Sssssy
Sssssy is an Ibaleth-a member of a lizard-like species-who holds the military rank of Cohort-Monitor within the command staff of Flint Postry during the Mantekor campaign in Days of Shattered Faith. Sssssy appears in a single scene in chapter 30, introduced by Flint alongside the demon Cohort-Monitor Croskin and Flint's second, Companion-Monitor Steggers, when the command staff is presented to Gil Angilly around a table spread with looted treasure from the Mantekor hoard - ch 30.
The character carries no independent narrative function beyond that introduction. Flint announces in the same scene that he will be taking a group of Ibaleth with him the following day, which places Sssssy and Sssssy's cohort in the background of the subsequent battle of Mantekor, but the text never returns to Sssssy by name or action after chapter 30 - ch 30. The scene's only substantive detail unique to Sssssy is a brief comedic exchange over the gender of the Ibaleth, in which Flint's assumption is corrected by Gil - ch 30. Sssssy's significance to the broader series is therefore illustrative rather than dramatic: the character exists to round out the multinational, non-human composition of Flint's command staff and to signal, in a single line of dialogue, that the Ibaleth are a fully realized species with social norms the Maric officer Flint Postry has not bothered to learn.
The Term
Meaning
Sssssy is a proper name borne by an individual Ibaleth. To a reader encountering the name for the first time it may read as a transliterated hiss or onomatopoeic sound effect, but within the text it functions as a personal name on the same footing as any other character's - Flint addresses the staff by these names during a formal introduction - ch 30. The books do not elaborate on the naming conventions or linguistic structure of the Ibaleth species.
Usage
The name is spoken only in a military-introduction register: Flint Postry uses it while presenting his subordinate Cohort-Monitors to Gil Angilly, listing Sssssy alongside Cohort-Monitor Croskin and Companion-Monitor Steggers in a single breath of staff enumeration - ch 30. Gil, who has had considerably more contact with the Ibaleth, knows the name well enough to interject and correct Flint's pronoun error, revealing a familiarity the Maric command has not extended to its own lizard auxiliaries - ch 30.
History
Days of Shattered Faith
Sssssy is an Ibaleth holding the rank of Cohort-Monitor within the command staff of Flint Postry. When Flint presents his staff to Gil Angilly in chapter 30, Sssssy is introduced alongside the demon Cohort-Monitor Croskin and Flint's second, Companion-Monitor Steggers; the meeting takes place around a table covered in looted treasure from Mantekor, with Flint announcing that he is taking a group of Ibaleth with him the following day - ch 30. Sssssy is physically depicted as a lizard drinking from a bowl - ch 30. The species-gender of the Ibaleth is drawn to attention in this scene: Flint refers to the lizards as "sons of bitches," and Gil corrects him, indicating that the cohort of Ibaleth under Sssssy's number are "lasses" - ch 30. Sssssy has no further role in the book beyond this introduction.
Relationships
- Flint Postry - Sssssy holds the rank of Cohort-Monitor under Flint's direct command as part of his standing staff. Flint introduces Sssssy by name during the chapter 30 briefing and states that he is taking a group of Ibaleth-including Sssssy's cohort-with him the following day - ch 30. The relationship is purely hierarchical; no personal interaction beyond the introduction is recorded.
Notable Quotes
- "sons of bitches" - Flint Postry, Days of Shattered Faith, ch 30 (referring to the Ibaleth cohort under Sssssy's number)
- "lasses" - Gil Angilly, Days of Shattered Faith, ch 30 (correcting Flint's gender assumption about the Ibaleth)
Tags
- lizardfolk · #cohort-monitor