Holy Isle, the centermost island of the Holy Islands and rightly named. Only those who are meant to go to it can find it.
Honker, Ganner Sagersson.
Horsehair drums, traditional crude drums made of horsehide with the hair still on it, beaten loudly at the Holand Sea Festival, probably because Old Ammet was thought to govern the wild horses of the sea.
Horses of the sea were said to belong to Old Ammet and to appear galloping round a ship that was doomed.
Hurrel, Lawschool slang for a big push at grittling, a real scrimmage.
Incantation, a measured alliterative way of speaking, passed down from Singer to Singer and only used on the most solemn occasions.
Irana Harchadsdaughter, one of Earl Hadd’s many grandchildren, cousin of Hildrida and Ynen, betrothed at an early age to Agnet, third son of the Earl of Waywold in South Dalemark.
“I sent the hidden death…,” one of Kankredin’s two chief mages, who seems to have had no name apart from the boastful spell woven into his gown.
“I sing for Osfameron, I move in more than one world” are the words inlaid in Moril Clennensson’s cwidder in the old writing, by which the cwidder describes itself. Compare Tanaqui’s weaving. It is possible these words cause the cwidder to behave as it does.
Island people, the inhabitants of the Holy Islands who are something of a race unto themselves, being small and brown, with dark eyes and pale hair. Their singsong accent is unlike any other in Dalemark. They are said to be remnants of the first people ever to settle the country.
Isle of Gard, the ruling island of the Holy Islands where the Lord’s mansion and the main fleet are.
“I tortured the beast…,” one of Kankredin’s two chief mages, known only by the words woven in his gown.
Jay, herald and captain to the King of the Riverlands. Jay seems to have started as a minor, though trusted, herald, but he distinguished himself in the wars with the Heathens, when he lost an arm and endeared himself to the King by his cheerfulness, and became the favorite of the King in exile.
Jenro, a Holy Islander, coxswain aboard the flagship Wheatsheaf.
“Jolly Holanders,” a sea shanty that was known and loved all over South Dalemark.
Justice, an essential part of the corrupt legal system of South Dalemark before the reforms of Amil the Great. A justice was appointed and paid by an earl and did the earl’s bidding, sitting as a magistrate and hearing only such cases as interested his employer or could bring the justice himself a bribe. The South had no access to the Lawschool of the North, and justices seldom had any legal training. They had to rely on their clerks, who were equally corrupt, to tell them what the law was.
K at the beginning of a personal name was only used in North Dalemark. In the slurred and softer dialect of the South a K becomes either C (pronounced KH) or H. For instance, the Southern form of the name Keril is Harl; or there are sometimes two forms of a Northern name, as in the name Kialan, which appears in the South both as Collen and as Halain.
Kanart, an Earl of Dropwater killed in battle during the Adon’s wars.
Kanarthi, the conjectured Northern form of the name Cennoreth.
Kankredin, an evil magician, sometimes called the mage of mages, who accompanied the Heathen invaders from Haligland, intending to use them to help him usurp the power and position of the One. Kankredin was himself of the Undying and had increased his powers by magically passing through death, which made him virtually impossible to kill. Though legend claims that King Hern overthrew him, Kankredin appears again in stories long before the time of the Adon and was later said by the North to be the cause of all the evils in the South. It is claimed that Amil the Great frustrated an attempt by Kankredin to take over the North, too.
Kappin, Lawschool slang for fighting to hold the team’s position.
Karet, a hearthman of Aberath.
Kars Adon, son of Kiniron, who became clan head and High Lord after his father died in the invasion of prehistoric Dalemark. Though Kars Adon was barely fifteen and crippled from birth, he was held in great honor by all his subjects. This was partly due to the custom of the clans, but mostly to the character of Kars Adon himself.
Kastri, the Adon’s son by his first wife and ancestor of Earl Keril of Hannart, who accompanied his father and Manaliabrid into exile.
Ked, a lowborn member of Clan Rath, aged about eight, who had a bad reputation as a liar.
