by David Weber
That Seneschal had been a powerful man, who’d been allied with Uromathia…and whose heart Drindel now carried in a fisherman’s bag.
If he could become…inconvenient to the Emperor of Uromathia, then so could a Shark Caller who knew too much and whose sharks had failed in their task. Under the circumstances, all he wanted was to be somewhere else.
Quickly.
* * *
When the door at the end of the corridor opened and Bok vos Hoven realized who was coming toward his cell, he slid onto the floor so quickly he left skin on the side of his bunk. That didn’t matter. His skin was no longer his own to worry over. He lay kissing the floor while a multitude of footsteps echoed their way down the long corridor that led to his cell.
He wanted to offer an apology for having inconvenienced His Exalted Line Lord, Skollo vos Diffletak, by having been placed in a cell so far from the door, but that inconvenience was so minor beside all his other offenses, he didn’t even dare whisper it. That would only put His Exalted Line Lord to the additional effort of having to respond to it. So he lay with his belly on the floor and awaited his doom.
Footsteps came to a halt beside his cell door. His Exalted Line Lord hadn’t arrived alone. Vos Hoven hadn’t expected him to, since no Line Lord ever traveled anywhere without a retinue of the Loyal ready and waiting to serve in whatever manner His Exalted Line Lordship required. On visits of great import, His Exalted Line Lord would travel with a retinue of a hundred or more retainers; the higher the status of the one visited, the greater the number of retainers.
On a visit to view the unworthy, His Exalted Line Lord would travel with the minimum number required to ensure His Exalted Line Lordship’s personal comfort and preserve his public status as a man of great worth and importance. Vos Hoven had counted ten retainers—the absolute minimum necessary to preserve His Exalted Line Lordship’s dignity on an errand of little or no worth.
Bok vos Hoven grieved that he’d forced His Exalted Line Lordship to interrupt his sacred schedule. He wasn’t worth even the ten retainers, let alone the man they served. A man who’d dandled the nephew who’d failed him so utterly on his knee, expecting great things of this new babe born to his line. Now that nephew had failed his mother, his father, his Line Lord, his line, and his entire caste so profoundly, he could not—ever again—so much as view their faces.
“Vermin,” the voice of the man he’d once called uncle hissed down from His Exalted Line Lordship’s height.
“L-Lord,” he cringed, barely whimpering the word in just enough of a whisper to let the man standing in judgment know he’d been heard.
“Do not degrade my title by uttering it with fouled lips!”
Vos Hoven shook his head frantically, leaving bloody scrapes in his nose and cheeks. They wouldn’t have time to heal.
“The officers sitting in judgment upon Jasak Olderhan have reached their verdict.”
He held his breath. He hadn’t heard that the son of a jackal’s trial had gone to deliberations already. Now he waited, breathless, to hear the outcome. He’d entered that trial with only one purpose. Had he succeeded? Or failed, yet again?
“The son of a demon has been acquitted. Never again profane our line with your worthless blood.”
His Exalted Line Lordship turned on his heel and strode away. His retainers filed past Bok’s cell. One of them, he had no idea which, tossed something into the cell with him. It bounced with a metallic clang and skidded to a halt against his brow. The knife was so sharp it creased his scalp with a thin line of blood.
When His Exalted Line Lordship and all ten retainers had retreated through the doorway at the end of that long corridor, Bok vos Hoven sat up.
He picked up the knife. It was heartlessly plain: just a steel blade and a wooden handle. He wasn’t allowed the honor of dying with a beautiful knife in his hand. He hadn’t earned that honor, and he closed his eyes, so deeply shamed he could barely breathe.
He took solace in the knowledge that His Exalted Line Lord would never rest until the man who’d just been acquitted had paid for his part in his Line’s disgrace. He took solace, as well, in knowing that the great plan he’d been a part of, that he’d failed so dismally, was still in place.
The Mythalan officers in the field now were only a small portion of that great plan, which would reshape the Union of Arcana in ways no one living outside Mythal could even imagine, on this ordinary day. But Bok vos Hoven could. And because he could, he wept, for he’d denied himself the chance to birth that world he could see so clearly in his mind’s eye.
I offer apology for all the failures I have committed against thee, Bok vos Hoven told the ancestors who would stand in judgment over him in just a few moments, and kissed the knife in his hands.
Then slashed his throat.
The pain and the death that rose to meet him were a relief. This death would free His Lordship for the great task at hand, and so Bok vos Hoven lay bleeding out on the stone floor…and smiled.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
Expanded versions of the Glossary and
Cast of Characters are available online at
www.baen.com/theroadtohellextras
GLOSSARY
Aeravas—a Sharonian city in Harkala; located in approximately the same place as Shiraz, Iran.
