"Cohort rules. [...] Chickenshits don't get beer."[2]
Marta Dyas (DIE-ass) is the Cavalier Primary to the Heir of the Second House, Judith Deuteros. An exemplary cavalier and loyal servant of her House, Marta and her scion regard themselves as responsible for upholding the order and authority of the Cohort.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
According to the Cohort Intelligence Files of Judith Deuteros, Marta joined the Junior Cohort Territorials at ten years old and was commissioned to second lieutenant at fifteen. She served on the Leviathan-class ship Emperor’s Dominion, where she garnered the admiration of the younger trainees, though she did not encourage this hero-worship, nor did she offer preferential treatment to Judith Deuteros, the Fleet Admiral’s child. Her first conversation with Judith occurred when they were paired together for a training exercise. A few months later, Judith requested Marta as her cavalier, despite her father’s skepticism that such a promising soldier would want to throw away her career on cavaliership. Lieutenant Dyas agreed to a trial period of one year.
At the end of the trial period, Marta bid for and achieved the rank of cavalier secondary at twenty years of age. At twenty-two, she was promoted to cavalier primary. Marta excelled as a cavalier, striving to fulfill her oath of “one flesh, one end.” She offered Judith much love, vulnerability, and thoughtful consideration. Emboldened by this care shown to her, Judith propositioned the lieutenant. Marta—who was five years older than Judith’s seventeen years—gently turned her down and offered immediate forgiveness for Judith’s misstep in their partnership.
As her cavalier, Marta accompanied Judith to state events, including the Tridentarius twins’ birthday party every year and several other Third and Fifth House balls. It is likely that she enjoyed such events as she loved music and was an excellent dancer.[3]
Before arriving at Canaan House, Marta trained with a variety of weapons both modern and archaic. She achieved consistent top three ranking in her dueling class, even ranking first in the system at one point. Alongside Captain Deuteros, Marta received commendations for her participation in war games, and later saw action aboard Rigor.[4]
Gideon the Ninth[]
Act I[]
Second House arrives with the others to Canaan House, and disembarks without issue. Inside the House, Marta is the first cavalier to receive her iron key ring, which she accepts with a sharp salute. She listens to Teacher explain the task before being led to the rooms provided for them.
Act II[]
Marta is seen with the cavalier's sparring tournament in the pool room, but remains somewhat aloof. She does not fit with Magnus and Jeannemary's warm, familial teasing, nor is she impressed with Naberius' imperious quips. She offers to arbitrate the match between Gideon and Naberius as an impartial observer, but is overthrown by Coronabeth. After the match, Marta is quick to offer her analysis-- she proclaims Naberius the better duelist but Gideon the better fighter. Her words incite hostility in Naberius and break much of the fragile goodwill between the cavaliers.
Marta attends the dinner party thrown by Magnus and Abigail, but says very little. She is seated near Protesilaus. At this point, the Second House has neither discovered the Facility nor won any keys.
Act III[]
Judith and Marta participate in the attempt to raise Abigail and Magnus, but Gideon does not remark on in what way. At some point, they excuse themselves and fetch Teacher, who quickly demands that everyone return upstairs. It takes nearly an hour for all the people (and bodies) to be hoisted up the Facility ladder, sorted out, and given tea. Once everyone has gathered, Judith is quick to attempt to seize control of the situation. Marta offers a few words in support, but otherwise stands by. After the meeting, she joins Judith in accompanying Palamedes as he conducts an investigation of the bodies.
The next day, Judith and Marta are drinking coffee when Coronabeth attempts to secure a hatch key from Teacher. Second stays out of the conversation until Palamedes offers to escort Corona down himself. Judith questions his motives, as he has said the Lyctor puzzle cannot be solves communally, but he claims this offer is harmless. Coronabeth blatantly bribes Palamedes with money, knowledge, or connections if he will help her get the same keys Ianthe has, and insults the Second's wealth when Judith protests. Palamedes reveals there is only one key for each room and only one or two keys left to be claimed.
