Robin Hobb - Legends II (Shadows, Gods, and Demons ).pdf - Robin Hobb - widez2

REALM OF THEELDERLINGS

ROBIN HOBB

THE FARSEER TRILOGY:

ASSASSIN’SAPPRENTICE(1995)

ROYALASSASSIN(1996)

ASSASSIN’SQUEST(1997)

THE LIVESHIP TRADERS TRILOGY:

SHIP OFMAGIC(1998)

MADSHIP(1999)

SHIP OFDESTINY(2000)

THE TAWNY MAN TRILOGY:

FOOL’SERRAND(2002)

GOLDENFOOL(2003)

FOOL’SEND(2004)

The first Robin Hobb trilogy, The Farseer Trilogy, took place in the Six Duchies. It is the tale of

FitzChivalry Farseer. The discovery that this bastard son exists is enough to topple Prince Chivalry’s

ambition for the throne. He abdicates, ceding the title of heir to the throne to his younger brother Verity

and abandoning the child to the care of the stablemaster Burrich. The youngest prince, Regal, has

ambitions of his own, and wishes to do away with the bastard. But old King Shrewd sees the value of

taking the lad and training him as an assassin. For a bastard can be sent into dangers where a trueborn

son could not be risked, and may be given tasks that would soil an heir’s hands.

And so FitzChivalry is trained in the secret arts of being a royal assassin. He shows a predilection for the

Wit, a beast magic much despised in the Six Duchies. This secret vice in the young assassin is tolerated,

for a partnership with an animal may be a useful trait in an assassin. When it is discovered that he may

possess the hereditary magic of the Farseers, the Skill, he becomes both the King’s weapon and an

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obstacle to Prince Regal’s ambitions for the throne. At a time when the rivalry for the throne is intense,

and the Outislanders and their Red Ship raiders are bringing war to the Six Duchies, FitzChivalry

discovers that the fate of the kingdom may very well rest on the actions of a young bastard and the

King’s Fool. Armed with little more than loyalty and his sporadic talent for the old magic, Fitz follows the

fading trail of King Verity, who has traveled beyond the Mountain Kingdom and into the realm of the

legendary Elderlings, in what may be a vain hope to renew an old alliance.

The Liveship Traders Trilogy takes place in Jamaillia, Bingtown, and the Pirate Isles, on the coast far to

the south of the Six Duchies. The war in the north has interrupted the trade that is the lifeblood of

Bingtown, and the Liveship Traders have fallen on hard times despite their magic sentient ships. At one

time, possession of a Liveship, constructed of magical wizardwood, guaranteed a Trader’s family

prosperity. Only a Liveship can brave the dangers of the Rain Wild River and trade with the legendary

Rain Wild Traders and their mysterious magical goods, plundered from the enigmatic Elderling ruins.

Althea Vestrit expects her families to adhere to tradition and pass the family Liveship on to her when it

quickens at the death of her father. Instead, the Vivacia goes to her sister Keffria and her scheming

Chalcedean husband, Kyle. The proud Liveship becomes a transport vessel for the despised but highly

profitable slave trade.

Althea, cast out on her own, resolves to make her own way in the world and somehow regain control of

her family’s living ship. Her old shipmate Brashen Trell, the mysterious woodcarver Amber, and the

Paragon , the notorious mad Liveship, are the only allies she can rally to her cause. Pirates, a slave

rebellion, migrating sea serpents, and a newly hatched dragon are but a few of the obstacles she must

face on her way to discovering that Liveships are not, perhaps, what they seem to be, and may have

dreams of their own to follow.

The Tawny Man Trilogy, a work still in progress at this writing, picks up the tale of Fitz and the Fool

some fifteen years after the Red Ship wars. Queen Kettricken is determined to secure her son’s throne

by arranging a marriage between Prince Dutiful and Elliana, the daughter of their old enemies in the

Outislands. But the Six Duchies themselves are restless. The Witted are weary of persecution, and may

choose to topple the throne of the Farseers by revealing that young Prince Dutiful carries an old taint in

his blood. The Narcheska Elliana sets a high price on her hand: Dutiful must present her with the head of

Icefyre, the legendary dragon of Aslevjal Island.

Meanwhile, to the south, the Bingtown Traders continue to wage war against the Chalcedeans, and seek

to enlist the Six Duchies into the effort to obliterate Chalced. Bingtown’s temperamental ally, the dragon

Tintaglia, has her own reasons for supporting them in this, reasons that may lead not only to the

restoration of the race of dragons but also to the return of Elderling magic to the Cursed Shores.