Alathia—one of the provinces of the Ternathian Empire, it is the trans-temporal analog of Italy.
Andara—the Arcanan equivalent of the continent of North America. Andara is the home of the warrior kingdoms of the Andarans and provides the backbone of the Union of Arcana’s military.
Arau Mountains—the Sharonian analog of the Yoblonovy Khrebet mountain range east of Lake Baikal.
Arcana—the home universe and Earth of the Union of Arcana. Its physics are based on “magic.”
Arcanan days of the week—Firsday, Seconday, Thirday, Fourday, Fiday, Sixday, Sevday.
Arcanan Expeditionary Force (AEF)—the Arcanan force sent to attack Sharona’s frontier universes under Commander of Two Thousand Mayrkos Harshu.
Arpathia—the Sharonian analog of the area stretching from the Caspian Sea through the Siberian tundra north of Mongolia to the Pacific Ocean. While there is no united government for this region, it is often referred to as the Septentrion, which is a trade union developed by the septs (see Septs and Septentrion, below).
Aruncas of the Sword—the Uromathian god of war.
Automoticar—a new, personal form of transport recently introduced in the Union of Arcana; essentially, small, private sliders capable of delivering individuals to their destinations.
Baranal—literally, “protector” in old Andaran. A baranal is the individual responsible for protecting a shardon (see below).
Barican Valley—the Sharonian analog of Mason Valley, Nevada.
Barkesh—a city in Sharona located at the approximate trans-temporal site of Barcelona, Spain.
Bearcat Valley—the Sharonian analog of Reveille Valley, Nevada.
Benteria Union—a republic in New Ternath (North America) consisting of most of the states of Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, and Illinois.
Bergahl—the dominant deity of the Order of Bergahl. Bergahl is a god of both war and justice. His order is a militant one, which has traditionally provided the judges and law enforcement mechanism in the Kingdom of Othmaliz.
Bergahl’s Comforters—an ironic nickname for Berghal’s Dagger (see below).
Bergahl’s Dagger—a highly militant cult within the Order of Bergahl. The Dagger was officially disbanded over a hundred years ago.
Bernith Channel—the Sharonian analog of the English Channel.
Bernith Island—the Sharonian analog of the island of Great Britain.
Bernithian Highlands—the Sharonian analog of Scotland.
Bile toad—a large, venomous ugly, ground-dwelling amphibian from Mythal on Arcana. Bile toads are a brilliant green in color with black “leopard” bars and represent an arcane genetic manipulation experiment which went awr
y and escaped the laboratory.
Bison—the steam-powered tractor portion of the Ternathian Army’s recently adopted (and still in process of development) mechanized transport. The Bison comes in two models: Model A is the personnel transport while Model B is a pure tractor intended to tow heavy loads cross country. Both are in 20 to 25-ton range and very powerful units. The original Mark I Bison was coal fired; the newer Mark II variant uses kerosene as its fuel and has over three times the operational radius of the Mark I.
Bitter Lake City—the Sharonian analog of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Bitter Lake—the Sharonian analog of the Great Salt Lake, Utah.
Bitterblack—the Andaran name for coffee. See also Mythalan tea and cherryberry.
Black Rhino—the most powerful bulldozer manufactured by Ram’s Horn Heavy Equipment (see below). See also “Ricathian Buffalo” and “Devil Buff.”
Blade of Ibral—the Sharonian analog of the Gallipoli Peninsula.
blood debt—an ancient Ransaran concept of justice based on the principle of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” It also has personal connotations of vengeance, but has been renounced by modern Ransarans as a barbaric and horrific basis for true justice. The term is sometimes still used as a slang phrase to describe a highly personal form of redress for wrongful actions.
blood vendetta—Shurkhali blood vendetta is triggered when a massive miscarriage of justice leads to someone’s death. Shaylar Nargra-Kolmayr’s apparent murder by Arcanans triggers a blood vendetta reaction in every Shurkhali alive.
Bolakin, Queens of—the queens who collectively rule the ten Bolakini city-states which control the southern shore of the Mbisi Sea.
Bolakini Strait—the Sharonian analog of the Strait of Gibraltar.
Book of Secrets—one of the two seminal holy books of the Mythalan shakira caste.
Book of the Double-Three—the holy book of the Church of the Double Triads, the imperial religion of Ternathia.
Book of the Shakira—one of the two seminal holy books of the Mythalan shakira caste.
Broken Shoe Butte—the Sharonian analog for Elephant Butte, Utah.
Busnara—the capital city of the Uromathian Empire, located approximately on the site of Changsha, China.
Calirath—the imperial dynasty of Ternathia. The Caliraths have ruled Ternathia for more than four millennia.