Coronabeth insists that this means the teams are destined to work together. However, Teacher re-iterates his sermon from the first night in Canaan House-- "What I mean is, there is no law. [...] I have given you your rule, and there are no others. Some things may take you swiftly down the road to Lyctorhood. Some things may make the row harder to plough." [5] Judith and Marta are horrified and uncomprehending at the fact both Imperial law and natural law hold no ground here. The two head for the cold-larder-turned-mortuary to search the bodies of Abigail and Magnus for any keys they might have earned before their death. As they leave empty handed, they bump into Palamedes and quarrel when he refuses to join them in their attempts to bring order to Canaan House. The quarrel nearly comes to a duel, but Judith calls Marta off and the two leave.
The next day, Marta is training when Gideon and Isaac Tettares come into the pool room. Isaac is looking for Coronabeth to investigate a discovered body, and Marta, Naberius, and Colum tag along. Taken to the incinerator chimney, Marta begins her investigation by poking at the ashes with an iron poker. She is unconvinced that the ashes are anything more than chimney soot. Similarly unconvinced, Naberius claims this to be "Fourth House sound and fury." [6] She notes his blase attitude, but doesn't push for further investigation. When Colum and Naberius leave, Marta (presumably) joins them.
After Dulcinea Septimus is found collapsed on the garden terrace and Protesilaus has gone missing, all of the guests are counted and brought to see the ashes from in the incinerator. Teacher explains he has organized a search of the house, and asks the guests to check their own rooms. Judith suggests that Protesilaus was killed for his laboratory keys, but Silas Octakiseron returns with the Seventh House keys-- confirming that none of the laboratory keys were taken. As she does not trust the keys were given willingly, Judith demands that Silas hand them over to her safekeeping as a representative from the Cohort. Silas refuses, and Judith announces her intent to take on the responsibility of ending this chaos. Surprisingly, she does not challenge Silas, but rather Palamedes and Camilla.
Camilla proves to be a much more formidable opponent than anticipated, fighting with a vicious speed and skill. She dislocates Marta's arm, and slams her to the table forcing Judith to call mercy. Camilla wins the duel, although she does not walk away unscathed-- Marta has stabbed her in the forearm. Palamedes demands (and receives) Judith's hatch key for the victory. Naberius, prodded by Ianthe, takes this opportunity to challenge Camilla himself, but Ninth and Fourth come to Camilla's defense and the challenge is withdrawn. Angry and suspicious of each other, Second, Third, and Eighth go their separate ways. In As Yet Unsent, Judith reveals that upon losing the duel and returning to the Second’s quarters, “all Dyas said was: I need a drink.”[3] Upon retelling, Judith is quick to assure that the lieutenant wasn’t chemically addicted, but simply enjoyed a beer from time to time.
Act IV[]
Palamedes and Harrowhark gather the remaining postulants and bring them to Dulcinea's sick room. With Protesilaus' decapitated head in hand, Palamedes proposes that Protesilaus has been dead since before he arrived on First and has been reanimated by flesh magic called the beguiling corpse-- which Dulcinea confirms. Judith requests that they are given permission to contact Seventh House and inform them that Protesilaus has died and Dulcinea is declining. Marta stands by her necromancer, but does not contribute. They leave together when they are denied off-planet communication.
Judith and Marta locate a communication room in the priests wing of Canaan House and attempt to send an SOS when they are intercepted by Teacher. Proving to be much more powerful than he appeared, he blocks their efforts to restrain him. Marta attempts disabling force, and Teacher destroys her eye. Judith and Marta work together to fatally wound Teacher, but Marta dies in the process. Judith sustains grave injuries, but is successful in contacting The Emperor himself.
Harrow the Ninth[]
Nine Months Before the Emperor's Murder[]
Marta stands with the other postulants to Canaan House as Teacher hands out one key attached to a key ring to each cavalier, and receives her key for Second House.
