The Spider's War

  “I’m the justice of the world?”

  “Well,” Yardem said. “Say you’re a justice of the world.”

  “You’re going to hold by that hairwash?”

  “Just pointing it out, sir.”

  “Now I’ve forgotten what I was going to say. No, wait. I have it. I did what I did because I think it’s the right thing. There’s risk in it, but there’s risk in everything. Keeping you in the world seems worth the chance.”

  The things in Kit’s blood told him that it was true, and that if anything made it deeper. “I want you to know that traveling in your company, even during the worst of this, has been an honor.”

  “Yes, well,” Marcus said. “Let’s not get sentimental about it. We aren’t twelve.”

  “Of course,” Kit said, bowing.

  “Until next time, then,” Marcus said, turning. Once he’d left, Yardem returned the bow.

  “You’ll take care of him?” Kit asked.

  “As much as he allows.”

  “I can still hear you,” Marcus called from the yard. Yardem’s wide, canine smile warmed Kit’s heart. For the last time, the Tralgu man clasped his hand, and then he was gone as well. The players came back in, Cary first and then the others. The relief on their faces echoed his own.

  “We’re all right?” Mikel asked.

  “I think we’re fine,” Kit said. “Except possibly that we have a performance and the stage half-together.”

  “Costume’s not finished either,” Sandr said.

  In the event, Lak, Hornet, and Cary finished putting together the boards well before sundown. Charlit Soon’s costume, while not of the most flattering cut, was done. And the Orcus costume was decent as well. In the last hour, the stable became a well-practiced chaos as each of them went through their lines again another time, Sandr and Hornet walked through the staging of the battle scene, and Cary and Lak marked out their places among the crowd to lead the reactions.

  “You’re ready?” Cary asked. Kit took a deep breath and let it out slowly. However many times he did this, there was always the little thrill of fear that came from stepping on the stage again.

  “I believe that I am.”

  “That’s as good as being true, then,” she said.

  The stage stood at the raised end of a little plaza, near a fountain, but not so close that they’d have to compete with the noise of the water. The men and women walking past were Kurtadam for the most part, but Firstblood and Cinnae as well. Yardem and Marcus stood across the way, eating meat and barley from rented cups. Kit found his place, raised his arms. A Kurtadam girl not more than eight years old with a pelt the color of wheat paused in her path to gawk at him. He nodded to her gravely.

  “Stop!”

  His voice went through the crowd like a ripple in a pool. The man selling wine by the fountain hesitated. The woman striding away toward the docks paused, looked back. Yardem lifted his ears.

  “Stop now, and come near! Hear the tale of Allaren Mankiller and the Sword of Dragons! Or if you are faint of heart, move on. For our tale is one of grand adventure.”

  Marcus caught his gaze, nodded to him, and tapped Yardem on the shoulder. Together they turned away into the streets under a wide and darkening sky.

  “Love, war, betrayal, and vengeance shall spill out now upon these poor boards, and I warn you, not all that are good end well. Not all that are evil are punished. Come close, my friends, and know that in our tale as in the world, anything may happen…”

  Dramatis Personae

  Persons of interest and import in The Dagger and the Coin

  IN THE GREATER WORLD

  Inys, the last dragon

  Marcus Wester, mercenary captain

  Kitap rol Keshmat, former actor and apostate of the spider goddess

  The Players

  Cary

  Hornet

  Lak

  Charlit Soon

  Mikel

  Sandr

  Callon Cane, a convenient fiction

  IN BIRANCOUR

  The Medean bank in Porte Oliva

  Cithrin bel Sarcour, voice of the Medean bank in Porte Oliva

  Magistra Isadau, formerly voice of the Medean bank in Suddapal

  Pyk Usterhall, notary to the bank

  Yardem Hane, personal guard to Cithrin, also

  Enen

  Roach (Halvill)

  Corisen Mout

  Maestro Asanpur, a café owner

  Mastién Juoli, master of coin

  IN IMPERIAL ANTEA

  The Royal Family

  Aster, prince and heir to the empire

  House Palliako

  Geder Palliako, Regent of Antea and Baron of Ebbingbaugh

  Lehrer Palliako, Viscount of Rivenhalm and his father

  House Kalliam

  Clara Kalliam, formerly Baroness of Osterling Fells

  Barriath

  Vicarian, and

  Jorey; her sons

  also Sabiha, wife to Jorey, and

  Pindan, her illegitimate son

  Annalise, her daughter

  Vincen Coe, huntsman formerly in the service of House Kalliam

  Abatha Coe, his cousin

  House Skestinin

  Lord Skestinin, master of the Imperial Navy

  Lady Skestinin, his wife

  House Annerin

  Elisia Annerin (formerly Kalliam), daughter of Clara and Dawson

  Gorman Annerin, son and heir of Lord Annerin and husband of Elisia

  Corl, their son

  House Daskellin

  Canl Daskellin, Baron of Watermarch and Ambassador to Northcoast

  Sanna, his eldest daughter

  Also, various lords and members of the court, including

  Sir Namen Flor

  Sir Noyel Flor

  Cyr Emming, Baron of Suderland Fells

  Sir Ernst Mecelli

  Sodai Carvenallin, his secretary

  Sir Curtin Issandrian

  Sir Gospey Allintot

  Fallon Broot, Baron of Suderling Heights

  and also Houses Veren, Essian, Ischian, Bannien, Estinford, Faskellan, Emming, Tilliakin, Mastellin, Caot, and Pyrellin among others

