Rebel Elements (Seals of the Duelists)

by Giacomo, Jasmine

  Blood type: citizens of the Waarden empire have one of three different blood types: Waarden, Northern Common, and Southern Common, with Waarden blood being the dominant type, always manifesting in children with only one Waarden parent. A chanter’s healing crystal contains one drop of blood belonging to one of these three types, allowing the healing of anyone possessing that type of blood. Therefore, chanters always carry three crystals with them, one containing blood of each type

  Braam vander Broek: a minor noble in the class ahead of Bayan

  Breckan: an older student, she’s a member of Braam’s hex

  Calder Micarron: A Dunfarroghan teen from Marghebellen. Previously indentured to the Firedust Guild, he was injured in an accident that revealed his magical ability. His guildmaster took him to the nearest chanter, but the three-day journey left a permanent flame-shaped scar on Calder’s cheek

  Caolan, Lady: a noblewoman who washed out of the Duelist Academy for falling in love, and who has since become the most famous potioneer in the empire, catering to the whims of the nobility in Akkeraad

  Cassander: one of Philo’s Kheerzaal eunuch assistants

  Casts: various element-specific versions of the same spell. A duelist determines which cast of a spell is released by which element he or she invokes before performing the spell’s motions. For example: the Watercast of Stormwave releases a wave of water toward one’s tegen, while the Flamecast of Stormwave releases a fiery fog that spawns miniature flame tornadoes. A spell’s motion set must contain the sacred motion for a particular element in order for that spell to have a corresponding element cast

  Cavan: Head Duelist at the North Keenaght duel den in Renallen. He teaches Calder some basic Void techniques, and seems to live in the Void at all times

  Chanter: one who possesses song magic, but not the ability to sing, due to injury, tone deafness, etc. Chanters can perform healing magic, which requires only toneless rhythmic sounds and a crystal containing a drop of blood matching the patient’s blood type. Because of their ability to heal wounds quickly, most chanters are assigned by the Temple of Ten Thousand Harmonies to duel dens across the empire. Others find employment in the private sector, or travel the High Ways as itinerants

  Chantery: headquarters on the Academy campus for all chanters assigned duties there. It lies in the center of the campus

  Cormaac: an older student in Braam’s hex, determined to agree with everything Braam says and does

  Cozenwar: a last-ditch push during the First Tuathi War, led by Warmaster Adrian de Hond, which turned the tide and enabled a Waarden victory

  Cricket: term used by eunuchs to refer to other eunuchs, in reference to their high voices

  Dakila: Bayan’s sparring partner, defense instructor, and friend. His Waarden uncle by marriage was Bayan’s school teacher

  Danatu: title of the former Balanganese king. Fearing a civil war among his sons after his impending death, the Danatu brokered a deal with Emperor Hedrick of the Waarden Empire to absorb Balanganam into his many lands and maintain peace among his sons and his people

  Datu Lualhati: Bayan’s father, a successful Balanganese farmer

  Den chanter: a chanter assigned to a duel den

  Diantha: one of Doc Theo’s campus chanters

  Diogenes Essendorp (Odjin): a brash young man who joins Bayan’s hex

  Diwata Lualhati: one of Bayan’s sisters, aged eleven

  Doc Theo: see Theo Willemsen

  Dose: to imbibe a potion

  Dosing: consuming potions in an addictive fashion

  Duel den: a dueling arena and living quarters and occupied by several duelists. Duel dens are housed within major cities or placed strategically among several smaller towns, so that all imperial citizens have access to duelism mediation

  Duelist: a caster of elemental magic, trained at the Duelist Academy, in service for life to the empire. Duelists serve the people during peace time by battling to determine the outcome of civil conflicts, and fight the empire’s enemies in times of war. Duelists hold high status no matter their cultural origin, but they are bound to a lifetime of magical service and cannot abandon their post without serious consequences

  Duelist Academy: a campus for training duelists to master their elemental magic, hidden among the tunnels and valleys of a limestone mountain in the south of Helderaard. Previous valley floor iterations were sacked during various wars

  Duelist Savant: a rare class of duelist who is unable to achieve a perfectly emotionless Void and bonds his or her magic to a particular emotion instead. Since emotion makes magic strong and wild, most Savants injure or kill themselves or someone else before achieving perfect control over their emotional magic. Survivors are often stripped of their magic for everyone’s safety.

