Dawn of the Flame Sea

Titles by Jean Johnson

DAWN OF THE FLAME SEA

First Salik War

THE TERRANS

THE V'DAN

Theirs Not to Reason Why

A SOLDIE
R'S DUTY

AN OFFICER'
S DUTY

HELLFIRE

HARD
SHIP

DAMNATION

The Sons of Destiny

THE
SWORD

THE WOLF

THE
MASTER

THE SONG

THE
CAT

THE STORM

THE FL
AME

THE MAGE

The Guardians of Destiny

THE T
OWER

THE GROVE

THE G
UILD

SHIFTING PLAIN
S

BEDTIME STORIES

FI
NDING DESTINY

THE SH
IFTER

Specials

BIRTHRIGHT

Dawn of the Flame Sea

Jean Johnson

INTERMIX BOOKS, NEW YORK

An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

DAWN OF THE FLAME SEA

An InterMix Book / published by arrangement with the author

Copyright © 2016 by Jean Johnson.

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.

eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-15260-1

PUBLISHING HISTORY

InterMix eBook edition / April 2016

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The language and culture of the Flame Sea are not quite like ours; plurals end in a
t
instead of an
s
,
j
is a “yuh” or “yih” sound unless paired as
dj
for a “juh” sound, and they lack concepts for gender-specific honorifics like
lord
versus
lady
. Also, each culture's and character's viewpoint will alter how certain words are perceived and spelled. A glossary and so forth have been included for your convenience. Enjoy . . . or perhaps that should be endjoj?

aether
(AY-therr): The realm or purview of magical energies on a particular world. It is most easily compared to the frequency range of radio waves; the aether is normally invisible and intangible to all but those sensitive to its presence, with mages being comparable to radio-transmission/reception towers, but without the aether and its magics being limited to electromagnetic-spectrum capacities. Focusing magic from or through the aether—such as when conjuring light, fire, water, and so forth—can cause it to “hop frequencies” and become visible. Different worlds and universes have different rules on how magic works, and some magic neither uses nor occupies an aetheric field, but in most worlds there is a comparable zone. See
aura
.

anima
(AH-nih-mah): A mysterious energy shaped like a ball of scintillating mist-light. It can emanate from anything, most commonly from fire and storms, least commonly (but most powerfully) from stones. It is used by animadjet, who have trained their will to either conjure it from within themselves or (most commonly) seize a wisp to use it to heal themselves or others, and to cast spells. It is oddly and powerfully drawn straight to any Fae who uses magic.

animadj
(AH-ni-mah-j): Someone who can conjure anima within themselves, or control, consume, and use the energy in an anima-wisp to create spells and other magical effects. In other worlds, they would be called mages, wizards, shaman, and so forth.

animadjet
(AH-ni-mah-JET): Plural of
animadj
.

Animadjic
(AH-nih-MAH-jick): The style of magic used in the Flame Sea universe.

aura
: The physical sensations, noises, or visual effects a mage or other sensitive individual feels, sees, or hears in regards to the concentration of magical energies within or near a particular object, whether that object is based on animal, mineral, plant, location, or whatever.

Fae
(FAY): Literally,
the Fair
. A race of magically powerful humanoids with golden eyes, blond hair, golden or pale skin, and pointed ears, no longer than one or two inches more at the points than the size of curved human-style ears.

Fae Gh'vin
(FAY give-IN): Translates as
Guardian
. A highly skilled warrior-mage. These Guardians serve as a de facto military force for the Fae and also serve as chief advisers to the Fae government. The Great Guardian is the leader of all Guardians.

Faelan
(FAY-lan, like “land” without the
d
): Homeworld of the Fae.

Faelon
(FAY-lonn): Language of the Fae.

Fae Rii
(fay REE): Fair Traders. Members of the Fae race appointed to travel to other worlds in search of trade goods. They have several strict guidelines they try to follow, including injunctions against being aggressors and thieves. Their philosophy is to find a fair and reasonable trade that benefits all parties, rather than to seek a trade that benefits only their own side. This policy has made the Fae Rii very popular on many of the worlds they visit.

faeshiin
(fay-SHEEN): A golden metallic alloy similar to steel but crafted solely by Fae smiths from ores mined on the Fae homeworld. It is resistant to magics as well as to physical damage. Most common uses are for armor and the blades of weapons.

fajenz
(FAH-yen-ss): Beads and other objects made from carefully ground up and high-temperature-fired quartz, often with special additives such as nitrous salts to give it a distinct color. Most commonly found in shades of blue through green, it can also be crafted in white, cream, gray, dark grayish blue, brown, reddish, and dull yellow. The White Sands Tribe specialized in making fajenz for trade before being forced off their tribal lands.

féj
(FAY): See
Fae
.