Keril, Earl of Hannart, descended from the Adon and generally considered the most influential man in North Dalemark. As a young man he had high ideals and set out to free the South by helping in an uprising. The rebellion failed, and Keril had to be rescued and smuggled North by Halida, whom he married. He arrived back in Hannart to find his father dying and himself with a price on his head in the South. This seems to have given Keril a strong distaste for revolution of the violent kind. As an earl he supported the Southern freedom fighters surreptitiously, with money and advice, apparently hoping for a peaceful political solution, no doubt with himself as chief negotiator, for he possessed a lively and devious political mind. Unfortunately this same deviousness caused him to miscalculate gravely in the case of Navis Haddsson, and he had, as a result, to watch the gradual fading of Hannart as a power in the land.
Kern, the Northern form of the name Hern.
Kernsburgh, the capital city of Dalemark, situated nearly at the center of the country. Kernsburgh was founded by King Hern and flourished for many centuries until the kingship shifted to Hannart, Canderack, and elsewhere, after which it fell into ruins. At the time of the Great Uprising it was little more than grassy humps in the ground. Amil the Great’s first act as King was to rebuild Kernsburgh, and from then on the city grew continually, to become the seat of government, center of commerce, and international metropolis it is two hundred years later.
Kestrel, the husband of Closti the Clam’s elder sister, Zara, an old man who married late in life when Zwitt refused to marry Zara after Closti had jilted Zwitt’s sister. Kestrel, it seems, did not wish to see Zara suffer through no fault of her own.
Kialan, younger son of Keril, Earl of Hannart, and later his heir.
King of the Riverlands of prehistoric Dalemark. Tanaqui never gives his name, perhaps out of respect, or perhaps because she never knew it. She clearly shows that he was not the correct man for dealing with the Heathen invasion, although he seems to have done his best at first, until his family was killed and his spirit broken.
Kinghaven, in the earldom of Loviath, the main port city of North Dalemark and otherwise notorious for brewing bad lager.
King’s Sayings, a collection of proverbs and wise thoughts memorized by all Singers and supposed to be the words of King Hern himself.
King Street, the main thoroughfare in Kernsburgh.
“The King’s Way,” a traditional song with a rousing tune which celebrates the customary journey of the new King down the green roads of North Dalemark to Kernsburgh to claim his crown. This song was banned in the South, where the earls did not wish to remind people there had once been Kings.
Kiniron, the younger brother of the King of Haligland who led the main invasion of the clans to prehistoric Dalemark, where he died of wounds from the fighting.
Kintor, Lord of Kredindale and cousin of Noreth Onesdaughter.
Knots and crosses, one of the oldest and most potent charms of binding and, of course, the basic pattern of a net. See also Nets.
Konian, the elder son of Keril, Earl of Hannart, executed in Holand in South Dalemark after a travesty of a trial.
Korib, son of the miller in Shelling and an excellent shot with the longbow.
Kredindale, a valley, town, and lordship in the extreme northwest of North Dalemark where deposits of coal were found very early in history. From the reign of the Adon, mining became the main occupation of the valley until the mines were closed in the reign of Amil III. Kredindale was the birthplace of Noreth Onesdaughter. Its name is thought to be derived from Kankredin.
La
bbard, King of Dalemark prior to the Adon, an indolent and incompetent man who openly declared that he would rather sit and drink cider than rule the country.
Ladri, one of Kankredin’s mages, whose task was to collect the souls caught in the soulnet.
Lady, the wooden image of a woman which the family of Closti the Clam kept, according to the customs of prehistoric Dalemark, in one of the niches reserved for the Undying.
Lagan, the villainous half brother of the Adon, a student of sorcery and, some legends say, a pupil of Kankredin. Lagan seems to have been consumed with jealousy both of the Adon’s status and of the Adon’s love for Manaliabrid. Having conspired to have the Adon sent into exile, Lagan then followed him, disguised himself by sorcery, and stabbed him to death. The Adon was recalled from death and later killed Lagan.
