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To Ride a Rathorn

Page 52

by P. C. Hodgell


  BRANT

  Lord Brandan of Falkirr

  BREAKNECK ROCK

  a rock jutting out over Tentir's favorite swimming hole

  BRENWYR

  sister of Brant; the Brandon Matriarch, also known as the Iron Matriarch; a maledight

  BRIER IRON-THORN

  a Kendar cadet, formerly Caineron, now Knorth; second in command (or Five) of Jame's ten

  BRITHANY

  a Whinno-hir and matriarch of the herd; Adric's mount, grand-dam of Torisen's warhorse Storm

  BUILDERS, THE

  a mysterious, now extinct race of architects who built temples for the Three-faced God on threshold worlds

  BURNT MAN, THE

  one of the Four who present Rathillien; an avenger linked to fire

  BURR

  Kendar friend and servant of Torisen

  CALDANE

  Lord Caineron of Restormir

  CATARACTS, THE

  site of a great battle between the Kencyr Host and the Waster Horde

  CHAIN OF CREATION

  a series of over-lapping worlds, each the threshold to a different dimension

  CHAOS SERPENTS

  vast serpents under the earth whose writhing creates earthquakes

  CHANGERS

  Kencyr who fell with the Master and, through mating with the shadows of Perimal Darkling, have gained the ability to shape-shift

  CHERRY

  an Edirr cadet

  CHINGETAI

  the Menkit chief

  CLEPPETTY

  a friend of Jame's in Tai-tastigon; housekeeper at an inn called the Res aB'tyrr

  CLOUD

  Commandant Sheth's warhorse

  CORRUDIN

  Lord Caldane's uncle and chief advisor

  DALLY

  a young male friend of Jame in Tai-tastigon

  DAR

  a Knorth cadet, one of Jame's ten-command

  DARK JUDGE

  an Arrin-ken allied to the Third Face of God, That-Which-Destroys, also to the Burnt Man

  DARKLING CRAWLER

  a wyrm, or very large creepy-crawly with a poisonous bite

  DARKWYR SIGN

  a gesture made to avert evil

  DEATH BANNERS

  tapestry portraits of the dead woven of threads taken from the clothes in which they died.

  DEATH'S-HEAD

  a rogue rathorn, also the name adopted by the rathorn colt whose mother Jame killed

  D'HEN

  a knife-fighter's jacket, with one tight sleeve and one full, reinforced with steel mesh, to turn attacker's blade

  DIREHOUNDS

  savage hunting dogs with black legs and head, white body

  DREAMSCAPE

  as with the soulscape, Kencyr dreams can touch, even overlap. However, on this superficial level one can only observe and sometimes communicate, not act.

  DWAR

  a forced sleep that promotes healing

  EARTH WIFE, THE

  also known as Mother Ragga; fertility goddess representing the earth

  EARTH WIEE'S FAVORITE

  a role in a Merikit rite, usually undertaken by a young man who acts as the Earth Wife's lover while pretending to be her son.

  EAST KENSHOLD

  a Kencyr border keep on the Eastern Sea

  EBONBANE, THE

  the mountain range that separates the Eastern Lands from the Central Lands

  ERIM

  a Knorth cadet; one of Jame's ten-command

  ESCARPMENT, THE

  three hundred foot tall cliffs on the northern edge of the Southern Wastes

  FAITH-BREAKERS, THE

  Knorth Kendar who refused to follow Ganth into exile and subsequently found places in other houses.

  FALCONER, THE

  the blind master of hawks at Tentir, who also teaches all Shanir with the ability to bond to other creatures

  FALL, THE

  some 3000 years ago, the current Highlord, Gerridon, betrayed his people when promised immortality by Perimal Darkling. This caused the Kencyrath's flight to Rathillien

  FOUR, THE

  Rathillien's elemental powers, represented by the Eaten One (water), the Falling Man (air), the Earth Wife (earth), and the Burnt Man (fire) real people who suddenly at the point of death found themselves gods due to the activation of the Kencyr temples

  GANTH GRAY LORD

  the former Highlord; Jame and Torisen's father

  GARI

  a Coman cadet, bonded to insects

  GEN

  a game

  GERRAINT

  father of Ganth

  GERRIDON

  twin of Jamethiel Dream-weaver, also known as the Master, who as Highlord betrayed the Kencyrath to Perimal Darkling in return for immortality; see the Fall

