A Fading Sun
Page 34
“Head”—the leader of a clan, group, or place among the Cateni
Bàn Cill (Bahn Keel)
The sacred temple of the Cateni on Onglse. This is where the draoi are trained and where they gather.
Barrier Sea
The channel between the island of the Cateni and the mainland
Beinn (BANE) Head
A headland on the west coast of Albann Brághad, north of Onglse
Buharkent (Boo-ARK-ent)
A Mundoan city in Rumeli
Carnyx (KAR-nix)
A bronze trumpet often shaped like the head and elongated neck of a horse or snake, held upright and blown in battle. Creates a raucous and loud sound. Used by the Cateni.
Cateni (Kaw-TEHN-ee)
The collective name for the natives of the island, such as Voada, though there are innumerable sub-tribes or clans.
Ceannàrd (KEY-ohn-ard)
Literally “high chief”—the title for a clan leader or military commander among the Cateni.
Ceanndraoi (KEY-ohn-dree)
The head draoi of the tribes, usually based in Onglse, where the draoi are largely trained.
Clan Mac Tsagairt (Klahn Mack TAG-gert)
One of the northern clans in Albann Bràghad
Cohort
A small subdivision of the Mundoan army, usually consisting of five hundred soldiers or fewer.
Darende (DAHR-ren-dah)
A town on the southwest coast of Albann Deas
Doineann (DEN-yunn)
Hurricane
Draoi (Dree)
The Cateni term for those who are able to use magic
Elia’s lamp
The sun
Fidhcheall (Fee-kyuhl)
An ancient form of chess
Great North Road
The road leading north out of Trusa toward Muras and the River Meadham
Gray Wraith
A howling, shrieking ghost in Cateni mythology who sometimes visits people to announce their impending deaths.
Gediz (Geh-DIZZ)
A town on the west coast of Albann Deas
Great-Voice
The Voice over all Voices on the island. He lives in Trusa, the Mundoan capital city.
Great North Road
The road that runs roughly north from Ìseal in the south, through the capital of Trusa, and to Muras on the River Meadham. It crosses the Meadham but ends not far into Albann Bràghad.
Hand
The person responsible for collecting taxes for Mundoa in a town or city. His spouse is called the Hand-wife. Often both are local Cateni.
Ìseal (Eh-SEAL)
A harbor town on Ìseal Head
Ìseal Head
Location of the first battle with the Mundoa at the Barrier Sea
Ismil (ISS-meel)
A town in Albann Deas
R. Iska (ISS-Kah)
The long and wide river on the banks of which sits the capital city, Trusa (Iskameath)
Kavak (Kah-VAK)
A major coastal city in Rumeli
Koruk (KOHR-uck)
A major city in Rumeli
Krug (Kroog)
The “mirror armor” of the Mundoan army officers
Lack-breath
Asthma or shortness of breath
Ladik (Lah-DEEK)
A town in Albann Deas
Léine (LANE-ah)
A long close-fitting smock worn by the northern clans
Magh da Chèo (Mah dah KEE-oh)
The Otherworld of the anamacha—literally, Plain of Mists
Menach (MEHN-Ock)
Title for a cleric of Elia
R. Meadham (MEER-ahn)
For pronunciation, the consonant “dh” sounds like a rolled “r” that is almost a guttural “g.” The River Meadham is the central river of the island, roughly dividing the more mountainous north (Bràghad Albann) from the more gently rolling southern landscape (Deas Albann).
Moon-time
Menstrual period. The herbs rue and shepherd’s purse are used to ease the cramping and bleeding.
Mundoa (Muhn-DOH-ah)
The empire of the southern mainland or the people thereof
Mundoci (Muhn-DOH-kee)
The capital city of the empire
Muras (Murh-ahs)
A town on the River Meadham where the river is bridged
Onglse (ON-gul-see)
The island fastness of the draoi
One-God, the
The official deity of the Mundoan Empire; the emperor is the One-God’s representative in this world.
Pamukkale (PAH-moo-kale)
The Mundoan mythological hell
Pencraig (PENN-craygh)
The town where Voada and Meir live
Rumeli (Roo-MELL-ee)
The continent; the land of the Mundoa, where they have established their empire.
Sarilar (SAHR-eh-larr)
A coastal city in Rumeli
Savur (SAH-voor)
A town on the east coast of Albann Deas
Sea of Serpents
The sea to the east of Bhreatain—it extends well west until it meets the main continent again.
Seanmhair (SHUNN-eh-vah )
Grandmother
Sihirki (Suh-HERE-kee)
The Mundoan term for those who are able to use magic
Siran (SEER-ehn)
A town in Albann Deas
R. Slaodach (SLAHL-dack)
A river that flows into Gediz Bay
Storm Sea
The ocean to the west of Bhreatain—an endless ocean, as far as the Cateni or Mundoa know.
