The Three Sides of Truth, by Charles Matthias and Chris Hoekstra

Story name: The Three Sides of Truth
Author: Charles Matthias and Chris Hoekstra
Publication date: August 19th, 1999 (on MK archive)

Date: late August, 706 CR
Location: Metamor Keep (Sondeckis shrine, Keep halls, Zhypar's quarters)

Overview

Garigan hears three perspectives on the Sondeckis—one from Charles, one from Rickkter, and one from Zhypar.

+ Story info - Spoilers!

Summary

In the unlit Sondeckis Shrine, as it rains gently outside, Charles and Garigan are both practicing their Calm. Charles recognizes when Garigan suddenly reaches his Calm, though it is short-lived. Charles assures him that with time, he will learn to hold it longer. After a drink of rainwater from the window, Garigan tells Charles that his Calm was like climbing a tree that stretched into the sky. Charles tells him the Sondeck is unique to each person, but in time it will become the tool he uses to fight with.

This reminds Garigan of another question he had: what does it mean to be a Sondeckis? Closing the shutters and lighting the lamps, Charles draws a map of the Southlands with melted wax on the floor. Charles explains that the Sondeckis are protectors of justice in the Southlands, persuading corrupt leaders to either care for the down-trodden or face death. Charles is disappointed that Garigan shows more interest in what the words of the Sondeckis mean, but he is eager to give a short phrase in Southlandic ("Icsh bev'zenn wei Sondeckis"), and to teach him the Song of the Sondeck.

Elsewhere, along the Keep hallways, Rickkter is taking a break from his studies, watching the rain while eating some cherries, when Yonson arrives with his entourage. Yonson has finished his transformation into a lemur, and now has cravings for fruit. Rickkter shares a cherry with Yonson, who decides to get some for himself. They talk briefly about the weather before going their own ways. Rickkter puzzles over what mage clan Yonson is from, and whether to trust him or not.

Garigan crosses his path, feeling happy from the Song of the Sondeck. When Rickkter curtly addresses him, Garigan mocks him for being so polite for a mercenary. Rickkter remarks that he's used to soldiers who think themselves superior to mercenaries, especially novices. Not to be outdone, Garigan claims he's heard what Kankorans do, hiding like cowards and killing in secret, allying with dark clans to create anarchy and destroy society, while the Sondeckis are fair and honorable and wish to build and protect society. At first, Rickkter calls Garigan suicidal for speaking such things to someone of a much higher rank, but then he is amused, saying that it is the Sondeckis who force their will upon society, snuffing out knowledge and willpower to keep society stagnant, who prevent the world from returning to its natural state, a world run by strength and ability.

Offended, Garigan tells him a story from Glen Avery: many years before the curse, a poor widow had a dying son, and couldn't afford healers. Instead of letting nature take its course, the Glenners shared their food and help with him to keep him alive. Rickkter says it only proves his point, as the healers who wouldn't heal the boy for free are like his own Kankoran, seeking their self-interest. The Kankoran have their own mission against the Sondeckis, but require payment. Garigan is shocked and denounces Rickkter as an insane creator of chaos and evil, and only the Sondeckis can bring order and justice to the southlands. Rickkter retorts that sanity is just majority opinion, that the world's natural order is the true order, and that good and evil are purely arbitrary notions of humans.

Garigan refuses to hear any more, and Rickkter laughs as he not only enjoys Garigan's frustration, but he has now gained confidence in his own arguments. He sets off to continue his work, while Garigan storms away, trying not to smash something.

Garigan wants to talk to someone, but he only knows Charles well, who told him earlier to stay away from Rickkter. He meets Zhypar in the hallway, who invites him for a drink. Garigan is uneasy since he last met Zhypar, but accepts the offer. After showing him a rare book, Zhypar shares some wine with him while asking how he's adapted to living at the Keep. He asks when Charles will let him return from his training. Garigan almost leaves until Zhypar says he already knows Garigan and Charles are Sondeckis; he too is from the Southlands, and he can recognize Southlands manners and ranks between them. Garigan asks who else knows, and aside from the obvious two (Wessex and Rickkter), Zhypar says Phil and Thomas and Misha all know. He also knows Kimberly knows the Sondeckis in all but name, and he assures him that Yonson does not know.

Zhypar then asks what it is that had Garigan so distraught. Though a bit reluctant, Garigan tells him about his entire encounter with Rickkter. Zhypar assures him that Rickkter can't do anything to Garigan, lest he invite Charles's wrath, and both of them know this. Irritating Garigan is the only way he can get back at Charles. Zhypar therefore advises him to stay away from Rickkter.