Lake, a large body of water in the center of prehistoric North Dalemark, which must have been extensive even when the River was not flooding, to judge from the petrified remains of freshwater life to be found all over the central peaks. By historic times this lake had shrunk to a row of small tarns, the largest of which is Long Tarn.
Lalla, housekeeper at Lithar’s mansion in the Holy Islands and an aspect of Libby Beer.
“Lament for the Earl of Dropwater,” an old ballad song composed during the Adon’s wars, mourning the death of Kanart, who was one of many earls who opposed the Adon.
Lathsay, one of the Holy Islands.
Lavreth, a coastal town northwest of Hannart in North Dalemark.
Lawman, a position of great power and prestige in North Dalemark. Lawmen served earls, lords, and town governors as advisers, justices, or planners for the future and in many other ways, often for very large fees. Quite a few lawmen married into the families of lords or earls. Since the law was open to everyone, however lowborn, training as a lawman was a favorite way to rise in the world.
Law of the sea was very largely unwritten but was held throughout Dalemark waters to be much more binding than the law of the land. It stated, among other things, that all ships must go to the assistance of any boat in trouble.
Lawschool at Gardale in North Dalemark, the only such school in the country until the reign of Amil the Great, very famous and much sought after. It took only those pupils who could reach a very high standard in its oral entrance exams, but a pupil could join the school at any age from nine to fifteen and then be assured of the very best education, both in law and other studies, and nobody ever failed to get a job after graduating. The Lawschool was well endowed with funds and gave quite a number of scholarships to poor students every year. Students entering the school found it a world in itself, with many strange customs and words that were not found anywhere else.
When Amil the Great founded lawschools all over the country, the status of the Gardale school diminished. In the reign of Amil III it became simply a part of Gardale University.
Law-woman, a female lawyer, had even more prestige in North Dalemark than a lawman and could command an even higher fee.
Lengday, Lawschool slang for Midsummer Day.
Lenina Thornsdaughter, niece of Earl Tholian of the South Dales, wife of Clennen the Singer, and mother of Dagner, Brid, and Moril. Lenina was brought up as an aristocrat in the Earl’s household in Neathdale in South Dalemark and left there when she became betrothed to Ganner Sagersson. Clennen saw Lenina at the betrothal feast and persuaded her to marry him instead.
Libby Beer, the name of the image made of fruit that was yearly thrown into the harbor in Holand in South Dalemark at the Sea Festival. The name is certainly a corruption of one of the little-known names of She Who Raised the Islands, the Undying mother of fruitfulness and wife of the Earth Shaker.
License, a legal document with the seal of an earl attached, showing that the holder was allowed to exercise his or her trade anywhere in South Dalemark. Licenses were expensive. Their main value was the unspoken assumption that the holder was allowed to travel between the South and the North. Without a license, a traveler would be arrested at the border.
Liss, Maewen’s aunt, who ran a livery stable near Adenmouth in the north of Dalemark.
Litha, a woman of the prehistoric Riverlands who was killed by the Heathen invaders from Haligland.
Lithar, Lord of the Holy Islands, who was of special value to the earls of South Dalemark, both because of his fleet and because, as lord of the onetime King’s Lands, he was not the subject of any earl. He was betrothed to Hildrida Navissdaughter when he was twenty and she was nine years old.
Little Flate, a village on the slightly rising ground southwest of Holand in South Dalemark, which was the first landmark for ships sailing out of Holand. Sailors gave it a wide berth because of the shallows just offshore.
Little ones, the name Holy Islanders give those mortals under the special protection of the Undying.
Little Shool, one of the Holy Islands, barely yards from its neighbor, Big Shool.
Lord, a lesser ruler under the earls, who owed allegiance to the earl in whose earldom his lordship was, paying taxes and providing fighting men when his earl required him to. A lord was also supposed to obey every other command from his earl, but not all lords did so. Otherwise a lord lived in his mansion, kept hearthmen, and ruled his subjects just as an earl did, but on a smaller scale.