Six Months Before the Emperor's Murder[]
Marta and Judith explore the Facility and face the transference/winnowing lab. While Marta is locked in the Response room, the Sleeper approaches Judith and shoots her eight times with a Carbine rifle. In the sound-proof room, Marta is unaware of her necromancers distress until she dies and ends the simulation. She runs to the Imaging room, but, finding Judith dead, quickly looks for the perpetrator. Marta sees the Sleeper down the hall dressed in an orange hazard suit and oxygen hood. She pursues the Sleeper back to their coffin and watches the Sleeper slip inside and return to sleep. She attempts to break into the coffin with a piece of tubing but is unsuccessful. As Fifth and Ninth House examine Judith's body, Marta waits outside. When questioned, she recounts her story—adding that she saw a double-handed sword at the bottom of the coffin.
Four Months Before the Emperor's Murder[]
Following the murders of Camilla Hect and Palamedes Sextus, Marta is recruited to assist in the fight against the Sleeper. As her rooms seem to be the driest of the bunch in Canaan House, Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth move into her chambers to prepare themselves and protect each other from harm.
Two Months Before the Emperor's Murder[]
The weather in Canaan House turns—rain becoming sleet becoming snow that blankets the House. Additionally, fleshy organs begin growing up through the cracks in the building. Magnus, Harrowhark, and Marta Dyas go into the Facility on a mission to set wards in attempt to learn more about the movements of the Sleeper. While down there, they attempt to move the Sleeper's coffin. Peeling back the paneling, they learn that it is unmovable—a pillar descending far into the floor and earth. They come back towards the Library together, but Magnus and Marta do not go inside.
The Night Before the Emperor's Murder[]
Harrow's murder on Mithraeum breaks apart her River "bubble." Marta and the other revenants are pulled through different scenarios—Castle Drearburh, a formal event ballroom, and the Cohort cafeteria—before Abigail pulls her back to Canaan House and she stabilizes. When she wakes, Harrow remembers Gideon Nav and begins to cry. Abigail sends everyone from the room, and Marta and the rest return to X-203, the Lyctor lab of Gideon and Pyrrha Dve. They work on their plan for fighting until writhing organic tentacles begin breaching the walls of Canaan House, and Magnus leaves to fetch Abigail and Harrow.
An Amount of Time Before the Emperor's Murder[]
Magnus, Abigail, and Harrow return as Marta cleans and gathers the guns she has collected. Abigail explains her theories on the River, the River beyond, and the potential that something has gone wrong with the River, but Marta has little interest in grand mysteries. Harrow goes up to talk with Ortus, and Marta, Abigail, Magnus, Dulcinea, and Protesilaus make their final assessments of the plan. Judging them ready to begin, Abigail gathers everyone to go enact their plan—the exorcism of the Sleeper.
Harrow, Ortus, Abigail, Magnus, Dulcinea, Protesilaus, and Marta all return to the Facility and the coffin of the Sleeper. Abigail draws a chalk diagram while the rest place candles warded by Harrow. After, Abigail puts counter-wards on the dead—everyone but Harrow. She asks Harrow if she can pinpoint what the thanergetic link is, and Harrow realizes it is Gideon's sword. They finish the preparations and Abigail pairs them and places them around the candle circle. Abigail pours a libation over the foot of the coffin and begins the summoning. Abigail notes that spirit is tied to two places and that its banishing in the River will not necessarily banish it on the Mithraeum. A panel of the coffin shatters and they see it is empty. The Sleeper emerges from the corridor.
The Sleeper fires on Harrowhark, who blocks with a bone shield and is dragged to safety by Ortus. Protesilaus engages the Sleeper and knocks her gun out of her hand. Before he can disengage his chain, she handsprings past him and shoots him in the back. She fires twice more, and Protesilaus is still. The Sleeper demands that Harrow turn herself over and begins counting down from ten. Dulcinea breaks cover and the Sleeper easily shoots her in the leg. Magnus makes his move, grabbing the Sleeper and holding her in place. Marta picks up her gun and shoots her three times, but she does not bleed. Marta comes at her with a knife, and the Sleeper kicks out dragging all three of them down. There is a quick dirty fight that ends with Magnus shot and Marta disarmed with a gun in her face.
