Creyn
Names: CreynLord CreynChiefthe Tanu healerthe farspeakerCreyn the RedactorCreynas
First appears in Book 1: The Many-Colored Land, chapter 23 (3)
Appearances
What you know
Book 1: The Many-Colored Land
- Ch 23Creyn is a Tanu lord nearly 2.5 meters tall, with pale pupil-less blue eyes and long jointed fingers, and he is not human.
- Ch 23Creyn can speak mind-to-mind and coerce and redact, but cannot read deeply or far; he has shielded deeper mental layers.
- Ch 23Creyn personally interviews Elizabeth because the gate guardians sensed she is an unusual traveler, and says she will go to Muriah.
- Ch 23Creyn says a group of nearly one hundred arrived through the portal twenty-seven years ago and could not adapt to local conditions.
- Ch 24Creyn is a very tall Tanu overlord who fits torcs on captives and forbids anyone to harm Stein, who will be welcome in the capital.
- Ch 27Creyn is a Tanu leader escorting the prisoners; he set a gray torc on Stein to soothe him and block pain.
- Ch 27Creyn says Lord Dionket is the greatest Tanu redactor, yet that none could have done better than Elizabeth.
- Ch 27Creyn will deepen the neural envelope of Stein's gray torc at Roniah so Stein can recover in a few days.
- Ch 28A Tanu healer who escorts the humans, stops their psychic fights, and rebukes Raimo's cruelty.
- Ch 28Senses Aiken's sporting instinct would suit the Hunt, and feels disgust and age-old despair about it.
- Ch 28Warns Elizabeth that other Tanu are less well-disposed than he, and tells a puffin parable about accepting a deal with fishes.
- Ch 30Tanu who guided the captives to Roniah and briefed Bryan; he explains Tanu society, torcs and reproductive policy with unruffled calm.
- Ch 32Creyn halts Aiken and Raimo's dockside antics and says he will program mental restraints on their major metapsychic functions until they are trained at the capital.
- Ch 32Creyn privately tells Elizabeth that torc restraint is adequate for now, but Aiken's gold may later overpower silver and may require termination.
- Ch 34A Tanu with medical skill who escorts the prisoners, he volunteers to help at the difficult birth of Lady Estella-Sirone's twins.
- Ch 36Creyn is a Tanu physician who escorts the human prisoners to the Tanu capital and healed Stein's wounds without a regen-tank.
- Ch 38Creyn speaks mentally to torc-wearers, offers to 'program oblivion' for the descent, and guides the travelers to Muriah.
Book 2: The Golden Torc
- Ch 1Creyn, a Tanu escort, says Aiken's escape from the torc was expected and that Mayvar can detect him anywhere.
- Ch 1Creyn hopes to work with Elizabeth at Redact House later.
- Ch 1Creyn, a healer and redactor, describes the capital's guild headquarters and tells Bryan he will be encouraged to study Tanu social structure.
- Ch 1Creyn rewards Skipper Highjohn for his service by giving him a mental ecstasy that leaves him convulsing on the wheelhouse floor.
- Ch 6Creyn, a friendly exotic healer, escorts Sukey to the College of Redactors and urges her to be strong, bide her time and keep hope.
- Ch 6Creyn tells Sukey that Stein and Aiken Drum face a hard road, but hers may be harder.
- Ch 7Creyn arrives with servitors after the killing and is secretly on Stein's side, though he warned Dionket this plan was a mistake.
- Ch 7Creyn says Sukey must now be hidden until the Grand Combat and that their plans must move faster.
- Ch 31Creyn, a tall exotic, brings Stein and Sukey to the balloon and presents Felice to Elizabeth.
- Ch 37Creyn, a Tanu healer, wakes Bryan and says goodbye, saying Bryan is unaware of what he has done.
Book 3: The Nonborn King
- Ch 6Creyn, a 634-year-old Tanu redactor, will stay at Black Crag Lodge as Elizabeth's senior servant, even for the rest of his life.
- Ch 6Creyn tested Basil and Burke and found them compatible with the golden tores they now wear, and helps them screen their emotions.