  GORBEL

  present Caineron lordan

  GRAY LANDS

  where the unburnt Kencyr dead walk

  GRAYKIN

  Jame's servant; Caldane's Southron, bastard half-cast son

  GRESHAN GREED-HEART

  Knorth Lordan before Jame, uncle to Jame, brother to Ganth

  GRIMLY HOLT, THE

  wood on the edge of the Great Weald where Grimly's pack lives

  HALLICK HARD-HAND

  Knorth commander during time of Greshan; father of Harn

  HARN GRIP-HARD

  Torisen's randon friend and war-leader, a former commandant of Tentir, also a berserker who fears that he is losing control

  HATHIR

  an ancient kingdom paired with Bashti on either side of River Silver

  HAUNTED LANDS, THE

  land north of Tai-tastigon, under the influence of Perimal Darkling, where Jame and Torisen were born during their father's exile

  HAUNTS

  anything that has been tainted by the Haunted Lands and is therefore neither quite dead nor quite alive; usually mindless

  HAWTHORN

  a Brandan captain at Tentir

  HEART OF THE WOODS

  a place of ancient power, near where

  the battle of the Cataracts took place

  HIGH KEEP

  the Min-drear border keep far to the north, home of Rue

  HIGH KENS

  a highly formal and archaic version of the Kencyr language

  HIGHLORD

  leader of the Kencryath, always (at least until now) a Knorth

  HOLLENS

  Lord Danior of Shadow Rock, also known as Holly

  HONOR'S PARADOX

  where does honor lie, in obedience to one's lord or to oneself?

  HURLEN

  a town of wooden towers on islets at the convergence of the Silver and Tardy Rivers

  IMMALAI

  an Arrin-ken of the Ebonbane

  IMU

  a little clay face, dedicated to Mother Ragga

  INDEX

  a scrollsman herbalist who studied the Merikit

  IRON-JAW

  Ganth's warhorse, now a haunt

  ISHTÍER

  a renegade priest of the Priests' College

  IVORY KNIFE, THE

  one of the three lost objects of power whose least scratch is fatal, now guarded by Bane

  JAME

  also called Jamethiel Priest's-bane and (incorrectly) Jameth; Torisen's twin sister, but ten years his junior

  JAMETHIEL DREAM-WEAVER

  caused the Fall, twin sister of Gerridon and mother of the twins Jame and Tori

  JEWEL-JAWS

  a type of carnivorous insect

  KIRIEN

  a scrollswoman and the Jaran lordan

  JORIN

  a blind, Royal Gold hunting ounce, bound to Jame

  JURIEN

  Jaran Highborn and Randon Council member

  KALLYSTINE

  Caineron's daughter, Torisen's consort for a time, who slashed Jame's face

  KARIDIA

  the Coman Matriarch

  KARNID

  religious fanatics who live in the Southern Wa
stes. Their torture permanently scarred Torisen's hands.

  KEN AN

  Lord Randir of Wilden, father of Shade, son of Rawneth Kencyr Houses: [see chart]

  KENCYRATH

  The Three People, chosen by the Three-faced God to fight Perimal Darkling

  KENDAR

  one of the Three People, usually servant class

  KERAL

  a darkling changer

  KEST

  a Knorth cadet; one of Jame's ten-command

  KILLY

  a Knorth cadet; one of Jame's ten-command

  KINDRIE SOUL-WALKER

  a Shanir healer, first cousin to Jame and Torisen

  KIN-SLAYER

  sword belonging to Torisen

  KINZI

  great-grandmother to Torisen

  KITHORN

  northernmost of the Riverland keeps, now on Merikit land. Marc's former home

  KOREY

  Lord Coman of Kraggen

  KOTHIFIR

  a city on the edge of the Southern Wastes, called the Cruel

  LAWFUL LIE

  Kencyr singers (and some diplomats) are allowed a certain poetic license with the truth

  LORDAN

  a lord's designed heir, male or female

  LOWER HUDDLES

  a field near Hurlen where battle of Cataracts took place

  LYMERS

  hounds, scent trackers

  LYRA LACK-WIT

  Lord Caineron's young daughter, sister to Kallystine

  MALEDIGHT

  a Shanir who can kill with a curse

  MARC, MARCARN

  Kendar friend of Jameth, seven foot tall, ninety-five years old, a former warrior

