Reawakening (35 page)

I am assured that some among this number walk apart from mankind and live out eternity in quiet contemplation. Others, like their nature guardian peers, gather followers. These immortals begin with little power of their own, at least compared to the control over nature their fellow elementals own, but the love of their people can fill them with more strength than any human frame can hold, and soon they must utilize it. Often they slip into the role of god-kings or patrons of abstract qualities such as law, justice, or dreams, and so direct their power accordingly. Others may take up the roles of withered or vanquished nature guardians. I know of one immortal who arose out of the Reawakening Era who has now become the patron spirit of a place.

iii) Dragons—
No one knows quite what genus of spirit dragons belong to, since they seem to predate all other spirits. Dragons were certainly the first to form hierarchical collections of followers that included not merely their own followers, but lesser elementals and their followers too. [Why, we were born of star seed, little historian, before the world grew cold. We were the first of guardians, who watched the mountains form and the first curious life crawl from the ocean. We were the nightmares of the thunder lizards and the sleepers under the great ice. We are old, human, older than you can imagine, and we are glad that we have lived to see this age, because we are fonder of humans than of any of the brief wanderers who passed before our eyes in eons now forgotten. Does
that
answer any of your incessant questions, or must we invite you to dine with us yet again? It is lucky my consort likes you, because if you beat me to the last honey tart again, I might really eat you. A]

Ellia—
A caravan guard in the employ of Sethan Lattimar. She and her lover Jancis were among those who travelled south with Tarnamell in 1024.

Emala, Plain of—
Steppes plateau that stood to the east of what was then the Gulf of Gardalor and north of the Rulat steppes. The plateau was cast down during the seismic upheavals following the Fall of Eyr, and subsequently flooded. The traditional home of the warmaids of Ema, who joined Tarnamell’s hoard during the Dragon Wars under the leadership of Battle Queen Myrtilis.

Emirate of Mirul—
A wealthy realm to the north and east of Tiallat, lying on the southern branch of the Silk Road, south of the Ala Sea.

Enis—
High Priest of Alagard and keeper of his temple. Father of Esen. Enis was one of Alagard’s mortal consorts before his marriage.

Eryl—
A caravan guard in the employ of Sethan Lattimar. He was among those who travelled south with Tarnamell in 1024.

Esen—
A priestess of Alagard, daughter of Enis. Alagard regarded her as his foster daughter.

Essam—
A port town on the Ala Sea, where the River Rasha meets the sea. Essam lies just within the Alagard Desert. It is famous for its singing sands, a region just inland of the town where the sand dunes let out regular low groans. Although some trade ships travel between Essam and the Ala Isles, it is not a major port due to the difficulty of negotiating safe passage through the isles and the reefs along the Storm Coast of northern Tiallat.

Evadne—
A warmaid of the Court of Shells.

Eyr—
The citadel of the Shadow in the Dragon Wars, then located above the field of Astalor. The ruins of the towers of Eyr still stand at the head of Hurcombe Dale in the foothills of the Amel Range. Like many scholars of our ancient past, I have visited the ruins of Eyr. No hint remains of its fearsome past: the towers are overgrown with ivy, and the fields at their feet are renowned for wildflowers. I indulged in a particularly delicious picnic lunch there, enjoying the quiet hum of the bees and the views across the unspoilt farmland to the grassed-over mounds that lie along the ridge. To nonhistorians, the region is best known for its excellent cheese and ale.

Gam—
The hippopotamus god of the Rasha estuary, patron of thieves and bookkeepers.

Gardalor, Gulf of—
A sea that once marked the southern extent of the lands under the dragons’ sway. After the Fall of Eyr, the gulf drained into the freshly formed basin of Amala to create the Ala Sea. The newly exposed land was left in the rain shadow of the newly risen Illiat Mountains, and rapidly became a desert.

Golden Age—
The period lasting from approximately 1500 BFE to the Fall of Eyr, when dragons ruled the lands west of the mountains and north of the Gulf of Gardalor. At this time, negotiations with the free elementals of the earth led to the creation of the Laws of Amel, which governed the interaction of spirits and mortals and were enforced by draconic lawkeepers under the command of the dragon Arden.

