Mouth-of-the-Worm—A Yatwerian temple in Carythusal, so named because of its proximity to the slums commonly called the Worm.
Mu’miorn (?—4132)—Dispossessed Son of Nihrimsûl, longtime favourite of Nil’giccas, famed for his promiscuity.
Munuäti—A powerful Scylvendi tribe from the interior of the Jiünati Steppe.
Murathaur—Wracu of Far Antiquity, called Ilnimili, or “the Silver,” for his crest, a feature that was likely responsible for his other common cognomen, “the Dragon of Knives.” Famously slain by Cilcûliccas, who thenceforth was known as the Lord of Swans.
Muretetis (2789—2864)—An ancient Ceneian scholar-slave famed for his Axioms and Theorems, the founding text of Three Seas geometry.
Mûrminil Halls—The great subterranean plaza of Cil-Aujas.
Mursiris—“Wicked North” (Ham-Kheremic). The ancient Shiradi name for the No-God, so named because his presence was for so long sensed only as an intimation of doom on the northern horizon.
Mursidides, Eselos (4081–4132)—Ordealman, Believer-King of Cironj, leader of the Cironji contingent in the Great Ordeal of Anasûrimbor Kellhus, called “the Cunning” for his near bloodless conquest of Cironj during the Unification Wars, and killed in the Battle of Irsûlor in 4132.
Muraw—“Gate of the Word” (Ûmeri). The bastion protecting the main entrance to the Library of Sauglish.
Murussar—“Gate of the Cage” (Ûmeri). The ceremonial bastion marking the entrance to the “Cage,” or Issarau, the outland quarter of Sauglish.
Musyerius, Keles (4072–)—Ordealman and Mysunsai sorcerer-of-rank.
Myclai—The ancient administrative and commercial capital of Akksersia, destroyed in 2149 during the Apocalypse.
Mygella, Anasûrimbor (2065–2111)—The famed Hero-King of Aörsi, whose deeds are recounted in The Sagas.
Mysunsai—“The Bond of Three” (Vaparsi). The self-proclaimed “mercenary School,” which sells its sorcerous services across the Three Seas. Perhaps the largest of the Anagogic Schools, though far from the most powerful, the Mysunsai are a commercial result of the 3804 defensive amalgamation of three minor Schools during the Scholastic Wars: the Mikka Council from Cironji, the Oaranat from Nilnamesh, and the (Cengemic) Nilitar Compact from Ce Tydonn. Under the terms of the infamous Psailian Concession during the Scholastic Wars, the Mysunsai assisted the Inrithi in their Ainoni campaigns, an act for which the School was never forgiven, though it did much to confirm the School’s exclusive commercial interests to its customers.
N
Nabathra—A mid-sized town in the province of Anserca, whose markets control the regional distribution of wool, the province’s primary commodity.
Nagogris—A large New Dynasty city on the upper River Sempis, famed for her red sandstone fortifications.
nahat—See castes.
Nail of Heaven—The northern star that, aside from being the brightest in the night sky (it is sometimes visible in daylight), provides the axis from which all other stars revolve. The Nail is universally extolled by Men as a “guiding light,” a means of navigation and calendrical time keeping, the Nonman, who call it Imburil (or “Newborn” in Aujic), view it as a sinister harbinger of doom, as the star that occasioned the Arkfall.
Naïn (4071–4111)—Man-of-the-Tusk, sorcerer of rank in the Scarlet Spires, slain by Chorae at Anwurat.
Nangael—A fiefdom of Ce Tydonn, located along the Swa Marches. Nangael warriors can be readily identified by their tattooed cheeks.
Nanor-Ukkerja I (1378–1556)—“Hammer of Heaven” (Kûniüric from Umeritic nanar hukisha) The first Anasûrimbor High King, whose defeat of the Scintya in 1408 would lead to the founding of Kûniüri and begin what most scholars regard as the longest-reigning dynasty in recorded history.
Nansur—See Nansur Empire.
Nansur Empire—A nation of the Three Seas and self-proclaimed inheritor to the Ceneian Empire. At the height of its power the Nansur Empire extended from Galeoth to Nilnamesh, but it has been much reduced by centuries of warfare against the Fanim Kianene.
Though the Nansur Empire has witnessed its fair share of usurpers, palace revolts, and short-lived military dictatorships, it has enjoyed a remarkable degree of dynastic stability. It was under the Trimus Emperors (3411–3508) that the “Nansur” (the traditional name for the district surrounding Momemn) emerged from the chaos following Cenei’s destruction to unify the Kyranae plains. But true Imperial expansion did not occur until the Zerxei Dynasty (3511–3619), which, under the rule of successive and short-lived Emperors, managed to conquer Shigek (3539), Enathpaneah (3569), and the Sacred Lands (3574).
