Again, Ils Hidarei writes to his cousin (who was already, quite famously, a Zaudunyani convert by this time):
“He creeps through us like a contagion, everyday stronger for our own courage, our own skill, stealing, forever stealing our hopes and our thoughts, until now our very brothers slay us, greet us with a derision and hate that makes a paste of that demonstrated by their slavers.”
Of the Great Names of the First Holy War, only Nersei Proyas possessed the charisma required to deliver his nation to his Warrior-Prophet entire. Anasûrimbor Kellhus bid the others to return to their homes as soon as he could dispense with their resources in the field, thus assuring that all nations participating in the First Holy War possessed some powerful faction fanatically loyal to him. Within a year of Nenciphon’s fall, the first missionaries began graduating from the famed Zaudûn Angnaya, the “floating college” of young aspirants that followed Anasûrimbor Kellhus about the Three Seas, imbibing his wisdom whenever his martial duties permitted. At least initially, the “suicide sermons,” as they came to be called, had the effect of galvanizing opposition around the Three Seas. The Edict of the first Orthodox council in 4114 (the Numaineiric Council), even refers to these embassies by name, claiming them “proof of madness.” But there can be little doubt that the ferocity of the message—men cutting their own throats in demonstration—had the long-term effect of softening Orthodox resolve, or, what amounted to the same, undermining their religious certitude.
Throughout the Unification Wars, in fact, the Orthodox could do no more than aspire to the conviction of their foe. No matter what the nation, they found themselves on the defensive, rhetorically if not spiritually, before the first blades were drawn. Though apparently chaotic, fraught with lulls and desperate contingencies, careful study reveals that the Unification Wars were as much a matter of calculation as contingency. Anasûrimbor Kellhus, understanding that the Three Seas were as much a spiritual amphitheatre as a military arena, proved himself a master of provocation, acting to “redress” the very atrocities he compelled his foes to commit.
The chronology of significant events runs as follows:
4112 - Shimeh falls.
4113 - The Year of the Child Grandees; Nenciphon falls.
4114 - The Novum Arcanum is circulated throughout the Three Seas; Rash Soptet (4088— ) is hailed as “Lord of the Sempis” after quelling Fanim uprisings. Schismatics denounce Maithanet; the War-between-Temples begins.
4115 - Prince Shoddû Akirapita (4099—4123) routes the first Zaudunyani invasion of Nilnamesh at the Battle of Pinropis.
4116 - The death of King Eryeat, combined with the secret conversion of his eldest surviving son, Coithus Narnol, delivers Galeoth to the Empire nearly intact. King Hringa Vûkyelt expels Schismatics from Thunyerus.
4117 - The first songs extolling the exploits of Sasal Charapatha against the Nilnameshi Orthodox begin circulating throughout the Three Seas; First Carythusali uprising; Earl Couras Nantilla is Whelmed, raises Cengemic provinces in revolt against Meigeiri; the Tydonni Orthodox begin massacring ketyai villages and towns along the Eleterine Coast.
4118 - Meigeiri falls; Anasûrimbor Kellhus orders the Orthodox of Numaineiri blinded; Eselos Mursidides (4081—4132) conquers Cironj for the Zaudunyani losing, miraculously, only one hundred and eighteen souls.
4119 - The Koraphean Uprising; Hoga Hogrim (4093— ) is declared Zaudunyani Believer-King of Ce Tydonn; King Hringa Vûkyelt of Thunyerus declares himself a Believer-King as well; the Mandate takes up residence in Kiz.
4120 - Anasûrimbor Kellhus declares Imperial Bounty on Sranc scalps; Sack of Sarneveh; Circulation of the Toll pamphlet, and subsequent Toll uprisings.
4121 - Nurbanu Soter (4069— ) declared King-Regent of High Ainon; Invishi falls after the famed Throwing-of-the-Hulls.
4122 - Nilnameshi Orthodox crushed at the Battle of Ushgarwal. Anasûrimbor Kellhus declares the Unification Wars concluded. The Shriah of the Thousand Temples, Maithanet, proclaims him Holy Aspect-Emperor of the Three Seas.
4123 - Prince Shoddû Akirapita (4099—4123) is found drowned in a well in Girgash. Only Fanayal ab Kascamandri remains of the Empire’s notorious enemies.
4124 - Reconstruction of Auvangshei begins.
4125 - First of the Angnaya are sent to the Palace of Plumes in Zeum.
