Trial of Intentions (108 page)

Male'Siriptus (Mahl-eh-Sih-RIP-toos):
Most often referred to as “the caress of Male'Siriptus,” it is sometimes used in place of Je'holta. Though it is a singular term, giving a single, unending voice and hand to a host of shadows and dark fates. Male'Siriptus is what Je'holta can do, by surfacing darkness of fear to the individual.

Maere (MAYR):
A servant of Quietus, these are wraithlike creatures. It is believed that the Maere are the final state of those who've lost their physical lives in service to Maldea, living a fate they wish to extend to those still alive in the flesh.

melura (Meh-LOOR-ah):
The term used to describe someone who has not yet reached the age of eighteen and undergone the Change.

meridian:
Midday, noontime.

Mor Nation Refrains:
A mythic set of songs held safe by the Mor Nations. Said to bear more power even than Suffering.

Noble Ones:
See Great Fathers.

Northsun:
A festival now largely observed only in rural communities where the League has yet to exert any real control. It is a celebration of the sun's northernmost passage through the sky, and a time of reckoning one's age. It is likewise often attended by a Reader, who brings news and recites histories and stories to entertain and remind.

Ogea (OH-gee-uh):
A Reader who comes to the Hollows at Northsun to relate the stories of ages past.

Opawn, Hambley (oh-PAWN, HAM-blee):
Proprietor of the Fieldstone Inn located in the Hollows.

Ophal're'Donn:
The bridge crossing the Lesule River into Stonemount.

order, the:
See Sheason.

pageant wagon:
A large traveling wagon on which a troupe plays rhea-fols (plays) for communities large and small.

Palamon (PAL-uh-mahn):
Often regarded as the first Sheason, he is a hero to those who oppose the Bourne.

Passat (Puh-SAHT):
A reverent festival held at Midwinter in the Hollows to commemorate the spark of life and light within, and the hope for a return from the long nights of winter to the long days of summer. Hollowed gourds are fitted with candles emblematic of both observations.

Pauper's Drum:
See Drum of Nicholae.

penaebra (Peh-NAY-brah):
A ghost of the dead.

pinchcomb:
A kind of barrette used for a woman's hair.

Placing, the:
Thought to refer to the consignment of Inveterae in the Bourne. Alternately meaning the dire days when all things were sealed behind the Veil. Some believe it refers to secrets even Quietus does not know that are held at the farthest reaches beyond the Rim.

Preserved Will, law of:
A law understood as existing in the Charter, in which any action that might be shown to harmonize with the design of the Will cannot be prosecuted as unlawful.

Quiet, the:
The name, singular or plural, given to those who follow Quietus.

Quietus:
One from the Council of Creation, known then as Maldea, given responsibility for establishing balance in the world. His vaulting ambition and exceeding ability toppled the delicate scales of harmony as he brought forth unimaginable darkness and creatures out of madness to harrow the races given life in the land. For his crime, the Council Whited him, binding him in a far place where there would be little opportunity to stretch forth his hand to exercise the Will.

Qum'rahm'se (Coom-rahm-SAY):
A library established ages ago to gather and study any and all available documents relating to the Language of the Covenant.

Randeur (RAN-djeeoohr):
A title given to the leader of the Order of Sheason. In the Language of the Covenant, it is thought to mean “descended below them all.”

Reader:
A branch of the Scola given entirely to the study of history and books for the purpose of relating the stories to others. Readers are often considered to be seers and scryers, as well as historians and fanciful storytellers.

Resonance:
A principle that underlies a Sheason's ability to render the Will, just as it also underlies a Leiholan's ability to render song with power and influence.

Reyal, Layosah (LAY-oh-saw Ray-AL):
One of the Wombs of War during the War of the First Promise, and the one who stood on the palace steps in Recityv and called for a council to do something more concerted to combat the Quietgiven, resulting in the Convocation of Seats.

rhea-fol (RAY-fohl):
A dramatic presentation with actors typically inspired by a historical event.

