The Isûphiryas relates that during the Cûno-Inchoroi Wars, the Inchoroi raised what the Nonmen called Ûlil’uroikar, or the “Portal-obscene,” to guard the Ûgorrior, an apparently metal-skinned structure razed by the Nonmen upon their conquest of the Ark. Following their reoccupation of Min-Uroikas, the Consult raised Gwergiruh, the hated gatehouse of what would come to be called Ûbil Maw, the Extrinsic Gate of Golgotterath, along with two vast towers, Corrunc and Domathuz, to guard the self-same stretch of barren earth. Where the Inchoroi had used the ramping slopes beyond to house their slaves, the Consult blasted them into a series of nine terraces, or “Risers” as the Kûniüri called them, each rimmed in more fortifications, a climbing succession of walls that would be called the Oblitus. Upon the Ninth Riser they constructed the High Cwol, a citadel that would have boggled for its dimension, had it not served as porch to the golden immensity of the Upright (or High) Horn. Within the High Cwol lay the dread Ûbil Noscisor, the Intrinsic Gate.
Unlike the Nonmen, the Sons of Men never succeeded in avenging the countless souls lost attempting to overcome these foul constructions.
Gonrain, Hoga (4088— )—Man-of-the-Tusk, 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—4125 )—Man-of-the-Tusk, eldest son of Earl Gothyelk.
Gothyelk, Hoga (4052—4112)—Man-of-the-Tusk, Earl of Agansanor, and leader of the Tydonni contingent of the Holy War, slain by Fanayal ab Kascamandri at the Battle of Shimeh.
Gotian, Incheiri (4065—4112)—Man-of-the-Tusk, Grandmaster of the Shrial Knights and Maithanet’s representative in the Holy War, slain by an arrow to the armpit in the Battle of Shimeh.
Gow-gow seeds—From the gow-gow fruit, chewed throughout Ainon and Sansor as a mild stimulant.
Grandmaster—The title bestowed upon the administrative rulers of the Schools.
Great Desert—See Carathay.
Great Entresol—The massive chamber formed by the juncture of the Vast Ingressus and the Chthonic Manse in the heart of Ishterebinth, once the hub for all the Mansion’s commercial activity, but since reduced to the primary point of congregation for Erratics.
Great Factions—The general term used to refer to the most powerful military and political institutions of the Three Seas.
Great Gate of Wheels—The sorcerous portal of the Coffers, notorious for using trapped souls, “proxies,” to proof the gate against Chorae. According to legend, the doors did not so much host sorceries, as continually cast and recast them.
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 Ordeal—Immense military expedition dedicated to the destruction of Golgotterath and the Unholy Consult undertaken by Anasûrimbor Kellhus I in 4132.
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 Teacher—Epithet for Ajencis.
Great Ziggurat of Xijoser—The largest of the Shigeki Ziggurats, raised by the Old Dynasty God-King Xijoser circa 670.
Griasa (4049—4111)—A slave belonging to House Gaunum, and a friend of Serwë’s.
Grojehald—Horselord Tower on the Sakarpic Pale, overrun by Sranc in the winter of 4129.
Grooming Laws—Traditional edicts governing the appearance of Zeumi caste-nobles, typically invoked in times of cultural paranoia, often as a way to imprison or execute malcontents.
Gropers—Pejorative referring to the thousands of Numaineiri Orthodox blinded at the command of Anasûrimbor Kellhus during the Unification Wars.
Gunsae—A long-abandoned Ceneian fortress located on the Gedean coast.
Gurnyau, Hoga (4091—4111)—Man-of-the-Tusk, youngest son of Earl Gothyelk, slain in Caraskand.
Gûswuran, Obwë (4178— )—Ordealman, Grandmaster of the Mysunsai in the Great Ordeal of Anasûrimbor Kellhus, renowned for his religious zealotry, a character trait never before seen in the so-called “Mercenary School.”
