The Thousandfold Thought

by R. Scott Bakker

  Battle of Kiyuth—An important battle between the Imperial Army of Nansur and the Scylvendi, fought in 4110 on the banks of the River Kiyuth, a tributary of the Sempis river system. The overconfident Scylvendi King-of-Tribes led his people into a trap laid by Ikurei Conphas, the Nansur Exalt-General. The resulting defeat was unprecedented, given that it occurred on the Jiünati Steppe.

  Battle of Maän—A minor battle fought between Conriya and Ce Tydonn in 4092.

  Battle of Mehsarunath—The first great battle fought between the gathered might of Kyraneas and the host of the No-God on the Attong Plateau in 2154. Though Aurang, the No-God’s Horde-General, won the battle, the Kyranean High King, Anaxophus V, was able to escape with much of his host intact, setting the stage for the far more decisive Battle of Mengedda the following year.

  Battle of Mengedda, the Second—The desperate battle where Anaxophus V and his southern tributaries and allies made their victorious stand against the Horde of the No-God in 2155. Thought by many to be the most important battle in history.

  Battle of Mengedda, the Fourth—The battle where the so-called Vulgar Holy War under Nersei Calmemunis suffered utter destruction at the hands of the Kianene under Skauras ab Nalajan in 4110.

  Battle of Mengedda, the Fifth—The first decisive battle fought between the First Holy War and the Kianene, in 4111. Plagued with organizational problems and dissension among its commanders, the First Holy War, under the nominal command of Prince Coithus Saubon, was caught by Skauras ab Nalajan and his Kianene host on the Plains of Mengedda with only half of its available strength. From morning to late afternoon, the Inrithi managed to beat back innumerable Kianene charges. When the remainder of the First Holy War arrived on the Fanim flank, the will of the Kianene broke and they were routed.

  Battle of Paremti—A minor battle fought between Conriya and Ce Tydonn in 4109, and the first military victory of Prince Nersei Proyas. Historically significant because Proyas had his cousin, Calmemunis, whipped for impiety, an act that many historians claim precipitated Calmemunis’s decision to prematurely march with the so-called Vulgar Holy War.

  Battle of the Slops—Name given to the prolonged contest between the Kianene and the Ainoni at the Battle of Anwurat.

  Battle of Trantis Bay—The decisive sea battle where the Kianene fleet, using Cishaurim, was able to annihilate the Imperial Nansur fleet under General Sassotian in 4111, thereby denying the First Holy War its primary source of water for its march across Khemema.

  Battle of Tywanrae Fords—One of three disastrous defeats suffered by Akksersia and its allies at the hands of the Horde of the No-God. Tywanrae is often evoked by Mandate scholars as an example of the limitations of using Chorae alone to cope with enemy sorcerers in battle.

  Battle of Zirkirta—A major battle fought between the Kianene host of Hasjinnet ab Skauras and the Scylvendi under Yursut urs Muknai on the Jiünati Steppe in 4103. Though their cavalry proved no match for the Scylvendi, and Hasjinnet himself was slain, the Kianene were quick in recovering, and most of the ill-fated expedition survived.

  Battleplain—See Mengedda Plains.

  Battles of Agongorea—See Apocalypse.

  Bengulla (4103-12)—Son of Aëngelas and Valrissa.

  benjuka—A subtle and ancient game of strategy played by caste-nobility throughout the Three Seas. A derivative of the more esoteric mirqu played by Nonmen, the first extant references to benjuka date back to the so-called Nonmen Tutelage (555-825).

  Betmulla Mountains—A minor mountain range forming the southwestern frontier of both Xerash and Amoteu.

  Biaxi, House—One of the Houses of the Congregate, and traditional rival to House Ikurei.

  blood-of-the-onta—A common term for what Zarathinius called the “ink” of the Mark.

  Bogras, Praxum (4059-4111)—The general of the Selial Column, slain at Anwurat.

