Seven Cities

Seven Cities

Seven Cities was a sub-continent north of Quon Tali and west of Genabackis that had been conquered by the Malazan Empire. It was an ancient land, built upon the ruins of countless cities dating back to the First Empire. Hot, dry, and largely desert, its sands obscured forgotten pathways, hoarded power, and soaked up sorcery. Every foot of the land had been walked by Ascendants.

Unofficial Malaz World Map by D'rek

History

The subcontinent of Seven Cities was the birthplace of the human First Empire under Emperor Dessimbelackis.

In modern times, it was conquered by the Malazan Empire under Emperor Kellanved.

Towards the end of Kellanved's reign, an abortive uprising originating in Aren resulted in Malazan retribution. By its end the uprising had been crushed, the Bridgeburners formed, and the Holy Protectors permanently deposed in favour of governing Malazan Fists. The campaign culminated in a siege of the Holy City of Y'Ghatan, during which Dassem Ultor was slain.

Seven Cities supplied the front lines on Genabackis.

Cities

Fan made Seven Cities map by Joshua Butler

Holy Cities

The Holy Cities from which the sub-continent gained its name were said to have been founded by seven Ascendants thousands of years ago. Before the Malazan conquest, each city was ruled by a Holy Falah'd.

The holy "Seven Cities" were:

• Aren
• Ehrlitan
• Karakarang
• Karashimesh
• Ubaryd
• Ugarat
• Yath Alban

The most devout pilgrims pursued the Path of the Seven, a journey to each of the Holy Cities. Pilgrimage was a respected activity and was a tradition unphased by bandits or war.

Other cities

Other cities named as Holy Cities included G'danisban, Hissar, Lothal, Mersin, Pan'potsun, and Y'Ghatan.

Lost cities included Hedori Kwil, Kanarbar Belid, Minikenar, N'karaphal, Tramara, Trebur, Vinith, Vithan Taur, and Yadeth Garath.

Geography

To the northwest it was bounded by the Sepik Sea and the Dryjhna Ocean. To the north, by the Kokakal, Maadil, Talgai, Otataral, and Bandiko Seas, as well as the Sea of Kaltepe Kadesh. To the east were the Sea of Gallada, the Sahul and Dojal Hading Seas, and Seeker's Deep. To the south lay the Cragg Sea and Quon Tali. The Clatar Sea was contained within the south-central portion of the continent itself.

Whiskeyjack commented that Mock's Hold (to the southeast of mainland Quon Tali) was about 3000 leagues from Seven Cities.

Jhag Odhan Khundryl Odhan Lato Odhan Nenoth Odhan Pan'potsun Odhan Raraku Sialk Odhan Ubaryd Odhan Ugarat Odhan

Caron Mountains Jhena Mountains Olphara Mountains Path'apur Mountains Thalas Mountains Turul'a Escarpment Olphara Forest Vathar Forest Clatar Sea Ehrlitan Sea

Tribes

Anibar - north of Jhag Odhan Arak - Pan'potsun Odhan Bhelaral - south of Jhena Mountains Bhilard - east of Nenoth Odhan Can'eld - northeast of Ubaryd Debrahl - north regions Dhis'bahl - Omari and Nahal Hills Gilani - southeastern part of the continent Gral - Ehrlitan foothills down to Pan'potsun Jhena - west of Jhena Mountains Kherahn Dhobri - Geleen Plain Khundryl - west of Nenoth Odhan

Mekhar - west of Aren (functionally extinct) Oruth - likely extinct Pardu - north of Geleen Grasslands Sanid - likely extinct Semk - Karas Hills and Steppes Shena - west of Shenohl Forest Tanno - also spelled "Tano", near Ehrlitan Tasse - southwest in the Tasse Hills, extinct Tithan - south of Sialk Tregyn - west of Sanimon Vedanik - Thalas Mountains

Language

The following is a list of words from the 'Seven Cities (Bisbrha and Debrahl) Language'

Anabar Thy'lend Bhok'arala Bloodfly Chigger fleas Dhenrabi Dryjhna Durhang Emrag Emulor Enkar'al Esanthan'el Guldindha Jegura Kethra knife Marrok

Mezla Odhan Rhizan Sawr'ak Sepah She'gai Simharal Tapu Tapuharal Tapusepah Taputasr Tasr Telaba Tralb White Paralt

Flora and fauna

Aras deer Arch spider Aspar root Beneg seeds Bhok'arala Bhederin Black wasps Buther snake Capemoths Drolig Drypthara Eberfruit Emrag Enkar'al Eraga Escura Goldfinch

Gothar flower Grey eagle Guldindha Hen'bara Jala bird Jegura Jhag horse Karybral Mallik berries Mamlak lizard Meer-rat Pathil mushroom Rhizan Tralib Weeping Jegurra cactus Wesp Y'Ghatan spider

Customs

Seven Cities by Werthead

Beliefs and practices

Seven Cities superstition held that the loss of an eye was also the birth of inner sight.

