Elven Queen

by Bernhard Hennen

  Fredegund—Slave woman in Firnstayn

  Freya—Wife of Mandred; mother of Alfadas

  Galti—Fisherman in Firnstayn

  Godlip—Jarl of Honnigsvald

  Gondoran—Boatmaster of Queen Emerelle in Vahan Calyd; master of waters

  Gran—Exceptionally gigantic troll warrior; rival of Orgrim

  Gundar—Luth priest in Firnstayn

  Halgard—Blind girl from Firnstayn; daughter of Alfeid

  Hallandan—Elven prince of Reilimee

  Horsa Starkshield—King of the Fjordlands

  Isleif—Wilderness farmer; lives on a farmstead in the vicinity of Firnstayn

  Iwein—The most important livestock breeder in Firnstayn

  Kadlin—Daughter of Alfadas and Asla

  Kalf—Fisherman and jarl of Firnstayn

  Kodran—Ferryman at Honnigsvald; oldest of three brothers

  Lambi—Jarl from the Fjordlands; banished by King Horsa

  Landoran—Elven prince of the Snaiwamark and Carandamon; father of Ollowain

  Loki—Orphan boy in the care of Svenja

  Luth—Weaver of fate; in the Fjordlands, he is the god who weaves the strands of life into a wonderful tapestry

  Lyndwyn—Granddaughter of Shahondin

  Lysilla—Elf woman from the Normirga race

  Mag—Ferryman at Honnigsvald; younger brother of Kodran

  Mahawan—Elf; once lover of Emerelle

  Mandrag—Brother-in-arms of the troll king; interim ruler of the trolls after their diaspora

  Mandred—Legendary hero among humans and elves; father of Alfadas; jarl of Firnstayn

  Maruk—Pack leader of the trolls in the service of Skanga

  Matha Murganleuk—Souled magnolia tree in Emerelle’s palace in Vahan Calyd

  Melvyn—Son of Silwyna and Alfadas

  Mjölnak—Warhorse of King Horsa

  Murgim—Kobold from Phylangan

  Nazirluma—Legendary king of the lamassu

  Nessos—Centaur warrior; member of Emerelle’s ceremonial escort in Vahan Calyd

  Nomja—Elf woman; archer; once part of Emerelle’s guard

  Norgrimm—God of war in the pantheon of the Fjordlanders

  Noroelle—Elven sorceress sent into exile by Emerelle

  Nuramon—Legendary elven hero

  Olav—Woodsman from Sunhill

  Ole—Dog breeder in Firnstayn; uncle of Asla

  Ollowain—Swordmaster to Queen Emerelle; a member of the Normirga

  Orgrim—Pack leader, then prince of the Nightcrags; most competent commander of the trolls

  Orimedes—Centaur prince of Windland

  Osaberg—Legendary king of the Fjordlands

  Oswin—Young jarl from the Fjordlands; standard-bearer of King Horsa

  Ragnar—Warrior under Jarl Lambi

  Ragni—A bodyguard of King Horsa; accompanied Alfadas on various military campaigns

  Ralf—Name used by Egil Horsason to serve in Alfadas’s army

  Rolf Svertarm—Warrior under Jarl Lambi

  Ronardin—Elven keeper of the Mahdan Falah

  Sandowas—Elf from Phylangan; emissary in the service of Landoran

  Sanhardin—Elven warrior; a bodyguard of Queen Emerelle

  Sansella—Daughter of Hallandan, the elven prince of Reilimee

  Senwyn—Elf; oldest of the Farangel clan

  Shahondin—Elven prince of Arkadien

  Shaleen—Wife of Count Fenryl

  Sigvald—Wainwright from Honnigsvald

  Silwyna—Elf woman; archer from the race of the Maurawan

  Skanga—Important troll shaman

  Slangaman—Legendary troll king

  Slavak—Kobold servant; part of Shahondin’s household, then in the service of King Branbeard

  Snowwing—Falcon of Count Fenryl

  Solveig—Woman from Firnstayn

  Svanlaug—Goddess of victory; daughter of Norgrimm

  Svenja—Aunt of Asla in Firnstayn

  Taenor—Young elven sorcerer from Phylangan

  Thorfinn—Farmer at Wehrberghof

  Tofi—Youngest son of the farmer at Wehrberghof

  Torad—Ferryman at Honnigsvald; younger brother of Kodran

  Ulf—A bodyguard of King Horsa

  Ulric—Son of Alfadas and Asla

  Urk—Troll with a weakness for squirrels

  Usa—Slave woman in Firnstayn

  Vahelmin—Son of Shahondin; famous hunter

  Veleif Silberhand—Skald in the service of King Horsa

  Yilvina—Elf woman; a bodyguard of Queen Emerelle

  Yngwar—Warrior under Jarl Lambi

  LOCATIONS

  Albenmark—Name for the entire physical world of the Albenkin

  Albentop—Mysterious mountain in the north of Albenmark

  Arkadien—An important principality in Albenmark

  Carandamon—High plateau; permanently frozen; the original homeland of the Normirga

  Drusna—Forested kingdom in the human world

  Eaglescarp—A mountain fortress in Carandamon

  Firnstayn—Small village in the Fjordlands

  Gonthabu—Harbor in the south of the Fjordlands; residence of King Horsa Starkshield

  The heartland—Province in Albenmark; location of Queen Emerelle’s court

  Honnigsvald—Small town about half a day’s ride south of Firnstayn

  Iolid Mountains—Mountain range on the edge of the heartland

  Iskendria—Important trade center in the human world; famous for its library; notorious for its cruel town god