  Bokae—An old Ceneian fort on the western frontier of Enathpaneah.

  Boksarias, Pirras (2395-2437)—The Ceneian Emperor who standardized trading protocols within the empire and established a thriving system of markets in its major cities.

  Book of Circles and Spirals, The—The magnum opus of Sorainas, providing an entertaining blend of philosophical commentary and religious aphorism.

  Book of Devices, The—An oft-revised Nansur military manual depicting the banner devices of their ancestral foes.

  Book of Divine Acts, The—The magnum opus of Memgowa, the famed Zeümi sage and philosopher. Though not as commonly read or copied as his Celestial Aphorisms, most scholars consider it a vastly superior work.

  Bowl, the—The name given to Caraskand’s central quarter, which is surrounded by five of the city’s nine heights.

  Breaking of the Gates—The name given to the assault on the Gates of Eärwa, a series of fortified passes through the Great Kayarsus, by the Men of Eänna. Since The Chronicle of the Tusk ends with the determination to invade Eärwa, or the Land of the “Uplifted Sun,” and since the Nonmen Mansions most involved in resisting the Tribes of Men were all destroyed, very little is known either of the Breaking of the Gates or of the subsequent migratory invasions.

  Bukris—The God of famine. As one of the so-called Punitive Gods, who command sacrifices through threat and the imposition of suffering, Bukris has no real Cult or priesthood. According to Kiünnat tradition, Bukris is the older brother of Anagkë, which is why Anagkean Cultic Priests typically administer the rites of propitiation during times of hunger.

  Burning of the White Ships—One of the more famous acts of treachery during the Apocalypse. Falling back before the Consult legions, Anasûrimbor Nimeric dispatched the Aörsic fleet in 2134 to shelter in the Kûniüri port of Aesorea, where it was burned by agents unknown mere days after its arrival, deepening the feud between the two peoples, with tragic consequences. See Apocalypse.

  Burulan (4084- )—One of Esmenet’s Kianene body-slaves.

  Byantas—A near antique writer of the Ceneian Empire.

  C

  Calasthenes (4055-4111)—A sorcerer of rank in the Scarlet Spires, slain by a Chorae at Anwurat.

  Calmemunis, Nersei (4069-4110)—The Palatine of the Conriyan province of Kanampurea, and nominal leader of the Vulgar Holy War.

  Cants—The name given to offensive sorcerous incantations. See sorcery.

  Cants of Calling—The family of incantations that enable communications over distance. Though the metaphysics of these Cants is only loosely understood, all long-distance Cants of Calling seem to turn on the so-called Here Hypothesis. One can call only to slumbering souls (because they remain open to the Outside) and only to those residing someplace where the Caller has physically been. The idea is that the “Here” of the Caller can only reach a “There,” or other location, that has been a “Here” sometime in the past. The degree of similarity between Anagogic and Gnostic Cants of Calling has led many to suspect that they hold the key to unravelling the Gnosis.

  Cants of Compulsion—The family of incantations that control the movements of an individual’s soul. Typically these include the so-called Cants of Torment, though not always. An insidious aspect of these Cants is that their subject often has no way of distinguishing sorcerously compelled thoughts from his own thoughts. This has spawned a whole literature on the very notion of “will.” If the compelled soul feels every bit as uncompelled as the free soul, then how can anyone truly know himself to be free?

  Canute—A Province of Ce Tydonn, one of the so-called Deep Marches of the Upper Swa.

  Caphrianus I (3722-85)—Commonly called “the Younger” to distinguish him from his Ceneian namesake. The Nansur Surmante emperor famed for his wily diplomacy and far-reaching reforms of the Nansur legal code.

  Cara-Sincurimoi—“Angel of Endless Hunger” (Ihrimsû) An ancient Nonman name for the No-God. See No-God.

  Caraskand—A major city and great caravan entrepot of the southwestern Three Seas. The administrative and commercial capital of Enathpaneah.

