Paths of Alir (A Pattern of Shadow & Light Book 3)
Page 104
Fhorg (forg) n. [origin unknown] One of the Wildling races most notably known for their use of blood magic.
Fifty Companions n. [Colloquial] The name given in reference to the Adept survivors of the Battle of the Citadel on Tiern’aval.
Hal’alir n. [Agasi, light of the heart] The light path of elae. Adepts following hal’alir wield the lifeforce primarily towards constructive or creative aims.
Healer (hēl´er) n. [Old Alæic haelan > hal whole] An Adept of the first strand of elae who has the ability to see the life patterns of living things and compel the creative forces of the first strand to alter them.
Khoda Panaheh (lay) n. [Kandori, “God protects”] 1 A tattooed mark upon the forehead which is gained when an Adept of the royal lines of Kandori takes the oath of immortality and works the Pattern of Life.
Leis (lay) n. [Old Alæic leis] The shortest pathway available to a Nodefinder when using the pattern of the world to travel, often connecting spaces within a small geographic area.
Literato n. [Old Alæic literati, learned, scholarly] A scholar at the Sormitáge University whose focus is on research of the strands of elae or into the history of the realm or the Adept race.
Maestro n. [Old Alæic, master] A teaching scholar at the Sormitáge University.
Maritus (Mer´i-tus) n. . [Old Alæic maritum, act worthy of praise] The third ranking of Adept enrolled at the Sormitáge University. Adepts wear a Maritus bracelet until they’ve completed their thesis and passed the invocation trials to advance to Devoveré status, often a span of five to ten years.
Marquiin (mar kwen´) n. [Myacenic, chosen] A truthreader who has been chosen by the Prophet Bethamin to be cleansed in a “purifying” ritual involving, in part, the insertion of Bethamin’s Fire into the Adept’s mind.
Merdanti (mer dan´tē) n. [Agasi] 1 An impossibly hard black stone named for the region of Agasan in which it is found 2 A weapon forged using the fifth strand of elae and made from this stone.
Malorin’athgul (muh lor´en – ath´gool) n. [Old Alæic, they who make the darkness] A race of beings from beyond the known realms of Light who were birthed by the Maker to balance Creation by unmaking the universe at its far unraveling fringes while it is constantly expanding at its core.
Mor’alir n. [Agasi, dark of the heart] Adepts following mor’alir wield the lifeforce towards primarily destructive aims.
Na’turna (nah toor´nah) n. [Old Alæic < nare turre, of the earth] A non-Adept; mortal.
Node (nod) n. [Old Alæic nodus, knot ] The points where the pattern of the world conjoins. Nodes connect places in vastly different geographic regions and allow a Nodefinder to travel great distances within a few steps. In the realm of Alorin, nodes also connect to the neighboring realm of T’khendar due to the nature of the latter’s formation.
Nodefinder (nod-fin´der) n. [Old Alæic nodus, knot + findan, find] Adept of the second strand of elae who sees the points where the pattern of the world conjoins (called nodes) and can use these points to travel vast distances; see also Espial.
Qhorith’quitara (Cor´ith kee-tar-ah) n. [Old Alæic] The collection of apocryphal books derived from the Sobra I’ternin.
Order of the Glass Sword n. [Origin unknown] The name of Agasan’s spy network.
Palmer n. [Caladrian, pilgrim] A religious order devoted to the study of Alir and the influence or interference of destiny or fate upon an individual’s path.
Patterning (pat´ərn·ŋ) v. [Veneisean patrun, patron, hence something to be imitated, pattern] The codified methodology encompassing the use of patterns to compel the strands of elae to move against their natural course, an action (also called wielding) which is often erroneously referred to as magic.
Raedan (ray´ dan]) n. [Old Alæic raedan, to guess, read, counsel] 1 One trained to read the currents of elae and thereby able to discern the workings of patterns and their effects throughout the realm.
Realm (relm´) n. [Veneisean, realme (altered by assoc. with reiel, royal) < Cyrenaic, regere, to rule] 1 A kingdom 2 One of the thousand linked worlds, each represented by an elected Seat and four Vestals in the governing cityworld of Illume Belliel 3 The realm of Alorin.
Return (Returned, Returning) (rē turn´) n. [Veneisean, retorner] An Adept who has died and been reborn. See also Awakening.
Sanctos n. [Caladrian sanctus, hallowed] In the Caladrian belief, sanctified ancestral spirits who watch over their descendents.
