by Brent Weeks
linstock: A staff for holding a slow match at one end. Used in lighting cannons, allowing the cannoneer to stand out of the range of the cannon’s recoil.
Little Jasper: The island on which the Chromeria resides.
Little Jasper Bay: A bay off Little Jasper Island. It is protected by a seawall that keeps its waters calm.
loci damnata: A temple to the false gods. The bane. Believed to have magical powers, especially over drafters.
longbow: A weapon that allows for the efficient (in speed, distance, and force) firing of arrows. Its construction and its user must both be extremely strong. The yew forests of Crater Lake provide the best wood available for longbows.
Lord Prism: A term of address for the Prism.
lords of the air: A term used by the Omnichrome for his most trusted blue-drafting officers.
Lover, the: A statue that comprises the eastern river gate at Garriston. She is depicted in her thirties, lying on her back arched over the river with her feet planted, her knees forming a tower on one bank, hands entwined in her hair, elbows rising to form a tower on the other bank. She is clad only in veils. Before the Prisms’ War, a portcullis could be lowered from her arched body into the river, its iron and steel hammered into shape so that it looked like a continuation of her veils. She glows like bronze when the sun sets, and an entrance to the city comes through another gate in her hair.
luxiat: A priest of Orholam. A luxiat wears black as an acknowledgment that he needs Orholam’s light most of all; thus he is commonly called a blackrobe.
luxin: A material created by drafting from light.
luxlord: A term for a member of the ruling Spectrum.
Luxlords’ Ball, the: An annual event on the open roof of the Prism’s Tower.
luxors: Officials empowered by the Chromeria to bring the light of Orholam by almost any means necessary. They have at various times pursued paryl drafters and lightsplitter heretics, among others. Their theological rigidity and their prerogative to kill and torture have been hotly debated by followers of Orholam and dissidents alike.
magister: The term for a teacher of drafting and religion at the Chromeria.
mag torch: Often used by drafters to allow them access to light at night, it burns with a full spectrum of colors. Colored mag torches are also made at great expense, and when made correctly give a drafter her exact spectrum of light, allowing her to eschew spectacles and draft instantly.
match-holder: The piece on a matchlock musket to which a slow match is affixed.
matchlock musket: A firearm that works by snapping a lit slow match into the flash pan, which ignites the gunpowder in the breech of the firearm, whose explosion propels a rock or lead ball out of the barrel at high speed. Matchlocks are accurate to fifty or a hundred paces, depending greatly on the smith who made them and the ammunition used.
matériel: A military term for equipment or supplies.
merlon: The upraised portion of a parapet or battlement that protects soldiers from fire.
Midsummer: Another term for Sun Day, the longest day of the year.
Midsummer’s Dance: A rural version of the Sun Day celebration.
Mirrormen: Soldiers in King Garadul’s army who wear mirrored armor to protect themselves against luxin. The mirrors cause luxin to disintegrate when it comes in contact with them.
Molokh: God of greed, associated with orange.
monochromes: Drafters who can only draft one color.
Mot: God of envy, associated with blue.
Mother, the: A statue that guards the south gate into Garriston. She is depicted as a teenager, heavily pregnant, with a dagger bared in one hand and a spear in the other.
mund: A person who cannot draft. Insulting.
murder hole: A hole in the ceiling of a passageway that allows soldiers to fire, drop, or throw weapons, projectiles, luxin, or fuel. Common in castles and city walls.
nao: A small vessel with a three-masted rig.
Narrows, the: A strait of the Cerulean Sea between Abornea and the Ruthgari mainland. Aborneans strangle trade between the Narrows by charging high toll fees to merchants attempting to sail the silk route, or simply between Paria and Ruthgar.
near-polychrome: One who can draft three colors, but can’t stabilize the third color sufficiently to be a true polychrome.
non-drafter: One who cannot draft.
norm: Another term for a non-drafter. Insulting.
nunk: A half-derogatory term for a Blackguard inductee.
Odess: A city in Abornea that sits at the head of the Narrows.
old world: The world before Lucidonius united the Seven Satrapies and abolished worship of the pagan gods.
oralam: Another term for paryl, meaning hidden light.
Order of the Broken Eye, the: A reputed guild of assassins. They specialize in killing drafters and have been rooted out and destroyed at least three times. They are thought to have re-formed each time with no connection to the previous incarnation of the Order. Some say paryl drafters worked with the Order hundreds of years earlier. Shimmercloaks were the pride of the Order, always working in pairs.
Overhill: A neighborhood in Big Jasper.
