‘I have thought long and hard on this, Paran. Anomander Rake is Knight of the House of Dark,’ she said, ‘yet where is the House itself? Before all else there was Dark, the Mother who birthed all. So it must be an ancient place, a Hold, or perhaps something that came before Holds themselves. A focus for the gate into Kurald Galain ... undiscovered, hidden, the First Wound, with a soul trapped in its maw, thus sealing it.’

‘A soul,’ Paran murmured, a chill clambering up his spine, ‘or a legion of souls ...’

The breath hissed from Silverfox.

‘Before Houses there were Holds,’ Paran continued with remorseless logic. ‘Both fixed, both stationary. Settled. Before settlement ... there was wandering. House from Hold, Hold from ... a gate in motion, ceaseless motion ...’ He squeezed shut his eyes. ‘A wagon, burdened beneath the countless souls sealing the gate into Dark. . .’ And I sent two Hounds through that wound, I saw the seal punctured . . . by the Abyss ...

‘Paran, something has happened – to the Deck of Dragons. A new card has arrived. Unaligned, yet, I think, dominant. The Deck has never possessed a ... master.’ She faced him. ‘I now believe it has one. You.’

His eyes snapped open; he stared at her in disbelief, then scorn. ‘Nonsense, Tatter— Silverfox. Not me. You are wrong. You must be—’

‘I am not. My hand was guided in fashioning the card that is you—’

‘What card?’

She did not answer, continued as if she had not heard him. ‘Was it the Azath that guided me? Or some other unknown force? I do not know. Jen’isand Rul, the Wanderer within the Sword.’ She met his eyes. ‘You are a new Unaligned, Ganoes Paran. Birthed by accident or by some purpose the need of which only the Azath know. You must find the answer for your own creation, you must find the purpose behind what you have become.’

His brows rose mockingly. ‘You set for me a quest? Really, Silverfox. Aimless, purposeless men do not undertake quests. That’s for wall-eyed heroes in epic poems. I don’t believe in goals – not any more. They’re naught but self-delusions. You set for me this task and you shall be gravely disappointed. As shall the Azath.’

‘An unseen war has begun, Paran. The warrens themselves are under assault – I can feel the pressure within the Deck of Dragons, though I have yet to rest a hand upon one. An army is being ... assembled, perhaps, and you – a soldier – are part of that army.’

Oh yes, so speaks Tattersail. ‘I have enough wars to fight, Silverfox...’

Her eyes glistened as she looked up at him. ‘Perhaps, Ganoes Paran, they are all one war.’

‘I’m no Dujek, or Brood – I can’t manage all these ... campaigns. It’s – it’s tearing me apart.’

‘I know. You cannot hide your pain from me – I see it in your face, and it breaks my heart.’