Kanseen
First appears in Book 1: The Dreaming Void, chapter 9 (Inigo’s fourth dream)
Appearances
What you know
Book 1: The Dreaming Void
- Ch 9Kanseen is a scowling recruit with heavily veiled thoughts and farsight almost as good as Edeard's.
- Ch 9Kanseen refuses the role of a tradesman's wife and is sharp-tongued, rebuffing Macsen's flirtation.
- Ch 11A probationer who comes across as superior; her family lives in Bellis and her mother disapproved of her becoming a constable.
- Ch 11Kanseen plans to become a bodyguard for a District Master family after a few years as a constable, and says she can name her price.
- Ch 11Kanseen predicts Chae will nominate Edeard as squad leader, saying he is stronger and smarter than Dinlay.
- Ch 11Kanseen comes from Sampalok.
- Ch 11Kanseen has short hair and recently broke off an engagement to a man who wanted a traditional girl who knew her place.
- Ch 11Kanseen tells Edeard that nobility comes from within, not from bloodline.
- Ch 13Kanseen is a squadmate; her sister, who is pregnant and married to a Shipwright's Guild man, came to the ceremony.
- Ch 13Kanseen loves Edeard but refuses to sleep with him, believing his unresolved feelings for Salrana stand between them; she says she can wait.
- Ch 13Kanseen plans a career that does not involve being a bodyguard for noble families.
- Ch 13Kanseen has farsight roughly equal to Edeard's but could not tell gold wire from steel wire at five feet, undermining her claim.
- Ch 15Kanseen is Edeard's best friend in the squad; any awkwardness from their graduation-night kiss has faded, though neither has discussed it.
- Ch 15Kanseen is Edeard's friend and fellow constable; she kisses him and says she is proud of him.
Book 2: The Temporal Void
- Ch 2Kanseen is bothered by Edeard's success with girls but hides it behind a strong mental shield.
- Ch 4Kanseen bluntly defends the exclusions, pointing to the racketeers' victims, and says the city will be wiped clean of their kind.
- Ch 4Kanseen shot a kidnapper in the back of the head during the raid and teases Edeard about his many girls.
- Ch 7Kanseen escorted Rapsail home and then privately asked Edeard why things with Kristabel had not worked out, revealing the marriage custom.
- Ch 9Kanseen believes Edeard was chosen, and that the Grand Families fear him because they cannot believe someone so strong is honest.
- Ch 9Kanseen predicts the gangs will fight and that the family agents will come at Edeard with everything next time.
- Ch 9Kanseen was shot in the chest during the riot but saved by her drosilk waistcoat; Macsen kissed her in relief.
- Ch 9Kanseen warns of the militia's approach and tells Edeard not to argue publicly with Bise.
- Ch 9Kanseen accepts Macsen's proposal and marries him, though she is muddy and wet and reluctant at first.
- Ch 9Kanseen is Macsen's wife and becomes District Mistress of Sampalok; she is radiantly happy but nervous at the ceremony.
- Ch 12Kanseen was appointed a District Master of Sampalok, along with Macsen.
- Ch 12Kanseen is Macsen's wife and shares the Sampalok Mastership and Council seat with him; she worries about keeping Bise's old staff.
- Ch 12Kanseen is pregnant, due in about a month and a half, and is waiting for her new mansion to finish growing.
- Ch 12Kanseen's soul left to search for her lost baby son in the Heart.
Book 3: The Evolutionary Void
- Ch 7Kanseen is Sampalok's district mistress, gave Edeard his muroak desk, and is married to Macsen.
- Ch 11Kanseen was Edeard's partner for two years but left over disagreement; she saw his unification as domination.
- Ch 13Kanseen is extremely frail and struggles to breathe, kept alive by willpower, and takes guidance with Edeard.
