The Hand of Chaos

1

Dragon Wing, vol. 1 of The Death Gate Cycle.

2

Elven Star, vol. 2 of The Death Gate Cycle.

3

Fire Sea, vol. 3 of The Death Gate Cycle.

4

Serpent Mage, vol. 4 of The Death Gate Cycle.

5

Written in the human language, in Haplo’s hand, the entry can be found in the back of the journal left the Patryn by the dwarf maid, Grundle. Patryns typically use mensch language to record events and thoughts, considering their own magical nine language far too powerful to be used indiscriminately.

6

Reference to the fact that the seawater on the world of Chelestra nullifies tile powerful magics of both Sartan and Patryn. See Serpent Mage, vol. 4 of The Death Gate Cycle.

7

“Dragon-snake” is a mensch term, coined by Grundle. The Sartan word for the creature is “serpent.” Haplo adopts the Sartan word used in this volume, a change from his previous work. Why he made the change is unclear. One reason suggests itself—he did not want to confuse these false “dragons” with the true dragons who inhabit the worlds. Haplo used a Sartan word because the Patryns, having never encountered this evil, have no word for it.

8

Those whom the Patryns accept into the circle of their being are few. They are fiercely loyal to these they term “family” either by blood or by vow. These circles of loyalty (Patryns would scorn to call it affection) are generally kept to the death. Once broken, however, the circle can never be mended.

9

The serpent is, of course, lying to Xar. Since this evil has no true form of its own, it borrows any form that suits its needs.

10

Again, the serpent is relating its own version of the truth, which is considerably different from the story told by the Sartan, found in Serpent Mage, vol. 4 of The Death Gate Cycle. It is interesting to note, as does Haplo, in his somewhat bitter commentary on this section of Xar’s journal, that the serpents are adept at telling people exactly what they want to hear.

11

Fire Sea, vol. 3 of The Death Gate Cycle.

12

Undoubtedly an elven “collide-a-scope.” One looks down a hollow wooden tube at the end of which is a glass ball containing bits of different colored glass. When the ball is rotated, the glass pieces “collide” to form a variety of shapes, visible to the viewer.

13

Xar discovered in the Nexus a small library of Sartan books written on various topics, including: a history of the Sundering, incomplete descriptions of the four worlds, and details on how to travel through Death’s Gate. The books are written in the Sartan rune language. Xar taught himself to read the language—a laborious task that took him many years.

14

Reference to the number of Gates in the Labyrinth through which a Patryn has passed. The number of Gates gives a fair indication of what type of life the person led. A Squatter, for example, would have passed through relatively few Gates compared to a Runner. The Lord of the Nexus standardized the classification process in terms of age, using the runes tattooed on a person’s body combined with cycles discovered in the Labyrinth to judge a Patryn’s true age.

The question Haplo has asked would be the equivalent of one mensch asking another about his occupation.

15

Dragon Wing, vol. 1 of The Death Gate Cycle. Haplo flew the ship to Arianus. Having underestimated the magical power of Death’s Gate, Haplo had not prepared his ship properly, with the result that it crash-landed. The Geg, Limbeck, discovered the downed ship, rescued Haplo and the dog.

16

Haplo, Ananus, World of Air, vol. 1 of Death Gate Journal.

17

Ruler of the Gegs of Drevlin of the Low Realm of Arianus.

18

Haplo, in this and future accounts, uses the term “dwarves” as opposed to “Gegs,” as he used in the account of his first trip to Arianus. Haplo doesn’t give a reason for this change, but it is probable that he agreed with Limbeck that “Geg” was a demeaning term. Haplo includes a notation in this manuscript defining the word “Geg” as a short version of the elven word “gega’rega,” a slang term for an insect.

19

Due to the severe water shortage in the Mid Realms, water is an extremely valuable commodity. Both human and elven monetary systems are based on water. In human lands, 1 barl is equivalent to 1 barrel of water and may be exchanged for such at the king’s treasury or on any of the royal waterfarms scattered throughout the Volkaran and Uylandian isles.

