- "He was fatter, brighter, whiter [than dy Cabon]. Faintly androgynous. Did that flesh swell as if to contain the uncontainable? His garments were spotless – by that alone, Ista might have known the difference – and luminous as the moon. Above the creases of his smile, cheerfully echoed by the curves of his chins, the god's eyes glinted at her. Wider than skies, deeper than sea chasms, their complexity bent inward endlessly, each layer a lamination of other layers, repeated into infinity, or the infinitesimal. Eyes that might simultaneously contemplate each person and living thing in the world, inside and out, with equal and unhurried attention."
- ―Ista sees the Bastard in a dream[src]
- "Signs of the Bastard's holy presence tend to be unmistakable...The screaming, the altercations, the people running in circles—all that was lacking was something bursting into flame."
- ―Lewko describes the funeral rite with the ice bear[src]
The Bastard of the unseason was one of the five gods of the Chalion world.
His color was white, and he was the god of disasters, bastards, orphans, non-heteronormative loves, pirates, prostitutes, hangmen, and all things out of season. People were more likely to pray to be spared his attention than to receive it. However, as the god of balance, the Bastard was prayed to in death magic in hopes of being granted a miracle of justice.
Unlike the other gods, the Bastard had some direct agency in the world through his demons and sorcerers.
The Bastard's Order ran many orphanages and foundling hospitals. It was also concerned with removing stray demons from the world and particularly from hedge (non-Temple-approved) sorcerers. It also managed the small number of Temple sorcerers.
At death, any person not taken up by one of the other gods would probably be taken by the Bastard (unless the person chose to remain sundered from all of them). A certain number of people were to their destruction in the Bastard's Hell (Be-not); another group were specifically devoted to the Bastard and were thus taken up by his and their choice.
Those who celebrated Bastard's Day generally placed it six weeks after the Summer Solstice.
Phrases associated with the Bastard[]
- Bastard's demon(s)
- Bastard's demon take (Somebody)
- Bastard's Hell
- Bastard's tears
- Bastard weeps
- Bastard laughs
- Bastard's teeth (The Prisoner of Limnos and Penric and the Shaman)
- variant: May Bastard's teeth grind us all
- Bastard piss on you for cowards! (The Orphans of Raspay)
Behind the scenes[]
The author has stated regarding the Bastard's Day:
"Summer solstice, right about now, is the Mother's Day in the 5GU. Bastard's Day is six weeks from now, so, early August, around the 3rd. So Happy Mother's Day! though meaning something rather different -- well, maybe not too different -- than the usual for that greeting."
See message to list group, June 2021