Connections
- member ofConstables
- friend ofEdeard
- partner ofEdeardmutual attraction; she declines for now
- ally ofEdeardsquadmate
- member ofEdeard's squad
- partner ofMacsenmarried in this passage
- family ofKathlynnsisters
- leadsSampalok districtDistrict Mistress
- family ofMacsenmarried
Key moments
- Book 1 · Ch 9Constable recruit psychic tests
Woken before dawn by Chae, Edeard and fellow recruits are tested on psychic abilities. Edeard hides his strength, but Chae detects it and makes him lift the heavy ball.
- Book 1 · Ch 9Recruits talk over breakfast
At the station Edeard and fellow recruits eat breakfast, share why they became constables, and explain the Makkathran gangs and their protection rackets to the newly arrived Edeard.
- Book 1 · Ch 11Solarin's law lecture
Master Solarin lectures the probationers on residence law and assigns reading on weapons law, while Edeard is bored and Dinlay is eager.
- Book 1 · Ch 11Patrol through Silvarum
Chae leads the probationers on patrol across Arrival Canal into Silvarum and its markets; Kanseen shares gossip about Dybal and Macsen's mother, and noble girls tease Edeard.
- Book 1 · Ch 11Craft market robbery chase
Thieves wound stall holder Kavine and steal a box of gold chains. Edeard, Macsen and Kanseen defy Chae and chase them to Albaric Street, but the thieves escape by gondola.
- Book 1 · Ch 11Edeard recovers the box
Edeard uses his third hand to snatch the box from the fleeing gondola and brings it back, taunting the thieves; he also unknowingly offends Mistress Florell.
- Book 1 · Ch 11Chae's rebuke and the market's gratitude
Chae angrily reprimands Edeard for disobeying orders, but the stall holders, led by Monrol and Setersis, celebrate the returned goods and praise the constables.
- Book 1 · Ch 11Chae debriefs the squad
Chae calms his anger, admits fault with the squad's market chase, explains the risks of reprisal and escalation by gangs, forgives them, and orders strict procedure in future.
- Book 1 · Ch 11Drinking at the Olovan's Eagle
The squad drinks at the tavern; Macsen secretly spikes Dinlay's beer with vodka to ease his guilt, and the friends pledge to stand together whatever happens.
- Book 1 · Ch 11Edeard shares Ashwell with Kanseen
Walking home, Edeard shares a memory of Ashwell with Kanseen and reveals bandits destroyed it. Later, in bed, his farsight explores the fissures beneath Makkathran and senses the city's thoughts.
- Book 1 · Ch 13Celebration at Rakas
Edeard, Salrana and squadmates set out by gondola to the Rakas restaurant, hosted by Macsen's mother and Dybal.
- Book 1 · Ch 13Celebration lunch at Rakas
Dybal toasts Macsen's squad and Edeard's promotion to squad leader, and announces his engagement to Bijulee. He discusses orphanages, the nobility and Mistress Florell's power.
- Book 1 · Ch 13Kanseen rejects Edeard
After walking Salrana home, Edeard and Kanseen kiss at the tenement. Kanseen declines to go to bed with him and urges him to resolve his feelings for Salrana. Edeard goes to bed angry.
- Book 1 · Ch 13Squad catches the Silvarum thief
Edeard spots the market thief with two accomplices through his ge-eagle. The squad surrounds them; Edeard enters the underground storerooms through a hidden fissure, confronts the thieves, and the squad arrests them.
- Book 1 · Ch 13Thieves' trial
Arminel, Omasis and Harri plead not guilty; Cherix argues they entered the storeroom to help, and discredits Edeard and Kanseen's testimony as unprovable.
- Book 1 · Ch 15The bakery extortion trap
The squad stakes out Isoix's bakery for gang extortion. Edeard senses danger; Boyd announces arrest, but the gang members flee, having known they were being watched.
- Book 1 · Ch 15Dinlay's chase and the ambush
Dinlay disobeys Edeard and chases the gang to Birmingham Pool. Edeard's ge-eagle is killed by gang ge-eagles. Arminel steps out and shoots at Dinlay.