Stormwind Road
The road from Gediz on the west coast to Pencraig in the east
Sunpath
The line described by the dawn of the summer solstice and the sunset of the winter solstice or the dawn of the winter solstice and the sunset of the summer solstice. It is believed that the Cateni dead must walk one of those two paths in order to ascend to the next plane of existence.
Taibhse (TIE-sha)
Cateni word for spirit or ghost (plural: taibhsean (TIE-chan)).
Teine (TCHEE-na)
Fire
Tirnanog (TIR-nah-nog)
The Otherworld of the Cateni—the land of the gods and the spirits
Trusa (TROO-SAH)
Capital city of the Mundoa (Cateni name: Iskameath).
Uisge (OOSH-kah)
Water
Velimese (VELL-eh-mees)
A town in Albann Deas
Voice
The person representing the Emperor/Mundoan authorities in a town or city. His spouse is called the Voice-wife. The Voice is universally someone of Mundoan origin.
R. Yarrow (YAH-roh)
The river that runs past Pencraig. The River Yarrow’s source is Loch Yarrow, and it feeds into the greater River Meadham.
Var (VARH)
A town on the southern coast of Albann Deas
Zar atmak (Zahr AT-mack)
A Mundoan game of chance that uses six-sided dice
Acknowledgments & Notes
Special thanks to …
Denise Parsley Leigh, the only person upon whom I inflict my first drafts, for her insightful (and gently blunt) comments. Denise, you shape every story I write as you’ve also helped to shape my life. I love you.
Sheila Gilbert, who brought me into the DAW family and whose editorship of my last several novels and friendship in general have been true gifts. Sheila (as I’ve said before) relentlessly makes certain that each of my books has been as good as I could possibly make it at the time, and for that she has my endless gratitude. Sheila is more than just an editor; she is also a mentor and friend. And hey, she’s now a Hugo Award-winning editor, too—a well-deserved accomplishment!
My beta readers, who have given me invaluable input. You’ve all made your mark on this novel: Hania Wojtowicz, Alex Duvall, Don Wenzel, Anne Evans, and a very special shout-out to David Perry, who gave me his usual detailed and insightful critique of th
e second draft of this book.
Notes:
This book is fiction, not history. Yes, as I’m sure the vast majority of readers figured out during the first few chapters, the world of A Fading Sun is loosely based on Roman Britain of the first century C.E. and the rebellion of Boudica. Very—no, extremely—loosely based. The landscape is imaginary, the Mundoan culture is emphatically (and deliberately) not Roman—it’s more Ottoman than anything else—and I’ve not allowed historical facts to stand in the way of how I’ve portrayed the Cateni/Celtic culture and Voada/Boudica. And of course, there’s genuine magic in this world as well. In no way was this novel an attempt at writing a genuine historical novel or alternate history. I simply plucked a few details from history in order to set up what I wanted to examine and wrapped an imagined world around that framework.
Books read as research for this novel:
Tacitus. Annals (Loeb Classical Library). Translated by John Jackson. New York: Harvard University Press, 1937. I was especially interested in book XIV, chapters 29–39, which cover Boudica’s revolt in Britain. The speech that Voada gives to the Cateni just before the final battle is a paraphrase of the words that Tacitus puts in Boudica’s mouth in Annals, book XIV, chapter 35, but given that Tacitus wrote Annals half a century after the actual event, it’s highly unlikely that Boudica actually said any of those words.
Hingley, Richard and Christina Unwin. Boudica: Iron Age Warrior Queen. London: Bloomsbury, 2005. This is an interesting study of Boudica that examines the various ways she’s been imagined, presented, and used symbolically from the time of the Romans through to the present day. The historical Boudica has been forced to represent many agendas throughout history, not all of them complimentary and certainly few of them accurate. In A Fading Sun, she wears a mask of my own making, and it’s as false as any of the others.
Robb, Graham. The Discovery of Middle Earth: Mapping the Lost World of the Celts. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2013. The author’s contention is that the Celts deliberately and knowingly mapped out their kingdoms in now-lost precise straight lines aligned to the solstices and compass points and that important locations were often found at the intersections of those lines. Frankly, I felt Mr. Robb’s arguments were hazy, tenuous, and ultimately unconvincing; take any sufficient collection of random dots on a page, and you’ll be able to connect several dots with a straight line. But that didn’t stop me from borrowing a few concepts …
Curriculum Development Unit. Celtic Way of Life. Dublin: O’Brien Press, 2000. This slim volume concentrates (unsurprisingly, given the publisher) on Celtic tribes in Ireland. Rather scant on details or references to source material, but still a decent overview.
As usual, I also prowled the Internet for articles and information as needed during the writing of this book, far too many sites to list or even to remember at this point. The Web is a wonderful resource and tool. I’m old enough to have written stories and novels before the answers to questions could be found with a quick googling, and I am grateful that the Web is there for all writers.
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