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The Quiet

Utannash in Cielcin ("The Lie"). Obadam in the Vaiartu language ("The Liar"). The Hidden One.

Lord Marlowe’s account makes frequent references to entities not attested to by science or the historical record. These may be broadly divided into two groups: the Quiet, previously described as an extinct race of xenobites of great antiquity, and the Watchers, initially assumed by Lord Marlowe to be the pagan idols of the Cielcin people. Lord Marlowe’s account claims both these groups are real, and that their reality is common knowledge among the Cielcin. It is impossible—from studies of Cielcin writings and artifacts—to conclude that both the Quiet and Watchers are anything but religious fetishes promulgated by the Cielcin faith. That there are the ruins of many ancient races across the galaxy is not disputed in athenaeum. The ruins on Emesh, for instance, exist as Lord Marlowe describes. That these ruins are related to sites on other worlds—such as the Marching Towers of Sadal Suud—has never been corroborated by scholiast research, though I grant this may be the result of Chantry interference in our work. The so-called Quiet hypothesis has existed for thousands of years, but cannot be examined due to Inquisition censors and oversight of our colleges. In any case, Lord Marlowe’s claims that the Quiet is a singular entity, and that the ruins on these worlds are anti-entropic structures traveling backward through time, likewise cannot be corroborated. Further investigation is needed.

—Tor Paulos, Kingdoms of Death: Dramatis Personae

Spoilers ahead, proceed with caution

Text Occurrences:

Empire of Silence

Mentioned

Chapters 55, 56, 63, 64, 69, 73

Present

Chapter 65

Spoilers

Chapter 65: I Dare Not Meet in Dreams (Vision in Calagah Tunnels)

Those green eyes fixed on me, and I half imagined I felt a hand take mine where it splayed against the wall. I tried to scream, but my jaw would not work. My knees buckled, but I did not fall. Those eyes. Those terrible green eyes staring at me out of my face—was it my face? I could see nothing but those eyes. They filled the universe, became the universe, and behind them and through them I beheld countless suns. They scattered like embers and blew out, all but one. Toward it I fell and into a city whose spires and bell towers recalled the castle of my home, but all the buildings were strange. I heard a great wailing, as from an infant, as I stood beneath the vaults of a mighty chapel. There a cradle stood amid shattered statuary, and I approached, but the cradle held nothing but air. The image crumbled, and I fell backward through thick mist. As it parted I beheld a great ship studded with statues of men and gods and devils. She stretched across the heavens and drowned the unfixed stars.

And I saw the Cielcin standing in rank and file amidst the black of space itself, marching in the night. How bright their spears! And the song of them was like the flash of cruel lightning. Where they passed, the stars fell and planets went up like smoke. And I beheld one greater than the rest. Silver was its crown, and silver the inlay of its black armor, and its eyes were terrible as the worlds burning in its wake. The great ship with her statues overshadowed that Pale host and plunged into the nearest star like a knife descending.

Light.

I was blind, though in that brightness I sensed a presence. Shapes moving invisibly, casting no shadows. I tried to cry out, but the words would not come, for I had forgotten them. I felt nothing, heard nothing. Knew nothing.

Save three words.

This must be.

Howling Dark

Mentioned

Chapters 14, 18, 22, 26, 31, 37, 38, 43, 46, 47, 50, 60, 61, 63, 70, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80

Present

Chapters 1, 44, 59, 74

Spoilers

In Chapter 43, Brethren states the Quiet have a message to deliver to Hadrian. He receives a vision that implies that the Quiet were somehow involved in the Eurynasir's detour and Hadrian's arrival on Emesh. In Chapters 73-75, Hadrian is killed by the Cielcin Prince Aranato Otiolo, but the Quiet gives him new life. When Hadrian awakes aboard the Demiurge, he still has his right arm and his head—both cut off by Aranata in single combat.

Demon in White

Mentioned

Chapters 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 14, 16, 17, 23, 24, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 42, 50, 53, 55, 56, 62, 67, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 79, 86, 87

Present

Chapters 48, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70

Spoilers

In Chapter 48, the false arm that Ren & Suzuha Sagara gave Hadrian following his resurrection saves his life during combat in the Grand Colosseum on Forum. In Chapters 65-70, Hadrian feels wind on the airless planet Annica. Unknown if Hadrian was physically present or in a vision, but the Quiet shows Hadrian a new mountain on Annica. This mountain is the home of an ancient kingdom. Hadrian sees his future.

Kingdoms of Death

Mentioned

Chapters 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 44, 45, 47, 48, 50

Present

Chapter 22

Spoilers

N/A

Ashes of Man

Mentioned

Chapters 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 25, 26, 28, 30, 35, 36, 38, 40, 45, 46, 47

Present

Chapters 1, 17, 24, 43

Spoilers

N/A

Disquiet Gods

Mentioned

Chapters 1, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 28, 29, 31, 33, 38, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 50, 53, 56, 57, 58, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 68

Present

Chapters 4, 11, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 39, 40, 42, 48, 55, 59, 62, 66

Spoilers

N/A

Shadows Upon Time

Mentioned

N/A

Present

N/A

Spoilers

N/A

Novellas

Mentioned

The Lesser Devil - N/A

Queen Amid Ashes - Chapters 1, 3

The Dregs of Empire - Chapters 8, 10
Present

The Lesser Devil - N/A

Queen Amid Ashes - N/A

The Dregs of Empire - N/A
Spoilers

The Lesser Devil - N/A

Queen Amid Ashes - N/A

The Dregs of Empire - N/A

Tales of the Sun Eater & Other Stories

Mentioned

Tales 3 (After the Feast)
Tales 4 (The Acosmist)

Present

N/A

Spoilers

N/A