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← Older revision		Revision as of 03:57, 24 September 2026
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	== Known members ==		== Known members ==
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	- [[Aeriff]] - chief conjurer		* [[Aeriff]] - chief conjurer

	== History ==		== History ==
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	== Relationships ==		== Relationships ==
	- '''[[Aeriff\|Aeriff ea Llannach]]''' - Chief conjurer and formal representative of the Helaseach on the Osseach. Described as a woman who stank of magic. - ch 9.		* '''[[Aeriff\|Aeriff ea Llannach]]''' - Chief conjurer and formal representative of the Helaseach on the Osseach. Described as a woman who stank of magic. - ch 9.
	- '''[[Widow\|Abellaime]], 'the Widow'''' - The Helaseach are the most vocal opponents of the Pandaemonium; Abellaime regards Aeriff as her true supernatural rival. The Helaseach resented Abellaime's ascension and accept only her grudging, reluctant patronage. Their mutual warding forces the Osseach to meet in a brothel. - ch 9, ch 17.		* '''[[Widow\|Abellaime]], 'the Widow'''' - The Helaseach are the most vocal opponents of the Pandaemonium; Abellaime regards Aeriff as her true supernatural rival. The Helaseach resented Abellaime's ascension and accept only her grudging, reluctant patronage. Their mutual warding forces the Osseach to meet in a brothel. - ch 9, ch 17.
	- '''[[Yasnic\|Devil Jack]]''' - Fellow magicians during the siege in an "unhappy détente." Helaseach conjurers override his wards, tell him to "steer at the enemy" or move on, dismiss his efforts as "amateur's," and physically shove him. The relationship is one of professional contempt between traditions. - ch 12.		* '''[[Yasnic\|Devil Jack]]''' - Fellow magicians during the siege in an "unhappy détente." Helaseach conjurers override his wards, tell him to "steer at the enemy" or move on, dismiss his efforts as "amateur's," and physically shove him. The relationship is one of professional contempt between traditions. - ch 12.
	- '''[[Hamriddy\|Hamriddy oa Galeaff]]''' - Aeriff ea Llannach had once been a romantic interest of Hamriddy. - ch 9, ch 18.		* '''[[Hamriddy\|Hamriddy oa Galeaff]]''' - Aeriff ea Llannach had once been a romantic interest of Hamriddy. - ch 9, ch 18.
	- '''[[Niev ea Galeaff]]''' - After the outer walls fall, Niev rallies the surviving Helaseach conjurers and orders Aeriff to summon every demon available. The conjurers report to Niev despite her lacking formal authority over them. - ch 41.		* '''[[Niev ea Galeaff]]''' - After the outer walls fall, Niev rallies the surviving Helaseach conjurers and orders Aeriff to summon every demon available. The conjurers report to Niev despite her lacking formal authority over them. - ch 41.
	- '''[[Osseach]]''' - The Helaseach hold a seat on the governing conclave; their seat gives them a voice in Eres Ffenegh's governance, though their standing within it is constrained by the warding conflict with the Pandaemonium. - ch 9.		* '''[[Osseach]]''' - The Helaseach hold a seat on the governing conclave; their seat gives them a voice in Eres Ffenegh's governance, though their standing within it is constrained by the warding conflict with the Pandaemonium. - ch 9.

	== Notable Quotes ==		== Notable Quotes ==

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The Helaseach is a siblingry of Os-Fferegh conjurers, a lineage of home-grown magical practitioners in Eres Ffenegh whose traditions run parallel to, and in persistent tension with, both the temple-trained priesthood of the Pandaemonium and the Pal divination tradition. In the single book in which they appear, the Helaseach function as the city's indigenous magical defense corps during the Palleseen siege: they ward the walls, advise the militia on targeting, lead the desperate Gaeledh ritual to animate the city's ancient foundation-stones, and attempt to summon the Kings Below for a last stand behind the final wall. Their chief conjurer, Aeriff ea Llannach, holds a seat on the Osseach and is regarded by Abellaime, 'the Widow', as her true supernatural rival; the mutual warding between Helaseach magic and Pal divination is so absolute that the governing conclave itself must convene in a brothel outside both traditions' reach.

The arc the Helaseach trace across the book is one of institutional resentment collapsing into shared annihilation. They are the most vocal opponents of the Pandaemonium, yet none dare challenge Abellaime openly for the temple she occupies; they accept her grudging patronage while chafing against it. When the siege arrives, they work alongside-though never in partnership with-Abellaime's familiar Devil Jack, overriding his wards and dismissing his craft, even as both their traditions are overwhelmed. Their deepest summoning tradition, the Kings Below, refuses to answer at the moment of greatest need, and Aeriff's response to that silence is simply: "I don't understand." The Helaseach thus embody the series' preoccupation with local, rooted knowledge meeting an enemy that no local knowledge can stop.

