Unclean

Unclean is the first novel of The Haunted Lands trilogy by Richard Lee Byers.

"The realm of Thay has long been ruled by the uneasy peace of an alliance of wizards, but all along there has been one who believes he is the true master. And when that one wizard finally moves against his former allies, his homeland could be only the first of his conquests."

Summary
In the country of Thay in 1375 DR, Druxus Rhym, the zulkir (mage-lord) of the Order of Transmutation, is assassinated in his home in Eltabbar, the capital city, by an unknown assailant. Meanwhile, without authorization from the Council of Zulkirs, Azhir Kren, the tharchion (governor) of Gauros, and Homen Odesseiron, the tharchion of Surthay, lead their provinces' forces in an invasion of the druidic realm of Rashemen, Thay's neighbor to the north. However, the Rashemi somehow learn of the invasion and ambush the Thayan army as it crosses the River Gauros in the Gorge of Gauros. Azhir and Homen's legions are saved by the lich Szass Tam, the zulkir of the Order of Necromancy, who uses his magic to stop the Rashemi attack and enable the Thayans to retreat across the river into Thay. After the battle, Szass Tam meets with the two governors and tells them that he will help them conceal their insubordinate actions and the disastrous defeat by informing the Thayan people that the costly engagement had occurred to stop an attack on Thay by a band of Rashemi. In gratitude for Szass Tam's assistance, Azhir and Homen pledge their absolute loyalty to the undead wizard.

A few days later, Szass Tam meets with one of his supporters, Dmitra Flass, the tharchion of Eltabbar and a Red Wizard of Illusion, to discuss the murder of Druxus, who had been one of the zulkirs allied with the lich. Szass Tam commands Dmitra to use the large and extensive network of spies and covert agents that she operates to arrange for Samas Kul, the Master of the Guild of Foreign Trade, to be chosen as the new zulkir of Transmutation, since he would ally himself with the lich. Dmitra's agents complete the necessary actions to ensure that Samas is elected, and after the governor uses her magic to personally spy on the common people of Eltabbar, she secretly orders her spymaster, Malark Springhill, to journey to the town of Surthay to learn the truth about the battle at the Gorge of Gauros. Originally from the Moonsea, Malark is a monk of the Order of the Long Death and is gifted with eternal youth due to a potion that he drank many centuries earlier. When Malark reaches Surthay, he questions several of the soldiers who were involved in the fight against the Rashemi and eventually discovers what actually happened.

Also at that time, the bard and warrior Bareris Anskuld, who has been adventuring across the world for the previous six years, returns to his home in the Thayan port city of Bezantur to find his love, the young woman Tammith Iltazyarra. When Bareris meets with Tammith's family, he learns that his beloved recently sold herself into slavery in order to pay a gambling debt that her father, Boravik, had with the White Raven Gang of Bezantur. Determined to find Tammith and free her from bondage, Bareris tracks her to the city of Tyraturos, where he forcibly interrogates a slave trader and learns that his beloved and a large number of other slaves have been secretly purchased by Red Wizards of Necromancy. As Bareris then wanders the city questioning people in order to discover their whereabouts, he is assailed by an assassin named Calmevik and an undead child-like creature, who has been instructed by the Red Wizards to kill anyone inquiring into their business. Bareris manages to slay his two attackers, and although he soon discovers that the necromancers had departed from Tyraturos with the slaves and traveled north, he falls ill due to a wound inflicted by the undead child.

While patrolling the Pass of Thazar in the Sunrise Mountains, Aoth Fezim, a war mage and a rider of the Griffon Legion of Pyarados, and his griffon familiar, Brightwing, discover that a large force of undead is approaching Thazar Keep. After a brief clash against some of the undead creatures, Aoth and Brightwing swiftly make their way to Thazar Keep and warn the fortress's garrison about the imminent assault. Aoth, Brightwing, and Thazar Keep's defenders fight valiantly against the undead army, which is led by a nighthaunt named Ysval, but they are soon overwhelmed. Aoth and Brightwing are the only survivors of the attack and they quickly travel to notify Nymia Focar, the tharchion of Pyarados, about the fall of Thazar Keep. Once he reports to Nymia, Aoth is promoted to an officer in the Griffon Legion. He then joins a force that the governor assembles to destroy the undead host, which is advancing down the Pass of Thazar. Nymia's legions engage the enemy army at the west end of the pass, but following a brutal battle, the undead creatures overcome the Thayan troops and force them to retreat. Afterward, the undead horde disperses into smaller bands in order to ravage the countryside of Pyarados.

