I’ve selected a few excerpts from The Hands of Ruin: Book One to introduce one of the series’ characters, Endemall. Endemall is a criminal who lives in Zehnder Tribe, and comes across Gildwyn Nye and his stag, Mayddox.
• • •
The other patron was a man who was quite odd in appearance. His head was shaved except for a single strip of light-brown hair down the middle. He wore a pair of goggles and had a moustache that fell at least five inches below his chin. His skin was as pink as a newborn baby’s, and not enough of it was covered. Honestly, Gildwyn wondered how he wouldn’t freeze as soon as he walked outside. He wore giant yak-fur boots, but the rest of his legs were bare, all the way up to a black cloth wrapped many times around his loins. He wore gauntlets to match his boots, and a leather vest with ten-inch knife sheaths sewn diagonally across the front. Each sheath was filled with a white-handled blade. Gildwyn tried not to stare, but the man’s appearance made it difficult not to gawk.
• • •
“How do you dress that way and not freeze to death out here?” Gildwyn asked, using Mayddox’s reins to pull himself up.
“Well,” the man began, “firstly, we’re not out here, we’re down here, and that makes a difference. And second, none of your fuckin’ business.”
Gildwyn frowned. “What’s your name?”
“You can call me Endemall,” the man said, twisting a length of his moustache between two fingers. “I already know your name.”
• • •
“That woman never gave me nothing but life and a name,” Endemall said, “and that might be enough for some, but it wasn’t for me, especially when neither gift was very good. You can tell me life is a precious gift all you want. I ain’t been convinced of that yet. As for the name, I gave that back to her the day she left.”
Gildwyn was confused. “You gave your name back?”
“You would have too if you’d been named George,” Endemall said with disgust. “Gaw. George. What a shit name.”
Gildwyn shrugged. He’d known a fair amount of Georges throughout his life, and they had all been decent fellows. He figured he’d keep that to himself though. “So how did you come about the name Endemall?”
“Well, it pretty much summed up how I felt at the time,” Endemall said. “Remember I was in my thirteenth when she left. I started telling people Endemall was my name, and it just sort of stuck. It’s a fair mark better than George.”
Gildwyn was confused again and feeling as if he had missed some crucial piece of information. He wasn’t sure how that name summed up a feeling regarding anything.
“Sorry,” he said. “You say Endemall summed up the way you felt?”
“Yeah,” Endemall said. “End ’em all. End them all. It was how I felt. Life was piss. Can’t say a whole lot has changed.”
• • •
Endemall was frustrated. “I’m a criminal and a fugitive. The only reason I surfaced to go to that restaurant was because I was dying for a hot meal. In truth, every moment I spend up there is pure danger for me. If I’m recognized, if I’m caught…they’ll kill me. So what this means is I’m going to take you back to the surface and then you’re going to go on to Ferrenglyn without me.”
“What are you going to do, just live down here?” Gildwyn didn’t see how that made any sense as an option.
“No,” Endemall said and got quiet. “I’m going to have to go deep.”
• • •
The other patron was a man who was quite odd in appearance. His head was shaved except for a single strip of light-brown hair down the middle. He wore a pair of goggles and had a moustache that fell at least five inches below his chin. His skin was as pink as a newborn baby’s, and not enough of it was covered. Honestly, Gildwyn wondered how he wouldn’t freeze as soon as he walked outside. He wore giant yak-fur boots, but the rest of his legs were bare, all the way up to a black cloth wrapped many times around his loins. He wore gauntlets to match his boots, and a leather vest with ten-inch knife sheaths sewn diagonally across the front. Each sheath was filled with a white-handled blade. Gildwyn tried not to stare, but the man’s appearance made it difficult not to gawk.
• • •
“How do you dress that way and not freeze to death out here?” Gildwyn asked, using Mayddox’s reins to pull himself up.
“Well,” the man began, “firstly, we’re not out here, we’re down here, and that makes a difference. And second, none of your fuckin’ business.”
Gildwyn frowned. “What’s your name?”
“You can call me Endemall,” the man said, twisting a length of his moustache between two fingers. “I already know your name.”
• • •
“That woman never gave me nothing but life and a name,” Endemall said, “and that might be enough for some, but it wasn’t for me, especially when neither gift was very good. You can tell me life is a precious gift all you want. I ain’t been convinced of that yet. As for the name, I gave that back to her the day she left.”
Gildwyn was confused. “You gave your name back?”
“You would have too if you’d been named George,” Endemall said with disgust. “Gaw. George. What a shit name.”
Gildwyn shrugged. He’d known a fair amount of Georges throughout his life, and they had all been decent fellows. He figured he’d keep that to himself though. “So how did you come about the name Endemall?”
“Well, it pretty much summed up how I felt at the time,” Endemall said. “Remember I was in my thirteenth when she left. I started telling people Endemall was my name, and it just sort of stuck. It’s a fair mark better than George.”
Gildwyn was confused again and feeling as if he had missed some crucial piece of information. He wasn’t sure how that name summed up a feeling regarding anything.
“Sorry,” he said. “You say Endemall summed up the way you felt?”
“Yeah,” Endemall said. “End ’em all. End them all. It was how I felt. Life was piss. Can’t say a whole lot has changed.”
• • •
Endemall was frustrated. “I’m a criminal and a fugitive. The only reason I surfaced to go to that restaurant was because I was dying for a hot meal. In truth, every moment I spend up there is pure danger for me. If I’m recognized, if I’m caught…they’ll kill me. So what this means is I’m going to take you back to the surface and then you’re going to go on to Ferrenglyn without me.”
“What are you going to do, just live down here?” Gildwyn didn’t see how that made any sense as an option.
“No,” Endemall said and got quiet. “I’m going to have to go deep.”