Gwergiruh—The accursed Gatehouse of Ûbil Maw, the Extrinsic Gate of Golgotterath. First raised c. 800, the subsequently expanded and rebuilt over the ensuing centuries, now some seventy cubits high, shaped as a cleft pentagon, with Ûbil Maw at its centre.
H
haeturi—The Nansur name for the bodyguards assigned to high-ranking officers in the Imperial Army.
Hagarond, Raeharth (4059—4111)—Man-of-the-Tusk, 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.
Halarinis—“Summer Stair” (Ihrimsû). The road leading to Cirrû-nol, the mall before the Soggomantic Gate.
Halikimmû, Grinar (4103— )—Ordealmen, famed for being a one-time champion of the Sranc Pit in Carythusal.
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.
Hanalinqû (?—?)—The legendary wife of Cu’jara Cinmoi, whose death symbolizes the beginning of the Cûno-Inchoroi Wars.
“[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.
Hanging Citadels—The manse of Ishterebinth chambering the downward faces of the Ilculcû Rift, housing the Ishroi of Ishterebinth, and famed in Far Antiquity for the assemblage of suspended iron platforms flooring the plummet of the Rift, the Sky-Beneath-the-Mountain.
Hansa—A slave-girl belonging to Cutias Sarcellus.
Hapetine Gardens—One of many architectural idylls on the Andiamine Heights.
Harapior (?—4132)—Lord Torturer of Ishterebinth under Nin’ciljiras.
Harnilas, Xarotas (4187—4132)—Ordealman, Kidruhil Captain of the Scions, a unit consisting of treaty hostages.
Harsunc—“Fish Knife” (Aörsic). Name given to the River Sursa, both for its appearance from the ramparts of Dagliash, and for the slaughters it occasioned.
Hasjinnet ab Skauras (4067—4103)—The eldest son of Skauras ab Nalajan, slain by Cnaiür urs Skiötha at the Battle of Zirkirta in 4103.
Hatatian (3174—3211)—The infamous author of the Exhortations, a work that eschews traditional Inrithi values and espouses an ethos of unprincipled self-promotion. Though long censured by the Thousand Temples, Hatatian remains popular among the caste-nobility of the Three Seas.
Haurut urs Mab (4000—4082)—An Utemot memorialist when Cnaiür was a child.
Heights of the Bull—One of the nine heights of Caraskand.
Heilor—The acropolis of ancient Kelmeol, and the famed home of the Three Auguries.
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hemoplexy—A common disease of war characterized by intense fevers, vomiting, skin irritation, severe diarrhea, and, in the most extreme cases, coma and death. Also known as “the hollows” or “the hemoplectic hand.”
Hemrût ab Urmakthi (4089—4132)—Ordealman, Prince of Girgash, killed in the days preceding the Battle of Irsulor.
Heörsa, Dun (4078—4112)—Man-of-the-Tusk, Shield-Captain of the Hundred Pillars, formerly a Galeoth thane.
Herder’s Gate—The main gate of Sakarpus, so called for being the city entrance designated for leading animals to slaughter.
Heresiarch—The title of the leader of the Cishaurim.
Heron Spear—A powerful artifact of the Inchoroi Tekne, so named because of its unique shape. The Heron Spear first appears in the Isûphiryas as Suörgil (Ihrimsû, “Shining Death”), the great “spear of light” taken by Cu’jara Cinmoi from the corpse of Sil, the Inchoroi King, at the battle of Pir Pahal. For millennia the Heron Spear lay in the possession of the Nonmen of Ishoriol, until it was stolen by Cet’ingira (see Mekertrig) and delivered to Golgotterath c. 750. Then in 2140 it was stolen again by Seswatha (see Apocalypse), who believed it to be the only weapon capable of destroying the No-God. For a brief time it was thought destroyed at the catastrophic Battle of Eleneöt Fields, but it reappeared in 2154 in the possession of Anaxophus V, High King of Kyraneas, who used it to slay the No-God at the Battle of Mengedda. For centuries it resided in Cenei, a treasured possession of the Aspect-Emperors, only to be lost once again when the Scylvendi sacked Cenei in 3351. Its whereabouts are presently unknown.