While the undead lay waste to eastern Thay, Nymia and Aoth travel to Eltabbar to meet with Szass Tam and the three zulkirs who are allied with the lich: Samas Kul; Yaphyll, the zulkir of the Order of Divination; and Lallara, the zulkir of the Order of Abjuration. The meeting is also attended by Iphegor Nath, the High Flamelord, the head of the Church of Kossuth, the elemental god of fire. After Nymia and Aoth provide Szass Tam and the other lords with full accounts of the Thayans' two defeats, the governor tells them that Milsantos Daramos, the tharchion of Thazalhar, is bringing his troops to Pyarados to assist her in combating the undead marauders. Szass Tam informs the assembly that the Red Wizards of Necromancy will use any Thayan corpses that they can to manufacture undead soldiers to reinforce the two governors' forces, and that he will send many necromancers to help them eliminate the undead horde. The lich then convinces Iphegor to command several of the Church of Kossuth's militant orders to join the fight against the undead, and he also supplied the priests with magical torch-like weapons to aid them.

After recovering from the virulent fever that his wound induced, Bareris leaves Tyraturos and journeys north in pursuit of Tammith and her captors. By bribing and questioning people as he tracks his beloved north, Bareris discovers that over the course of the previous few weeks, Red Wizards of Necromancy and their agents have marched a significant number of slaves into the sparsely populated northern region of Thay. When Bareris eventually catches up with the slave procession in open country, he tries to secure Tammith's release by negotiating with the two necromancers in command of the caravan, Muthoth and So-Kehur, but his efforts fail and the mages and their guards attack him. Bareris kills several of the soldiers, but he is soon incapacitated by the wizards. He barely manages to use his magic to escape. Before the Red Wizards or the guards can find him, Bareris is saved by a small band of gnoll warriors who formerly served in the Thayan legions. While the slave procession continues onwards, Bareris is taken to the gnolls' encampment and learns from them that Tammith and the other slaves are being taken to the ruined city of Delhumide. Bareris uses his magical powers to convince the gnolls to assist him in secretly entering Delhumide and rescuing Tammith.

Meanwhile, the blood fiend Tsagoth is summoned from the Abyss and ordered to infiltrate the palace fortress of Aznar Thrul, the zulkir of the Order of Evocation and the tharchion of Priador, to find Mari Agneh, the former governor of Priador. Years earlier, Mari had been deposed by Aznar. She had appealed to Szass Tam and his allies among the mage-lords to help her keep her position, but they had declined to assist her. When Aznar learned about Mari's petition, he took her as a prisoner and abused her as his personal sex slave. Once Tsagoth locates Mari's hidden prison cell, he transforms her into a blood fiend–like creature and persuades her to kill Aznar. The next time that Aznar tries to abuse Mari, she reveals her new identity and turns into a savage entity without conscience or sanity. Mari manages to slay Aznar, and she then engages a group of the dead zulkir's men-at-arms and Red Wizards. Mari slaughters many of the warriors and mages before she is finally destroyed by one of the spellcasters.

After the assortment of Thayan soldiers, wizards, and clerics sent to defeat the undead host assemble in Pyarados under the command of Nymia, the governor's army is divided into several companies in order to eradicate the creatures as rapidly as possible. Nymia names Aoth as the captain of one of the contingents. When his troops reach the small village of Dulos, they discover that a band of undead have massacred its inhabitants and are occupying the settlement. Aoth's force engage and destroye the marauders. That night, the war mage and Chathi Oandem, a priestess of Kossuth, became lovers. Nymia's other companies also achieve victory, and upon learning that the undead have assaulted the sizable town of Thazrumaros and overrun the eastern half of it, the tharchion hastily regroups her army to attack the creatures. Although many Thayan warriors are slain in the battle, they ultimately prevail and defeat the force of undead. Since Milsantos and his soldiers have also been successful, the countryside of Pyarados is now cleansed of the undead. In the hope of destroying the undead remaining in eastern Thay, Nymia and Milsantos decide to join their forces together, swiftly advancing up the Pass of Thazar to successfully retake the Keep of Thazar.