  MARROW

  cadet guard, Knorth

  MASSACRE, THE

  nearly thirty years ago, Shadow Assassins killed all the Knorth ladies except for Tieri; no one knows why, but Jame has her suspicions

  MASTER, THE

  Gerridon

  MASTER'S HOUSE, THE

  where Jame went when her father drove her out; the House extends back down the Chain of Creation from fallen world to world, stopping just short of Rathillien

  MERIKIT

  a native hill tribe, living north of Kithorn

  MER-KANTI

  the Merkits' name for Randiroc

  MIN-DREAR

  a minor Kencyr house

  MINT

  a Knorth cadet, one of Jame's ten-command

  MIRAH

  a gray mare painted green and ridden by Mer-kand

  MOLOCAR

  an enormous war hound

  MOON GARDEN, THE

  Kinzi's secret courtyard at Gothregor, where Kindrie was born and which still serves as his soul-image

  MOTHER RAGGA

  also known as the Earth Wife; one of the Merikit's four elemental gods

  MOUNT ALBAN

  home of the Scrollsmen's College

  NARSA

  a female Ardeth cadet, in love with Timmon

  NEW ROAD

  flanks the Silver River on the western side

  NEW TENTIR

  the hollow square of barracks behind Old Tentir where the cadets live

  NIALL

  a Knorth cadet, replacement for Kest; survivor/veteran of the Cataracts

  OLD BLOOD, THE

  see Shanir

  OLD TENTIR

  the original stone keep

  PEACOCK GLOVES

  stolen by Jame in Tai-tastigon

  PENTILLA

  a young Ardeth highborn woman

  PEREDON

  son of Ardeth, who supposedly died fighting the Waster Horde in the Southern Wastes; Timmon's father

  PERIMAL DARKLING

  a kind of shadow that is eating its way up the Chain of Creation from threshold world to world. Under it, the living and the dead, the past and the present become confused.

  PRIEST'S COLLEGE, THE

  located at Wilden

  QUILL

  a Knorth cadet, one of Jame's ten-command

  QUIRL

  a Randir cadet who died trying to assassinate Randiroc

  RANDIROC

  the so-called lost Randir Heir or Lordan, a randon and Shanir, hiding in the wilds from the Witch of Wilden who has set Shadow Assassins to kill him

  RANDON

  a military officer and graduate of Tentir

  RANDON COLLEGE

  where randon cadets are trained

  RAN

  a term of address to a randon, male or female

  RATHILLLIEN

  the planet's name

  RATHORN

  an ivory armored, carnivorous equine, usually with a bad temper

  RAWNETH

  the Randir Matriarch, also called the Witch of Wilden

  REGONERETH

  the third face of god, That-Which-Destroys

  RES AB'TYRR

  an inn in Tai-tastigon

  RESTORMIR

  the Caineron keep

  RIVER ROAD

  an ancient road on east side of Silver River

  RIVER SILVER

  runs down the Riverland, then between Hathir and Bashti to the Cataracts

  RIVER SNAKE

  the huge chaos serpent that stretches underground from one end of the Silver to the other, causing earthquakes if not fed

  RIVERLAND, THE

  a long, narrow strip of land ceded to the Kencyrath at the northern end of the Silver

  ROANE

  Randir, cousin of the Witch of Wilden, killed by Ganth

  ROWAN

  female friend of Torisen, randon and steward of Gothregor

  RUE

  randon cadet from Min-drear, one of Jame's ten-command

  SARGENT

  a sort of non-commissioned randon officer, almost always Kendar, addressed as "sar"

  SCROLLSMEN'S COLLEGE

  at Mount Alban across from Valantir; also home to the singers

  SENETHA

  dance form of the Senethar

  SENETHAR

  unarmed combat divided into four disciplines: water-flowing, earth-moving, fire-leaping, and wind- blowing

  SENETHARI

  a master and teacher of the Senethar

  SEVEN KINGS OF THE CENTRAL LANDS

  Bashti and Hathir have devolved into seven minor kingdoms who are always at war with each other, often using Kencyr mercenaries

  SHADE

  also known as Nightshade; a Randir cadet, bound to a golden swamp adder; half-Kendar bastard daughter of Lord Kenan of Randir, grand-daughter of the Randir Matriarch Rawneth

  SHADOW ASSASSINS

  a mysterious cult of assassins who make themselves invisible (and ultimately insane) with tattoos that cover every inch of their bodies

  SHADOW ROCK

  the Danior keep

  SHANIR

  sometimes referred to as the Old Blood; some Kencyr have odd powers such as the ability to blood-bind or to bond with animals, aligned to one of the Three Faces of God; to be Shanir, one must have at least some Highborn blood.

