The Barrow (96 page)

CELESTIAL COURT, the
—the ruling court of
Samarappa
during the
Golden
Age
, which under
Surep
included the deities of Heaven in its ranks. During the
War in Heaven
the Court was ruled by
Nymarga
, until he was deposed by the return of
Jala
. The Court faded in power during the
Age of Legends
, was held by the
Isliklidae
for a dark time, and ended after the disappearance of its hero-savior,
Dauban Hess
.

CERAM
—the Thunderer, a son of
Thula
and
Illiki
the Sun-Bull, ancestor-god of the nomads of the
Midlands
. Ceram hunted the
Four Kings in Exile
across the Midlands.

COROMAT
—a son of
Geteema
and tragic hero of the ancient world. Banished from
Vanimoria
for withdrawing from his mother's war on
Düréa
, he became one of the
Four Kings in Exile
and went mad for many years before returning home to reconcile with his people and resume his throne. Deposed and slain by
Nymarga
.

DAEDEKAMANI
—a son of
Yhera
; the first magician, creator of the magical arts and the first magical runes. Daedekamani is a wanderer, a patron of travelers, and sometimes a psychopomp.

DALL AND PULMA
—twin daughters of
Thula
and chief amongst her children. They bound horses, fought by Thula's side in defense of
Düréa
, and now appear in the Heavens as the Twins constellation.

DANIA
—lands of the Danians, now part of the
Middle Kingdoms.
Once comprised of Uthed Dania and Dania proper, until Uthed Dania was lost in the war against
Githwaine
(see
Lost Uthedmael
). Later Dania split into Dain Dania and Erid Dania.

DARA
—first Queen of
Daradja
, from whom the land derives its name. Slain by
Thula.

DARA DESS
—called the greatest of the four ancient citadels of
Daradja
(Dara Dess, Heth Moll, An-Athark, and Finleth).

DARADJA
—traditional name for the mountainous highlands of the
Middle
Kingdoms
. Literally “Realm Of Dara” in
Old Éduinan
.

DAUBAN HESS
—the Golden Emperor, the Conqueror King, greatest of the
Dragon Kings
. He was reputed to be a son of
Islik
, rose to power in
Hemispia
, defeated
Nymarga
with the sword Daybringer and drove the
Isliklidae
out of the
Celestial Court
, and came to rule the whole of the
Known World
. He set sail to find the
Dawn Isles
to greet his alleged father, and was never seen again.

DAWN ISLES, the
—fabulous islands at the edge of the world, where every morning
Ami
throws open the Gates of the Dawn to let in the Sun.

DÉSKÉDRÉ
—swath of coastal cities just north of the
Middle Kingdoms
. Déskédran cities are known for their licentiousness and devotion to the worship of
Dieva
.

DIEVA
—the Evening Star, the Dusk Maiden, twin sister of
Ami
, and the goddess of sex and physical pleasures. She closes the Gates of the Dusk behind the Sun to usher in the night.

DIVINE KING, the CULT of the
—cult of
Islik
, the King of Heaven and of Earth. Divine King cultists stand in opposition to the followers of the
Old Religion
and eschew sacrifice to the gods and eat unsacrificed meat regularly. The cult of the Divine King is split by a schism between the
Sun Court
and the
Phoenix Court
.

DJAR MAEL
—land of the Maelites, a cursed people distantly related to the Daradjans and Danians, now servants of the
Isliklidae
.

DJARA LUNA
—the Moon goddess of Death and Darkness, the queen of ghosts and dark magic, the giver of lunacy and nightmares, the keeper and revealer of secrets; goddess of crossroads, curse magic and divinations. Also called
Urgale
or
Morgale
.

DRAGON KINGS, the
—ancient kings and heroes possessed of great might and powers of dominion.
Ceram
was the first,
Dauban Hess
was the greatest; descent from either indicated Dragon King blood and great latent power, but they were wiped out in wars exterminating their hated enemies, the
Worm Kings
, during the
Winter Century
.
Islik
was also a Dragon King.