geas
(GAY-sh): An obligation, burden, or task—usually laid by magic upon a person by a more powerful being—to perform or avoid a particular activity or duty. Going against a geas either is blocked by the magic involved, or it carries consequences that can range from immediate corrective or punitive pain to a delayed curse of misfortune plaguing the geas-breaker's actions for months or years to come.

gate
,
portal
: Local apertures connecting two locations on a single world. Gates are very local, usually require some sort of mirror or archway, rarely permit more than a single cart-sized conveyance through at a time, and are confined to distances traveled on foot by up to a month. Portals can span continents and oceans and are often created large enough for two or more carts or conveyances to travel through. The size of the opening and the distance between the two locations exponentially increase the energy needed to create the aperture. One-way portals and gates cost less energy than two-way, and smaller openings cost proportionately less as well.

Guardian
: See
Fae Gh'vin
.

Ijesh
(ee-YEH-sh): Translates to
bountiful blessing
. The settlement-city of the Flame Sea Tribe.

madouk
(mah-DOOK): A staff, usually crafted from metal or very hard wood wrapped in a crisscross of metal banding, usually about four feet long, with a blade a foot and a half long concealed inside and released/retracted by a set of recessed buttons in the shaft at about the midpoint. Most madouk are used as walking sticks, or balancing poles for when a Fae rides on a slip-disc.

myjiin
(my-JEEN): an herbal concoction that permits the drinker's mind to comprehend and communicate instantly in unfamiliar languages. Efficacy varies from universe to universe.

palraca
(pahl-RAH-cah): A potent fermented drink made from the starchy roots of a bush, the sap of a thorny tree, and the flowers of a narrow-leaved, spiky cactus. Has aphrodisiac-style properties, getting drinkers in the mood for randy activities. Usually reserved for important celebrations.

pantean
or
pantejan
(pan-TAY-an): Expedition. It can refer to the group of Fae Rii who establish it but is equally used by the Fae to indicate their base camp.

scrying
: Using magic to see and/or hear at a distance, the magical equivalent of surveillance cameras. Most often used via reflective surfaces or clear, three-dimensional mediums such as mirrors, bowls of water, crystals, where everyone within viewing range can see what the scrying point of view can see, but scrying can also be done mentally by one person alone. Scrying consumes far less energy than opening a portal or gate.

selijm
(sell-LEE-yihm): The distance a healthy person can walk in an hour, approximately three miles, including a brief rest at some point and presuming the terrain is only modestly difficult: mild sand dunes, hilly or wooded terrain with a rough path, or brush-scattered savannah.

Shae
(SHAY): Literally,
the Dark
, but also synonymous with
outworlder
, someone who was born on a world that is not the homeworld of the Fae themselves. In its most common use, it means an outworlder accepted by the Fae, a person allowed to live among them as a fellow citizen.

slip-disc
: A peculiar device, consisting of pods shaped like eggs cut in half lengthwise, connected by chains. These discs levitate and when stood upon can be controlled by the angle of the feet and the weight shifting of the rider to fly in various directions. A pole of some sort is usually used to help keep balance and control of the artifact. See
madouk
.

sunsteel
: See
faeshiin
.

taje
(TAH-yuh): Lord/lady, elder, honored one, used as a title of respect. Most commonly used before a name; rarely found afterward.

tajet
(TAH-yet): Multiple lords, ladies, elders, honored ones. Plural of
taje
.

tash keleth
(TOSH kell-ETH): A Fae curse, it translates approximately as “Copulate with a domesticated mount in a very crude and uninvited manner.”

Veil
: The boundary between one universe, dimension, or state of existence and the next. It can be opened or closed between one world and another, opened or closed between one universe and another, or used to refer to the transition from life to death. The thickness of the Veil can span entire star systems, or entire dimensions. It very rarely refers to opening a connection between two places locally on the same world. See
gate
,
portal
.

Veilway
: The actual opening, aperture, or archway that links one location to another, usually the result of an intentional piercing of the Veil. The Fae guard their Veilways very carefully, as they often connect two very important locations directly and are thus a potential liability for an invasion force, large or small. It is usually anchored in a Veil Arch, a cat's-eye-shaped aperture. In physics, the trick is accomplished by folding space-time and dimension so that two distant points are adjacent. It is rarely done casually, as most universes become perturbed in the local aether, which messes up the ability to create multiple apertures or perform other major feats of magic.

wadij
(wah-DEE-yuh): Valleys or canyons with streambeds that are dry most of the year or contain at most a seeping trickle but flow and can even flood at certain times—most often a flash flood from rain that falls far upstream without any warning. This is also known as a
wadi
in the real world. Crossing a wadi can be dangerous, even deadly, particularly during the rainy season—again, it may appear to be dry where you are, but a flash flood can happen if it rains dozens and even hundreds of miles away, well beyond your line of sight.

wadijt
(wah-DEE-yiht): Plural of
wadij
.