recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Radiant Gate

The **Radiant Gate** was a defensive gate on the Fortress of Scattered Needles. It appears in Ninefox Gambit.

## Description

The Radiant Gate was an entrance to the Fortress's Radiant Ward, and a defense in itself. Made of material condensed from a dying star, the gate was transparent with an index of refraction that could cause headaches. Under the gate's surface, warm living lines of alternating gold, bronze, and silver light wrote and rewrote poetic praises to the ideals of the hexarchate. The gate was one of the ward's popular attractions.

## History

During the Siege after the Fortress was taken over by heretics, Kel infantry were ordered to pass through the gate into the Radiant Ward. Using a heretical formation, Major Kel Ula's company caused the gate to evaporate into curling smoke, and its radiant words funneled free and were lost. However, the humans and servitors at the non-pivot positions of Ula's formation also evaporated, burning up to fuel the destruction of the gate.

Afterwards, the rest of the Kel passed the shriveled remnants of the gate as they entered the Radiant Ward.
Starvation Hound

**Starvation Hound** was one of the thirteen bannermoths which served in the Kel assault on the Fortress of Scattered Needles. It appears in Ninefox Gambit.

## History

*Starvation Hound* was commanded by Vidona Diaiya and selected for the swarm by Kel Cheris over the less desirable bannermoths *Simplicity Eye* and *Six Spires Standing*.

During the swarm's first confrontation with the heretics, *Starvation Hound* broke formation when Diaiya decided to launch an independent attack on the enemy swarm. Due to the formation break, the boxmoth *River Full of Stones* was lost. *Starvation Hound* launched a fungal canister from a modified gunport, prompting questions later because fungal canisters shouldn't have been able to fit on bannermoths and cocoons were normally only fitted to moths with direct authorization from Kel Command. The projectile took out a third of the kalaidoscoped enemy swarm, but *Starvation Hound* was blown up seconds later.

## References

1. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 7
2. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 9
Skyfall

**Skyfall** is a Kel grand formation. It is used in Ninefox Gambit.

## History

During the Lanterner rebellion, General Shuos Jedao used Skyfall to devastating effect in the Battle of Severed Hands.

During the Siege of the Fortress of Scattered Needles, Jedao used the pivots for the grand formation in an attack on the Fortress's shields of invariant ice. Together with a firing pattern sketching the Web of Worlds, the tactic forced the first breaches in the shields.
Sparrow's Spear

**Sparrow's Spear** was a Kel formation used against the Lanterners. It appears in The Battle of Candle Arc.

## Description

A narrow formation using ten warmoths, Sparrow's Spear causes a blazing white-gold beam to emit from the formation's primary pivot, slicing through anything in its path.

## History

Used during the Battle of Candle Arc, the formation employed ten of the eleven Kel fangmoths engaging a swarm of 91 Lanterner warmoths. The formation's fiery beam destroyed two hellmoths, a slow transport, and a crystalline piece of battledrift.
Sparrow 14

**Sparrow 14** was a Kel servitor who appeared in Ninefox Gambit.

## History

Sparrow 14 was one of at least fourteen Sparrow servitor scouts deployed by Heron Company during their battle against the Eels on the planet Dredge.

During the battle, Captain Kel Cheris had Sparrow 14 bring her a captured snow crystal from a storm caused by the Eels' exotic technology. The crystal's transformative effects caused the Sparrow to begin corroding, and it answered Cheris's expression of regrets with a resigned chirping noise.
Sparrow 3

**Sparrow 3** was a Kel servitor who appeared in Ninefox Gambit.

## History

Sparrow 3, a servitor fond of Kel music, was one of at least eight servitor scouts deployed by Heron Company during their battle against the Eels on the planet Dredge.

During the battle, the servitor reported an incoming Eel battalion, with an estimated arrival time of two hours, to Captain Kel Cheris. The Eels detected it and let it know it had been compromised; its transmission ended in a burst of pain as it was destroyed.

Due to the ongoing battle, Cheris reflected that there would have to be a time to mourn the downed servitor later.
Senner's Lash

**Senner's Lash** is a Kel formation used against the Lanterners. It appears in The Battle of Candle Arc.

## Description

Senner's Lash produces a force-lash with very short-range visible effects, unlikely to be seen from a distance.

## History

On orders from General Shuos Jedao, a swarm of 73 Rahal lensmoths accompanying Jedao's Kel swarm to Candle Arc formed Senner's Lash in order to mimic a Kel swarm, relying on distance to obscure the fact that the Rahal could not produce the formation's exotic attack. The lensmoths learned the formation on the way from the Rahal outpost at Smokewatch 33-67 and held it while traveling through a designated channel past Candle Arc's calendrical choke locus, subsequently circling back toward the choke. The lensmoths' imitation of a Kel swarm fooled the Lanterners, who could not tell warmoths from lesser mothdrive vessels at a distance, luring the Lanterner fleet into a Kel ambush.
Nirai Mahar

The following content contains plot or ending spoilers. Read with caution!

> "*Unlike certain people, I understand the math.*"
> ― Nirai Mahar
>
>

**Nirai Mahar**, born **Roskoya Mahar** and also known as **Inhyeng**, was the latest anchor for the revenant of the true Nirai hexarch, Nirai Kujen. He appears in Ninefox Gambit, Raven Stratagem, and Revenant Gun.

## Appearance and Personality

Mahar is slender, dark-haired, and very pale, with "wickedly gorgeous" smoky amber eyes and velvety eyelashes which, coincidentally, resemble those of Kujen during his lifetime. He is extraordinarily beautiful, and has a beautiful voice.

