The Thousandfold Thought

  eunuchs—Men castrated either before or after the onset of puberty, but usually before. Eunuchs have become something of an informal caste in the Three Seas, both in the management of harems and also in high administrative posts, where their lack of progeny, the belief is, renders them more immune to influence and less likely to harbour dynastic ambitions.

  Exalt-General—The traditional title of the Imperial Army’s supreme commander.

  Exhortations—The sole surviving work of Hatatian. See Hatatian.

  “Expect not, and you shall find glory everlasting ...”—The Tractate, Book of Priests, 8:31. The famed “Expect Not Admonition” of Inri Sejenus, where he urges his followers to give without hope of exchange. The paradox, of course, is that by doing this, they hope for eternal paradise in exchange.

  F

  Fallow Gate—The northernmost gate of Ishuäl.

  Fama Palace—The residence and administrative seat of the Warrior-Prophet while the First Holy War remained in Caraskand, located on the Heights of the Bull.

  Fanashila (4092-)—One of Esmenet’s Kianene body-slaves.

  Fanayal ab Kascamandri (4075- )—The first-born son of the Padirajah, and leader of the Coyauri, his famed elite heavy cavalry.

  Fane (3669-3742)—The Prophet of the Solitary God and founder of Fanimry. Initially a Shrial Priest in the Nansur province of Eumarna, Fane was declared a heretic by the ecclesiastical courts of the Thousand Temples in 3703 and banished to certain death in the Carathay Desert. According to Fanim tradition, rather than dying in the desert, Fane went blind, experienced the series of revelations narrated in the kipfa’aifan, the “Witness of Fane,” and was granted miraculous powers (the same powers attributed to the Cishaurim) he called the Water of Indara. He spent the remainder of his life preaching to and consolidating the desert tribes of the Kianene, who after his death would launch the White Jihad under the leadership of Fane’s son, Fan’oukarji I.

  Fanim—The name used by the Inrithi to refer to the followers of Fanimry.

  Fanimry—A monotheistic faith founded upon the revelations of the Prophet Fane. The central tenets of Fanimry deal with the solitary nature and transcendence of the God, the falseness of the Gods (who are considered demons by the Fanim), the repudiation of the Tusk as unholy, and the prohibition of all representations of the God.

  Fan’oukarji I (3716-71)—“Peerless son of Fane” (Kianni) The son of the Prophet Fane and the first Padirajah of Kian. Fan’oukarji is credited with the fantastic success of the White Jihad against the Nansur Empire.

  Far Antiquity—The historical period beginning with the Breaking of the Gates and ending with the Apocalypse in 2155. See Near Antiquity.

  Feast of Kussapokari—A traditional Inrithi holiday marking the summer solstice.

  fevers—A generic name for various forms of malaria.

  Few, the—Those born with the innate ability to sense the onta and work sorcery. See sorcery.

  Finaöl, Weofota (4066-4111)—The Earl of the Tydonni province of Canute, slain at Anwurat.

  First and Final Word—A common epithet for the words of Inri Sejenus.

  Five Tribes of Men—The five rough cultural and racial groups that migrated into the Eärwic subcontinent at the beginning of the Second Age; respectively, the Norsirai, the Ketyai, the Satyothi, the Scylvendi, and the Xiuhianni.

  Flail, the—A constellation in the northern sky.

  flat-place, the—According to Scylvendi custom, the ideal spiritual state wherein the Scylvendi warrior, freed of all passion and desire, becomes the very expression of the land.

  Forbidden Road—A secret military road connecting the Scylvendi and Kianene frontiers of the Nansur Empire.

  44 Epistles—The magnum opus of Ekyannus I, consisting of forty-four “letters” written to the God, including commentary and confession as well as philosophical inquiry and critique.

  Fourth Analytic of Men, The—Also known as The Book of Maxims. One of the more famous works of Ajencis, containing several hundred not so very flattering “Observations of Men” and the corresponding maxim outlining the practical way to deal with each of the Men so observed.

