The Skull Throne (82 page)

Kha’Sharum:
Able-bodied
khaffit
whom Jardir has made into low-skill infantry.
Kha’Sharum
wear tan robes, turbans, and night veils to show their
khaffit
status.

Kha’ting:
Infertile women. Lowest female caste in Krasian society.

Khevat:
Father of Ashan. Most powerful
dama
in Krasia.

Lifan:
Bespectacled and weak-looking Sharach
kha’Sharum
who serves as tutor to Fahki and Shusten. One of Abban’s Hundred.

Little sisters:
Inevera’s term for her sister-wives.

Lonely road:
Krasian term for death. All warriors must walk the lonely road to Heaven, with temptations on the path to test their spirit and ensure that only the worthy stand before Everam to be judged. Spirits who venture off the path are lost.

Maji:
Jardir’s second Majah son, a
nie’dama
who will have to fight Aleverak’s heir for the Majah
Damaji
throne.

Manvah:
Mother of Inevera. Wife of Kasaad. Successful basket weaver
.

Mehnding tribe:
The largest and most powerful tribe after the Majah, the Mehnding devote themselves wholly to the art of ranged weapons. They build the catapults, slings, and scorpions used in
sharak,
quarry and haul the stones for ammunition, make the scorpion bolts, etc.

Melan:
Kaji
dama’ting
daughter of Qeva. Granddaughter of Kenevah. Former rival of Inevera. Lover of Asavi
.

New Bazaar, the:
Rebuilt Great Bazaar in the outer city of Everam’s Bounty.

Nie:
(1) The name of the Uncreator, feminine opposite to Everam, and the goddess of night and demonkind. (2) Nothing, none, void, no, not. (3) Prefix for Krasian children in training.

Nie’dama:
Nie’Sharum
selected for
dama
training.

Nie’dama’ting:
Krasian girl who is in
dama’ting
training but is too young to take her veil.
Nie’dama’ting
are given great respect by men and women alike, unlike
nie’Sharum,
who are less than
khaffit
until they complete the
Hannu Pash.

Nie Ka:
Literally “first of none,” a term for the head boy of a
nie’Sharum
class, who commands the other boys as lieutenant to the
dal’Sharum
drillmasters.

Nie’s abyss:
Also known as the Core. The seven-layered underworld where
alagai
hide from the sun. Each layer is populated with a different breed of demon.

Nie’Sharum:
Literally “not warriors,” name for boys who have gone to the training grounds to be judged and set on the path to
dal’Sharum, dama,
or
khaffit.

Nie’ting:
Barren women. The lowest rank in Krasian society. Also known as
kha’ting.

Night veil:
Veil worn by
dal’Sharum
during
alagai’sharak
to hide their identities, showing that all men are equal allies in the night.

Oot:
Dal’Sharum
signal for “beware” or “demon approaching.”

Par’chin:
“Brave outsider”; singular title for Arlen Bales.

Pig-eater:
Krasian insult referring to
khaffit.
Only
khaffit
eat pig, as it is considered unclean.

Push’ting:
Literally “false woman,” Krasian insult for homosexual men who shun women altogether. Homosexuality is tolerated in Krasia only so long as the men also impregnate women and add to their tribe.

Qasha:
Jardir’s Sharach
Damaji’ting
wife.

Qeran:
One of Jardir’s Kaji
dal’Sharum
drillmasters during his
Hannu Pash.
Later crippled, he is taken in by Abban to train his
kha’Sharum
Hundred. Bodyguard and advisor to Abban.

Savas:
Jardir’s Mehnding
dama
son.

Scorpion:
A Krasian ballista, the scorpion is a giant crossbow using springs instead of a bowstring. It shoots thick spears with heavy heads (stingers) and can kill sand and wind demons outright at a thousand feet, even without wards.

Shalivah:
Krasian girl working at Shamavah’s restaurant in Cutter’s Hollow. Kaval’s granddaughter, whom Rojer dotes on out of guilt that her father was killed saving his life.

Shamavah:
Abban’s
Jiwah Ka.
She speaks fluent Thesan and is assigned to oversee Abban’s operations in Hollow County.

Shanjat:
Kaji
kai’Sharum
who trained with Jardir. Leader of the Spears of the Deliverer and wed to Jardir’s middle sister, Hoshvah. Father of Shanvah.

Shanvah:
Sharum’ting
niece of Jardir. Daughter of Shanjat and Hoshvah.

Sharach:
The smallest tribe in Krasia, with fewer than two dozen warriors at one point. They were rescued from extinction by Jardir.

Sharaj:
Barrack for young boys in
Hannu Pash,
much like a military boarding school. The
sharaji
are located around the training grounds, and there is one for each tribe. The name of the tribe is a prefix, followed by an apostrophe, so the
sharaj
for the Kaji tribe is known as the Kaji’sharaj. Plural is
sharaji.

Sharak Ka:
Literally “the First War,” the great war against demonkind the Deliverer will begin upon completion of Sharak Sun.

