The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos, #1)

by Samantha Shannon

“Sir Galian had heard of the terror that now abided in Lasia, and he wished to offer his services to Selinu. He carried a sword of extraordinary beauty; its name was Ascalon. When he was close to the outskirts of Yikala, he saw a damsel weeping in the shadow of the trees, and he asked why she was so

afeared.

!!! :')

Good knight, Cleolind answered, thou art kind of heart, but for thine own sake, leave me to my prayers, for a wyrm doth come to claim my life.” It sickened Ead to speak of the Mother in this way, as if she were some swooning waif. “The knight,” she pressed on, “was moved by her tears. Sweet lady, he said, I should sooner plunge my sword into my own heart than see thy blood water the earth. If thy people will give their souls to the Virtues of Knighthood, and if thou giveth me thy hand in marriage, I will drive this fell beast from these lands. This was his promise.” Ead paused to gather her breath. And suddenly, an unexpected taste entered her mouth. The taste of the truth. “Cleolind told the knight to leave, insulted by his terms,” she found herself saying, “but Sir Galian would not be deterred. Determined to win glory for himself, he—” “No,” Sabran cut in. “Cleolind agreed to his terms, and was grateful for his offer.” “This is as I heard it in the South.” Ead raised her eyebrows, even as her heartbeat stumbled. “Lady Roslain asked me to—” “And now your queen commands you otherwise. Tell the rest as the Sanctarian does.” “Yes, madam.” Sabran nodded for her to continue. “As Sir...

High Westerns, the largest and cruelest of the Draconic creatures,

Fýredel,

wyv...

cockatrice,

basilisk

amphi...

ophi...

jac...

Draconi...

Grief of Ages. Yet

Glorian the Third,

“You do have the tongue of a storyteller—but

Uh...it was pretty basic

It must have been published before the Grief of Ages, when Eastern texts were permitted in Virtudom.

He had excelled in anatomy at the University of Brygstad and was rumored to practice alchemy. She remembered him as gorbellied and cheerful, kind enough to acknowledge her where others did not. There had been some trouble that had concluded in his departure from Inys, but the nature of the incident was a closely guarded secret.

the flicker of her warding

siden

??

Siden, the gift of the orange tree—a magic of fire and wood and earth. The Inysh in their witlessness would call it sorcery. Their ideas about magic were born of fear of what they could not understand.

Lady of the Woods.

And though her moment of defiance might have hurt her chances of rising any further at court, she could not quite regret it.

So she is a highly trained potector but still let her feelings interfere so needlessly with her job?

she had buried the bow in the grounds of whatever palace the court occupied,

Arya

Night Hawk

badge shaped like a winged book, marking her as a retainer in the service of Seyton Combe.

the Principal Secretary

Alabastrine Tower.”

“Lady Katryen and Lad...

them

Annoying

Rosarian the Fourth,

The Queen Mother, as she was known now, had often watched him at play with Sabran and Roslain in the orchards. She had been a softer woman than Sabran, quick to laugh and gamesome in a way her daughter never was.

Gautfred Plume

merrow’s

Perchling

mangonels

Chinese

mantlets,

French

Gian Harlowe

his accent was firmly Inysh,

And that means...?

of Carmentum,

once a prosperous republic in the South, that had fallen in the Grief of Ages. The survivors had scattered far and wide.

heir to Goldenbirch

Perunta

Principal Secretary?”

House of Vetalda

Draconic plague

Feeling more and more like greyscale

Alabastrine Tower

Ascalon Palace.

carcanet.

French

Sir Galian Berethnet,

Raised aloft in his hand was Ascalon, the True Sword, names...