Under the Surmante Emperors (3619–3941), the Nansurium enjoyed its greatest period of growth and military ascendancy, culminating in the rule of Surmante Xatantius I (3644–93), who subdued the Cepaloran tribes as far north as the Vindauga River, and who even managed to capture the ancient Nilnameshi capital of Invishi, thus very nearly restoring all the so-called Western Empire that had once belonged to Cenei. But his practice of debasing the talent in order to finance his endless wars fairly wrecked the empire’s economy. By the time Fan’oukarji I embarked on his White Jihad in 3743, the empire still had not recovered from Xatantius’s excesses. His Surmante descendants found themselves embroiled in never-ending wars they could ill afford, let alone win. Scarce resources and an intransigent commitment to the Ceneian model of warfare, which seemed incapable of coping with Kianene tactics, conspired to render the empire’s decline an inevitability.
The dynasty of the most recent claimants to the Imperial Mantle, the Ikurei, arose as the result of a coup brought about by the turmoil following the loss of Shigek to the Kianene in 3933 (in the so-called Dagger Jihad of Fan’oukarji III). A former Exalt-General, Ikurei Sorius I reorganized both the Imperial Army and the empire, changes that allowed him and his descendants to defeat no fewer than three full-scale Fanim invasions.
Though the First Holy War ended the threat of Fanimry once and for all, it also led to the demise of the Nansur Empire—or at least its relegation to something possessing diminished significance. Momemn remained an Imperial Capital, but one serving the interests of a far different Empire.
nansuri—Name of the short, thrusting swords used by Ordealmen for close-quarter melee, so-called for its resemblance to the Columnary shortsword upon which it was based.
Nansurium—See Nansur Empire.
Nantilla, Couras (4089— )—Ordealman, Earl of Pikka, General of the Cengemi in the Great Ordeal of Anasûrimbor Kellhus.
Narindar—In Kunniat and Inrithi lore, the Gods own assassins. A number of assassination cults have arisen across the Three Seas over the ages, but none could approach the dread commanded by the Narindar. In one sense, the term is a catch-all for those souls, sometimes hapless, who find themselves the instrument of some divinity’s retribution. The only thing conjoining these “Anointed Narindar” with the Narindarjû, the clerics of Ajokli who worship the Trickster with contracted murders, is the Unerring Grace, the degree to which eternal necessity, or Fate, guides their actions. For some Narindar—such as the Yatwerian “White-Luck Warrior”—the Unerring Grace is absolute, and the assassin acts in utter accord with what has already happened. For others, the Grace resolves and fades much as inspiration.
Narnol, Coithus (4065— )—Ordealman, Believer-King of Galeoth, and elder brother of Coithus Saubon.
Narradha, Hringa (4093—4111)—Man-of-the-Tusk, youngest brother of Prince Hringa Skaiyelt, slain at Mengedda.
Nascenti—The nine primary disciples of Anasûrimbor Kellhus, the so-called “Thanes of the Warrior-Prophet.”
Nasueret Column—Also known as the “Ninth Column.” A Column of the Nansur Imperial Army, traditionally stationed on the Kianene frontier. Their device is the Black Imperial Sun halved by an eagle’s wing.
Nasurius—One of many rumour-skewed names attributed to Anasûrimbor Kellhus during his rise to power.
Nau-Cayûti (2119—2140)—“Blessed Son??
? (Umeritic). The youngest son of Celmomas II and the famed “scourge of Golgotterath.” Nau-Cayûti is famed for his heroism and martial brilliance during the dark days after the fall of Aörsi (2136), when Kûniüri stood alone against Golgotterath. Many of his exploits, such as the Slaying of Tanhafut the Red and the Theft of the Heron Spear, are recounted in The Sagas.
Naures River—An important river system in eastern Nilnamesh.
Nausk Mausoleum—The Far-Antique temple in Kelmeol where, according to legend, the bones of the Meori High-King Aratrula the Mad are interred. Convinced of his own damnation, Aratrula fairly enslaved his nation attempting to build a Mausoleum, allegedly lined in plates of lead, that might keep his souls safe from the Outside.
Nautzera, Seidru (4038— )—A senior member of the Mandate Quorum. See Mandate.
