Leweth (4061—4109)—A trapper in the abandoned Atrithan province of Sobel.
Library of Sauglish—The famed temple complex and text repository found in ancient Sauglish. According to legend, the Library had grown to the size of a city within the city by the time of Sauglish’s destruction in 2147.
Library of the Sareöts—See Sareötic Library.
Ligesseras, House—One of the Houses of the Congregate.
Lioning—Sakarpi rite, involving the ritual hunt of mountain lions in the Osthwai Mountains, whose carcasses are given in burnt offering to Yatwer, Goddess of Fertility.
Lists, The—A registry of names of suspected skin-spies in the First Holy War.
Logos—The name used by Dûnyain to refer to instrumental reason. The Logos describes the course of action that allows for the most efficient exploitation of one’s circumstances in order “to come before,” that is, to precede and master the passage of events.
“[The] Logos is without beginning or end.”—A Dûnyain phrase referring to the so-called Rational Priority Principle. See Dûnyain.
Lokor—An early city of the Aumris, and ancient rival of Ûmerau, destroyed by the Ûmeri c. 440.
Lokung—The “Dead-God” of the Scylvendi. See No-God.
Long Side—Scalper name for the lands to the northeast of the Ostwai Mountains.
Lonely City—Common epithet for Sakarpus among the Sakarpi.
Low Sheyic—The language of the Nansur Empire and lingua franca of the Three Seas.
M
Maëngi—The true name of the first skin-spy to pose as Cutias Sarcellus.
Magga, Hringa (4080—4111)—Man-of-the-Tusk, cousin of Prince Hringa Skaiyelt of Thunyerus.
Maimor—See Aenkû Maimor. Ancient Meöri fortress that once guarded Telmeol.
Maithanet—The Shriah of the Thousand Temples, and primary instigator of the First Holy War.
Mallahet—A notorious member of the Cishaurim.
Mamaradda (4071—4111)—Man-of-the-Tusk, Javreh Shield-Captain assigned to execute Drusas Achamian.
Mamati—The language of scriptural Amoteu, a derivative of Caro-Shemic.
Mamayma (?—?)—One of the Chieftain-Kings named in The Chronicle of the Tusk.
Mamot—A ruined Ceneian city located near the mouth of the River Sweki.
Mandate, School of—The Gnostic School founded by Seswatha in 2156 to continue the war against the Consult and to protect the Three Seas from the return of the No-God. Based in Atyersus, the Mandate maintains missions in several different cities about the Three Seas and embassies in the courts of all the Great Factions. Aside from its apocalyptic calling, the Mandate is distinct from the other sorcerous Schools in several respects, not the least of which is its possession of the Gnosis, a monopoly it has been able to protect for almost two thousand years. The Mandate also differs in the fanaticism of its members: apparently, all sorcerers of rank continuously dream Seswatha’s experiences of the Apocalypse every night, the effect of a sorcerous rite called the Grasping, where initiates reputedly submit to incantations while holding Seswatha’s mummified heart. Also, the members of the Mandate elect an executive council (called the Quorum) rather than an individual Grandmaster to further guard against deviations from their core mission.
Prior to accession of Anasûrimbor Kellhus, the Mandate could boast between fifty and sixty sorcerers of rank, and perhaps twice that number of initiates. These numbers, typical of minor Anagogic Schools, are deceptive, however, since the power of the Gnosis makes the Mandate more than a match for Schools as large as, say, the Scarlet Spires. Because of this power, the School has long been courted by the Kings of Conriya.
One cannot overestimate the impact of Anasûrimbor Kellhus—who in effect managed to graft Mandate doctrine into the heart of Inrithi dogma—on the fortunes of the School. Once the laughingstock of the Three Seas, the Mandate found itself the counterpart of the Thousand Temples in the New Empire, and its Grandmaster the right hand of the Holy Aspect-Emperor.
Mandate Catechism—The ritual set of questions and answers on Mandate doctrine, recited by teacher and student at the beginning of each day of study. The first thing learned by all Mandate Schoolmen.
Mangaecca—The ancient rival to the School of Sohonc, and last of the four original Gnostic Schools. From its founding in 684 by Sos-Praniura (the greatest student of Gin’yursis), the School of Mangaecca had pursued a predatory ethos, regarding knowledge as the embodiment of power. Though this earned the School an ambiguous reputation, the Mangaecca managed to avoid running afoul of the High Gnostic Writ, the edict of Nincama-Telesser circumscribing sorcerous conduct. Then, in 777, at the behest of a Nonman Erratic named Cet’ingira, they discovered the Incû-Holoinas, the dread Ark of the Inchoroi. Over the following centuries they continued their excavations of the Ark and their investigations of the Tekne. In 1123 rumours began spreading that Shaeönanra, then Grandmaster of the Mangaecca, had discovered a catastrophic means to undo the scriptural damnation of sorcerers. The School was promptly outlawed, and the remainder of its members fled to Golgotterath, abandoning Sauglish forever. By the time of the Apocalypse, they had transformed into what would be called the Consult. See Apocalypse.