Guild of Mages—
A trade organization offering certification and training of mages. Many governments restricted the hiring of magic users to guild mages only.

Hadallah—
A caravan guard in the employ of Sethan Lattimar. Hadallah served as the caravan’s carpenter and wheelwright. She was among those who travelled south with Tarnamell in 1024.

Halsarr—
A dragon, renowned for his medical knowledge. Halsarr is reputed to have been the founder of the medical school at Alswater. His texts on human anatomy are still widely used by medical practitioners throughout the west.

High Amel—
The high mountain valleys of the Amel Range. Characterized by cold winters with heavy snowfall and wet, chilly summers, the area is best suited to sheep and goats, and has become steadily depopulated as southern trade routes and cities have been established over the last millennium. High Amel has traditionally been identified as the home region of the Dragon King Tarnamell and the home of the semimythical Drake Clan. The steady emergence of reawoken dragons from High Amel in the 11th century brought the region back to the attention of those who regarded it as simply the home of yokels and barbarians.

Hirah—
A trade city on the River Rasha, two hundred miles north of the Alagard Desert.

Hireth—
A merchant who travelled in Sethan Lattimar’s caravan. Together with his sister Jirell, he designed and sold instruments. He was among those who travelled south with Tarnamell in 1024.

Hoard—
All dragons collect hoards, which they protect with a fierce devotion that can seem irrational to a human observer. Contrary to popular belief, a dragon’s hoard need not consist of priceless items, but merely things that have been loved and prized (see, for example, the collection of baby teeth and children’s toys in the Museum of Shara, retrieved from the remains of the hoard of the dragon Sharnyn). Dragons also refer to their human followers as their hoard, and protect them with the same devotion, which does not always sit well with some of those human followers. [I still maintain that there was
absolutely no reason
for a certain patron of mine to forbid me from excavating the ancient plague pits under the Temple of Gam in Aliann, some
three centuries
after the last major outbreak of plague arose at the time of the Reawakening in an
entirely different country
.]

Ianthe Battlewitch—
A Daughter of Myrtilis, of the Tassaki sept. Ianthe’s memoirs of the Reawakening era provide an account of the first known reawakening of a Golden Age elemental, that of the nixie prince Seilast, as well as recording much of the history of Tarnamell’s awakening. She served as the Myrtiline representative at the Council of Shara in 1023AFE. Before and after the council, she worked as guard captain for Sethan Lattimar’s caravan. Ianthe was among those who travelled south with Tarnamell in 1024.

Illiat Mountains—
A mountain range that separates the Alagard Desert from Tiallat. Between the third and fifth centuries AFE, this region was part of the Zoraia Empire, and Zoraia roads and fortifications can still be seen in the passes through the Illiats.

Istel—
A town in the Alagard Desert, along the trade route to Tiallat. Istel is built around its three oases. As well as being a thriving trade post, Istel is the center of the worship of the Desert God Alagard and contains his only temple. The town is frequently visited by the nomadic Selar tribes of the desert, who gather there three times a year to celebrate their feast days. Istel has a reputation for licentious behavior, as well as being renowned for its music and dance. It contains numerous dance halls, including the Whalebone, which is reputedly built within the ribcage of a giant whale.

Jancis—
A caravan guard in the employ of Sethan Lattimar. She and her lover Ellia were among those who travelled south with Tarnamell in 1024. Jancis was born in Tarenburg.

Jirell—
A merchant who travelled in Sethan Lattimar’s caravan. Together with her brother Hireth, she designed and sold instruments. She was among those who travelled south with Tarnamell in 1024.

Jorunn—
A country to the east of Shara.

Killan—
General of Tarnamell’s armies in the Dragon Wars. Chroniclers at the time recorded rumors that Killan was also Tarnamell’s lover.

Klio—
A warmaid of the Court of Shells.

Latai—
The language spoken in Tiallat.

Lorchan—
Killan’s lover, in the years after Tarnamell slept.

Lyson—
Hireth’s lover, a musician.

