Mithros: chief god of the Tortallan pantheon, god of war and the law. His symbol is the sun.
Plain of Sorrows: site of the biggest and last defeat of the Copper Isles’ native raka people by the white, or luarin, invaders (opportunists from the Eastern Lands). The battle that broke the power of the Haiming royal line and of the great noble houses of the Copper Isles, and set the Rittevon kings on the Isles’ throne.
Pohon: village on the northern border of the Tanair estates on the island of Lombyn. The raka of Pohon are notoriously inhospitable to their luarin overlords.
Port Caynn: port city that serves the Tortallan capital of Corus.
Port Legann: the southwestern port city of Tortall, ruled by Lord Imrah and his lady.
Queen’s Riders: cavalry/police group that protects Tortallans who live in hard-to-reach parts of the country. They enforce the law and teach local residents to defend themselves. The basic unit is a Rider Group, with eight to nine members. Rank in a Group is simply that of commander and second-in-command; the head of the Riders is the Commander. They accept both women and men in their ranks, unlike the army, the navy, and the King’s Own. Their headquarters lies between the palace and the Royal Forest.
Rajmuat: capital of the Copper Isles under both the raka and the luarin.
raka: copper/brown-skinned natives of the Copper Isles, under the lordship of the luarin arrivals from the Eastern Lands for nearly three hundred years.
Royal Forest: vast forest that blankets land south and west of Corus for several days’ ride.
Scanra: country to the north of Tortall; wild, rocky, and cold, with very little land that can be farmed. Scanrans are masters of the sea and are feared anywhere there is a coastline. They also frequently raid over land. In recent years, their Great Council (formerly the Council of Ten, expanded in the disruptions following the Immortals War), made up of the heads of the clans, elected the warlord Maggur Rathhausak to be their king. The war with Tortall began in 460 H.E. (the events are covered in Lady Knight) and has moved into its second year, though Scanra is visibly weakening.
scry: to look into the present, future, or past using magic and, sometimes, a bowl of water, a mirror, fire, or some other device to peer into.
shape-shifter: one who can take the shape of an animal or another human. Those who shift into immortal form are unable to change back.
Sight, the: aspect of the magical Gift that gives its holders certain advantages in matters of vision. It can be erratic, showing holders only lies, illness, magic, or future importance. In its fullest form, it can allow the holder to see clearly over distance, see tiny things in sharp detail, and to detect illness, lies, godhood, magic, death, and other aspects of life.
Sky: the crow goddess, consort of the Dawn Crow.
Southern Lands: another name for the Carthaki Empire, which has conquered all of the independent nations that once were part of the continent south of the Inland Sea.
spidren: immortal whose body is that of a furred spider four to five feet in height; its head is that of a human with sharp, silvery teeth. Spidrens can use weapons. They also use their webs as weapons and ropes. Spidren web is gray-green in color and it glows after dark. Their blood is black and burns like acid. Their favorite food is human blood.
Stormwing: immortal with a human head and chest and bird legs and wings, with steel feathers and claws. Stormwings have very sharp teeth, but use them only to add to the terror of their presence by tearing apart bodies. They live on human fear and have their own magic; their special province is the desecration of battlefield dead.
Tanair: Lombyn Isle estates that form part of the inheritance of Lady Saraiyu and Lady Dove Balitang, granted to them by their mother, Sarugani Temaida. Estates include Tanair castle and village, and the villages of Inti and Pohon.
Thak: language of old Carthak, used as a magical language in present times.
Tongkang: island to the south of Gempang, between Gempang and Malubesang Isles.
Tortall: chief kingdom in which the Alanna, Daine, and Keladry sagas take place, between the Inland Sea and Scanra. Home to Alianne of Pirate’s Swoop and her family.
Trebond: birthplace of Alanna the Lioness, now held by Baron Coram and his wife, Rispah.
Turnshe Mountains: central mountains of Lombyn, stretching from the northern point of the island to the southern point. Travel in northern Lombyn is through the Kellaura Pass on the Dimari Road.
Tusaine: small country tucked between Tortall and Maren.
Tyra: merchant republic on the Inland Sea between Tortall and Maren. Tyra is mostly swamp, and its people rely on trade and banking for income. Numair Salmalín was born there.
Vassa River: river that forms a large part of the northeastern border between Scanra and Tortall.
wild magic: magic that is part of the natural world. Unlike the human Gift, it cannot be drained or done away with; it is always present.
wildmage: mage who deals in wild magic, the kind of magic that is part of nature. Daine Sarrasri is often called the Wildmage for her ability to communicate with animals, heal them, and shape-shift.
Wind: Kyprioth’s cousin, a god.
Yamani Islands: island nation to the north and west of Tortall and the west of Scanra, ruled by an ancient line of emperors, whose claim to their throne comes from the goddess Yama. The country is beautiful and mountainous. Its vulnerability to pirate raids means that most Yamanis, including the women, get some training in combat arts. Keladry of Mindelan lived there for six years while her father was the Tortallan ambassador.
TAMORA PIERCE captured the imagination of readers twenty years ago with Alanna: The First Adventure. As of August 2003 she has written twenty-one books, including three completed quartets—The Song of the Lioness, The Immortals, and The Protector of the Small—set in the fantasy realm of Tortall. She has also written the Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens quartets. Her books have been translated into many different languages, and many are available on audio. Tamora Pierce’s fast-paced, suspenseful writing and strong, believable heroines have won her much praise: Emperor Mage was a 1996 ALA Best Book for Young Adults, The Realms of the Gods was listed as an “outstanding fantasy novel” by VOYA in 1996, Squire (Protector of the Small #3) was a 2002 ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and Lady Knight (Protector of the Small #4) debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestsellers list.
An avid reader herself, Ms. Pierce graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. She has worked at a variety of jobs and has written everything from novels to radio plays. Along with writer Meg Cabot (The Princess Diaries series), she co-founded Sheroes Central, a discussion board about female heroes, remarkable women in fact, fiction, and history, books, and teen issues. She now runs Sheroes Central and Sheroes Fans with the help of her beloved Spouse-Creature and dedicated board members of all ages.
Tamora Pierce lives in New York City with her husband, Tim, a writer and Web page designer and administrator, and their four cats, two birds, and various rescued wildlife.
For more information visit:
www.tamora-pierce.com
Sheroes Central at:
www.sheroescentral.com
TORTALL BOOKS
BY TAMORA PIERCE
The Song of theLioness Quartet
Alanna: The First Adventure
In the Hand of the Goddess
The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
Lioness Rampant
THE IMMORTALS QUARTET
Wild Magic
Wolf-Speaker
Emperor Mage
The Realms of the Gods
Protector of the Small
First Test
Page
Squire
Lady Knight
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*Barzun was conquered by Tortall in the year 378 H.E., giving Jasson III of Tortall control of the eastern coastline from Scanra to the southern delta of the River Drell.
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Copyright © 2003 by Tamora Pierce
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
www.randomhouse.com/teens
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pierce, Tamora.
Trickster’s choice / Tamora Pierce
p. cm. — (Daughter of the Lioness)
summary: Alianne must call forth her mother’s courage and her father’s
wit in order to survive on the Copper Isles in a royal court rife with
political intrigue and murderous conspiracy.
[1. Fantasy.] I. Title. II. Series: Pierce, Tamora. Daughter of the Lioness. PZ7.P61464Tp 2003 [Fic]—dc21 2003005202
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eISBN: 978-0-375-89043-7
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