Peril's Gate

by Janny Wurts

FIRSTMARK––city on the coast of Rockbay in Radmoore, Shand.

  FORTHMARK––city in Vastmark, Shand. Once the site of a hostel of Ath’s Brotherhood. By Third Age 5320, the site was abandoned and taken over by the Koriani Order as a healer’s hospice.

  root meaning not from the Paravian

  GACE STEWARD––Royal Steward of Avenor.

  pronounced: gace––to rhyme with ‘race’

  root meaning: gyce––weasel

  GANISH––trade city located south of Methlas Lake in Orvandir,

  Shand.

  pronounced: rhymes with ‘mannish’

  root meaning: gianish––a halfway point, a stopping place

  GERY––man-at-arms in Etarra’s sunwheel company.

  pronounced: gerry

  GREAT WAYSTONE––amethyst crystal, spherical in shape, the grand power focus of the Koriani Order; lost during the great uprising, and finally recovered from Fellowship custody by First Senior Lirenda in Third Age 5747.

  GRIMWARD––a circle of dire spells of Paravian making that seal and isolate forces that have the potential for unimaginable destruction. With the disappearance of the old races, the defenses are maintained by embodied Sorcerers of the Fellowship of Seven. There are seventeen separate sites listed at Althain Tower.

  HADGE––scout tracker, with Etarra’s sunwheel field company.

  pronounced: hadj

  HALDUIN s’ILESSID––founder of the line that became High Kings of Tysan since Third Age Year One. The attribute he passed on, by means of the Fellowship’s geas, was justice.

  pronounced: hal-dwin

  root meaning: hal––white; duinne––hand

  HALLIRON MASTERBARD––native of Innish, Shand. Masterbard of Athera during the Third Age; inherited the accolade from his teacher Murchiel in the year 5597. Son of Al’Duin. Husband of Deartha. Arithon’s master and mentor. Died from an injury inflicted by the Mayor of Jaelot in the year 5644.

  pronounced: hal-eer-on

  root meaning: hal––white; lyron––singer

  HALWYTHWOOD––forest located in Araethura, Rathain. Current main campsite of Earl Jieret’s band, predominantly survivors of the Battle of Strakewood.

  pronounced: hall-with-wood

  root meaning: hal––white; wythe––vista

  HANSHIRE––port city on Westland Sea, coast of Korias, Tysan; reigning official Lord Mayor Garde, father of Sulfin Evend;

  opposed to royal rule at the time of Avenor’s restoration.

  pronounced: han-sheer

  root meaning: hansh––sand; era––place

  HASPASTION––ghost of the dragon contained in the grimward located in Radmoore.

  pronounced: has-past-ee-on

  root meaning: hashpashdion––Drakish for black thunder

  HAVENS––an inlet on the northeastern shore of Vastmark, Shand, now known as the site of the massacre enacted by the Spinner of Darkness, preceding the Battle of Dier Kenton Vale, Third Age Year 5647.

  HAVISH––one of the Five High Kingdoms of Athera, as defined by the charters of the Fellowship of Seven. Ruled by Eldir s’Lornmein. Sigil: gold hawk on red field.

  pronounced: hav-ish

  root meaning: havieshe––hawk

  HAVISTOCK––southeast principality of Kingdom of Havish.

  pronounced: hav-i-stock

  root meaning: haviesha––hawk; tiok––roost

  HENLYIE––herb witch who makes amulets in the city of Highscarp.

  pronounced: hen-lee

  root meaning: han’lion––light-handed

  HEWALL––clansman serving as scout in the outpost in the Mathorn Mountains in Rathain.

  pronounced: hugh-ell

  root meaning: huell––one who protects

  HIGHSCARP––city on the coast of the Bay of Eltair, located in Daon Ramon, Rathain. Current headquarters for Selidie Prime, Matriarch of the Koriani Order.

