Robert Asprin - TW 09 - Blood Ties

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Thieves World Book #09

Blood Ties

Edited by Robert Lynn Asprin

CONTENTS

Dramatis Personae Lynn Abbey

Introduction Robert Lynn Asprin

Lady of Fire Diana L. Paxson

Sanctuary Is for Lovers Janet & Chris Morris

Lovers Who Slay Together Robin Wayne Bailey

In the Still of the Night C.J. Cherryh

No Glad in Gladiator Robert Lynn Asprin

The Tie That Binds Diane Duane

Sanctuary Nocturne Lynn Abbey

Spellmaster Andrew Offutt and Jodie Offutt

Afterword C.J. Cherryh

Dramatis Personae

The Townspeople

AHDIOVIZUN; AHDIOMER viz; AHDIO, Proprietor of Sty's Place, a legendary dive

within the Maze.

LALO THE LIMNER, Street artist gifted with magic he does not fully understand.

GILLA, His indomitable wife.

ALFI, Their youngest son.

LATILLA, Their daughter.

OANNER, Their middle son, slain during the False Plague riots of the previous

winter.

VANDA, Their daughter, employed as maid-servant to the Beysib at the palace.

WEDEMIR, Their son and eldest child.

DUBRO, Bazaar blacksmith and husband to Illyra.

ILLYRA, Half-blood S'danzo seeress with True Sight. Hounded by PFLS in the False

Plague.

ARTON, Their son, marked by the gods and magic as part of an emerging

divinity known as the Stormchildren. Sent to the Bandaran Isles for his safety

and education.

ULLIS, Their daughter, slain in the False Plague riots.

HAKIEM, Storyteller and confidant extraordinaire.

JUBAL, Prematurely aged former gladiator. Once he openly ran Sanctuary's most

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visible criminal organization, the Hawkmasks. Now he works behind the scenes.

SALIMAN, His aide and only friend.

MAMA BECHO, Owner of a particularly disreputable tavern in Downwind.

MASHA ZIL-INEEL, Midwife whose involvement with the destruction of the Purple

Mage enabled her to move from the Maze to respectability uptown.

MORIA, One-time Hawkmask and servant to Ischade. She was physically transformed

into a Rankan noblewoman by Haught.

MYRTIS, Madam of the Aphrodesia House.

SHAFRALAIN, Sanctuary nobleman who can trace his lineage and his money back to

the days of llsig's glory.

ESARIA, His daughter.

EXPIMILIA, His wife.

CUSHARLAIN, His cousin. A customs inspector and investigator.

SNAPPER JO, A fiend who survived the destruction of magic in Sanctuary.

STILCHO, Once one of Ischade's resurrected minions, he was "cured" of death when

magic was purged from Sanctuary.

ZIP, Bitter young terrorist. Leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of

Sanctuary (PFLS).

The Magicians

HAUGHT, One-time apprentice of Ischade who betrayed her and is now trapped in a

warded house with Roxane.

ISCHADE, Necromancer and thief. Her curse is passed to her lovers who die from

it.

ROXANE; DEATH'S QUEEN, Nisibisi witch. Nearly destroyed when Stormbringer purged

magic from Sanctuary, she is trapped inside a warded house and a dead man's

body.

Others

THERON, New military Emperor. An usurper placed on the throne with the aid

ofTempus and his allies. He has commanded that Sanctuary's walls must be rebuilt

by the next New Year Festival.

The Rankans living in Sanctuary

CHENAYA; DAUGHTER OF THE SUN, Daughter of LOW an Vigeles, a beautiful and

powerful young woman who is fated never to lose a fight. DAYRNE, Her companion

and trainer.

LEYN, OUUEN, DISMAS AND GESTUS, Her friends and fellow gladiators.

GYSKOURAS, One of the Stormchildren, currently in the Bandar an Isles for

education.

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PRINCE KADAKITHIS, Charismatic but somewhat naive half-brother of the recently

assassinated Emperor, Abakithis.

DAPHNE, His estranged wife, living with Chenaya's gladiators at Land's End.