  Fourth Dialogue of the Movements of the Planets as They Pertain to Astrology, The—One of the famed “lost works” of Ajencis.

  Fustaras (4061-4111)—An Orthodox agitator and proadjunct from the Selial Column.

  G

  Gaenkelti (4068-4111)—The Exalt-Captain of the Palatial Eöthic Guard.

  Gaenri—A fiefdom of Galeoth, located to the northwest near the Hethantas.

  Gaeterius (2981-3045)—The Ceneian slave-scholar celebrated for his commentaries on The Chronicle of the Tusk collected under the title Contemplations on the Indentured Soul.

  Gaethuni—A fiefdom of Ce Tydonn, located on the southwestern coasts.

  Gaidekki, Shressa (4062- )—The Palatine of the Conriyan district of Anplei.

  Gâl, Plains of—A great expanse of grasslands to the north of the Cerish Sea.

  Galeoth—A Norsirai nation of the Three Seas. Following the Apocalypse, countless thousands of Meöri refugees settled the environs north of Lake Huösi. Though nominally tributary to the Ceneian Empire, surviving records indicate that the “Galoti,” as the Ceneians called them, were a fractious and warlike people. At some point in the thirty-fifth century, sedentary kingdoms began to displace the pastoral tribes along the Vindauga and Sculpa rivers. Galeoth proper did not arise until c. 3683, when King Norwain I reputedly concluded twenty years of campaigning and conquest by having his captive foes butchered en masse in the reception hall of Moraör, the great palace complex of the Galeoth Kings.

  Galeoth Wars—The wars fought between Galeoth and the Nansur Empire, first in 4103-4, then again in 4106. In each case the Galeoth, under the generalship of Coithus Saubon, enjoyed early successes, only to be subsequently defeated in more decisive engagements, the last of which was the Battle of Procorus, where Ikurei Conphas commanded the Imperial Army.

  Galgota, Nisht (4062- )—The Palatine of the Ainoni palatinate of Eshganax.

  Gallish—The language of Galeoth, derived from Old Meoric.

  Ganbrota, Murworg (4064- )—The Earl of the Thunyeri fiefdom of Ingraul.

  gandoki—“shadows” (Gallish) A traditional Galeoth sport where two men, their wrists bound to either end of two poles, attempt to knock each other off their footing.

  Ganrelka II, Anasûrimbor (2104-47)—The successor of Celmomas II and the last reigning High King of Kûniüri.

  Ganrikka, Warthût (4070- )—A client thane of Gothyelk.

  Ganyatti, Amurrei (4064- )—The Conriyan Palatine of the district of Ankirioth.

  Gaörtha—The true name of the second skin-spy to pose as Cutias Sarcellus.

  Garsahadutha, Ram-Sassor (4076-4111)—A Tributary Prince of Sansor, leader of the Sansori in the Ainoni contingent of the Holy War, slain at the Battle of Anwurat.

  Gate of Horns—One of Caraskand’s main gates.

  Gate of Pelts—One of Sumna’s famed Nine Great Gates, opening onto the Karian Way.

  Gaumum, House—A Nansur House of the Congregate, with holdings scattered across the western Kyranae Plain.

  Gayamakri, Sattushal (4070- )—One of the Nascenti, formerly an Ainoni baron.

  Gedea—A governorate of Kian and former province of the Nansur Empire. Located between Shigek and the Anaras Spur, Gedea is a semi-arid land with interior plateaus and semi-mountainous coasts. Historically, Gedea is primarily known as the battleground between ancient Shigek and Kyraneas.

  Gekas—A palatinate of High Ainon, located on the upper River Sayut.

  Gerotha—The administrative and commercial capital of Xerash.

  Geshrunni (4069-4110)—A Shield-Captain of the Javreh, slain in Carythusal.