  Kandastan—Legendary town/kingdom in the east of the human world

  Kingdom beneath the waves—Principality on the bottom of the sea in Albenmark

  Kingstor—The trolls’ name for Phylangan

  Langollion—Island to the southeast of Whale Bay

  Mahdan Falah—The world bridge; inside the Skyhall of Phylangan

  Phylangan—Also known as the stone garden; a fortress that watches over the entrance to the high plain of Carandamon

  Reilimee—Important harbor town of the elves

  Rosecarn—Elven settlement on the western end of the Swelm Valley; known to the trolls as the Wolfpit

  Shalyn Falah—The white bridge; one of the entrances to the heartland

  Slanga Mountains—Homeland of the secretive Maurawan race of elves

  Snaiwamark—Original home of the trolls

  Sunhill—Small mountain village on the reindeer path

  Swelm Valley—Valley in the Snaiwamark that opens into Whale Bay; the troll fortress known as the Wolfpit lies at its western end

  Vahan Calyd—Harbor town on the Woodmer; founded by the displaced race of the Normirga

  Whale Bay—Large bay on the east of the Snaiwamark

  Windland—Steppe landscape in the north of Albenmark; populated mainly by centaurs

  The Wolfpit—Troll fortress on the western end of the Swelm Valley; known to the elves as Rosecarn

  The Woodmer—Shallow sea in the south of Albenmark

  GLOSSARY

  Albenkin—Collective term for all the races created by the Alben (elves, trolls, centaurs, and so on); the humans refer to them as Albenfolk

  Albenpaths—Magical paths

  Albenstars—Intersection of two to seven Albenpaths; Albenstars are the entry points to the Albenpaths

  Apsaras—Water nymphs

  Bandag—Red-brown juice obtained from the roots of the dinko bush; used by the Albenkin to paint their bodies

  Centaurs—A race in Albenmark; half horse, half human-like

  Devanthar—Half man, half boar creature; archenemy of the elves

  Dinko bush—Bush from which the Albenkin extract bandag

  Elves—The last of the races created by the Alben

  Farangel—Elven clan; part of the Normirga race in Phylangan

  Fauns—A goat-legged race in Albenmark

  Gry-na-Lah—A cursed or enchanted arrow that flies until it kills the victim who
se name is written on its shaft

  Holde—One of the kobold clans of Albenmark; they live in the mangrove swamps near Vahan Calyd; their prince is called the master of waters

  Ironbeards—Carved wooden figures into which one drives items made of iron as offerings to the god Luth

  Jarl—Title of the leader of a village in the Fjordlands; elected anew each year

  Kobold—A race in Albenmark; not unlike humans, but small with large heads

  Lamassu—A race in Albenmark; body of a bull, the wings of a giant eagle, and a bearded face

  Liburna—A small galley, designed to be fast and light

  Lutins—A race of fox-headed kobolds famed for their crude pranks and skill with magic

  Maurawan—A race of elves that lives in the forests of the Slanga Mountains

  Minotaurs—A race in Albenmark; steer-headed giants

  Normirga—A race of elves that lives on the high plateau of Carandamon and the Snaiwamark

  Oreaden—Shy mountain nymphs that live primarily in the Iolid Mountains

  Riverbank sprites—Small, winged race of Albenkin

  Shi-Handan—Soul eaters; creatures summoned by Skanga

  Summoners—A subgroup of the trolls with the ability to form a spiritual connection with wild animals, to attract them and make them subservient to their will

  Trolls—A warlike race in Albenmark; banished to the human world by Queen Emerelle

  Warmaster—Elven title for the commander in chief of their military forces

  Windsingers—A special group of elven sorcerers

  Yingiz—Mysterious race driven by the Alben into the void between the worlds

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Despite the popular cliché of the author as a lone figure ensconced in a garret, hidden away from the world, the truth is that this book, at least, would probably never have been finished without the assistance of a great many unseen elves and kobolds. Those who helped me in my struggles with Albenmark were Menekse, who gave me my freedom when it was necessary; Elke, who knows draft horses better than I do, even though she can’t stand them; Karl-Heinz, who dispensed advice freely, even at midnight; Eymard, who piloted me through the shallows of specialized nautical terminology; Gregor and Bettina, who were where I was not; and my editors Martina Vogl, who never lost faith, and Angela Kuepper, who ensured among other things that my readers were spared tapeworm sentences like this one.

  Bernhard Hennen

  December 2005

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Bernhard Hennen studied archaeology, history, and German studies at Cologne University, and he traveled extensively while working as a journalist. With Wolfgang Hohlbein, Hennen published his first novel, Das Jahr des Greifen, in 1994. Since then, his name has appeared on dozens of historical and fantasy novels, as well as numerous short stories. Hennen has also developed the story line for a computer game and has worked as a swordsman for hire in medieval shows and as a Santa Claus mercenary. Elven Queen is the third book in The Saga of the Elven, following The Elven and Elven Winter. Hennen currently lives with his family in Krefeld, Germany.

  ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR

  Photo © 2016 Dagmar Jordan

  Born in Australia, Edwin Miles has been working as a translator, primarily in film and television, for more than fifteen years. After undergraduate studies in his hometown of Perth, he received an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Oregon in 1995. While there, he spent a year working as fiction editor on the literary magazine Northwest Review. In 1996, he was short-listed for the prestigious Australian/Vogel’s Literary Award for young writers for a collection of short stories. After many years living and working in Australia, Japan, and the United States, he currently resides in his “second home” in Cologne, Germany, with his wife, Dagmar, and two very clever children.