Bride of the Stone: Circle of Nine Trilogy 2
Page 47
TONGUE OF ALL WORLDS
Common language which flows easily from the tongue with the realisation that all worlds and languages are one.
TREMITE SCRIBES
Based in New Baffin, the faithful recorders of the Book of Life. There are eleven Scribes in all. They are rarely seen, but their words are read and interpreted and misinterpreted by the entirety of Eronth.
TURN OF THE WHEEL
The phrase Turn of the Wheel refers to the cycle of eight Sabbats recognised in Eronth. The Sabbats are spaced at equal distances from each other, and they refer to the celebration and acknowledgment of agricultural and astronomical events. The eight Sabbats are Salhmain, Yule, Candlemas, Ostara, Belthane, Litha, Lammas and Mabon. There are many myths surrounding the Sabbats. Many Eronthites recognise the Sabbats as being a meditation on the totality of life. All that is without lies within. The Turn of the Wheel reflects our own inner cycles.
UNAH
Also referred to as the Great Flood of Unah. A well-known flood that destroyed many of the ancient buildings of Old Baffin, including the primitive seawall and the Temple of Mythalogorus. As a result of Unah, Aphrodite gained a more powerful position in the city.
USHBLAZ
Ferocious and much-feared sky demon. Used by some Dark Angels for sport.
THE WASTELANDS
Home for the Azephim angels who migrated from the Web-Kondoell. Originally the Azephim attempted to settle in Moon Valley, but they were banished to the Wastelands. There are many unexplored regions of the Wastelands. The Outerezt, the outpost for aged Azephim, is located within the Wastelands, as are many giants.
THE WEB or WEB-KONDOELL
Native place of the fierce Azephim angels, in the same dimension as Eronth. Otherwise referred to as the Web-Kondoell.
WEBEYE
Portal between the Web-Kondoell and other worlds. The Webeye is not often used by the Azephim because it is an extremely quick means of transport, and can result in lingering headaches and nausea.
WEBX
Reclusive, tree-like race of beings based in Zeglanada. According to the myth of Lepso, sons and daughters blew breath into an ash and an elder tree. These two trees became the early ancestors of the Webx tree race. Webx are multi-incarnational and live simultaneous lives in parallel worlds. Webx Elders like to claim that their early ancestors came from the Dreamers’ Shell, from the salt water tipped from the Shell. This claim is disputed by the Tremite Scribes, who say the Webx crossed from the Heztarra Galaxy and that the earliest Webx ancestors migrated to other worlds. In some worlds, they solidified their energy and became trees, shrubs, mountains and rocks. The original Webx Elders were 500 feet high. They decreased in size with each generation, but increased in magical powers. They are a peaceful, highly sensitive race, skilled in telepathy, root communication, rock splitting and shape-shifting. They make excellent healers due to their empathetic natures. Webx obtain their nutrients from the soil. It is possible for them to take food orally, but many have died attempting to do so.
WEZOM
Ancient Faery tribe of Eronth. One of the only two pure-blood Faery tribes remaining in Eronth. Slightly more thickset in appearance than their counterparts, the Imomm; they are also more peaceful, although still widely feared in Eronth.
WIDDERSHINS
In an anti-clockwise direction, against the sun.
WILLO’WICKS
Flying mosquito-like beings that inhabit the Glade of the Almost Were, willo’wicks have minute human heads attached to their bodies. They give a burning sting to their victim’s body which, if not extracted, leaves thousands of eggs hatching flesh-eating maggots that can devour the host-victim alive in seconds.
WINSKI
Tiny Faery race. Mischievous and bordering on cruel, Winskis love to torment. They enjoy petty theft. The Winskis spend their time among the Imomm and the Wezom tribes, but a Winski remains true to him/herself and answers to no law but Winski law.
XON
Ancient Faery language.
ZEGERIST
Demon protective thought pattern often used by the Azephim.
ZEGLANADA
Tropical island inhabited by the Webx people. The term Zeglanada means New Dawn.
ZITTER BOARD
Musical instrument similar to a lute. Held against the chest to play. The strings are plucked.
CHARACTERS
ALECOM
Dark Lord, negative energy. Anti-witch. His power is often called upon by the Azephim and the Lightcaster.
AMIRA
The first giant, Amira sprang from the Ice World. His name means ‘first breath’. One of the first gods, he married Lepso, who was born from his belly. Amira was killed by his own sons and his body became the known worlds.