When Tammith and the slave caravan arrive in Delhumide, they are taken through a magical portal that transports them to an undead manufactory hidden underground in the Sunrise Mountains. The atropal Xingax is the overseer of the stronghold, which is where he and Red Wizards of Necromancy continually create a large number of various undead creatures, including types that became extinct centuries earlier, as well as entirely new ones. After Xingax watches Tammith strike a guard, he has her magically transformed into a unique and formidable type of vampire. Xingax also magically binds Tammith to serve the necromancers and their cause against her will. A short time later, Bareris infiltrates Delhumide and reaches the magical portal with the help of the gnolls, but he enters the gateway alone. Once he arrived at the undead manufactory, Bareris manages to find Tammith, but she is forced to attack him. Bareris is able to incapacitate Tammith, and as he then tries to escape from the stronghold, he is confronted by Xingax. Bareris is nearly subdued by Xingax, but the bard ultimately manages to wound the mighty undead entity and flee into the Sunrise Mountains.

Meanwhile, Dmitra arranges for a secret meeting between her, Samas, Yaphyll, and Lallara shortly before the Council of Zulkirs is scheduled to convene in Eltabbar at Szass Tam's request. When Dmitra meets with the three mage-lords, she reveals to them that she has discovered that Szass Tam orchestrated the murders of Druxus and Aznar; betrayed the Thayan legions that attempted to invade Rashemen by providing critical information about their plans to the Rashemi; and portrayed the failed assault as a Rashemi attack on Thay in order to create a climate of fear in the country. By effectively and expeditiously solving the crises, the lich wanted to convince the nobles, legions, and common people that he was the one who could end the nation's woes and should be made the supreme ruler of Thay. To prevent Szass Tam from becoming the country’s sole sovereign, the three zulkirs agree to Dmitra’s request for them to pledge that they will oppose any attempt by the undead wizard to attain greater authority.

When the Council of Zulkirs meet, Szass Tam proposes to make himself temporary regent to eliminate the threats and menaces facing Thay, but all of the other mage-lords vote against him. Szass Tam immediately orders the Order of Necromancy's agents to alert the citizens of Eltabbar that the other zulkirs have denied him the authority that he needs to save the realm. After the news causes violent riots to erupt throughout Eltabbar, Szass Tam secretly sends Tsagoth and other demons to kill the rioters in order to trick the city's common people into believing that Nevron, the zulkir of the Order of Conjuration, and his Red Wizards have summoned fiendish creatures to slaughter them. When the riots progress, Szass Tam uses magic to appear in multiple places around Eltabbar to quell the fighting, further endearing himself to the capital's citizens. Fearing the power of Szass Tam and his intentions now that his original plot has failed, Dmitra instructs Malark to discover the lich's newest plans.

As Bareris travels through the mountains toward Thay, he is pursued by the undead that Xingax sent to hunt him down. After days of evading the creatures, Bareris is assailed by a banshee, but he defeats the spirit with the assistance of Mirror, the ghost of a paladin. Mirror takes Bareris to meet his companion, the gravecrawler Quickstrike, who tells the bard that the ghost will help him stay hidden from his undead pursuers and guide him back to Thay. Several days later, Bareris and Mirror reach the Pass of Thazar, where they encounter Aoth and Brightwing while the partners are scouting the area to ensure that all the undead have retreated into the Keep of Thazar. When Aoth and his griffon take Bareris and Mirror to the Thayan encampment, the bard tells the war mage and the two governors about Xingax's undead manufactory.

Aoth, Bareris, Nymia, and Milsantos realize that Szass Tam has secretly commanded the Red Wizards of Necromancy to create the undead horde that had attacked eastern Thay as part of his scheme to become the country's supreme ruler. Aoth and the others understand that the lich knew that he had to appear as a successful and triumphant leader in order to manipulate the Council of Zulkirs into naming him regent, so he manufactured a threat to the eastern provinces then had a crucial role in combating it. The four also ascertain that Szass Tam has magically bound the necromancers and his other minions so that they will immediately die if they attempt to reveal information about his plans. Since Szass Tam failed to persuade the other zulkirs to elect him regent, Aoth and his comrades are not certain of the lich's current aims or if they could trust the necromancers in the army preparing to assault the Keep of Thazar. In order to learn the truth, Aoth, Bareris, Chathi, and Mirror decide to interrogate one of the Red Wizards, Urhur Hahpet. Once the four defeat Urhur's undead guards and incapacitate the mage, he confirms their deductions but is killed by Szass Tam's binding enchantment before he can reveal the necromancers' orders concerning the imminent fight against the undead host. Following the interrogation, Nymia and Milsantos decide to imprison the Red Wizards of Necromancy and destroy their undead servants in order to protect the legions from betrayal. The griffon riders and the clerics of Kossuth help the tharchions' troops complete that task.

