Wyvernry—a nesting place or breeding hatchery for domesticated wyverns.
Zhyahngdu Academy—perhaps the most renowned school for sculptors in all of Safehold, located at the port city of Zhyahngdu in the Tiegelkamp Province of North Harchong. It dates back to the days of the War Against the Fallen and has trained and produced the Church of God Awaiting’s finest sculptors for almost nine hundred Safeholdian years.
The Archangels:
Archangel
Sphere of Authority
Symbol
Langhorne
law and life
scepter
Bédard
wisdom and knowledge
lamp
Pasquale
healing and medicine
caduceus
Sóndheim
agronomy and farming
grain sheaf
Truscott
animal husbandry
horse
Schueler
justice
sword
Jwo-jeng
acceptable technology
flame
Chihiro (1)
history
quill pen
Chihiro (2)
guardian
sword
Andropov
good fortune
dice
Hastings
geography
draftman’s compass
Fallen Archangel
Sphere of Authority
Shan-wei
mother of evil/evil ambition
Kau-yung
destruction
Proctor
temptation/forbidden knowledge
Sullivan
gluttony
Ascher
lies
Grimaldi
pestilence
Stavraki
avarice
The Church of God Awaiting’s Hierarchy:
Ecclesiastic rank
Distinguishing color
Clerical ring/set
Grand Vicar
dark blue
sapphire with rubies
Vicar
orange
sapphire
Archbishop
white and orange
ruby
Bishop executor
white
ruby
Bishop
white
ruby
Auxiliary bishop
green and white
ruby
Upper-priest
green
plain gold (no stone)
Priest
brown
none
Under-priest
brown
none
Sexton
brown
none
Clergy who do not belong to a specific order wear cassocks entirely in the color of their rank. Auxiliary bishops’ cassocks are green with narrow trim bands of white. Archbishops’ cassocks are white, but trimmed in orange. Clergy who belong to one of the ecclesiastical orders (see below) wear habits (usually of patterns specific to each order) in the order’s colors but with the symbol of their order on the right breast, badged in the color of their priestly rank. In formal vestments, the pattern is reversed; that is, their vestments are in the colors of their priestly ranks and the order’s symbol is the color of their order. All members of the clergy habitually wear either cassocks or the habits of their orders. The headgear is a three-cornered “priest’s cap” almost identical to the eighteenth century’s tricornes. The cap is black for anyone under the rank of vicar. Under-priests’ and priests’ bear brown cockades. Auxiliary bishops bear green cockades. Bishops’ and bishop executors’ bear white cockades. Archbishops’ bear white cockades with a broad, dove-tailed orange ribbon at the back. Vicars’ priests’ caps are of orange with no cockade or ribbon, and the Grand Vicar’s cap is white with an orange cockade.
All clergy of the Church of God Awaiting are affiliated with one or more of the great ecclesiastic orders, but not all are members of those orders. Or it might, perhaps, be more accurate to say that not all are full members of their orders. Every ordained priest is automatically affiliated with the order of the bishop who ordained him and (in theory, at least) owes primary obedience to that order. Only members of the clergy who have taken an order’s vows are considered full members or brethren/sisters of that order, however. (Note: there are no female priests in the Church of God Awaiting, but women may attain high ecclesiastic rank in one of the orders.) Only full brethren or sisters of an order may attain to rank within that order, and only members of one of the great orders are eligible for elevation to the vicarate.
The great orders of the Church of God Awaiting, in order of precedence and power, are:
The Order of Schueler, which is primarily concerned with the enforcement of Church doctrine and theology. The Grand Inquisitor, who is automatically a member of the Council of Vicars, is always the head of the Order of Schueler. Schuelerite ascendency within the Church has been steadily increasing for over two hundred years, and the order is clearly the dominant power in the Church hierarchy today. The order’s color is purple, and its symbol is a sword.
The Order of Langhorne is technically senior to the Order of Schueler, but has lost its primacy in every practical sense. The Order of Langhorne provides the Church’s jurists, and since Church law supersedes secular law throughout Safehold that means all jurists and lawgivers (lawyers) are either members of the order or must be vetted and approved by the order. At one time, that gave the Langhornites unquestioned primacy, but the Schuelerites have relegated the order of Langhorne to a primarily administrative role, and the head of the order lost his mandatory seat on the Council of Vicars several generations back (in the Year of God 810). Needless to say, there’s a certain tension between the Schuelerites and the Langhornites. The Order of Langhorne’s color is black, and its symbol is a scepter.
The Order of Bédard has undergone the most change of any of the original great orders of the Church. Originally, the Inquisition came out of the Bédardists, but that function was effectively resigned to the Schuelerites by the Bédardists themselves when Saint Greyghor’s reforms converted the order into the primary teaching order of the church. Today, the Bédardists are philosophers and educators, both at the university level and among the peasantry, although they also retain their function as Safehold’s mental health experts and councilors. The order is also involved in caring for the poor and indigent. Ironically, perhaps, given the role of the “Archangel Bédard” in the creation of the Church of God Awaiting, a large percentage of Reformist clergy springs from this order. Like the Schuelerites, the head of the Order of Bédard always holds a seat on the Council of Vicars. The order’s color is white, and its symbol is an oil lamp.