  ILITHARIS PARAVIANS––centaurs, one of three semimortal old races; disappeared after the Mistwraith’s conquest, the last guardian’s departure by Third Age Year 5100. They were the guardians of the earth’s mysteries.

  pronounced: i-li-thar-is

  root meaning: i’lith’earis––the keeper/preserver of mystery

  INNISH––city located on the southcoast of Shand at the delta of the River Ippash. Birthplace of Halliron Masterbard. Formerly known as ‘the Jewel of Shand’, this was the site of the high king’s winter court, prior to the time of the uprising.

  pronounced: in-ish

  root meaning: inniesh––a jewel with a pastel tint

  INSTRELL BAY––body of water off the Gulf of Stormwell; separates principality of Atainia, Tysan, from Deshir, Rathain.

  pronounced: in-strell

  root meaning: arin’streal––strong wind

  INWIE––lady-in-waiting to Princess Ellaine.

  pronounced: in-wee

  root meaning: yanwi––a sweet made from berries

  IPPASH DELTA––river which originates in the southern spur of the Kelhorns and flows into the South Sea by the city of Innish, southcoast, Shand.

  pronounced: ip-ash

  root meaning: ipeish––crescent

  ISFARENN––etheric Name for the black stallion ridden by Asandir.

  pronounced: ees-far-en

  root meaning: is’feron––speed maker

  ITHAMON––Second Age Paravian stronghold, and a Third Age ruin; built on a fifth lane power-node in Daon Ramon Barrens, Rathain, and inhabited until the year of the uprising. Site of the Compass Point Towers, or Sun Towers. Became the seat of the High Kings of Rathain during the Third Age and in year 5638 was the site where Princes Lysaer s’Ilessid and Arithon s’Ffalenn battled the Mistwraith to confinement.

  pronounced: ith-a-mon

  root meaning: itha––five; mon––needle, spire

  ITHISH––city located at the edge of the principality of Vastmark, on the southcoast of Shand. Where the Vastmark wool factors ship fleeces.

  pronounced: ith-ish

  root meaning: ithish––fleece or fluffy

  IYAT––energy sprite native to Athera, not visible to the eye, manifests in a poltergeist fashion by taking temporary possession of objects. Feeds upon natural energy sources: fire, breaking waves, lightning.

  pronounced: ee-at

  root meaning: iyat––to break

  JAELOT––city located on the coast of Eltair Bay at the southern border of the Kingdom of Rathain. Once a Second Age power site, with a focus circle. Now a merchant city with a reputation for extreme snobbery and bad taste. Also the site where Arithon s’Ffalenn played his eulogy for Halliron Masterbard, which raised the powers of the Paravian focus circle beneath the mayor’s palace. The forces of the mysteries and resonant harmonics caused damage to city buildings, watchkeeps, and walls, which has since been repaired. Site where Fionn Areth was arraigned for execution, as bait in a Koriani conspiracy that failed to trap Arithon s’Ffalenn.

  pronounced: jay-lot

  root meaning: jielot––affectation

  JAIRE PEAK––mountain near the great divide in the Mathorn ranges, located in the Kingdom of Rathain.

  pronounced: jayr

  root meaning: from jieri––spike

  JERIAYISH––sixth-rank initiate priest of the Light who has a seer’s talent.

  pronounced: jeer-ee-ah-yish

  root meaning: jier’yaish––unclean magic

  JEYNSA––daughter of Jieret s’Valerient and Feithan, born Third Age 5653; appointed successor to her father’s title of Steward of Rathain, or caithdein.

  pronounced: jay-in-sa

  root meaning: garnet

  JIERET s’VALERIENT––Earl of the North, clan chief of Deshir; caithdein of Rathain, sworn liegeman of Prince Arithon s’Ffalenn. Also son and heir of Lord Steiven. Blood pacted to Arithon by sorcerer’s oath prior to battle of Strakewood Forest. Came to be known by headhunters as Jieret Red-beard. Father of Jeynsa and Barach. Husband to
Feithan.

  pronounced: jeer-et

  root meaning: jieret––thorn

  JILIETH––girl from a Vastmark shepherd tribe who died of a mauling by Wyverns in Third Age Year 5647.

  pronounced: jil-ee-eth

  root meaning: jirlieth––to be stubborn enough to cause pain; a thorn of worry

  JINESSE––widow of a fisherman, mother of the twins Fiark and Feylind; formerly an inhabitant of Merior by the Sea, now married to Tharrick, a former guardsman of Alestron. The couple reside at Innish in Shand.

  pronounced: gin-ess

  root meaning: jienesse––to be washed out or pale; a wisp

  JOLM––swordsman in the sunwheel company from Etarra. pronounced: johm

  KAMRIDIAN s’FFALENN––Crowned High King of Rathain, a tragic figure who died of his conscience under the fated influence of Kewar Tunnel, built by Davien the Betrayer into the Mathorn Mountains.