HOMECOMING

ROBIN HOBB

Day the 7th of the Fish Moon

Year the 14th of the reign of the Most

Noble and Magnificent Satrap Esclepius

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Confiscated from me this day, without cause or justice, were five crates and three trunks. This occurred

during the loading of the ship Venture , setting forth upon Satrap Esclepius’ noble endeavor to colonize

the Cursed Shores. Contents of the crates are as follows: One block fine white marble, of a size suitable

for a bust, two blocks Aarthian jade, sizes suitable for busts, one large fine soapstone, as tall as a man

and as wide as a man, seven large copper ingots, of excellent quality, three silver ingots, of acceptable

quality, and three kegs of wax. One crate contained scales, tools for the working of metal and stone, and

measuring equipment. Contents of trunks are as follows: Two silk gowns, one blue, one pink, tailored by

Seamstress Wista and bearing her mark. A dress-length of mille-cloth, green. Two shawls, one white

wool, one blue linen. Several pairs hose, in winter and summer weights. Three pairs of slippers, one silk

and worked with rosebuds. Seven petticoats, three silk, one linen and three wool. One bodice frame, of

light bone and silk. Three volumes of poetry, written in my own hand. A miniature by Soiji, of myself,

Lady Carillion Carrock, née Waljin, commissioned by my mother, Lady Arston Waljin, on the occasion

of my fourteenth birthday. Also included were clothing and bedding for a baby, a girl of four years, and

two boys, of six and ten years, including both winter and summer garb for formal occasions.

I record this confiscation so that the thieves can be brought to justice upon my return to Jamaillia City.

The theft was in this manner: As our ship was being loaded for departure, cargo belonging to various

nobles aboard the vessels was detained upon the docks. Captain Triops informed us that our possessions

would be held, indefinitely, in the Satrap’s custody. I do not trust the man, for he shows neither my

husband nor myself proper deference. So I make this record, and when I return this coming spring to

Jamaillia City, my father, Lord Crion Waljin, will bring my complaint before the Satrap’s Court of Justice,

as my husband seems little inclined to do so. This do I swear.

Lady Carillion Waljin Carrock

Day the 10th of the Fish Moon

Year the 14th of the reign of the Most

Noble and Magnificent Satrap Esclepius

Conditions aboard the ship are intolerable. Once more, I take pen to my journal to record the hardship

and injustice to preserve a record so that those responsible may be punished. Although I am nobly born,

of the house of Waljin, and although my lord husband is not only noble, but heir to the title of Lord

Carrock, the quarters given us are no better than those allotted to the common emigrants and

speculators, that is, a smelly space in the ship’s hold. Only the common criminals, chained in the deepest

holds, suffer more than we do.

The floor is a splintery wooden deck, the walls are the bare planks of the ship’s hull. There is much

evidence that rats were the last inhabitants of this compartment. We are treated no better than cattle.

There are no separate quarters for my maid, so I must suffer her to bed almost alongside us! To preserve

my children from the common brats of the emigrants, I have sacrificed three damask hangings to curtain

off a space. Those people accord me no respect. I believe that they are surreptitiously plundering our

stores of food. When they mock me, my husband bids me ignore them. This has had a dreadful effect on

my servant’s behavior. This morning, my maid, who also serves as a nanny in our reduced household,

spoke almost harshly to young Petrus, bidding him be quiet and cease his questions. When I rebuked her

for it, she dared to raise her brows at me.

My visit to the open deck was a waste of time. It is cluttered with ropes, canvas, and crude men, with

no provisions for ladies and children to take the air. The sea was boring, the view only distant foggy

islands. I found nothing there to cheer me as this detestable vessel bears me ever farther away from the

lofty white spires of Blessed Jamaillia City, sacred to Sa.

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I have no friends aboard the ship to amuse or comfort me in my heaviness. Lady Duparge has called on

me once, and I was civil, but the differences in our station make conversation difficult. Lord Duparge is

heir to little more than his title, two ships, and one estate that borders on Gerfen Swamp. Ladies Crifton

and Anxory appear content with one another’s company and have not called upon me at all. They are

both too young to have any accomplishments to share, yet their mothers should have instructed them in

their social responsibility to their betters. Both might have profited from my friendship upon our return to

Jamaillia City. That they choose not to court my favor does not speak well of their intellect. Doubtless

they would bore me.

I am miserable in these disgusting surroundings. Why my husband has chosen to invest his time and

finances in this venture eludes me. Surely men of a more adventurous nature would better serve our

Illustrious Satrap in this exploration. Nor can I understand why our children and myself must accompany

him, especially in my condition. I do not think my husband gave any thought to the difficulties this voyage

would pose for a woman gravid with child. As ever, he has not seen fit to discuss his decisions with me,

no more than I would consult him on my artistic pursuits. Yet my ambitions must suffer to allow him to

pursue his! My absence will substantially delay the completion of my Suspended Chimes of Stone and

Metal . The Satrap’s brother will be most disappointed, for the installation was to have honored his

thirtieth birthday.