APHRODITE
The love goddess. Erotic, beautiful, uninhibited. Aphrodite is always connected with the sea, which is an archetypal symbol of womankind. The essence of feminine beauty.
ANO
Janusite. Chief Counsel to Mary, High Priestess of Faia.
ARTEMIS
The Goddess of magic and enchantment. Protector of women. Independent and wild. Artemis lived her life surrounded by her beloved animals and nymphs. Artemis is multi-breasted as she nourishes all forms of life.
ASHBUD
Hindu millionaire guru in India.
THE AWAKENER
Prophesied by the Tremite Scribes, the Awakener refers to the energy that manages to release the Wizards from their stone imprisonment. It has also been interpreted that with the Wizards’ release, the Eom will also awake, although there is heated debate among the Eronthites regarding that prophecy.
AZBEL
Janusite divinity. Very little is known about the Janusite divinities. It is a very complex system and the Janusites of Eronthite guard their secrets well.
BAMBI
Maid to Mary, High Priestess of Faia. In reality, a Sea Hag disguised by Glamour.
BLACK ANNIS
Queen of Hags. Cannibalistic, with a taste for the flesh of young children. Due to her great age, she is unable to cross as freely between the worlds as she used to.
BRIGHID
The goddess of inspiration, healing and fire. A Triple Goddess, also patron of smithcraft. Often seen in the form of a beautiful white swan. So popular that even the Catholic Church was unable to suppress her totally, as they did with so many other gods and goddesses; Brighid became a Christian saint.
BWANI
One of the original Wizards who abducted the Eom from the Azephim inside the Web. Bwani incurred the wrath of the goddesses, was transformed into stone and is known as one of the Blest Circle of Nine.
CHARMONZHLA
Legendary Azephim angoli. The Persecution Angel.
THE CHOSEN ONE
According to the Tremite Book of life, the child born of the Crossa who is Bluite-Bindisore is the Chosen One. The Chosen One is believed to have legendary powers, including the power to reactivate the Eom, and to be able to enter the Great Shell and influence the Dreamers to sleep more soundly.
THE CIRCLE OF NINE WIZARDS
Bwani, Claw, Edwen, Josem, Harbog, Ejillahm, Steppm, Aaambll, Dewf.
CITTI
One of the triple Headhunter Crones.
DEMETER
The goddess who represents the fertile earth and the ripened grain of harvest. Beautiful, with hair like ripened grain.
DIOMONNA
Queen of the Imomm Faeries.
DREAMERS
Three women, sisters who lie inside the Great Shell dreaming the known worlds into existence.
ELLIE-JANE
Bluite, stolen by the Imomm to help rear Maya in the Hollow Hills.
ELOIS
Ancient serpent king that, according to legend, once ruled New Baffin.
EMMA
A Bluite Crossa, niece of Johanna Develle.
EPONA
The horse goddess. Also a fertility goddess.
ESMIR
One of the tripl
e Headhunter Crones.
EYEBLE
Ancient serpent king that according to legend once ruled New Baffin.
EZIHHIAM
Legendary angel of false prophets.
FENN
Imomm changeling who was left on Earth with Emma Develle and stolen by Ishran and Sati. Fenn has been raised in the Wastelands.
GELDOZ
Hybrid bull man of the Weldon race. Mary’s assistant in Faia.
GREAT MOTHER
According to Eronth mythology, the Great Mother was Lepso, the wife of the giant Amira. As Lepso, she belched forth all the suns, planets and moons, creating countless worlds. Great Mother is also slang in Eronth for the earth, for the divine feminine force within everything.
GWHYZEMONNA
Legendary angel of war and organised crime.
GWYNDION
Webx. Shootling of Tanzen and Rozen.
HADES
Dark Lord of the Underground. Third brother of Demeter and abductor of Persephone.
HECATE
The goddess of the moon and of the Underworld. Dwelt in the Underworld beside Hades and Persephone, Hypnos, Thanatos and Morpheus. A triple goddess, she is also the goddess of purification. None dared to gaze upon the face of the Dark Mother, who is Hecate.
HERMZEZA
Legendary angel, a slaughterer of the innocents. A child-killer and foetus-destroyer.
THE HORNED ONE
Alternative name for the Stag Man.
HORUS
Athena owl. Horus belongs to Rudmay, the famed Tremite Scribe. Is often mocked in New Baffin for his dandyish qualities and his fondness for composing poems to Rudmay.
