Exiles in Arms: Night of the Necrotech (31 page)

EPILOGUE

P
ulling himself from the torture pit, Moritat probed the ugly holes the spikes had gouged into his flesh. The necrotech sniffed at the grimy filth dripping from several of the wounds. He’d have to start considering which pieces to remove and replace. It was fortunate he was in a place that presented so much fresh material to work with.

The monster’s spidery legs clattered across the dungeon floor as he flitted between piles of corpses and the risen’s mutilated remains. He didn’t even pause at Azaam’s body or the mangled ruin of Lorca. He tutted regretfully when he saw the wreckage of the helljack, castigating himself for not pushing his theories still further and making such an outcome impossible. He consoled himself that he’d know better next time.

Moritat clattered past the debris of his pistol wraith and stopped. A gasp oozed across his lips. He wagged a finger at the skeletal remains, as though warning them to stay where they were. The necrotech crossed the chamber and stared down at the body he’d noticed lying near the helljack. It was extremely fresh, but that was of less concern to Moritat than the array of holsters and pistols strapped to it. It had been a gunfighter or marksman of some sort. A kindred spirit to the pistol wraith.

Moritat clapped his withered hands together and uttered an impish laugh. He’d have to gather up the remains quickly, before the essences drained away. It would be an intriguing experiment. He’d fused the spirits of three necromancers to make his iron lich overseer. There was no reason why he couldn’t merge these other kindred energies into a more powerful union.

Yes, the more he thought about it, the more the idea appealed to Moritat. He’d set to it straight away. It might take some time to get any satisfactory results, but the necrotech had plenty of that.

Time was but a disease. Moritat had immunized himself ages ago.

GLOSSARY

ascendant:
A saint-like individual who has followed in Morrow’s footsteps and ascended to serve his faith as beacons of enlightenment. Individual ascendants are frequently chosen as patrons by Morrowan worshipers.

Bellicose Island:
The northernmost island of Five Fingers, commonly referred to as Bull Island. It is the most easily traversed of the islands and is connected to the Bold Shore of mainland Ord by a wide stone bridge.

Berck:
The largest and wealthiest city in Ord, home port of the Ordic Royal Navy and House Mateu.

Blackguard:
A group of rugged individuals who volunteer to keep vigil on the Chatterstones, a graveyard on Hospice Island of Five Fingers known to occasionally give rise to the restless dead, which emerge from its subterranean mass-burial crypts.

Blackstone Island:
One of the two westernmost islands of Five Fingers, along with Headmost Island. It holds Blackstone Prison and the Blackstone Quarry.

blood hag:
One of a group of elderly Satyxis who possess sorcerous power and who lead their culture’s most hallowed rites, such as sacrificing newborn males, initiating young girls in the harsh traditions of the Satyxis, and conducting the auguries by which they alter the fate of their people.

Bold Finger Channel:
The northernmost channel of Five Fingers as part of the mouth of the Dragon’s Tongue River, running between Bellicose Island and the southern coast of mainland Ord.

Bolis, Scion:
The patron of gamblers, smugglers, and fences. Bolis popularized gambling as a gateway to deeper vice and laid foundations for Five Fingers to become a haven of crime, manipulating both Cygnar and Ord to do so. He ascended in 271 AR.

bonejack:
The general term for a Cryxian light warjack, notable for being particularly swift and nimble.

Buccaneer:
An Ordic light warjack first used in 584 AR that is typically armed with a net and gaff hook and was designed to remain nimble and sure-footed even while moving along heaving ship decks.

Bull’s Island:
See Bellicose Island.

burrow-mawg:
An extremely aggressive nocturnal creature that resembles a cross between a badger and a large bat, with powerful jaws filled with dozens of sharp, serrated fangs.

Captain’s Island: The largest and most populous island of Five Fingers, holding the center of government as well as the office of the Lord Governor and the headquarters of the Fingers Watch.

Chaser Island:
An island of Five Fingers noted for its markets, which sell produce and locally made goods such as tools and weapons forged on neighboring Bellows Island.

Chatterstones:
A district of Five Fingers on Hospice Island, notable for a large mass graveyard created during a terrible plague. Undead sometimes emerge from this graveyard.

Church of Morrow:
The organized religion of the god Morrow, the largest and most widespread faith in the Iron Kingdoms. This is the majority faith in the nations of Cygnar, Khador, Llael, and Ord. The Church of Morrow has considerable wealth and influence.

cortex:
The highly arcane mechanikal device that gives a steamjack its limited intelligence. Over time cortexes can learn from experience and develop personality quirks.

Crabbeggar Island:
A squalid island west of Crane Island, home to the less successful of Five Finger’s fishermen.