  Dunfarroghan: a pragmatic, easily adaptable culture, descended from Tuathi who settled on conquered Waarden lands. The Dunfarroghan live in Marghebellen and Gallenglaas, as well as the western part of Helderaard and the southern stretch of Kallichon. They’re characterized by either pale or black hair, light eyes, and a tendency to wring everything they can out of any deal

  Eirene: a noblewoman serving at the Kheerzaal, skilled in detecting forged coins

  Eithne Mikellen: the Academy’s Earth Instructor, she holds the rank of Avatar Duelist

  Elemental Duelist: the first rank a student can achieve at the Duelist Academy, accomplished by most of the students in each class. Elemental Duelists can control all six elements of their magic, bending it to their will with the perfected use of the six sacred motions, which they use to cast their spells

  Elements: Flame, Water, Wood, Air, Earth, and Shock

  Eward Raalgat: a shy Waarden boy who wants to lead but doesn’t know how. He becomes a member of Bayan’s hex

  Fabian: one of Philo’s assistants and guards

  Feast of Many Harvests: a late autumn festival celebrating the end of the fertile season

  Feast of Tuq: the day on the old Aklaa calendar that marks the beginning of the spring season, roughly corresponding to Low Spring on the official Waarden calendar

  Femke: Empress of the Waarden, wife to Emperor Jaap, mother of Juriaan and Sebastiaan

  Firedust: the mysterious ingredients that form the colorful, noisy explosions of fireworks. Also the name of Calder’s Flame avatar

  Firedust Guild: a licensed guild that uses the secret knowledge of exploding powder to entertain audiences during feasts, festivals and holidays

  First Tuathi War: 803-960 IC, during which the Tuathi captured Marghebellen, Gallenglaas and much of Helderaard, where they destroyed the Duelist Academy’s first, loosely organized campus. The Waarden duelists finally brought the war to a close when they discovered a previously unknown magical technique that gave Elementalists a distinct advantage over anima casters in battle. The shift in power forced the Tuathi to sue for peace and settle across their captured lands or flee across the Maam Ardcath

  Frits: one of Philo’s assistants and guards

  Gael: one of Philo’s Kheerzaal assistants, a Dunfarroghan eunuch

  Gallenglaas Day: a Waarden holiday in late winter, celebrating the province’s return to imperial rule in 1691 IC after being in the hands of the Tuathi since the Second Tuathi War

  Gamay: a mature seerwine pitcher plant which grows in the forest near Bayan’s home

  Gerrolt Visser: Academy Groundsmaster, a gruff man with a deep love of all plants

  Ginina: a baker of skill at the Eshkin ancestral estate on Wisnuk Bay

  Godsmaw: the Karkhedonian term for the Gyre

  Gyre: the dangerous circular sea located in the northeast part of the empire, bordering Pallithea and Helderaard, south of the independent realm of Karkhedon. Known for its frequent, deadly storms and swift, swirling currents

  Greer: the Academy’s head Meditation Instructor

  Hahliq: leader of Savitu’s small band of warriors

  Hall of Seals: the assembly room for all Academy gatherings. A circular dais is surrounded by six sect
ions of benches representing the six elements. Teachers, students and other staff sit in the sections favored by their skills or talents

  Hanna: Head Duelist at the Muggenhem duel den

  Head Duelist: the duelist responsible for the upkeep, public relations, and duelists of their duel den. They approve all client choices of duelist and schedule all duels for their den