Pact, the: Since Lucidonius, the Pact has governed the Seven Satrapies. Its essence is that drafters agree to serve their community and receive all the benefits of status and sometimes wealth in exchange for their service and eventual choice to die just before or after breaking the halo.
parry-stick: A primarily defensive weapon that blocks bladed attacks. It sometimes includes a punching dagger at the center of the stick to follow up on a deflected blow.
petasos: A broad-brimmed Ruthgari hat, usually made of straw, meant to keep the sun off the face.
pilum: A weighted throwing spear whose shank bends after it pierces a shield, preventing the opponent from reusing the weapon against the user and encumbering the shield greatly. They are becoming more rare and ceremonial.
polychrome: A drafter who can draft more than two colors.
portmaster: A city official in charge of collecting tariffs and the organized exit and entrance of ships into his harbor.
Prism: There is only one Prism a generation. She senses the balance of the world’s magic, can balance the magic, and can split light within herself. Her role is largely ceremonial and religious, not political, except for her balancing the world’s magic so that wights and catastrophes don’t result.
Prism’s Tower, the: The central tower in the Chromeria. It houses the Prism, the White, and superviolets (as they are not numerous enough to require their own tower). The great hall lies below the tower, and the top holds a great crystal for the Prism’s use while he balances the colors of the world. The annual Luxlords’ Ball is held there.
promachia: The institution of a person named to the office of promachos. It gives great, nearly absolute powers during wartime.
promachos: A title given the Prism during war. It allows for his absolute rule and can only be instituted by order of the entire Spectrum. Among other powers, the promachos has the right to command armies, seize property, and elevate commoners to the nobility. It is an ancient term meaning He Who Fights Before Us.
Providence: A belief in the care of Orholam over the Seven Satrapies and its people.
psantria: A stringed musical instrument.
pyrejelly: Red luxin that, once set alight, will engulf whatever object it adheres to.
raka: A heavy insult, with the implication of both moral and intellectual idiocy.
Raptors of Kazakdoon, the: Flying reptiles from Angari myth.
Rath: The capital of Ruthgar, set on the confluence of the Great River and its delta into the Cerulean Sea.
Rathcaeson: A mythical city, on the drawings of which Gavin Guile based his Brightwater Wall design.
ratweed: A toxic plant whose leaves are often smoked for their strong stimulant properties. Addictive.
Red Cliff Uprising, the: A rebellion in Atash after the end of the False Prism’s War. Wit
hout the support of the royal family (who had been purged), it was short-lived.
Rekton: A small Tyrean town on the Umber River, near the site of the Battle of Sundered Rock. An important trading post before the False Prism’s War.
Rozanos Bridge, the: A bridge on the Great River between Ruthgar and the Blood Forest that Blessed Satrap Rados burned.
Ru: The capital of Atash, once famous for its castle, still famous for its Great Pyramid.
Ru, Castle of: Once the pride of Ru, it was destroyed by fire during General Gad Delmarta’s purge of the royal family in the Prisms’ War.
Ruic Head: A peninsula dominated by towering cliffs that overlooks the Atashian city of Ru and its bay. A fort atop the peninsula’s cliffs guards against invading armies.
runt: An affably derogatory term for a new Blackguard inductee.
Salve: A common greeting, originally meaning “Be of good health!”
Sapphire Bay: A bay off Little Jasper.
satrap/satrapah: The title of a ruler of one of the seven satrapies.
sev: A unit of measurement for weight, equal to one-seventh of a seven.
seven: A unit of measurement for weight, equal to a cubit of water’s weight.
Sharazan Mountains, the: Impassable mountains south of Tyrea.
shimmercloak: A cloak that makes the wearer mostly invisible, except in sub-red and superviolet.
Skill, Will, Source, and Still/Movement: The four essential elements for drafting.
Skill: The most underrated of all the elements of drafting, acquired through practice. Includes knowing the properties and strengths of the luxin being drafted, being able to see and match precise wavelengths, etc.
Will: By imposing will, a drafter can draft and even cover flawed drafting if her will is powerful enough.
Source: Depending on what colors a drafter can use, she needs either that color of light or items that reflect that color of light in order to draft. Only a Prism can simply split white light within herself to draft any color.
Still: An ironic usage. Drafting requires movement, though more skilled drafters can use less.
slow fuse: A length of cord, often soaked in saltpeter, that can be lit to ignite the gunpowder of a weapon in the firing mechanism.
slow match: Another term for a slow fuse.
spectrum: A term for a range of light; or (capitalized) the council of the Chromeria that is one branch of the government of the Chromeria (see Colors, the).
spidersilk: Another term for paryl.
spyglass: A small telescope using curved, clear lenses to aid in sighting distant objects.
star-keepers: Also known as tower monkeys, these are petite slaves (usually children) who work the ropes that control the mirrors of Big Jasper to reflect the light throughout the city for drafters’ use. Though well treated for slaves, they spend their days working in two-man teams from dawn till after dusk, frequently without reprieve except for switching with their partner.
subchromats: Drafters who are color-blind, usually men. A subchromat can function without loss of ability—if his handicap is not in the colors he can draft. A red-green color-blind subchromat could be an excellent blue or yellow drafter.
