Sindhu was a muscular young man of Gunni descent and a secret member of the cult of the Stranglers, within which he held the rank of red rumel. He appeared to function as second-in-command to Narayan Singh, who was the jamadar of their Changlor band, but Sindhu may have been from a different band. Lady described Sindhu as a very strong "human stump" and being built like a bear, with a humorless personality, and carrying a sinister presence exceeding that of Narayan. A stealthy murderer, Sindhu was a key ally of Lady during and after the Siege of Dejagore, up until the Stranglers kidnapped Lady's newborn daughter.
Dreams of Steel and Bleak Seasons[]
Sindhu joined up with Lady and Narayan during her escape from Dejagore after the Black Company's defeat.[1] He entered the city during the subsequent Siege of Dejagore to spy for Lady and for the Deceivers. Later, under Narayan's command, he and Ram helped the Lady eliminate some of her political opponents, most importantly Jahamaraj Jah, the chief priest of the Shadar.
When Narayan personally accompanied Lady northward to Taglios, he sent Sindhu to stay with Lady's loyalist Blade at Ghoja. By the time Blade's force of about 3000 Taglians had begun skirmishing with Shadowspinner's Shadowlanders north of Dejagore, Sindhu "was like Blade's shadow".
Sindhu and Murgen were captured by Shadowspinner's men outside Dejagore. Trapped in a filthy outdoor prison for days and surrounded in human waste and misery, Sindhu seemed the thrive while Murgen suffered immensely. One night, Sindhu detected the breath of his goddess Kina. He gave Murgen fresh water and they suddenly witnessed strange lights inside Shadowspinner's tent. Then Lady, Blade, Willow Swan, Narayan Singh, Ram, and others exited the tent with Shadowspinner's dismembered body parts. They were liberated and Sindhu reunited with his leader Narayan Singh.
Sindhu was present at the aftermath of the Siege of Dejagore, and commented that Mogaba and the Nar were heretics and "worse than unbelievers" for practicing their blood-drinking cult rites to the same goddess he worshiped, Kina.
She Is the Darkness[]
Sindhu appeared briefly in She Is the Darkness. He was present with Narayan and other prominent Stranglers who were allied with Longshadow during the Battle of Charandaprash. Murgen, in his spirit-walking form, spied on the Stranglers' leadership, and overheard Sindhu advising Narayan about Uncle Doj, who was taunting them from across the field of battle. Murgen was surprised that Sindhu had survived the numerous and thorough purges of the Strangler cult in the preceding four years. Sindhu is not mentioned again in the Annals after this. He may have been among the approximately 50 Stranglers killed in the ambush executed by Doj and Ky Gota shortly afterward. If he survived that, it is strongly likely that he was one of the victims of the subsequent purges ordered by Croaker and Lady.
References[]
- ↑ Dreams of Steel, Chapter 7