Hammerhead nations

A page from The Black Books about the Hammerhead Nations

The hammerhead nations was a group of several nomadic hammerhead goblin clans who lived in the Western Woods, around the Farrow Ridges. The strongest clan was the Bone Clan, whose chief, Baahl, was in charge of the entire Nation. It was made up of three different nations, divided into two clans each:

Role in The Nameless One

In The Nameless One, when Cade Quarter first arrived in the Farrow Ridges, he was warned by his savior, phraxlighter pilot Gart Ironside, to avoid the hammerhead goblins of the Western Woods. Gart said that the goblins were "tall as a cloddertrog and twice as mean" and that they would torture leapers from skytavern phraxships.[1]

On a journey to fetch shriekroot from a bloodoak clearing in the Western Woods with Celestia Helmstoft, Cade and her encountered a hammerhead youth.[2] The boy was trapped by a tarry vine, but they rescued him from certain death.[3]

Once they'd reached safety, the learned that the hammerhead was named Teeg and was a member of the Shadow Clan of the High Valley Nation. Cade and Celestia brought Teeg back to his village safely and were treated to a meal of pungent roasted quarm. At the temporary village of the Shadow Clan, they met the clan chief, Chert, witnessed the tattooing traditions of tribal hammerheads, and were informed of the danger that the white trogs of the Water Caverns behind the Five Falls posed by a wizened warrior, Brack.[4]

For their actions, they were made 'honorary hammerheads', signified by bronze rings that they were given.[5]

Role in Doombringer

In Doombringer, Cade Quarter and Phineal Glyfphith rescued Tug from the mire-pearler, Merton Hoist, and encountered a logworm cascade.[6] While they were distracted by the unfolding chaos, they were ambushed and captured by members of the Bone Clan of the High Valley Nation, who mistook them for mire-pearlers in the employ of Merton Hoist.[7] The mistake was made because the mire-pearlers had been incurring heavy casualties against the Stone Clan of the Low Valley Nation. Cade and Phineal were spared by the hammerheads when they found the bronze clan ring he'd been given to by the Shadow Clan. At first, the Stone Clan assumed that Cade had stolen the ring, but he convinced them otherwise when he told them about saving Teeg with Celestia.

Soon afterwards, the Hammerhead Nations joined the coalition of Farrow Lakers that sought to defend the Farrow Ridges from Merton Hoist and his mire-pearlers.[8] When Cade, Thorne Lammergyre, and Gart Ironside left for Hive to acquire phraxmuskets, the Hammerhead Nations held on valiantly in the face of superior numbers and firepower but sustained severe losses.[9]

On Cade's return to the Farrow Ridges, during a meeting at Blatch Helmstoft's tree-mansion, the leader of the Hammerhead Nations, Baahl, suggested that the Farrow Lakers "call upon the deep, dark savagery of the forests" to defeat Merton Hoist. Celestia and Tug attempted to save the life of a dying River Clan warrior, Glave, but were interrupted by mire-pearlers assaulting Blatch Helmstoft's tree-mansion.[9]

During the Battle of the Farrow Ridges, in a ploy to lure the mire-pearlers from the Doombringer—allowing Cade to disarm the phraxmines at the Five Falls, disable the ship's phraxcannon turret, save his friends and the other slaves, and kill Hoist—the chief of the Shadow Clan Chert suggested that the hammerheads offer themselves up to be enslaved. The remaining warriors of the Hammerhead Nations covered themselves in silty white mud and drenched a clearing with tilder blood.[10]

In their greed for slaves, the mire-pearlers were oblivious to the trap awaiting them. Arriving in phraxsloops, the mire-pearlers attempted to capture the hammerheads. The tilder blood attracted a logworm cascade whilst the mud camouflaged the scent of the goblins. The logworms killed all of the mire-pearlers, swallowing some of the phraxsloops whole. The distraction worked and Cade was able to save the Farrow Ridges.[11]

Role in Weird New Worlds

In 612 ᴇ.ʏ., Forden Drew and Alcestia Helmstoft encountered a tribe of wild goblins, and spoke to a veteran warrior, Grut-Tugg. He told them of the Battle of the Skies over Farrow Lake.

Known Nation Members

Linguistics

Term Alternative
Prowlgrin Branch-leaper
Tarry vine Strangle-vine
Farrow Lake The Great water
Farrow Laker Heavy-foot
Bloodoak Tree of blood
Giant quarms Tree-huggers
Outsider Otherlander
Mire-pearler Skyfarer

References

  1. ↑ The Nameless One, Chapter 16
  2. ↑ The Nameless One, Chapter 27
  3. ↑ The Nameless One, Chapter 28
  4. ↑ The Nameless One, Chapter 29
  5. ↑ The Nameless One, Chapter 30
  6. ↑ Doombringer, Chapter 18
  7. ↑ Doombringer, Chapter 19
  8. ↑ Doombringer, Chapter 22
  9. 1 2 Doombringer, Chapter 33
  10. ↑ Doombringer, Chapter 34
  11. ↑ Doombringer, Chapter 35
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