Heteshiras—The famed night-long bacchanals of the Ainoni caste-nobility.
Hethanta Mountains—A large mountain range located in central Eärwa.
Hifanat ab Tunukri (4084—4111)—A Cishaurim sorcerer-priest and servant of Anasûrimbor Moënghus, slain at Caraskand.
High Ainon—A Ketyai nation of the eastern Three Seas, and the only nation to be ruled by one of the Schools, the Scarlet Spires. Founded in 3372 after Sarothesser I defeated General Maurelta at the Battle of Charajat, High Ainon has long been one of the most populous and powerful nations of the Three Seas. The agricultural production of the Secharib Plains combined with that of the Sayut Delta and River Valley supports both an extensive caste-nobility (noted for their wealth and their obsession with jnan) and an aggressive mercantilism. Ainoni ships can be found berthed in every port in the Three Seas. During the Scholastic Wars (3796—3818), the School of the Scarlet Spires, which is based in the capital, Carythusal, managed to destroy the army of King Horziah III and assumed indirect control of the nation’s primary institutions. The nominal head of state, the King-Regent, answers directly to the Grandmaster.
High Keeper of the Hoard—Honorific belonging to the King of Sakarpus.
High Kunna—The debased version of Gilcûnya used by the Anagogic Schools of the Three Seas.
High Sakarpean—The language of ancient Sakarpus, a derivative of ancient Skettic.
High Sheyic—The language of the Ceneian Empire, a derivative of ancient Kyranean.
High Vurumandic—The language of the Nilnameshi ruling castes, a derivative of Vaparsi.
Hilderath, Solm (4072— )—Man-of-the-Tusk, one of the Nascenti, formerly a Tydonni thane.
Himonirsil—“The Accusatory” (Ihrimsû). Nonman name given to promontory of stone jutting like a pointing finger toward Golgotterath. During the Cûno-Inchoroi Wars it famously lay at the heart of the Arobindant.
Hinayati Mountains—A large system of mountain ranges located in southwestern Eärwa, sometimes called “the spine of Nilnamesh.”
Hingeath, Sucoithus (4088—4132)—Ordealman, Earl of Gaenri, and commander of the Gaenrish contingent in the Great Ordeal of Anasûrimbor Kellhus, slain at the Battle of Imweor.
Hinnant—A palatinate of High Ainon, located in the heart of the Secharib Plains.
Hinnereth—The administrative and commercial capital of Gedea, located on the Meneanor coast.
Hinsursa, River—Kûniüric name for the river draining the high Aorsic plains into the Sea of Neleost, forming the natural frontier between Illawor and Yinwaul. Known as the Migmarsa (“Bone-tumbler”) in Aörsic sources.
Hipinna—Book of Nonman hymns dedicated to love, among them the celebrated “Fear Flee You,” one of a mere handful of songs to be adopted by Men:
Fear flee you.
Sun and Starving glare not down upon thy brow,
thy breath.
Fear flee you.
Hunger and Dolour clutch not at thy ankles,
thy hope.
Fear flee you.
Let Love climb high upon thy arch,
Let Passion delve deep.
Fear flee you,
my slave.
Hiril—Ancient Ûmeri road pacing the River Aumris across the highland interior of Kûniüri.
History (Dûnyain)—The movement of human events through time. The significance of History for the Dûnyain is found in the fact that past circumstances dominate and determine present actions, such that individuals continually find themselves “coming after,” which is to say, at the mercy of events over which they have no control. The Dûnyain believe that utter detachment from history is a necessary precondition for absolute awareness.
History (Inrithism)—The movement of human events through time. The significance of History for the Inrithi is that the God is manifested within it. The Inrithi believe that certain configurations of events express the truth of the God while certain other configurations are inimical to such expression.
Hoar-Pelt—White bear-skin mantle that the Kings of Viri wore instead of a crown, rumoured to be a gift of Hûsyelt, Dark Hunter.
