Rising Scorn: A Nature Wizard Adventure (Magic of Nasci Book 6)

by DM Fike

  Instagram: instagram.com/dm.fike

  APPENDIX: NAMES AND TERMS

  This section contains a glossary of Nasci-specific terms and characters with pronunciations, presented in alphabetical order.

  Afanc (aw-FAHNK): A beaver vaettur with crocodile features.

  Augur (AW-ger): The second highest mastery in the shepherd hierarchy. Augurs have complete control over one element, have a special link to their kidama species, and can train eyas-level shepherds.

  Azar (uh-ZAHR): A talented fire shepherd.

  Banish (BAN-ish): To send a vaettur back to Letum using magical means.

  Baot (bout): A water shepherd who spends most of his time in the Pacific Ocean.

  Bitai Wilds (bee-TAHY wahylds): The ecological region of desert encompassing the American West and Mexico that is overseen by a specific sect of shepherds.

  Boobrie (BOOB-ree): A giant camouflaging bird vaettur.

  Bound (bound): To seal a shepherd’s pithways so that they can no longer access their magic.

  Breach (breech): The interdimensional portal vaetturs create to travel from Letum to our world.

  Bundun (BUHN-duhn): A scorpion vaettur.

  Callum (KAL-uhm): Forge apprentice for the southern homestead.

  Charm (chahrm): An object that stores pith or recreates the properties of a sigil.

  Cleft (kleft): An opening in the earth where vitae spills.

  Cockatrice (KAH-kuh-tris): A dragon and rooster hybrid vaettur with a Medusa gaze.

  Darby (DAHR-bee): A rookie shepherd with a talent for earth magic.

  Dryant (DRAHY-ant): An animal with magical powers that guards others of its kind or territory. A dryant used to be a normal animal until it was blessed with Nasci’s essence.

  Elif (EY-lif): The forger of the northern Talol Wilds homestead.

  Etching (ECH-ing): A symbol that is marked on a specific object to give it pith or the properties of a sigil.

  Eyas (AHY-uhs): A rookie (and the lowest level) shepherd.

  Fechin (FE-chin): Guntram’s favorite raven kidama.

  Forger (FORJ-er): A follower of Nasci who can sense the four elements (earth, fire, air, and water) and redirect them into objects.

  Golem (GOH-luhm): A creature made of pure pith.

  Guntram (GOON-trahm): Ina’s mentor and master air augur. Ina sometimes calls him Jichan (JEE-chahn), which means “Gramps” in Japanese.

  Gyascutus (gee-uh-SKOO-tuhs): A wild boar vaettur with one side of its legs longer than the other to walk on hills.

  Haggard (HAG-erd): A derogatory term for a shepherd that began training after puberty.

  Homestead (HOHM-sted): A secret base with farms and other resources that shepherds visit to rejuvenate themselves and gather supplies.

  Ina (EE-nah): A rookie shepherd with mysterious lightning powers. Her real name is Imogene Nakamori (IM-uh-jeen Nah-KAH-moh-ree).

  Jortur (JOR-ter): One of Tabitha’s favorite black-tailed deer kidama.

  Kam (kam): Sipho’s female, dark-coated mountain lion who’s active at night.

  Kappa (KAHP-pah): An aquatic humanoid frog vaettur.

  Kembar stones (KEM-bahr stohns): Two stones that are linked like wisp channels.

  Ken (ken): Magical sight granted by Nasci that allows a person to sense pith and see vaetturs and dryants.

  Kenawa (ken-AH-wah): A small toad vaettur.

  Khalkotauroi (kal-koh-TOU-roi): A fiery bull vaettur.

  Kidama (kee-DAH-mah): A species of animals that augurs can communicate with telepathically and give orders to.

  Lesion (LEE-zhuhn): A wound in the earth unnaturally inflicted upon Nasci.

  Letum (LE-tuhm): The realm where the vaetturs originate.

  Mishipeshu (mi-shee-PE-shoo): An aquatic feline vaettur with mysterious powers.

  Mulruka (muhl-RUH-kah): A jackal bat vaettur.

  Nasci (NAHS-kee): The goddess that lives in the center of the Earth who grants elemental powers to her followers.

  Nur (ner): Sipho’s male, light-coated mountain lion who’s active during the day.

  Onyara Wilds (ohn-YAHR-ah wahylds): The ecological region of temperate deciduous forests of the Eastern United States that is overseen by a specific sect of shepherds.

  Oracle (OR-uh-kuhl): The highest level of shepherd who leads all shepherds within a Wilds territory.

  Petition (puh-TISH-uhn): A grievance raised by a shepherd that must be resolved by the Oracle.

  Pith (pith): The essence of fire, earth, air, or water that can be converted into magical energy.

  Pithways (PITH-weys): A magical system that shepherds have inside their bodies to redirect and store pith.

  Rafe (reyf): A mysterious stranger who shows up in the woods.

  Ronan (ROH-nuhn): An antlered harbor seal dryant that lives on the Oregon coast.

  Sertalis (SUR-tah-lis): Fire augur for the northern homestead in the Talol Wilds.

  Shepherd (SHEP-erd): A follower of Nasci who can store the four elements (earth, fire, air, and water) in their bodies and cast them using sigils. Also the third highest mastery of shepherd, just above an eyas.

  Shepherd Trial (SHEP-erd TRAY-uhl): A rite of passage an eyas takes before becoming a full-fledged shepherd.

  Sigil (SIJ-il): A symbol drawn in the air by shepherds to convert their pith into a specific magical spell.

  Sipho (SI-foh): The forger of the southern Talol Wilds homestead.

  Sova (SOH-vah): A northern spotted owl dryant with metallic mauve streaks in her wings.

  Tabitha (TAB-i-thuh): Darby’s mentor and master earth augur.

  Talol Wilds (tah-LOL wahylds): The ecological region of temperate rainforests stretching from British Columbia to northern California that is overseen by a specific sect of shepherds.

  Vaettur (VEY-ter): A predatory creature from Letum that enters our world to devour pith via animals and dryants.

  Vincent Garcia (VIN-suhnt gahr-SEE-uh): A game warden for the Oregon State Police.

  Vitae (VEE-tahy): The lifeblood of Nasci used to create new dryants.

  Wisp channel (wisp CHAN-el): Glowing lights that shepherds use to teleport large distances.

  Wuaro (WAHR-oh): A Bitai Wilds shepherd specializing in water.

  Yoi (YOH-ee): The Oracle of the Talol Wilds.

  Zibel (ZAHY-bel): A shepherd who spends most of his time in the Oregon Dunes.

  A SPECIAL THANK YOU

  Writing a book is one thing, getting it out to the world is another. Many talented people gave this book the professional care it deserved. I found my editor Lori Diederich through the 20Booksto50K Facebook group, an invaluable resource for new writers. Sara Smestad modeled for photographer Danan Rolfe so we had plenty of great photos of Ina to choose for the cover.

  Sandra Schiller, Jennifer Marshall, and David Montgomery-Blake were fantastic beta readers, catching many pesky grammar errors. Samantha Marshall also provided support during the writing process.

  One final shoutout to Jacob Fike, who lends both his time and artistic skills to making each of my books better. I couldn’t do this without him.