Shylows: The great cats of the Hunters Flats. They grow to be over seven feet in height and twenty-five feet from nose-to-tail. They are feared for their great speed, power, and ability to see through Blends. The cats are extremely territorial and hunt in glarings, packs of forty-to-fifty. They name themselves the Kesarins.
Sil Lor Kum: The Hidden Hand of Justice. They are the Human agents of Suwraith and are universally hated and despised. Many consider their existence to be a myth, although inexplicable setbacks are often attributed to the Sil Lor Kum.
Slash of Iniquity: A judgment by the Kumma Chamber of Lords in which an individual is found to be deviant and traitorous. Such an individual is either executed with his remains left on the Isle of the Crows or in some instances, merely banished forthwith.
Slayer, the: Leader of a glaring of Shylows. Also known as the Kezin.
Sophy Terrell: Caste Kumma. House Shektan. Born AF 2014 to Kolt and Versana Drathe of House Primase. Married Odonis Terrell of House Shektan in AF 2035. Member of the House Council.
Sorrows of Hume, the: Aphorisms attributed to Hume Telrest.
Spidergrass: A type of plant that grows best in temperate climates. It is used in the fashioning of items once made with metal. Duriah smiths claim it has tensile properties identical to the finest steel.
Stone Cavern: A neighborhood of craft shops and manufacturing. It is where most Duriahs live.
Styrd Bosna: Caste Kumma. House Andthra. Born AF 2032 to Darjuth and Selese Bosna. Completed four Trials. He is the Captain of the caravan to Nestle.
SuDin: The Voice who Commands. The leader of the Sil Lor Kum.
Suge Wrestiva: Caste Kumma. House Wrestiva. Born AF 2040 to Hal’El and Kilwen Wrestiva. He has yet to be chosen for his first Trial. He remains a Virgin at the age of twenty-two. It is somewhat scandalous.
Sunpalm Orchard: A wealthy, quiet neighborhood of stately townhomes and small craft shops. It is home to many Shiyens.
Suwraith: A murderous being of wind and storm who suddenly exploded into existence two thousand years ago. Her only desire seems to be the extinction of Humanity. Her origin is a mystery, although the Baels claim that She was the Daughter of the First Mother and First Father, murdering them on the Night of Sorrows. The Fan Lor Kum name Her Mother Lienna. Humanity also names her the Bringer of Sorrows or the Queen of Madness.
Talents: Skills possessed by individuals of various Castes, each one unique to a Caste.
Tanner’s School of Animal Husbandry: Shiyen school of veterinary medicine.
Trial: The holy duty in which warriors leave the safety of an Oasis and enter the Wildness in order to defend a caravan, even if it costs them their lives.
Trell Rue: A fashionable neighborhood of artisan shops and restaurants.
Triumph Court: Plaza surrounding the Glory Stadium.
Ular Sathin: Caste Muran. Clan Balm. Born AF 1989. Completed two Trials before retiring at age twenty-eight. He was a well-to-do farmer before selling his property to other members of his Clan. He is a MalDin of the Sil Lor Kum.
Unworthy: A designation by which a Kumma is felt to be a coward and/or morally compromised. Such an individual is banished from the city.
Upanayana ceremony: Ceremony that consecrates a boy to his duties as a man. It involves two days and two nights of fasting and praying in solitude and silence. In the case of Kummas and other warriors, it is followed by the granting of the Insufi blade at dawn.
Varesea Apter: Caste Rahail. Born AF 2019. Married to Slathtril Apter. She is a member of the Sil Lor Kum.
Verchow College of Medicine: One of the two Shiyen medical colleges in Ashoka.
Well: The place within an individual wherin Jivatma resides. Some believe the Well is simply another word for consciousness, and from consciousness, Jivatma springs forth.
Wildness, the: The vast area beyond the borders of the cities and their Oases.
Word and the Deed, the: Author unknown. It is a sacred text written prior to the fall of the First World. Over time, it has supplanted The Book of All Souls as the main source of religious scripture within the world.
Yuthero Gaste: Caste Shiyen. Born AF 2025. He is one of the youngest professors of Surgery at Alminius School of Medicine. He is also a MalDin of the Sil Lor Kum.
About the author
Davis Ashura is a legend...in his own mind. He resides in North Carolina, sharing a house with his wonderful wife who somehow overlooked Davis’ eccentricities and married him anyway. As proper recompense for her sacrifice, Davis then unwittingly turned his wonderful wife into a nerd-girl. To her sad and utter humiliation, she knows exactly what is meant by ‘Kronos’. Living with them are their two rambunctious boys, both of whom have at various times helped turn Davis’ once lustrous, raven-black hair prematurely white (it sure sounds prettier than the dirty gray it actually is). And of course, there is the obligatory strange, calico cat (all authors have cats – it’s required by the union). She is the world’s finest hunter of socks, be they dirty or clean. When not working – nay laboring – in the creation of works of fiction so grand that hardly anyone has read a single word of them, Davis practices medicine, but only when the insurance companies tell him he can.
Visit him at www.DavisAshura.com and be appalled by the banality of a writer’s life.
A Warrior's Path (The Castes and the OutCastes) Page 52