Garigan then asks about what Rickkter said about their clans, that the Kankorans restore the natural order. Zhypar tells him a story about Fellos, a city with a great library and wizards named Felikaush who desired only the sharing and preservation of knowledge. The Kankoran, in an alliance of other Eastern clans, destroyed the city and killed everyone, including the Felikaush. He concludes that though the Kankoran may claim to restore order, they seek only in expanding their power and enslaving the Southlands. However, he also doesn't believe the Sondeckis are right; the Sondeckis way is to suppress revolution and new ideas, which Zhypar cannot abide. Garigan cannot understand how chaos can be good, so Zhypar gives a simple example: Garigan wanted to stay at Glen Avery, but he needed to learn from Charles or he'd go insane. Sometimes, change leads to growth.

Zhypar adds that the Sondeckis have made their own mistakes as well. Why would Charles have left his clan if it was so perfect? He tells another story about a village called Akenburg. A man there, not part of the town-controlled Tailor's Guild, invented a machine that could produce several spindles of thread. The Tailor's Guild complained to the Sondeckis, who drove the man to a neighboring town. When this town outproduced Akenburg, the city starved, and they again complained. The Sondeckis then killed the inventor and destroyed every one of the man's machines. When Akenburg built their own version of the machine later, other cities suffered the same, and the Sondeckis forced them to share their machines with the other cities.

Zhypar advises him that every story has its own side to the truth; not even he is unbiased. He reflects on how similar Charles and Rickkter are: stubborn, arrogant, clinging to the past rather than the future. He darkly declares the two of them will be the end of him. He quickly perks up and asks if he knows what the clan names mean. He translates "Kankoran" for Garigan, and then translates "Icsh bev'zenn wei Sondeckis" for him: "I live for the Sondeckis". With a smile, Garigan thanks him, and heads to the Deaf Mule for a meal.

Characters

Main characters:

• Garigan: Charles's Sondecki pupil, a ferret morph from Glen Avery. He is an Ecclesian.
  • Garigan knows everyone at Glen Avery, though some more than others.
  • He is a natural at ambushing enemies from behind.
  • Garigan compares his Calm to his first service at Metamor's new chapel, with the feeling of God wrapping His arms around him. Visually, he says it was like climbing a massive tree, with thick branches that threaten to snap. He remembers a point where the branches stop, and the tree trunk reached up into the heavens. He remembers seeing a view, but can't yet recall what it is.
• Charles Matthias: A Sondeckis and rat morph.
  • In his youth, Charles occasionally worked in Sondeshara's salt mine.
  • It took Charles several months for him to hold onto his Calm for over a minute.
  • Charles has a few friends still in the Southlands who studied languages.
  • Charles is still queasy around heights, after his fall from Heraclitus's back in Keeping the Lamp Lit.
  • He is slightly disappointed that Garigan seems uninterested in the Sondeckis mission of upholding justice.
• Rickkter: A Kankoran and a black of the Order of the Ebon Dragon, a former mercenary, a raccoon morph.
  • Rickkter has not been in the Southlands for many years, and before the Keep hadn't seen a Sondeckis in over 12 years. Much of his time was spent on the northern continent, in its southeastern regions.
  • He ascended to the black in a very unique fashion, trained by the Kankoran in combat and in basic magic, which lead to his being trained by the Ebon Dragons.
  • His only salary comes from his military service, though not as much as when he was a mercenary.
  • His old enclave (either the Kankorans or the Order of the Ebon Dragon) live on the eastern shores, near the Windriders.
• Zhypar Habakkuk: Head of the Writer's Guild, a kangaroo morph. Charles dislikes him for sharing ancient secrets with Wessex, and purposefully made him Headmaster to keep him busy.
  • He has deep brown eyes.
  • His father was a merchant. He taught him to read multiple languages, including dead languages. Zhypar's family has always been good at languages, and are often exposed to rare books.
  • He claims that in his younger days, he often visited Fellos as a merchant before its destruction, collecting many books which are still in his possession.
  • Zhypar has traveled most of the world, though not all. He knows more about the destruction of Fellos than he tells.
  • He prevented Charles from killing Rickkter while he was bed-ridden from undergoing the curse; his reasons for doing so are personal, and Zhypar advises Garigan to ask Charles.
  • He knows everyone who knows about the Sondeckis, both by observation and very astute perception.