Mathematically brilliant and genially cynical, he normally maintains friendly discourse with Kujen, very occasionally indulging in petty, futile defiances. Given the resources available to him, he chooses a more restrained lifestyle than he might. His clothing and personal grooming are impeccable, his tastes running to silk and velvet, earrings, ruffles and scarves in Nirai shades of black, gray, silver, and white, despite having the status to wear other colors if he chose. At the time of the Hafn invasion, he had developed a liking for unusual knots in his scarves.

Though well-kept throughout his life, he is obsessed with food, having detailed dreams of multi-course feasts when left to himself. He cares more about fine art than Kujen, and handles interior decorating when necessary. Though he understands the math behind Kujen's new immortality scheme, he refuses it for himself, not wanting to be a test subject and confiding a feeling that Kujen is overlooking some important factor.

Mahar was 64 years old during the Hafn invasion of the hexarchate and 73 at the time of the alliance between the Compact and the Protectorate.

## History

Roskoya Mahar was fifteen years old, a brilliant student and promising Nirai candidate, when Kujen approached him and asked for his service. Kujen offered him power, luxury, and the best possible care for Mahar's terminally ill younger brother in exchange for the use of Mahar's body and never seeing his brother again. Mahar agreed and became Kujen's anchor.

Though Kujen ordinarily kept individual anchors for a decade or so before changing to a new one, he retained Mahar for almost six decades, enjoying Mahar's beauty and taking advantage of his aptitude in mathematics and gate mechanics to make further use of him as a research partner.

Kujen developed an immortal, youthful double of Mahar and offered to share immortality with him. Mahar declined, despite Kujen's occasional revisiting of the subject. Mahar was uncomfortable with the doubles, avoiding looking at his own.

Mahar refused to tell Jedao his real name, introducing himself as "Inhyeng," a term meaning "puppet."

## Trivia

* Mahar will appear as the "Master of Gears" in Hexarchate Tarot.

## References

1. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 18
2. ↑ a
3. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 20; Revenant Gun, Chapter 18
4. ↑ a
5. ↑ Author's design
Kel Tavathe

Commander **Kel Tavathe** was a Kel bannermoth commander who served during the Siege of the Fortress of Scattered Needles. Tavathe appears in Ninefox Gambit.

## History

Tavathe commanded *Spiders and Scars*. The bannermoth took serious damage to its life support systems at the beginning of the swarm's assault on the no-longer-protected Fortress.

When Brevet General Kel Cheris addressed the swarm's servitors and asked them to volunteer to fight in formation with the Kel on the Fortress, a snakeform servitor from *Spiders and Scars* noted that while the numbers were straightforward, the odds of retrieval were minimal, but ultimately called the plan "absurd, but workable."
Rosetta March

The **Rosetta March** is a march of space in the hexarchate. It is mentioned in Raven Stratagem.

## History

During the Hafn invasion, Kel Command pulled Major General Kel Jui's Sundered Spheres swarm up from the Rosetta March. However, they were too far away to intervene with a potential Hafn attack on Cobweb System in the Severed March.
Koiresh Shkan

**Koiresh Shkan** was the biological father of Shuos Jedao. He appears in the flashfic Omens and is mentioned in Ninefox Gambit, Raven Stratagem, and the short story Extracurricular Activities.

## Appearance and Personality

Shkan was a tall, good-looking man with a slightly angular profile, black hair, and long lashes over merry eyes. Though hailing from Eshpatan, his clothing reflected offworlder tastes. He had no experience with firearms and his Shparoi accent was rather bad.

## History

Koiresh Shkan was a Shparoi violinist who left Eshpatan as a youth and returned much later in life to visit with his offworld ensemble. Wooed by Garach Ledana for his handsome features and musical talent, Shkan agreed to sire her second child, Jedao, becoming his noncustodial biological father. Ledana gave Jedao his father's name, Shkan, as a second name, despite Shparoi mores against naming children after living relatives.

Shkan met Jedao twice during his lifetime, though the two were never close. To avoid impropriety, Jedao never asked or investigated whether Shkan had sired any other children.

Shkan died years later in a flitter accident before the events at Hellspin Fortress, never to know how infamous his son's name would become.

## Trivia

* Koiresh Shkan was written as a violinist because the author plays the viola.
* Shkan and Ledana's date took place at the Shadow Theater, where he noted that the pit orchestra tuned to a different standard scale than he was accustomed to.
* Ledana frequently bewailed the fact that Jedao had not inherited either Shkan's good looks or musical abilities. She particularly liked a recording of one of Shkan's viola concertos and would play it when Jedao visited on leave.
* The high language has no terminology for noncustodial biological parents, although family relationships like the one between Jedao and Shkan were recognized as such in the Shparoi language.
* The name Shkan could not be spelled in the high language, as its consonant cluster only occurred in Shparoi.
* The author imagines Shkan's meetings with Jedao as extremely awkward due to their differing interests.

## References

1. ↑ Omens
2. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 20
3. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 10
4. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 20
5. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 10
6. ↑ Hexarchate Stories: Silence (Author's Note)
7. ↑ Omens
8. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 10
9. ↑ Hexarchate Stories: Silence
10. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 10
11. ↑ Author's blog
12. ↑ Author's blog
Rahal Iruja

> "*Tsoro, I realize that, like everyone here at some point, you're fantasizing about running Mikodez through with a bamboo pole for his latest caprice.*"
> ― Hexarch Rahal Iruja
>
>

Hexarch **Rahal Iruja** was the most recent Rahal hexarch. She is mentioned in Ninefox Gambit and appears in Raven Stratagem.

