A flutter of wings in the distance drew their attention. A large black bird flapped slowly toward them, more ponderous in its movements than a rook, but more powerful as well. It winged down to the balustrade nearby and came to a rest. The same old gallows crow that Nikandr had seen on that ship against the cliffs of Yrstanla. It walked along with an awkward gait, releasing a long, sad caw. The white swatch across its breast and the underside of its wings shone bright under the sun.
“I’ve found her,” the crow said.
“Found who?”
“Kaleh,” Atiana replied.
Nikandr looked between the two of them.
“She told me of the battle between Kaleh and Nasim,” Atiana said, “and she said she would watch for them.”
“I saw them fall to the water”—the crow cawed and shook its head vigorously—“but I lost them in the maelstrom. I’ve been searching for them since. Of Nasim, I’ve found nothing. I can only assume he is dead. Of Kaleh I felt little, until the faintest of scents came to me. It trailed from here and then far to the west, to the very edge of the Gaji. I traveled there, looking for her, and felt her walking far ahead, but as I neared, her trail disappeared.”
“It couldn’t have just disappeared,” Atiana said.
“It did,” the crow replied, “and I suspect it was the Atalayina that allowed her to do so.”
“Where is she going?” Nikandr asked.
“With Sariya and Muqallad both dead, she will go to find those who can teach her of the Atalayina. If anyone will know, it will be the tribes who still live in the heart of the Gaji. They’ve lived there for centuries beyond count, hiding themselves from the outside world, even from the Aramahn.”
“Then that is where we must go,” Nikandr said.
All three of them remained silent. They knew it would be death to try to invade those lands, but what could they do? They had to find the Atalayina. They had to stop Kaleh from completing what Muqallad and Sariya had begun.
“Go,” the crow said as it hopped along the balustrade. “There is time yet to decide. I will watch for her, and for Nasim, though I have little hope for him. In time, we will know the right course.”
With that the crow flew off, its wings spread wide as it glided down and over the city.
Atiana turned to Nikandr. “There is Leonid to consider. And the welfare of Khalakovo.”
“This is no easy choice I make, Tiana.”
“I know,” she said.
With that, the two of them embraced, neither one of them feeling the comfort that should have come from the gesture.
“I know we must go,” she said again.
ON ELEMENTAL SPIRITS AND THE USE OF STONES
The Aramahn harness the elements by drawing spirits, or hezhan, close to the material world and bonding with them. They do this by way of specific stones, each of which is aligned with one of the elements. The men and women who are able to do this are called qiram. The specific name of the qiram is altered based on the type of spirit they’re able to bond with. Thus, a qiram who bonds with spirits of earth, vanahezhan, are called vanaqiram. Those who bond with spirits of fire, suurahezhan, are called suuraqiram.
Earth
Gem: jasper
Spirit: vanahezhan
Air
Gem: alabaster
Spirit: havahezhan
Fire
Gem: tourmaline
Spirit: suurahezhan
Water
Gem: azurite
Spirit: jalahezhan
Life
Gem: opal
Spirit: dhoshahezhan
The people of the Grand Duchy cannot bond with spirits. However, they do have magic of their own. They use chalcedony, and it can range in use by the peasantry to honor their dead to more formal use by royalty. The Matri use the stones in order to anchor themselves while in the aether. They also use them to find others with whom they’ve recently “touched stones.” Chalcedony grants no direct control over the elements, but the Matri do guide the ley lines that run between the spires in order to create stronger, more predictable currents for the ships to sail along.
ON THE PRIMARY DIRECTIONS OF WINDSHIPS
The windships in the Lays of Anuskaya are in some ways similar to their waterborne brethren. However, they are buoyant, and they never touch the water, docking at great eyries built onto the faces of cliffs instead of docks by the sea. They also have masts not just directly upward from the deck, but in all four of a ship’s primary directions.