DÜMÉGHAL
—warlords and warriors of the
Isliklidae
, recruited from their subjects in the
Far West
and bound to their service by foul magics.

DÜRÉA
—ancient queendom of the
Golden Age
and cradle and crucible of civilization. Lost to the armies of
Geteema
and sunk beneath the
Mera Argenta
at the end of the
Golden Age
. (See
Ürüne
Düré
).

ÉDUINS
—
mountain range in the
Midlands
, forming a peninsula into the
Mera Argenta
; constituted by the Dain Éduins in the west, the Harath Éduins in the east, and the minor ranges of the Bora, Djar, and Tel Éduins as well as many smaller Moles.

EMIR
—
Thessid-Golan Empire
term for an officer of high rank.

ERID WOLD, the
—great wood in
Dania
, once ruled by the
Spring Queens
and now a haunted place, full of ghosts and spirits and reputed the refuge of witches fleeing the persecution of the
Sun Court
. The Erid Wold was once much larger, but is now a fraction of its ancient size.

ERLWULF
—last of the known
Dragon Kings
, slain by
Githwaine
.

FAE, the
—immortal earth spirits that dwell in the Otherworld and often interact with the mortal men of the
Known World
. The fae are organized into seven great courts that are connected to woods in the Known World: the Court of the Golden Wood (the
Erid Wold
), the Court of the Silver Wood (the Tiria Wold), the Court of the Brazen Wood (the Neris Wold), the Court of the Night Wood (the Haras Wold), the Court of the Stone Wood (the Hada Wold), the Court of the Sable Wood (the Grav Wold), and the Court of the Drowned Wood (the Uthed Wold).

FAR WEST, the
—common name for any lands west of the
Midlands
.

FIRST LAW, the
—mandate of
Geniché
, cursing the world with mortality: “All those born of my Earth must follow me into Death and the Underworld.”

FORBIDDEN GODS
—term first used by the Inquisition of the
Sun Court
to categorize the dark gods that rebelled against
Illiki
and
Islik
during the
War in Heaven
and reemerged as patrons of the
Worm Kings
. Includes
Amaymon
, the Corn King,
Geteema
, the Horned Man,
Irré
,
Ishraha
,
Ligrid
, Malkheb, and
Nymarga
.

FORTIAS THE BRAVE
—Aurian hero-knight of the
Middle Kingdoms
, who slew
Githwaine
with the sword Gladringer to end the
Winter Century
and who later built the Great Wall that stands between the Middle Kingdoms and
Lost Uthedmael
. His descendants are the High Kings of the Middle Kingdoms.

FOUR KINGS IN EXILE, the
—during the
War in Heaven
, four kings banished and in exile—
Islik
,
Agall
,
Coromat
, and
Jala
—joined together for adventures. They fought many battles, resisted the temptations of the Daradj Queen, were pursued by
Ceram
across the
Midlands
, and broke up their fellowship in the
Far West
after the death of
Agall
at the hands of a treacherous enemy called the Blooded (see
Isliklidae
).

GALIA
—an emirate of the
Thessid-Golan Empire
just south of the
Middle Kingdoms
. Anciently the kingdom of
Agall
, now a realm of prosperous merchant-traders.

GENICHÉ
—Queen of the Underworld and once Goddess and Queen of the Earth, the giver of life, and, with her sister
Geteema
, the mother of all within
Yhera's
creation. The Earth was once her garden, and she ruled it as a Paradise until, in a moment of grief and anger, she abandoned the world and fled into darkness. She created the Underworld and spoke the
First Law
.

GETEEMA
—sister to
Geniché
and
Yhera
, monstrous Queen of the Dark Earth, the Dragon Mother and the Mother of the Giants; her children include
Irré
the Black Sun,
Amaymon
the Whisperer,
Vani
the Mountain King,
Heth
the Sea King, and many others. Out of jealousy she sent many of her children to destroy ancient
Ürüne Düré
, and she herself consumed the body of
Agdah
Cosmopeiia
, after which
Yhera
imprisoned her in the Underworld.

