#blood of eden memorandum for record

[paradoxcase]

Blood of Eden Memorandum for Record

I wonder if this memorandum is from Wake's tenure, or from afterwards. It sounds like BOE tactics may have changed significantly after Wake's death, e.g. John saying that BOE never would have used nukes against his fleet under Wake's command

I totally thought the exception was going to be that the Ninth House necromancers are still obvious goths, but it was actually the Lyctors, haha

If this is really the official BOE position on this, that death is 100% final and the soul is completely destroyed on death, then why did they believe that Wake had returned as a revenant, as stated in the previous glossary? Surely, if Cytherea's body had stood up at Canaan House and told BOE that it was Wake returned, they would have dismissed this as being some kind of ruse by a necromancer to fool them?

After extensive detailing of what necromancers can do, this is completely hilarious, actually

This can't possibly be remotely true. If any of this was at all true about regular non-Lyctor necromancers, the plot of Gideon the Ninth would have been very different and Cytherea never would have gotten away with killing anyone. Actually, if this was at all true, no one in the entire Nine Houses could reasonably expect to get away with murder under any circumstances, just imagine living in a world with this kind of all-seeing necromancer cops who instantly know all the details of any murder you could commit. Also, the Ninth House would have known how Wake had died and maybe even what she had come there to do, and probably a lot more people would have known about Harrow's family murdering the 200 children. Necromancers can speak to ghosts and find out things from them after their deaths, but this mostly seems to involve a ritual of some kind that seems inconvenient on a battlefield, and anyway, they can't get information from the ghosts that the ghosts don't actually have, such as "where was the sniper who killed you standing"

I have to wonder what actual powers or tactics the Cohort uses that make BOE think this is a thing. Lyctors can sense living humans and thus would know where the snipers are regardless of whether or not they actually shot someone, but I don't think Lyctors have gone out with the Cohort in recent times

So Lyctors did at one point in time actually engage with BOE (beyond Gideon's mission to assassinate Wake) rather than simply hanging out with John and fighting resurrection beasts for him. Since it took them like 1000 years or so to figure out that the resurrection beasts were out there, maybe it happened during that time? They weren't in the low single digits back then, but they probably have updated information on that from Wake

I have to wonder if they can recognize Lyctors, and would have recognized Harrow and Ianthe as Lyctors when they came to Canaan House, or if they just thought they were dead. It seems unlikely that they would have recognized them as Lyctors given that even actual necromancers were unable to identify Corona as not being a necromancer

It is interesting that necromancers are referred to exclusively using it/its pronouns throughout this whole document, and in a couple cases I think "human" is being used to mean "non-necromancer", as if necromancers are not actually human. This sort of makes me wonder if whatever contingent of BOE that arrived at Canaan House ever even realized the Judith was a necromancer. From the way they talk about them in this document, I don't think they would have taken her captive if they had realized that

It's also interesting that BOE doesn't seem to have ever realized that regular necromancers are kind of useless in space

[katakaluptastrophy]

The Nine Houses must be absolutely terrifying to fight.

And not just because their invasions start with a drop ship full of pimply 14 year olds inexplicably armed with zweihanders whose entire remit is to cause a mass casualty event for necromantic purposes...

We're mostly introduced to the schools of necromancy at the beginning of GTN, before we have broader context beyond "ooh, new magic system." But if you think about it in light of what we later learn about the Cohort:

Second House: they can literally drain your life force to power up their cavaliers. "It’s said they all die screaming"

Third House: that pile of corpses in no man's land? They're being used as a power up. Also, someone's just rearranged your face; your arse is on backwards.

Fourth House: that pile of corpses in no man's land? They're bombs now. And if you corner a Fourth House necro, they're a bomb too!

Fifth House: at best, they're the weird technicians for the Houses' horrifying blood and monolith based FTL system. At worst, it doesn't matter if you kill yourself to avoid capture or if you hold out under interrogation until you expire, they can still interrogate your ghost.

Sixth House: drop a cigarette or shed a hair on a clandestine operation? These guys now know your age, shoe size, and approximate location. They know what you had for breakfast. They know what you held in the last 12 hours.

Seventh House: that pile of corpses in no man's land? They're armed and marching on you now.

Eigth House: why is he glowing? WHY IS HE GLOWING?!

Ninth House: the guy next to you's bones just became an IED.