## Appearance and Personality

A dark woman with short-cropped coiled gray hair, Iruja was beautiful except for her severe, absolutely humorless eyes. She is 126 years old. She has an excellent memory but is obsessed with immortality. Hexarch Shuos Mikodez enjoys her humorlessness but classes her as someone who "fusses over minutiae while ignoring the substance of the latest crisis"; Iruja hates when Mikodez blows unsuspecting targets up without submitting paperwork in advance.

As the Rahal hexarch, Iruja traditionally had the privilege of speaking first at meetings among her fellow hexarchs.

## History

Iruja suborned false hexarch Nirai Faian almost from her ascension, convincing her to research alternate forms of immortality from Hexarch Nirai Kujen's black cradle. The two ran an experiment on the Fortress of Scattered Needles which was taken advantage of by heretics, leading to full-fledged heresy on the Fortress.

Mikodez believed that someday Iruja was going to ask him to remove Kujen.

Along with the other hexarchs, Iruja was assured that Shuos Jedao would not escape an assassination attack by carrion bomb. In a meeting with the other hexarchs after Kujen's disappearance, Iruja was irritated by Mikodez's insistence on extraditing Agent Shuos Mazeret right away despite Tsoro's ire, and asked Tsoro to let the agent go as a favor to her.

Iruja approved Tsoro's plan to exterminate the Mwennin, believing that pressuring Jedao on Cheris's behalf might give them an opening. When Mikodez objected, she asked him if he was going to "throw a fit" over this too, and he subsided. She interrupted several another argument between Mikodez and Tsoro over General Kel Inesser, and ordered Mikodez to monitor Jedao but not to interfere with his attacks on the Hafn.

In a vid call later, Iruja scolded Mikodez for shirking a remembrance in order to wash his hair. She asked Tsoro to explain why she was declining immortality, and offered the option of a subordinate's receiving it instead. When Tsoro declined again, she asked if anyone else had any other surprises, and told Mikodez she would keep his offer of handmade soap in mind "next time Wolf Hall has a soap shortage."

Iruja joined several of the other hexarchs on Station Mavi 514-11 to receive Faian's new form of immortality, and died when a shadowmoth made a suicidal attack on the station.

## References

1. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 7
2. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 25
3. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 18
4. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 7
5. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 2
6. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 7
7. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 25
Lirov Yeren

**Lirov Yeren** was a Shuos cadet whose span at Shuos Academy partially coincided with that of Shuos Jedao. She appears in Ninefox Gambit and is mentioned in Glass Cannon.

## Appearance and Personality

Yeren has dark curly hair that falls down to her shoulders, and can walk silently. A talented hacker, she shared her knowledge of that field, as well as a slew of card tricks, with Jedao. She has a gentle, deadpan sense of humor, cares about her friends, and enjoys honeyed tea. Launching a tickle attack is her favorite prelude to sex.

## History

Yeren took *Introduction to Seduction* the year before Jedao entered the Academy. The two became lovers before Jedao's first annual game competition; though Yeren did not believe that Jedao had not entered, she never learned that he had indeed done so anonymously. Yeren was also friendly with Vestenya Ruo, who had been Jedao's lover previously.

On a day during the competition, Yeren joined Jedao and Ruo at an outside table after one of her classes. After discussing drinks prices and *Introduction to Seduction* pickup lines, she joined Ruo in trying to get Jedao to admit which game he'd entered, scoffing that Ruo's stories about him had not suggested avoidance of stress and remarking that first-years don't often get chances to impress their instructors: she hadn't expected Jedao to pass up this chance, especially with his love of games. Though disappointed that he refused to admit an entry, she accompanied him for a walk by the koi pond and bid Ruo farewell.

Late at night, wearing a violet robe and with Jedao asleep in her bed, she learned from her terminal that a cadet, caught using the anonymous game's minor heresies to frame a Rahal magistrate, had committed suicide. Disturbed, she woke Jedao, telling him that some "poking around" suggested the dead cadet might be Ruo, and that third-year cadet Chenoi Tiana had claimed the game as her creation. She was shocked when Jedao responded coldly despite their mutual friendship with Ruo, and told him to leave, which he did.

## Trivia

* Yeren may be the unnamed girlfriend in Jedao's first year who told him to keep his options open, advice he recalled later when considering weapons in which he had not specialized.

## References

1. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 22
2. ↑ Hexarchate Stories: Glass Cannon
3. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 22
4. ↑ Extracurricular Activities
Minang Tower

**Minang Tower** is a master clock facility in Minang System. It appears in Raven Stratagem.

## Description

Minang Tower and its associated stations have an approximate population of 86,000. It is administered by the Rahal, under the jurisdiction of High Magistrate Rahal Zaniin, and is therefore referred to as a **wolf tower**, representing itself with a standard wolf-and-bell icon on grid maps. Housing a master clock, the tower serves as a calendrical beacon, facilitating navigation.

Though Minang had the standard well-fueled defenses of a wolf tower, the defenses were not meant to remain activated for an extensive time and would decay rapidly under sustained barrage.

## History

The Hafn invasion swarm approached Minang System while traveling through the Entangled March. When they feinted toward Cobweb System High Magistrate Zaniin attempted to contact the Swanknot swarm for help, sending a long message begging General Shuos Jedao to save the four billion lives in Cobweb rather than remaining in Minang System to protect the master clock.

