The Leopard (Marakand)
Read The Leopard (Marakand) Online
Authors: K.V. Johansen
Published 2014 by Pyr®, an imprint of Prometheus Books
The Leopard: Marakand, Volume One
. Copyright © 2014 by K.V. Johansen. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a website without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Cover image © Raymond Swanland
Cover design by Grace M. Conti-Zilsberger
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Johansen, K. V. (Krista V.), 1968–
The leopard / K. V. Johansen.
p. cm.—(Marakand; volume one)
ISBN 978-1-61614-903-1 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-1-61614-904-8 (ebook)
I. Title.
PR9199.3.J555L48 2014
813’.54—dc23
2013047645
Printed in the United States of America
ALSO BY K. V. JOHANSEN
Blackdog
For Chris
Ahjvar—Surnamed the Leopard, a Five Cities assassin suffering under more than his fair share of curses; originally from Praitan, living in Sand Cove in the Tributary Lands.
Akay—A fisherman’s widow of Sand Cove in the Tributary Lands.
Andara—Deyandara’s god; god of the Duina Andara in Praitan.
Anganurth—A wizard of unknown origins who became the devil Jasberek.
Angress—Champion of Queen Cattiga.
Arhu—A devout priest of the Lady, sent to speak for her in the Duina Catairna.
Arrac-Nourril—One of the Twenty Families alleged to have founded Marakand.
Ashir—A priest, the Right Hand of the Lady, husband of Rahel.
Attalissa—Goddess of the lake Lissavakail in the mountains called the Pillars of the Sky; foster-daughter of Holla-Sayan, formerly protected by the Blackdog.
Auntie—Midwife living with Talfan the apothecary; former nurse of Jugurthos Barraya.
Badger—A mastiff belonging to Deyandara.
Barraya—A Family or clan name in Marakand; one of the Twenty Families, supposed founders of the city.
Bashra—A Black Desert god, god of Gaguush’s folk.
Beccan—Sister of Nour, late wife of Hadidu; she died in childbirth some years before this story began.
Bikkim—Serakallashi former member of Gaguush’s gang; mortal husband of the goddess Attalissa.
The Blackdog—Thought to be a guardian spirit who bonded with a chosen warrior of Lissavakail to protect the goddess Attalissa; now the Westgrasslander caravaneer Holla-Sayan, free of Attalissa and said by Moth to be the damaged soul of a devil wounded and lost in the world in a forgotten devils’ war.
Cairangorm—A king of the Duina Catairna in Praitan; some songs say he was murdered by his elder son, some by his young wife, on the Day of the Three Kings, about ninety years before this story takes place. The songs are still popular among the bards in Praitan, though they are not often sung in the royal hall of the Duina Catairna. It is believed the land and the folk have been under a curse of ill fortune since that day.
Catairanach—Goddess of a spring and patron of the Duina Catairna.
Catairlau—Son of Cairangorm’s first wife, his heir, champion, and wizard. Alleged by some to have murdered his father; died not long after him on the Day of the Three Kings.
Cattiga—Queen of the Duina Catairna shortly before this story begins.
Choa, high lord of. Ghu’s former master, ruler of a province of northern Nabban.
Clentara—Alias used by Ahjvar in Marakand.
Cricket—Deyandara’s pony.
Dann—A Praitannec brigand.
Deyandara—Youngest sibling and only sister of Durandau, king of the Duina Andara and high king of Praitan. Niece and heir of Catigga of the Duina Catairna. Sometimes called Deya.
Django—A member of Gaguush’s gang, originally from the Stone Desert, brother of Kapuzeh.
Dotemon—One of the seven devils, otherwise the wizard Yeh-Lin the Beautiful.
Dur—Priestess of the Lady, caretaker of the Voice.
Durandau—King of the Duina Andara and elected high king of Praitan; eldest brother of Deyandara.
Elias Barraya—A senator of Marakand; wife of her cousin Petrimos Barraya; mother of Jugurthos. She was executed in the cages shortly after the earthquake.
Ermina—Second daughter of Varro and Talfan.
Esau—Son of the priestess of Ilbialla and only person from that family to survive the earthquake and the subsequent slaughter of all priests but the Lady’s. His name was changed to Hadidu and he was raised by the family of the Doves coffeehouse.
Fairu—A lord in the eastern part of the Duina Catairna.
Farnos—A baker in Sunset Ward.
Feizi—One of the Twenty Families of Marakand.
Gaguush—A Black Desert caravan-mistress and gang-boss, recently married to Holla-Sayan.
Gelyn—A bard of the Duina Catairna, daughter of Queen Cattiga’s chief bard.
Geir, Red Geir—One of the first three kings in the north, nephew of the wizard Heuslar.
Ghatai—One of the seven devils, otherwise the wizard Tamghiz, also known as Tamghat, the Lake-Lord of Lissavakail. Father of Ivah.
Ghu—A young Nabbani man, a runaway slave, Ahjvar’s servant and companion.
Gilru—Young son of Queen Cattiga, her heir after the deaths of his older brother and sister.
Gisel—A sea-raider and mistress of Red Geir in the stories of the north.
Gurhan—Hill-god of Marakand, formerly served by a clan of hereditary priests.
Guthrun—A Northron caravaneer, camel-leech in Kharduin’s gang.
The hag—Ahjvar’s name for the ghost which possesses him.
Hassin—Street-guard captain of the Riverbend Gate in Marakand.
Heuslar—Northron wizard who became the devil Ogada, uncle of Red Geir.
Holla-Sayan—A Westgrasslander caravan-guard who unwillingly became the host for the Blackdog of Lissavakail and foster-father to the goddess Attalissa; now one with the Blackdog and a free agent. Husband of Gaguush.
Hravnmod the Wise—One of the first three kings in the north, brother of Ulfhild, said to have been slain by her.
Hyllanim—Son of Hyllau, successor of Cairangorm and Catairlau as king of the Duina Catairna on the Day of the Three Kings.
Hyllau—Second (and much younger) wife of Cairangorm, King of the Duina Catairna. She is said in many songs to have murdered her husband; died on the day of the Three Kings.