[nonasbirthday]

so what order do all of these extra stories go in? I'm confused, I know there's others beside the unwanted guest

Yeah, it's a lot to sort out! (What a lovely problem - to have lots of bonus content!) If you have already read GTN, HTN, and NTN I wouldn't stress too much about the reading order; the short stories don't interface with each other as much as they interface with the novels. But if you were to line up the novels and the short stories chronologically, it would look something like this:

The Mysterious Study of Dr. Sex - takes place pre-GTN

Gideon the Ninth

As Yet Unsent - takes place between the end of GTN and the middle of HTN

Harrow the Ninth

Nona the Ninth

The Unwanted Guest - takes place during the latter part of NTN

And then of course there is some additional content at the end of the first two books which are not quite official short stories (I don't think) but have some valuable tidbits in them! Even the glossaries and pronunciation guides have me doing double-takes sometimes as I reread. GTN has "A Sermon on Cavaliers and Necromancers" and "Cohort Intelligence Files." HTN has a "Blood of Eden Memorandum for Record." I have the paperbacks of GTN and HTN so I am not sure if these are included in the hardcovers. (Edit: it seems the extra content is not included in the hardcovers or the audiobooks.) But in any case I would say these are best read exactly where they are at the end of each book.

I don't think I'm forgetting anything, but I hope folks will add on if I am!

[harrowharks-iliac-crest]

Harrow the Ninth: Appendices

Glossary

I don't actually have much to say about the Glossary here, except for remarking on this one sentence in the entry for the Blood of Eden:

On Wake's death, Blood of Eden withdrew somewhat out of the eye of the Houses to regroup, but were enlivened by the reappearance of their legendary commander in the form of a revenant.

It's news to me that Wake was a revenant! Revenants, if I followed the lore correctly (rudely, there isn't a Glossary entry for them here or in GtN), exist when planets are killed (or resurrected - as the Resurrection Beasts are revenants). Is Wake's form as The Sleeper a revenant, and could she possess Cytherea's body as a revenant? This might be the first mention or inkling that people can become revenants as well.

(Hang on, I have to look something up -)

Ah, here it is, right at the beginning of the book:

"What happens to the soul?" "In the case of gradual death [...] transition is automatc and straightforward. [...] In cases of apopneumatic shock, where death is sudden and violent, the energy burst can be sufficient to countermand osmotic pressure and leave the soul temporarily isolated. Whence we gain the ghost, and the revenant."

This was early enough in Harrow the Ninth that I didn't pay much attention to it, I didn't know what it meant, but I remembered revenants coming up in this conversation. Though the mention I remembered was a little later:

"[...]when a soul is so rudely taken away from the planet--" [...] "A revenant," you said. "Always a revenant," he said. "Every single time, a goddamned revenant."

So I remembered revenants in the context of planets and resurrection beasts, but not people. But people very much can have revenants, and that's what was going on with Wake. Interesting!! Something to look out for for the reread.

Let's move on.

Blood of Eden Memorandum for Record

Oooohh, a look into some of the inner workings of Blood of Eden: The underlying ideology, strategies and plans of this group of rebel insurgents. Should be a fun read!

Your first tactical consideration should always be to identify present necromancers with the highest achievable degree of certainty.

Sounds easy, is anything but; the section directly after this goes into dispelling a bunch of myths regarding necromancers.

I'd look for someone who is physically small, unimposing, even weak or easily overlooked; possibly someone who is with a cavalier (armed, physically larger and stronger). This is by no means a fool-proof method, though.

Necromancers cannot "resurrect" the dead, [...] They often can animate human corpses--whether recent or heavily decayed--and use them as puppets [...] if a comrade is killed in battle, and their body is later seen walking around, they are not "alive." [...] They cannot be salvaged; they can only been avenged.

Well, when you put it like that, necromancy does sound like an absolutely horrifying craft which needs to be opposed at all costs. Yikes.

The offensive technique most commonly attributed to necromancers in popular anecdote - the so-called "death ray" - appears to be complete fiction.

This made me laugh. Though the idea is terrifying, it seems like the idea of necromancers has been rather elevated and twisted in popular culture. This is most likely to be common on occupied planets, where necromancers can't access thanergy and therefore don't have their full powers - and therefore presumably just don't go there very much.

Oh -

Necromancers seemingly do, however, gain energy from proximity to violent death. Although this is a disgusting notion, intelligence sources and tactical analysis make clear that a major House strategy involves trying to inflict multiple ground casualties as quickly as possible at the beginning of an engagement, in order to give any necromancers present a "boost" in their abilities.

Makes sense - if a planet lacks thalergy, just make some.

The actual mechanics of this process are still very poorly understood, and investigating them remains a strategic priority.

It didn't occur to Wake to ask her Lyctor friends about this? They should be able to explain at least the basics of this just fine.