Instead of following the Hafn, the Swanknot swarm set an ambush near Minang Tower, and the Hafn turned back when they realized they were not being followed. Zaniin continued to send the swarm scan relay data from the region's listening posts throughout the subsequent action, but did not contact them otherwise.

A second Hafn swarm appeared out of nowhere at the site where the ambush had been laid, and was immediately harmed by the bombs General Kel Khiruev had left there. The swarm reoriented to protect a cluster of slow-moving moths of a type unfamiliar to Kel scan, and a second group of Hafn appeared to join the new swarm, bringing the total to over 150 in Swarm Two and 71 in the returning Swarm One.

After a hectic engagement, during which Swarm One struck at Minang Tower in passing but otherwise left it alone, Tactical Group Two spiked the Hafn attempt to jump out with the auxiliary moths they had been protecting. Both groups of moths were destroyed. The remains of Hafn Swarm One became conservative and sluggish in their movements, and the remains of Swarm Two fled outright. Both swarms were pursued and destroyed by the Swanknot swarm.

During the end of the battle, the silkmoth *Beneath the Orchid* slipped through the Kel formation shields and mated itself to the cindermoth *Hierarchy of Feasts*.

## References

1. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 19
2. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 17
3. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 21
4. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 19
5. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 21
6. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 20
Trait

## Overview :

A Trait was divided into two big subsections the Completed type and the Level-Up type normally.Those born with the Completed type could wield enormous power from the start but since the Trait could not be developed any further, the only way to grow oneself was through practise and rigorous training of ones physical body(eg: Heavy Sword Mastery). On the other hand the Level-Up type started off on a much weaker note than the Completed type, but with lots of effort both the Trait and ones physical self would grow.That meant there was a high possibility that in the later years, the holders of this Trait type would reach greater heights than those with the Completed type.

## Traits :

 Kim In-Soo | Saviour of the Light
 Kim Yu-Rin | The Desideratum
 Joo Ji-Hyuks
Snowbird 823 refrigerator

**This page contains spoilers for Revenant Gun.**

The **Snowbird 823 refrigerator** was a refrigerator given to Hajoret Kujen by the warlord Halash. It came with a user's guide, **How to Care for Your New Snowbird 823 Refrigerator**, and is mentioned in Revenant Gun.

## History

The Snowbird 823 was included with the private room and board given to Kujen after the first time he danced for Halash. The warlord explained that it was for storing food and that Kujen no longer had to eat or steal everything in sight immediately in order to have food later. Kujen was unaware at the time that it wasn't a very good refrigerator, having no frame of reference, but learned to fix it at times when it broke down. He later reminisced that Halash had won his loyalty by giving him the appliance.

Along with the rest of the warlord's possessions, the refrigerator was lost to Kujen when the Kel deposed Halash.

Kujen later stored the refrigerator's user guide, a paper booklet titled *How to Care for Your New Snowbird 823 Refrigerator*, in a transparent casket at Tefos Base. Despite this precaution, the paper became badly yellowed over time. The base's servitors never removed it from the case for fear of damaging it, and Kujen paid no more attention to it after seeing to its preservation.

## Trivia

* Many hundreds of years after his first life, after resurrecting Jedao, Kujen made a point of providing him with "a good fridge."

## References

1. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 23
2. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 3
3. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 4
Shuos Spirel

> "*Are you saying he's vainer than I am on account of a few bits of glitter? I'm clearly not trying hard enough.*"
> ― Shuos Spirel
>
>

**Shuos Spirel** is a Shuos courtesan who had a relationship with Vauhan Istradez. She appears in Raven Stratagem.

## Appearance and Personality

Spirel is briskly practical about her employer's health. Her taste runs to silks, pearls, and comforts; her observational skills regarding jewelry and clothing are nearly infallible, and she has strong opinions about shoes on her couch. She sketches dragonflies with charcoal, using gloves afterwards to hide the smudges on her hands. She does not play by the rules when arm-wrestling.

## History

In Shuos Academy, Spirel took the infantry track instead of the courtesan track.

A highly trained Shuos agent, she acted as a mental and behavioral health practitioner for both Istradez and Mikodez. She was a long-time lover of Istradez, bringing him gifts of clothing and keeping personal belongings in his apartment in the Citadel of Eyes, including a comfortable couch which Mikodez believed was listed as her possession. She could tell Mikodez and Istradez apart by touch. She once expressed an interest in sleeping with both together; Istradez, drunk at the time, found the idea hilarious, and Mikodez was amenable. The incident was not repeated.

During one of the times when Istradez was off-duty, Spirel was resting in his apartment when Mikodez arrived, exhausted due to stress and medication effects. Spirel embraced him, deduced that he was not Istradez, and sent him to sleep on the couch, burrowing next to him and drawing blankets over them both.

Istradez returned while Mikodez was still asleep, and Spirel sketched dragonflies at the window while Istradez showered and changed. As Mikodez woke up, Spirel reminded Istradez that he had not yet worn an outfit she'd bought for him fourteen days before. Istradez was restive and agitated, and she attempted to help him with his jewelry clasps and retreated to the bathroom to wash her hands and sleeves of charcoal dust. Hearing Mikodez and Istradez quarrel, she remarked ironically that she had tried to tell Istradez he had only to ask Mikodez for affection. Emerging to find Mikodez guiding Istradez to the couch, she smiled a little sadly at Mikodez, helped him join Istradez on the couch, and sat on the floor to kiss Istradez's neck as Mikodez pleasured him.

