The Gardier

The Gardier are a mysterious, powerful race of sorcerers in Martha Wells' fantasy trilogy, The Fall of Ile-Rien. They employ alien magic in their conquests of other societies, which the skilled magicians of Ile-Rien cannot counter. They also employ armed airships to bombard target cities from above. The centers of their civilization are called Matons, once-elegant cities heavily developed into bland and utilitarian military and industrial enclaves. The Gardier name for themselves is the Aelin, and the language they speak is also called Aelin. They rarely call themselves the Aelin, although they do not specify the name they have taken. "It [Aelin] was a thing of their past, like the small villages that had once dotted the land and the careful craftsmanship that had constructed this city [Maton-Devara]" (The Ships of Air, 164).

In the beginning of the trilogy, not much is known of the Gardier. The name itself was given to them by Rienish newspapers and is a corruption of the Aderassi slang word for "enemy" (The Wizard Hunters, 33). They have successfully conquered several of Ile-Rien's allies, and are advancing towards the capital city, Vienne. The university-city of Lodun is besieged by the Gardier, trapping its powerful sorcerers behind an impenetrable barrier, making them unavailable to the war effort.

Armed Forces

The Gardier are vaguely fascistic, with an extensive military force. The forces are divided into three castes:

• Service - Members of the Service wear drab, unadorned brown uniforms and have their hair shaved in buzz cuts. Due to long hours inside their closed vessels and fortified outposts, they have a sickly pale skintone. Members of Service have their memories of their prior lives magically erased.
• Command - Members of Command dictate battle strategies and command the Service caste. They often plant spies in the other castes to detect traitorous thoughts. They also recruit spies among the Rienish. An archaic Aelin word for the Command caste is Domileh (The Ships of Air, 354).
• Scientists - The Scientists adapt stolen technology for use by the Gardier. They are often interested in Command's activities because they suspect captured individuals with knowledge of desired technology will not be turned over to the Scientists for examination. Of all the classes this is the only one that encourages free thinking (The Ships of Air).

The castes are strictly divided. No casual contact is permitted between members of different castes and strict hierarchies are in place within each caste. It appears that women are able to serve alongside men in the three castes. The higher castes, Command and Science, will plant observers among the other castes to spy on their own people.

Weapons

• Mechanical Disruptor- The Mechanical Disruptor is a spell that turns mechanical devices such as guns and engines into shrapnel. The effect of this spell is devastating on Rienish armed forces. Rienish soldiers on the front lines have resorted to crossbows because they are not mechanically advanced enough to be destroyed.
• Stun- This spell is contained in one of the many devices given to Gardier soldiers. The devices look like "fancy cigar lighters" and are clipped to the individual's belt. This spell paralyzes the enemy and allows quick victory.
• Translator- A spell to translate Aelin to Rienish and to allow the Gardier to understand Rienish. It takes the form of a medallion that one must hold for the translation to be effective. This spell is unusual because the nearest Rienish equivalent requires the spell-caster to know both languages.
• Magic Detector- Another small metal belt device. It sets off an alarm when a spell is used near the Gardier soldier.

There are many magical devices that the Gardier carry on their belts. They are described as "little metal boxes with triggers on them, like fancy cigar lighters" (The Wizard Hunters, 106). The purpose for all the devices is not known. In addition to these, there is one device that appears to control the Howlers, a monstrous creation of a mad wizard.

Culture & Society

They are a predatory people, seizing and adopting inventions and technologies from their conquests, although are unable to perfectly replicate them, resulting in crude inferior copies of the originals. For example, automotive vehicles created by the Gardier are far less reliable and sophisticated them those they seized and copied, ugly and not very powerful. Similarly, their use of the crystal technology is flawed, and poorly understood by the Scientists.

Service and Labor castes are not given access to education. Service is an honorable, if low-ranked member of the military classes, and are generally considered to work too hard to appreciate any luxuries. Individuals from the Labor caste come from a variety of sources. On source of Labor caste workers is captured civilians from occupied territories (such as Rien) who are forced to work for the Gardier. Thus, one definition of Labor is slaves. The rest of their society is deemed Labor, and subject to mass, forced relocation to work in Labor Pens regardless of familial ties or prior social status. Civilian laborers are deprived of all luxury goods, and eat bland, unseasoned food. Even dyed clothing is unavailable to all but the highest levels of Command. The majority of the people are impoverished and illiterate.