20

A magical song, sung by the rebel elves, has the effect of causing those elves who hear it to remember long-forgotten values once honored by all elves. Those who hear this song come to see the corruption of the Tribus empire and it causes them to renounce their allegiance, join the rebellion. Thus rebel elves, captured alive, have their tongues cut out or are otherwise silenced.

21

During a journey through Death’s Gate, on their way to Abarrach, Alfred and Haplo fell into each other’s consciousness, lived each other’s most vivid and painful memory. Fire Sea, vol. 3 of The Death Gate Cycle.

22

Undoubtedly a reference to a previous adventure, when Limbeck was made to “walk the Steps of Terrel Fen”—a form of execution. Feathered wings are strapped to the arms of the accused and he is pushed off the floating isle of Drevlin into the Maelstrom. Dragon Wing, vol. I of The Death Gate Cycle.

23

Limbeck discovered that the eyeball was, in actuality, a magic lantern. Bane, watching the moving pictures exhibited in the eyeball, figured out what the Kicksey-winsey was supposed to do—bring the various floating continents of Mid and High Realms into alignment, supply them with water. Dragon Wing, vol. 1 of The Death Gate Cycle.

24

Undoubtedly the gates to the Sartan city of Pryan, which Haplo describes in his journal Pryan, World of Fire.

25

Haplo should have recognized this from Pryan as well. The dwarf Drugar wore the very same sigil on an amulet around his neck. A common Sartan key and locking device, the sigla were more ornamental than they were functional, for—as Bane demonstrates—even a mensch could learn to operate the elemental magic. Places the Sartan wanted to truly guard and prohibit entry to were surrounded by runes of warding.

26

Since the lives of the dwarves on Drevlin revolve solely around the Kicksey-winsey, male and female dwarves divide household chores such as child rearing, cooking, sewing, and cleaning. Thus all dwarves are adept at knitting, crocheting, darning, and, in fact, consider such skills a form of recreation. All dwarves must have something to do with their hands; to sit idle, dreaming (such as Limbeck did as a youth), is considered a terrible sin. Limbeck knew how to knit, but he evidently wasn’t much good at it, as is evidenced by the fact that his socks unravel with such ease.

27

“Drax” means “dragon” in elven. “Sang” means snake.

28

Limbeck learned to speak the elven language from Captain Bothar’el. Expecting another elf to come to the aid of the first, Limbeck was astonished beyond measure to see a dwarf emerge from the doorway.

29

An elite unit of soldiers created by the emperor, ostensibly to search out and destroy rebel elves. The Unseen—so called because of their mysterious ability to make themselves very nearly invisible—have gained enormous power—even before the infiltration by the evil serpents.

30

One of the seven original clans of elves brought by the Sartan to Arianus after the Sundering. All elven clans had wizards among them, but the Kenkari were more powerful in magic than most and, through strict policies of intermarriage, they were able, over many generations, to enhance their magical powers. Consequently, the Kenkari are much in demand by other elven clans. Though they have no lands of their own, they are greatly revered in the elven nation, live as “guests” among the various royal families. Their main duties, however, lie with the Keeping of the Souls.

31

An elven wizard whose function is to capture the soul of a dying member of elven royalty and deliver it to the Cathedral of the Albedo. A weesham is assigned to a royal child at its birth and follows the child continually throughout life, waiting for death and the release of the soul, which is captured in a magical box.

32

An ancient word taken from old Earth. Originally “albedo” referred to that proportion of solar light shining on a planet that is reflected from that planet. The elves use the word in a highly romanticized form, to denote the light of elven souls reflecting back to their people.

33

Geir is a slang term meaning “vulture”.

34

Elves of other clans may become weesham, though only the Kenkari may serve in the cathedral. The weesham, who must be highly skilled in spirit magic, study with the Kenkari from the time they enter adolescence until they become adults (equivalent in human terms to the age of twenty). At this time, the geir are assigned to their charges, usually members of their own clans.

35

Reference to the rebel elves, who were currently attempting to overthrow the Tribus empire.

36

The geir never leave their charges, but remain at their sides, day and night, in case death should take them.