Spirel's most recent evaluation of Istradez's mental state led to Mikodez's decision to remove him from duty. The report was also accessed by Istradez, leading him to seek a suicide mission rather than face retirement.

## Trivia

* Unlike most of the hexarchate, Spirel observes a seven-day week, the only calendrical minutiae she knows from her culture's former traditions. While not technically illegal, the number seven is considered unlucky in the hexarchate.

## References

1. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 11
2. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 26
3. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 11
Liozh Zai

**Liozh Zai**, formerly **Inaiga Zai**, was the self-styled heptarch of the Liozh-related heretical regime based on the Fortress of Scattered Needles. She appears in Ninefox Gambit.

## Appearance and Personality

Zai had a strong, precise voice and good control of her face and hands. She had pale skin and wore her unusually light-brown hair in complicated braids fastened by gold pins. The style of her clothes, white with gold filigree buttons, and other adornments was recognizable as the Liozh ceremonial outfit and was used by her as a calendrical focus. She radiated sincerity, and her nascent charisma made people believe in trivial points of law as much as she did. She provided sour fruits and unsweetened tea at meetings; Vahenz afrir dai Noum thought her tastes in food and drink lamentably ascetic but her tailoring invariably excellent.

## History

Inaiga Zai grew up in the Fortress's shield operator's guild, which Vahenz thought of as a "glorified warrior's guild." As a shield operator, she had a cover identity with a false profile designed to be boring except for a little petty embezzlement; this listed her as a clerk to a Doctrine subsidiary in the Anemone Ward.

When Zai protested heretical experiments ordered by Hexarch Rahal Iruja and False Hexarch Nirai Faian, she was stripped of her post. Deeply wounded at being thus discarded, Zai became a resource for the burgeoning Liozh revival, taking on the title of heptarchate and the name Liozh Zai. After the takeover, Vahenz sent her frequent reports on the tactical situation both on and outside the Fortress.

After Kel troops were landed on the Fortress, Zai sent the Kel swarm a message with full video and audio, introducing herself as a representative of the people of the Fortress, defying the hexarchs' tyranny and calendar, and claiming the right to self-determination. She informed the swarm that the fortress expected reinforcements shortly and advised the Kel to withdraw within 108.9 high calendar hours or be shown no mercy by her allies.

Cheris recorded a message purporting to be Jedao negotiating with Zai to get rid of her subordinates, and had it inserted into Zai's direct line so it would be seen by the tap. This set off a spate of assassinations in the Fortress. Shortly afterward, Zai received Vahenz for an unexpected private conversation in the heretics' command center. Instead of conversing, Vahenz shot her in the head with a scorch pistol to prevent her from talking when the Fortress inevitably fell. Vahenz respected Zai enough to move her fallen corpse into a more dignified position before fleeing the Fortress.

## References

1. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 14
2. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 20
3. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 14
4. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 20
5. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 5
6. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 19
7. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 20
Neshte Allu

> "*You're an inventive child. I'm sure you can entertain yourself until bedtime.*"
> ― Neshte Allu
>
>

**Neshte Allu** was an ecoscrubber maintenance worker who was one of the three parents of General Kel Khiruev. She appears in Raven Stratagem.

## Personality

Allu felt it was important for the family to eat together, and hated shouting unless she was the one doing it. Along with her spouses, she tolerated rather than encouraged Khiruev's mechanical aptitude.

## History

Allu was married to Neshte Kthero, a teacher, and Vidona Ekesra, a Vidona who repurposed heretics. They had one child, Neshte Khiruev, who called her Mother Allu. She used to tell Khiruev bedtime stories about ravenous fox spirits.

Allu was present when Ekesra confronted Kthero about consorting with calendrical reenactors. Khiruev, then eleven, came home early during the argument, and Allu told her to go to her room and entertain herself until bedtime, saying that she would send a servitor with dinner. However, Ekesra insisted that Khiruev stay, arguing in front of them both that Kthero's actions had exposed their daughter to heresy. Allu made no protest, though she scrubbed her eyes, as Ekesra invoked summary judgment on their husband, killed him with Vidona deathtouch, and folded his corpse-paper body into a pair of entangled swans. Allu then embraced Ekesra as the latter wept for almost an hour while Khiruev watched.

After Kthero's death, Allu and Ekesra continued to raise Khiruev, though Allu wondered why Khiruev was so quiet. Like Ekesra, Allu never learned about Khiruev's short-lived marriage.

## Trivia

* Two of Khiruev's parents were from the Khaigar community on Denozin 4; it is not known which of them was not.

## References

1. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 2
2. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 5
3. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 2
4. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 10
5. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 13
Shuos Zhao

**Shuos Zhao** is a Shuos mathematician. She is mentioned in Raven Stratagem.

## History

Zhao was one of the mathematicians who analyzed the calendrical spike mathematics retrieved from a bug placed on the cindermoth *Hierarchy of Feasts*. Halfway through, she thought she was on to something, though the other mathematicians doubted that she was on the right track. The team sent a report to Hexarch Shuos Mikodez later summarizing what the calendrical spike would do.

## References

1. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 25
2. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 26
Chibi Starkin

## Category

Humanoid, Kemonomimi

Chibi Starkin are a kemonomimi-like species with stars in their ears and tails. They are born from stars and often fall to planets, where they may take on elements of the creatures that live near where they can fall. They are also able to use various magical abilities, which depend on their Star Color.

