Excerpt

Prologue

Behold the Cold General –

Mighty and dreadful was he in life.

And in death, more dreadful still.

—from The Black Saga Of Culri Moal, viii, 4.

Across the flat roof of the great drum keep of Rauthaz, with ice underfoot and a chill morn wind, Byrnak walked with a spirit clothed in the flesh of Coireg Mazaret. The inhabiting spirit was known as Crevalcor. According to Thraelor, he was a powerful adept of the Wellsource who had lived at a time when steaming jungles covered much of the continent. That he went hooded and swathed in thick brown garments was no surprise to Byrnak who, scarcely noticing the biting chill, was attired in a long cloak of thin black cloth.

"Were you able to carry out the appointed tasks unobserved?"

"Unobserved, unhindered and uninterrupted, Great Lord."

"And in your journeying?"

"Unseen, Great Lord. We followed fen-tracks and other little-used ways from our refuge in the Northern Rukangs to the hills around Besh-Darok. None saw us pass."

Byrnak nodded, inhaling deeply, relishing the iciness in his throat and lungs. "How went the seedings themselves?"

Crevalcor shivered but his voice remained steady. "As instructed, we sought out an overgrown location on high ground in the hills north of Besh-Darok. Come the fall of dusk, I performed the first ritual without deviation, or difficulty. Then the yard-deep trench was dug and the bone and blood oblations were made therein before the laying down of the kernel stones…" He paused, recollection in his eyes. "As rough as stone to the touch they were, yet cold as winter's heart and heavier than iron. Once they were laid in the trench, the soil was replaced in layers separated by additional offerings."

"Keshada," Byrnak murmured. "And Gorla?"

"In the hills west of Besh-Darok," said Crevalcor. "I enacted the seeding and the rituals as before, then returned to our refuge in the Rukangs. From there we were able to make our way back to Yularia by way of the Arengia foothills."

Byrnak said nothing as they walked on. The silence stretched till Crevalcor spoke again, a quiver of dread in his voice. "I did exactly as I was bid, lord. I omitted nothing, I swear it."

They drew near the waist-high, crenellated battlement which encircled the crown of the massive keep. Byrnak stopped, staring out across the misted city and the sea beyond then turned to face his anxious servant. "Your progress was noted most carefully, and we were gratified to see that you completed the tasks without error. My brothers Thraelor and Grazaan assure me that the ensorcellments have taken vigorous root, and that the Wellgate will join Rauthaz to Gorla and Keshada in days rather than weeks." He smiled faintly. "You are to be congratulated."

Crevalcor relaxed, relief shining in his face. "It is an honour to serve the Shadowkings, Great Lord."

Pity it had to be in such a hazardous manner, Byrnak thought. By the time he discovered that Coireg Mazaret had survived the confusion and failure of Trevada, the Hidden One had excised the spirit imposed on Mazaret by Ystregul, imbuing him with that of Crevalcor who was then set the tasks of seeding by Thraelor. It was Twilight's fortune that Crevalcor returned unharmed; Byrnak could at last find out what was left of Coireg himself.

"Tell me, friend Crevalcor, have you been well-treated since your return?"

"Most certainly, great one."

"Good, and what of this host – does it meet your needs?"

"Needs, Great Lord?" Crevalcor said thoughtfully. "It serves well enough. The previous occupant was not overburdened with a sense of caution, and taxed this frame to its limits. But during my expedition it proved sufficiently rugged and agile. And yet.." He slipped his hand free of voluminous sleeves, studying them. "I have never before been in possession of another's body, and there is much to learn."

"Not least of the original persona," Byrnak said. "Does anything of him remain?"

"There is something," the hooded Crevalcor said. "In the depths, something is tightly wound in on itself. It does nothing to announce its presence and has remained impervious to my infrequent and admittedly untutored scrutiny."

"Interesting," Byrnak said. "And do you think that your new form of existence has affected your command of the Wellsource?"

"My influence over living things seems much reduced, but my ability to make use of lifeless objects has never been so strong." Crevalcor smiled. "Mayhap my own deathliness plays a part."