The Blinding Knife (109 page)

foot:
  Once a varying measure based on the current Prism’s foot length. Later standarized to twelve thumbs (the length of Prism Sayid Talim’s foot).

Free, the:
  Those drafters who reject the Pact of the Chromeria to join the Omnichrome’s army, choosing to eventually break the halo and become wights. Also called the Unchained.

Freed, the:
  Those drafters who accept the Pact of the Chromeria and choose to be ritually killed before they break the halo and go mad. (The closeness of this term with “the Free” is part of the linguistic war between the pagans and the Chromeria, with the pagans trying to seize terms that had long had other, perverted, they thought, meanings.)

Freeing:
  The ritual release of those about to break the halo from incipient madness; performed by the Prism every year on Sun Day.

frizzen:
  On flintlocks, the L-shaped piece of metal against which the flint scrapes. The metal is on a hinge that opens upon firing to allow the sparks to reach the black powder.

gada:
  A ball game that involves kicking and passing a ball of wrapped leather.

galleass:
  A large merchant ship powered by both oar and sail. The term later referred to ships modified for military purposes, which included adding castles at bow and stern and cannons that fire in all directions.

gaoler:
  One in charge of a prison or dungeon.

Gargantua, t
he:
  Pirate king Pash Vecchio’s flagship.

Garriston:
  The former commercial capital of Tyrea at the mouth of the Umber River on the Cerulean Sea. Prism Gavin Guile built Brightwater Wall to defend the city, but his defense failed, and the city was claimed by Lord Omnichrome, Koios White Oak.

Gatu, the:
  A Parian tribe, despised by other Parians for how they integrate their old religious customs into the worship of Orholam. Technically, their beliefs are heresy, but the Chromeria has never moved to put the heresy down with anything more than harsh words.

gemshorn:
  A musical instrument made from the tusk of a javelina, with finger-holes drilled into it to allow different notes to be produced.

ghotra:
  A Parian headscarf, used by many Parian men to demonstrate their reverence for Orholam. Most wear it while the sun is up, but some wear it even at nighttime.

giist:
  A colloquial name for a blue wight.

gladius:
  A short double-edged sword, useful for cutting or stabbing at close range.

Glass Lily, the:
  Another term for Little Jasper, or for the whole of the Chromeria as a collection of buildings.

gleams:
  See Chromeria trained.

glims:
  See Chromeria trained.

gold standard:
  The literal standard weights and measures, made of gold, against which all measures are judged. The originals are kept at the Chromeria, and certified copies are kept in every capital and major city for the adjudication of disputes. Merchants found using short measures and inaccurate weights are punished severely.

Great Chain (of being), the:
  A theological term for the order of creation. The first link is Orholam himself, and all the other links (creation) derive from him.

Great Desert, the:
  Another term for the Badlands of Tyrea.

great hall of the Chromeria, the:
  Located under the Prism’s Tower, it is converted once a week into a place of worship, at which time mirrors from the other towers are turned to shine light in. It includes pillars of white marble and the largest display of stained glass in the world. Most of the time it is filled with clerks, ambassadors, and those who have business with the Chromeria.

great hall of the Travertine Palace, the:
  The wonder of the great hall is its eight great pillars set in a star shape around the hall, all made of extinct atasifusta wood. Said to be the gift of an Atashian king, these trees were the widest in the world, and their sap allows fires to burn continually, even five hundred years after they were cut.

Great River, the:
  The river between Ruthgar and Blood Forest, the scene of many pitched battles between the two countries.

great yard, the:
  The yard at the base of the towers of the Chromeria.

Green Bridge:
  Less than a league upstream from Rekton, drafted by Gavin Guile in seconds while on his way to battle his brother at Sundered Rock.

green flash:
  A rare flash seen at the setting of the sun; its meaning is debated. Some believe it has theological significance. The White calls it Orholam’s wink.

Green Forest:
  A collective term for Blood Forest and Ruthgar during the hundred years of peace between the two countries, before Vician’s Sin ended it.

Green Haven:
  The capital of Blood Forest.

grenado:
  A flagon full of black powder with a piece of wood shoved into the top, with a rag and bit of black powder as a fuse.

grenado, luxin:
  An explosive made of luxin that can be hurled at the enemy along an arc of luxin or in a cannon. Often filled with shot/shrapnel, depending on the type of grenado used. Smaller grenadoes are sometimes carried in bandoliers.

