The Unholy Consult
Fatwall—Scalper name for the Imperial outpost located on the ruins of Maimor beneath the eastern Osthwai Mountains.
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. Perhaps few aspects of sorcery have been more debated than the so-called “Arcane Eye”: what it consists in, how it enables sorcerous interventions, and why such a small proportion of Men (as compared, say, to Nonmen) are so unfortunate as to possess it. See sorcery.
Finaöl, Weofota (4066—4111)—Man-of-the-Tusk, Earl of the Tydonni province of Canute, slain at Anwurat.
Fingers—Name given to the summit of Irsûlor by the Men of the Ordeal during the Battle of Irsûlor, because of the five headless pillars jutting there.
First and Final Word—A common epithet for the words of Inri Sejenus.
First Holy War—The Inrithi host summoned by Maithanet that invaded Kian in 4111 bent upon the reconquest of Shimeh. Called by Hem Shibbo, quite without hyperbole, “The loins of all history to follow.”
Characterized by strife and jealousy from the outset, the First Holy War was not in fact the first pilgrim host to answer Maithanet’s call and march against the Fanim. It followed rather, upon the heels of the so-called “Vulgar Holy War,” which was utterly annihilated by the Fanim of Skauras ab Nalajan, the Sapatishah of Shigek, on the Plains of Mengedda in 4110. Where the Vulgar Holy War had failed, the host that has come to be called the First Holy War prevailed, despite the superior tactics of their Fanim adversaries. The Men-of-the-Tusk, as the Inrithi were called, seized the north bank of the River Sempis, and committed innumerable barbarities in the name of all they held sacred. The first recorded mention of Anasûrimbor Kellhus dates to this time.
In Late Summer of 4111, the Inrithi crossed the Sempis and met the Fanim in full array beneath the fortress of Anwurat. Rattled by the numbers the Fanim had amassed, as well as by the nearness of the match on Mengedda, the Great Names, the Princes and Generals of the various nationalities and factions ceded command of the host to a Scylvendi freebooter named Cnaiür urs Skiötha, an extraordinary decision that would see Skauras killed and the Fanim routed.
On the Nansur Emperor’s assurance that his fleet could keep the host supplied with fresh water, the Great Names made the fateful decision to immediately strike south along the coast of the Carathay Desert. The Fanim, however, managed to surprise and destroy the Nansur Fleet at the Battle of Trantis, stranding the First Holy War deep in the Carathay with nothing but a few poisoned wells and fouled oases. The legendary suffering of the host likely played no small role in the transformation of Anasûrimbor Kellhus from mere sage to a prophetic figure.
By the time the survivors reached Enathpaneah and laid siege to Caraskand that autumn, several Great Names were already arguing for his destruction. Some, perhaps sensing future advantage, advocated for him. Others simply found the idea of a holy war being conquered from within preposterous.
Caraskand fell to the Inrithi invaders even as the skirmishers belonging to Kascamandri, the Padirajah of the Kianene Empire, rode within sight of the city’s great curtain walls. In another extraordinary twist, the First Holy War now found itself besieged within the very city it had spent weeks starving. Disease and deprivation wracked the host as violently as it had on the Carathay. The matter of Anasûrimbor Kellhus and his Zaudunyani finally came to a head; the Great Names condemned him and sentenced him according to Tusk Law. He was bound to the corpse of his wife, then hung upside down from an iron circumfix. Riots broke out between the Orthodox and the Zaudunyani.
According to various books in the Novum, it was the Scylvendi freebooter, Cnaiür urs Skiötha, who revealed the first of the Consult skin-spies in the host’s midst. Vindicated, Anasûrimbor Kellhus was released and exalted in the eyes the entire host—all save a handful were subsequently whelmed into the Zaudunyani faith. The skin-spies were purged from the ranks, and then, in the early spring of 4112, the once fractious host marched out under the leadership of a new prophet to meet Kascamandri and his Fanim Grandees in battle. Despite their dreadful condition, their fanaticism and superior armaments proved invincible on the field, and the Kianene were once again put to route with grievous losses.
A far different First Holy War undertook the remainder of the epochal campaign. Called in the name of a long-dead prophet, Inri Sejenus, it now marched under the command of a living prophet, Anasûrimbor Kellhus. Once massive and inchoate, prone to fumble tactically, it was now compact and articulated, more liable to surprise than be surprised. The host swept into the Governorate of Xerash, and thence into Holy Amoteu itself, swatting aside what resistance the Fanim, now under the leadership of Fanayal ab Kascamandri, could rally to slow their advance.
Two factors prevented the final battle for Holy Shimeh from being the rote conclusion of three successive victories over a single foe. The first was the Cishaurim decision to finally take the field against the Scarlet Spires, and the second was the betrayal of the Nansur. The Cishaurim Primaries, in particular, proved far more powerful than any had imagined, leading to what is now widely referred to as the Scarlet Letting, the reduction of the Scarlet Spires to no more than fourteen sorcerers-of-rank. According the Novum, only the reappearance of Anasûrimbor Kellhus prevented this calamity from becoming an abject catastrophe.
