The Tyrant Philosophers/Lhisamena
Lhisamena is the Preceptor of the Tesemer, the order of Louse Monks who serve as guardians and police of the Alkhand's throne in Usmai. She stands watch in the throne room of the House of Tranquillity with a falx-a long-bladed, two-handed hacking weapon-and is the sole living figure permitted to cross the pool of the Mirror Throne to reach the blind Alkhand Oparan, speaking into his ear to guide him through the dark. Described as cold and foreign, she has occupied this station for decades, keeping the Alkhand upright alongside a ghost bound to a skull, her authority over the Tesemer absolute and unquestioned. - Days of Shattered Faith, ch 3
Her decades of service are tested when the Alkhand vanishes into the Waygrove and his son Gorbudan seizes the throne. Lhisamena's voice-spoken in the True Speech of the Tesemer-commits the entire order to Gorbudan's cause, a choice the text marks as iron once made. As Preceptor she directs the Tesemer through the Brothers' War, embedding them in battle plans "only for her and her people," and when the Palleseen assault Alkhalend she rides out to meet her former charge, Dekamran, with a falx raised rather than words unspoken. She is shot dead mid-charge by Palleseen troops, dying "the death of the Louse Monks," and with her death the Tesemer line shatters. - Days of Shattered Faith, ch 15, 22, 26
Lhisamena's significance to the series lies in what she embodies: the old order of Usmai, a duty that predates any single Alkhand and binds itself to whichever man sits the Mirror Throne, and a violent, wordless instinct-"the old way"-that she recognises even in her final moment as a failure of diplomacy she could not overcome. Her contempt for Dekamran, formed in childhood watching him in the shadow of his more able brother, proves fatal not only to him's assassination attempts but to herself. - Days of Shattered Faith, ch 26
Character
Appearance
Lhisamena is described as cold and foreign in manner. She carries a falx, "a brutal hacking thing, save they danced with it," and she rides a hookloper into battle. - Days of Shattered Faith, ch 3, 15
Personality
Her temperament is cold, contemptuous, and fiercely duty-bound. She addresses the prince Dekamran as "princeling" with open disdain and would kill him without hesitation if he encroached on the Alkhand's person. - Days of Shattered Faith, ch 3. She communicates in the True Speech of the Tesemer, a language of twisting tongue distinct from Usmiri or Pel, marking her separateness from the court around her. - Days of Shattered Faith, ch 15. Even in her final instant she recognises that her instinct to attack rather than parley is a flaw: "I should have talked, she thinks. I should have let his words just pour out and out until my Alkhand came with his army. That was my duty. But it isn't her way. This is her way. The old way." - Days of Shattered Faith, ch 26. The Tesemer, once they choose a side, do not waver; "that choice is iron." - Days of Shattered Faith, ch 22.
Beliefs & Motivations
Lhisamena's loyalty runs to the office of the Alkhand rather than to any individual man; she serves whichever crowned figure holds the Mirror Throne, and her decades in the role make that fidelity absolute. - Days of Shattered Faith, ch 3, 15. She judges fitness for rule early and holds to that judgment: she watched Dekamran grow up "in the shadow of his more able brother" and decided as a child that he was unfit for the throne. - Days of Shattered Faith, ch 26. Her operative principle is "the old way"-action over speech, the falx over the tongue-and she dies conscious that this principle, which she calls her duty, has led her to a fatal premature violence. - Days of Shattered Faith, ch 26.
Affiliations
- Tesemer - preceptor
History
Days of Shattered Faith
The Duel with Tarcomir
Lhisamena is Preceptor of the Tesemer, the order of Louse Monks who serve as guardians and police of the throne, and she stands watch in the throne room of the House of Tranquillity with a falx - "a brutal hacking thing, save they danced with it" - a long-bladed, long-hafted two-handed weapon carried by herself and her monks - ch 3. She is the sole figure permitted to cross the pool of the Mirror Throne to reach the blind Alkhand Oparan, speaking into his ear to guide him through the dark - ch 3. She is described as cold and foreign, and she has stood in this role for decades, keeping the Alkhand upright alongside a ghost bound to a skull - ch 3.
When Dekamran enters the darkened throne room past the midnight bell, the Alkhand mistakes him for Kaleithi; Lhisamena materialises with her falx raised and addresses the prince with open contempt, calling him "princeling" and making clear she would stop him with her blade if he crossed the pool - "You know us better, princeling." - ch 3. She would kill him if he encroached on the Alkhand's person - ch 3. When Dekamran asks her to help the Alkhand to bed, she complies without warmth; the old man passes his son, touches his chin, and says "I know," acknowledging his confusion and his dependence on memory and the ghost - ch 3.