  Carathay Desert—Vast arid
region of dunes and gravel flats occupying southwestern Eärwa. Large oases are primarily found along the eastern regions of the desert, but there are skeletal river systems throughout.

  Caro-Shemic—The language of the scriptural pastoralists of the Carathay Desert.

  Carythusal—Also known as “the City of Flies.” The most populous city in the Three Seas, and the administrative and commercial capital of High Ainon.

  Casidas (3081-3142)—A famed philosopher and historian of Near Antiquity, best known for his magisterial The Annals of Cenei.

  caste-apparati—A term for hereditary officials in Three Seas bureaucracies.

  caste-menial—A term for the suthenti, or the hereditary labourer caste.

  caste-noble—A term for the kjineta, or the hereditary warrior caste.

  caste-priest—A term for the nahat, or the hereditary priest caste.

  castes—Inherited social statuses. Though weaker in the so-called Middle-North, the Inrithi caste system is one of the central institutions of Three Seas society. In a technical sense, there are almost as many castes as there are occupations, but in practice they fall into roughly four different groups: the suthenti or labouring castes, the momurai or transactional castes, the nahat or priestly castes, and the kjineta or warrior castes. Elaborate protocols supposedly govern all interactions within and between castes to ensure the observances of various privileges and obligations, as well as to minimize ritual pollution, but in practical terms they are rarely adhered to unless in the pursuit of advantage.

  caünnu—The Scylvendi name for the hot southwestern winds that cross the Jiünati Steppe during the height of summer.

  Celestial Aphorisms—One of Memgowa’s most celebrated texts.

  Celmomas II, Anasûrimbor (2089-2146)—The implacable foe of Golgotterath in the early days of the Apocalypse, and last of the Kûniüric High Kings. See Apocalypse.

  Celmomian Prophecy—The dying words of Anasûrimbor Celmomas II to Seswatha on the Fields of Eleneöt in 2146 to the effect that an Anasûrimbor would return at “the end of the world.” Given that the prevention of the so-called Second Apocalypse is the Mandate’s entire reason for existence, it is perhaps no surprise that most Mandate scholars think the Celmomian Prophecy authentic. Few others in the Three Seas credit their claims, however.

  Cememketri (4046- )—The Grandmaster of the Imperial Saik.

  Cenei—A city of the Kyranae Plain that arose from the Age of Warring Cities to conquer the entire Three Seas. Cenei was destroyed by the Scylvendi under Horiötha in 3351.

  Ceneian Empire—The greatest Ketyai empire in history, embracing the entirety of the Three Seas at its greatest extent, from the Atkondras Mountains in the southwest, to Lake Huösi in the north, to the Kayarsus Mountains in the southeast. The primary agent in the creation and maintenance of this empire was the Ceneian Imperial Army, which was perhaps the best trained and organized in history.

  No more than a minor river trading town in the days of Kyraneas, Cenei emerged from the Age of Warring Cities as the pre-eminent city of the Kyranae Plain. The conquest of Gielgath in 2349 sealed the city’s regional dominance, and in the ensuing decades the Ceneians under Xercallas II would secure the remnants of what had once been Kyraneas. Xercallas’s successors continued his aggressive, expansionist policies, first pacifying the Norsirai tribes of Cepalor, then waging three consecutive wars against Shigek, which fell in 2397. Then, in 2414, after conquering Enathpaneah, Xerash, and Amoteu, General Naxentas staged a successful coup and declared himself Emperor of Cenei. Though he would be assassinated the following year, all his successors would avail themselves of the Imperial institutions he created.