  Basrahip, minister of the spider goddess and counselor to Geder Palliako

  also some dozen priests

  IN ELASSAE

  Fallon Broot, protector of the fivefold city

  Carol Dannien, a mercenary captain

  Cep Bailan, his officer

  Salan, soldier and cousin of Isadau

  IN NORTHCOAST

  The Medean bank in Carse

  Komme Medean, head of the Medean bank

  Lauro, his son

  Chana, his daughter

  Paerin Clark, bank auditor and son-in-law of Komme

  Magister Nison, voice of the Medean bank in Carse

  King Tracian

  IN HALLSKAR

  Magra of Order Murro and several of his compatriots

  THE DEAD

  King Simeon, Emperor of Antea, dead from a defect of the flesh

  King Lechan of Asterilhold, executed in war

  Feldin Maas, formerly Baron of Ebbingbaugh killed for treason

  Phelia Maas, his wife dead at her husband’s hand

  Dawson Kalliam, formerly Baron of Osterling Fells, executed for treason

  Alan Klin, executed for treason

  Mirkus Shoat, executed for treason

  Estin Cersillian, Earl of Masonhalm, killed in an insurrection

  Lord Ternigan, Lord Marshal to Regent Palliako, killed for disloyalty

  Magister Imaniel, voice of the Medean bank in Vanai and protector of Cithrin

  also Cam, a housekeeper, and

  Besel, a man of convenience, burned in the razing of Vanai

  Alys, wife of Marcus Wester

  also Merian, their daughter, burned to death as a tactic of intrigue

  Lord Springmere, the Mayfly King, killed in vengeance

  Akad Silas, adventurer, lost with his expedition


  Assian Bey, collector of secrets and builder of traps, whose death is not recorded

  Morade, the last Dragon Emperor, said to have died from wounds

  Asteril, clutch-mate of Morade, maker of the Timzinae, dead of poison

  Erex, lover of Inys whose manner of death is not recorded

  Drakkis Stormcrow, great human general of the last war of the dragons, dead of age

  Smit, a player lost in war

  An Introduction to the Taxonomy of Races

  (From a manuscript attributed to Malasin Calvah, Taxonomist to Kleron Nuasti Cau, fifth of his name)

  The ordering and arrangements of the thirteen races of humanity by blood, order of precedence, mating combination, or purpose is, by necessity, the study of a lifetime. It should occasion no concern that the finer points of the great and complex creation should seem sometimes confused and obscure. It is the intent of this essay to introduce the layman to the beautiful and fulfilling path which is taxonomy.

  I shall begin with a brief guide to which the reader may refer.

  Firstblood

  The Firstblood are the feral, near-bestial form from which all humanity arose. Had there been no dragons to form the twelve crafted races from this base clay, humanity would have been exclusively of the Firstblood. Even now, they are the most populous of the races, showing the least difficulty in procreation, and spreading throughout the known world as a weed might spread through a rose garden. I intend no offense by the comparison, but truth knows no etiquette.

  The Eastern Triad

  The oldest of the crafted races form the Eastern Triad: Jasuru, Yemmu, and Tralgu.

  The Jasuru are often assumed to be the first of the higher races. They share the rough size and shape of the Firstblood, but with the metallic scales of lesser dragons. Most likely, they were created as a rough warrior caste, overseers to control the Firstblood slaves.

  The Yemmu are clearly a later improvement. Their great size and massive tusks could only have been designed to intimidate the lesser races, but as with other examples of crafted races, the increase in size and strength has come at a cost. Of all the races, the Yemmu have the shortest natural lifespan.

  The Tralgu are almost certainly the most recent of the Eastern Triad. They are taller than the Firstblood and with the fierce teeth and keen hearing of a natural carnivore, and common wisdom holds that they were bred for hunting more than formal battle. In the ages since the fall of dragons, it is likely only their difficulty in whelping that has kept them from forcible racial conquest.

  The Western Triad

  As the Eastern Triad marks an age of war in which races were created as weapons of war, the western races delineate an age in which the dragons began to create more subtle tools. Cinnae, Dartinae, and Timzinae each show the marks of creation for specific uses.

  The Cinnae, when compared to all other races, are thin and pale as sprouts growing under a bucket. However, they have a marked talent in the mental arts, though the truly deep insights have tended to escape them. As the Jasuru are a first attempt at a warrior caste, so the Cinnae may be considered as a rough outline of the races that follow them.

  The Dartinae, while dating their creation from the same time, do not share in the Cinnae’s slightly better than rudimentary intelligence. Rather, their race was clearly built as a labor force for mining efforts. Their luminescent eyes show a structure unlike any other race, or indeed any known beast of nature. Their ability to navigate in utterly lightless caves is unique, and they tend to have the lithe frames one can imagine squeezing through cramped caves deep underground. Persistent rumors of a hidden Dartinae fortress deep below the earth no doubt spring from this, as no such structure has ever been found, nor would it be likely to survive in the absence of sustainable farming.