- Book 1 · Ch 15Ambush at Birmingham Pool
Arminel's gang shoots Dinlay and pushes Edeard and Dinlay into the pool. Edeard nearly drowns saving Dinlay and is pulled out by his friends with a punt pole.
- Book 1 · Ch 15Edeard walks on water and arrests Arminel
Edeard walks across the pool on telekinetically stabilized water, shares his sight with all Makkathran, stops Arminel's bullet, breaks his nose and arrests the gang. The crowd hails him Waterwalker.
- Book 2 · Ch 2The New Year raid
Edeard leads combined squads, deceives the Bellis and Neph squads, seizes the real ingots and Ivarl's cellar hoard in a Myco warehouse, and arrests Lian as Ivarl arrives furious.
- Book 2 · Ch 4Bijulee beaten by thugs
Edeard's squad gathers at Dybal's home in Cobara after four thugs assaulted Bijulee as a warning to Macsen, apparently linked to Ivarl. Edeard promises to prevent a repeat.
- Book 2 · Ch 4Squad quarrel at Jeavons station
Macsen angrily accuses Edeard of not trusting the squad; Edeard admits he hid things out of fear and promises to reveal the gangs' scale soon.
- Book 2 · Ch 4Edeard summoned to the squad
During an evening with Jessile, Edeard notices Vilby crossing into Silvarum and leaves, then reveals himself to the waiting squad on Golard Street.
- Book 2 · Ch 4Vilby exposed
Using concealment, Edeard's squad bursts into a private room at the Black Horse, catching Vilby and Ivarl's spy Nanitte; Edeard banishes Vilby from the station and tenement.
- Book 2 · Ch 4Squad confronts Ivarl's infiltration
At Olovan's Eagle Edeard reveals that Nanitte, Chiaran and Ranalee were Ivarl's agents; the squad recommits and Edeard lays out his plan to drive gangs from the districts.
- Book 2 · Ch 4Showdown on the bridge
Pocklan and seven gang men try to cross into Jeavons; Cherix argues legally for them. Edeard produces a warrant naming Cherix and flings him into Birmingham Pool, and the gang retreats.
- Book 2 · Ch 4Confrontation with a racketeer's wife
On festival morning, Eddis's wife confronts Edeard over her husband's exile. Kanseen rebukes her; Edeard offers to cancel the warrant if he quits the gang.
- Book 2 · Ch 4Escape from the mansion
Edeard evades Florrel, Julan, and Finitan's political pressure, persuades Homelt to lock the squad in a cellar, then takes them through the floor to the canal tunnels.
- Book 2 · Ch 4Rescue attempt begins
The squad rises concealed into the cellars; Edeard smashes through Mirnatha's door and shields her as shots ring out.
- Book 2 · Ch 4Rescue of Mirnatha
In a gunfight in the cellar, Edeard and his squad kill the kidnappers and free Mirnatha. Edeard uncovers and kills the last concealed kidnapper, who dies and Edeard sees his soul leave.