Near Antiquity—Sometimes called the Ceneian Age. The historical period beginning in 2155 (the end of the Apocalypse) and ending with the Sack of Cenei in 3351. See Far Antiquity.
Neberenes (4067—4124)—An Ainoni Zaudunyani informant.
Neleöst Sea—A large inland sea located in northwestern Eärwa that formed the traditional northern frontier for those nations arising from the Aumris River Valley.
Nenciphon—The administrative capital of Kian, and one of the great cities of the Three Seas, founded by Fan’oukarji I in 3752.
Nergaöta—A semi-mountainous fiefdom in northwestern Galeoth, renowned for the quality of its wool.
Nersei, House—The ruling House of Conriya since the Aöknyssian Uprisings of 3742, which saw the entire line of King Nejata Medekki murdered. The Black Eagle on White is their device.
Nerum—A minor port city and the administrative capital of Jurisada, located on the coast just south of Amoteu.
nesh—Sheyic term meaning “chattel of.”
Neuropuncture—The Dûnyain art of producing various behaviours by probing the exposed brain with fine needles.
New Covenant—The revision of religious law, canonized in 4114, occasioned by the revelations of Anasûrimbor Kellhus, the Rehabilitation of Sorcery, and the Manumission of the Feminine being among the most remarkable.
Nganka’kull ut Imbaroon (4087— )—Satakhan of High Holy Zeum.
Ngarau (4062— )—The Grand Seneschal to Ikurei Xerius III.
Niehirren Halfhand (c. 3450—c. 3500)—Legendary Lord of the Sakarpi Pale famed for actually surviving five years on the open Istyuli (after being exiled).
Nihrimsûl—One the Nine Mansions of Eärwa and the only Mansion not derived from Siol, located on the southernmost spur of the East Yimaleti, lost shortly after the Breaking of the Gates of Thayant—following the destruction of its ancient rival, Siol. What little is known regarding Nihrimsûl comes refracted through the lens of Ishoriöl, which though unified with Nihrimsûl through the marriage of Sin’niroiha and Tsinirû, remained thoroughly Tsonic in custom and outlook. Though all sources agree that Nihrimsûl alone was not founded by Siol, they universally deride its claim to be the true House Primordial, and the alternate mythology wherein Tsonos and Olissis murder Imimorûl while he slumbered, before fleeing the wrath of their siblings to found Siol.
Nikussis, Gamag (4090— )—The Imperial Scrollmaster of the Andiamine Heights.
Nil’giccas (?—4132)—The Nonman King of Ishterebinth and Nihrimsûl, eldest son of Sin’niroiha and Tsinirû. Known as King-upon-the-Summit, Lightbearer, Mantutor and many other names in the legends and histories of Men and Nonmen. Following the death first of Cu’jara Cinmoi and then Sin’niroiha, Nil’giccas would become the de facto leader of the war against the Vile following the disasters of the Womb-Plague and Pir-Minningial.
Nilnamesh—A populous Ketyai nation on the extreme southwest edge of the Three Seas, famed for its ceramics, spices, and stubborn refusal to relinquish its exotic versions of Kiünnat either to Inrithism or to Fanimry. Primarily for geographical reasons, the fertile plains to the south of the Hinayati Mountains have long enjoyed cultural and political independence from the Three Seas. Casidas was the first to remark that the Nilnameshi were an “inward people,” both in the sense of their obsession with the plight of their souls and in their utter disdain for outland Princes. Only two periods in their history cut against this tendency. The first is the Old Invishi period (1023—1572), when Nilnamesh was united under a series of aggressively expansionist Kings based in Invishi, which is now the traditional spiritual capital of Nilnamesh. In 1322 and then again in 1326, Anzumarapata II inflicted crushing defeats on the Shigeki, and for some thirty years compelled tribute from the proud river kingdom. Then, in 2483, Sarnagiri V, leading a coalition of Princes, was routed by Triamis the Great, and Nilnamesh found itself a province (albeit an unruly one) for more than a thousand years.
The era following the collapse of the Ceneian Empire is commonly called the New Invishi period, though none of the ancient city’s Kings has been able to hold more than a fraction of Nilnamesh for more than a generation. During the Unification Wars, Nilnamesh would prove one of the most difficult nations for the Zaudunyani to conquer and pacify.
Nimeric, Anasûrimbor (2098—2135)—The son of the hero Mygella and King of Aörsi until its destruction in the Apocalypse. See Apocalypse.
nimil—The Nonmen steel forged in the sorcerous furnaces of Ishterebinth.
