Senjak

From Glen Cook Wiki

Senjak is the surname of a family many generations before the events of the Black Company novels. Both The Lady and Soulcatcher are Senjak sisters.

A Baron Senjak, lord in some unnamed far western kingdom, fathered four (possibly more) daughters with a woman who was either in a coma, or in a similar state induced by magic. Little else is mentioned of this Baron. It is stated in The White Rose that he was not TelleKurre. The four Senjak daughters — Dorotea, Credence, Ardath, and Sylith — were exceptionally beautiful, and vied among one another in their loveliness. What little is known of these sisters before the Domination was discovered in TelleKurre documents found in Whisper's camp.

Dorotea

Main article: The Lady

Dorotea Senjak is mentioned briefly in the TelleKurre documents found in Whisper's camp. It is written there that she was the youngest of the four Senjak sisters, and, according to the guest list, did not attend a banquet with her father the Baron and the three siblings. The papers also mentioned that Dorotea married Raft, Prince-in-Waiting, of Start. (It is never speculated if Raft became the Dominator, he seems to have been simply another man, Dorotea's earlier husband from another unconsummated marriage.)

In his attempts during the events of the Books of the North to deprive the Lady of her magical power by naming her true name, the Dominator on two occasions guessed incorrectly: first by calling her Ardath in Shadows Linger, and then Sylith in The White Rose. Later in the latter novel, the Limper sought to name her as well, and guessed Credence; unlike the Dominator, the Limper did not know that Soulcatcher was Credence and according to his knowledge, that name was a viable option.

The Lady, Dorotea Senjak, is finally named and stripped of her powers moments later by the Company wizard Silent.

Credence

Main article: Soulcatcher

Credence Senjak comes up in Whisper's TelleKurre documents as having married Barthelme of Jaunt, a renowned sorcerer. Tracker vaguely remembers Barthelme later becoming one of the Taken, though admitting in the same breath that his memory is poor. Nothing is firmly established about Barthelme. The documents later mention that Credence was killed when a city called Jaunt was taken in one of the early conquests of the Dominator and Lady.

Although it is not explicitly stated, Soulcatcher's true name must be Credence by process of elimination. This is because Dorotea is the Lady; and "Ardath" and "Sylith" were spoken by the Dominator in his attempts to name Lady. The Dominator, who had Taken Soulcatcher himself, knew her name and would never have guessed Ardath or Sylith if either one was the name of Soulcatcher. The old belief that Credence was killed is simply part of the subterfuge that Soulcatcher, like all other powerful sorcerers, created to hide her true identity and protect her power.

Ardath & Sylith

Much less is known of the remaining two sisters; there is no evidence or cause to believe that either of them lived to see the Domination.

Ardath was married to a Baron Kaden; Croaker discovers that her second husband was Erin NoFather, a priest of Vancer, and that Erin and Ardath were killed by bandits just prior to the rise of the Dominator. It is often speculated that Ardath was the twin sister of the Lady whom she murdered and whose identity she assumed, marrying Erin who later became the Dominator.

According to the TelleKurre documents found in Whisper's camp, Sylith was the only one of the four who never married; she was reported drowned in a flood of the River Dream in front of many witnesses, though no body was found.

The Dominator, during his attempt to escape the Barrowland by using his influence in the Black Castle, guessed that the true name of the Lady was Ardath. Later, during the vicious fight while trying to flee Darling's magical null, he guessed that the Lady's name was Sylith.