## Skills and Abilities

Chibi Starkin all have the following skills:

* Granting wishes
* Flying/hovering
* Creating things

Additionally, Chibi Starkin have abilities based on their Star Color and a special ability known as a Talent. This does not have to be similar to their other abilities.

## Types

Chibi Starkin can have one of the following Star Colors:

* **Red**, which hatch in rocky areas or surrouded by stone. They can control stone and crystal, are protective and loyal, and may take on a rocky or shield-like appearance if hatched through a wish.
* **Yellow**, which hatch in unknown conditions.
* **Blue**, which hatch in water. They are able to control water and create bubbles, and may have a watery or sleek appearance if hatched through a wish.
* **Green**, which hatch near plant life. They can fully control plants.
* **Orange**, which hatch in extremely hot areas. They can control temperature and their mood changes frequently.
* **White**, which hatch in unknown conditions.
* **Black**, which hatch in anomalies such as black holes. They can control gravity and create black holes, their worlds tend to create other anomalous Starkin, and if hatched through a wish, they will take on an anomalous appearance.

## Traits

### Guaranteed

The following traits appear on every Chibi Starkin:

* Ears and tail, each with a single star
* Extremely shiny fur, hair, stars, and clothes
* Chibi proportions

### Common

* Short ears
* Thin tail

### Uncommon

* Long ears
* Long, fluffy tail

### Rare

* Short, fluffy tail
* Horn

### Legendary

* Feathered ears
* Branched thin tail
* Feathered wings
* Bat/dragon wings

### Mutations

Chibi Starkin can have traits which are not listed, these are mutations and have no rarity.

## Links

dA group

dA guide

Toyhou.se world
Revenant (moth)

The **Revenant** is a prototype warmoth which appears in Revenant Gun. It is a **shearmoth**, the only vessel of this classification.

For the disembodied consciousness of a human who has been placed in the black cradle, see revenant.

## Description

The largest warmoth in history and the only one of its classification, *Revenant* is broader and longer than a cindermoth and the power-to-mass ratio of its mothdrive and invariant maneuver drive are better than that of a bannermoth. It is black and silver, and has a triangular profile reminiscent of bannermoths, swept-back wings, and careful curves.

*Revenant* is armed with a spinal shear cannon with a recognizable array of frontal protrusions, along with a full list of exotic and invariant weapons such as railguns. The shear cannon has an extremely short power-up time. However, using it causes the *Revenant* extreme pain.

While *Revenant* can outrun any other vessel except Taurag moths in their own calendrical terrain, high speed causes a power drain that impacts the effectiveness of the shear cannon.

The *Revenant's* corridors are decorated in Kel taste, lined with gold-highlighted inked silk scrolls featuring ashhawks. The command center, general's quarters with furniture bolted to the deck, high halls, and dueling hall reflect the moth's unprecedented size.

Like all voidmoths, *Revenant* is sentient and can communicate with servitors via the field grid and with Jedao via telepathy. Its voice is sardonic and reminded Jedao of tarnished bells.

## History

The *Revenant* is commanded and was named by Shuos Jedao.

## Trivia

* Artist Chris Moore's conception of the *Revenant* appears on the cover of *Revenant Gun*.
* The further history of the *Revenant* is one of several major topics that could be addressed in a fourth book, if the author gets a chance to write one.

## References

1. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 1
2. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 9
3. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 7
4. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 1
5. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 7
6. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 1
7. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 7
8. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 9
9. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 7
10. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 9
11. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 9
12. ↑ Yoon Ha Lee Answers 5 Questions About The Cover of Revenant Gun
13. ↑ Open Thread: Revenant Gun
Persimmons

**Persimmons** is a flashfic by Yoon Ha Lee, set in the Machineries of Empire universe. Written for L.G. to the prompt "Kel servitors + persimmon," it was published on the author's Dreamwidth account as **Persimmon Quest** and appears in Hexarchate Stories.

## Synopsis

Servitor 135799 reports for duty at Kel Academy, but is confused by the campus's variable layout and gets lost on the way to its assignment in the kitchens. A helpful servitor directs 135799 to pick persimmons from a stand of fruiting trees that is almost never location-shifted, delivering them to the kitchens to ameliorate its lateness. Upon arrival, 135799 is directed to wash the persimmons for Cadet Kel Cheris, whose dessert the other servitors have assigned it deliver at high table that night as a way of making friends.

## Links

* Full flashfic on author's Dreamwidth account.

## References

1. ↑ Persimmon Quest
2. ↑ Persimmon Quest
Vidona Oressa

**Vidona Oressa** was a Vidona researcher. She is described on the Solaris website.

## History

Oressa, a physician, became a Vidona late in life. Her focus on fair treatment of prisoners accused of heresy drew heavy resistance from faction leadership, bur her research on extending the lives of torture victims, often using herself as a test subject, won reluctant respect.

She refused to have the resulting aesthetic disfigurements repaired, instead going heavily cloaked and masked in public. A remembrance in her honor, involving a masquerade, persists to this day.

A polarizing figure within her faction, Oressa is recalled with mingled respect and disdain, and scarcely known outside the Vidona. Shuos records, which the Vidona deny as propaganda, claim that Oressa used her position to smuggle some heretics to freedom outside the hexarchate.
Signifier

A **signifier** is a symbol associated with a faction, human, or structure in the hexarchate. Signifiers appear in Ninefox Gambit and Raven Stratagem.

