Barkus
Names: Barkuscaravan Master
First appears in Book 1: The Dreaming Void, chapter 7 (Inigo’s third dream)
Appearances
What you know
Book 1: The Dreaming Void
- Ch 7Barkus leads a caravan due in Ashwell before month's end and owes Akeem favours.
- Ch 7Barkus is the caravan Master, over a century old but hale, with large white sideburns, who knew Akeem and remembers Edeard from four summers ago.
- Ch 7Barkus accepts Edeard and Salrana as family tyros on the journey to Makkathran, on condition that they work their passage.
- Ch 7Barkus forbids Edeard from teaching his concealment trick to anyone, calling it good political instinct to keep it secret.
- Ch 7Barkus asks to be told at once if Edeard finds a way for farsight to detect concealment.
- Ch 9Barkus is the old caravan master, who treats Edeard and Salrana kindly and offers them a place on the road if the city fails.
- Ch 9Barkus smoothly deflects the militia captain's prejudice and explains that militia officers are mostly arrogant, penniless younger sons of old families.
Book 2: The Temporal Void
- Ch 9Barkus is the aged leader of a caravan family, frail after breaking his leg in a fall in the snow, and walks with a stick.
- Ch 9Barkus is warmly fond of Edeard and sighs at the awkward reunion, later gently chiding him for neglecting time for them.
Connections
Key moments
- Book 1 · Ch 7Akeem sends Edeard to Makkathran
Akeem tells Edeard he has outgrown him and should study at the Blue Tower in Makkathran, promising a sponsorship letter and passage with the Barkus caravan this month. Edeard accepts and is told to keep it secret.
- Book 1 · Ch 7Edeard and Salrana secure passage with the caravan
Edeard and Salrana ask Barkus for passage to Makkathran. Edeard demonstrates concealment and offers sculpted guards; Barkus agrees to take them as family tyros, if Edeard keeps the trick secret. They leave in three days.
- Book 1 · Ch 9First sight of Makkathran
The caravan crests the last ridge and Edeard and Salrana see the Iguru Plain and Makkathran in the distance, feeling they chose rightly.
- Book 1 · Ch 9Militia patrol stops the caravan
A militia captain halts the caravan, insults Rulan people, and demands ge-wolves be leashed; Edeard seethes but Barkus keeps the peace.
- Book 1 · Ch 9Entering Makkathran and parting
The caravan enters the north gate. Edeard and Salrana say a tearful goodbye to Barkus and cross into the Ilongo district to start new lives.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Reunion with the caravan families
Edeard takes Kristabel to meet Barkus's caravan, where Salrana greets him with a passionate kiss, exposing his hidden past. Kristabel is cold, Edeard apologizes, and she asks to go home.