37

The first words an elven child of royal blood teams are those that will release his soul from the body after death. He repeats these at the time of death and the geir then captures the soul to take it to the cathedral. However, if the elf dies before the words can be spoken, the geir may free the soul by cutting open a vein in the left arm and drawing off heart’s blood. This must be done within moments after death.

38

For a history of the High Realms, see Dragon Wing, vol. 1 of The Death Gate Cycle.

39

Any dragonship, even one carrying political prisoners, would be required to take water up into the Mid Realm. The elves stockpiled water on Drevlin prior to the shutting down of the Kicksey-winsey. They had also developed various means of collecting the rainwater from the almost continual storms that sweep Drevlin. This was certainly not enough for the requirements of the Mid Realm, however.

40

Coralite is extremely porous; water runs through it like a sieve. All races have tried to develop various means of catching and containing the water by sealing up the coralite, but, because the coralite is essentially a living entity, undergoing constant alteration, these have met with only mediocre success. Detailed explanations of coralite and the construction of the floating continents of the Mid Realm can be found in Dragon Wing, vol. 1 of The Death Gate Cycle.

41

A battle fought when the Paxar attempted to settle what later became known as the Valley of the Dragons. It was during this battle that Krenka-Anris discovered how to capture souls and use them to enhance elven magic. The Paxar allied with the Kenkari to defeat the dragons. Those dragons that survived flew to human lands, where they found a welcome. Human magic, which deals with living things and natural properties, can enchant dragons. Elven magic, which deals with mechanics, cannot.

42

A rare species claimed, by legend, to nest in the brittle branches of the hargast tree. Since no one has ever found a hargast-bird nest, this cannot be verified. The birds are difficult to net and are therefore extremely expensive. Their song is quite exquisite.

43

The seven elven clans are: Paxar, Quintar, Tretar, Savag, Melista, Tribus, and Kenkari. The emperor is a member of the Tribus clan, as is his son, the rebel prince, Rees’ahn. Intermarriage has blurred most clan lines, with the exception of the Kenkari, who are forbidden to marry or bear children outside the clan. None has ever been known to disobey.

44

Directional reference system. Defined in detail in Dragon Wing, vol. i, The Death Gate Cycle. For general purposes, kiratrack corresponds to west, kanatrack is east, backward is north, and backtrack is south. This statement implies that Stephen is more worried about dragons flying from Ulyndia than from the elven kingdoms.

45

Found in the library of Castle Volkaran.

46

Defeated in battle, King Stephen was forced to surrender his army to Prince Rees’ahn. The elves took the humans prisoner and were marching them to slavery when a human minstrel named Ravenlark began to sing a song of defiance. The song turned out to have a powerful, almost magical effect on the elves. It transports all elves who hear it back to a time when they lived in peace, when their society gloried in all things beautiful. The elves threw down their weapons; many began to weep for what was lost. The king and his army retreated into a nearby castle. The elves left field of battle, returned to their ships. Thus began the elven revolution. Dragon Wing, vol. I, The Death Gate Cycle.

47

Bane’s story is told in full in Dragon Wing. vol. 1, The Death Gate Cycle. The farther away they took Bane, the better, was Stephen’s view of the matter. Bane had vanished over a year ago, and a curse seemed to have been lifted from the entire kingdom with the boy’s removal.

48

The Sartan constructed a magical shell around the High Realm to make its rarefied atmosphere suitable for mensch habitation. This shell is beginning to break down and no one now knows the secret of its reconstruction.

49

A note on dragons. The creatures who live permanently on Arianus are true dragons, an advanced species of reptile, who possess varying degrees of magical power, depending on each creature’s own intelligence and a variety of other factors. The dragons on Arianus are not to be confused with those who occasionally appear in the guise of dragons—such as the serpent-elf Sang-drax or the dragon-serpents of Chelestra.

50

It is rumored that the Kenkari elves feel a kinship to the Kir monks, whose death-worship religion derived from a failed attempt to emulate the Kenkari in the capture of souls. Many believe that the powerful Kenkari stretched a protective hand over the human monks, forbidding elven soldiers to persecute the Kir.

51

Those who can’t afford water for bathing use grise to cleanse the body or any other surface. A pumicelike substance made from ground coralite, grise is often mixed with headroot, an herb with a strong, but not offensive odor, used to kill lice, fleas, ticks, and other vermin.