GITHWAINE
—last of the
Worm Kings
, discovered masquerading amongst the warlords of
Djar Mael
and Uthed Dania. He killed
Erlwulf
, the last known
Dragon King
, before being slain by
Fortias the Brave
; his death marked the end of the
Winter Century
.

GOLA, the
—name for the lands of the south around the Leta river and home to some of the oldest cities in the
Known World.
Now organized as
Grand Sekeret
and
Setine
, key emirates of the
Thessid-Golan Empire
.

GOLDEN AGE, the
—first age of
Known World
history after
Geniché
left the Earth for the Underworld. Generally dated from the founding of
Düréa
and considered to have lasted just over 1000 years, until the fall of
Ürüne Düré
and the
War in Heaven
.

GORGONAE, the
—the Triple War Goddess, daughters of
Djara
, worshipped singly and as a trio. The Gorgonae are kept chained in the Underworld, and only
Yhera
Anath or her general,
Ariahavé
, may set them loose.

GRAND SEKERET
—the city-states of the
Gola
, as they have come to be known, after their victory over
Akine Mog
; scene to some of the greatest fighting in the wars against the
Worm Kings
following the
Catastrophe
. The largest and oldest is Seker, followed by Camathune, both of which have some of the oldest
Great Schools
.

GRAY DREAM, the
—cursed dream that befell
Akkalion
before the
Black Day Battle
, now the subject of intense speculation amongst mystery cults throughout the
Thessid-Golan Empire
, the
Hemapoline League
, and
Palatia
.

GREAT SCHOOLS
—halls of learning originally founded and patroned by
Daedekamani
himself, found throughout the
Gola
and
Thessidia
.

HALÉ
—the Goddess of Slaughter, goddess of (mindless) rage and berserker fury. One of the
Gorgonae
.

HANNATH HAMMERGREIA
—greatest of the last Queens of Düréa, and considered by many its last True Queen and last of the
Rethet Thesa
. A virgin huntress and voracious warrior, she defeated the
Black
Hunter
and died many deaths, until her final death at the fall of
Ürüne Düré
.

HATHAZ-GHÚL
—
Old Éduinan
name for cursed once-men, things that should be dead but cling to life by feeding on the bodies of the living and recently deceased. They are often said to come from
Lost Uthedmael
.

HATHHALLA
—the Devouring Fire of the Sun, worshipped as the lion-headed goddess of battle and vengeance, goddess of the Sun's righteous strength. At
Yhera's
behest she imprisoned her half brother
Irré
in the Underworld after he cast down her half brother
Illiki Helios
. She ruled the Heavens as the Sun's Veil during the
Winter Century,
and rules the Six Hells as their great guardian and keeper.

HEMAPOLI MAGNI
—
greatest city of
Hemispia
, and a rival to
Palatia
in all things mercantile and military.

HEMAPOLINE LEAGUE, the
—patchwork of city-states and kingdoms in
Hemispia
and
Illia
dedicated primarily to trade, led by the rulers of the city of
Hemapoli Magni
. Stronghold of the followers of the
Sun Court
, but beset by republicanism.

HEMISPIA
—lands east of the
Mera Argenta
now ruled by the
Hemapoline League
. Anciently the lands of the first
Dragon Kings
.

HETH
—the Sea Bull, the Sea King, god of surface waves, sea storms, and the Deep. Ancestor-god of the Aurians, who cursed his descendants and turned his back upon them after they destroyed the Green Temple of
An-Athair
.

ILLIA
—
isle just north of
Hemispia
, favored by the gods of the Sun and location of the first Dragon Throne. Home to the
Sun Court
.

ILLIKI HELIOS
—the Sun-Bull, a son of
Agdah Cosmopeiia
and
Ami
the Morning Star, the father of
Islik
the Divine King. As the Spring Sun he bestows progeny and protects crops, an archetype of divine kingship, and as the Winter Sun, he is the dying god with knowledge of the Underworld, cast from the Heavens by his half brother
Irré
the Black Sun. He was later restored, either by
Yhera
or by his son
Islik
.