  pronounced: cam-rid-ee-an

  root meaning: kaim’riadien––thread cut shorter

  KARFAEL––trader town on the coast of the Westland Sea, in Tysan. Built by townsmen as a trade port after the fall of the High Kings of Tysan. Prior to Desh-thiere’s conquest, the site was kept clear of buildings to allow the second lane forces to flow untrammeled across the focus site at Avenor.

  pronounced: kar-fay-el

  root meaning: kar’i’ffael––literal translation ‘twist the dark’/colloquialism for ‘intrigue’

  KARTH-EELS––creatures descended from stock aberrated by the methurien, or hate-wraiths, of Mirthlvain Swamp. Amphibious, fanged, venomed spines, webbed feet.

  pronounced: caar-th eels

  root meaning: kar’eth––to raid

  KARTHAN––kingdom in splinter world of Dascen Elur, through West Gate, ruled by the pirate kings, s’Ffalenn descendants of the prince sent into exile at the time of the Mistwraith’s conquest.

  pronounced: karth-an

  root meaning: kar’eth’an––one who raids/pirate

  KATHTAIRR––landmass in the southern ocean, across the world from Paravia. The land was left sterile by drakefire during a far-reaching conflict in the Age of Dragons.

  pronounced: kath-tear

  root meaning: kait-th’era––empty place

  KELHORN MOUNTAINS––a range of shale scarps in Vastmark, Shand.

  pronounced: kell-horn

  root meaning: kielwhern––toothed, jagged

  KESWETH––scout from the outpost in the Mathorn Mountains whose wife was killed by headhunters.

  pronounced: kez-ith

  root meaning: kesieth––small clam found in freshwater streams

  KEVOR––son and heir of Lysaer s’Ilessid and Princess Ellaine; born at Avenor in Third Age 5655. At age fourteen, in his father’s absence, he exercised royal authority and averted a riot by the panicked citizenry of Avenor, earning the enmity of High Priest Cerebeld.

  pronounced: kev-or

  root meaning: kiavor––high virtue

  KEWAR TUNNEL––cavern built beneath the Mathorn Mountains by Davien the Betrayer; site of High King Kamridian s’Ffalenn’s death.

  pronounced: key-wahr

  root meaning: kewiar––a weighing of conscience

  KHADRIM––drake-spawned creatures, flying, fire-breathing reptiles that were the scourge of the Second Age. By the Third Age, they had been driven back and confined in the Sorcerers’ Preserve in the volcanic peaks in north Tysan.

  pronounced: kaa-drim

  root meaning: khadrim––dragon

  KHARADMON––Sorcerer of the Fellowship of Seven; discorporate since rise of Khadrim and Seardluin leveled Paravian city at Ithamon in Second Age 3651. It was by Kharadmon’s intervention that the survivors of the attack were sent to safety by means of transfer from the fifth lane power focus. Currently guarding the star ward to guard against invasion of wraiths from Marak.

  pronounced: kah-rad-mun

  root meaning: kar’riad en mon––phrase translates to mean ‘twisted thread on the needle’ or colloquialism for ‘a knot in the works’

  KHETIENN––name for a brigantine owned by Arithon; also a small spotted wildcat native to Daon Ramon Barrens that became the s’Ffalenn royal sigil.

  pronounced: key-et-ee-en

  root meaning: kietienn––small leopard

  KIELING TOWER––one of the four compass points, or Sun Towers, standing at ruin of Ithamon, Daon Ramon Barrens, in Rathain. The warding virtue that binds its stones is compassion.

  pronounced: key-eh-ling

  root meaning: kiel’ien––root for pity, with suffix for ‘lightness’ added, translates to mean ‘compassion’

  KITZ––man-at-arms in the sunwheel company out of Etarra.

  pronounced: kits

  KORIANI––possessive and singular form of the word ‘Koriathain’; see entry.

  pronounced: kor-ee-ah-nee

  KORIAS––southwestern principality of Tysan.

  pronounced: kor-ee-as

  root meaning: cor––ship, vessel; i’esh––nest, haven

  KORIATHAIN––order of enchantresses ruled by a circle of Seniors, under the power of one Prime Enchantress. They draw their talent from the orphaned children they raise, or from daughters dedicated to service by their parents. Initiation rite involves a vow of consent that ties the spirit to a power crystal keyed to the Prime’s control.

  pronounced: kor-ee-ah-thain––to rhyme with ‘main’

  root meaning: koriath––order; ain––belonging to

  KOSHLIN––influential trade minister from Erdane, renowned for his hatred of the clans, and for his support of the headhunters’ leagues.

  pronounced: kosh-lynn

  root meaning: kioshlin––opaque

  KRAEL––master of magecraft at Rauven Tower, on the world of Dascen Elur; one of Arithon’s early tutors.

  pronounced: krayel

  root meaning: krial––name for the rune of crossing

  LAW OF THE MAJOR BALANCE––founding order of the powers of the Fellowship of Seven, as written by the Paravians. The primary tenet is that no force of nature should be used without consent, or against the will of another living being.