  Hedrick voorde Helderaard: the old emperor, Jaap’s father, now deceased

  Hegemon: title of the ruler of Karkhedon

  Helderaard: principal province of the Waarden Empire, in the center of its lands, containing Akkeraad, the capital city

  Helma de Rood: Master Duelist who lived a century ago and died fighting in the War of Steel. Her sacrifice for the empire earned her and her descendants the honorific “de Rood”

  Hex: a group of six duelists assigned to train together after passing their basic exams. A hex is also the basic military unit of the duelist army in times of war

  Hex house: a small building where members of the same hex can gather on campus. Hex houses are laid out in six rows of six, built up the side of a steep hill. Each row of hex houses is traditionally given an elemental designation

  Hexbirds: cousins of the crow, hexbirds have lived among duelists for millennia. They’re believed to be smarter than crows, lucky, and perhaps even infused with a little magic

  Hexling: mildly derogatory term for a student assigned to a hex

  Hexmagic Duelist: the third rank a student can achieve at the Duelist Academy, and the highest most students ever hope to achieve. Hexmagic Duelists can manifest all six elemental avatars and can combine elemental magics with their hexmates to create nearly anything, except living creatures

  High Ways: Imperial roads stretching between major cities, maintained by the empire to facilitate trade and travel

  Idle: to control an avatar’s motions, but not cast any spells. To Idle an avatar, the duelist must maintain the shape of the sacred motion that matches the avatar’s element.

  Ignaas witten Oost: an influential instructor on the Academy campus, the minor Waarden noble is a powerful Hexmagic Duelist who teaches upper-level classes as well as his own private hand-picked students

  Imee Magittang: Bayan’s lovemate and his intended bride. A spirited Balanganese teenager, daughter of Isagani Magittang

  Imperial Duelist: a duelist of any rank assigned to the Kheerzaal

  Indentured: a servant with a finite number of years to serve. Indentureds usually enter service due to financial need or to learn a valuable trade with a master tradesman or guild, such as the Firedust Guild

  Invocation: a combination of sacred motions that open the duelist up to either elemental magic in general, or a specific element, or avatar-level spells. The Elemental Invocation is usually performed at the beginning of a duel or a bout of arena practice at the Academy, but during a trainee’s first semester on campus, it is performed only once a day, at the beginning of the day, in order to tame and focus the trainee’s magic through daily exposure to the sacred motions and with meditation. Other, more specific invocations are performed after the duelist has invoked elemental magic, in order to bring about specific kinds of spells.

  Isagani Magittang: a wealthy Balanganese merchant, father of Imee

  Isos Sarantis: a distant cousin of the Hegemon of Karkhedon, who once saved Marco’s life

  Iyanu K’mokamo: a fierce noblewoman who schedules banquets for the emperor and his guests. Wife to Wateyo tes’Eshkin, mother of Kiwani t’Eshkin, her only child

  Jaap voorde Helderaard: His Imperial Majesty, ruler of the Second Waarden Empire, younger son of Emperor Hedrick

  Joord: one of Philo’s assistants and guards

  Joos de Rood: the Academy’s history teacher, descended from the last Master Duelist in imperial history, Helma de Rood

  Jujufish: small, inquisitive fish that live in Balanganese rice paddies. Eaten by people and swamp vipers

  Jurgen: one of the Academy’s Meditation Instructors

  Juriaan voorde Helderaard: younger son of Emperor Jaap

  Kah: a hexbird who shared a room with Bayan, Odjin, Calder, and Eward

  Kakios Phokapolou: a patient killer for hire

  Kalabao: a domesticated bovine, used for farm work and cart transport in Balanganam

  Karkhedon: a neutral land across the Godsmaw from Helderaard. Its inhabitants share a cultural heritage with the Imperial lands of Aeolis, Kallichon, and Pallithea