  Gesindal—A fiefdom of Galeoth located to the immediate northwest of Oswenta. A disproportionate number of Gesindalmen belong to the so-called Tattoo Cult of Gilgaöl—a subsect common among the Galeoth and Cepalorans—believing that skin tattooed w
ith the sacred signs of War is immune to injury.

  Ghoset—An ancient Wracu spawned during the Cûno-Inchoroi Wars.

  Gielgath—An important Nansur city located on the Meneanor coast.

  Gierra—The God of carnal passion. One of the so-called Compensatory Gods, who reward devotion in life with paradise in the afterlife, Gierra is very popular throughout the Three Seas, particularly among aging men drawn to the “aphrodisica,” Cultic nostrums reputed to enhance virility. In the Higarata, the collection of subsidiary writings that form the scriptural core of the Cults, Gierra is rarely depicted with any consistency, and is often cast as a malign temptress, luring men to the luxury of her couch, often with fatal consequences.

  Gilcûnya—The tongue of the Nonmen Quya and the Gnostic Schools, thought to be a debased version of Auja-Gilcûnni, the so-called “ground” (or first) tongue of the Cûnuroi.

  Gilgallic Gate—An immense gate located at the westernmost point of Momemn’s walls.

  Gilgaöl—The God of war and conflict. One of the so-called Compensatory Gods, who reward devotion in life with paradise in the afterlife, Gilgaöl is perhaps the most popular of the Hundred Gods. In the Higarata, the collection of subsidiary writings that form the scriptural core of the Cults, Gilgaöl is depicted as harsh and sceptical of Men, continually demanding proof of worth from those who would follow him. Though subordinate to the Thousand Temples, the Gilgallic Cult boasts nearly as many priests, and perhaps receives more in the way of sacrificial donations.

  Ginsil (2115-c. 2147)—The wife of General En-Kaujalau in The Sagas, who pretended to be her husband to fool the assassins coming to kill him.

  Girgalla (1798-1841)—An ancient Kûniüric poet famed for his Epic of Sauglish.

  Girgash—A nation of the Three Seas, located on the mountainous northern frontier of Nilnamesh, and the only Fanim nation aside from Kian.

  Girgashi—The language of Fanic-Girgash, a derivative of Sapmatari.

  Girgilioth—A ruined city on the south bank of the River Sempis, which was once the capital of Kyranean-occupied Shigek but was destroyed following Kyraneas’s demise in the Apocalypse.

  gishrut—A traditional Scylvendi drink made from fermented mare’s milk.

  Gnosis—The branch of sorcery once practised by the Gnostic Schools of the Ancient North but now known only to the Schools of Mandate and Mangaecca. Unlike Anagogic sorcery, Gnostic sorcery is leveraged through the use of the Abstractions, which is why Gnostic sorcerers are often referred to as Philosopher Magi. The Gnosis was first developed by the Nonmen Quya, who imparted it to the early Norsirai Anagogic sorcerers during the Nonman Tutelage, 555-825.

  Several Gnostic Cants are: the Bar of Heaven, the Bisecting Planes of Mirseor, the Cirroi Loom, the Ellipses of Thosolankis, the Odaini Concussion Cant, the Seventh Quyan Theorem, and the Weära Comb.

  See sorcery.

  Gnostic Schools—Those Schools that practise the Gnosis. Only two such Schools, the Mangaecca and the Mandate, survive, though prior to the Apocalypse some dozen or so Gnostic Schools were in existence, the Sohonc foremost among them.

  Goat’s Heart, The—The famed book of fables by Protathis.

  God, the—In Inrithi tradition, the unitary, omniscient, omnipotent, and immanent being responsible for existence, of which Gods (and in some strains Men) are but “aspects.” In the Kiünnat tradition, the God is more an abstract placeholder than anything else. In the Fanim tradition, the God is the unitary, omniscient, omnipotent, and transcendent being responsible for existence (thus the “Solitary God”), against which the Gods war for the hearts of men.

