Trickster's Choice (48 page)

Inti:
westernmost village on Tanair estates on the island of Lombyn. Inti is astride the road leading down to the west coast of Lombyn.

Kellaura Pass:
opening on the Dimari Road through the Turnshe Mountains on Lombyn, leads to Tanair and other estates.

King’s Council:
the monarch’s private council of advisors, made up of those people he trusts the most.

King’s Own:
cavalry/police group answering to the king, whose members serve as royal bodyguards and as protective troops throughout the realm. Their Knight Commander is Lord Sir Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie’s Peak. The ranks are filled by younger sons of noble houses, Bazhir, and the sons of wealthy merchants. The Own is made of three companies of one hundred fighters each, in addition to the servingmen, who care for supplies and remounts. First Company, a show company, traditionally provides palace bodyguards and security for the monarchs. Under Lord Raoul, Second and Third Company were added and dedicated to active service away from the palace, helping to guard the realm.

kudarung:
Kyprin (raka) term for winged horses.

Kypriang:
capital island of the Copper Isles, holding the capital, Rajmuat, and its harbor. Location of the Plain of Sorrows, site of the last great defeat of the raka by the luarin.

Kyprioth:
the Trickster, greatest of the trickster gods, former patron god of the Copper Isles, overthrown by his brother Mithros and his sister the Great Goddess, now relegated in the Isles to rulership over the seas that surround them. Cousin to the Carthaki goddess the Graveyard Hag.

Lombyn:
northernmost island of the Copper Isles, home to the Tanair estates of Lady Saraiyu and Lady Dove Balitang, the legacy of their mother Sarugani. The location of the Turnshe Mountains, Kellaura Pass, Dimari town and harbor, and the villages of Tanair, Inti, and Pohon.

Long Strait:
the narrow, tricky body of water between Kypriang and Gempang Islands.

luarin:
raka (native of the Copper Isles) term for the white-skinned invaders from the Eastern Lands, now used in the Isles to indicate anyone with white skin.

mage:
a wizard, male or female.

Maren:
large, powerful country east of Tusaine and Tyra; the grain basket of the Eastern Lands, with plenty of farms and trade.

Mastiff:
fort that serves Lord Wyldon as command post during events in
Lady Knight
.

matcher:
a slavebroker who deals in matching experienced slaves with owners who will pay top price for them; some owners insist that matchers only sell slaves to buyers who will treat them well. Many are also talent spotters, operating schools at which they groom slaves for particular tasks before they are sold at a higher rate than the slave would have gotten originally. Some matchers have magical Gifts that help them to spot talent, both magical and non-magical.

Midwinter Festival:
seven-day holiday centering around the longest night of the year and the sun’s rebirth afterward. It is the beginning of the new year. Gifts are exchanged and feasts held.

Mithros:
chief god of the Tortallan pantheon, god of war and the law. His symbol is the sun.

Plain of Sorrows:
site of the biggest and last defeat of the Copper Isles’ native raka people by the white, or luarin, invaders (opportunists from the Eastern Lands). The battle that broke the power of the Haiming royal line and of the great noble houses of the Copper Isles, and set the Rittevon kings on the Isles’ throne.

Pohon:
village on the northern border of the Tanair estates on the island of Lombyn. The raka of Pohon are notoriously inhospitable to their luarin overlords.

Port Caynn:
port city that serves the Tortallan capital of Corus.

Port Legann:
the southwestern port city of Tortall, ruled by Lord Imrah and his lady.

Queen’s Riders:
cavalry/police group that protects Tortallans who live in hard-to-reach parts of the country. They enforce the law and teach local residents to defend themselves. The basic unit is a Rider Group, with eight to nine members. Rank in a Group is simply that of commander and second-in-command; the head of the Riders is the Commander. They accept both women and men in their ranks, unlike the army, the navy, and the King’s Own. Their headquarters lies between the palace and the Royal Forest.