  Kendesi: an older student, she’s a member of Braam’s hex

  Kheerzaal: the imperial campus, comprised of the royal palace and the headquarters of all imperially run businesses and services

  Kilik: an indentured man in Qivinga’s service

  Kipri Nayuuti: Philo’s current assistant, a eunuch of the Second Class

  Kiwani t’Eshkin: daughter of Wateyo tes’Eshkin and Iyanu K’mokamo, powerful nobles in the emperor’s good graces. Ambitious and proud, Kiwani had her life all planned out before her magic manifested, forcing her to change her goals

  Kobus vooren Zeegat: a minor noble and ship aficionado who lives in Muggenhem year-round. His first wife left him when she learned he was sterile. The old emperor, Hedrick, ordered him to wed the young Aklaa princess, Qivinga, when her land was finally conquered. A kind man who’s more interested in ships than marriage, Kobus has given Qivinga several Aklaa indentureds to keep her company so far from home, but he spends most of his time away from the manor or abandoning her to judgmental Waarden noblewomen at parties so he can talk ships with his old friends

  Konrad: one of Philo’s assistants and guards

  Kuvi: one of Hahliq’s warriors, and Kipri’s uncle

  Laarwyck: a Waarden-dominated province east of Helderaard, whose citizens speak with a thick country accent

  Last Starflower, the: the name given to Qivinga when her realm lost its bid for freedom during the Raqtaaq Wars and her father the ruler of Aklaa was executed, since she became the last princess of Aklaa

  Lailani Lualhati: one of Bayan’s sisters, aged nine

  Lemmert: one of Philo’s assistants and guards

  Liliwa Lualhati: Bayan’s mother

  Lost Starflower, the: Aklaa people’s name for the Last Starflower after she was stolen away by Emperor Hedrick

  Lotte: Philo’s personal chef during his travels in Balanganam, and employee of the royal kitchens before and after her time with Philo

  Low Solstice: the shortest day of the year

  Low Spring: the first day of spring according to the Waarden calendar

  Mambajao: the broad, silty river that flows past Bayan’s home. It was considered too wide and dangerous to cross with a bridge, until Surveyor Philo Sallas arrived

  Marco: a false name adopted by Caspar voorde Helderaard during his years in Karkhedon

  Marilag: Lady Caolan’s efficient assistant

  Master Duelist: the highest rank a duelist may achieve, though it happens so rarely that those who achieve this rank reach near-mythical status. No one is sure of the full range of abilities a Master Duelist gains, but the test for Master Duelist requires the ability to cast magic and summon avatars without using the sacred motions, and the ability to perform the actions of six Hexmagic students at once

  Mindo: Bayan’s only brother, aged seven

  Mitlik: a castrated prince of Aklaa, brother to Qisuk, cousin to Savitu and Qivinga

  Muckling: insulting term for a person from Balanganam

  Muggenhem: a resort town for the Waarden nobility. The only town of note along the narrow strip of coastline Helderaard has along the Gyre. Due to the winter storm season, most families only visit Muggenhem during the summer months, despite owning permanent residences there

  Newnik: general term for Academy trainees, who haven’t learned to cast magic or been assigned to hexes yet

  Nic: one of Philo’s assistants and guards, often driving Philo’s carriage

  Nine Empires, the: the nine iterations of imperial Waarden rule, spanning more
than two millennia

  North Keenaght: the district of Renallen that supports the duel den where Calder was brought for healing

  Nunaa: a Raqtaaq realm on the eastern border of the Waarden Empire, conquered some twenty years past

  Odjin: see Diogenes Essendorp

  Okatin: a business manager in the employ of Lord Eshkin, at his Wisnuk Bay estate

  Pangusay: Bayan’s home town, located on the Mambajao River at the southern tip of Balanganam

  Peace Village: a village that shares the top of the mountain with the Duelist Academy. The Academy’s support staff live there, as do dozens of non-duelist students. It receives mail packets separately from the campus and has its own mayor