  LEYNSGAP––a narrow pass in the Mathorn Mountains in the Kingdom of Rathain.

  pronounced: lay-ens-gap

  root meaning: liyond––corridor

  LIRENDA––former First Senior Enchantress to the Prime, Koriani Order; failed in her assignment to capture Arithon s’Ffalenn for Koriani purposes.

  pronounced: leer-end-ah

  root meaning: lyron––singer; di-ia––a dissonance––the hyphen denotes a glottal stop

  LITHMERE––principality located in the Kingdom of Havish. pronounced: lith-mere

  root meaning: lithmiere––to preserve intact, or keep whole; maintain in a state of harmony

  LUHAINE––Sorcerer of the Fellowship of Seven, discorporate since the fall of Telmandir in Third Age Year 5018. Luhaine’s body was pulled down by the mob while he was in ward trance, covering the escape of the royal heir to Havish.

  pronounced: loo-hay-ne

  root meaning: luirhainon––defender

  LYRANTHE––instrument played by the bards of Athera. Strung with fourteen strings, tuned to seven tones (doubled). Two courses are ‘drone strings’ set to octaves. Five are melody strings, the lower three courses being octaves, the upper two, in unison. pronounced: leer-anth-e (last ‘e’ being nearly subliminal)

  root meaning: lyr––song; anthe––box

  LYSAER s’ILESSID––prince of Tysan, 1,497th in succession after Halduin, founder of the line in Third Age Year One. Gifted at birth with control of Light, and Bane of Desh-thiere. Also known as Blessed Prince.

  pronounced: lie-say-er

  root meaning: lia––blond, yellow or light; saer––circle

  MACHLIN––clan scout from the outpost in the Mathorn Moun tains.

  pronounced: mock-lin

  root meaning: miach’l
uin––cat kept for watch purposes, since cats can see etherically

  MADREIGH––senior scout, Deshir clans. One of the eleven who stood to Jieret’s defense in the battle of Strakewood Forest.

  pronounced: mah-dree-ah (‘ah’ is near subliminal)

  root meaning: madrien––staunch

  MAENALLE s’GANNLEY––former steward and caithdein of Tysan; put on trial for outlawry and theft on the trade roads; executed by Lysaer s’Ilessid at Isaer, Third Age 5645.

  pronounced: may-nahl-e (last ‘e’ is near subliminal)

  root meaning: maeni––to fall, disrupt; alli––to save or preserve; colloquial translation: ‘to patch together’

  MAENOL––heir, after Maenalle s’Gannley, Steward and caithdein of Tysan.

  pronounced: may-nall

  root meaning: maeni’alli––to patch together

  MAK s’AHELAS––High Mage of Rauven on the splinter world of Dascen Elur, father to Talera, and grandfather to Arithon and Lysaer.

  pronounced: mock s-ah-hell-as

  root meaning: miach––a form of mage-sight

  MARAK––splinter world, cut off beyond South Gate, left lifeless after creation of the Mistwraith. The original inhabitants were men exiled by the Fellowship from Athera for beliefs or practices that were incompatible with the compact sworn between the Sorcerers and the Paravian races, which permitted human settlement on Athera.

  pronounced: maer-ak

  root meaning: m’era’ki––a place held separate

  MATHORN MOUNTAINS––range that bisects the Kingdom of Rathain east to west.

  pronounced: math-orn

  root meaning: mathien––massive

  MATHORN ROAD––way passing to the south of the Mathorn Mountains, leading to the trade city of Etarra from the west.

  pronounced: math-orn

  root meaning: mathien––massive

  MEARN s’BRYDION––youngest brother of Duke Bransian of Alestron. Former ducal emissary to Lysaer s’Ilessid’s Alliance of Light.

  pronounced: may-arn root meaning: mierne––to flit

  MEIRIS––one of Princess Ellaine’s ladies-in-waiting at Avenor.

  pronounced: marys

  MELHALLA––High Kingdom of Athera once ruled by the line of s’Ellestrion. The last prince died in the crossing of the Red Desert.