Manghaput—A major port city in Nilnamesh.
Mansions—The Mannish name for the great subterranean cities of the Nonmen.
Mantigol—Highest mountain in the Urokkas.
Mantraitor—See Mekeritrig.
Marakiz—The tallest of the Scarlet Spires.
Mark, the—The name for what is otherwise known as the “bruising of the onta.” Aside from the Psûkhe, which may or may not be a true sorcery, all sorcerous manifestations and practitioners exhibit what is called the Mark. Various descriptions of the Mark have come down through history, but there seems to be little consistency in the accounts, apart from the experience’s ephemeral nature. According to religious accounts, the Mark is akin to the disfiguring of criminals, the way the God reveals the blasphemers in the presence of the righteous. But apologists such as Zarathinius point out that if this is indeed the case, then it is more than a little ironic that only the blasphemers can see the Mark. In secular accounts, textual analogies are typically resorted to: seeing the Mark is akin to seeing where text has been scratched away and overwritten in ancient documents. In the case of sorcery, since the amendments to reality are as flawed as the Men who do the amending, it stands to reason that some essential difference would be visible.
Marsadda—The former capital of Cengemis, located on the coast of Ce Tydonn.
Marsalees, Urdrûsû (4094— )—Ordealman, Palatine of Kûtapileth.
Martemus (4061—4111)—Man-of-the-Tusk, Nansur General, and aide to Ikurei Conphas.
Martial Prohibitions—Collection of edicts determining the conduct of Ordealmen when engaged in pitched battle.
Massar ab Kascamandri (4089—4132)—Ordealman, Believer-King of Kian, leader of the Kianene contingent in the Great Ordeal of Anasûrimbor Kellhus, the younger brother of Fanayal ab Kascamandri. He was often called the “Kneeler,” both in praise (by the Zaudunyani) and in condemnation (by the Fanim). Famed for severing his own ear to demonstrate his devotion to Anasûrimbor Kellhus, he would be killed by Sranc at the Battle of Irsûlor in the autumn of 4132.
Massentia—A province of the central Nansurium, called “the Golden” because of the bounty of her wheat fields. Given the profound cultural impact of the Ceneian Empire, the name has long been a byword for bucolic prosperity across the Three Seas.
Maumurine Gate—An immense gate located at the southernmost point of Momemn’s walls.
Mbimayu—The Major sorcerous School of Zeum based in High Domyot, functioning under the auspices of the Satakhan, much as the Imperial Saik once served the Emperors of Nansur.
Mbotetulu (c. 1340—1426)—Ojogi-Dynasty Satakhan credited with the first true unification of Zeum.
Meärji (4074— )—Man-of-the-Tusk, Galeoth thane, client to Prince Coithus Saubon.
Medial Screw—Grea
t stair that plumbs the entirety of Cil-Aujas.
Medicine-wig—Traditional headdress worn by members of Zeumi royal bloodlines, denoting their status as “Healers of the Many.”
Meerskatu, Sholis (4092— )—Ordealmen and Exalt-Captain of the Pillarians.
Mehtsonc—The ancient administrative and commercial capital of Kyraneas, destroyed in the Apocalypse in 2154.
Meigeiri—The administrative and spiritual capital of Ce Tydonn, founded in 3739 about the Ceneian fortress of Meigara.
Meigon (4002— )—A member of the Dûnyain Pragma.
Mekeritrig (?— )—“Traitor of Men” (Kûniüric). The mannish name for Cet’ingira, the Nonman Siqu who revealed the location of Min-Uroikas to the School of Mangaecca in 777, and who would become a ranking member of the Consult during the Apocalypse. See Mangaecca and Apocalypse.
Memgowa (2466—2506)—The famed near antique Zeümi sage and philosopher, primarily known in the Three Seas for his Celestial Aphorisms and The Book of Divine Acts.
Memkuri, Apsa (4080-4112)—Man-of-the-Tusk, Ainoni client of Lord Uranyanka rumoured to have been murdered by the Scarlet Spires.
memorialists—Those members of a Scylvendi tribe, typically the old and infirm, entrusted with the memorization and recitation of the Scylvendi oral tradition.
memponti—A Sheyic term meaning “fortuitous turn.” In jnan, the most auspicious moment to make one’s purposes clear.