## Overview

Kel Academy teaches that signifiers do not actually mean anything, though superstitions about them abound.

Signifiers of living people can be scryed by the Rahal. Since scrying operates on dreams, the Rahal cannot scry revenants.

It is possible to have more than one signifier. Some people can learn to change their signifiers at will, an important skill for a secret agent, or manifest a singularity response -- an unchanging signifier with no further information -- to Rahal scrying.

Secondary signifiers for a mind's emotional vertices exist in a weighted network and can be tampered with and replaced through psych surgery.

Nexus fortresses can have signifiers as well, though they remain heavily classified.

## Kel signifiers

The Kel faction signifier is the ashhawk, also called the suicide hawk. Ashhawk signifiers figure prominently in modern Kel heraldry and symbolism.

* Ashhawk Brightly Burning (Six): most common Kel signifier
* Ashhawk in Glory (pendant worn by Brezan): trustworthiness
* Ashhawk Roosting (Kel Muyyed): normally unfavored in field officers except Medical
* Ashhawk Sheathed Wings (Kel Cheris): a deliberate nature
* Ashhawk Skyward Falling (One, Four, pendant worn by Brezan): well-favored for bravery
* Ashhawk Sundered (Kel Brezan)
* Ashhawk Unhatched (Three): a terrible omen
* Ashhawk Vigilant (Kel Miuzan, pendant worn by Brezan): much more respectable than Ashhawk Sundered

## Shuos signifiers

The Shuos faction signifier is the ninefox, a mythical nine-tailed fox.

* Ninefox Crowned with Eyes (Shuos Jedao): interpreted as relating to intelligence and strategy until associated with Jedao, but occasionally manifested by visionaries and the mad; also secondary signifier for Shuos Mikodez
* Ninefox Half-Lidded (Five): suggests everyone should watch their backs
* Ninefox Smiling (Shuos Mikodez)
* Immolation Fox: later singularity-response signifier of Jedao, and frequently used in lieu of his name

## Rahal signifiers

The Rahal faction signifier is the scrywolf.

* Scrywolf Hunting Alone (Two): independence
* Scrywolf Uncircled
* Scrywolf Trapped in Glass
* Scrywolf Ambushed

## Andan signifiers

The Andan faction signifier is the kniferose.

* Kniferose Thorns Wild
* Kniferose Pierced
* Kniferose Burning Sweetly

## Vidona signifiers

The Vidona faction signifier is the stingray.

## Nirai signifiers

The Nirai signifier used to depict a ringed planet with a bird in flight. During the original lifetime of Heptarch Nirai Kujen, the symbol was replaced with the voidmoth.

* Kaleidoscope Moth (Nirai Kujen)

## Liozh signifiers

The Liozh faction signifier was the mirrorweb.

* Web of Worlds (last Liozh heptarch): unity of unities; a combination of cards in jeng-zai is named after it

## Other signifiers

* Rose Chalice (installed in Jedao by Heptarch Nirai Kujen): tractability; that-which-receives

## References

1. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 20
2. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 12
3. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter
4. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 6
5. ↑ Author's blog
Master clock

A **master clock** is one of the great clocks by which high calendar time is reckoned in the hexarchate. Master clocks are described in Raven Stratagem.

## Description

Master clocks are prohibitively expensive to build and calibrate, and clock desynchronization can affect the functioning of calendrical engines such as mothdrive vessels in a given area, though the destruction of one clock can be worked around. They are housed in tower facilities which act as calendrical beacons to facilitate navigation. Rahal magistrates assigned to master clocks are required to learn how to read scan formants.

As with other maintenance tasks, the Rahal rely on servitors to keep master clocks working properly. This unquestioned access allowed servitor enclaves to participate in the calendrical spike during which a revised calendar was broadcast to citizens of the hexarchate.

Minang Tower houses a master clock.

## References

1. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 19
2. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 17
3. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 24
4. ↑ Raven Stratagem, Chapter 17
Machineries of Empire Wiki

**SPOILER POLICY: Currently phasing out *Revenant Gun*-specific spoiler tags in exchange for standard plot-or-ending-spoiler tags when relevant. Thank you for being courteous.**

**MOD STATUS,** 4/2020: 80% hiatused due to the vagaries of existence! Content contributions are always welcome and will be cherished and revised in accordance with site norms.
**Update,** 12/2020: 99% hiatused due to life events. I love this project and am resolved to continue it when I can. As above, contributions are welcome, and my message wall is open for questions. Take care of yourselves and each other out there.

## Welcome to the Machineries of Empire Wiki

Exploring the mind-blowing worlds of Yoon Ha Lee's *Machineries of Empire* series: Ninefox Gambit, Raven Stratagem, Revenant Gun, and assorted short stories from the same universe, some gathered in Hexarchate Stories. Hard-hitting space opera with a terrifying calendrical twist!

This wiki is meant as a reference for fanartists, fic writers, roleplayers, people who simply *have to know every possible detail* about that one historical hexarch who did the thing, and others interested in the Machineries of Empire universe. While it tries to be accurate, it is not definitive and currently incomplete, and any divergences or misreadings are on us. Enjoy, contribute, and brightly burn.

## The Worlds

An immense interstellar polity with a thousand-year history, the hexarchate comprises uncounted star systems and populations. Ruled by six all-powerful factions -- the legalistic Rahal, diplomatic/cultural Andan, devious Shuos, ritualistic and tortuous Vidona, technical Nirai, and military Kel -- the hexarchate is built on exotic technology whose operation relies on strict enforcement of the high calendar. Facing enemies without and heretics within, the realm maintains its power with ever-faster mothdrive vessels, deadly formations, and harsh measures to control its borders and citizens against the threat of calendrical rot.