The next day, Nymia and Milsantos's army assembl outside the Keep of Thazar and prepare to attack the undead horde in the fortress, which is shrouded in a magical gloom created by Ysval. The priests of Kossuth summon a colossal lava elemental that demolishes the Keep of Thazar's fortifications while Aoth and the other griffon riders fight the undead and their necromancer allies. Although the nighthaunt soon destroys the gigantic elemental, the elemental manages to create a large breach in one of the stronghold's walls. The Thayan forces quickly advance through the opening and engage the undead host, but when Chathi and the other clerics of Kossuth try to use the torch weapons supplied by Szass Tam, the implements explode and kill their wielders as well as everyone near them. The shocking destruction of Kossuth's servants nearly causes the legions to succumb to panic and collapse, but Milsantos and the other leaders are able to rally their forces and reestablish order. The Thayan men-at-arms, priests, and wizards fight courageously against the undead, but their eventual defeat is still inevitable. In the hope of changing that outcome, Milsantos and Nymia lead a small but elite band of their followers directly against Ysval and a formidable group of undead. While Mirror battles and defeats one of the nighthaunt's officers, an angel of decay, Bareris is assailed by Tammith. The bard is able to behead Tammith, and then hacks her skull to pieces in an attempt to release her from her undead existence. Afterward, Bareris joins Aoth, Brightwing, and Mirror in confronting Ysval, and together they manage to destroy the nighthaunt. Following Ysval's demise, one of the surviving Thayan spellcasters dispels the unnatural darkness enveloping the fortress. The purifying sunlight causes the wraiths and many of the other spectral undead significant advantage over the remaining creatures. The Thayan forces soon destroy all the undead entities and reclaim the Keep of Thazar.

Meanwhile, Szass Tam decides that since his fellow mage-lords refuse to elect him regent, he will withdraw from the Council of Zulkirs and use force of arms to become Thay's sole ruler. The lich secretly commands the legions of Gauros and Surthay, newly augmented by a massive infusion of undead warriors, to march south to Bezantur. If his forces take the city, he will essentially control the entire southern part of the country and all access to the sea. Bezantur and all of Priador are in a vulnerable condition at that time due to Aznar's recent death and due to the commander of the province's armies assassination on Szass Tam's orders. Besides Surthay and Gauros, Szass Tam also controls High Thay and Lapendrar, so Azhir and Homen's host is granted free passage south and their progress is kept a secret from the Council of Zulkirs. However, Malark discovers Szass Tam's plans and alerts Dmitra, who then sends him to the Keep of Thazar to meet with Nymia and Milsantos and convince them to oppose the undead wizard. After speaking with Malark, the two governors decide to side with the Council and ordere their forces to march to Priador. Nymia also instructs Aoth and the company of griffon riders to harass Szass Tam's legions in order to slow their advance and keep them from reaching Bezantur before the Council could assemble a sufficient army to oppose them. Before the aerial contingent departs, Aoth persuades Bareris, who was determined to gain vengeance for Tammith's transformation into a vampire, to join the forces that are going to battle Szass Tam and his followers. At Bareris's request, Aoth then assigns him to the Griffon Legion and provides him with a rider-less griffon. Also at that time, Milsantos and Nymia order their troops to kill the band of necromancers whom they imprisoned before the assault on the Keep of Thazar.

While Aoth and the griffon riders, who are assisted by Mirror and Malark, continually harass and raid the legions of Surthay and Gauros, Dmitra and the Council of Zulkirs met in Eltabbar to discuss the war that Szass Tam began. Since many nobles, legions, and common people throughout Thay might join Szass Tam's cause and oppose the Council, Dmitra tells the six zulkirs that they need to directly command the nation's inhabitants. Dmitra also convinces the mage-lords that they have to personally fight alongside their followers or Szass Tam and his forces will easily achieve victory.

The Griffon Legion's relentless campaign of harassment slows Szass Tam's host long enough for the Council of Zulkirs to lead a sizable force into position to intercept them before they can reach Bezantur, which Samas readies to resist a siege. Since his army is now in a disadvantageous position, the lich and his subordinates decide to withdraw. Shortly afterward, Szass Tam magically transports himself to the encampment of the Griffon Legion to speak with Aoth, Malark, Bareris, and the aerial company's other leaders. The undead wizard tells them how their success in delaying his forces mean that a protracted and destructive war would now engulf all of Thay. Szass Tam then asks Aoth and his comrades to join him, but they refuse his entreaties and commit themselves to oppose him.

A few weeks later, Tammith, who managed to survive the wounds she received during the battle at the Keep of Thazar and escape from the fortress, is magically compelled to return to Xingax.