Guardian, the:
  A colossus that stands astride the entrance to Garriston’s bay. She holds a spear in one hand and a torch in the other. A yellow drafter keeps the torch lit with yellow luxin, allowing it to dissolve slowly back into light, acting as a kind of lighthouse. See also Ladies, the.

Guile palace:
  The Guile family palace on Big Jasper. Andross Guile rarely visits his home in the time Gavin is Prism, preferring to reside at the Chromeria. The Guile palace was one of the few buildings allowed to be constructed without regard to the working of the Thousand Stars.

habia:
  A long man’s garment.

Hag, the:
  An enormous statue that comprises Garriston’s west gate. She is crowned and leans heavily on a staff; the crown and staff are also towers from which archers can shoot at invaders. See also Ladies, the.

Hag’s Crown, the:
  A tower over the west gate into Garriston.

Hag’s Staff, the:
  A tower over the west gate into Garriston.

Harbinger:
  Corvan Danavis’s sword, inherited when his elder brothers died.

Hass Valley:
  Where the Ur trapped Lucidonius.

haze:
  A mind-altering drug. Often smoked with a pipe, it produces a sickly sweet odor.

Hellfang:
  A mysterious blade, also known as Marrow Sucker and the Blinder’s Knife. It is white veined with black and bears seven colorless gems in its blade.

hellhounds:
  Dogs infused with red luxin and enough will to make them run at enemies, and then lit on fire.

hellstone:
  A superstitious term for obsidian, which is rarer than diamonds or rubies as few know where the extant obsidian in the
world is created or mined. Obsidian is the only stone that can draw luxin directly out of a drafter if it touches her blood directly.

hullwrecker:
  A luxin disk filled with shrapnel. It has a fuse and a sticky side so that it will adhere to a ship’s hull and explode once the soldiers have gotten away from the ship.

hurricano:
  A waterspout.

Idoss:
  An Atashian city, ruled by a council of city mothers and a corregidor.

incarnitive:
  A term for incorporating luxin directly into one’s body.

Inura, Mount:
  A mountain on Seers Island, at the base of which the Third Eye resides.

ironbeaks:
  A term for luxin- and will-infused birds, used to attack opponents at distance and then explode.

Ivor’s Ridge, Battle of:
  A battle during the False Prism’s War, which Dazen won primarily because of Corvan Danavis’s brilliance.

jambu:
  A tree that produces pink fruit. Found on Seers Island.

Jasper Islands/the Jaspers:
  Islands in the Cerulean Sea that hold the Chromeria.

Jasperites:
  Residents of Big Jasper.

javelinas:
  Animals, good for hunting. Giant javelinas are rare. Both species have tusks and hooves and are nocturnal.

ka:
  A sequence of fighting moves to train balance and flexibility and control. Frequently uses combinations of movements that might be used together in combat. A form of focusing exercise or meditation.

Karsos Mountains, the:
  Tyrean mountains that line the Cerulean Sea.

katar:
  A blade that instead of a hilt uses a cross-grip while the hilt extends up on either side of the hand and forearm. With its reinforced tip and allowance for the fist shape of the hand, it is extremely useful for punching through armor.

Kazakdoon:
  A legendary city/land in the distant east, beyond the Everdark Gates.

Kelfing:
  The former capital of Tyrea, on the shores of Crater Lake.

khat:
  An addictive stimulant, a leaf that stains the teeth after chewing, used especially in Paria.

kiyah:
  A yell used while fighting to expel the breath and empower the body’s movement.

kopi:
  An addictive stimulant, a popular beverage. Bitter, dark-colored, and served hot.

kris:
  A wavy Parian blade.

Ladies, the:
  Four statues that comprise the gates into the city of Garriston. They are built into the wall, made of rare Parian marble and sealed in nearly invisible yellow luxin. They are thought to depict aspects of the goddess Anat and were spared by Lucidonius, who believed them to depict something true. They are the Hag, the Lover, the Mother, and the Guardian.

Laurion:
  A region in eastern Atash known for its silver ore and massive slave mines. Life expectancy for the enslaved miners is short, and the threat of being sent to the mines is used to keep slaves in line.

league:
  A unit of measurement, six thousand and seventy-six paces.

lightbane:
  See bane.

lightsickness:
  The aftereffects of too much drafting. Only the Prism never gets lightsick.

lightwells:
  Holes in the Chromeria’s towers that are positioned to allow light, with the use of mirrors, to reach into the interior of the towers late in the day or on the dark side of the towers.