Right Arm of the Promise:
Name given to the people later known as the Sedagin for the zeal and loyalty of their service in the War of the First Promise. See Sedagin.

Rudierd Tillinghast (ROOD-yahrd TILL-eeng-ghast):
From the Language of the Covenant, meaning “return of all things.”

Scar, the:
Abbreviated term for the Scarred Lands.

Scarred Lands:
An area east and slightly north of Recityv where the last battle of the War of the Second Promise took place. That battle is also known sometimes as the Battle of the Scar or the Battle of the Round. The Scarred Lands have lost their vitality due to being raped by the Velle, who drew their essence and life to darkly render the Will during that great last stage of the war.

scriveners:
A highly literate association whose purpose is to assist in the collection of ancient documents and genealogy, with emphasis on studying the Covenant Language and its applications.

Season of Rumors:
Name some have given to the current age.

Second Promise:
An attempt to renew of the First Promise, added upon by a spoken commitment to end, once and for all, the shedding of blood by emissaries of Quietus. It was forsaken by some governments, either because they never attended the Second Convocation of Seats, or because they did and simply didn't keep their word.

Sedagin (Sehd-ah-gin):
Name of the people living in the High Plains whose mastery with a greatsword is legendary. They live by the principles of the First Promise.

SeFeery, Denolan (she-FEER-ee):
See also Grant.

Sento, Belamae (BELL-ah-may SENT-oh):
Chief Maesteri at Descant Cathedral.

Sheason (SHAY-son):
From the Language of the Covenant, meaning “servant.” Members of this Order possess the ability to render the Will—influence Forda I'Forza. When the First Ones abandoned their work in Aeshau Vaal, they conferred the authority to direct the Will in the interest of men to Palamon. The right and privilege to render has since been passed down only after vigorous training. Though the Order was conceived on the principle of service and sacrifice, they are often disliked or distrusted. Much of this has grown under the influence of the League of Civility. The Sheason are also sometimes known as “three-ring” for the emblem that signifies their order: three rings inside of each other, and all meeting at one point. This same symbol also describes another name the Sheason bear: Inner Resonance.

Shenflear:
An acclaimed writer of the early years of the Craven Season.

Sky, the:
The overreaching, never-ending constant of life. Often used interchangeably with the word “life,” it connotes assurance, stability. The sky holds the sure patterns and procession of the stars, and the unvarying, necessary return of the sun and daylight. It represents that which is known without being touched or proven. “The Sky” is also the shortened term for “Tabernacle of the Sky.”

Slope Nyne:
Tenendra word for Bar'dyn. See Bar'dyn.

sodalist:
A member of the Sodality, and one given to the study of the Authors as well as the crafts of war. Ancient diaries define the sodalist as both Author and Finisher, though the meaning of the phrase is unclear. See also Sodality. By virtue of a sodalist's study, he or she often serves in a community as teacher, Levate, and counselor.

Sodality:
A brotherhood of men and women aligned to protect the integrity of Authors' words, and to bring them to bear in conjunction with the bite of steel. The Sodality's highest call is as protectorate to the Order of Sheason, to which it holds a solemn oath.

Solath Mahnus:
The buildings and castle constructed on a risen hill in the center of Recityv, where governing activities are held.

Song of Suffering (also called just “Suffering”):
The musical rendering of the Tract of Desolation, performed in the Chamber of Anthems of Descant Cathedral. Sung entirely in the Language of the Covenant, a single performance has but one refrain and lasts seven hours.

song of the feathered, the:
Colloquial phrase referring to morning time.

spine-root:
A low-lying plant which grows barbs and needles.

Standing (or to Stand):
A rite of passage which takes place at the first full moon after a melura's eighteenth birthday. The ceremony is witnessed by a First Steward, typically the child's father or mother. Beyond this time, the child becomes an adult, and is considered responsible thereafter for his or her actions.

Staned, Roth (STAN-ed, ROTH):
Defender of Civility himself, Roth is the Ascendant of the League of Civility, its ranking officer, and often referred to as “His Leadership.”