Cryx:
An island kingdom of necromancers, undead, and pirates off the southwest coast of Immoren; also known as the Nightmare Empire. Cryx and its ruler, Toruk the Dragonfather, have no problem sacrificing their soldiers to set up a greater victory elsewhere.

Cryxlight:
A yellow-green glow associated with the necrotic energies utilized by the forces of Cryx, also known as balefire.

Cygnar:
A southern kingdom ruled by King Leto Raelthorne and bearing the Cygnus on its flag. Generally considered the most prosperous and technologically advanced of the Iron Kingdoms.

Deathripper:
A bonejack, or Cryxian light warjack, built of black iron and steel fused with the skulls and fangs of blighted beasts and armed with powerful jaws. The bonejack has an arc node that enables it to serve as a conduit for the spells of its controller. First reported in 502 AR.

Devourer Wurm:
An ancient and terrifying primal god of natural chaos, hunger, and predation described as the great ancient enemy of Menoth. Also called the Beast of Many Shapes, the Devourer is said to exist in every beast that hunts other living things as well as natural destructive phenomena such as lightning, earthquakes, floods, and wildfires. In some myths, the Wurm is seen as the male embodiment of nature, while Dhunia is the female embodiment. Viewed by Dhunian races as their divine father.

Dicer’s Isle:
See
Doleth Island.

Doleth Island:
The Five Fingers island where Scion Bolis achieved his dark ascension. Considerable funds were later spent to sanctify the island, and the Church of Morrow in Five Fingers was subsequently built there by royal decree. Despite these efforts the island is more commonly known as Dicer’s Isle or Bolis Isle.

Dragonfather/Dragon Lord:
See
Toruk, Lord.

Five Fingers:
An Ordic port city known for its gambling, criminal gangs, and smuggling trade, also known as the Port of Deceit. The city occupies the mouth of the Dragon’s Tongue River in the Bay of Stone where the river is split into five channels, or fingers, by the islands.

Fulmenus, Lich Lord:
The lich lord of Cryx who oversees necromantic research, as one of the Dragonfather’s foremost experts on occult lore and esoteric experiments.

gobbers:
A diminutive race of inquisitive, nimble, and entrepreneurial individuals that has adapted well to human cities. Most gobbers stand around three feet tall. Gobbers are known to have undeniable aptitude for mechanikal devices and alchemy.

gun mage:
An arcanist capable of channeling arcane energy into rune shots fired from magelock pistols.

Helldiver:
A bonejack with incredibly strong front claws it uses to burrow and drag itself through the earthand armed with shredding jaws. Origin date unknown.

helljack:
The general term for a Cryxian heavy warjack, which arguably demonstrates greater autonomy than a regular warjacs and is inherently violent.

High Captains:
The four principal leaders of the criminal underworld in Five Fingers; each is an individual of great wealth and influence with a reach beyond the city itself.

Hospice Island:
The southernmost island of Five Fingers, a place with appalling living conditions that is crowded with the poor and sick. It is named for the makeshift hospitals erected during the Beggar’s Plague of 536 AR.

infernals/infernalism:
The study and invocation of infernal entities, a reviled discipline classified as black magic within the Iron Kingdoms. Most infernalists are arcanists that have bargained for power from enigmatic beings called infernals who exist beyond Caen, beings who demand payment in living essence or preferably souls, including those captured from others. Very little is known about infernal society and these beings are considered extremely dangerous and intelligent.

’jack marshal:
A person who has learned how to give precise verbal orders to a steamjack to direct it in labor or battle, sometimes called marshaling. This is a highly useful occupational skill, although it lacks the versatility or finesse afforded by the direct mental control of steamjacks exercised by a warcaster.

Khador:
The northernmost of the Iron Kingdoms, formally renamed the Khadoran Empire early in 606 AR but still commonly called Khador. The Khadoran Empire is ruled by Empress Ayn Vanar.

King’s Finger Channel:
The central channel of Five Fingers, running between Captain’s Island to the south and both Doleth Island and Chaser Island to the north.

lich lords:
The twelve appointed generals and rulers of Cryx, powerful undead who answer only to Lord Toruk, the Dragonfather. The original lich lords were created from the pirate kings who ruled this island when Toruk arrived. Each lich lord is an extremely powerful and intelligent iron lich capable of controlling warjacks and wielding formidable necromancy.

Llael:
Once the smallest and easternmost Iron Kingdom but largely conquered by 605 AR during the Llaelese War. Llael is presently divided between Khador, the Protectorate of Menoth, and the Llaelese Resistance.

Lord Governor:
The appointed government official in the city of Five Fingers responsible for imposing Ordic law and ensuring the interests of the crown. His actual authority and influence is limited by the pervasive criminal interests in the city, and most of the populace consider him far less important than the high captains.