The list below gives some grounding of the terminology used by the windsmen of the Grand Duchy.
bow: the front end of the ship.
stern: the rearmost portion of the ship.
fore: toward the foremost portion of the ship.
aft: toward the rearmost portion of the ship.
starward: upward from the deck of the ship, toward the sky and stars.
seaward: downward, named so because the windships often fly above water.
landward: to the left while facing the fore of the ship, the side where windships tie up to a perch or a dock.
windward: to the right while facing the fore of the ship, named so because the wind is in this direction when the windship is moored.
mainmast: the central mast in any given direction. Thus, the mainmast that points down toward the sea is called the seaward mainmast, and the one pointing upward is called the starward mainmast.
foremast: the mast nearest the bow. Similar to the mainmast, the foremast can be modified to indicate which direction is being referenced (i.e. the landward foremast).
mizzenmast: the mast aft of the mainmast.
keel: refers to the obsidian cores of the ship’s four mainmasts. Another length of obsidian is laid through the ship from stern to bow. The ley lines are captured by these three components of the keel, orienting the ship in a certain direction and allowing it to maintain that position as it sails forward like a waterborne ship through the sea.
rudder: a complex set of obsidian cylinders at the center of the ship, the nexus where the four mainmasts meet the obsidian core that runs lengthwise through the ship. These three sets of cylinders are adjusted by the pilot at the helm.
helm: the helm contains a set of three levers. These levers alter the set of the rudder, allowing the keel to set itself against the ley lines and turn the ship freely along all three axes: roll, pitch, and yaw.
GLOSSARY
Adhiya: the supernatural world of the hezhan; the world beyond the material world.
aether: the realm that separates the physical realm, Erahm, from the spiritual realm, Adhiya.
akhoz: children that have become twisted by the Al-Aqim on the island of Ghayavand. Their eyes have closed over with skin, and they breathe fire, as they’re bonded with suurahezhan.
Alif: the akhoz that Khamal chooses to perform his ritual on the beach below Alayazhar.
Ahya Soroush al Rehada: deceased daughter of Rehada and Soroush. Died on the shores of Bolgravya.
Al-Aqim: the three arqesh who created the rift over Galahesh. Sariya, Muqallad, and Khamal.
Alayazhar: the largest city on Ghayavand, now in ruins.
Aleg Ganevov Khazabyirsk: the Duke of Khazabyirsk.
Alekeşir: the capital city of Yrstanla, one of the world’s oldest cities.
Alesya Zaveta Bolgravya: wife to the former Grand Duke, Stasa Bolgravya.
Anahid: Nikandr’s dhoshaqiram, the cousin of Jahalan.
Andreyo Sergeyov Rhavanki: the Duke of Rhavanki.
arqesh: an Aramahn qiram who has mastered all five disciplines (water, earth, fire, air, and life), and who has also reached a higher level of enlightenment.
Ashan Kida al Ahrumea: one of the arqesh (master of all disciplines) among the Aramahn.
Atalayina: a legendary stone used by the Al-Aqim in their failed attempt to bring about indaraqiram on the island of Ghayavand.
Atiana Radieva Vostroma: daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Vostroma. Nikandr’s lover.
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Avayom Kirilov: a kapitan of Bolgravya’s staaya.
Avil: a strelet of Khalakovo who travels with Nikandr.
Bahett ül Kirdhash: the Kaymakam of Galahesh.
Behnda al Tib: the largest village of the Hratha in the islands to the south of the Grand Duchy.
berdische axe: a tall axe which streltsi use to rest their muskets against for higher accuracy.
Bersuq Wahad al Gatha: Soroush’s brother and second in command.
bichaq: slightly curved knife, used primarily in Yrstanla.
Borund Zhabynov Vostroma: eldest child and only son of Zhabyn and Radia Vostroma.
Brunhald: a one-footed rook belonging to the Bolgravya family. Alesya Bolgravya assumed Brunhald shortly before assuming Atiana before the Battle of Uyadensk.
cherkesska: long black coat worn by the streltsi of the Grand Duchy.
Cyhir: one of the akhoz that aids Nasim.
Devrim ül Mert: seneschal to the Kamarisi, Hakan ül Ayeşe.
desyatnik: the lowest rank of officer in the Grand Duchy’s staaya, typically responsible for ten streltsi.
dhoshahezhan: a spirit of life.
dhoshaqiram: one who bonds with dhoshahezhan and draws upon their power to wield or alter life in the material world.
dolman: a dress commonly worn by the women of northern Yrstanla, along the coast of the Sea of Tabriz.
dousing rod: a rod with a circle at one end of it, made of iron, used to sap the ability of the Aramahn qiram to bond with the hezhan.
drakhen: large amphibious lizards that sometimes make their home on the rocky beaches of the islands.