Men—With the possible exception of the Sranc, the dominant race of Eärwa.
Meneanor, Sea of—The northernmost of the Three Seas.
Mengedda—A ruined city in the heart of the Mengedda Plains, famed as the battleground where Anaxophus V struck down the No-God with the Heron Spear in 2155.
Mengedda Plains—The natural geographical frontier between Shigek and Nansur, just south of the Unaras Spur and north of the Gedea Highlands. As the site of innumerable battles, the fields are widely reputed to be haunted.
Men of the Tusk—The warriors of the First Holy War.
Meöri Empire—A lost nation of the Ancient North. Founded as a trading stronghold by Akksersian colonists c. 850, the city of Kelmeöl grew rapidly, and its people, the Meöri, progressively asserted more and more authority over the neighbouring White Norsirai tribes. By the time Borswelka I was declared King in 1021, it had become an aggressive, militaristic city-state. By the time his grandson Borswelka II died in 1104, it had conquered most of the Vosa River Basin and had established trading contacts with Shir to the south through a series of forts along the River Wernma. Strategically situated, and without any regional competitors, the Meöri Empire, as it came to be called, flourished as a mercantile nation. It collapsed with the destruction of Kelmeöl in 2150 during the Apocalypse.
Mepmerat (4084— )—Imperial Mathematician belonging to the court of Anasûrimbor Kellhus I.
Mere—Sacred lake that forms the floor of the Holy Deep at the very foundation of Ishterebinth, once renowned for its purity, now choked with putrefaction.
Metagnosis—Complication of the Gnosis discovered and elaborated by Anasûrimbor Kellhus over the course of his tenure as Aspect-Emperor. A great deal of speculation regarding the metaphysics and the capacities of the Metagnosis have arisen since Our Lord and Prophet first used it to strike down the Cishaurim at Shimeh. Aside from descriptions of its exercise, the sum of our knowledge of the discipline turns upon a single passage in the Novum Arcanum:
All sorcery proceeds on the basis of two inner voices, because the soul, as subject, remains inside its meaning, and so blind to that meaning. Only by speaking to our speech do we create something absolute, an overlap of contingencies. This becomes the godlike spark, the manifestation of human will upon obdurate matter. But as a mole can only see tunnels, so are sorcerers cursed to remain blind to the Metagnosis, for it exceeds their craft as I exceed them. To speak a third is to distill the all-solving binary, to seize the voices of the two, and so fix, not only the meaning, but the relation between those meanings, to render Absolute our fleeting acquaintance with the Absolute, and to work miracles.
metaphysics—Generally, the study of the ultimate nature of existence. More specifically, the study of the operative principles behind the various branches of sorcery (see, Sorcery). Perhaps no topic has been more fiercely debated among Nonmen or Men, since metaphysics bears directly upon death and Nonmen and Men fear death above all other things.
Meümaras (4058— )—The Captain of the Amortanea.
mibu—Small jackal native to Zeum.
Middle North—A term sometimes used to refer to the Norsirai nations of the Three Seas.
Migmarsa—See Hinsursa, River.
Mihtrûlic—The Far Antique School of Contrivers founded by the Artisan c. 660. Though no Mannish smith ever achieved the near miraculous abilities of Emilidis, the Mihtrûlic managed to create a vast number of sorcerous artifacts, some possessing awesome power. Among Men, the most gifted sorcerous artificer was Davdûl, the long-lived Grandmaster who forged the battleaxe Tharmondal, the dreaded Sky-cleaver, among many other artifacts, once famed, but now lost to the mists of time. Given the absence of any artificing traditions in the Three Seas, fairly all sorcerous artifacts in the South trace their origins back to Mihtrûlic.
Mimaripal (4067— )—Man-of-the-Tusk, client baron of Chinjosa.
Mim-Paresh Quarter—Affluent, south bank section of Carythusal, adjacent to the famed Pruvineh Agora, the largest spice market in the World.
Ministrate—The Zaudunyani organization dedicated to the conversion of the Orthodox, but effectively a form of religious police.
Minror—“Heap” (Ihrimsû). The famed Soggomantic Gate of Ishterebinth, so-called because constructed of debris carted from Min-Uroikas. The conception of Nil’giccas, Minror remained a topic of furor among the High Kinnings until it repelled the No-God during the Apocalypse.
Min-Uroikas—“Pit of Obscenities” (Ihrimsû). The Nonman name for Golgotterath. See Cûno-Inchoroi Wars.
