan Mosag does before letting his voice trail off over the implications. Rhulad looks forward to the family dinner with Mayen, Fear's betrothed, that evening.

Udinaas

Udinaas despairs that the Edur will discover his secret. He settles onto his bed mat and dreams of broken bodies of Edur, of darker-skinned kin, and reptilian figures with blades for hands trapped timelessly slaughtered within ice. Seeing entire herds of unknown animals trapped within the ice, he comprehends that sorcery on an incomprehensible scale was used. In a fissure within the ice he sees a stone tower. He enters, suddenly becoming corporeal and wounding his palms and knees on the frozen ground. Inside stands a frozen white skinned, tall and angular figure with many jointed limbs, (a Forkrul Assail) an expression of faint surprise on its face. Nearby are the bodies of a man, a woman and two children, greenish skinned and tusked, suggesting they are Jaghut. It is clear the white-skinned figure was their killer. Udinaas calls to Wither, who does not answer, then notices a child's footprints. The footprints lead behind the standing figure where he can see the back of the man's head has been stove in, as if a fist had removed the brain. The break looks strangely recent.

His dream changes and he becomes aware that he is flying above a battlefield, as a Wyval amongst others of its kin. The Wyval delights as it sees a bone-white dragon. Udinaas, within the Wyval, knows this is Silchas Ruin, third son of Mother Dark and Soletaken Eleint. He witnesses the betrayal of the Andii, and wakes from the dream knowing Wither has told the truth. He asks the shadow wraith what it wants, and it replies, "Escape." Wither tells him he will lead the slave onto the path and the blood of the Wyval will protect him. Meanwhile, Wither will handle the Edur.

Trull

Mayen is a dinner guest in the Sengar longhouse. Trull thinks he may be reading too much into her behaviour, but observes Rhulad watching her. The Sengar family talk of the perils of the upcoming journey to the ice fields and discuss the six members of the party. Theradas and Midik Buhn are to accompany the four Sengar brothers. Rhulad makes a veiled joke referring to the secret of the Stone Bowl which causes Tomad to erupt. Things settle down, but as they discuss the coming war, Udinaas drops a plate. Uruth notices his hands are bleeding and is annoyed that the wounds may have wept onto their food. One of the other slaves proclaims that he was the one who fought the Wyval, and Uruth seizes his mind to find if he is possessed. She finds nothing within him, but notes Udinaas will have to be punished for his actions. Mayen earns her glare when she asks if raping his mind was not punishment enough.

Udinaas

Later, Feather Witch accosts Udinaas resting on his pallet and calls him a fool. Udinaas is pleased that Uruth found no trace of the Wyval and explains it by saying she had not looked into his shadow. Feather Witch wonders at that because the wraiths serve the Edur, and he tells her of his ally who has a debt to repay to their masters.