Dyanko Kantinov Vostroma: the Boyar of Elykstava and the Posadnik of Skayil.
Ebru: Bahett’s second wife, the woman second in power to Meryam.
Erahm: the physical world.
Ekaterina Margeva Rhavanki: the Duchess of Rhavanki.
Evochka: the capital and largest city in the Duchy of Volgorod. Situated near Palotza Galostina on the island of Kiravashya.
eyrie: the place where windships are moored, typically built onto cliff faces with many perches available for windships.
Fahroz Bashar al Lilliah: a mahtar in the village of Iramanshah.
Galostina (Palotza Galostina): the seat of power for the Vostroman family.
ghazi: the local militia in much of the southern and eastern reaches of Yrstanla.
Ghayavand: the island that was once a place of learning for the Aramahn. It became a wasteland when the Al-Aqim attempted a ritual to bring about indaraqiram.
Gaji: a large desert in the southwestern reaches of the Yrstanlan Empire.
Galahesh: a semi-autonomous island that sits between the islands of the Grand Duchy and Yrstanla.
goedrun: large sea creatures with squid-like tentacles that often prevent sea travel.
Gravlos Antinov: a shipwright. Oversaw the design and construction of the Gorovna.
Grigory Stasayev Bolgravya: The fourth son of Stasa Bolgravya. Brother to the duke, Konstantin Bolgravya.
Hael: the kingdom of the nomadic Haelish people, which lies to the west of Yrstanla. The Haelish have been locked in a bloody war with Yrstanla for decades.
Hakan ül Ayeşe: the Kamarisi of Yrstanla.
havahezhan: a spirit of wind.
havaqiram: one who bonds with havahezhan and draws upon their power to wield or alter wind in the material world.
helm: the helm contains a set of three levers. These levers alter the set of the rudder, allowing the keel to set itself against the ley lines and turn the ship freely along all three axes: roll, pitch, and yaw.
Heodor Yaroslov Lhudansk: the Duke of Lhudansk.
hezhan: souls or spirits in the world of Adhiya.
Hratha: the southern sect of the Maharraht. They have largely focused on fighting the southern Duchies of Anuskaya.
hussar: the cavalry of the Grand Duchy.
Iaros Aleksov Khalakovo: the Duke of Khalakovo.
ilkadin: the first wife in a harem, which are common among the lords of Yrstanla. The ilkadin sit in a place of power in the household of an Yrstanlan lord.
Inan: Yadhan’s mother. The one who instigated the push to cast a spell over the Atalayina and the island of Ghayavand.
indaraqiram: the state that the Aramahn believe the world will one day reach when all its people become enlightened through individual vashaqiram.
Irabahce (Kasir Irabahce): the imperial palace of Yrstanla, home to the Kamarisi.
Iramanshah: an Aramahn village on the island of Uyadensk.
Iriketa Alesyeva Bolgravya: Daughter and youngest child of Stasa and Alesya Bolgravya.
Isaak Ylafslov: the seneschal of Palotza Radiskoye.
Ishkyna Radieva Vostroma: daughter of Zhabyn and Radia Vostroma. One of three triplets, sister to Atiana and Mileva Vostroma.
Iyana Klarieva Dhalingrad: the duchess of Dhalingrad.
Jahalan Atman al Mitra: Nikandr’s havaqiram (wind master).
jalahezhan: a spirit of water.
jalaqiram: one who bonds with jalahezhan and draws upon their power to wield or alter water in the material world.
jannisary: a soldier of Yrstanla.
Jonis: a young windsman that joined Nikandr on the Yarost. He has sharp eyes and was often asked to keep watch.
Kaleh: a strange Maharraht girl found by Nikandr on the island of Rafsuhan.
Kalhani: an ancient language of the Aramahn. The precursor to Mahndi and many other languages of Yrstanla.
Kamarisi: the supreme lord of Yrstanla. In essence, the Emperor.
kasir: the term for palace in Yrstanla. The kasirs of the Empire tend to be much more ostentatious than the palotzas of the Grand Duchy.
