A Gathering of Wings (38 page)

Aleur:
quadruped hybrid of human and big cat

Apex:
chosen leader of the centaurs, first among equals

Arsenal:
aisle in the marketplace of Kahiro where weapons are sold

Athabanshee:
small, delicate breed of horse known for its speed, originating in the deserts of the Sha Haro

Backbone of Heaven:
enormous rock in the harbor of Kahiro, the vestige of a meteorite collision; also the name of an inn

Beehive:
notorious House of Romance located on an island in the harbor of Kahiro

Belerephon:
name given to Sky after the wild centaurs captured him

body glyph:
wild centaurean tattoo

Bovian:
biped hybrid of human and cow

bronc:
wild centaur born in Ixion

Bushman’s Friend:
hunting knife crafted by Pantherian weapon smiths

Caldera of Neelah:
tidal lake outside of Kahiro

Capricornia:
biped hybrid of human and sheep

centaur:
quadruped hybrid of human and horse

Church of the Latter Day Scienticians:
religion observed by the majority of hibes outside of Mount Kheiron

Doctors Adam and Eve:
patron saints of the Church of the Latter Day Scienticians

Downs:
vast area of sand dunes and sinkholes west of Kahiro, where the wild centaurs live

Dromad:
quadruped hybrid of human and camel

Edicts:
founding laws of Mount Kheiron

ferna:
fermented beverage favored by wild centaurs

Flatlanders:
less-privileged centaurs born on the flatlands surrounding Mount Kheiron

gaffey:
beverage brewed by the Dromad Shrouk, said to bring on visions

Grandparents:
ancestors of the People

Great Ice:
ice age brought about by the collision of a large meteorite

Hand:
centaurean trade; entails making things that can be seen, such as alchemical potions, paintings, tapestries, sculptures; or studying things that can’t be seen, such as law, religion, philosophy

hibe:
hybrid of two species, usually human combined with animal

Highlanders:
more-privileged centaurs, born on Mount Kheiron

Hills of Melea:
mountain range to the northwest of Mount Kheiron, where Kheiron the Wise was once said to have lived as a hermit

Houses of Romance:
brothels where hibes may intermingle without fear of creating monstrous mutations

Ironbound Furies:
name given by the centaurs to the breed of large black horses that run wild at the foot of the Ironbound Mountains

Ironbound Mountains:
mountains to the south of Mount Kheiron

Ixion:
ancestral home of the wild centaurs, hidden in the dunes along the coast to the west of Kahiro

jubilation:
centaurean celebration, usually involving a ritual dance wherein the males wield a staff

Ka:
biped hybrid of amphibian and human, native to Kahiro

Kahiro:
port city and capitol of the Kingdom of the Ka, north of Mount Kheiron

Kamaria:
name of the People’s city on the site that is now Mount Kheiron

Leatherwing:
predatory hybrid of bat and human

Loxidant:
biped hybrid of elephant and human

merfolk:
aquatic hybrid of fish and human

Narrow Earth:
habitable remains of the earth to the north and south of the equator

nubs:
currency of Mount Kheiron

Otherian:
centaurean term for any race that is neither centaur nor Twani

Pantherian:
biped hybrid of lion and human

People:
last pure-bred human beings on earth

recognition:
ceremony officially conferring upon a centaur his or her Hand

River Neelah:
consists of the upper and lower segments; runs from the Ironbound Mountains in the south to Kahiro in the north

saruchi:
long skirt favored by the fashionable sheKa

Scienticians:
group of People, half mage and half scientist, who created the first hibes

Sealie:
aquatic hybrid of seal and human

sheKa:
female Ka

Suidean:
biped hybrid of boar and human

talent scout:
individual charged with recruiting or kidnapping workers for the Houses of Romance

Twani:
hybrid of cat and human that serves the centaurs

wave riding:
body surfing, as practiced by the wild centaurs

Wonder:
winged hybrid of human and raptor

Kate Klimo is making the transition from corporate career woman to barn wench. In her barn in New Paltz, New York, she is host to a paint gelding named Harry and a quarter horse named Fancy. When she isn’t mucking or writing or riding, she likes to travel with her husband (also named Harry) and see the world from the back of a horse. She hopes that one day she and her horses will be so attuned to one another that they will, together, achieve a unity of movement that is nigh onto centaurean. Kate is also the author of the Dragon Keepers series for middle-grade readers. You can visit her at
KateKlimo.com
.