Macsen
Names: MacsenMaster of Sampalok
First appears in Book 1: The Dreaming Void, chapter 9 (Inigo’s fourth dream)
Appearances
What you know
Book 1: The Dreaming Void
- Ch 9Macsen is an unrecognized son of a grand family's patriarch, thrown out after his father's death; his shield is very strong.
- Ch 9Macsen is bitter about his father's family, who break the law constantly; he hopes to gain the clout to have them jailed and ruined.
- Ch 9Macsen is cynical about the constables, saying they can only keep an uneasy truce with the gangs.
- Ch 11A joker and matchmaker who flirts with the dressmaker's girls and proposes buying law texts by cheating; he bought drosilk shorts.
- Ch 11His mother has been taken up by the notorious Musician's Guild master Dybal and lives in a maisonette in Cobara.
- Ch 11Macsen is cheerful and teasing, and is thrilled by the chase.
- Ch 11Macsen gets Dinlay drunk on beers spiked with vodka, while the others' beer is watered, so Dinlay will sleep off his gloom.
- Ch 11Macsen is charming, polite and well dressed, popular with women, and is the junior son of a grand family.
- Ch 13Macsen is a charming flirt among Edeard's squadmates and invites the squad to celebrate at the Rakas restaurant.
- Ch 13Macsen flirts with Salrana, but stops once he realises she is interested only in Edeard.
- Ch 13Macsen proposes patrolling Boltan Street in ordinary clothes to catch a suspected scouting gang red-handed.
- Ch 15Macsen hit his head in the scuffle and bled; he wants the squad to start breaking the gangs.
- Ch 15Macsen brought home Nanitte, a theatre dancer, and often goes out drinking at theatres with Edeard and Boyd.
Book 2: The Temporal Void
- Ch 2Macsen distrusts Dinlay, scowling when Edeard says he will keep him on the team.
- Ch 4Macsen blames himself for his mother's beating and is furious at the thugs.
- Ch 4Macsen is bitterly angry at Edeard because Ivarl's thugs attacked his mother, and he feels Edeard does not trust the squad.
- Ch 4Macsen blames himself for telling Nanitte about undercover plans, which may have led to the ambush that got Dinlay shot, but Edeard absolves him.
- Ch 7Macsen doubts the politicians are as predictable as Edeard thinks and is following up on talk in the Ilongo stall holders association.
- Ch 7Macsen distrusts Nanitte and shoots a gang member in the shoulder during the raid.
- Ch 9Macsen tells Edeard that his unique powers frighten people, including the Grand Families, who therefore take great interest in him.
- Ch 9Macsen explains that the Grand Families keep informal, unspoken enforcement arrangements, guarding their estates and punishing gangs that overstep, without formal agreement.
- Ch 9Macsen says a cousin of his late father once hinted that relatives might welcome him as an associate of the family group, but it went no further.
- Ch 9Impersonated Edeard using an improved concealment technique, wearing his jacket and boots, to keep Edeard's absence from being noticed during the arrest.
- Ch 9Macsen is the most self-confident of the squad and reacts with open relief when Kanseen survives the shot.
- Ch 9Macsen proposes to Kanseen in the square with a diamond ring Edeard fetched, and they marry immediately.
- Ch 9Macsen is Kanseen's husband and becomes District Master of Sampalok.
- Ch 12Macsen was appointed a District Master of Sampalok, along with Kanseen; today's vote tests whether their appointment becomes permanent.
- Ch 12Macsen is now District Master of Sampalok, sits on the Upper Council, and is as rich as his half brother.
- Ch 12Macsen was reluctant to come because Kanseen is due to give birth in a few weeks; he plays a prank on Dinlay.
- Ch 12Macsen dies in the ambush but remains as a soul, pledged to stay with Edeard to help bring justice.
- Ch 12Macsen's soul left with Kanseen, saying he would be first to reach Odin's Sea and watch for the others.
