Nagash: The Undying King by Josh Reynolds

Author:Josh Reynolds
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2017-11-30T11:30:21+00:00

Eight

LIFE-IN-DEATH

Let them come in their thousands, I will endure.

Let the skies weep fire and the earth groan.

Let all things perish and tumble into the dark.

Nagash endures.

– The Epistle of Bone

Tamra watched her people work with no small amount of pride. Under the watchful eyes of the voivodes, clansmen had emptied the great crypts and ossuaries which stretched beneath the Mandible. The bones of the beloved dead were now arrayed across the courtyard, and women and children moved to and fro among them, seeking to arrange head bone to neck bone and heel bone to ankle bone, in accordance with the ancient rites. The bones had already been marked with knife and ink by those who’d seen to their stripping and interment so long ago, and they were prepared accordingly.

More bones were added from heavy bark baskets and hide sacks. These additions had been contributed by those refugees lucky enough to have gotten away with such valuable heirlooms. ‘A good army, if small,’ Bolgu said. He observed the preparations beside her, his thumbs hooked in his wide belt. ‘We have bronze aplenty, to arm and armour them.’

Tamra nodded. ‘Lady Neferata calls to the deadwalkers in the hills and in the sea caves. They will flood the ruins and make them perilous for our foes.’ She ran a hand through her hair. ‘Arun has drawn down the bodiless spirits which linger here, and I have made compact with the corpse-eaters. You and Myrn and the others will see to the raising of our dead.’

‘It doesn’t sound like enough, does it?’ Bolgu said.

‘No.’

‘My ice-cutter galleys stand ready. If the walls fall, some of our people will survive.’ Bolgu looked at her. ‘I doubt either of us will be there to see them off.’

‘We might surprise you. I have no intention of dying here.’ Tamra looked up. The clouds were roiling with suppressed fury. Lightning flickered in their depths. She thought again of Sarpa, stolen by the storm. Despite her best efforts, she had not been able to call up his soul again. Wherever it was, she hoped he was at peace. Bolgu followed her gaze.

‘I’d ask the Undying King for a clear sky to fight under, if I thought he was listening,’ he said. ‘I’d give my left hand to see the sun – just once more, before the end.’

‘You think he does not listen?’

They turned to see Arun hobbling towards them. The old voivode supported himself on a staff made from the bones of his predecessors. He wore a cuirass of tarnished bronze and a helmet made in the shape of a swooping bat. ‘For shame, Bolgu,’ the old man said. ‘Nagash stands with us, even now.’

‘I do not see him, Arun,’ Bolgu said.

‘Because you are not looking. Nagash is in us and around us. He is all things, and all things are one in him. He is death, and we must die.’ Arun bent forwards, his body wracked by a coughing fit. Tamra caught his arm, supporting him until he’d recovered. He patted her hand.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.