abstract
| - Immalai the Silent is an Arrin-ken dwelling in the Ebonbane mountains, on Mount Timor west of Tai-tastigon. Known vaguely in Tastigon lore as "the Mount Timor Cat", he is said to occasionally assist caravans making the perilous mountain passage to the Central Lands. Jame first sees Immalai in the hills west of the city where he has been aiding and protecting her blind ounce, Jorin, who has grown too large to remain with her at the Res aB'tyrr. Later, when she and Marc attempt a winter crossing of the Ebonbane to reach the Riverland, Immalai rescues them from the changer Keral, who is attempting to capture Jame to return her to the Master's House in Perimal Darkling. Having prevented this, Immalai presides as the Arrin-ken, in mutual consultation, judge Jame for her Darkling training and reckless behavior. She is found "innocent but not ignorant" and deemed an unfallen Darkling, embodying a seeming paradox which the Arrin-ken had never before thought possible. With a final judgement deferred, Immalai escorts Jame and Marc safely through the mountain passes to Peshtar, where he takes his leave of them until such time as someone calls his estranged folk back to their role within the Kencyrath, suggesting it might even be Jame herself who will do so.
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