HYPNOS
Deity of sleep.
ISHRAN
Dark Angel Lord. Son of Seleza. Ishran is the Ghormho.
JABI
Ilkama belonging to Khartyn.
JAMIS
One of the Headhunter Crones.
JIG BOY, SON OF ELVEN FOOT
A Winski scribe who records the Winski Book of Life.
JOHANNA DEVELLE
Emma’s aunt, a renowned Crossa and a children’s book illustrator.
JOSEPH
Geldoz assistant to the Tremite Scribes.
KALIEGRAVES
Crone in New Baffin. A survivior of the Great Flood of Unah.
KATH/KATHLEEN
Girlfriend of Larry/Lazariel.
KHARTYN
Highly respected Crone of Faia village.
KING PYSPHORRUS
Great-great-grandfather of Diomonna, Queen of the Imomm.
KORE.
Alternative name for Persephone, used specifically to refer to her inherent regenerative power.
KRYSSTI
Maid to Mary, High Priestess of Faia. In reality, a Sea Hag disguised by Glamour.
LARRY OWENS/LAZARIEL
Fallen angel from the Heztarra Galaxy. One of the early founders of Light Vision. Lazariel is the name that Larry Owens changes to. Lazariel means ‘fire of god, servant of the lion’.
LIGHT VISION MEMBERS
Theresa, Alice, Roger, Alan, Daniel, Minette, Sophie.
MARY
High Priestess of Faia. A Crossa hailing from the Blue Planet, Mary’s true origins lie in the Heztarra Galaxy.
MAYA
The Chosen One, daughter of the Stag Man and Emma.
MORPHEUS
Deity of dreams.
NARZIEL
The blind tollkeeper who guards the border between Faia and the Wastelands.
PERSEPHONE
Queen of the Underworld, beloved daughter of Demeter and abducted wife of Hades. Also known as the Maiden or Kore.
PHOOKA
Malevolent energy that resides in the Wastelands, hibernating for the year. Walks on the night of Salhmain, creating death and destruction.
PRICKER
A Lightcaster. One of the names that Lightcasters like to use to refer to themselves, due to their method of torturing witches by pricking them all over their bodies.
PYSPHORRUS
See King Pysphorrus.
RACHEL
Demon child. One of the Looz Drem.
RASHKA
The Glazrmhom. Ishran’s second hatched sister.
ROSEDARK
Apprentice to Khartyn the Crone.
ROZEN
Hostling of Gwyndion. Webx Elder and keeper of the Eom.
RUDMAY
Tremite Scribe.
SAMMA
Meerwog, devoted friend to Gwyndion.
SATI
Bindisore and wife of Ishran. Khartyn’s ex-apprentice. Is the Glazrmhom egg to Emma.
SELEZA
High Priestess for the Azephim angels. Based in the Web- Kondoell. Ishran’s Hosthatch.
SHAMBZHLA
Ancient Warrior Sea Hag Queen.
SIMEON
Hermaphrodite from New Baffin.
SNAKE CRONE
A shaman from the snake people. The Snake Crone crosses continually between worlds, giving aid and healing where it is needed.
STAG MAN
The Horned God. A being of great power and mystery. Primordial energy. Totally aligned with the Dreamers, the Horned God is reclusive and rarely seen. Soul mate to Emma.
ST THERESE OF LISIEUX
Popular Catholic saint. Also known as the Little Flower. St Therese died at twenty-four in 1897 in the Carmelite monastery in Lisieux, France. Beatified in 1923, she was canonised in 1997 by Pope John Paul II, who proclaimed her a doctor of the Church in recognition of her influence on spirituality throughout the world. There are numerous reports of miracle cures and conversions in respect to St Therese. She remains one of the more popular Catholic saints due to her simple, humble teachings. Her relics have been travelling the world since 1995 drawing record crowds.
TANZEN
Hostling of Gwyndion. Webx Elder and keeper of the Eom.
THANATOS
Deity of death.
WOLLEMOONX
Tremite Scribe. Also known as ‘old Woolly’.
Acknowledgments
Merci, grazie and ta very much to the following cast of characters. Literary legend Selwa Anthony for making the world a better place for writers and readers. The Simon and Schuster gang, in particular, Jacquie Brown. Nick Stathopoulos for his artwork. Ian Tonkin for his enthusiasm and keen proofreader’s eye. Ian and Simon Irvine for creating the map.