Minor characters:

• Yonson: The diplomat to Metamor from the Chateau Marzac, identified by Rickkter as a lemur morph.
  • His doublet, hose, and filigree are pearl gray. His cuffs are a light purple. He wears the crest of his homeland on his left breast.
  • He mentions having a few appointments that must be kept. He says this while looking at the sky in an almost hypnotic way.
  • Despite being a purple, he wields a staff for more senior wizards, and managed to defeat Rickkter, a black. Rickkter suspects he is hiding his true power, and doesn't know why.

Cameo:

• A hawk morph who accompanies Yonson.
• An odd-looking animal morph in the center of Yonson's entourage.
• Either 1, or 4 other companions of Yonson besides the two above:
  • If the "three animal morphs" includes both the hawk and the odd animal morph (as it makes sense for Rickkter to identify them by species), then the other is a female animal morph of unknown species.
  • If the three animal morphs are separate from the hawk and the odd animal morph, then the woman could either be a female animal morph, or a female gendermorph.

Referenced:

• Wessex: A age regress and mage. He is currently studying the Sondeckis, in order to stop his enemy Zagrosek.
• Zagrosek: Charles's old friend, who according to Wessex has done horrible things.
• Heraclitus: A dragon at Whales whom Charles once fell from.
• Scratch: Pascal's assistant and lover, a tiger morph. Rickkter is organizing some information from him.
• Jon: A Keep artificer, a deer morph. Rickkter has been translating half a dozen scrolls from Jon, from a few months ago, as unpaid labor.
• Deanna: Rickkter's deceased lover, a healer.
• Various members of Glen Avery:
  • Lord Avery: The lord of Glen Avery, a squirrel morph. He is one prominent Glenner who built his home in a tree.
  • Angus: The leader of Glen Avery's guards, a badger morph. As a guard, Garigan saw him as his mentor.
  • Shelley: A male gendermorph who had been Garigan's scouting partner.
  • Lars: A brewer at Glen Avery, one of Garigan's friends.
  • Walter: A tailor at Glen Avery whom Garigan misses.
  • Mrs Levins: A hedgehog morph at Glen Avery who makes delicious pies.
  • Lord and Lady Avery, and their sons Christopher and Darien, who rule Glen Avery.
• Misha: Head of the Long Scouts. He is the closest Garigan has to a friend aside from Charles.
  • Zhypar knows that Misha knows about the Sondeckis, possibly by observing how Garigan and Charles do their training in the Long House.
• Phil: The prince of Whales, a rabbit morph. Zhypar knows he knows about the Sondeckis, likely from his work with Wessex.
• Thomas: The Duke of Metamor. Zhypar knows he knows about the Sondeckis, likely from his work with Wessex.

Locations

• Naven is a smallish outpost north of Metamor Valley.
• The trees at Glen Avery are some of the largest trees in the world (as Charles can attest). They are big enough for the Glenners to build houses in.
• The Keep Sondeckis Shrine in the Long House is decorated with braziers. On each side of the Sondeckis altar is an ivory stanchion, which Charles took from a storeroom in the Long House to improve the lighting.
  • A sculpted angel stands before the stone altar.
• Zhypar's room is of a similar dimensions to Charles's room.
  • The bed is longer, with a bend in the middle for Zhypar's tail. A high paned window is against the bed.
  • Against one wall is a writing table beside a modest wine cupboard and a large oak bookcase with a little over 100 books.
  • There is a small pine dining table in the center with 2 velvet-cushioned chairs.
• Rickkter that says that within the 18 miles of Metamor Valley, he as an animal morph is not at risk of persecution.
• Heathcorte is a place in the east region of Galendor. Rickkter might have seen a southern mage there, but definitely has not seen any north of there.
• The Southlands consist of 4 connected landmasses: the 2 largest sit at the western end, while the smaller 2 to the east are north and south of each other.
  • At the south end of the westernmost of these landmasses is the Kitch Steppe. It is even longer than the Great Northern Desert of the Northlands.
  • At the north end of the second landmass is the Southland's only desert. In the middle of this desert is the city of Sondeshara, built on top of a salt mine. Salt is a valuable commodity, being necessary to survive in the desert.
• Fellos was a city on the southwestern shore of the Eastern continent in the Southlands. It had one of the largest libraries in the world, comparable to Metamor's. It was destroyed by an alliance of a few Eastern clans, including the Kankoran.
• Akenburg is a city in the fields next to the Darkuendlicht Mountains, north of Makor and near Melagrin. At one time, maybe today, it was dominated by its Tailor's Guild; most of its people were shepherds and tailors.
  • The Tailor's Guild managed much of the city's economy. They were allied with the Sondeckis.