KAMA; JES, Tempus' daughter. 3rd Commando assassin. Sometime lover of both Zip

and Molin Torchholder.

LOWAN VIGELES, Half-brother of Molin Torchholder, father of Chenaya, a wealthy

aristocrat self-exiled to Sanctuary. Owner of the Land's End Estate.

MOLIN TORCHHOLDER; TORCH, Archpriest and architect of Vashanka; Guardian of the

Stormchildren.

ROSANDA, His estranged wife, living at Land's End.

RANKAN 3RD COMMANDO, Mercenary company founded by Tempus Thales and noted for

its brutal efficiency.

SYNC, Commander of the 3rd.

RASHAN; THE EYE OF THE SAVANKALA, Priest and Judge of Sanvankala. Highest

ranking Rankan in Sanctuary prior to the arrival of the Prince, now allied with

Chenaya's disaffected Rankans at Land's End.

STEPSONS; SACRED BANDERS, Members of a mercenary unit founded by Abarsis who

willed their allegiance to Tempus Thales after his own death. CRITIAS; CRIT,

Leftside leader paired with Straton. Second in command after Tempus.

RANDAL; WITCHY-EARS, The only mage ever trusted by Tempus or admitted into the

Sacred Band.

STRATON; STRAT; ACE, Rightside partner of Critias. Injured by the PFLS at the

start of the False Plague riots.

TASFALEN LANCOTHIS, Jaded nobleman, slain by Ischade's curse, then resurrected

by Haught. His body has become Roxane's prison.

TEMPOS THALES; THE RIDDLER, Nearly immortal mercenary, a partner of Vashanka

before that god's demise; commander of the Stepsons; cursed with a fatal

inability to give or receive love.

WALEGRIN, Rankan army officer assigned to the Sanctuary garrison where his

father had been slain by the S'danzo many years before.

The Gods

DYAREELA, A goddess whose worship in Sanctuary predates the Ilsigi presence and

which has been outlawed many times since then.

HARRAN, Physician and priest to Siveni Gray-Eyes, now part of her four-fold

divinity.

MRIGA, Mindless and crippled woman elevated to four-fold divinity with Siveni

Gray-Eyes.

SABELLIA, Mother goddess for the Rankan Empire.

SAVANKALA, Father god for the Rankan Empire.

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SIVENI GRAY-EYES, Ilsigi goddess of wisdom, medicine and defense, now

transformed into a four-fold diety.

SHIPRI, Mother goddess of the old Ilsigi kingdom.

STORMBRINGER, Primal stormgodlwargod. The pattern for all other such gods, he is

not, himself, the object of organized worship.

JIHAN, Froth Daughter. His parthenogenic offspring, betrothed to the Stepson's

mage, Randal.

The Beysib

SHUPANSEA; SHU-SEA, Head of the Beysib exiles in Sanctuary; mortal avatar of the

Beysib mother goddess.

INTRODUCTION

Robert Lynn Asprin

For the first time in over a decade, Hakiem found himself seriously considering

leaving his adopted home of Sanctuary.

Leaning out a window on one of the upper levels of the palace, he surveyed the

town below as he thought-yet even this depressed him. He had always enjoyed

walking the streets, first as a storyteller and later as advisor to the Beysib

Empress. The town had always had a rough vibrancy, like the rich organic smell

of a swamp, and he drank it in along with the rumors to assure himself of the

city's survival. Now, however, he found that he rarely ventured down to the

streets to savor it.

Not that he was afraid for his safety, mind you. Whether it was due to his long

standing membership in the community, his well known neutrality and

harmlessness, deference to his position as the Beysa's advisor, or a combination

of all of these factors, his passage through town was never challenged. Rather,

he often hid within the palace shadows and corridors to spare himself the

heartache of witnessing what was happening to his beloved Sanctuary.