  SHETH SHARP-TONGUE

  Commandant of Tentir, Caineron, Caldane's war-leader

  SIMMEL

  a Randir cadet and crony of Gorbel

  SISTER-KINSHIP

  sometimes Highborn women of different houses form lasting bonds with each other, about which their lords know nothing.

  SNOWTHORNS

  the mountain range through which the Riverland runs

  SOUL-IMAGES

  each Kencyr sees his or her soul in terms of an image such as a house or a puzzle or a garden. A healer works with this image to promote physical and mental health.

  SOULSCAPE

  all soul images overlap at some point, forming an interwoven psychic landscape; the Kencyrath's collective subconscious

  STAY

  harvest-master at Gothregor

  TAI-TASTIGON

  a city in the Eastern Lands where Jame and

  Marc met

  TARDY


  a river that converges with the Silver

  TARN

  a Danior cadet, bound to an old Molocar named Torvo

  TEN-COMMAND

  the basic squad unit of cadets; its leader is

  referred to as Ten and the second-in-command as Five

  THOSE-WHO-RETURNED

  Knorth Kendar who were driven back by Ganth when they attempted to go into exile with him; most became yondri-gon

  THREE PEOPLE, THE

  Highborn, Kendar, and Arrin-ken, who together are the Kencyrath

  TIERI

  a highborn Knorth, Ganth's sister, mother of Kindrie and first cousin of Torisen, whose life was saved during the massacre by Aerulan

  TIGON

  a randon from Jame's youth

  TIMMON

  a cadet, also, the Ardeth Lordan; son of Peredon (Peri), grandson of Adric

  TIRANDYS

  male darkling changer, Jame's former Senethari or teacher, deceased

  TISHOOO

  the southern wind, also called the Falling Man

  TORISEN BLACK LORD

  High Lord of the Kencyrath, son of Ganth Gray Lord, who stopped the Waster horde at the Cataracts

  TRISHIEN

  the Jaran Matriarch, a scrollswoman

  TROGS

  rocks with teeth, given to infesting wells, dungeons, and latrines

  TUBAIN

  owner of the Res aB'yrr

  TUNGIT

  a Merikit shaman and old friend of Index

  TYR-RIDAN

  human vessels for the Three-faced God to manifest itself through in the final battle with Perimal Darkling.

  UPPER MEADOWS

  a field near Hurlen where the battle of Cataracts took place

  URAKARN OF THE SOUTHERN WASTES

  citadel of the Karnids

  VALANTIR

  Jaran fortress north of Tentir

  VANT

  an officious Knorth cadet

  WASTER HORDE, THE

  a vast, nomadic, cannibalistic collection of tribes who endlessly circle the Southern Wastes, preying on each other

  WEALD, THE GREAT

  a large forest in the Central Lands, home to the wolvers

  WEIRDINGSTROM

  a magical storm capable of transporting people and things instantaneously anywhere

  WEIRD-WALKING

  using the weirding mist to travel deliberately

  WHITE HILLS, THE

  south of the Riverland, where Ganth Gray Lord fought a great battle following the Massacre, lost, and was driven into exile.

  WHITE KNIFE

  suicide knife, an honorable death

  WHITE LADY, THE

  the Whinno-hir Bel-tairi

  WILDEN

  the Randir fortress

  WILLOW

  little sister of Marcarn, killed when Kithorn fell

  WINTER

  a Kendar randon, first nurse to Jame, killed by Ganth

  WOLVER GRIMLY

  shape-shifter, friend of Torison

  WOLVERS

  creatures who shift easily between human and lupine forms, expert singers, usually peaceful unless they come from the deep Weald

 

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