If a necromancer happens to be in the next room - even if it cannot see, hear or in any way perceive your presence - it will immediately know that its minion has been killed, and how. Even if you conceal yourself or leave the room, it will still somehow know where you are.

The use of the "it" pronoun here is chilling. Clearly, necromancers are not quite seen as humans by the Blood of Eden. The act of necromancy - even the aptitude for necromancy - depersons them in the insurgents' eyes. (At least some of them - assuming that this was a collaborative effort - in the next bullet point, necromancers are referred to with singular they.)

Like, I can see why you'd want to deperson them in this way, given how they see necromancy. But hey, necromancers are people too.

Anyway, what they're describing here is definitely scary, especially from a recon/assassination attempt perspective. How the fuck do you even.

Ah yes, by killing the necromancer(s) first, if you can, or just avoiding engagement if you can't.

It would be dangerous to end this memorandum without mentioning the Emperor's most powerful servants, the so-called "Lyctors". Where these creatures are concerned, no normal rules of engagement apply. Avoid them at all costs.

This memorandum was likely written before Commander Wake's time, if they know so little about necromantic theory and caution to avoid Lyctors at all costs. I kinda really want to know how the collaboration between Wake and Augustine and Mercymorn kicked off - did she seek them out? Or did they look for her? She was driven by the desire to find a way to kill the Emperor, and with him the Empire - the Lyctors were driven by the desire to find out what had happened to Alecto, and what was in the Locked Tomb. And they were willing to sacrifice an entire Empire for it.

Which also, still doesn't explain the affair between Wake and Gideon the First/Pyrrha.

This concludes today's liveblog session - we will be back tomorrow hopefully, with As Yet Unsent!!

[onedeadkitty]

Does anyone know what sections in the back of Harrow the Ninth are spoilery and which are not.

I’m pretty sure the Glossery is safe but what about ‘Blood of Eden memorandum for record’, or the Pronunciation Guide?

[iviarellereads]

Harrow the Ninth, Bonus Content, Blood of Eden Memorandum for Record

(Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For detail on The Locked Tomb coverage and the index, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

A guide to fighting necromancers, for the BOE.

SUBJECT: Confirming Strategies for Unit-to-House Combat; Debunking Pro-House Martial Propaganda DISSEMINATION POINT [REDACTED] Tartessus Wing, Merv Wing, Suva Wing(1)

The memo is about tactical considerations when engaging House forces, to maximize long-term damage to the Houses, and minimize casualties on your side. Because the BOE are at a numbers disadvantage, there's a strong caution that it is never worth dying purely to reduce the Houses' numbers.(2)

The first priority is to identify all necromancers present, with the highest degree of certainty. If you can't be sure there's not a necromancer present, the cardinal rule is: DO NOT ENGAGE.

It's commonly believed that House necromancers often advertised their presence, showing up in black robes carried by skeleton constructs. Even if it was once true, it isn't now. They are almost indistinguishable from their peers.

Following this is a section dispelling rumours and myths about necromancers and their available powers, and all statements have been backed up by at least two BOE personnel from first-hand observation in combat.

Necromancers are not immortal, or invulnerable. Any wound that would be instantly fatal to a normal human is instantly fatal to a necromancer, and they can feel pain. They cannot fully resurrect the dead, but they can animate the bodies of the dead. Anyone seen walking around after their death is not truly alive, they are lost, and their bodily remains being desecrated. Necromancers cannot resurrect themselves or each other from the dead. They do possess rapid healing capabilities, but not limb regeneration, and it's unknown if they can regenerate organs either. They can apply their healing to others and themselves, though the shock of certain injuries may cause them difficulty in focusing to heal themselves.

Necromancers do possess a wide range of offensive abilities, the cataloguing of which remains a work in progress. Some of the most commonly encountered are the basic animation of human corpses, the use of organic matter as physical weaponry (bone shrapnel, defensive shields of human or animal tissue, etc.), and a "draining" or "leeching" ability that causes nearby human targets to suffer extreme physical weakness and eventual death.(3) Most of these abilities strike inexperienced soldiers and civilians as horrifying and grotesque, and their power lies as much in their psychological effects as in their actual potential for damage[.]

The supposed "death ray" of necromancers(4) appears to be a complete fiction and has never been observed in combat, even in conditions where they are unlikely to keep anything in reserve. Necromancers do not have limitless power, uninjured necromancers do retreat during engagements from apparent exhaustion. They do, however, gain energy from being near active violent death. It's clear that the Houses have used tactics to inflict ground casualties quickly and early in battle to fuel their necromancers' powers.