Chronology

• Some time ago, a villager in Akenburg invented a "many spindle machine" (in real life called a spinning jenny) which could produce multiple spindles of thread. But he was not part of the Tailor's Guild, and the Guild, fearing this threat to their authority, told the Sondeckis about the danger it would cause. The Sondeckis forced the man to flee, with his machine, to nearby Melagrin.
  • In Melagrin, the villager sold his machine to the tailors, whereupon their output drastically outsold Akenburg's. With less money from their own product, the city starved. The Tailor's Guild complained again, and this time the Sondeckis killed the man and destroyed all of his machines.
  • A few years later, the Tailor's Guild reinvented the spindle machine, and impoverished the neighboring cities. The Sondeckis intervened again, forcing them to share their inventions with the wider community. Justice was finally served, but at the cost of lives and lost productivity.
• Many years ago, an alliance of Kankoran and a few other Eastern Southlands clans attempted a purge of all non-allied clans in the Eastern continent. They totally destroyed only a few towns, but among them were the city of Fellos and the Felikaush.
  • The siege of Fellos lasted only a few days, due to Fellos's weak fortifications. Everyone in the city was slaughtered.
  • Zhypar believes that most of the books from Fellos were not burned, but were taken by the armies.
• A few weeks ago, Charles took some ivory stanchions from a storeroom in the Long House and added them to the Sondeckis Shrine.
• There is currently talk about wiping out the outpost of Naven.

Story Connections

• It is a couple months after Diplomacy, and some months after Keeping the Lamp Lit.
• Rickkter is translating works for Jon, as part of his deal in A Place Where There Is No Darkness.
  • Zhypar reveals that he is the reason why Phil interrupted Charles's fight with Rickkter in this story.
• Garigan refers back to the last time he spoke with Zhypar, which colored his perception of him, in Stepping Up to Destiny. This is also where Charles warned him to stay away from Zhypar and Rickkter.
• Rickkter jokes about a rematch to Yonson, referring to his duel against him in House of Secrets.
• The outpost of Naven will soon be raided in Casualties of War.

Society

Southland clan relations

• Alliances between enclaves or clans can generally be placed into an axis running from noble, noble-neutral, pure neutral, neutral-dark, and dark. Noble through neutral clans are generally aligned with the Sondeckis, while neutral-dark and dark clans are aligned with the Kankoran.
• The Sondeckis occupy the western half of the Southlands, and the Kankorans the eastern half.
• Neutral clans tend to care more about their own affairs than about others, and tend to be relatively harmless against other clans.
• According to Charles, Sondeckis and Kankoran have distrusted each other for over 1000 years, in a long cycle of revenge for a now-forgotten reason.
• According to Rickkter, enclave relations have been mostly stable for over 2000 years. Kankorans have been attempting to change this balance of power in the last 1000 years.

Sondeckis

• The Sondeckis are a Southland clan that dominates the western half of the Southlands.
  • According to Charles, the Sondeckis are warriors of justice, and defenders of the poor and the oppressed. They dominate every land that is not controlled by their enemies, the Kankoran. They target rulers who do not care for the lower classes, and rulers who wish to start a war against their neighbor. If the rulers do not give in, the Sondeckis kill them.
  • According to Rickkter and Zhypar, however, they are self-righteous spies and assassins. To Rickkter, that makes Sondeckis hypocrites for arguing the same of Kankorans; to Zhypar, that makes Rickkter the hypocrite for arguing that Kankorans aren't.
  • Zhypar believes that though the Sondeckis claim to serve justice, they weigh their allies' opinions more than lone individuals. As an example, he tells the story of the inventor from Akenburg (see Chronology).
• Sondeckis generally believe that order is inherently good, and chaos inherently evil.
• The most holy weapon of the Sondeckis is the Sondeshike.
• The Sondeck is fueled by rage. Whoever is born with the Sondeck, grows up with an uncontrollable anger and fear within them. Without learning the Calm, a young Sondeckis will eventually go mad and live to at most 25.
  • Most Sondeckis are discovered at age 10 or earlier to avert this.
• The way to the Calm is unique to each Sondeckis.
• The lessons a Sondeckis master teaches their student are also meant to help the teacher regain control over their own Sondeck.
• In order to progress to the Green, a Yellow must maintain the Calm for a full day, despite distractions.
• The Sondeckis have their own song, the Song of the Sondeckis, also called "Sondeckunliesh". Its melody and lyrics come naturally to Sondeckis, though the words are difficult to find without a teacher. To Garigan, it is the most beautiful song in the world.