== The Group ==
=== Composition ===
The Helaseach are a siblingry-a lineage body-of conjurers drawn from Os-Fferegh itself, not imported from the Pandaemonium's priesthood or the Pal tradition. Aeriff ea Llannach serves as chief conjurer and formal representative on the Osseach, the governing conclave of Eres Ffenegh. The book names no other conjurer individually, but the siege scenes make clear that the Helaseach field multiple practitioners simultaneously: at least two conjurers act in concert to override Devil Jack's wards on the walls, and "surviving Helaseach conjurers" in the plural are rallied by Niev ea Galeaff after the outer walls fall. - ch 12, ch 41. The Gaeledh requirement-that a practitioner must have lived in the city long enough for "the crab to have written its fossils into your own bones"-implies a membership built on long residency and perhaps heredity rather than formal initiation. - ch 12.

=== Purpose & Method ===
The Helaseach exist as Eres Ffenegh's own magical practitioners: home-grown, untempled, and distinct from both priestly and Pal methodologies. Their operative methods include warding (barriers against enemy targeting and psychic assault), tactical consultation for the defenders, demon-summoning into circles for the Kings Below, and the Gaeledh ritual-the animation of ancient Taela foundation-stones embedded in the city's masonry. The Gaeledh rite demands deep, lifelong rootedness in the city; it is not a technique one can learn quickly. During the siege, Aeriff ea Llannach advises the defenders to aim at "Legs, joints, just stop them moving," and when the Angler's Eye's psychic wave flattens hope and love across the lit strip, a Helaseach conjurer is the one who shouts a message to Abellaime. - ch 12.

=== Standing ===
The Helaseach hold a seat on the Osseach and are the most vocal opponents of the Pandaemonium, yet the old temple priests specifically warded their home-grown magic, and the Pandaemonium is itself warded against all Pal divination-a triple mutual exclusion that forces the Osseach to convene in a brothel where Abellaime alone can hold the building. Abellaime regards Aeriff as her true supernatural rival, greeting her with "her warmest smile, her coldest thoughts," and offers the Helaseach only grudging, reluctant patronage of their operations. None among the Helaseach dared challenge Abellaime openly for the temple. - ch 9, ch 17.

During the siege, the Helaseach's practical standing shifts: they are essential to the walls' defense and operate in what the text records as an "unhappy détente" with Devil Jack, overriding his wards and dismissing his work as "amateur's." They shove him bodily on one occasion, causing the amulet at his belt to spark "in outrage at the disrespect." - ch 12. After the outer walls fall, Niev ea Galeaff rallies the surviving conjurers and militia in the gardens behind the final wall; the Helaseach report to her despite her lacking formal authority over them, suggesting that the siege has eroded the old institutional hierarchies in favour of whoever commands the last defensive position. - ch 41.

== Known members ==

- [[Aeriff]] - chief conjurer

== History ==
=== Pretenders to the Throne Of God ===
The Helaseach is the siblingry of [[Carcer|Os-Fferegh]] conjurers, a lineage of home-grown magical practitioners distinct from the temple-trained priesthood of the [[Pandaemonium]] and from the [[Pal]] divination tradition - ch 9. Its chief conjurer and formal representative on the [[Osseach]] is [[Aeriff|Aeriff ea Llannach]], a woman who "stank of magic" and who had once been a romantic interest of [[Hamriddy|Hamriddy oa Galeaff]] - ch 9, ch 18. The Helaseach's seat on the Osseach gives the siblingry a voice in Eres Ffenegh's governing conclave, though its standing within that body is shaped by a long institutional feud: the old temple priests specifically warded the Helaseach's home-grown magic, and the [[Pandaemonium]] - domain of [[Widow|Abellaime]], 'the Widow' - is itself warded against all Pal divination, so the Osseach must convene in a brothel where Abellaime alone can hold the building - ch 9. The Helaseach are "the most vocal" opponents of the Pandaemonium, and Abellaime regards [[Aeriff|Aeriff ea Llannach]] as her true supernatural rival, greeting her with "her warmest smile, her coldest thoughts" - ch 9. None among the Helaseach dared challenge Abellaime openly for the temple the Pandaemonium occupies, though they resented her ascension and her grudging, reluctant patronage of their own operations - ch 17.