Rajmuat:
capital of the Copper Isles under both the raka and the luarin.

raka:
copper/brown-skinned natives of the Copper Isles, under the lordship of the luarin arrivals from the Eastern Lands for nearly three hundred years.

Royal Forest:
vast forest that blankets land south and west of Corus for several days’ ride.

Scanra:
country to the north of Tortall; wild, rocky, and cold, with very little land that can be farmed. Scanrans are masters of the sea and are feared anywhere there is a coastline. They also frequently raid over land. In recent years, their Great Council (formerly the Council of Ten, expanded in the disruptions following the Immortals War), made up of the heads of the clans, elected the warlord Maggur Rathhausak to be their king. The war with Tortall began in 460 H.E. (the events are covered in
Lady Knight
) and has moved into its second year, though Scanra is visibly weakening.

scry:
to look into the present, future, or past using magic and, sometimes, a bowl of water, a mirror, fire, or some other device to peer into.

shape-shifter:
one who can take the shape of an animal or another human. Those who shift into immortal form are unable to change back.

Sight, the:
aspect of the magical Gift that gives its holders certain advantages in matters of vision. It can be erratic, showing holders only lies, illness, magic, or future importance. In its fullest form, it can allow the holder to see clearly over distance, see tiny things in sharp detail, and to detect illness, lies, godhood, magic, death, and other aspects of life.

Sky:
the crow goddess, consort of the Dawn Crow.

Southern Lands:
another name for the Carthaki Empire, which has conquered all of the independent nations that once were part of the continent south of the Inland Sea.

spidren:
immortal whose body is that of a furred spider four to five feet in height; its head is that of a human with sharp, silvery teeth. Spidrens can use weapons. They also use their webs as weapons and ropes. Spidren web is gray-green in color and it glows after dark. Their blood is black and burns like acid. Their favorite food is human blood.

Stormwing:
immortal with a human head and chest and bird legs and wings, with steel feathers and claws. Stormwings have very sharp teeth, but use them only to add to the terror of their presence by tearing apart bodies. They live on human fear and have their own magic; their special province is the desecration of battlefield dead.

Tanair:
Lombyn Isle estates that form part of the inheritance of Lady Saraiyu and Lady Dove Balitang, granted to them by their mother, Sarugani Temaida. Estates include Tanair castle and village, and the villages of Inti and Pohon.

Thak:
language of old Carthak, used as a magical language in present times.

Tongkang:
island to the south of Gempang, between Gempang and Malubesang Isles.

Tortall:
chief kingdom in which the Alanna, Daine, and Keladry sagas take place, between the Inland Sea and Scanra. Home to Alianne of Pirate’s Swoop and her family.

Trebond:
birthplace of Alanna the Lioness, now held by Baron Coram and his wife, Rispah.

Turnshe Mountains:
central mountains of Lombyn, stretching from the northern point of the island to the southern point. Travel in northern Lombyn is through the Kellaura Pass on the Dimari Road.

Tusaine:
small country tucked between Tortall and Maren.

Tyra:
merchant republic on the Inland Sea between Tortall and Maren. Tyra is mostly swamp, and its people rely on trade and banking for income. Numair Salmalín was born there.

Vassa River:
river that forms a large part of the northeastern border between Scanra and Tortall.

wild magic:
magic that is part of the natural world. Unlike the human Gift, it cannot be drained or done away with; it is always present.

wildmage:
mage who deals in wild magic, the kind of magic that is part of nature. Daine Sarrasri is often called the Wildmage for her ability to communicate with animals, heal them, and shape-shift.

Wind:
Kyprioth’s cousin, a god.

Yamani Islands:
island nation to the north and west of Tortall and the west of Scanra, ruled by an ancient line of emperors, whose claim to their throne comes from the goddess Yama. The country is beautiful and mountainous. Its vulnerability to pirate raids means that most Yamanis, including the women, get some training in combat arts. Keladry of Mindelan lived there for six years while her father was the Tortallan ambassador.