The Order of Chihiro is unique in that it has two separate functions and is divided into two separate orders. The Order of the Quill is responsible for training and overseeing the Church’s scribes, historians, and bureaucrats. It is responsible for the archives of the Church and all of its official documents. The Order of the Sword is a militant order which often cooperates closely with the Schuelerites and the Inquisition. It is the source of the officer corps for the Temple Guard and also for most officers of the Temple Lands’ nominally secular army and navy. Its head is always a member of the Council of Vicars, as Captain General of the Church of God Awaiting, and generally fulfills the role of Secretary of War. The order’s color is blue, and its symbol is a quill pen. The Order of the Sword shows the quill pen, but crossed with a sheathed sword.
The Order of Pasquale is another powerful and influential order of the Church. Like the Order of Bédard, the Pasqualates are a teaching order, but their area of specialization is healing and medicine. They turn out very well-trained surgeons, but they are blinkered against pursuing any germ theory of medicine because of their religious teachings. All licensed healers on Safehold must be examined and approved by the Order of Pasquale, and the order is
deeply involved in public hygiene policies and (less deeply) in caring for the poor and indigent. The majority of Safeholdian hospitals are associated, to at least some degree, with the Order of Pasquale. The head of the Order of Pasquale is normally, but not always, a member of the Council of Vicars. The order’s color is green, and its symbol is a caduceus.
The Order of Sóndheim and the Order of Truscott are generally considered “brother orders” and are similar to the Order of Pasquale, but deal with agronomy and animal husbandry respectively. Both are teaching orders and they are jointly and deeply involved in Safehold’s agriculture and food production. The teachings of the Archangel Sóndheim and Archangel Truscott incorporated into the Holy Writ were key elements in the ongoing terraforming of Safehold following the general abandonment of advanced technology. Both of these orders lost their mandatory seats on the Council of Vicars over two hundred years ago, however. The Order of Sóndheim’s color is brown and its symbol is a sheaf of grain; the Order of Truscott’s color is brown trimmed in green, and its symbol is a horse.
The Order of Hastings is the most junior (and least powerful) of the current great orders. The order is a teaching order, like the Orders of Sondheim and Truscott, and produces the vast majority of Safehold’s cartographers, and surveyors. Hastingites also provide most of Safehold’s officially sanctioned astronomers, although they are firmly within what might be considered the Ptolemaic theory of the universe. The order’s “color” is actually a checkered pattern of green, brown, and blue, representing vegetation, earth, and water. Its symbol is a compass.
The Order of Jwo-jeng, once one of the four greatest orders of the Church, was absorbed into the Order of Schueler in Year of God 650, at the same time the Grand Inquisitorship was vested in the Schuelerites. Since that time, the Order of Jwo-jeng has had no independent existence.
The Order of Andropov occupies a sort of middle ground or gray area between the great orders of the Church and the minor orders. According to the Holy Writ, Andropov was one of the leading Archangels during the war against Shan-wei and the Fallen, but he was always more lighthearted (one hesitates to say frivolous) than his companions. His order has definite epicurean tendencies, which have traditionally been accepted by the Church because its raffles, casinos, horse and/or lizard races, etc., raise a great deal of money for charitable causes. Virtually every bookie on Safehold is either a member of Andropov’s order or at least regards the Archangel as his patron. Needless to say, the Order of Andropov is not guaranteed a seat on the Council of Vicars. The order’s color is red, and its symbol is a pair of dice.
* * *
In addition to the above ecclesiastical orders, there are a great many minor orders: mendicant orders, nursing orders (usually but not always associated with the Order of Pasquale), charitable orders (usually but not always associated with the Order of Bédard or the Order of Pasquale), ascetic orders, etc. All of the great orders maintain numerous monasteries and convents, as do many of the lesser orders. Members of minor orders may not become vicars unless they are also members of one of the great orders.
About the Author
David Weber is also the author of the New York Times bestselling Honor Harrington series, the most recent of which is A Rising Thunder. He lives in South Carolina. You can sign up for email updates here.
TOR BOOKS BY DAVID WEBER
The Safehold Series
Off Armageddon Reef
By Schism Rent Asunder
By Heresies Distressed
A Mighty Fortress
How Firm a Foundation
Midst Toil and Tribulation
Like a Mighty Army
Hell’s Foundations Quiver
Out of the Dark
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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
HELL’S FOUNDATIONS QUIVER
Copyright © 2015 by David Weber
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Stephen Youll
Maps by Ellisa Mitchell and Jennifer Hanover
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Weber, David,
Hell’s foundations quiver / David Weber. — First edition.
p. cm
ISBN 978-0-7653-2187-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4299-4983-5 (e-book)
I. Title.
PS3573.E217H442 2015
813'.54—dc23
2015019179
e-ISBN 9781429949835
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[email protected] First Edition: October 2015
Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Map 1
Map 2
Map 3
Map 4
March Year of God 897
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII
Chapter XIII
Chapter XIV
Chapter XV
Chapter XVI
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XIX
Chapter XX
April Year of God 897
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII
Chapter XIII
May Year of God 897
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
June Year of God 897
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII
July Year of God 897
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII
August Year of God 897
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
September Year of God 897
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
> Chapter VIII
October Year of God 897
Chapter I
Characters
Glossary
The Archangels
The Church of God Awaiting’s Hierarchy