  Triamis I became Emperor in 2478, beginning what most scholars consider the Ceneian Golden Age. In 2483 he conquered Nilnamesh, and then Cingulat the following year. In 2485 he defeated a great Zeümi host at Amarah, and would have invaded the Satyothi nation had not mutinies among his homesick troops prevented him. He spent the next decade consolidating his gains, and striving against the internecine religious violence between followers of the traditional Kiünnat sects and the growing numbers of “Inrithi.” It was in the course of negotiating settlements that he became friends with the then Shriah of the Thousand Temples, Ekyannus III, and in 2505 he himself converted to Inrithism, declaring it the official state religion of the Ceneian Empire. He spent the next ten years putting down religious rebellions, while at the same time invading and occupying both Cironj (2508) and Nron (2511). He then spent ten years campaigning across the eastern Three Seas against the successor nations of the old Shiradi Empire, first conquering Ainon (2518), then Cengemis (2519), and finally Annand (2525).

  Ensuing Aspect-Emperors would marginally add to the extent of the empire, but its boundaries remained fairly stable for nearly eight hundred years, during which time the language and institutions of Imperial Cenei and the Thousand Temples would be stitched into the very fabric of Three Seas society. Aside from periodic wars with Zeüm, and the interminable wars against the Scylvendi and Norsirai tribes across the empire’s northern frontier, this would be an age of unprecedented peace, prosperity, and commerce. Only the periodic civil wars, usually fought over succession, posed any real threat to the empire.

  Though Cenei itself was destroyed by the Scylvendi under Horiötha in 3351, historians traditionally date the collapse of the Ceniean Empire in 3372, when General Maurelta surrendered to Sarothesser I in Ainon.

  Cengemic—The language of Cengemis, a derivative of Sheyo-Kheremic.

  Cengemis—The province that once marked the northern limit of the Eastern Ceneian Empire. After the collapse of the Eastern Empire in 3372, it enjoyed independence until overrun by Tydonni tribes in 3742.

  Cepalor—A region of temperate, semi-forested plains extending east of the Hethantas from the Nansur frontier to the southwestern marches of Galeoth. Since the fall of Kyraneas, Cepalor has been inhabited by Norsirai pastoralists known as the Cepalorae, who have long been tributaries of the Nansurium.

  Cepaloran—The language group of Norsirai pastoralists of the Cepaloran Plains.

  Cerish Sea—The largest of Eärwa’s inland seas.

  Cerjulla, Sheorog (4069-4111)—The Tydonni Earl of Warnute, claimed by disease at Caraskand.

  Cern Auglai—A fortress and pirate entrepot located on the coast of Thunyerus.

  Cet’ingira (?- )—See Mekeritrig.

  Ce Tydonn—A Norsirai nation of the Three Seas, located north of Conriya on the eastern shoreline of the Meneanor, founded in 3742 in the wake of Cengemis’s collapse. The first mention of the Tydonni is found in Casidas’s Annals of Cenei, where he mentions their raids across the River Swa. Descendants of White Norsirai refugees from the Apocalypse, the Tydonni are thought to have occupied the southern regions of the Dameori Wilderness for centuries, prevented by their native fractiousness from causing much difficulty for their southern Ketyai neighbours. At some point in the thirty-eighth century, however, they united, and with little difficulty overwhelmed the Men of Cengemis at the Battle of Marswa in 3722. It wasn’t until King Haul-Namyelk finally succeeded in unifying the various tribes under his absolute authority in 3741 that Ce Tydonn proper came into existence.

  Perhaps the most peculiar and distinctive predilection of the Tydonni is found in their racial beliefs. Ti dunn literally means “struck iron” in their tongue, reflecting their belief that their people have been purified by the crucible of their long wandering through the Dameori wildernesses. They hold that this gives them “privileged blood,” rendering them morally, intellectually, and physically superior to other races. This has made the Tydonni cruel overlords of the Cengemi, who have often rebelled against them.

  chav—An addictive narcotic popular among the Ainoni aristocracy, although many eschew it because of its uncertain origins. Chanv reputedly sharpens the intellect, extends one’s lifespan, and drains the body of all its pigment.