Mi’punial (?—?)—One of the great Hûlya poets of Siol.
Miracle of the Circumfixion—The second of the Warrior-Prophet’s three so-called “Miracles,” referring to his survival of the Circumfix in Caraskand.
Miracle of Water—The first of the Warrior-Prophet’s three so-called “Miracles,” referring to his discovery of water in the wastes of Khemema.
Miramis, Nersei (4090— )—Wife of Nersei Proyas, Believer-King of Conriya, mother of Xinemus and Thaila.
Mirawsul—“Cracked Shield” (Ûmeri). Central highland region of ancient Kûniüri.
Misarat—An immense Kianene fortress located on the northwestern frontier of Eumarna.
Misty Sea—See Neleost Sea.
Mobbing—The instinctive tendency of Sranc to muster in numbers far surpassing those of their foes, only on the scale of hundreds, even thousands.
Mog-Pharau—The ancient Kûniüric name for “No-God.” See No-God.
Mohaïva—A district of Nilnamesh.
Moimoriccas (?—?)—Son of Ishoriol, called Earth-eater as wielder of the famed cudgel, Gimimra.
Momas—The God of storms, seas, earthquakes and luck. One of the so-called Compensatory Gods, who reward devotion in life with paradise in the afterlife, Momas is the primary deity worshipped by seamen and merchants, and is the patron divinity of Cironj (and to a lesser extent Nron). In the Higarata, he is depicted as cruel, even malicious, and obsessed with minute matters of propriety—leading some commentators to suggest he is in fact a Bellicose, as opposed to a Compensatory, God. His primary device is the White Triangle on Black (representing the Shark’s Tooth worn by all devotees of Momas).
Momemn—“Praise Momas” (Kyranean). The administrative and commercial capital of the Nansurium. Heavily fortified, Momemn houses the residence of the Nansur Emperor, as well as one of the busiest harbours on the Three Seas. Historians have oft noted how each of the three capitals (Mehtsonc, Cenei, and Momemn) of the three great empires to arise from the Kyranae Plain have stood along
the River Phayus, each closer than the last to the Meneanor. Some claim that Momemn, which stands at the river’s mouth, will be the last, thus leading to the common phrase “running out of river” to indicate changing fortunes.
Mongilea—A governorate of Kian and former province of the Nansur Empire, located along the coasts adjacent to the River Sweki. Long a tributary land, Mongilea has exchanged masters many times. As the original conquest of Fan’oukarji I (3759), it has become the “Green Homeland” of the Kianene, and a famed producer of horses.
Mop—Name for the Sranc-infested, forest wilds of what was once the ancient Meöri Empire.
Mopuraul, Hapama (4094—4132)—Ordealman, Satrap of Tendant’heras, killed in the days leading up to the disaster at Irsulor.
Moraör—“Hall of Kings” (Old Meoric). The famed palace complex of Galeoth’s rulers, located in Oswenta.
Morghund, House—The ruling dynasty of Atrithau since 3817.
Morimhira (?— )—The oldest of the Nonmen to be rendered immortal by the Inoculation. The elder brother of Cu’huriol, Morimhira gained fame for refusing to accept the Seal of the House Primordial, dooming his younger brother to be King instead, and so delivering his race to the folly of Cu’jara Cinmoi. According to legend, he believed himself too bloodthirsty—and true to this appraisal, lived a life of near continuous war and slaughter. His age relative to his appearance was already a marvel ere he received the Inoculation. When he alone, out of all the elders, survived, he became known as the Most Ancient Warrior—for he was indeed the oldest Nonman living.
Moserothu—An Ainoni city located in the heart of the populous Secharib Plains.
Mother-of-Cities—See Trysë.
Mother of Birth—See Yatwer.
Mount Eshki—The legendary “Mountain of Revelation” where, according to The Chronicle of the Tusk, the Prophet Angeshraël received the call to lead the Tribes of Men into Eärwa.
Mount Kinsureah—The legendary “Mountain of Summoning” where, according to The Chronicle of the Tusk, the Prophet Angeshraël sacrificed Oresh, the youngest of his sons by Esmenet, to demonstrate his conviction to the Tribes of Men. The so-called Oreshalat (Issue-of-Oresh) constitutes one of the most important crossroads of theology, or religious speculation, with philosophy, rational or sorcerous speculation. Of particular interest is the strand called the Imboreshalat (Issue-of-Oresh-if), which asks what follows from Angeshraël’s resolution by exploring what follows from a possible failure of resolve, where Angeshraël tells his tribe that the Gods staid his hand.