Gene Wolfe: The Knight

Bold Berthold’s mother.

MAGNEIS

The charger Marder gave me.

MANI

The big black tomcat who followed Gylf and me.

MARDER

The duke of the northernmost duchy in Celidon.

MICHAEL

A man from Kleos.

MICE

People who are half Angrborn and half human.

MODGUDA

A servingwoman in Sheerwall.

MOONRIDER

Any knight the Lady sends to Mythgarthr.

MORCAINE

A princess. Arnthor and Setr are her brothers.

MORI

A smith in Irringsmouth.

MOSS AELF

Disiri’s clan.

MOSSMAIDENS

Girls of the Moss Aelf.

MOSSMATRONS

Older women of the Moss Aelf.

MOSSMEN

Men of the Moss Aelf.

MOUNTAIN OF FIRE

A gate to Muspel.

MOUNTAINS OF THE MICE

Same as the Mountains of the North.

MOUNTAINS OF THE NORTH

The mountains between Celidon and Jotunland.

MOUNTAINS OF THE SUN

The mountains between Celidon and Osterland.

MUSPEL

The sixth world, under Aelfrice.

MYTHGARTHR

The fourth world, where Celidon is.

NEEDAM

An island south of Celidon. I have never been there.

NJORS

A sailor on the Western Trader.

NUKARA

Uns’ mother.

NUR

The second mate on the Western Trader.

NYTIR

The knight I beat in the tap of the Dollop and Scallop.

OBR

Svon’s father. He was a baron.

OLOP

The baron who took over the Mountain of Fire while Thunrolf and I were in Muspel

ORG

The ogre I got from Uns.

OSSAR

Disira’s baby.

OSTERLAND

The country east of the Mountains of the Sun.

OSTERLINGS

People who eat other people to become more human.

OVERCYNS

The people of Skai—the Valfather’s people.

PAPOUNCE

One of Beel’s upper servants.

PARKA

Beel’s grandfather. He was King of Celidon.

PHOLSUNG

A woman from Kleos.

POUK BADEYE

A sailor I got to help me.

POTASH

He taught Chemistry and Physics.

QUEEN OF THE WOOD

This means Disiri. A lot of people are afraid to say her name because they think she might come. (It never worked for me.)

RAVD

The best knight I ever saw.

RED HALL

Ravd’s manor.

RIVER ROAD

The main road inland from Irringsmouth. It runs along the north bank of the Irring.

ROOM OFLOST LOVE

A room that was like another world when you got inside. Sometimes dead people were alive again in there.

ROUND TOWER

The biggest castle at the Mountain of Fire.

SABEI

A dead knight.

SALAMANDERS

The Fire Aelf. Uri and Baki were Salamanders.

SCAUR

A nice fisherman in Irringsmouth.

SCHILDSTARR

One of the most important Angrborn.

SEAXNEAT

A man in Glennidam who traded with the outlaws.

SEAGIRT

Thunrolf’s castle.

SETR

A dragon with a human father.

SHEBRWALL

Marder’s castle.

SHA

A fishwife, but she was nice to me.

SKAI

The third world, above Mythgarthr.

SKJENA

A girl that lived in Griffinsford.

SPARREO

My math teacher. She was pretty nice.

SURT

Hordsvin’s helper.

SVON

Ravd’s squire.

SWERT

Beel’s valet.

SWORD BREAKER

My mace. Sort of like a steel bar.

THIAZI

Gilling’s minister.

THOPE

Marder’s master-at-arms.

(OLD) TOUG

Ulfa’s father.

(YOUNG) TOUG

Ulfa’s brother, my age or little older.

TUNC

A master of arms who taught Garvaon.

ULD

A farmer who used to live in Griffinsford.

ULFA

The girl who made clothes for me in Glennidam.

URI

A friend of Baki’s. (Sometimes they said sister.)

UNS

A handicapped peasant.

UTGARD

Gilhng’s castle, also the town around it.

VALFATHER

The king of Skai.

VALI

A man old man Toug got to help him kill me.

VE

Vali’s little boy.

VIDARE

One of Marder’s knights.

VOLLA

Garvaon’s dead wife.

WAR WAY

The main road north from Celidon into Jotunland.

WELAND

The man who forged Eterne. He was from Mythgarthr but he became king of the Fire Aelf.

WESTERN TRADER

The ship I took from Irringsmouth.

WISTAN

Garvaon’s squire,

WODDET

The biggest knight at Sheerwall.

WULFKIL

A creek that emptied into the Griffin.

WYT

A sailor on the Western Trader.

YENS

A little port between Forcetti and Kingsdoom.

YOND

Woddet’s squire.

There they are, Ben. It has been easy for me to name them. What was hard was making you see them. Remember that the Osterlings had long teeth and starved faces, and the Angrborn stunk. Remember that Disiri was a shapechanger, and all her shapes were beautiful.

You must have stopped wondering what happened to me a long time ago; I know it has been many years. I have the time to write here, and what looks like a good chance to get what I write to where you are, so I am going to try. If I just told everything on a couple of sheets, you would not believe most of it. Hardly any of it, because there are many things that I have trouble with myself. So what I am going to do instead is tell everything. When I have finished, you still may not believe me; but you will know all that I do. In some ways, that is a lot. In others, practically nothing. When I saw you sitting by our fire—my own brother—there on the battlefield ... Never mind. I will get to it. Only I think it may be why I am writing now.

Remember the day we drove out to the cabin? Then Geri phoned. You had to go home and did not need a kid around. So we said there was no reason for me to go too, I could stay out there and you would come back the next day.

We said I would fish.

That was it.

Only I did not. It did not seem like it was going to be much fun with you gone, but the air was crisp and the leaves were turning, so I went on a hike. Maybe it was a mistake. I went a long way, but I was not lost. Pretty soon I picked up a stick and hiked with it, but it was crooked and not very strong. I did not like it much and decided I would cut a good one I could keep out at the cabin and use whenever we were there.

I saw a tree that was different from all the others. It was not very big, and it had white bark and shiny leaves. It was a spiny orange tree, Ben, but I had never heard of them. Later Bold Berthold told me a lot. It was too big for me to cut the whole thing, but I found a branch that was almost straight. I cut off that and trimmed it and so forth. That may have been the main thing, my main mistake. They are not like other trees. The Mossmen care more about them.