One of the necromantic abilities least known by civilians is their "death sense". They seem to receive a burst of information about the circumstances of any deaths that occur in their vicinity.(5) If a necromancer is in the next room when you kill a soldier, they may have instant knowledge of the death, even without making a noise. And if the death of one of their own is from a gun fired by the BOE, the necromancer can locate the sniper from the information they gather from the death. Necromancers have been found to have this ability up to a confirmed range of three thousand meters.

So, with all that in mind, any plan needs to retain flexibility to account for unexpected tactics on the other side, but you can form a loose plan for engagement with the enemy:

"Identify necromantic presence" using all intel available to you. (Long-range observation, monitor comms, intercept intel, and any others.)

If you are certain there is zero necromantic presence, proceed with a normal tactical approach.

If only one necromancer is present, priority is to kill or damage it until it cannot use its powers. A headshot from a distance is the most reliable method, but do not pick off non-necromantic personnel first.

If you establish that there are multiple necromancers present, proceed with extreme caution, and do not engage unless absolutely necessary. If it is necessary, the best option is to use distraction and decoys to separate the necromancers from each other, or engineer a simultaneous death by incendiary bombardment.

Do not enter extended combat with a necromancer present, period. Every casualty will empower the necromancer.

If in doubt about any of the above, do not commit to engagement.

It would be dangerous to end this memorandum without mentioning the Emperor's most powerful servants, the so-called "Lyctors." Where these creatures are concerned, no normal rules of engagement apply. Avoid them at all costs.

Lyctors will not hide their presence, as they have no need. They cannot be harmed, and their powers are seemingly inexhaustible. Intel suggests there are only "low single digits" of them in existence, and they are not deployed often or to normal circumstances. If you think one is nearby, however, proceed with caution as you gather what intel you can and transmit it up the chain of command.

=====

(1) Curious names. Tartessus is a region in ancient Spain, mentioned in Greek documents. Tarsessos was mythic in the same way as Atlantis for the Greeks, and their civilization disappeared as quickly, and by some accounts, in the same way. Though, artifacts are being found today of Tartessos, but not of Atlantis. In similar fashion, Merv or Merve was another name for Alexandria, of the (questionable) burned library fame. (A library or a warehouse for a library definitely burned, but not "all human knowledge" was stored there or lost.) Suva is the capital of Fiji, only very recently raised from a village to a city, but the word "suva" also appears in Sanskrit as one of the seven lokas/lokams (realms/gates?) of Hinduism, particularly suva or suvaha is the one related to thinking. I'm not sure how these things are related enough to all be wing/division names. (2) The Houses have the replacements in the rear that the BOE don't. (3) I believe this was said to be a Second House specialty, though the Eighth siphoning is obviously close akin to it. (4) Genuinely not quite sure what this refers to. Necromantic spells like Ray of Enfeeblement in D&D systems, maybe? Very loose reference to the Death Star's planet-destroying ray? Anyone's guess unless Muir confirmed it somewhere I can't find. (5) More likely, a necromancer can feel the death and summon nearby spirits. But this is sort of how you'd interpret the resulting information if you were on the other side, isn't it? Even the gunshot connection later in the explanation could be spiritual knowledge rather than the mystical stuff described here.

[elljayvee]

I'm sure someone's got a list out there, but this is my best guess at approximate chronological order -- ordering's a little difficult as some of the short works take place during the novels, and some aren't timestamped in a meaningful way.

A Sermon on Cavaliers and Necromancers (paperback/ebook extra for GtN. one section of this is the oldest chronological thing in the series. the whole thing might be written, in-universe, before "The Mysterious Study", so I've put it here. It won't make a lot of sense if one hasn't read GtN.)

The Mysterious Study of Dr. Sex (at Reactor. Mostly takes place about 10 years before Gideon the Ninth, but should be read afterward. The very lightweight story framing is set afterwards and contains spoilers for the book).

Blood of Eden Memorandum For Record (paperback/ebook extra for Harrow the Ninth. Do not read before reading HtN.)

Cohort Intelligence Files (paperback/ebook extra for GtN. In-universe, written before most of GtN takes place. Probably best read right after reading GtN.)

Gideon the Ninth

Harrow the Ninth

As Yet Unsent (paperback/ebook extra for HtN, set during HtN)

Nona the Ninth

The Unwanted Guest (paperback/ebook extra for NtN; takes place during the second half of NtN)

Lictorhood, at a cost unthinkable.

And we're 1 book in.

Someone tell me what order the stories go between the books?

Also this was all FUCKING MURDERSTUCK-

[aromantic-eight]

Thinking about what it says about my place in the Locked Tomb fandom that my favorite part of Harrow the Ninth is the Blood of Eden Memorandum For Record.