Death's Heretic
Page 32
This book would not have been possible without a number of people: Paizo Publisher Erik Mona, for saying “this guy should write a novel!” before he knew that “this guy” was me. Christopher Paul Carey, for his invaluable edits and literary camaraderie. The rest of the Paizo team, for backing my play. My family, for fostering the delusion that “author” was a viable career choice. The Wabi kids in general and the Ministry boys in specific, for their sanity checks and constant enthusiasm. And of course Margo, whose love and support never wavered, even when finishing the novel meant spending whole weekends in my bathrobe.
I owe you all more than I can say.
Glossary
All Pathfinder Tales novels are set in the rich and vibrant world of the Pathfinder campaign setting. Below are explanations of a number of key terms used in this book. For more information on the world of Golarion and the strange monsters, people, and deities that make it their home, see the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, The Inner Sea World Guide, or any of the books in the Pathfinder Campaign Setting series, or visit paizo.com.
Abadar: God of merchants, law, and cities.
Abadaran: Of or related to Abadar or his worshipers.
Abaddon: Evil plane devoted to destruction and home to daemons.
Absalom: Major island city of the Inner Sea.
Abyss: A plane of evil and chaos ruled by demons.
Adamantine Crucible: Massive factory where the mechanical armies of Axis are constructed.
Avistan: Continent north of the Inner Sea.
Axiomites: Sentient mathematical abstractions given humanoid form. Native to Axis.
Axis, the Eternal City: A plane of absolute order, entirely urban in nature.
Azir: Capital of Rahadoum.
Boneyard: Pharasma’s realm, where all souls go to be judged after death.
Brownies: Small fairies.
Calistria: Also known as the Savored Sting; the goddess of trickery, lust, and revenge.
Calistrian: Of or related to Calistria or her worshipers.
Cassomir: Port city in Taldor.
Cerulean Void: The Maelstrom.
Cheliax: Devil-worshiping nation in Avistan.
Daemons: Evil denizens of Abaddon who exist to devour mortal souls.
Dawnflower: Sarenrae.
Demons: Denizens of the Abyss who seek only to maim, ruin, and feed.
Devils: Fiendish occupants of Hell who seek to corrupt mortals in order to claim their souls.
Dryads: Fey women who bond with trees.
Egorian: Capital of the devil-worshiping nation of Cheliax on the continent of Avistan.
Eldest: Fey lords of the First World.
Elves: Race of long-lived, beautiful humanoids. Identifiable by their pointed ears, lithe bodies, and pupils so large their eyes appear to be one color.
Elysium: Outer plane where good-natured, freedom-loving souls go when they die.
Erages: Village in the elven nation of Kyonin.
Erastil: Stag-headed god of farming, hunting, and family, also known as Old Deadeye.
Ethereal Plane: Plane of mists and nothingness just beyond the material world.
Fey: Fairies, magical creatures of the natural world.
First Law: The law by which religion is outlawed in Rahadoum.
First Vault: Vast storehouse on Axis where Abadar keeps a perfect master copy of everything in existence.
First World: The precursor to the Material Plane, from which fey and gnomes originated.
Garund: Continent south of the Inner Sea, renowned for its deserts and jungles.
Ghouls: Undead creatures that eat corpses and reproduce by infecting living creatures.
Gnomes: Small humanoids with strange mindsets, originally from the First World.
Golarion: The planet on which Thuvia and the rest of the Inner Sea region resides.
Graveyard of Souls: Vast graveyard where many atheist souls go when they die.
Great Beyond: The planes of the afterlife.
Griffon: Magical half-eagle, half-lion creature.
Half-Elves: The children of unions between elves and humans. Taller, longer-lived, and generally more graceful and attractive than the average human, yet not nearly so much so as their full elven kin.
Half-Orcs: Bred from humans and orcs, members of this race have green or gray skin, brutish appearances, and short tempers, and are mistrusted by many societies.
Halflings: Race of humanoids known for their tiny stature, deft hands, and mischievous personalities.
Hell: A plane of absolute law and evil, where evil souls go after they die to be tormented and transformed by the native devils.
Imentesh: Protean of the diplomat caste.
Inner Sea: The central sea between Avistan and Garund. Abuts Thuvia along the nation’s northern border.