## The People

* Humans
* Servitors
* Spoilers
Six

**Six** was a Kel soldier who competed for the opportunity of retaking the Fortress of Scattered Needles. She appears in Ninefox Gambit.

## History

Six, a lieutenant colonel who had participated in three sieges, had a record which looked entirely conventional. Her signifier was Ashhawk Brightly Burning, indicating bravery.

Along with the other competitors, One, Two, Three, Four, Five, and Kel Cheris, Six attended a meeting with Composite Subcommand Two to present a plan for retaking the Fortress, appearing to each other as constructs backed by their signifiers and never learning each others' names. After reviewing all the previous suggestions, Six smilingly proposed sending some Nirai as disposable agents to create weapons which the heretics would use on each other, and moving troops in after the heretics had wiped each other out. Though such Shuos trickery was both pragmatic and historically supported, Cheris disliked Six and her plan at once, feeling it improper to sacrifice non-soldiers.
Over and Sideways

> "*We are Kel. We will serve as Kel. We will fight as Kel, although we were not made for this kind of fighting.*"
> ― Sideways
>
>

**Over** and **Sideways** were two Kel servitors who represented the servitor population of the cindermoth *Sincere Greeting*. They appear in Ninefox Gambit.

## History

"Over" and "Sideways" were names chosen for human convenience. When Brevet General Kel Cheris addressed the servitors of the null swarm, two servitors labeled with those names represented the Kel servitors on the *Sincere Greeting*.

After Cheris explained her request for servitors to aid the Kel by fighting in formation on the Fortress of Scattered Needles, making clear that the request was not an order, Sideways accepted plan, saying that the servitors were Kel and would serve as such if it furthered the Kel mission. Sideways advised Cheris to plan wisely, and the meeting concluded.
Shuos Mrai Dhun

Analyst **Shuos Mrai Dhun** was part of the Shuos analysis team assigned to the null swarm. He appears in Ninefox Gambit.

## Appearance and Personality

Mrai Dhun is large and sturdy, resembling Kel infantry more than Shuos analysis.

## History

Brevet General Kel Cheris met Mrai Dhun along with the rest of the Shuos analysis team and was transported with them to the cindermoth *Unspoken Law*. Mrai Dhun seemed impatient to reach the cindermoth and begin work.
New Anchor Orientation Packet

The **New Anchor Orientation Packet** was a user guide dispersed to anchors of General Shuos Jedao. It appears in Ninefox Gambit.

## Description

The New Anchor Orientation Packet is a short document. It elaborates on the nature of the connection between anchor and revenant, including details on sleeping, which weapons would harm the revenant without harming the anchor and vice versa

It contains a section on the chrysalis gun, though it does not reveal that the chrysalis gun puts the anchor into hibernation when used.

It also specifies that after retrieval, Jedao would be extracted for reuse by means of a carrion gun. A footnote for emergencies involving Jedao withholding information adds that the carrion glass could be ingested by a living human, which would "give the general a body so he can be tortured." Jedao does not remember this ever happening, and, when consulted, added that Kujen believed ingesting a ghost corpse would drive the "volunteer" crazy.

Jedao also noted that there were "whole sections" on which he had no information.

## History

Brevet General Kel Cheris received the guide and studied it during her stint as Jedao's anchor.

## Trivia

* Since the Orientation Packet was written for Jedao's anchors, details on Kujen's different abilities as an anchored revenant were omitted.

## References

1. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 4
2. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 6
3. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 5,6
4. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 5
5. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 9
6. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 5
7. ↑ Ninefox Gambit, Chapter 5,8
Oru

**This page contains spoilers for Revenant Gun.**

**Oru** is a Mwennin interpreter. She appears in Revenant Gun.

## History

Oru is an interpreter in the Mwennin settlement. She speaks fluent Mwen-dal and the high language. When extraplanetary shuttles arrive at the settlement, Oru attends the landing to translate for visitors and immigrants.

Oru was on hand when Dzannis Paral arrived as a new settler. Switching to the high language to accommodate Paral's halting knowledge of Mwen-dal, Oru patted her shoulder and expressed enthusiasm on learning that she was a much-anticipated math teacher for the settlement's short-handed school. Chattering with Paral about the school's situation and smilingly correcting her Mwen-dal pronunciation, Oru led her away from the shuttle to eat something and settle in.

## Trivia

* Despite Oru's rapid-fire Mwen-dal, her accent in the high language was unfamiliar to "Paral," suggesting that it was not a Mwennin accent.
Scoutmoth

A **scoutmoth** is the smallest class of warmoth developed in the heptarchate and hexarchate. Scoutmoths appear throughout the series.

## Description

Minimally crewed and bred at the smallest size that still allows them to keep pace with a warmoth swarm, scoutmoths are a low-priority target in battle. The Nirai do not breed smaller voidmoths since mothdrives under this lowest size limit are less efficient than invariant drives.

## Trivia

* In a mothgrid scan, Jedao Two registers an almost unrecognizably distorted voidmoth formant similar to a scoutmoth but much smaller.

## References

1. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 15
2. ↑ The Battle of Candle Arc
3. ↑ Revenant Gun, Chapter 15
4. ↑ Hexarchate Stories: Glass Cannon, p.258