The second was the treachery of the Nansur contingent of the Holy War under the stewardship of Ikurei Conphas, which, were it not for the actions of the Holy Tutor, would have sealed the doom of the First Holy War. Even though the Inrithi host ultimately achieved all of its primary objectives, a number of scholars (Hem Shibbo among them) have dared note that its ultimate consequence, the rise of Anasûrimbor Kellhus, precipitated the end of Inrithism almost as completely as the end of Fanimry.
Five Hosts of Nilnû—Collective name referring to the five (in truth six) tribal confederacies, the Eshdutt, the Harû (or sometimes, “Harataka”), the Midarû, the Invoira, and the Sombatti (which is in fact divided into the Rappol and the Sombatt) that have historically contended for power over the whole of Nilnamesh.
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.
Four Armies, the—Name given to the division of the Great Ordeal (for the purposes of foraging) into four separate columns, each with their own command: the Army of the Middle North, the Army of the Ketyai-of-the-East, the Army of the Ketyai-of-the-West, and the Army of the Ketyai-of-the-South.
Four-Horned Brother—Common epithet for Ajokli in the Three Seas.
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 flattering “Observations of Men” and the corresponding maxims 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.
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Gaenkelti (4068—4111)—The Exalt-Captain of the Palatial Eöthic Guard.
Gaenri—A fiefdom of Galeoth, located to the northwest near the Hethantas.
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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— )—Man-of-the-Tusk, 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— )—Man-of-the-Tusk, Palatine of the Ainoni palatinate of Eshganax.
Gallish—The language of Galeoth, derived from Old Meoric.
Gam—Legendary Shiradi King featured in the Fable of Gam, the story of how he faked his own death to test the character of his sons, only to be murdered by them.
Ganbrota, Murworg (4064— )—Man-of-the-Tusk, Earl of the Thunyeri fiefdom of Ingraul.
gandoki—Gallish for “shadows.” A traditional Galeoth sport where two men, their wrists bound to either end of two poles, attempt to knock each other off their footing.
Gangan-naru—“Parching Wind” (Sakarpic). Name for the periodic shift in prevailing summer winds on the Istyuli Plains. Typically seen as a harbinger of drought.
Ganrelka II, Anasûrimbor (2104—47)—The successor of Celmomas II and the last reigning High King of Kûniüri.
Ganrikka, Warthût (4070—4132)—Man-of-the-Tusk, client thane of Gothyelk during the First Holy War, and Ordealman in the Great Ordeal of Anasûrimbor Kellhus, slain at the Battle of Imweor.
Ganuiral—“Way of Sages” (Ûmeri). The grand avenue leading to the Library in ancient Sauglish, famously called the Mawagiral, or “Way of Ranters,” for the heretics and visionaries who assembled along its length, arguing all manner of madnesses.
Ganyatti, Amurrei (4064— )—Man-of-the-Tusk, Conriyan Palatine of the district of Ankirioth.
Gaörtha—The true name of the second skin-spy to pose as Cutias Sarcellus.
Gara’gûl—A small yet strategic fortress located in Mongilea.
Garsahadutha, Ram-Sassor (4076—4111)—Man-of-the-Tusk, tributary Prince of Sansor, leader of the Sansori in the Ainoni contingent of the Holy War, slain at the Battle of Anwurat.
Gaspers—Nonman pejorative for the Inchoroi.
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.
Gate of Wheels—See Great Gate of Wheels.
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)—Man-of-the-Tusk, 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 with 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.
Gift-of-Yatwer—Epithet for the White-Luck Warrior.
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 skeptical 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. Also known as the Dread Father of Death, the All-Taker, the Wielder, the Breaker-of-Heroes, among many other epithets.
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.
Gin’yursis (?—2152)—Nonman King of Cil-Aujas, famously slain by the very Meori refugees (under the leadership of Nosol) he sheltered from the No-God during the Apocalypse.
Giolal—Name of the forests to the east of Ishterebinth reserved since ancient days for hunting.
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.
Gloom—Final stage of the Dolour, suffered by the Reduced. See Dolour.
Gnosis—The branch of sorcery once practiced 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.
Gnostic Cants include: the Bar of Heaven, the Bisecting Planes of Mirseor, the Cirroi Loom, the Compass of Noshainrau, the Cross of Arches, the Ellipses of Thosolankis, the Entelechy Theorems, the First Quyan Fold, the Mathesis Pin, the Noviratic Warspike, the Odaini Concussion Cant, the Ribs of Gottagga, the Seventh Quyan Theorem, the Third Concentric, the Weära Comb, and the High Titirgic Axiom.
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Gnostic Schools—Those Schools that practice 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, the.
Goken the Red (4058—4117)—Man-of-the-Tusk, notorious pirate and Thunyeri Earl of Cern Auglai.
Golgotterath—The nigh impregnable stronghold of the so-called 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.
The greater complex is utterly dominated by the twin Horns of the Incû-Holoinas, but the vast mound of black basalt comprising their foundation approaches their mass. The Nonmen called it Ûriqû, or the “Scab,” (the name later adopted by the Kûniüri) because they believed as much literally: that the Wicked Ark had struck the World to its fiery blood. The network of monumental fortifications securing the base of the Horns follows the cliffs comprising the Scab’s perimeter. These cliffs encircle the whole of the Scab, rendering the curtain walls upon them all but impossible to overcome—save, famously, for a great ramp running from the foot of the Upright Horn (the one inhabited) to the plains of Ûgorrior to the southeast. This was where history would shed the most blood.