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Spoiler warning!
This article or section contains plot spoilers for the Mortal Engines quartet. Proceed at your own risk. |
Erdene Tezh was a house that was introduced in A Darkling Plain. It is the old home of Anna Fang/the Stalker Fang.
Description[]
Erdene Tezh is located in the Erdene Shan valley.
History[]
Mortal Engines quartet[]
A Darkling Plain[]
When Popjoy protested that the Stalker Fang would reactivate ODIN, but the Stalker killed him. She took Fishcake with her to steal Popjoy's air-yacht and reach Erdene Tezh and her old home. There, she began constructing a device which would relay orders to ODIN.
When Tom and Hester Natsworthy arrived at Erdene Tezh, the Jenny Haniver came under attack by stalker birds commanded by the Stalker and crashed near Fang's old home. After Hester and Tom left Nimrod Pennyroyal. Fishcake confronted them and attempted to kill Hester, but was stopped by the Stalker Fang. The Stalker forced him to run away and took Tom into the house, deciding not to kill them as they will all die soon enough.
The Stalker Fang explained to Tom and Hester that she destroyed various traction cities and Green Storm bases to make the two sides fight each other, giving her time to send a command to ODIN to target various destructive volcanoes around the Earth, which will erupt and kill mankind, but would "make the world green again". Pennyroyal, who was found by Fishcake, picked up an Anti-Stalker weapon that Hester dropped and went to the house. Tom tried to convince the Anna-side of the Stalker to destroy ODIN, and the Stalker flashed between the converging personalities. Pennyroyal suddenly entered and killed the Stalker Fang, which fell onto the ODIN transmitter and destroyed it. Pennyroyal acquired the key to the sky-yacht and attempted to bring it to them to save Tom. As Hester carefully took Tom outside, they saw a twinkling star in the sky, ODIN destroying itself. Hester realised that the Stalker Fang had ordered the weapon to destroy itself. Pennyroyal tried to fly the sky-yacht to Tom and Hester, but was threatened by Fishcake with a knife. Hester watched the sky-yacht fly away, and she comforted Tom as he dies. Shortly afterwards, she killed herself by driving a knife through her heart to join him.
Miles away, Shrike revived himself and arrived at Erdene Tezh too late, finding the remains of the Stalker Fang. He downloaded memories from the older-part of her brain. The Stalker then found Tom and Hester's bodies, and considered taking Hester to be resurrected by Oenone, but sadly realised that this was the right end for her. He picked up Hester and Tom's bodies, still holding each others' hands. As he carried them, he again remembered who he was, and that he had children, and when they were sleepy, he'd carry them to bed. Shrike then sliced off Tom and Hester's clothes and laid their bodies down to rest. Shrike then went to sit by a cave, and shut down all of his systems except for his mind and eyes. He watched Tom and Hester's bodies decay over the years, and finally turned on his systems hundreds of years later.
Shrike awoke, seeing that Tom and Hester's bodies have completely decayed, with an oak tree grew out of the latter's body, and saw a young boy and a girl standing in front of him. He saw that the people there had hung flowers around his neck for luck each year, them thinking that he was an old statue. The children took Shrike to a town hall, and he saw that the walls were made of Traction Cities' tracks, and watchtowers were made of wheels. He expected that there are no machines in this world, but he sees that airships are still in use, powered by magnetic levitation. Shrike realised that the Traction Era was over, because when he asked the townsfolk if there are any moving cities in the world, they said that moving cities only exist in fairy tales. They asked Shrike what he was for, and he states that he was a Remembering Machine. He then told the townsfolk that he remembered the age of the Traction Cities, London and Arkangel, Thaddeus Valentine and Anna Fang, and Hester and Tom. Then Shrike begins to tell the people his story.