According to Duiker, the saying "Every meal is your last" encompassed an entire Seven Cities philosophy.

Children partook in "the naming rite" where family spoke for them and gave them their names. For this reason orphaned children often had no names.

If a loved one were to die far from home, the corpse might be left pinned beneath a heavy stone to prevent its discovery by wandering spirits. The ground would then be hallowed by spitting in eight directions, spilling drops of blood on the stone from the left hand, and voicing blessings in the name of the Apocalyptic.

All the oldest legends of dragons in Seven Cities started by saying that they were the essence of sorcery.

Gestures and militancy

The traditional Seven Cities way to challenge an opponent was to spit on the floor in front of him. When so provoked by Hairlock, Tayschrenn told the mage from Seven Cities that his primitive tribal gestures remained quaint, if somewhat tasteless.

When Toc the Younger spat past the left ear of his horse, Captain Paran shivered at the thought that in the old days, this gesture would have announced the beginning of tribal war among the Seven Cities. He also thought that the gesture had become the symbol of the Malaz 2nd Army.

Ganoes Paran thought that the natives of Seven Cities had a predisposition for causing trouble and attributed the problems of the Genabackis Campaign to the pre-dominance of Seven Cities natives in the Malazan 2nd, 5th, and 6th Armies.

Tools and architecture

The long-knife was the weapon of choice among Seven Cities warriors.

It was common for Seven Cities market streets to be topped by tarps slung between buildings. This created a tunnel effect and likely reduced the heat of the sun.

Seven Cities pottery was more elegant than its Malazan equivalent. Its shapes were elongated with cream or white glazing on necks and rims and faded red on the body. It was decorated with full-toned and realistic images.

In Gardens of the Moon, Paran used a Seven Cities-style saddle which was high-backed with a hinged horn that folded forward.

One common form of architecture found scattered across Seven Cities was a style that had not changed in a thousand years. It involved squat, mud-brick and clay-hued plaster buildings no more than two storeys high, which had the appearance of being half-melted into the ground. They were subject to constant repair but never knocked down or rebuilt. Their walls were thick, with the sills of their squarish windows measuring the length of a forearm in depth. Their corners were rounded and their threshold stones were worn into deep depressions from the passage of centuries of occupants. Each building held residences for many families with no connecting passages between them. Entrance was gained only through the roof above each home. The only door was a single entrance in each home to a shared central communal garden surrounding a well. Ladders led from the courtyard to the roof. When loved ones perished, they were buried within the thick walls and under the floors. Every home was crowded with ancestral bones. An example of this style was the village of Rethik.

Slavery

Slavery was common and tolerated by the continent's Malazan rulers. Slaves who escaped and were recaptured had their faces tattooed with a pattern that resembled shattered glass.

Climate

Summers in Seven Cities were hot and dry. With fall, nights became cooler and leaves turned rust-coloured. Winters were mild and saw an increase in rain along the coasts. Summer in the Seven Cities began with the She'gai, the hot wind.

In Deadhouse Gates

In 1164 BS, the Seven Cities natives launched the Whirlwind rebellion against the hated 'Mezla' occupiers. Fist Coltaine's 7th Army, the only Malazan army stationed on the continent, attempted to march from far off Hissar to safety in Malazan-controlled Aren. They were decimated by constant attacks by the Army of the Whirlwind. Subsequently, the Malazan 14th Army was sent under Adjunct Tavore Paran as a punitive army to cut down the rebellion.

In House of Chains

Osric revealed that the subcontinent's name came from the unholy alliance between Dessimbelackis and the seven Deragoth during the time of the First Empire. The Seven Holy Cities of Dessimbelackis' time were not the same cities given that designation at the time of the Malazan Empire.

Adjunct Tavore's 14th Army marched against the rebellious Army of the Whirlwind at their camp in Raraku. Sha'ik was killed and her army routed at the Battle of Raraku. After the Whirlwind Goddess was destroyed, the Holy Desert was flooded and became an inland sea once more. The remnants of Sha'ik's army fled to Y'Ghatan under Leoman's leadership.

In The Bonehunters

Telorast and Curdle spoke of an ancient time long before the human First Empire or even the T'lan Imass when Seven Cities was covered by great forests of Blackwood and Bloodwood. The trees were revered by the Tiste Edur and feared by the Eres. The region was also home to vast cities and Shadow Temples.

(More information needed)

In No Life Forsaken

(Information needed)

Trivia

Many of the locations in Seven Cities have names based on prehistoric dig sites that Steven Erikson pulled from one of his archaeology text books and moved around some of the letters. Examples include the Dojal Hading Sea, Ubaryd, and Omari.

Map gallery

Chain of Dogs: Coltaine's March, The First Half

Chain of Dogs: Coltaine's March, The Second Half

Notes and references

List of abbreviations • Paginations • How to reference an article