Carotal—the Sharonian analog of Ft. Stockton, Texas.
Cejyo—the Sharonian’s port city in the Haysam Universe at the trans-temporal location of Wenzhou, China.
Celaryon II—King of Ancient Ternathia who negotiated the treaty which bound Ternathia and Farnalia as allies in the year 203 of the Ternathian calendar.
Central Bank of Mythal—the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful of the Mythalan banks. The CBM, unlike the private Mythalan banks, is directly subject to government supervision, and a full third of the seats on its Board of Directors are held by government appointees.
Cerakondian Mountains—the Sharonian analog of the Altai Mountains.
Cetacean Institute/Shurkhali Aquatic Realms Embassy—the Sharonian research institute and embassy founded and operated by Shaylar’s mother, Shalassar Kolmayr-Brintal, who is a cetacean translator. Similar embassies serve the sentient great apes and higher primates of Ricathia (Africa), Uromathia (Asia), and New Farnal (South America, with its New World monkeys).
Chairifon—the Sharonian analog of the Eurasian supercontinent.
Chalar—an Arcanan maritime empire, based on the island of Chalar (Cuba) and dominating the Chalaran Sea (Caribbean Sea) and Gulf of Hilmar (Gulf of Mexico). Chalar is the dominant naval power of Arcana.
Chalgyn Consortium—survey company that employs Jathmar Nargra and Shaylar Nargra-Kolmayr. The Chalgyn Consortium is an independent survey company based in Shurkhal.
chan—“veteran” in Ternathian. This is an honorific indicating someone who is currently or has been a member of the Ternathian military.
Chansyu—a creature of Arcanan legend, originating in Ransar, the chansyu is a rough analog of the ancient Greece phoenix. Like the phoenix, the chansyu represents an eternal cycle of life-death-rebirth. Unlike the phoenix, the chansyu is a two-headed winged lion which is reborn in a flash of lightning rather than fire.
Chansyu hut—the Arcanan analog of a Quonset hut, erected quickly using pre-stored spellware.
Chemparas—a major city in the Arcanan universe of Basilisk at the portal connecting Basilisk to Manticore, located approximately on the site of Addis Ababa.
Chernoth—a small city in the Benterian Union located approximately on the site of Hays, Kansas. Location of the portal between Traisum and Kelsayr.
Cherryberry—the more common Arcanan name for coffee and the one customarily used by Ransarans. See also Mythalan tea and bitterblack.
Chindar—a small town in the Kingdom of West New Ternath approximately on the site of Comstock, Texas.
Chinthai—a Sharonian breed of horses very similar to Percherons.
Chuldair tree—Sharonian analog of the kapok tree.
Code of Housip—the formal statement of Andaran honor obligations attributed (probably apocryphally) to Housip Kerellia, the drafter of the Kerellian Accords.
Commandery—see High Commandery.
Conclave—The formal multi-nation crisis-management organization established when the first portal opened in Sharona. Its members are the heads of state of every sovereign nation in Sharona and, on paper, Sharona’s new, independent colony universes.
Coyote Canyon—the Sharonian analog of Glen Canyon, Arizona.
Cratak Mountains—the Arcanan analog of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
“Cross the Vandor”—the Sharonian analog of the phrase “crossing the Rubicon” as an expression of irrevocable commitment.
Crown of fire—the Sharonian term for our own volcanically active “ring of fire” in the Pacific.
Cutcha—a (very) derogatory Uromathian term for a woman.
Daggerstone—a sarkolis crystal used to store short-range combat spells. Maximum range is no more than twenty feet, and they are impossible to conceal from any Gifted person, but they can store antipersonnel spells of great power.
Dalazan Rain Forest—Sharonian analog of the Amazon rain forest.
Dalazan River—the Sharonian analog of the Amazon River.
Darnifa—a Ransaran republic in the Andaran analog of China consisting of Xinjiang Province and the extreme northwestern in and of Gansu Province.
Darylis Republic—a republic in New Farnalia consisting of southern Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru north of (and including) Lima, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and the extreme northern portion of Brazil north of the Amazon River.
Daykassian—the premier Arpathian breed of cavalry horse. Very similar to the Turkoman.
Dead Mule Valley—the Sharonian analog of Depression Valley, Nevada.
Delkrath Mountains—a mountain range in Delkrathia Province; the Sharonian analog of the Santa de Guararrma Mountains of Spain.
Delkrathia Province—a province of the Ternathian Empire north of Narhath and east of Teramandor; it consists of the equivalent of central Spain, from just south of Madrid to the Bay of Biscay.
Devil Buff—another name for the Ricathian Buffalo, or Cape Buffalo.