Mentiloths are officially described as the death-winged steeds of The Xin, which is accurate as far as it goes and stops precisely where the interesting part begins. The silk networks that form the dark net's structural foundation - the infrastructure the Xin's orders now travel through - were woven by Mentiloths before the Xin were managing anything; whether they chose this arrangement or arrived at it through a series of decisions that made sense at the time is not information they have volunteered. They move through thick ether with a directional flicker: there, not-there, two feet to the left of where you were looking. They are drawn to active thought - strong intention, strong emotion, strong concentration - and they do not travel individually, so the time to work on emptying your mind is before you enter the area, not after you notice the first one.

Siltibog, emperor of the Stanningxin, receives the gratitude of Hathersage with the same composed formality that xin apparently bring to everything, including small-arm fire from the decks of commandeered gruizers. They are not a wordy race, Van says, but their ways lend themselves to dignified and courtly manners — a distinction I have come to appreciate, having watched a thousand green warriors accept the thanks of an entire village while the battle was still technically ongoing.

Hagibrack's domain — the great bog — is the spiritual home of the xin, permanently populated by five of the twenty-five communities while the rest are scattered across the deserted villages of The Dark Peak. The horde numbers approximately fifty thousand in total, which is modest by off-world standards and more than sufficient by any other measure. The yearly games are held in the swamp bowl and serve social, political, and judicial functions simultaneously; Gorsithorn had arranged for Van and Pandora to be thrown to the Dyapnids as the centrepiece event.

Don't make eye contact with a xin. Not superstition — they read intent through ocular contact and adjust their approach accordingly. You want to be unreadable for as long as possible.