Gilhaelith

Infobox character | name = Gilhaelith


real_name =
portrayer =
creator = Ian Irvine
species = Quartine (has the blood of all the species of the Three Worlds, including Charon.)
gender = Male
first = Tetrarch "(chapter 17)"
last = Chimaera "(chapter 80)"
last_cause =
age = 180
occupation = Geomancer
title = Tetrarch
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
footnotes =

Gilhaelith is one of the main characters in Ian Irvine's "The Well of Echoes" quartet. He is a Geomancer and Mathemancer of great power. He is sometimes referred to as the Tetrarch by the characters. Gilhaelith first appears in the second novel of the quartet, Tetrarch.

Physical Appearance

Gilhaelith is extremely tall and has rather frizzy sand coloured hair. He is thin and has long lanky legs which make him unattractive and rather awkward looking. His one appealing feature are his eyes, which are a light grey colour. Gilhaelith often wears mancers robes which he (incorrectly) believes give him a distinguished look.

Origins

Little is revealed about Gilhaelith's past but it is known he was born somewhere on Meldorin island, 180 years before the occurrences of Tetrarch. Due to his age and appearance, it is suggested he is descended from one of the longer live species of human. He is, in fact, the direct descendant of none other than Maigraith and Rulke

He reveals he was born to a dead woman, his father (possibly an influential man) probably having her assassinated. Gilhaelith's faithful nurse then took him into her care and raised him. Learning was a great challenge to Gilhaelith but he eventually mastered his education, particularly numbers.

The greatest tragedy of Gilhaelith's life struck when his nurse died of the plague and he was sent to an orphanage. The children there were afraid of Gilhaelith as he was odd looking and different. They were cruel and excluded him but Gilhaelith was determined to be greater than any of them. It was these dismal years of his life that caused him to have the need to control everything and everyone in his later life.

Gilhaelith grew up and acquired great wealth for himself. Because of his incredibly high intellect he was able to best all the other merchants and before long an entire city hated him for gaining their money. Gilhaelith hid away from the world and resurfaced many years later (when all his adversaries were dead). Gilhaelith took a vow of celibacy.

Gilhaelith's interests soon turned to the Secret Art, more precisely, Geomancy. He had an exceptionally powerful talent for the Art and became the greatest geomancer alive. He developed the new Art of mathemancy to help further his goals to understand the earth and its forces in their entirety and built a great fortress, Nyriandiol, atop the volcano of Boreah Ngurle, a place were every stone was carefully placed for its Geomantic purpose.

Gilhaelith's Role

Tetrarch

At the beginning of Tetrach, something began resonating with Gilhaelith's geomantic instruments in a way he had never encountered before. He went to investigate and in the forests surrounding Nyriandol, Gilhaelith discovered the wrecked thapter. Inside the machine was a young woman by the name of Tiaan Liise-Mar, who's back was broken from the crash that had wrecked the machine. He also discovered the Amplimet which to a geomancer was an irresitable treasure. Gilhaelith had the thapter transported to Nyriandiol and took Tiaan in to gain whatever secrets or knowledge of the legendary construct or the strange crystal she had.

Gilhaelith learnt from Tiaan that she had created a gate to bring the Aachim of Aachan to Santhenar and soon realised she had a great talent for the Secret Art. Though he did not believe her story at first, Gilhaelith came to trust Tiaan after Scrutator Klarm paid him a visit and supplied information that appeared to confirm Tiaan's story.

Gilhaelith defied Vithis, leader of the Aachim, who were desperately seeking Tiaan by keeping her hidden. Tiaan agreed to become Gilhaelith's apprentice and together they created a controller powered walker for her, to try and compensate for her broken back.

After creating a powered walker for Tiaan, Gilhaelith began to tutor her on the basics of Geomancy. Gilhaelith was an inexperienced teacher and was quite erratic in his style of teaching. Despite this he and Tiaan became very close and it seemed for a time that they would become more than friends. Tiaan's grasp of Geomancy grows and Gilhaelith know he's has a master geomancer as a student.

One night Tiaan goes looking for Gilahelith, but does not find him. She is drawn to his organ room, a place of great geomantic use and power. Here she sees his Geomantic-Globe and other devices. The Amplimet is there to and it becomes clear that Gilhaelith had been scrying out her past. Gilhaelith returns as Tiaan sees a vision of her future walking down The Tower of A Thousand Steps. He spends the night covering Tiaan's tracks to keep other less benign powers from discovering her.

When Tiaan and Gilhaelith go for a walk around the lake of Booreah Ngurle, to speak of what happened last night, Gilhaelith hears a noise. Four lyrinx descend upon him and he tries in vain to defend himself. The lyrinx then take off with Gilhaelith.

Matriarch Gyrull wishes for Gilhaelith to discover a lost village under the tar pits of Snizort. Gyrull and Gilhaelith return to Nyriandol to bring some of Gilhaelith's devices to aid in his endeavour and discover that the Aachim had raided his house and that Tiaan had fought bravely and escaped in the thapter.

Tiaan ventures to Snizort as she believes that to be where Gilahelith to have been taken and is quickly apprehended by Ryll, the lyrinx she became friends with over time in her previous captivity. Gilhaelith learns of her imprisonment and is saddened that she had risked herself so, but seems more interested in the Amplimet.

Gilahelith spends time surveying the Seep, yet spends more studying the way the Amplimet interacts with the node. A great army of old humans led by Xervish Flydd attacks Snizort and Gilhaelith's stalling causes the death of many lyrinx. As the node begins to fail Gilhaelith finds himself sinking in a pit of tar. Gilahelith finds a way to escape by combining his two most trained arts. Geomancy could not help him without a crystal and mathemancy could not do anything to help him directly. Gilahelith finds the answer. He uses mathemancy to create a phantom crystal which he then uses in geomancy to help him escape. However, since Gilahelith used this, he has discovered that his brain was slightly burnt and every time he uses the secret art, his brain burns more, taking some of his knowledge with him.