Gorbudan's Coup at the Waygrove
After the Alkhand Oparan takes the Alborandi mask and vanishes into the Grove, the travelling court dissolves into confusion. Gorbudan strides to his brother Dekamran with his clavar drawn and declares to the court that the Alkhand has "retired from the world," then challenges Lhisamena directly: "Will you bare your neck for the Palleseen blade now?" - ch 15. She responds by speaking in the True Speech of the Tesemer, the order's own language, spoken with a twisting tongue distinct from Usmiri or Pel; the Tesemer form a semicircle, blades ready - ch 15. Gorbudan communicates by expression: "I will make you warriors again." - ch 15.
Lhisamena cries out, mounts her hookloper, and proclaims "The Tiger-Crab of Mantekor! The Alkhand of Usmai!" - ch 15. Her voice commits the Tesemer order to Gorbudan; the monks reverse their semicircle to defend him - ch 15. During the ensuing melee, an ogrodon charges; Lhisamena climbs the beast's howdah and kills the Ibaleth mahout with three passes of her falx - ch 15. The fight ends with surviving courtiers, Tesemer, and some Ibaleth kneeling and crying "Alkhand Gorbudan!" - ch 15.
Gorbudan on the Mirror Throne
Six days after Gorbudan's accession, Lhisamena reports to the new Alkhand that the monk she sent to kill the Palleseen Resident has failed - ch 18. She continues to command the Tesemer as their Preceptor under Gorbudan's rule - ch 18.
The First Engagement of the Brothers' War
Lhisamena commands the Tesemer in Gorbudan's battle plan for the first engagement of the Brothers' War. Half the order remains in Alkhalend; the rest are scattered in fragments across the battlefield, hidden in the trees, a plan "only for her and her people" - ch 22. The Tesemer have chosen Gorbudan's side, and once they choose, "that choice is iron" - the Alkhand's reflection is that if they had declared for Dekamran, "none of this would be possible" - ch 22.
When the battle reaches impasse, Lhisamena raises her falx and the Louse Monks erupt from concealment, carving through Dekamran's cavalry and cavalry-terrified infantry - ch 22. She sends a Tesemer assassin to board Dekamran's ogrodon howdah; the monk fights Sage-Invigilator 'Gil' Angilly at close quarters but is killed before reaching the prince - ch 22. A second monk confronts Loret on the ground but retreats into the trees when a tempest roars from her mouth - ch 22. The assassination fails; Dekamran lives - ch 22.
The Killing of Kakrops
On the night of the Palleseen assault on Alkhalend, Gorbudan sends Lhisamena to muster the Tesemer against the invaders advancing through the Sand Lanes - ch 26. She watches Dekamran approach the Tesemer line and tries to parley, quoting legalities and declaring They serve the Alkhand [...] I am the Alkhand - ch 26. She attacks him with a falx; Sage-Invigilator 'Gil' Angilly deflects the blow by an inch - ch 26. In her final thought she admits "I should have talked, she thinks. I should have let his words just pour out and out until my Alkhand came with his army. That was my duty. But it isn't her way. This is her way. The old way." - ch 26. She had watched Dekamran grow up "in the shadow of his more able brother" and judged him unfit for the throne as a child - ch 26. The Tesemer engage; Lhisamena is shot dead mid-charge by Palleseen troops, dying "the death of the Louse Monks" - ch 26. With her death and the massed fire of Palleseen Hands, the Tesemer line shatters - ch 26.
Relationships
- Alkhand Oparan - For decades Lhisamena stands at the pool of the Mirror Throne as the sole living figure permitted to cross it, speaking into the blind Alkhand's ear to guide him through the dark, keeping him upright alongside a ghost bound to a skull. Their bond is one of long, wordless, institutional devotion rather than affection. - Days of Shattered Faith, ch 3.
- Dekamran - She regards him with open contempt, calling him "princeling" and raising her falx at his approach. She watched him grow up in the shadow of his more able brother and judged him unfit for the throne as a child; she sends assassins against him in battle and finally rides out to kill him herself rather than let him speak. - Days of Shattered Faith, ch 3, 22, 26.
- Gorbudan - Gorbudan challenges her at the Waygrove-"Will you bare your neck for the Palleseen blade now?"-and she answers by declaring him Alkhand in the True Speech, converting the Tesemer's loyalty to him. Thereafter she commands the order under his rule, carries out his battle plans, and reports failures to him directly. The text makes clear that without her and the Tesemer's choice, none of this would be possible. - Days of Shattered Faith, ch 15, 18, 22, 26.
Notable Quotes
- "You know us better, princeling." - Lhisamena, Days of Shattered Faith, ch 3
- "The Tiger-Crab of Mantekor! The Alkhand of Usmai!" - Lhisamena, Days of Shattered Faith, ch 15
- "They serve the Alkhand [...] I am the Alkhand" - Lhisamena, Days of Shattered Faith, ch 26
- "I should have talked, she thinks. I should have let his words just pour out and out until my Alkhand came with his army. That was my duty. But it isn't her way. This is her way. The old way." - Lhisamena, Days of Shattered Faith, ch 26
Tags
- preceptor · #tesemer · #military-commander