The Bonehunters/Prologue

For all that is made real
In this age descending
Where heroes leave naught
But the iron ring of their names
From bardic throats
I stand in this silent heart
Yearning the fading beat
Of lives fallen to dust
And the sifting whisper
Proclaims glory's passing
As the songs fail
In dwindling echoes
For all that is made real
The chambers and halls
Yawn empty to my cries -
For someone must
Give answer
Give answer
To all of this
Someone

The Age Descending
Torbora Fethena

1164 Burn's Sleep
Istral'fennidahn, the season of D'rek, Worm of Autumn
Twenty-four days since the Execution of Sha'ik in Raraku

Kartool

Sergeant Hellian of the Septarch District City guard of Kartool is cursed with a fear of all spiders and at nineteen years old has opted to remain "not-quite-drunk" in order to deal with living in the spider-infested city. It is because of this consistent state that she fails to notice an unexpected and unusual ship seemingly originating from Malaz Island mooring in the Free Docks – particularly unusual since the winds during the Clear Season make it impossible to navigate at sea around Kartool. Also the ship appears to be built in a manner not made in the past fifty years.

A boy brings a message from an unknown man who asks her to meet him at the Grand Temple of D'rek, but cannot remember this person's face. The man named Banaschar, an ex-priest of D'rek in the Jakatakan temple on Malaz Island had come to Kartool after a presentiment that the temple of D'rek was in danger.

After some persuasion they break into the temple to find the remains of a massacre. Hellian orders that a search be conducted and their commander be instructed. Banaschar disagrees but decides he wants to leave as Hellian demands he stays for questioning. He disappears and no one can remember what he looks like, leaving the Sergeant and her squad contemplating the trouble they will get into and where they will be sent when their Fist finds out they have "lost" their witness.

Raraku

In the holy desert of Raraku, twelve Nameless Ones approach the barrow of a demon: a D'ivers T'rolbarahl named Dejim Nebrahl, imprisoned since the time of the Fall of the First Empire. Eleven of these mages each invoke a ritual of release using their respective warrens.

The twelfth mage named Sister Spite tasks the demon with an unknown task in return for its freedom. Once it accepts, she invokes her warren, freeing it. Spite veers into a dragon and escapes while her eleven companions are slain.

In the distance a Gral warrior named Taralack Veed witnesses the ascent of a dragon from the location of the T'rolbarahl's release. He is aware of the demon's release and sets off on its trail.

Sialk Odhan

In a small village in a secluded area of the Sialk Odhan, five T'lan Imass appear. They are recognised for what they are by the blacksmith, Barathol Mekhar. He advises the villagers to hide in their houses. He arms himself while waiting for the T'lan Imass to approach.

External links

• Critical Conversations 06: Poetry in Malazan with Steven Erikson - Author Steven Erikson's analysis of the poem in this chapter's epigraph.