52

Seven islands in the Griphith Cluster, rumored, among humans, to be haunted by the ghosts of ancestors who had done some misdeed during their lives and who died unrepentant, cast off by their families. The elves have a similar belief; a common threat in elven is “You’ll be sent to the Seven Mysteries for that’” Several expeditions, both human and elven, have been sent to explore the islands. None ever returned.

53

Pickpockets.

54

Believed to cure impotence.

55

Bane was nearly killed when the limb from a hargast broke during a windstorm and fell down on him. See Dragon Wing, vol. 1 of The Death Gate Cycle. Small wonder both King Stephen and Emperor Agah’ran had given up all thoughts—except wishful ones—of attacking it.

56

Haplo made a study of the Brotherhood and was able to penetrate many of their secrets. He surmises, in his writings, that the carvings on the door correspond to some sort of ritual cycle in the Brotherhood’s calendar. A member chooses the correct hand based on this cycle and presses his hand against it. A small hole carved in the door admits sunlight into the watch room. The sunlight is cut off by the hand covering the hole, and thus the watcher knows the member is one who has a right to enter. At night, or on cloudy days, a candle flame or some other source of light is held up to the correct hand, is seen through the hole.

Those who fail to perform this ritual are killed instantly by the archer stationed at all times in the window above.

57

Although the Kir monks worship death, consider death the final triumph over life, they were forced to face the realization that, unless they took sensible precautions, they might not have any worshipers left.

58

Not her real name. Elven meaning of the word “ciang” is “merciless” or “without pity.” She is one of the great mysteries of Arianus. No one knows her past; the oldest elf living is young to Ciang.

59

See Appendix I, The Brotherhood of the Hand.

60

See Appendix I, The Brotherhood of the Hand.

61

See Appendix I, The Brotherhood of the Hand.

62

A monster sent by Krenka-Anris to test the courage and skill of the mythical elven warrior Mnarash’ai. In each of the dragon’s eyes, Mnarash’ai beheld seven deaths. She had to overcome her fear of each before she could, at last, slay the dragon.

63

A realm on the continent of Aristagon, Paxaria is the land of the Paxar clan of elves. Paxaria’s largest city is Paxaua, a port town. Currently united with the Tribus elves, the Paxar are ostensibly permitted to rule their own realm. The Paxar king is nothing but a figurehead, however, and is married to one of Agah’ran’s marry daughters.

64

Probably a corruption of the word “Kenkari.”

65

Translation: The Unseen are following us.

66

Haplo’s magic wouldn’t render him invisible, but it does affect the possibility that people not looking for him wouldn’t see him. Haplo walked out of the dungeons of the Unseen.

67

Dragon Wing, vol. 1 of The Death Gate Cycle. Bane, as a clairvoyant, possessed the ability to see images of anything or anyone currently exerting a strong influence on a person. In general, with most people, the images would be symbolic and Bane would likely take them for granted, or use them to increase his hold on people, and thus he would not mention them. This one apparently startled the boy into speaking.

68

A Sartan phrase meaning the third phase of the Sartan plan.

69

The dwarves’ spiritual concepts are limited to the realm of Arianus. They have little conception of an “outside” reality or of other spheres of existence beyond a vague and often self-contradictory mythology of a place called Lexax—a possible derivation from the word Nexus. In trying to convey the notion of importing raw materials from the other realms of existence, this was the only framework in which the dwarves could understand the concept.

70

Again, the dwarves’ understanding of their universe is limited to their own realm.

71

Staredial’s theory involved the notion that the movement of raw materials through the Kicksey-winsey was like the movement of dwarf blood through their veins. Limbeck, an early supporter of Staredial’s theory, has a hard time giving it up.

72

A dwarf aphorism that is used far too much and heeded far too little.

73

While some of the terminology used by the dwarf is modeled after more common words, some of his names have no discernible source other than his own imagination.

74

The truth is that I could never make Limbeck understand runic alignment theory nor even the notion that water—so common a commodity on his own continent—could be of such importance to the upper realms. This is just his way of dodging the issue.