Sharak Sun:
Literally “the Daylight War,” during which Kaji conquered the known world, uniting it in Sharak Ka. It is believed that Jardir must do the same if he is to win Sharak Ka.

Shar’dama:
Dama
who fight
alagai’sharak
in defiance of Evejan Law.

Shar’Dama Ka:
Literally “First Warrior Cleric,” the Krasian term for the Deliverer, who will come to free mankind from the
alagai.

Sharik Hora:
Literally “heroes’ bones,” the name for the great temple in Krasia made out of the bones of fallen warriors. Having their bones lacquered and added to the temple is the highest honor that warriors can attain.

Sharukin:
Literally “warrior poses,” practiced series of movements for
sharusahk.

Sharum:
Warrior. The
Sharum
dress in robes often inlaid with fired clay plates as armor.

Sharum Ka:
Literally “First Warrior,” a title in Krasia for the secular leader of
alagai’sharak.
The Sharum Ka is appointed by the Andrah, and the
kai’Sharum
of all tribes answer to him and him only from dusk until dawn. The Sharum Ka has his own palace and sits on the Spear Throne. He wears
dal’Sharum
blacks, but his turban and night veil are white.

Sharum’ting:
Female warrior, mostly used to describe Inevera’s personal guard. The
chin
Wonda Cutter was the first to be recognized by Jardir.

Sharusahk:
The Krasian art of unarmed combat. There are various schools of
sharusahk
depending on caste and tribe, but all consist of brutal, efficient moves designed to stun, cripple, and kill.

Shevali:
Dama
advisor to Damaji Ashan.

Shusten:
Dal’Sharum
son of Abban. Raised to hate his
khaffit
father.

Sikvah:
Hasik’s daughter by Jardir’s sister Hanya, and Amanvah’s personal servant. Offered to Rojer as a second bride.

Skull Throne:
Made from the skulls of deceased Sharum Ka and coated in electrum, the throne is powered by the skull of a mind demon, casting a forbiddance that prevents demons from entering the inner city of Everam’s Bounty. The seat of power for Krasia’s leader.

Soli:
Dal’Sharum
brother of Inevera.
Push’ting.
Lover of Cashiv. Killed by Kasaad.

Spears of the Deliverer:
The elite personal bodyguard to Ahmann Jardir, made up mostly of the
Sharum
from his old Maze unit.

Spear Throne:
The throne of the Sharum Ka, made from the spears of previous Sharum Kas.

Stinger:
The ammunition for the scorpion ballistae. Stingers are giant spears with heavy iron heads that can punch through sand demon armor on a parabolic shot.

Sunian:
Artifacts from the city of Anoch Sun. Also the name of its people.

Tachin:
Dama
son of Jardir, Krevakh tribe.

Thalaja:
Jardir’s second Kaji wife, mother of Icha and Micha.

Tikka:
Grandmother (informal term of affection).

’Ting:
Suffix meaning “woman.”

Tribes:
Anjha, Bajin, Jama, Kaji, Khanjin, Majah, Sharach, Krevakh, Nanji, Shunjin, Mehnding, Halvas. The prefix
am’
is used to denote both family and tribe, as in Ahmann asu Hoshkamin am’Jardir am’Kaji.

Undercity:
Huge honeycomb of warded caverns beneath Fort Krasia where women, children, and
khaffit
are locked at night to keep them safe from corelings while the men fight. Still being constructed in Everam’s Bounty.

Vah:
Literally “daughter” or “daughter of.” Used as a suffix when a girl is named after her mother or father, as in Amanvah, or as a prefix in a full name, as in Amanvah vah Ahmann am’Jardir am’Kaji.

Waning:
(1) Three-day monthly religious observance for Evejans occurring on the days before, of, and after the new moon. Attendance at Sharik Hora is mandatory, and families spend the days together, even pulling sons out of
sharaj.
Demons are supposedly stronger these nights, when it is said Alagai Ka walks the surface. (2) The three nights each month when it is dark enough for mind demons to rise to the surface.

Watchers:
Watchers are the
dal’Sharum
of the Krevakh and Nanji tribes. Trained in special weapons and tactics, they serve as scouts, spies, and assassins. Each Watcher carries an iron-shod ladder about twelve feet long and a short stabbing spear. The ladders are light, flexible, and strong. They have interconnecting ends (male/top, female/bottom), so ladders can be joined together. Watchers are so proficient they can run straight up a ladder without bracing it and balance at the top.

Zahven:
Ancient Krasian word meaning “rival,” “nemesis,” or “peer.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Raised on a steady diet of fantasy novels, comic books, and Dungeons & Dragons,
PETER
V
.
BRETT
has been writing fantasy stories for as long as he can remember. He received a bachelor of arts degree in English literature and art history from the University at Buffalo in 1995, then worked for a decade in pharmaceutical publishing before returning to his bliss. He lives in Manhattan.

Visit Peter online at www.petervbrett.com or follow him on Twitter @PVBrett.