Day the 15th of the Fish Moon

Year the 14th of the reign of the Most

Noble and Exalted Satrap Esclepius

I have been foolish. No. I have been deceived. It is not foolishness to trust where one has every right to

expect trustworthiness. When my father entrusted my hand and my fate to Lord Jathan Carrock, he

believed he was a man of wealth, substance, and reputation. My father blessed Sa’s name that my artistic

accomplishments had attracted a suitor of such lofty stature. When I bewailed the fate that wed me to a

man so much my senior, my mother counseled me to accept it and to pursue my art and establish my

reputation in the shelter of his influence. I honored their wisdom. For these last ten years, as my youth

and beauty faded in his shadow, I have borne him three children, and bear beneath my heart the

burgeoning seed of yet another. I have been an ornament and a blessing to him, and yet he has deceived

me. When I think of the hours spent managing his household, hours I could have devoted to my art, my

blood seethes with bitterness.

Today, I first entreated, and then, in the throes of my duty to provide for my children, demanded that he

force the Captain to give us better quarters. Sending our three children out onto the deck with their

nanny, he confessed that we were not willing investors in the Satrap’s colonization plan but exiles given a

chance to flee our disgrace. All we left behind, estates, homes, precious possessions, horses, cattle . . .

all are forfeit to the Satrap, as are the items seized from us as we embarked. My genteel respectable

husband is a traitor to our gentle and beloved Satrap and a plotter against the Throne Blessed by Sa.

I won this admission from him, bit by bit. He kept saying I should not bother about the politics, that it

was solely his concern. He said a wife should trust her husband to manage their lives. He said that by the

time the ships resupply our settlement next spring, he would have redeemed our fortune and we would

return to Jamaillian society. But I kept pressing my silly woman’s questions. All your holdings seized? I

asked him. All? And he said it was done to save the Carrock name, so that his parents and younger

brother can live with dignity, untarnished by the scandal. A small estate remains for his brother to inherit.

The Satrap’s Court will believe that Jathan Carrock chose to invest his entire fortune in the Satrap’s

venture. Only those in the Satrap’s innermost circle know it was a confiscation. To win this concession,

Jathan begged many hours on his knees, humbling himself and pleading forgiveness.

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He went on at great length about that, as if I should be impressed. But I cared nothing for his knees.

“What of Thistlebend?” I asked. “What of the cottage by the ford there, and the moneys from it?” This I

brought to him as my marriage portion, and humble though it is, I thought to see it passed to Narissa

when she wed.

“Gone,” he said, “all gone.”

“But why?” I demanded. “I have not plotted against the Satrap. Why am I punished?”

Angrily, he said I was his wife and of course I would share his fate. I did not see why, he could not

explain it, and finally told me that such a foolish woman could never understand, and bid me hold my

tongue, not flap it and show my ignorance. When I protested that I am not a fool, but a well-known

artist, he told me that I am now a colonist’s wife, and to put my artistic pretenses out of my head.

I bit my tongue to keep from shrieking at him. But within me, my heart screams in fury against this

injustice. Thistlebend, where my little sisters and I waded in the water and plucked lilies to pretend we

were goddesses and those our white and gold scepters . . . gone for Jathan Carrock’s treacherous

idiocy.

I had heard rumors of a discovered conspiracy against the Satrap. I paid no attention. I thought it had

nothing to do with me. I would say that the punishment was just, if I and my innocent babes were not

ensnared in the same net that has trapped the plotters. All the confiscated wealth has financed this

expedition. The disgraced nobles were forced to join a Company composed of speculators and

explorers. Worse, the banished criminals in the hold, the thieves and whores and ruffians, will be released

to join our Company when we disembark. Such will be the society around my tender children.

Our Blessed Satrap has generously granted us a chance to redeem ourselves. Our Magnificent and Most

Merciful Satrap has granted each man of the company two hundred leffers of land, to be claimed

anywhere along the banks of the Rain Wild River that is our boundary with barbarous Chalced, or along

the Cursed Shores. He directs us to establish our first settlement on the Rain Wild River. He chose this

site for us because of the ancient legends of the Elder Kings and their Harlot Queens. Long ago, it is said,

their wondrous cities lined the river. They dusted their skin with gold and wore jewels above their eyes.

So the tales say. Jathan said that an ancient scroll, showing their settlements, has recently been translated.

I am skeptical.

In return for this chance to carve out new fortunes for ourselves and redeem our reputations, Our

Glorious Satrap Esclepius asks only that we cede to him half of all that we find or produce there. In

return, the Satrap will shelter us under his protective hand, prayers will be offered for our well-being, and

twice yearly his revenue ships will visit our settlement to be sure we prosper. A Charter for our

Company, signed by the Satrap’s own hand, promises this.

Lords Anxory, Crifton, and Duparge share in our disgrace, though as lesser Lords, they had less far to

fall. There are other nobles aboard the other two ships of our fleet, but no one I know well. I rejoice that

my dear friends do not share my fate yet I mourn that I enter exile alone. I will not count upon my

husband for comfort in the disaster he has brought upon us. Few secrets are kept long at court. Is that

why none of my friends came to the docks to bid me farewell?

My own mother and sister had little time to devote to my packing and farewells. They wept as they bade

me farewell from my father’s home, not even accompanying me to the filthy docks where this ship of

banishment awaited me. Why, O Sa, did they not tell me the truth of my fate?

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