Margaret Weis - Into the Labyrinth

“Nine gigantic arms made of brass and steel thrust up out of the coralite—some of them soaring several menka into the air. Atop each arm was an enormous hand whose thumb and fingers were made of gold with brass hinges at each of the joints and at the wrist. The hands were... large enough to have grasped one of the enormous waterships and held it in a golden palm....” Thus Haplo describes the Liftalofts in Dragon Wing , vol. 1 of The Death Gate Cycle .

It appears from this text that the ship has landed on the ground. Those who read Haplo’s first account of an elven ship arriving at the Liftalofts will recall that the dragon ship remained in the air. These early waterships were accustomed to leaving before the next storm hit, and while Haplo provides no explanation for the difference, it is logical to assume that elven ships intending to stay for long periods were forced to set down on the ground to ride out the storm.

Dragon Wing , vol. 1 of The Death Gate Cycle .

Foreseeing their doom, realizing they would be forced to leave Arianus without completing their task, the Sartan left detailed instructions informing the mensch how to operate the Kicksey-winsey. The book was written in three languages, dwarven, elven, and human, as well as Sartan. Unfortunately, at this time the mensch races were already at war, divided by hatred and prejudice. The book fell into the hands of the Kenkari elves, a powerful religious order.

Giving in to their own fears, particularly of the humans, the Kenkari hid the book and suppressed all knowledge of it. The current Speaker of the Soul—a studious man who, like Limbeck, suffered from insatiable curiosity—came upon the book and knew instantly what wonderful miracles it could bring to his world. He, too, was afraid of the humans, however, until an incident occurred that caused him to see true evil. He then gave the book to Haplo, to be given to the dwarves. The Hand of Chaos , vol. 5 of The Death Gate Cycle .

Sartan runes placed to guide the way down the stairs.

Ironically, what Limbeck saw was a gathering of the evil dragon-snakes, who had taken on forms of the mensch in order to insinuate themselves into the world. Haplo knows the truth, but, seeing that Limbeck is quite taken with the idea that the races can live and work together in peace, Haplo has never told the dwarf what he really saw.

See Appendix I, The Accursed Blade.

Haplo was tricked by the wizard Zifnab into transporting the human siblings Roland and Rega and the elven siblings Paithan and Aleatha and the dwarf Drugar to the Sartan citadel on Pryan. Their adventures are recorded in Elven Star, vol. 2 of The Death Gate Cycle .

Zifnab’s dragon. See Elven Star, vol. 2 of The Death Gate Cycle .

Haplo’s description of the citadel of Pryan, made on his first journey, places the market plaza right inside the city gates.

Tytans wiped out Drugar’s people. Blaming the humans and elves for abandoning the dwarves, Drugar swore vengeance on Roland, Rega, and Paithan. Elven Star, vol. 2 of The Death Gate Cycle .

Haplo refers to this room in his account as the sanctuary.

A part of this explanation and accompanying diagram can be found in Appendix II.

Humans do use magic, but their magic deals with the manipulation of nature and all things natural, as opposed to elves, who work with mechanical magicks. Elves tend to discount human magic, therefore, considering it crude and backward. This accounts for Paithan’s superior attitude. Unfortunately, most humans on Pryan, accustomed to using elven magical technology, feel the same way about their own magic as do the elves. Human wizards are accorded very little respect.

Due to genetic differences, elves, humans, and dwarves cannot cross-breed.

Probably what led Paithan to deduce that Xar was human. No elf ever wears black, considering the color ill-omened.

One of the Patryn words for “death” is, in fact, the same as the word for “friend.”

Tiger-men are taller than most humans, with thick fur pelts and long tails. They can run on back legs or drop down on all fours, are capable of leaping incredible distances, and are as much at home in trees as on the ground. They are adept at using weapons, but prefer killing with fang and claw, dragging down their prey and sinking their teeth into the neck, ripping out the throat. They know rune-magic, using it primarily to enhance their weapons. They kill for sport as well as food.

Probably a reference to Labyrinth sickness—a form of insanity affecting Patryns, brought on by the terrors and hardship of life in the Labyrinth.

Xar learned of the existence of the mensch in the Nexus, reading the literature left behind by the Sartan.

Insect-like creatures, the chaodyn have a hard outer shell that is extremely difficult to penetrate even with magical weapons. A chaodyn must be struck directly, die instantly, or else an attacker will find himself facing two where one stood before.

As opposed to the evil serpents (dragon-snakes) or the good dragons of Pryan. The Labyrinth dragons are descendants of those of ancient Earth, pre-Sundering. They are hideous reptiles, large, with vast wingspan, powerful in magic and abominably evil. They do not kill a victim outright, but enjoy taking prisoners and will torment their victims for days, allowing them to die slowly. Haplo mentions elsewhere that the dragons of the Labyrinth are the one creature he never fought. He ran for his life whenever he feared one was near. So far as Haplo records, Xar, Lord of the Nexus, was the only Patryn ever to fight a Labyrinth dragon and

Written by Alfred Montbank sometime during his sojourn in the Labyrinth.

This last is written in an agitated style, from which we must conclude that Alfred probably recorded this information just before the Siege of Abri. The second piece of information is very bad. Apparently the blade can also be controlled by outside forces! I have evidence that the dragon-snakes are able to wield some sort of influence over it.

I am indebted to the tytans and to my sister, Aleatha, for the translation of Sartan runes.

A phrase, peculiar to the Sartan, which means “a perspective from on high” or, in this case, an overview.

Paithan adds this for those who live on the high surface of Pryan. There the ground consists of the tops of immense trees whose roots remain unknown to those who are born, live, and die in their boughs.

“Well of the World” and “Worldgem,” in addition to many other fanciful names in the text, are undoubtedly Paithan’s constructions. While they do reflect his romantic nature, they are not necessarily instructive in terms of the function of the machine itself. The term “Worldgem,” however, may be a mensch rendering of the Sartan Eort-Batu’h rune. Eort signifies life and power—a cross structure in magic that bridged Fire and Water magicks. Batu’h would refer to the concept of “foundation” rather than a crystalline stone. If this is the case, then this “Worldgem” is the focal point of a life or power wave—probably the emissions from the “well.”