Hoga, House—The ruling dynasty of Agansanor. The Black Stag on Green is their traditional device.
Hoga Brood—The name given in the Conriyan court to Hoga Gothyelk’s sons.
Hogrim, Hoga (4093— )—Ordealman, Believer-King of Ce Tydonn, nephew of Earl Hoga Gothyelk.
Hoilirsi—Province of Sheneor in Far Antiquity, noted for the violent River Irshi, which once formed its northern frontier, and for the cultivation of grains.
hollows—See hemoplexy.
Holol—“Breathtaker” (Ihrimsû). Famed sorcerous blade forged by Iblil’accullil during the Cûno-Inchoroi Wars.
Holy Bounty—Fee dispensed by the Imperial treasury in exchange for Sranc Scalps. Originally two scalps per silver empress when Anasûrimbor Kellhus first announced the Bounty in 4119, this payout would be more than halved when the Scalper companies began perfecting their tactics. Corruption involving both tallies and payouts was initially rampant, leading to the execution of hundreds of scalpers and imperial officers alike in the first of the Scalper Purges of 4125.
Holy Deep—The ultimate depth of Ishterebinth, and for ages a place of pilgrimage and worship for the Nonmen of Injor-Niyas, given the absolute silence and blackness.
Holy Precincts—See Hagerna.
Holy Sagas, The—A collection of epic lays that recount the Apocalypse. The opening invocation runs:
Rage—Goddess! Sing of your flight!
From our fathers and our sons.
Away Goddess! Secret your divinity!
From the conceit that makes kings of fools,
From the scrutiny that makes corpses of souls.
Mouths open, arms thrown wide, we beseech thee:
Sing us the end of your song.
Raised to the status of scripture following the Zaudunyani conquest of the Three Seas, the Holy Sagas primarily consists of “The Kelmariad,” the story of Anasûrimbor Celmomas and his tragic Ordeal; “The Kayûtiad,” the account of Celmomas’s son, Nau-Cayûti, and his heroic exploits; “The Book of Generals,” the story of the deceptive events following Nau-Cayûti’s murder; “The Trisiad,” which recounts the great city’s destruction; “The Eämnoriad,” the story of ancient Atrithau’s expulsion of Seswatha and subsequent survival; “The Annal Akksersa,” which recounts the Fall of Akksersia;
and lastly, “The Annal Sakarpa,” or “The Refugee’s Song” as it is sometimes called, the strange account of the city of Sakarpus during the Apocalypse.
Home City—A common Nansur epithet for Momemn.
Homirras, Ersa (3972—4025)—Author of The Ten Thousand Day Dynasty, a history of the short-lived ascendency of House Sorgis in Nansur, banned both by the Ikurei and the Anasûrimbor, allegedly for arguing that power corrupts rather than purifies souls. He would die in the Tower of Ziek in 4025.
Hording—The instinctive tendency of Sranc to muster in numbers far surpassing those of their foes, only on the scale of tens of thousands or more.
Horns of Golgotterath—One of many epithets given to the two Oars of Ark, the portions of the Incû-Holoinas remaining exposed. The Isûphiryas gives the height of the Upright Horn as one thousand tens, or ten thousand Nonman cubits, which is almost certainly an exaggeration. Sohonc accounts, which rely on mathematics and the measurement of shadows, put the height at some nine thousand seven-hundred and twenty-four Umeritic cubits, or a little less than half the height reported by the Nonmen. Needless to say, this remains a stupendous number.
Hortha, Sonhail (4064—4121)—Man-of-the-Tusk, Galeoth knight, client to Prince Coithus Saubon, whelmed as a Judge following the conquest of Shimeh, only to be found murdered in Aöknyssus under suspicious circumstances some six months afterward.
Hoshrut—One of Carythusal’s great agoras, noted for its view of the Scarlet Spires.
Hoshrut Pole—Traditional post, located in the heart of the Hoshrut Agora, used for the public flogging of notorious criminals. Torn to the ground with oxen and chains during the Great Yatwerian Sedition of 4132.