Iomedae: Crusader goddess of valor and justice.
Katapesh: Merchant nation southeast of Thuvia.
Keketar: Protean of the ruling priest caste.
Kelesh: Empire far to the east of Thuvia.
Keleshite: Of or related to the Empire of Kelesh.
Kingdom of Man: Rahadoum.
Kyonin: Nation of elves, far north of Thuvia.
Lady of Graves: The goddess Pharasma.
Lamasara: Prominent river city in Thuvia.
Maelstrom: Plane of absolute chaos, whose form is constantly shifting.
Manaket: City on Rahadoum’s northern coast.
Material Plane: The fundamental plane of existence on which Golarion resides, and to which humans are native. The “normal” world.
Mwangi: Of or related to Garund’s central jungle region, known as the Mwangi Expanse.
Nagas: Magical serpents with humanoid heads.
Nemret Noktoria: Underground city of ghouls.
Nirvana: One of the planes where good-natured souls go when they die.
Norgorber: God of assassins, secrets, and murder.
Nymphs: Fey women whose beauty can literally blind those who look at them.
Oppara: Coastal capital of Taldor.
Osirian: Of or pertaining to Osirion.
Osirion: Nation sharing Thuvia’s eastern border.
Outer Planes/Outer Sphere: The various realms of the afterlife, where most gods reside.
Path of Salt: Trade route on Garund’s northern coast.
Pharasma: The goddess of birth, death, and prophecy, who judges mortal souls after their deaths and sends them on to the appropriate afterlife; also known as the Lady of Graves.
Pharasma’s Boneyard: Pharasma’s realm.
Pharasma’s Spire: The plane on which Pharasma’s realm may be found.
Pharasmin: Of or related to the goddess Pharasma or her worshipers.
Pixies: Small fairies with the ability to fly.
Protean: Insane serpentine resident of the Maelstrom. A creature of pure chaos.
Pure Legion: Elite military enforcers of Rahadoum’s government-mandated atheism.
Rahadoum: Atheist nation where religion is outlawed. Abuts Thuvia’s western border.
Rahadoumi: Of or related to Rahadoum.
River of Souls: Unending procession of recently deceased souls traveling from the Material Plane to Pharasma’s Boneyard for judgment.
River Styx: River that runs through many different Outer Planes.
Sarenite: Or or related to the goddess Sarenrae or her worshipers.
Sarenrae: Warrior goddess of the sun, healing, and redemption, also known as the Dawnflower.
Satyrs: Male fey with horns and the legs of goats.
Shepherd’s Rock: Stronghold and training center for Rahadoum’s Pure Legion.
Sothis: Capital of Osirion.
Sun Orchid Elixir: An extremely rare potion produced only in Thuvia, capable of temporarily reversing the effects of aging and prolonging one’s life.
Taldan: Of or related to Taldor.
Taldane: The common trade language of Golarion’s Inner Sea region.
Taldor: A decadent
nation northeast of Thuvia.
Thuvia: Desert nation on the Inner Sea, famous for the production of the magical sun orchid elixir.
Thuvian: Of or related to Thuvia.
Yanmass: City in northern Taldor.
Table of Contents
Teaser
Dedication
Map
Prologue
Chapter One: A Death in the Family
Chapter Two: Stories from a Corpse
Chapter Three: The Jackal's Den
Chapter Four: The Queen of Spice
Chapter Five: Death's Reward
Chapter Six: Flames in the Night
Chapter Seven: Leavetaking
Chapter Eight: The Boneyard
Chapter Nine: The Eternal City
Chapter Ten: The Clever Endeavor
Chapter Eleven: Riddles and Chaos
Chapter Twelve: The Well of Wonders
Chapter Thirteen: The Wastelands
Chapter Fourteen: Wounds and Scars
Chapter Fifteen: Rabbits in a Snare
Chapter Sixteen: Whispers in the Dark
Chapter Seventeen: The Priest-Hunter's Tale
Chapter Eighteen: Movements Underground
Chapter Nineteen: Friends in Need
Chapter Twenty: The First World
Chapter Twenty-One: In the House of Death
Chapter Twenty-Two: Everything Forever
Epilogue
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Glossary