Sobra I’ternin (so´ brah - e turn´en) n. [origin unknown] The ancient text, most often attributed to the angiel Cephrael, which details the natural laws of patterns in thaumaturgic application. The book is itself written in patterns and has yet to be fully translated. Many Orders are dedicated to its study, translation and adaptation for use in the Adept Arts.
Soglia-varcarés / soglia’re (So´-lee AHR´-ay) [Caladrian, bridge across the earth] Nodes or leis magically constructed into permanent portals that anyone can travel with or without a Nodefinder present and with or without any Adept talent. Soglia’res bridge two specific points, only those two points, and cannot be used to travel anywhere else but between those two points.
Sorceresy (also Vestian Sorceresy) The predominant school of Adept learning in the far-eastern land of Vest. The Vestian Sorceresy believes both paths of Alir have equal merit, but they’re known for their Blackshard Council and its exploration of the mor’alir path.
Stanza segreta (Caladrian, secret room) 1 The term given to a leis which a Nodefinder has pinned to his personal life-pattern or to an object in his possession, the use of which allows the Nodefinder to secret away or store items for later use. Colloquially called a “coach.”
Strand (strand´) n. [Agasi, strônd] 1 Any of the parts that are bound together to form a whole [the strands of one’s life] 2 Referring to any of the five composite aspects of elae and its five attributive fields of energy (respectively: strand 1:creative energy, 2:kinetic energy, 3:variant energy, 4:energy of thought, 5:elemental energy).
Thread (thred) n. [Old Alæic thræd, to bind] A colloquial term used when speaking of a group of four men of a specific race, as opposed to a String, which is a grouping of six.
Tiern’aval (teer´- navol´) n. [origin unknown] An island city, one of the Free Cities of Xanthe, which vanished at the end of the Adept wars circa 597aV. The city’s fate remains a mystery.
T’khendar (tuh – ken´dar) n. [origin unknown] The realm created by the Adept wielder Malachi ap’Kalien out of Alorin’s own aether, which sacrilegious act resulted in fierce denouncement from the Council of Realms and indirectly, his later madness.
Truthreader (trooth´ rēd er) n. [Old Alæic treowe, true + raedan] An Adept of the fourth strand of elae who is able to hear (and sometimes see) the thoughts of others and is thereby able to discern the time, place and form of any occurrence in their memory, i.e. its truth.
Tyriolicci (teer´e-oh – lee´chee) One of the Wildling Races of the Forgotten Lands. See Whisper Lord.
Vestal (vest´-al) n. [Cyrenaic, vestir, to endow] 1 An Adept elevated and empowered with the responsibility of enforcing the laws, regulations, activities and codes of his respective strand of elae, and of overseeing all Adepts subject to it 2 one of five highly-trained and advanced Adepts elected as voting members of the Council of Realms, ranking just below the Seat of the realm in authority.
Weld (weld) n. [Cyrenaic, welden, to be strong] The most major joints in the pattern of the world. All leis and nodes connect through a weld, thus a weld allows travel to any location. Welds also form the joints between the realms and thus allow travel from realm to realm.
Whisper Lord n. [Collq.] One of the Wildling races (also called Tyriolicci) known for their frenzied fighting style and ability to make small skips through time.
Wielder (wēld´ər) n. [Cyrenaic, welden, to be strong < Old Alæic, valere, a show of strength] A person of any race who uses patterns to compel one or more strands of elae, thereby influencing the strand’s properties to create the effect he has postula
ted; a sorcerer in the realm of Alorin. Adepts and men alike become wielders through intensive training and study.
Wildling (wahyld´-ling]) n. [Old Alæic wilde] 1 (Collq) An Adept of the third strand of elae 2 Any of the twenty-seven non-human races whose native abilities are attributed to the third strand of elae but who may or may not be possessed of paranormal abilities.
Zanthyr (zan´thur) n. [Old Alæic] An elusive Adept of the fifth strand of elae; zanthyrs can shapeshift between two forms: one human, one animal. Many have been seen to work elae. The extent of their abilities is unknown.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Author’s Note
The Sormitáge Ranks
Part One
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Part Two
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
Forty-Five
Forty-Six
Forty-Seven
Forty-Eight
Forty-Nine
Fifty
Fifty-One
Fifty-Two
Fifty-Three
Fifty-Four
Fifty-Five
Fifty-Six
Fifty-Seven
Fifty-Eight
Fifty-Nine
Sixty
Sixty-One
Sixty-Two
Sixty-Three
Sixty-Four
Sixty-Five
Epilogue
Appendix
Dramatis Personae
Glossary of Terms