  The Timzinae are, in fact, the only race whose place in the order of creation is unequivocally known. The youngest of the races, they date from the final war of the dragons. Their dark, insectile scales provide little of the protection that the Jasuru enjoy, but they are capable of utterly encasing the living flesh, even to the point of sealing all bodily orifices including ears and eyes. Their precise function as a tool remains obscure, though some suggest it might have been beekeeping.

  The Master Races

  The master races, or High Triad, represent the finest work of the dragons before their inevitable fall into decadence. These are the Kurtadam, Raushadam, and Haunadam.

  The Kurtadam, like myself, show the fusion of all the best ideas that came before. The cleverness first hinted at in the Cinnae and the warrior’s instinct limned by the Eastern Triad came together in the Kurtadam. Also, alone among the races, the Kurtadam were given the gift of a full pelt of warming hair, and the arts of beading and adornments that clearly represent the highest in etiquette and personal beauty.

  The Haunadam exist to the greatest extent in Far Syramys and its territories, and represent the refinement of the warrior impulse that created the Yemmu. While slightly smaller, the tireless Haunadam have a thick mineral layer in their skins which repels violence and a clear and brilliant intellect that has given them utter dominion over the western continent. Their aversion to travel by water restricts their role in the blue-water trade, and has likely prevented military conquest of other nations bounded by the seas.

  The Raushadam, like the Haunadam, are primarily to be found in Far Syramys, and function almost as if the two races were designed to act as one with the other. The slightest of frame, Raushadam are the only race gifted by the dragons with flight.

  The Decadent Races

  After the arts of the dragons reached their height, there was a necessary and inevitable descent into the oversophisticated. The latter efforts of the dragons brought out the florid and bizarre races: Haaverkin, Southling, and Drowned.

  The Haaverkin have spent the centuries since the fall of dragons clinging to the frozen ports of the north. Their foul and aggressive temper is not a sign that they were bred for war, but that an animal let loose without its master will revert to its bestial nature. While they are large as the Yemmu, this is due to the rolls of insulating fat that protect them from the cold north. The facial tattooing has been compared to the Kurtadam ritual beads by those who clearly understand neither.

  The Southlings, known for their great black night-adapted eyes, are a study in perversion. Littering the reaches south of Lyoneia, they have built up a culture equal parts termite hill and nomadic tribe worship. While capable of sexual reproduction, these wide-eyed half-humans prefer to delegate such activity to a central queen figure, with her subjects acting as drones. Whether they were bred to people the living deserts of the south or migrated there after the fall of dragons because they were unable to compete with the greater races is a fit subject of debate.

  The Drowned are the final evidence of the decadence of the dragons. While much like the Firstblood in size and shape, the Drowned live exclusively underwater in all human climes. Interaction with them is slow when it is possible, and their tendency to gather in shallow tidepools marks them as little better than human seaweed. Suggestions that they are tools created toward some great draconic project still in play under the waves is purest romance.

  With this as a grounding, we can address the five philosophical practices that determine how an educated mind orders, ranks, and ultimately judges the races…

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank Danny Baror and Shawna McCarthy for hooking me up with the amazing team at Orbit. The book would not exist in its present form without the good work of Will Hinton, Ellen Wright, Alex Lencicki, Anne Clarke, and Tim Holman.

  Here, at the end of the project, I’d also like to acknowledge the people who helped me to launch it: George R. R. Martin, Walter Jon Williams, S. M. Stirling, Ty Franck, Ian Tregillis, Carrie Vaughn, Emily Mah, Melinda Snodgrass, Terry England, and all of the Critical Mass group. I’m glad none of you died when the lightning struck.

  And, as always, my thanks to my fami
ly for their support during the hard parts.

  The failures and infelicities are my own.

  extras

  meet the author

  Photo Credit: Kyle Zimmerman

  DANIEL ABRAHAM is the author of the critically acclaimed Long Price Quartet. He has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards, and has won the International Horror Guild Award. He also writes as MLN Hanover and (with Ty Franck) James S. A. Corey. He lives in New Mexico.

  introducing

  If you enjoyed

  THE SPIDER’S WAR,

  look out for

  SNAKEWOOD

  by Adrian Selby

  Once they were a band of mercenaries who shook the pillars of the world through cunning, alchemical brews, and cold steel. Whoever met their price won.

  Now, their glory days behind them, scattered to the wind, and their genius leader in hiding, they are being hunted down and eliminated one by one.

  A lifetime of enemies has its own price.

  Chapter 1

  Gant

  My name’s Gant and I’m sorry for my poor writing. I was a mercenary soldier who never took to it till Kailen taught us. It’s for him and all the boys that I wanted to put this down, a telling of what become of Kailen’s Twenty.

  Seems right to begin it the day me and Shale got sold out, at the heart of the summer just gone, down in the Red Hills Confederacy.

  It was the day I began dying.