- Ch 13A Tanu healer and experienced redactor, he is learning higher farsensing from Elizabeth and acts as her extra set of mental eyes.
- Ch 13He argues Brede's meddling was a 'fortunate sin' (felix culpa), believing her and her Ship's motives were noble and unselfish.
- Ch 34Creyn urges Elizabeth to let Felice die, fearing she will be trapped in Felice's pain; afterwards he gives her herbal tea and says they need her.
Book 4: The Adversary
- Ch 5A Tanu redactor who has loved Elizabeth almost since Castle Gateway; he is a widower and offers her love, which she refuses.
- Ch 5Creyn is a person of faith who believes the dead end of the Duat Mind fits a greater pattern and will be resolved.
- Ch 16Creyn, Elizabeth's friend and guardian, begged Marc to raise him to operancy, offering the Guild's mitigator and the truth about Marc's destined work in return.
- Ch 16Creyn calls Marc the Adversary, fated to provoke his people, and says he knows where Marc must go and what his work is.
- Ch 28Creyn is a Tanu friend of Basil from the exodus from Muriah; he wears a golden tore and cares for Elizabeth.
- Ch 28Creyn describes Remillard as a domestic man who shares popcorn with Anatoly, and says he would like to be one of them.
- Ch 30He once asked Marc to apply Brendan's redactive program to his own mind, and now has a new idea for Marc's work that horrifies Elizabeth.
- Ch 34Creyn holds a secret he promised Elizabeth to keep, but believes he should tell it to Remillard to change his mind.
- Ch 35Broke his promise to Elizabeth by telling Marc about the Duat vision and her feelings, and has helped make black-torc children whole and operant.
Connections
- member ofTanuTanu overlord
- leadsTanuHe is a lord who rules over Tanu subjects
- related toTullyserves as interviewer under Creyn's authority
- related toKostaserves as his guide/subordinate
- leadsZdenkoZdenko is his captal
- related toElizabeth Ormemental conversation partners; Creyn is a Tanu guide, Elizabeth is a human metapsychic
- ally ofElizabeth Orme
- related toHighjohnskipper and passenger guide on the same journey
- member ofGuild of Redactors
- friend ofSukey Davies
- ally ofStein Oleson
- ally ofDionket
- partner ofElizabeth OrmeCreyn loves her; she regards him as dearest friend only
- member ofPeace Faction
- ally ofAiken Drumhelped sustain his redaction
- friend ofElizabeth Ormeguardian
- member ofCreyn's Guild
- friend ofBasil Wimborne
- ally ofMinanonn
- ally ofBrother Anatoly Gorchakov
Key moments
- Book 1 · Ch 23Elizabeth meets Creyn
Dazed after the portal passage, Elizabeth is taken to Castle Gateway, where Creyn treats her. They converse mentally, and she probes him, which fails. He declines to answer some questions and announces she will go to Muriah.
- Book 1 · Ch 23Tully brings news of her companions
Tully tells Elizabeth her companions are safe, some going south and others north by caravan that evening. She asks to say goodbye to those going north and notices his dark necklet.
- Book 1 · Ch 24Stein's breakout and capture
Drugged, Stein smashes out of his room with an axe and kills several guardians seeking Creyn, but is clubbed, netted, and fitted with a gray torc by Creyn.
- Book 1 · Ch 24Aiken is collared
Creyn finds Aiken hiding and fits him with a silver torc. Aiken, feeling pleasure and telepathic contact, accepts it and is locked in a fresh room to await transport to Muriah.
- Book 1 · Ch 27Sukey's botched redaction of Stein
Sukey, urged by Aiken, tried to heal Stein and was caught in his rage. Elizabeth intervened, freed Sukey, calmed Stein and began healing him.
- Book 1 · Ch 27Elizabeth begins teaching Sukey
Creyn asks Elizabeth to instruct Sukey on her new power; Elizabeth enters her mind and learns her background and hollow-Earth belief.
- Book 1 · Ch 28Aiken and Raimo's psychic fight
Aiken teases Raimo about spooky trees; Raimo lifts him from his saddle with PK. Aiken forces Raimo to drop him, and the two fight until Creyn stops them.
