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Of all the gifts Father Shadow has given his children, this one talent stands tallest Look away to see Trust in it, and you will be led into Shadow Where all truths hide

Look away to see

Now, look away

The mice scattered as the deeper shadoed across snow brushed blue by dusk They sca them, one’s fate was already sealed A lone tufted, taloned foot snapped down, piercing furry flesh and crushing e, the owl had dropped silently fro out over the hard-packed snow and its litter of seeds, and the arc of its flight, round, rose up once s, towards a nearby tree It landed one-legged, and a ged across the glade a dozen heartbeats later saw nothing untoward The ns of their passing, and the owl froze motionless in its hollow amidst the branches of the spruce tree, eyes wide as they followed the figure’s progress across the clearing Once it had passed, the owl resued to the hunters, and the raptor was not yet done this night

As he weaved through the frost-rihts were distant,hins and details it offered He had not even paused to hter Dusk, the hters of Father Shadow – although he would make recompense at tomorrow’s sunset – and, earlier, he had ht that blotted the trail, risking the attention of fickle Sukul Ankhadu, the Daughter of Deceit, also known as Dapple The Calach breeding beds swar Trull in his collecting of raw jade above the shoreline Alone, the arrival of the seals would engender only excite Tiste Edur, but there had been other arrivals, in ships ringing the bay, and the harvest had been well under way

Letherii, the white-skinned peoples froer of those in the village he now approached, once he delivered the news of his discovery – an anger he shared This encroachment on Edur territories was brazen, the theft of seals that rightly belonged to his people an arrogant defiance of the old agree the Letherii, just as there were fools a anything but unsanctioned The Great Meeting was only two cycles of the moon away It served neither side’s purpose to spill blood now Noand destroying the intruder ships; the Letherii delegation would be outraged at the slaughter of its citizens, even citizens contravening the laws The chances of agreeing upon a new treaty had just becoar One long and vicious war had just ended for the Edur: the thought of another beginning was too hard to bear

He had not eation; on his wide belt was a row of twenty-one red-stained rivets, each one ed in white paint, to signify actual kills Only his elder brother’s belt sported ar, and that was right and proper, given Fear Sengar’s e the warriors of the Hiroth tribe

Of course, battles against the five other tribes of the Edur were strictly bound in rules and prohibitions, and even vast, protracted battles had yielded only a handful of actual deaths Even so, the conquests had been exhausting Against the Letherii, there were no rules to constrain the Edur warriors No counting coup Just killing Nor did the enemy need a weapon in hand – even the helpless and the innocent would know the sword’s bite Such slaughter stained warrior and victiht decry the killing that was to coside his brothers, sword in hand, to deliver the Edur judgement upon the trespassers There was no choice Turn away fro

His steady jog brought hihs and stone-lined pits, to the forest edge A few Letherii slaves glanced his way, quickly bowing in deference until he was past The towering cedar logs of the village wall rose fro in stretched streams Fields of rich black soil spread out to either side of the narrow, raised track leading to the distant gate Winter had only just begun to release its grip on the earth, and the first planting of the season was still weeks away By midsummer, close to thirty different types of plants would fill these fields, providing food,the thirty of a flowering variety, drawing the bees from which honey and ere procured The tribe’s wo The roups to journey into the forest, to cut timber or hunt, whilst others set out in the Knarri ships to harvest from the seas and shoals