The spirit of the town he knew had been born of parents named Poverty and

Desperation. While he had cursed the crime and filth along with the rest of the

citizens, there had also been a secret pride in the inherent toughness of

Sanctuary's inhabitants. Like the scrappy optimism of a bright-eyed gutter

predator, there had been a certainty that the town would survive regardless of

whatever hardships fate or the Rankan Empire could throw at it. Small moments of

tenderness or self-sacrificing heroics shone all the brighter here, as uncon

testable evidence of the strength of the human spirit.

Then two changes occurred almost simultaneously: the Beysib arrived and Ranke's

Stormgod had either died or retreated into oblivion.

As Sanctuary's fortunes literally rose through the influx of Beysib wealth, the

Empire's prestige and power had begun to wane-and the very nature of the city

altered. Instead of small, vicious fights for survival, the town sank into

selfish power squabbles which were proving more deadly and disruptive than

anything the citizens had known before. Instead of desperation and poverty, the

stench of greed hung over the town and Hakiem found it stifling.

Perhaps he should leave... soon, before the current disorder wiped out what few

pleasant memories remained. If the new path of the town was fixed, he had no

idea to ...

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"You are very quiet. Wise One, for someone who earns his living with his nimble

tongue."

Jolted from his reverie, Hakiem turned to find Shupansea, living avatar of

Mother Bey and hereditary, if exiled, ruler of the Beysib Empire, regarding him

with the delighted smile of a child who has caught his teacher in a spelling

error.

"Your pardon, 0 Beysa. I did not hear you approach."

"There are no others about, Hakiem. Formalities between us are necessary only

before unfriendly eyes. Besides, I doubt you would have heard an entire army

approaching. Where is the habitual wariness you've tried so hard to instill in

me?"

"I... I was thinking."

The smile disappeared from the Beysa's face to be replaced with an expression of

concern as she laid a soft hand on her advisor's arm. "I know. You seem unhappy

of late. Wise One. I've missed the talks we used to have. In fact, I've set

aside time today specifically to seek you out and learn your mind. You've helped

me so often in the past that gold alone cannot repay it. Tell me, what troubles

you? Is there anything I can do to ease your concerns?"

Despite his depression, Hakiem was touched by the sincere concern of this young

woman who had been raised to rule an empire and found herself in Sanctuary

instead. While a part of him instinctively wanted to hide his feelings, he felt

compelled to respond honestly.

"I fear for my town," he said, turning to gaze out the window once more. "The

people have changed since the Beysib arrived.

"Not that I blame you," he amended hastily. "You had to go somewhere, and

certainly your people have done everything possible to adapt to what I know is a

very strange and often hostile environment to you.

"No. What has happened to my town was done by those who have lived here the

longest. Oh, true enough, many of the changes were forced on them by the Rankan

Empire and its gods-and I know that all things must change. Still, I fear the

townspeople have lost the will and certainly the wisdom to survive the changes

which must follow as surely as a storm follows lightning. Even now the new

Rankan Emperor gathers troops to-"

He stopped abruptly as he realized the Beysa was laughing silently.

"I had not intended to be amusing," he said stiffly, anger flashing just below

the surface. "While I know the problems of a mere storyteller pale to

insignificance before-"

"Forgive me. Wise One. I meant no disrespect. It's just that you.... Please, let

me be the teacher for once."

To Hakiem's surprise, she joined him at the window, leaning far over the sill

until only the tips of her bare toes touched the cool floor.

"I fear you are too close to the problem," she said solemnly. "You know so much

about Sanctuary and watch so many of its citizens that you have become

overwhelmed by surface changes and are blind to the currents moving beneath. Let

me tell you what I see as someone new to Sanctuary.

"You underestimate your town. Wise One. You love it so much that you think that

no one else does-but that is incorrect. In the two years since my people arrived

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file:///F|/rah/Robert%20Asprin/Asprin%20[Ed.]%20-%20Thieves%20World%20-%2009%20-%20Blood%20Ties.txtThievesWorldBook#09BloodTiesEditedbyRobertLynnAsprinCONTENTSDramatisPersonaeLynnAbbeyIntroductionRobertLynnAsprinLadyofFireDianaL.PaxsonSanctuaryIsforLoversJanet&ChrisMorrisLoversWhoSlayTogetherRobinW...

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