Myrtilis—
Battle Queen of the warmaids of Ema, and part of Tarnamell’s hoard. Although Myrtilis was grievously wounded during the final battle of the Dragon Wars, rumors persisted of her survival. Her followers established her cult, naming themselves the Daughters of Myrtilis and establishing an order of female scholar-warriors that persists to this day. The Daughters of Myrtilis believed she still lived in the Court of Shells, in the heart of the Alagard Desert, and was responsible for training many of their greatest heroes of the last millennium.

Namik Shan—
The husband of Suheyla, a famed Tiallatai beauty and physician popularly known as the Nightingale of Taila. Namik was regarded as the greatest poet of Tiallat during the time of the last shah. After Suheyla’s death, he fled the country with his young sons and sought asylum with the Selar in the Alagard Desert. He traveled into Tiallat with the Dragon King Tarnamell in 1024.

Nol Salath—
An island in the Eastern Ocean, notable for its active volcano.

Omay Ferihazad—
A merchant from Tiallat who often traded with Sethan Lattimar. Omay’s connections to the Tiallatai resistance are never clearly established in the records of the time, but it seems likely he was a sympathizer, if not more.

Raif Suheylazad—
A member of the Tiallatai Resistance, Raif grew up in exile with the Selar. He is the son of Suheyla, the Nightingale of Taila, and her poet, Namik Shan. Raif traveled into Tiallat with the Dragon King Tarnamell in 1024.

Rasha, River—
Rising in the Amel Mountains, the Rasha runs south through the towns of Rashamel and Hirah, before falling eastward to meet the sea at Essam.

Rashamel—
A town on the River Rasha.

Reth Stela—
A town to the northwest of Hirah, to the south of Rashamel.

Riada, The—
A range of hills in the Alagard Desert, once islands in the Gulf of Gardalor.

Rita—
A merchant who travelled in Sethan Lattimar’s caravan. Together with her sister Tira, she traded for dyes and mineral powders for use in their brother’s theatrical makeup business in Hirah. She was among those who travelled south with Tarnamell in 1024.

Ruby—
Slang term for a man who prefers male lovers.

Rulat steppes—
A region to the south of the Plains of Ema, home to tribes of horsemen who joined Halsarr’s hoard in the Dragon Wars. The steppes were devastated by the seismic upheavals following the Fall of Eyr, which transformed them into the mountain region that now forms Tiallat. The central highland plateau of Tiallat is still known as Rulat.

Sapphire—
Slang term for a woman who prefers female lovers.

Savattin, The—
An obscure religious sect that arose among the rural poor of the Mirul Emirate around 1000. Their beliefs were characterized by restrictive moral guidelines, including severe restrictions on women and contact between the sexes. The Savattin claimed that the suffering of the poor was a result of the moral failings of their rulers, and appointed themselves to punish those who had transgressed their guidelines. Although they were as harsh toward their followers as their enemies, the high-profile attacks they staged against the rich and powerful attracted increasing numbers of devotees among the discontented. They were expelled from the Emirate in 1005, and were granted asylum in Tiallat by the shah. By then a leader, a youth known as the Fist of God, had emerged from their number. They remained quiet for some years, but by 1010 had gathered new supporters from the Tiallatai peasantry. They rose in rebellion against the Shah of Tiallat in 1012, seizing control of the country.

In the absence of Tiallat’s Dual God, who went into hiding in 1012, they soon established a theocracy in Tiallat, reshaping Tiallat’s traditional dualistic and moralistic religion into something far more militaristic. In 1024, the armies of Tiallat, under the leadership of the Fist of God, crossed into the Alagard Desert.

Selar, The—
The nomadic tribes of the Alagard Desert. The Selar worship Alagard, who frequently chooses to ride with them.

Sethan Lattimar—
A bookseller and caravan master from Hirah. Sethan witnessed the awakening of the nixie prince Seilast, one of the first elementals to reawaken. As a result of this encounter and his subsequent marriage to Cayl Lattimar, of the Prince’s Hearth of Shara, he came to the attention of the Prince of Shara. Sethan attended the Council of Shara in 1023AFE and was entrusted to investigate the threat posed by the Savattin of Tiallat. Sethan was one of those who travelled south with the Dragon King Tarnamell in 1024.