Stem:
A paper rolled with tobacco inside to be smoked.

Stipple toes:
A common cooking root similar to rhubarb.

Stonemount:
An abandoned city near the Valley of Lesule almost entirely constructed of stone: granite, marble, and other indigenous rock. Legend holds that the inhabitants simply vanished, no war or disease accounting for their disappearance.

Storalaith, Helaina (Hel-AY-nah Stohr-uh-LAY-eth):
Regent of the nation of Vohnce, who wields discretionary power of the High Council and all other governmental powers of Vohnce and Recityv alike.

Stranger:
See Quietus.

straw-drift:
Backstreet folk; moneygrubbers, informants, thieves, etc.

Strong-wagon:
A large, heavy wagon with thick walls used to convey important cargo.

sword and quill:
Emblem of the Sodality. See Sodality.

Ta'Opin (Tah-oh-PIHN):
One of the Mor races. Rumor and myth surrounds their origins. Some believe them to be a lost race escaped from the Bourne, one of the Inveterae. A race unusually strong with song, they are generally unwelcome around others, though their outward geniality and fierce loyalty belies this social estrangement.

Tabernacle of the Sky:
A set of great, tall buildings and theaters in the heart of the Divide where it is believed the First Ones worked to bring about Creation.

Table of Blades:
The ruling body of the Sedagin people.

Teheale (Te-HEEL):
From the Language of the Covenant, meaning “earned in blood.” It is the High Plain risen by the power of the Order of Sheason as a gift and home for the Sedagin.

Telling, a:
Written by an Author, a specialized document used to travel from one place to another through a kind of portal. Most Tellings are made usable by the gifts of the Leiholan.

tenendra (Tuh-NEHN-drah):
A large traveling carnival where feats of strength, acrobatics, strange sights, merriment, games, and exotic foods can be had for a price.

tent folk:
Euphemism for those who work the tenendra.

Therus (THEER-uhs):
The Quietgiven name for a Sodalist.

three-ring:
Euphemism for a Sheason, due to the sigil they bear of three rings—one inside the next—all touching on one side.

Tillinghast:
A place on the far side of the Saeculorum Mountains, where the earth falls away into clouds, and it is said one has all their choices returned to them.

tongue-money:
Common term referring to money used to buy someone's silence.

Tracker:
A Quietgiven that moves upon the land with ease, possessing an unearthly skill to follow anything that lives. Some believe the tracker's capability is to see or smell the passage of Forza, the residue of which remains in a place much longer than physical—Forda—traces. Their skin is hairless and translucent, showing striated lines over jutting bone, and their eyes protrude like a dead, bloated animal's.

Tract of Desolation:
The written account of what transpired when Maldea was Whited and all those given life by his hand were sent into the Bourne.

upright dust:
See walking earth.

Veil, the:
The boundary between the Bourne and the races of the Eastlands of Aeshau Vaal, maintained (it is thought) by the Song of Suffering.

Velle (VEHL-uh):
These renderers of the Will serve Quietus. Some came to their dark path through the baser, self-gratifying motivations of avarice and vanity. They sully the authority to direct the Will by transferring the personal cost to other living things. By so doing, they cheat death a long time, their own Forda hardly depleting. In every age since the Abandonment, there have been Sheason impatient and wanton enough for their own gain and comfort to reject their covenant and embrace the reward of the Quiet. Most, though, are descended from other Velle inside the Bourne who grant the power—usually too soon—to others to grow their ranks. From the Covenant Language, meaning, “my wish, my desire, or my will.”

Walkers:
When the Abandonment took place, there remained a few Inveterae “untabernacled”—without a physical form in which to live or experience joy and adversity. Forgotten by the First Ones, they were not herded into the Bourne with the rest. Thus twice forgotten, these lonely children of Forza seek a suit of flesh to wear. With no authority to command living things, they attempt to claim the lost bodies of others to make themselves finally whole. Over time, their bitterness and their own dark arts have grown.