Harrow launches an attack of bone, but the Sleeper shoots it out of the air and causes it to go inert. Harrow asks what the Sleeper wants, and she replies that she wants Harrow's death so she can take her body. As the Sleeper reaches one, Ortus begins to recite poetry. Abigail's protests, but he continues and she has no choice but to follow his lead. As he declaims from the Noniad, Harrow struggles to cover them with bone shields. The Sleeper pushes her way through Harrow's shields, crumbling them to dust, and shoots Ortus. Harrow pushes the Sleeper back with a wall of bone and sends skeleton constructs after her which are also dissolved. Harrow takes over for Ortus, finishing the lines as Abigail works. The Sleeper reaches Harrow and fires a shot into her head, but Matthias Nonias solidifies between them.
As Nonias fights the Sleeper, the postulants begin to regroup. Marta stands alone and at the ready, and all the pairs watch in awe of the fight. Harrow and Dulcinea make moves to bring their necromancy into play, but Ortus, noticing that the constraints of his poem have begun to influence the world, stops them. As the battle picks up speed, Nonias drops his rapier, but manages to catch the Sleepers arm, disarm her, and drive her back into the wall. Protesilaus tosses Nonias his rapier, and he plunges it into the Sleeper's chest.
As they group, Ortus is in awe of Abigail Pent and her abilities. Magnus jokingly scolds Ortus for flirting with his wife, horrifying Ortus. Abigail cannot figure out she was able to summon him purely through Ortus's art, but Nonias accepts it and claims the victory is then owed to Ortus. Harrow tells Nonias she has to other enemies here, and Abigail confirms the invasive soul is gone. As she speaks, the "bubble" begins to rumble, falling apart as the scenario has concluded and in response to whatever is happening above. Matthias Nonias shares his desire to go help the Lyctors battle the Resurrection Beast. Protesilaus, Ortus, and Marta decide to join him. Harrow release Matthias, and Abigail sends the four of them to aid Gideon the First.
Appearance and Personality[]
Gideon first describes Marta as thus:
"An intensely dark girl snapped to attention. Her salute was as crisp as her flawless Cohort uniform." [7]
She later adds:
"Now they sat ramrod-straight and resplendent in their Second-styled Cohort uniforms, all scarlet and white. They both affected the same tightly braided hairstyle and abundance of gilt braid, and also the same serious-business expression. They were only distinct because one wore a rapier and the other quite a lot of pips at her collar." [8]
Marta is a serious and reserved woman. Military to the core, she only speaks when she believes she has authority too, and always supports her scion unquestioningly. She is not unfriendly, but her rigidity (and Judith's unpopularity) prevent her from becoming truly close with any of the other postulants in Canaan House. As she does not often offer her opinions, there is little chance to glimpse her true thoughts and feelings.
Relationships[]
Judith Deuteros[]
In her Cohort Intelligence Files, Judith describes Marta as:
"No cavalier primary currently in the system has Dyas' credentials. She has been training since childhood, received her first-class rating at Trentham and has established herself as a cavalier primary before thirty years old. Her House ranking, despite it being outside Cohort management, is extraordinary. [...] She has no family or marital responsibilities to distract her, and is in every way an exemplary cavalier." [9]
It is clear that the two women have a strong and loyal bond. They are professional and formal, but it is clear they have an implicit trust that goes beyond the bounds of her service. She has been attached to Judith for the last five years, and is quite clearly satisfied with the position. Simply put, Marta does not have anything else more important to her than this partnership.
In a later edition of the second book, Harrow the Ninth, we get a bonus section of journal entries from Judith Dyterous. It's clearly stated she was in love with the woman, even propositioning her, but was let down when Marta told her that they shouldn't mix cavaliers and their adepts. Marta made it clear that although she does have strong affection and devotion for Judith, she thinks they should keep their relationship purely professional.
Trivia[]
- In the notes on her naming, "Marta, martial, war." [10]
References[]
- ↑ tazmuir, Tumblr.com.
- ↑ "Harrow the Ninth," Act V, Ch. 49
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 As Yet Unsent Untitled Entry (6)
- ↑ Gideon the Ninth Appendix 3: Cohort Intelligence Files
- ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act III, Ch. 21
- ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act III, Ch. 22
- ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act I, Ch. 8
- ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Act III, Ch. 18
- ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," Cohort Intelligence Files
- ↑ "Gideon the Ninth," A Little Explanation of Naming Systems