Halcyon The Complete Trilogy (121 page)

Quechua – Fiction: The language of the Incan Empire. Fact: Same. This language is spoken today in some areas of South America.

Ra’s steel – See
Aetherium.

Rajasthan – Fiction: A nation on the far eastern border of the Empire of Eran, near India. Fact: Rajasthan is the largest state in the Republic of India.

Raska – Fiction: A small Europan nation to the northwest of Hellas. Fact: This region corresponds to modern Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The name Raska is the Slavic name for Serbia.

Reales – Fiction: Money in España. Fact: Money in Spain (back before the Euro).

Ridolfo Capoferro – Fiction: An Italian fencing master famed for inventing the perfect lunge. Fact: Same. Lived in Siena during the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries.

River Elbro – Fiction: A river in northern España. Fact: A real location in Spain.

Roman Church – Fiction: A religious organization that worships a God who came to earth as a man, woman, and child to experience and teach mankind. Fact: Loosely based on Catholic Christianity.

Rome – Fiction: A city in central Italia. Fact: A real location in Italy.

Rui Faleiro – Fiction: An Espani naval commander and advisor to Admiral Ferdinand Magellan. Fact: Rui Faleiro was a cosmographer of dubious sanity who claimed to be able to calculate longitude (he couldn’t) and advised Magellan on his voyage around the world in the sixteenth century. But Faleiro got cold feet after reading his own horoscope (I’m not making this up!) and he stayed behind.

Rus – Fiction: A large, sparsely populated country to the north-east of Europa. Fact: There was a group of Swedish Viking explorers called the Rus people who settled Eastern Europe. Their culture may or may not have influenced the Russian nation, but the name did stick. Rus is pronounced
roose
, like moose.

Saber-toothed cat – See
kirumichi
.

Sade – Fiction: The governess of Arafez, Marrakesh. A descendant of an old Mazigh noble family. Fact: The Yoruba name Sade means
honor brings a crown
and is pronounced
Shah-day
.

Salvator Fabris – Fiction: An Italian fencing master, international secret agent in the service of the king of Italia, and the Supreme Knight of the Order of the Seven Hearts. Fact: An Italian fencing master of the sixteenth century who fought and trained in several royal courts, and published his own treatise on rapier fencing. A celebrity in his own lifetime, he was respected both as a fencer and a teacher. He was also the Supreme Knight of the Order of the Seven Hearts (whatever that was).

Samaritan – Fiction: A member of a small ethnic and religious community in the Empire of Eran, from the town of Nablus near Mount Gerizim. Samaritans possess ancient religious texts, which they claim contain the only pure record of the one true faith. Fact: A member of a small ethnic and religious community primarily located near the town of Nablus near Mount Gerizim, which is in the West Bank region near Jerusalem. Samaritans have a faith similar to Judaism, but claim that their religious texts and practices are the original untainted form of that faith.

Security Section 1 – Fiction: The Mazigh Royal Guards, responsible for the protection of the capital and the royal family. Fact: None.

Security Section 2 – Fiction: The Mazigh Royal Marshals, responsible for national security, investigating national crimes, and assisting local law enforcement (Section 5) as needed. Fact: None.

Security Section 3 – Fiction: The Mazigh Office of Secret Intelligence, responsible for foreign affairs, espionage, and other covert operations outside of Marrakesh. Fact: None.

Security Section 4 – Fiction: The Mazigh Transport Authority, responsible for operating and securing the transportation networks in Marrakesh, including the railways, waterways, and airways used by the advanced Mazigh trains, steamships, and airships. Fact: None.

Security Section 5 – Fiction: The Mazigh District Police Force, responsible for local patrols and minor criminal investigations. Fact: None.

Seireiken – Fiction: A sword made of aetherium and designed by Nipponese sword smiths. It is a short sword with a straight blade and a single edge, modeled on the katana. As the blade is used to kill, the aetherium absorbs the souls of the slain, which makes the sword hotter and stronger. It also allows the wielder to communicate with the souls of the slain, to acquire their knowledge and skills. Because of the high heat of the blade, it requires a special ceramic scabbard and handle. Fact: The Japanese word seirei means
spirit
and the word ken means
sword
.

Serval – Fiction: A medium-sized wild cat native to Ifrica, related to (and resembling) the cheetah. Fact: Same. The serval primarily inhabits southern Africa, and it has unusually long legs and unusually large ears for a cat of its size.