When [[Hamriddy]]'s party merges with the [[the Moderates|Moderates]] and the Helaseach at the [[Gaelensreach]] gate, Aeriff ea Llannach reports that the city's magical defenses are spent - ch 9. During the Palleseen siege of Eres Ffenegh, the Helaseach conjurers and [[Yasnic|Devil Jack]] - Abellaime's familiar and apprentice - operate in what the notes record as an "unhappy détente" on the walls: Jack draws wards to disrupt Palleseen targeting, but two Helaseach conjurers override his work, telling him to "steer at the enemy" or move on, and dismiss his efforts as "amateur's" - ch 12. One conjurer shoves Jack bodily, causing the amulet at his belt to spark "in outrage at the disrespect" - ch 12. At the third wall, Aeriff ea Llannach counsels the defenders to aim at "Legs, joints, just stop them moving" - ch 12. When the [[Angler's Eye]] fires from the Lighthouse and a psychic wave flattens hope and love across the lit strip, a Helaseach conjurer shouts a message to Abellaime, and Jack feels the city's magic "pulled out of true" - ch 12. As the Dead Companies charge the second wall and Jack's own barrier shatters, Helaseach conjurers shove him aside and raise their own chain of wards across the Ward, though the dead ultimately break through - ch 12. As a last-resort measure, the Helaseach conjurers lead the ritual to animate the [[Gaeledh]], ancient stones embedded in Eres Ffenegh's masonry from the [[Taela]]'s foundations, a process that requires the practitioners to have lived in the city long enough for "the crab to have written its fossils into your own bones" - ch 12.

By the Carcer delegation, Aeriff ea Llannach appears in a minor capacity as part of the group sent to negotiate - ch 18. After the fall of the outer walls, [[Niev ea Galeaff]] rallies the surviving Helaseach conjurers and militia in the gardens behind the final wall, ordering Aeriff to summon every demon available and prepare to bring the wall down on the besiegers - ch 41. The Helaseach's demon-summoning circles go unanswered: the [[the Kings Below|Kings Below]] refuse to come. Aeriff reports to Niev that they have only the wall, and when pressed on why the Kings Below will not answer, says only "I don't understand" - ch 41. The surviving conjurers continue to report to Niev despite her lacking formal authority over them - ch 41. The Helaseach's role in the book is thus that of a besieged, internally strained magical order whose institutional rivalry with the Pandaemonium persists even as both sides face annihilation, and whose deepest summoning traditions fail at the moment of greatest need. - implied, ch 41 (the Kings Below's refusal remains unexplained; Aeriff's "I don't understand" leaves the question open - ch 41).

== Relationships ==
- '''[[Aeriff|Aeriff ea Llannach]]''' - Chief conjurer and formal representative of the Helaseach on the Osseach. Described as a woman who stank of magic. - ch 9.
- '''[[Widow|Abellaime]], 'the Widow'''' - The Helaseach are the most vocal opponents of the Pandaemonium; Abellaime regards Aeriff as her true supernatural rival. The Helaseach resented Abellaime's ascension and accept only her grudging, reluctant patronage. Their mutual warding forces the Osseach to meet in a brothel. - ch 9, ch 17.
- '''[[Yasnic|Devil Jack]]''' - Fellow magicians during the siege in an "unhappy détente." Helaseach conjurers override his wards, tell him to "steer at the enemy" or move on, dismiss his efforts as "amateur's," and physically shove him. The relationship is one of professional contempt between traditions. - ch 12.
- '''[[Hamriddy|Hamriddy oa Galeaff]]''' - Aeriff ea Llannach had once been a romantic interest of Hamriddy. - ch 9, ch 18.
- '''[[Niev ea Galeaff]]''' - After the outer walls fall, Niev rallies the surviving Helaseach conjurers and orders Aeriff to summon every demon available. The conjurers report to Niev despite her lacking formal authority over them. - ch 41.
- '''[[Osseach]]''' - The Helaseach hold a seat on the governing conclave; their seat gives them a voice in Eres Ffenegh's governance, though their standing within it is constrained by the warding conflict with the Pandaemonium. - ch 9.

== Notable Quotes ==
:"steer at the enemy" - Helaseach conjurer to Devil Jack, Pretenders to the Throne Of God, ch 12

:"Legs, joints, just stop them moving" - Aeriff ea Llannach, Pretenders to the Throne Of God, ch 12

:"the crab to have written its fossils into your own bones" - on the Gaeledh requirement, Pretenders to the Throne Of God, ch 12

:"her warmest smile, her coldest thoughts" - Abellaime greeting Aeriff ea Llannach, Pretenders to the Throne Of God, ch 9

:"I don't understand" - Aeriff ea Llannach, on why the Kings Below will not answer, Pretenders to the Throne Of God, ch 41

== Tags ==
#conjurers · #siblingry · #allorwen-magic · #military-defence

[[Category:Groups]]

Helaseach - Revision history

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