- Book 1 · Ch 28Truce between Elizabeth and Creyn
Elizabeth tries to probe Creyn's mind, is rebuffed with the puffin parable, and agrees to a truce.
- Book 1 · Ch 28The Hunt glimpsed
The party sees a fast, multicolored streak of light, the Hunt, cross a ridge. Creyn refuses to explain it but hints Aiken might suit it.
- Book 1 · Ch 30Arrival at Roniah
Creyn's caravan with the captive time-travelers reaches the illuminated city past midnight, enters through the gate, and is greeted by Tanu nobles in the marble quarter.
- Book 1 · Ch 30Bryan refuses the torc
Bormol welcomes Bryan and offers mental refreshment; Bryan refuses, rejecting the torc, and retires to bed while the others join the party.
- Book 1 · Ch 32Dockside antics at Roniah
Aiken and Raimo sneak out, fly as butterflies over Roniah, then perform telekinetic stunts at the docks, destroying a bollard, until Creyn stops them and imposes mental restraints.
- Book 1 · Ch 32Shooting Cameron's Sluice
The party boards the Mojo and rides the Rhône through violent rapids; most passengers are asleep or calmed, while Bryan stays awake and Highjohn offers him a job.
- Book 1 · Ch 34Prisoners lodged at Darask
The travelers stop at the Riverside Palace, where Kennedy locks the prisoners in a tower chamber, and Elizabeth is summoned to help Creyn with the dangerous birth.
- Book 1 · Ch 34Birth of the twins
Elizabeth separates the antagonistic minds of Estella-Sirone's twins. A Tanu girl and a shape-changing Firvulag boy are born, and the nurse hands the boy to waiting Firvulag at the Watergate.
- Book 1 · Ch 36Stein learns of the torc and Exile
Sukey explains the Tanu, torcs and the human situation; Stein learns his gray torc controls him and declares he will never serve the Tanu.
- Book 1 · Ch 38Descent of the Dreadful Slide
The riverboat goes over the continental brink at the end of the Rhône and plunges into the empty Mediterranean basin, ending after four hours in a great bitter lake. The torc-wearers refuse Creyn's offer of oblivion.
- Book 1 · Ch 38Arrival at Muriah
On the sixth day after leaving Castle Gateway, the travelers reach Muriah, hauled up from the salt by helladotheria and welcomed with song by the Tanu.
- Book 2 · Ch 1Creyn persuades Aiken to stay
Creyn tells Aiken that special privileges await in Muriah and that fleeing is pointless, so Aiken returns to the boat.
- Book 2 · Ch 1Arrival at Aven
Tanu and human riders welcome the boat at Aven; hellads haul it toward Muriah while Bryan seeks Mercy and Highjohn explains torcs and Tanu society.
- Book 2 · Ch 1Welcome at the Tanu palace
The boat arrives at the King's palace in Muriah, where Lady Eadone greets the time-travelers and Elizabeth replies in Tanu and English before the escort erupts in celebration.
- Book 2 · Ch 1Highjohn's reward
Creyn gives Highjohn a mental reward; Bryan and Elizabeth find him convulsing in ecstasy, and Bryan closes the door before they follow the others inside.
- Book 2 · Ch 6Sukey brought to the College of Redactors
Creyn escorts Sukey by carriage up the Mount of Heroes, tells her of the Grand Combat, and leaves her with Olar at the House of Healing.
- Book 2 · Ch 7Creyn reveals he is an ally
Creyn arrives after the killing, shows no anger, and tells Stein that Sukey must now be hidden until the Grand Combat and their plans must be accelerated.
- Book 2 · Ch 31Balloon escape of Stein and Sukey
Creyn brings Stein and Sukey to Elizabeth's balloon on the mountaintop and reveals Felice, whom Elizabeth is invited to save. The balloon then rises over Muriah and drifts southwest toward Gibraltar.
- Book 2 · Ch 41Elizabeth wakes after the Mêlée
Elizabeth emerges from her fire cocoon, learns of the exotic woman's message, sees the flooded ruin of Muriah, and prepares to meet the survivors.