Sevilla – Fiction: A city in southern España. Fact: A real location in Spain.

Shahera Zahd – Fiction: A young woman from Eran who loves stories. During her early twenties, she went a brief tour of the Middle Sea kingdoms with some of her wealthy friends, but disappeared after leaving Rome on a Mazigh aeroplane. Fact: Scheherazade was a legendary Persian queen who narrated the
One Thousand and One Nights
tales.

Shifrah Dumah – Fiction: A Samaritan woman, mercenary, and contract assassin. Raised in Nablus and then trained in Alexandria by Omar Bakhoum. Professional associates included Aker El Deeb and Salvator Fabris. Fact: The Hebrew name Shifrah means
beautiful
. The Aramaic name Dumah means
silence
, and refers to an angel of death.

Shona – Fiction: The people from several kingdoms in southern Ifrica. Fact: The Shona live in modern Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and were formerly known by other names. The Shona language is one of the Bantu languages.

Silver Prince – See
Argenti Valero
.

Silver Shearwater
– Fiction: One of the courier airships in the Mazigh Northern Air Corps stationed in the city of Tingis. The
Shearwater
was destroyed when its engine exploded. Its captain, Isoke Geroubi, survived the explosion and dedicated herself to improving air safety. Fact: None.

Silvio de Medici – Fiction: A young fencer and nobleman of Firenze, Italia. A student of Ridolfo Capoferro. Fact: The Medici family rose to power in Florence, Italy during the fourteenth century.

Sivathera – Fiction: A large animal related to the giraffe, with a shorter neck, more powerful legs, and large heavy antlers. Sivatheras are used by the elite of Marrakesh to pull their carriages as a display of wealth. Fact: The
Sivatherium
was an ancient relative to the modern giraffe and lived in Africa until it became extinct about 8,000 years ago.

Skyfire stone – Fiction: A meteor that fell to earth centuries ago in the Pyrenees Mountains amid many strange lights and sounds, which were interpreted as divine portents by the Espani people. Fact: None.

Solar sheet – Fiction: A metallic fabric used in Marrakesh to generate electrical power from sunlight. Often deployed on rooftops and the tops of airship envelopes. Fact: Modern solar cells are still considered expensive and inefficient, however new advances are being made every day and modern solar power plants or farms are currently in use.

Son – Fiction: In the Roman and Constantian Churches, this is the aspect of God that embodies the concepts of mercy and compassion. Fact: In Catholicism, the Son is one of the aspects of the Holy Trinity.

Songhai – Fiction: A large empire in West Ifrica on the southern border of Marrakesh. Currently ruled by Emperor Askia, the Songhai Empire is the dominant military and economic power in the region, but is no longer an aggressive state and has turned toward rapid trade growth and technological development. Fact: The Songhai Empire existed from the fifteenth through the sixteenth century, and included regions of modern Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria.

Sons of Osiris – Fiction: Members of the Temple of Osiris. Fact: None.

Southern Air Corps – Fiction: A department of the Mazigh Transport Authority (Security Section 4). Fact: None.

Star of Orossa
– Fiction: A Mazigh airship, the aging skybarge of the queen of Marrakesh. Fact: None.

Sun-steel – See
Aetherium.

Syfax Zidane – Fiction: An ex-soldier and major in the Royal Marshals of Marrakesh. Fact: The Amazigh name Syfax refers to an ancient Numidian king.

Tartessos – Fiction: The capital city of España. Fact: Tartessos was an important port and mining center in southern Spain over two thousand years ago in commerce with the Greeks and Romans, but the city was lost, possibly due to a shifting river that turned the area into wetlands. The ruins of Tartessos have been found near modern Huelva, Spain.

Taziri Ohana – Fiction: A Mazigh electrical engineer and pilot. Chief engineer of the
Halcyon I
, chief pilot of the
Halcyon II
, and inventor and pilot of the
Halcyon III
. Holds several patents, including a revolutionary high-capacity chemical battery. Fact: The Amazigh name Taziri means
full moon
.

Telegraph – Fiction: An advanced Mazigh communications system that sends messages instantly across long distances from one telegraph machine to another over a wire using a code of electric dots and dashes, which must be translated into letters and words. Fact: The telegraph was invented in the 1830s (separately by several inventors in America and Germany at nearly the same time).