Katerina Vostroma: a Matra of Vostroma; Zhabyn Vostroma’s sister.
kaymakam: a major lord under the Kamarisi. Bahett, who is the Lord of Galahesh, is a kaymakam, but there are many others who rule beneath the Kamarisi.
keel: refers to the obsidian cores of the ship’s four mainmasts. Another length of obsidian is laid through the ship from stern to bow. The ley lines are captured by these three components of the keel, orienting the ship in a certain direction and allowing it to maintain that position as it sails forward like a waterborne ship through the sea.
Khamal Cyphar al Maladhin: one of the three arqesh who lived on Ghayavand. Along with Muqallad and Sariya, Khamal caused the sundering three hundred years ago.
khanjar: curved daggers used by the Aramahn and Maharraht.
khedive: the lord of a city in the Yrstanlan empire.
kilij: blade with a distinct curve near the middle, used primarily in Yrstanla, especially by the janissaries.
kindjal: the traditional knife of Anuskaya.
Kiravashya: the largest island in the Duchy of Volgorod. Home to the capital city of Evochka and Palotza Galostina.
Kirzan: the large building at the center of Baressa’s bazaar, the old seat of power on Galahesh, abandoned after the treaty was signed with Anuskaya after the War of Seven Seas.
Kohor: the birthplace of Sariya, and the village where legend says the Atalayina was first found.
kolpak: a tall rounded hat typically worn by the streltsi.
Konstantin Stasayev Bolgravya: the Duke of Bolgravya. The first son of the former Grand Duke, Stasa Bolgrava.
korobochki: brightly painted blocks.
kozyol: goat, used as a curse, or a derogatory term.
Kseniya Zoyeva Nodhvyansk: the Duchess of Nodhvyansk.
kuadim: an Aramahn teacher.
Landed: a term that originally applied to those who held land in the Grand Duchy of Anuskaya. Over time, it came to mean anyone who hails from the Grand Duchy.
Landless: a term used by the people of the Grand Duchy for the Aramahn. It refers to the way the Aramahn view land, that it is owned by no one, but also the way they move throughout the world, rarely staying in one place for long.
landsman: a general term for the men who work the eyries, lading and unlading winds
hips.
landward: to the left while facing the fore of a ship, where the side windships tie up to a perch or a dock.
Leonid Roaldov Dhalingrad: the Duke of Dhalingrad.
ley lines: lines of power that run between islands. Windships harness the ley lines to orient their ships with their obsidian keels. The Matri use their abilities to groom the ley lines so that travel between the islands becomes easier.
Maharraht: a splinter sect of the Aramahn who have forsaken their peaceful ways in order to drive the Landed from the islands they once had free reign over. Their ultimate goal is to regain control over the islands, but also to prevent the Grand Duchy from abusing and taking advantage of the Aramahn.
Mahndi: the modern language of the Aramahn and Maharraht.
Mahrik: a strelet of Khalakovo who travels with Nikandr.
mahtar: an elder, a leader of the Aramahn villages.
Majeed Bassam al Haffeh: a man close to Fahroz on the floating island of Mirashadal, one of the mahtar of the village.
Matra (plural: Matri): a woman who has the ability to submerge herself in ice-cold water to enter the aether, where she can communicate with other Matri and see ghostly images of the material world.
Meryam: Bahett’s current ilkadin, his “first wife.”
Mikhalai: a strelet of Khalakovo who travels with Nikandr.
Mileva Radieva Vostroma: daughter of Zhabyn and Radia Vostroma. One of three triplets, sister to Atiana and Ishkyna Vostroma.
Mirashadal: the floating village of the Aramahn. The place Fahroz takes Nasim after he was healed on the island of Duzol.
Mount: the large hill that houses Kasir Yalidoz in the city of Baressa.
Muqallad Bakshazhd al Dananir: one of the three arqesh who lived on Ghayavand. Along with Sariya and Khamal, Muqallad caused the sundering three hundred years ago and has been trapped on the island ever since.
Muwas Umar al Mariyah: a gifted jalaqiram.
Nasim an Ashan: an orphan boy with strange powers.
Nataliya Iyaneva Bolgravya: wife of Borund.
Nikandr Iaroslov Khalakovo: youngest son of the Duke and Duchess of Khalakovo.
The Straits of Galahesh Page 70