Rhondda Hollis for our stimulating talks about ghosts, graves and ghouls, for her superb skills with my website and for never losing her temper over my non-existent technical skills. Alfie J. Dog, Brownie, Koala and Smuchi Trim Pennicott Levell for always displaying furry, unconditional love. Pat and Laurence Green for being the perfect grandparents and for all my happy childhood memories of many hours spent in front of Adventure Island with fire-cooked toast and chocolate biscuits. Ian and Barbara Pennicott and Ann and George Levell for their belief in me and their support.
Lastly, to my leading man, David. Thanks for being the hero of my life and for being a great writing buddy. Without you dragging me out of bed at the crack of dawn and your creative insights, the writing process would be a harder, lonelier road. Blessed Be, Josephine.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anne Baring and Jules Cashford, The Myth of the Goddess, Evolution of an Image, London, Penguin, 1993.
Jean Shinola Bolen, Goddesses in Everywoman, New York, Harper Colophon, 1990.
Robin Briggs, Witches and Neighbours, London, HarperCollins, 1996.
Sophy Burnham, A Book of Angels, New York, Ballantine Books, 1990.
Joseph Campbell, Creative Mythology: The Masks of God, New York, Penguin Arkana, 1968.
Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth, Anchor Doubleday, New York, 1988.
Andrew Collins, From the Ashes of Angels, London, Signet, 1966.
Andrew Collins, Gods of Eden, London, Headline, 1998.
Neville Drury, Pan’s Daughter, the Strange World of Rosaleen Norton, Sydney, Collins Australia, 1988.
&nb
sp; Janet and Stewart Farrar, A Witches Bible, Washington, Phoenix Publishing, 1966.
Janet and Stewart Farrar, The Witches Goddess, Washington, Phoenix Publishing, 1995.
J.G. Frazer, The Golden Bough, London, Papermac, 1987.
Robert Graves, The White Goddess, London, Faber, 1961.
Ken Radford, Fire Burn, London, Michael O’Mara Books, 1989.
John Rhys, Celtic Britain, London, Senate, 1904.
Asia Shepsut, Journey of the Priestess, London, Aquarian Press, 1993.
Montague Summers, A Popular History of Witchcraft, New York, Causeway Books, 1973.
Marina Warner, From the Beast to the Blonde, London, Vintage, 1995.
Marina Warner, No Go the Bogeyman, London, Vintage, 2000.
Jennifer Barker Woolger and Roger J. Woolger, The Goddess Within, London, Rider, 1990.
About Josephine Pennicott
Josephine is an award-winning writer in the crime genre. Her story BIRTHING THE DEMONS won the 2001 Scarlet Stiletto, and she has won the Kerry Greenwood Domestic Malice Prize twice, with HAIL MARY (2003) and TADPOLE (2004).
Although born in Tasmania, Josephine’s early years were spent in Papua New Guinea. She has worked in a range of jobs (including nurse, housemaid, life-drawing model and sales assistant) and has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of New South Wales.
Josephine lives in Sydney, Australia, with her writer partner David Levell and their daughter Daisy.
Also by Josephine Pennicott
CIRCLE OF NINE
Book 1 in the Circle of Nine trilogy
EMMA DEVELLE IS A STRUGGLING ARTIST TRYING TO EKE OUT A LIVING IN THE BIG CITY. THE VIOLENT AND APPARENTLY SUPERNATURAL DEATH OF HER AUNT JOHANNA BEGINS A STRANGE SERIES OF EVENTS THAT WILL CHANGE EMMA’S LIFE FOREVER.
Staying in her aunt’s house, Emma is drawn to a mural that seems to change before her eyes. Like a modern-day Alice in Wonderland Emma discovers the doorway to the magical world of Eronth, where ancient goddesses are engaged in a bloody power battle with a clan of fallen angels, the Azephim. These dark angels are intent on charging the sacred Eom crystal, the single source of power for all known worlds. Their possession of this crystal will hurl these worlds into desolation and chaos.
Khartyn the Crone and her apprentice Rosedark are Emma’s guides in Eronth. Wise Khartyn recognises Emma as the prophesied ‘Crossa’, a time traveller with the ability to prevent the Eom crystal from charging. The Azephim are determined to capture and brainwash Emma to use her as a pawn in their evil and destructive game. Emma must use every part of her being to save herself from violent oblivion.