Temple of Osiris – Fiction: A secret society based in Alexandria, Aegytpus. The organization manipulates trade, politics, and crime to control entire empires. Some members seek wealth and power. Others seek arcane knowledge. Related to the Temple of Amaterasu in Nippon, where the society originated. Fact: Osiris is the ancient Egyptian god of the dead. Amaterasu is the ancient Japanese goddess of the sun.

Ten of War council – Fiction: The military and foreign affairs council of Firenze, Italia. Fact: The military and foreign affairs council of Florence, Italy in the sixteenth century.

Terror bird – See
hatun-anka
.

The Cat’s Eye – Fiction: A restaurant in Alexandria where criminal syndicates come to discuss illicit business proposals with the proprietor, Zahra El Ayat, who represents the interests of the Temple of Osiris. Fact: None.

The Wandering Eye – Fiction: The original name of The Cat’s Eye, when it was operated by Omar Bakhoum. Fact: None.

Thoth – Fiction: An ancient Aegyptian man who discovered the properties of aetherium and the science of soul-splitting. By placing a portion of his soul inside an aetherium locket, he became immortal. He used this science to make an entire Aegyptian family immortal, including the orphan girl Bastet, who calls him Grandfather. Over the centuries, he has traveled the world in search of new knowledge about souls and in search of more aetherium. Fact: Thoth was the Egyptian god of intelligence, philosophy, writing, and science. Unlike the other gods who were part of an elaborate family, Thoth may have appeared independently, possibly even creating himself.

Tingis – Fiction: A city on the northern coast of Marrakesh. Fact: Corresponds with the modern city of Tangier, Morocco. “Tingis” was one of the city’s ancient names in honor of an Amazigh goddess.

Tingis Seven – Fiction: A criminal syndicate in Tingis broken up by Major Syfax Zidane. Fact: None.

Tishna – “Thirsty” – Farsi (Persian / Eranian)

Toledo – Fiction: A city in central España. Fact: A real location in Spain.

Triquetra – Fiction: The religious symbol of the Roman Church, consisting of three inter-woven and over-lapping ovals to symbolize the Father, Mother, and Son. Fact: The triquetra symbol was used by several cultures, including the Celts and Germanic peoples, as well as Christians to symbolize the Holy Trinity.

Trolley – Fiction: A public transportation system in Marrakesh of small electrically powered train-like cars that run on rails throughout major cities. Fact: Also called streetcars and light rails, trolleys evolved over time from horse-drawn cars, to steam-powered vehicles, to the electric trains still in use today in many major cities.

Turi – Fiction: A harpy eagle that Qhora Yupanqui purchased in the marketplace in Carthage. Fact: The Quechua (Incan) word Turi means
brother.

Tycho – Fiction: A young Spartan who lives in and defends the city of Constantia. As an infant he was to be discarded for being a dwarf, but was saved by Philo, a man in service to Lady Nerissa of Constantia. Fact: The ancient Spartans did discard babies that displayed apparent birth defects or general weakness. The Greek name Tycho means
hitting the mark
or
bullseye.

Tzeddig – Fiction: The younger sister of the Mazigh queen Din Nasin. Fact: The Amazigh name Tzeddig means
pure
.

Usem – Fiction: A police detective in Arafez, Marrakesh. Fact: The Amazigh name Usem means
lightning
.

Valencia – Fiction: A city in eastern España. Fact: A real location in Spain.

Villanueva – Fiction: A town in eastern España. Fact: A real location in Spain.

Vlachia – Fiction: A small Europan nation to the northeast of Hellas. Fact: This region corresponds to modern Bulgaria and Romania. The word Vlach is a Germanic term for people who speak the Romance languages of Eastern Europe (it literally means
foreigner
), and also refers to the province of Wallachia, Romania.

Wayra – Fiction: The name of Qhora Yupanqui’s personal hatun-anka, a nine-foot tall domesticated terror bird that can be ridden as well as commanded to attack. Fact: The Quechua word Wayra means
wind
.

White Jacana
– Fiction: A Mazigh steamship that was destroyed in the Tingis harbor when its cargo of oil caught fire. The fire spread and damaged or destroyed most of the ships in the harbor as well as many water-front buildings. Fact: A jacana is a tropical bird with long thin legs and toes that allow it to walk on floating plants like lily pads.