Southlands language

• "Sondeck" is difficult to translate; Charles's best attempt is "Soul of Justice".
• Sondeckis: "Seekers of Justice".
• Sondeshike: "Weapon of Justice".
• Sondeshara: "House of Justice".
• A well-known saying among the Sondeckis is "Icsh bev'zenn wei Sondeckis". Literally, "I breathe a Sondeckis", it also translates to "I live for the Sondeckis".
• Kankoran: "Bringers of Chaos".

Kankoran

• The Kankoran are a clan that occupies the Eastern half of the Southlands.
• According to Rickkter, the Kankorans work to counteract the Sondeckis, and keep other clans free from their influence. They are much smaller than the Sondeckis, and have kept small by Sondeckis persecution.
  • Rickkter's personal view is that the Kankoran restore the world's natural order and balance, which Sondeckis interpret as chaos.
  • They operate like mercenaries; rather than protecting the poor and down-trodden, they work for clans that are wealthy enough to pay them.
• According to Charles, they are cowards and assassins who choose not to fight in honorable direct combat.
• According to Zhypar, the Kankoran do work to counteract the Sondeckis, but only because they also want power and influence over the Southlands. He gives the destruction of Fellos as an example, though there is probably more to the story than just that.

Weather mage clans

• According to Rickkter, there are 6 weather mage clans in the Southlands. 3 are noble, 1 is neutral, and 2 are dark.
  • The Windriders are a dark clan on the eastern shore, near Rickkter's old enclave, the Order of the Ebon Dragon.
  • Kyocera's Defenders are a dark clan near Marzac and adjacent to two noble clans.
  • The neutral weather clan is on the tip of the southwestern peninsula.
  • One of the noble weather clans is in the middle of the north coast.
  • The other two noble clans are near Marzac as well, but they have always enjoyed stable relationships with the Sondeckis.
• Weathermongers are a noble clan. They typically observe the weather for a year before even a simple casting, so as not to disrupt the local weather patterns.

Other societies

• The Hevay are Earth Masters, who reshape the Earth. Most likely a dark clan, they are the sworn enemies of the Sondeckis.
  • According to Charles, they are constantly ewmolding landscapes, indifferent to the cities and villages they destroy. The Sondeckis and their allies are trying to find and destroy them.
• The Order of the Ebon Dragon is a dark or dark-neutral enclave, and has been one of the most powerful enclaves in the Southlands for centuries. They generally keep to themselves and avoid Sondeckis.
  • It is implied that it is unusual for them to choose apprentices like Rickkter from other clans for training.
• Rick's enclave (either the Kankoran or the Ebon Dragons) is very diverse, with mages from all castes.
  • The purpose of either the Kankoran or the Ebon Dragons is to counter the other clans.
• According to Zhypar, the Felikaush were a group of wizards who lived in Fellos, mostly studying in the library. Their sole purpose was to preserve knowledge. They gave their knowledge free of charge to any who would ask of it, and chose permanent neutrality towards both western and eastern Southlanders.
  • They were killed during a Kankoran-allied invasion many years ago.

Points of Interest

• Today is the first time in a while that it's rained in Metamor.
• Lemurs are native to an island in the south.
• Cherries are native to the north, and are currently in season.
• One of Zhypar's books is over 400 years old, written in an ancient Southland dialect that has been dead for a century or two. It is very delicate and very important to Zhypar, yet he freely shows it to Garigan for some reason.
  • He plans to make a fresh copy within a few months.
• Charles and Rickkter are equals in direct combat, though because of his training as an assassin, Charles has a stealth advantage over Rickkter.

Behind the Scenes

• Rickkter quotes: "The world is not to be put in order. The world is order incarnate. It is for us to put ourselves in unison with this order." This is a real-world quote by the 20th-century writer Henry Miller.

< Second Cycle	Matthias's Third Cycle	Fourth Cycle >
Stories	Stories in yellow are not part of the cycle proper, but give important context for other stories.
	False Winds · Stepping Up to Destiny · Fingers in the Weave · Four on the Floor · Fireside · Hunt · Intercessor · Intersecting Correspondence · Jormugand · The Three Sides of Truth · Lawbreakers · Casualties of War · Killing Time · Legacies · Libraries · Four by Four · Liturgy of Blood · Longing · Nuptials · Relic · Wandering the Keep · Winter's First Chill · The Winter Assault
Major Characters	Charles Matthias · Garigan · Kimberly · Misha Brightleaf · Rickkter Akabaieth · Caroline · Gornul · Father Hough · Jessica · Kashin · Phil · Saulius · Thalberg · Duke Thomas · Vinsah · Wessex · Yonson · Zagrosek · Zhypar Habakkuk