Lord of Mark, lord of the northernmost lordship in South Dalemark, a plump and middle-aged widower, betrothed to Harilla Harlsdaughter when he was thirty-eight and she was ten years old.
Lovely Libby, one of the big merchant ships sailing out of Holand in South Dalemark. Like most of the tall ships of Holand, she was named from the Sea Festival for luck.
Loviath
1. The earldom on the northwest coast of North Dalemark.
2. The name of Maewen Singer’s physics teacher.
“Luck ship and shore,” the ritual reply to the traditional greeting “The year’s luck to you” at the Sea Festival in Holand in South Dalemark.
Lucky ship, any ship sailing out of Holand that could retrieve the image of Poor Old Ammet from the sea. The yacht Wind’s Road was doubly lucky from having accidentally brought the image of Libby Beer as well. Anyone noticing this fact had to be a Holander.
Luthan, Earl of Dropwater and cousin of Noreth of Kredindale. Because of his almost accidental support of the King’s side in the Great Uprising, Luthan—and Dropwater with him—became extremely important in the reign of Amil the Great. Luthan was made chancellor and was twice elected prime minister.
Lydda, Siriol’s daughter, a plump, good-natured girl who married a sailor from the merchant fleet of Holand. Her husband later took over Siriol’s boat and business.
Maewen Singer, a teenage girl hijacked from modern Dalemark to take the place of Noreth of Kredindale. See also Mayelbridwen.
Mage Mallard, the Undying musician-mage, youngest son of Closti the Clam and brother to the Weaver and King Hern. See also Duck.
Mages were fairly common in primitive Haligland and much respected because much feared. No one dared insult a mage of any kind, but the greatest fear and respect were reserved for the so-called college of mages, which was always made up of fifty of the strongest and most experienced enchanters in the land. When Kankredin came to head this college, he seems to have made it a condition that every mage should have passed ritually through death before he joined, which was not the case before his time. College mages were always male, but female mages also existed, with a coven of fifty of their own.
“A man came over the hill…,” a rhyme woven into the skirt of Robin Clostisdaughter by her sister Tanaqui, but hopelessly garbled. As far as can be understood, the rhyme seems to be about the meeting of Closti with Anoreth, or else it refers to a much older but very similar story.
Manaliabrid
1. The Undying wife of the Adon, daughter of Cennoreth the Weaver.
2. The full second name of Brid Clennensdaughter (her first name was Cennoreth).
“Manaliabrid’s Lament,” a song in the old style, said to h
ave been composed by Osfameron after Lagan killed the Adon. It has a tune of strange broken phrasings, so unlike the usual style of Osfameron that many consider that Manaliabrid may have composed the “Lament” herself.
Mansion, the large semifortified house of an earl or lord, always the most prominent in the area. Besides housing the lord’s family and many servants, the mansion had to be big enough for a band of hearthmen, advisers, lawyers, clerks, and numerous other assistants.
Markind, an area in the very south of the South Dales, the lordship of Ganner Sagersson, and notable for its many little hills and valleys, which are, in fact, the worn-down remnants of volcanoes.
Marks, an old name for the fifteen divisions of Dalemark that later became the earldoms.
Mark Wood, a large forest at the northern edge of the third and highest Upland in the earldom of the South Dales, part of the lordship of Mark. It was full of clearings stockaded against possible invasion by the North, where wood was cut and charcoal was made. The inhabitants hated the North heartily and put up the stoutest resistance met by the army of Amil the Great at the start of the Great Uprising.
Marriage by proxy, a custom among earls of holding a wedding without the bride’s being present. Her place would be taken by a woman who was married already. The practice probably originated to save the nobly born bride the trouble and expense of a journey, but it was widely used if the bride was unwilling, or a child, or both.
Marshes, a huge area of volcanic swamp to the east of Dalemark. Throughout historical times the Marshes were considered worthless, remarkable only for curious plants and birds, and they became King’s Lands because nobody else wanted them. When, in recent times, oil was discovered there, they remained the property of the crown but added considerably to the wealth of the country.