Sun Day: A holy day to followers of Orholam and pagans alike, the longest day of the year. For the Seven Satrapies, Sun Day is the day when the Prism Frees those drafters who are about to break the halo. The ceremonies usually take place on the Jaspers, when all of the Thousand Stars are trained onto the Prism, who can absorb and split the light, whereas other men burn or burst from drafting so much power.
Sun Day’s Eve: An evening of festivities before the longest day of the year and the Freeing the next day.
Sundered Rock: Twin mountains in Tyrea, opposite each other and so alike that they look as if they were once one huge rock cut down the middle.
Sundered Rock, Battle of: The final battle between Gavin and Dazen near a small Tyrean town on the Umber River.
superchromats: Extremely color-sensitive people. Luxin they seal will rarely fail. Far more common among female drafters.
tainted: One who has broken the halo, also called a wight.
thobe: An ankle-length garment, usually with long sleeves.
Thorikos: A town below the Laurion mines on the river to Idoss. Serves as the center for arriving and departing slaves, the bureaucracy necessary for thirty thousand slaves, and the center for the trade goods and supplies necessary, as well as the shipping of the silver ore down the river.
Thorn Conspiracies, the: A series of intrigues that occurred after the False Prism’s War.
Thousand Stars, the: The mirrors on Big Jasper Island that enable the light to reach into almost any part of the city for as long as possible during the day.
Threshing, the: The initiation test for candidates to the Chromeria.
Threshing Chamber, the: The room where candidates for the Chromeria are summoned to test for their abilities to draft.
Tiru, the: A Parian tribe.
Tlaglanu, the: A Parian tribe, hated by other Parians, from whom Hanishu, the dey of Aghbalu, chose his bride, Tazerwalt.
torch: A red wight.
translucification, forced: See willjacking.
Travertine Palace, the: One of the wonders of the old world. Both a palace and a fortress, it is built of carved travertine (a mellow green stone) and white marble. Notable for its bulbous horseshoe arches, geometric wall patterns, Parian runes, and chessboard patterns on the floors. Its walls are incised with a crosshatched pattern to make the stone look woven rather than carved. The palace is a remnant of the days when half of Tyrea was a Parian province.
Tree People, the: Tribesmen who live (lived?) deep in the forests of the Blood Forest satrapy. They use zoomorphic designs, and can apparently shape living wood. Possibly related to the pygmies.
Umber River, the: The lifeblood of Tyrea. Its water allows the growth of every kind of plant in the hot climate; its locks fed trade throughout the country before the False Prism’s War. Often besieged by bandits.
Unchained, the: A term for the followers of the Omnichrome, those drafters who choose to break the Pact and continue living even after breaking the halo.
Unification, the: A term for Lucidonius’s and Karris Shadowblinder’s establishment of the Seven Satrapies four hundred years prior to Gavin Guile’s rule as Prism.
Ur, the: A tribe that trapped Lucidonius in Hass Valley. He triumphed against great odds, primarily because of the heroics of El-Anat (who thereby became Forushalzmarish or Shining Spear) and Karris Atiriel.
urum: A three-tined dining implement.
vambrace: Plate armor to protect the forearm. Ceremonial versions made of cloth also exist.
Varig and Green: A bank with a branch on Big Jasper.
vechevoral: A sickle-shaped sword with a long handle like an ax and a crescent-moon-shaped blade at the end, with the inward bowl-shaped side being the cutting edge.
Verdant Plains, the: The dominant geographical feature of Ruthgar. The Verdant Plains are favored by green drafters.
Vician’s Sin: The event that marked the end of the close alliance between Ruthgar and Blood Forest.
Voril: A small town two days from Ru.
warrior-drafters: Drafters whose primary work is fighting for various satrapies or the Chromeria.
water markets: Circular lakes connected to the Umber River at the center of the villages and cities of Tyrea, common throughout Tyrean towns. A water market is dredged routinely to maintain an even depth, allowing ships easy access to the interior of the city with their wares. The largest water market is in Garriston.
Weasel Rock: A neighborhood in Big Jasper dominated by narrow alleys.
Weedling: A small coastal village in Ru close to Ruic Head.
wheellock pistol: A pistol that uses a rotating wheel mechanism to cause the spark that ignites the firearm; the first mechanical attempt to ignite gunpowder. Some few smiths’ versions are more reliable than a flintlock and allow repeated attempts
to fire. Most, however, are far less reliable than the already unreliable flintlocks.
Whiteguard, the: The original term for the Omnichrome’s personal bodyguard.
widdershins: A direction; counter-sunwise.
willjacking/will-breaking: Once a drafter has contact with unsealed luxin that she is able to draft, she can use her will to break another drafter’s control over the luxin and take it for herself.
Wiwurgh: A Parian town that hosts many Blood Forest refugees from the Blood War.
wob: A term for a Blackguard inductee.
zigarro: Rolled tobacco, a form useful for smoking. Ratweed is sometimes used as a wrapping to hold the loose tobacco.