  Gods, the—Supernatural inhabitants of the Outside possessing human characteristics and figuring as objects of ritual and worship. See Hundred Gods.

  Goken the Red (4058- )—The notorious pirate and Thunyeri Earl of Cern Auglai.

  Golgotterath—The nigh impregnable stronghold of the Consult, located to the north of Neleöst Sea in the shadow of the Yimaleti Mountains. Called Min-Uroikas by the Nonmen during the Cûno-Inchoroi Wars, Golgotterath did not become significant to human history until its occupation by the Mangaecca School in 777, who excavated the Incû-Holoinas and raised vast fortifications about it. See Apocalypse.

  Gonrain, Hoga (4088- )—The second-eldest son of Earl Gothyelk.

  gopa—A red-throated gull common to the southern Three Seas, and notoriously ill-mannered.

  Gotagga (c. 687-735)—Great Umeri sorcerer credited with the birth of philosophy apart from what had been purely theological speculation. According to Ajencis, Men explained the world with characters and stories before Gotagga and with principles and observations after.

  Gotheras, Hoga (4081- )—The eldest son of Earl Gothyelk.

  Gothyelk, Hoga (4052- )—The Earl of Agansanor, and leader of the Tydonni contingent of the Holy War.

  Gotian, Incheiri (4065- )—The Grandmaster of the Shrial Knights and Maithanet’s representative in the Holy War.

  Grandmaster—The title bestowed upon the administrative rulers of the Schools.

  Great Desert—See Carathay Desert.

  Great Factions—The general term used to refer to the most powerful military and political institutions of the Three Seas.

  Great Kayarsus—The vast system of mountain ranges that forms the eastern frontier of Eärwa.

  Great Library of Sauglish—The archive founded by Carû-Ongonean, the third Umeri God-King, c. 560, and transformed by Nincaerû-Telesser II (574-668) into the cultural heart of the Ancient North. At the time of its destruction in 2147, it was rumoured to be as large as some small cities.

  Great Names—The epithet for the ranking caste-nobles leading the various contingents of the First Holy War.

  Great Ocean—The ocean to the west of Eärwa, largely uncharted beyond the coastline, though some claim the Zeümi have mapped its extent.

  Great Pestilence—Also known as the Indigo Plague. The devastating pandemic that swept Eärwa following the death of the No-God in 2157.

  Great Ruiner—A folkloric name of the No-God among the surviving tribes of Men in the Ancient North.

  Great Salt—A particularly harsh region of the Carathay Desert bordering traditional Chianadyni.

  Great Ziggurat of Xijoser—The largest of the Shigeki Ziggurats, raised by the Old Dynasty God-King Xijoser c. 670.

  Griasa (4049-4111)—A slave belonging to House Gaunum, and a friend of Serwë’s.

  Gunsae—A long-abandoned Ceneian fortress located on the Gedean coast.

  Gurnyau, Hoga (4091-4111)—The youngest son of Earl Gothyelk, slain in Caraskand.

  H

  haeturi—The Nansur name for the bodyguards assigned to high-ranking officers in the Imperial Army.

  Hagarond, Raeharth (4059-4111)—The Galeoth Earl of Usgald, slain at Mengedda.

  Hagerna—The vast temple complex located in Sumna, housing the Junriüma, the many Colleges, and the administrative machinery of the Thousand Temples.

  Hamishaza (3711-83)—A renowned Ainoni dramatist, remembered for his Tempiras the King and his jnanic wit, which was rumoured to be unparalleled.

  Ham-Kheremic—The lost language of ancient Shir.

  Hamoric—The language group of the ancient Ketyai pastoralists of the eastern Three Seas.

  “[the] hand of Triamis, the heart of Sejenus, and the intellect of Ajencis”—The famous saying attributed to the poet Protathis, referring to the qualities all men should strive for.