- Book 3 · Ch 6Inspection of Black Crag Lodge
Elizabeth and friends lunch at the chalet; Elizabeth approves it as her retreat, with Creyn staying. Basil, Burke and Amerie say farewell and leave for Hidden Springs.
- Book 3 · Ch 13Elizabeth and Creyn argue Brede's legacy
Elizabeth voices her fear that replacing Brede repeats the sin of forcing destiny, drawing parallels to the Metapsychic Rebellion; Creyn answers with felix culpa.
- Book 3 · Ch 13Night farsearch locates Felice
Elizabeth and Creyn farsearch, finding Burke and Sharn, then spot Felice over Mount Mulhacén calling Culluket. They discover a multiple human-mode transmission from the Devils, who promise to come in fifteen days.
- Book 3 · Ch 13Elizabeth identifies the Devils
Elizabeth realizes the Devils are the operant humans in Florida she traced faintly on arrival; they plan to track them the next night.
- Book 3 · Ch 34Final descent into Felice's mind
Elizabeth, aided by Dionket and Creyn, spends six hours redacting Felice's madness while the psychic discharge devastates Black Crag's surroundings.
- Book 3 · Ch 34Felice awakens sane
Felice wakes sane, rejects being like Elizabeth, chooses herself, thanks Elizabeth and vanishes, leaving Elizabeth drained and tempted by death until the Tanu healers comfort her.
- Book 3 · Ch 36Aiken recovers
Elizabeth's redaction restores Aiken. He learns the casualties, thanks Minanonn, and returns to cheering followers.
- Book 4 · Ch 1Aftermath of the gigantomachy
After the great psychocreative blast, Elizabeth and the Tanu descend to the ruined battlefield. Dionket and Creyn go to save Aiken and organize rescue.
- Book 4 · Ch 5Marc's third apparition
Elizabeth and Creyn probe a silhouette of Marc on the balcony; Elizabeth pleads for peace and mediation, but it fades unanswered.
- Book 4 · Ch 5Creyn's plea refused
Elizabeth weeps over her inadequacy; Creyn offers love and she refuses, explaining she cannot make him operant. He consoles her and they discuss stars and Tanu belief.
- Book 4 · Ch 5Elizabeth and Creyn discuss the doomed Duat Mind
Elizabeth tells Creyn that Brede saw the tore as dooming the Duat Mind and that humans may rise to Unity using it as a stepping-stone. Creyn counsels trust; Elizabeth admits despair.
- Book 4 · Ch 12Flight to Quicksilver Cave
Minanonn carries Elizabeth, Dionket and Creyn south before a storm, passing the caravan camp and discussing Duat, the Milieu and the time-gate before reaching Quicksilver Cave.
- Book 4 · Ch 12The chimaera shadow
In the cave the party sees a monstrous three-headed shadow engaged in a frenzied sexual display ending in a flash of light; Elizabeth recognizes it as a chimaera and rushes in.
- Book 4 · Ch 16Creyn petitions the Adversary
At dawn Creyn asks Marc to raise him to operancy, offering the Guild's mitigator and truth. Marc disbelieves, then vanishes; Creyn suggests they talk next time.
- Book 4 · Ch 28Basil healed in Skin
Basil wakes after two days in Tanu Skin, his ankle restored using Remillard's modified program. Creyn tells him about the Adversary, and Basil learns Remillard and Elizabeth work mind to mind.
- Book 4 · Ch 30Creyn reveals his idea to Elizabeth
Creyn shared his idea for Marc's new work; Elizabeth, horrified, made him promise never to speak of it, then prepared to meet the petitioning mothers.
- Book 4 · Ch 34Evacuation of Black Crag
After the children are healed, Black Crag is evacuated. Minanonn, Creyn, Anatoly and Basil plan to fly to Nionel to find Remillard and appeal to him.
- Book 4 · Ch 35Anatoly accosts Marc at the games
Anatoly reveals he knows Marc's identity and says Creyn and Basil have information. Marc probes his mind, finds him truthful, and goes to meet Creyn.
- Book 4 · Ch 37Aiken takes Elizabeth away
Aiken arrives with advisors and removes Elizabeth for a ride, warning Marc to be gone when he returns.