Eadone Sciencemaster

Eadone was a First Comer, and whilst the above entry in the Companion says she is the eldest daughter and the eldest child of Thagdal alive in Earth. It does not specify "surviving", so it may be that Thagdal had children back in Duat who were older, but died in Duat. It appears to me that Eadone arrived on Earth already holding great status, for as Thagdal led the departure from the dying Ship, he was accompanied by Eadone (named first), Dionket and Mayvar. We know that Dionket and Mayvar were Guild Presidents, so there is every reason to believe that Eadone arrived on Earth, already in the Position as Dean of Guilds.

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To have attained such a position, she would have been no spring chicken, but speculating on her age upon arrival is relatively pointless. Let's just suggest she was several hundred of our years old. Which means after 1000 years on Earth, she was a middle-aged Tanu.

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She was also the full, and elder, sister to Minanonn. So these two were the children of Boanda and Thagdal, who under the sun of their home world in the Duat Galaxy, clearly specialised in the production of kick-arse meta-psychic kids.

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As the Dean of Guilds, Eadone seems to have a hand in all things to do with the Five meta-psychics guilds, and has a leading hand in important events in all Tanu society. For example, it is she who opens the first day of the Grand Combat; she who greets the arrival of Elizabeth.

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Importantly, this includes overseeing challenges to Guild Presidents, as was with the challenge Mercy levelled at old Aluteyn. And it is Aluteyn's words to Eadone during the initial per-Grand Combat challenge that are quite interesting:

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"I take my seat, yielding the speakership freely to the Fivefold Benevolence of the Lady Dean."

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Now, these words may have been purely ceremonial, and one could easily believe it. And maybe the use of the term "Fivefold" is simply a necessary term to reflect the fact of Eadone's office of state. However, it does remind me on the phrase used about Minanonn's power. He was known as "Minanonn of the Threefold Function", which was a nod to his high level of power in Creativity, Coercian and PK. Such phrases, therefore, seem to be in common use, to help describe a Tanu's breadth and versatility of power.

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Unlike the Firvulag, whose key meta-psychic powers were Farsening and Creativity, with a dash of Coercian, the Tanu were, in contrast, did not favour any one particular meta-psychic power, but instead to cover all five. Not ALL Tanu did, and the vast majority specialised on one, hence their guild membership. But it was not uncommon for a Tanu to have more than one of the five powers at a decent level, and some clearly had all at some useable level. Eadone and Nodonn being well known examples.

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Eadone was also known as Eadone Sciencemaster. Science was well known to be the province of the Creative Guild, but the Coercer Guild also was heavily involved. So this may speak to the possibility that these two meta-psychic abilities were her primary powers, but there is no surety of this.

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During the wake for Tasha, Eadone feels like a consummate diplomat, seeing the benefits of the merging of Elizabeth's genes with Tanu and the exciting result of supercharging Tanu metal evolution, whist also agreeing with The Host members present, that their fears are not trivial. But she is clearly excited by the prospect of a fully operant Tanu race and she seeks compromise with The Host on Elizabeth, which they are not prepared to give. She also recognises that a union between Aiken and Elizabeth is a threat to the Tanu racial destiny, but I get the feeling that given the success in the breeding of Tanu with Humanity, she does not really see a problem with the merging of the races. Eadone eagerly backs, with Aluteyn, the Queen's suggestion that Brede rule on the future of Elizabeth, having already show her belief that that Brede is very wise. Possibly the Queen, Aluteyn and Eadone knew, or hoped, what Brede's ruling will be on Elizabeth's genes would be, that is to say Brede might rule Elizabeth's genes off the reproduction table.

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Eadone is also a very straight forward kind of character, as illustrated by her brutal explanation to Velteyn why Finiah cannot be rebuilt properly, when the Tanu Great Ones gather near the site of the Time-gate. She even shows a little sympathy with Nodonn blaming the Time-gate for the Tanu woes, although, given her earlier enthusiasm for the potential of the Tanu genes merging with Elizabeth, I don't think Eadone was a full supporter of Nodonn's beliefs. And she also shows her compassionate side, by later attempting to comfort Velteyn and his loss of Finiah.

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And that is pretty much all we know of her. And like Katlinel, I do wish we knew more.