Nincaerû-Telesser (c. 549—642)—The fourth God-King of the Umeri Empire, and famed patron of the ancient Gnostic Schools.
Nin’ciljiras (?—4132)—Son of Ninar, Son of Nin’janjin, and the last known Nonman King.
Nin’sariccas (?— )—Dispossessed Son of Siol sent as a false emissary to treat with Anasûrimbor Kellhus.
Nin’janjin (?—?)—Nonman King of Viri, widely regarded as a tragic figure in Mannish commentary, though seen as epitomizing villainy in Nonman myth and legend. See Cûno-Inchoroi War.
Nine Great Gates—The epithet given to the main gates of Sumna.
Nine Mansions—Name of the nine greatest subterranean cities of the Nonmen, consisting of Siöl, Nihrimsûl, Ishoriöl, Viri, Cil-Aujas, Illisserû, Curunq, Incissal, and Cil-Aumûl. Siol claims to be the first, but then so does Nihrimsûl. What seems clear is that some time in Nonmen prehistory Siol founded Ishoriöl, Viri, Illisserû, and Cil-Aujas, which in turn founded Curunq, Incissal, and Cil-Aumûl. Of the Nine, the Blood of Tsonos ruled all but Nihrimsûl.
Niom—“Three Souls” (Ihrimsû). Given the treacherous nature of Men, the Nonmen typically demanded three hostages to secure all their treaties with them: a son and a daughter to vouchsafe cooperation, and a captive human enemy to assure honesty. Also known as the “Law of Niom.”
Nirimenes (4078—)—Ordealman and sorcerer-of-rank in the School of Mandate.
Nirsodic—The language group of ancient Norsirai pastoralists ranging from the Sea of Cerish to the Sea of Jorua.
Nirsi shal’tatra—“Honey and goad” (Kianni). Traditional Kianene phrase referring to the need to balance punishments with rewards to rule.
Niz-Hû (c. 1890—c. 1935)—Legendary Chieftain-King of Famiri, famed for his military humiliation of Shir.
Nogaral—“High Round” (Ûmeri). Ancient fortress the School of Mangaecca raised upon Mount Iros to better plumb the ruins of Viri in the days of the Cond Yoke, mysteriously destroyed in 1119.
No-God—Also known as Mog-Pharau, Tsurumah, and Mursiris. The entity summoned by the Consult to bring about the Apocalypse. Very little is known about the No-God, save that he utterly lacks remorse or compassion and possesses terrible power, including the ability to control Sranc, Bashrag, and Wracu as extensions of his own will. Because of his armour (the so-called Carapace), which eyewitnesses describe as an iron sarcophagus suspended in the heart of a mountainous whirlwind, it is not even known whether he is a creature of flesh or of spirit. According to Mandate scholars, the Inchoroi worship him as their saviour, as do—according to some—the Scylvendi.
Somehow, his mere existence is antithetical to human life: during the entirety of the Apocalypse, not one infant
drew breath—all were stillborn. He is apparently immune to sorcery (according to legend, eleven Chorae are embedded in the Carapace). The Heron Spear is the only known weapon that can harm him.
See Apocalypse.
Nomur (?—?)—One of the Chieftain-Kings named in the Tusk.
Nonman King—The poetic name of Cu’jara Cinmoi in the High Norsirai bardic tradition.
Nonmen—At one time the pre-eminent race of Eärwa, but now much reduced. The Nonmen call themselves ji’cûnû roi, “the People of Dawn,” for reasons they can no longer remember. (They call Men j’ala roi, “the People of Summer,” because they burn so hot and pass so quickly.) The Chronicle of the Tusk, which records the coming of Men to Eärwa, generally refers to Nonmen as Oserukki, the “Not Us.” In the Book of Tribes, the Prophet Angeshraël alternately refers to them as “the Accursed Ones” and “the sodomite Kings of Eärwa,” and he incites the Four Nations of Men to embark on a holy war of extermination. Even after four millennia, this xenocidal mission remains part of the Inrithi canon. According to the Tusk, the Nonmen are anathema:
Hearken, for this the God has said,
“These False Men offend Me;
blot out all mark of their Passing.”
But Cûnuroi civilization was ancient even before these words were carved into the Tusk. While the Halaroi, Men, wandered the world dressed in skins and wielding weapons of stone, the Cûnuroi had invented writing and mathematics, astrology and geometry, sorcery and philosophy. They dredged mountains hollow for the galleries of their High Mansions. They traded and warred with one another. They subdued all Eärwa, enslaving the Emwama, the soft-hearted Men who dwelt in Eärwa in those early days.