- Ch 12Macsen was dead in Edeard's earlier timeline but is alive in the past; Edeard promises he will become a father.
Book 3: The Evolutionary Void
- Ch 5Macsen is Edeard's oldest friend, now stout and wearing fanciful robes of office; he is partner of the mistress of Sampalok and father of Castio.
- Ch 5Macsen calls Edeard a 'glory glutton' and accuses him of wanting to relive the old days.
- Ch 5Macsen is master of Sampalok and warns Edeard not to linger atop the tower; he derides Edeard's jump but then calls him Waterwalker.
- Ch 7Macsen is Sampalok's district master and pressures Edeard to deal with the accommodation crisis.
- Ch 9Macsen, master of Sampalok, greets Edeard on Wharf One; he has gained considerable weight.
- Ch 9Macsen has separated from Kanseen, no longer keeps his study tidy, drinks heavily and is despondent and self-loathing.
- Ch 9Macsen voted for Doblek's proposal to deploy the militia against the blockade, to avoid riots, and regrets it.
- Ch 11Macsen, Edeard's old friend, has declined into drink and self-pity, lives squalidly in Cobara, and rejects unification and Edeard.
- Ch 13Macsen, master of Sampalok, has grown enormous and bedridden for years, but joins Edeard in seeking guidance.
Connections
- member ofConstables
- related toDybalMacsen's mother is Dybal's lover
- friend ofEdeardoldest friend
- partner ofEvala
- partner ofNicolar
- family ofBijuleemother
- enemy ofEdeardtemporary quarrel
- ally ofEdeardsquad member
- member ofEdeard's squad
- partner ofKanseenmarried in this passage
- leadsSampalok districtDistrict Master
- family ofKanseenmarried
- family ofJamicoson
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 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 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 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 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 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 9Capture and imprisonment of the family agent
Edeard disabled a concealed man following him and holds him in a door-less, soundproof cell built by the city. The squad debates what to do with him.
- 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 12Expedition into the Donsori Mountains
Topar, Edeard and a small trusted group ride out disguised as guildsmen to hunt the bandit crew behind raids on Northford and Regentfleet, hoping to capture one alive.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Bandit spotted on the plateau
Using ge-eagles at night, the party spots a bandit with a collared fastfox dressed like the Ashwell attackers and follows him to a concealed hollow.
- Book 2 · Ch 12The gully ambush
Edeard's party enters the bandits' gully, but the bandits knew they were coming and triggered an avalanche and gunfire. Most of Edeard's companions die.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Reunion with parents' souls
Grieving, Edeard sees the souls of Macsen and Dinlay, and with their help sees his parents' faint souls, who stayed to protect him.
- 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 2 · Ch 12Edeard travels back in time
Edeard throws the squad off the slope, then forces the universe to link his memory with the Void's record, and wakes in the woodland camp days earlier, with his dead friends alive.
- Book 2 · Ch 12Edeard aims for an earlier moment
Realising he may not make it back in time before the ambush, Edeard decides to jump further back to the camp near Stibbington on the first day of the road.
- Book 3 · Ch 5Edeard and Macsen argue about purpose
Edeard admits the livestock certificate plan was wrong and says he wants to renew policing methods; Macsen teases him as a glory glutton.
- 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 9Welcome on Wharf One
Edeard lands in the Port district to cheering crowds and is greeted by Macsen, Dinlay and Mayor Doblek, who asks if he sailed around the world.
- Book 3 · Ch 9Meeting with Macsen and Dinlay in Sampalok
Edeard learns of Macsen's breakup and decline, Dinlay's marriage to Hilitte, and the history of Our City, Doblek's election and the militia blockade.
- Book 3 · Ch 11Edeard jumps back through the Void's memory
Repenting his tyranny, Edeard reaches back to a much earlier moment and lands at the foot of the Eyrie tower just after defeating Tathal, reconciles with Kristabel and resolves to live differently.
- 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.