- Book 2 · Ch 4Triumphant return home
Edeard carries Mirnatha by gondola along the canals past cheering crowds to the Culverit mansion, where Julan and Kristabel are reunited with her and invite the squad to a feast.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Night at the Poilus Theater
After a Culverit party, Edeard and Kristabel join his squad at the Poilus to hear Dybal's band, dancing, drinking and smoking kestric.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Ambush on Riorn Street
Edeard's squad intercepts Medath's enforcers about to cripple Rapsail, and arrests several. Medath escapes. Edeard releases the captured men and orders them to leave Makkathran.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Edeard learns of the marriage custom
Kanseen reveals that a week away together means Edeard was expected to ask Kristabel's father for her hand; the whole city expects it and Kristabel is miserable.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Rapsail rescued and Charyau converted
Edeard's squad drives off Sentan's enforcers and saves Rapsail; next day Charyau commits to organizing Neph's merchants against the gangs.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Raid on the Eyrie gun exchange
Edeard's squad and constables ambush the handover in the tower, capturing most gang members; Edeard chases Medath up the stairs and finds hidden foes on the platform, one striking him.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Death of Sergeant Chae
Medath's body falls and crushes Chae. Edeard gifts his perception so everyone, including the Pythia, sees Chae's spirit, which departs toward the nebulae.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Edeard wakes
Edeard wakes two days later, learns the guns came from the Weapons Guild, and is reunited with his friends.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Planning mass arrests
At Jeavons station, Edeard's team reviews files on seventy-two identified gang leaders. He aims for a hundred and plans to detain them twenty-two days without charge to break the gangs before the election.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Spy captured in Moslet Avenue
Edeard leads his squad into Moslet Avenue, spots a concealed follower with Finitan's technique, stuns him with a thunderbolt and drags him into the tunnels. Friends then voice concern that Edeard's power frightens people.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Spying on Buate's gang lords' meeting
Using Finitan's ge-mouse, Edeard and the squad watch Buate and other gang lords. Buate announces a plan to resist arrest with citywide riots before the election.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Decoy arrest and wave of arsons
While Macsen, disguised as Edeard, is taken to court on Buate's warrant, the real Edeard torches homes of gang leaders, discrediting the case's identification evidence.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Arrest of Buate
Edeard and his squad arrest Buate in Sampalok, scaring off a gathering mob with a burning oil fireball and neutralizing a fire trap via the city.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Sampalok riots
Buate's call triggers mass rioting and looting across Sampalok; arrest teams struggle and only eight of the hundred are caught, and Kanseen is shot but saved by her waistcoat.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Boyd killed by Mirayse
While helping an injured lad in a baker's shop, Boyd is shot dead by Mirayse. Edeard sees his soul, which bids farewell and urges Edeard to be bold.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Militia sent into Sampalok
The Mayor orders armed militia against the rioters. Edeard, defying orders, travels underground with his squad to stop them, while Finitan explains Owain's political maneuvering.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Clash at Cloud Canal
Lieutenant Eustace's platoon blocks Edeard; Edeard drops water on them, summons a twister to scatter burning barricades, while his squad fights the soldiers, then he proceeds to the plaza.
- Book 2 · Ch 9Wedding of Macsen and Kanseen
Edeard prompts Macsen to propose with a ring from the wreckage, and a Mother marries the couple in Sampalok square before the crowd.
- Book 2 · Ch 9New mansion for Sampalok's Master and Mistress
Edeard clears away the debris of Bise's mansion, presents Macsen and Kanseen as the new Master and Mistress of Sampalok, and begins reshaping the city to grow their new hexagonal mansion.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Edeard explains his plan for Marcol
Edeard tells Macsen and Kanseen that Marcol's psychic gift may signal the Lady's teachings taking hold and Querencia nearing readiness to summon the Skylords.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Death of Buate
Edeard tortures Buate to death with his mind in the Culverit courtyard; Macsen and Kanseen then depart as souls.
- Book 3 · Ch 5Procession to the tower
Edeard lifts Finitan, and with Dinlay and the doctor they go by gondola to the Lady's church, where the Pythia, Kanseen, Kristabel and Macsen join them heading to a tower.
- Book 3 · Ch 7Meeting in Sampalok
Edeard and Kristabel visit Macsen and Kanseen to discuss the housing crisis caused by the pilgrims awaiting the Skylords.
- Book 3 · Ch 7Edeard agrees to run for Mayor
Pressed by Macsen, Kristabel, Kanseen and Dinlay, Edeard accepts that he will stand for Mayor; Dinlay will organise the campaign.
- Book 3 · Ch 13Edeard takes guidance
Edeard, Kristabel, Macsen, Kanseen and Dinlay are accepted by a Skylord. As their bodies dissolve, Edeard gives the world the gift of travelling back through one's life to begin again.