If Nilnamesh proved the most stubborn of the Empire’s many conquests, and Ce Tydonn the most brutal, then High Ainon proved the most complicated. The hegemony exercised by the Scarlet Spires over that nation had not been a benevolent one. The Cishaurim decimation of the School in 4112 in Shimeh effectively robbed governing institutions of the coercive threat required to maintain authority. The unrest actually began as soon as word of the “Scarlet Letting,” as it came to be known, spread beyond the walls of Carythusal. The infamous “Dread-of-Kiz” evaporated, and the general hatred began condensing into acts hard and visible. The fact is the Scarlet Spires’ case for Anasûrimbor Kellhus’s divinity would have been far better made had they claimed him diabolical. Over a period of months, what had been the Three Sea’s most decadent believers became the most pious, to the point of calling themselves the Sons of Shir. A great many would die in sorcerous fire. In one of the great ironies of the Unification Wars, the bulk of the Mandate would occupy the Spires themselves, the very fastness of their greatest rival.
No other facet of the Unification Wars illustrates the political genius of Anasûrimbor Kellhus quite so dramatically as his handling of the Schools. As commentators are quick to point out, he began his campaign already possessing three of the so-called Major Schools: the Imperial Saik, the Scarlet Spires, and the Mandate. Even given the decimation of the former two (especially the Scarlet Spires, which was reduced to fourteen sorcerers of rank following Shimeh), the Gnostic sorcery of the Mandate rendered Kellhus the indisputable master of the arcane field.
And if this advantage were not enough, the wonder of the Metagnosis and his clarification of sorcerous metaphysics in the Novum Arcanum all but assured him the attention of his sorcerous peers (and as historians of the Aspect-Emperor know, this is typically all that he needed). The antipathy between the Schools and traditional Inrithism, meanwhile, assured that few sorcerers aligned themselves with Orthodox movements (Jishamurtë and Panarossa being, of course, the most notorious examples). 4115 marks the first of the Five Amassings, gatherings of sorcerers-of-rank from across the Three Seas, where Kellhus, in addition to astounding his guests with Metagnostic demonstrations, argued the imminent threat posed by the Second Apocalypse. The sorcerous conquest of the Three Seas would turn out to be very nearly bloodless. Although much has been made of the tactical genius of Anasûrimbor Kellhus, many argue this one strategic move in particular all but doomed the Orthodox.
Unmasking Room—A chamber located in the labyrinth below Ishuäl where Dûnyain children are taught the connections between facial musculature and passions.
Unnûrull—“Trackless Plain” (Ihrimsû). Cûnuroi name for Agongorea, given its desolation and the uncanny way it resists footprints.
Ûnosiri—Lost province of ancient Kûniüri, once the hunting preserve of the Ûmeri All-Kings.
Unterpa—River fortress to the south of Sakarpus.
Upper Pausal—First stage of the antechamber to the Coffers, buried deep beneath the Library of Sauglish.
Upright Horn—Also known as the High Horn. See Horns of Golgotterath.
Uranyanka, Sirpal (4062— )—The Palatine-Governor of the Ainoni city of Moserothu.
Urmakthi ab Makthi (4068—4132)—Ordealman, Believer-King of Girgash, leader of the Girgashi contingent in the Great Ordeal of Anasûrimbor Kellhus, called Ama’morit, or “Skullhammer,” by his people for felling a mastodon with a single blow in the Battle of Chianadinara in 4120. Killed in the Battle of Irsulor.
Ur-Mother—One of many names for Yatwer.
Uroborian Circle—A so-called “artifactual Cant” used to prevent the utterance of sorcery and thought to turn on the same aporeti
c principles that make Chorae possible.
Urokkas—Low range of five mountains, consisting of Antareg (or Iros), Ingol, Oloreg, Mantigol, and Yawreg, located north northwest of the Neleost Sea, famed for once housing the Nonman mansion of Viri (who called them Virolotoi, or the “Wards-of-Viri”) and for lying on the Agongorean frontier.
Uroris—A constellation in the northern sky.
Ursilaral—“Way of the Spine” (Ûmeri). Main avenue joining the fortified cells of the Library of Sauglish.
Ursranc—The Sranc of Golgotterath, a stock bred by the Consult over thousands of years for strength and obedience, primarily charged with defending the Ark, often used to manage their wilder cousins on the field of battle. They stand more erect (making them appear taller) and are broader through the shoulder—enough to resemble stunted Nonmen as much as Sranc. They are generally armoured in a uniform manner (with black-iron scale hauberks and conical, sometimes brimmed, helms). They are also commonly branded with the wedges symbolizing the Twin Horns.
Ussiliar, Sampë (4091— )—Ordealman, Grandmaster of the Shrial Knights in the Great Ordeal of Anasûrimbor Kellhus.
Usgald—A fiefdom in the Galeoth interior.
Uskelt Wolfheart (?—?)—One of the Chieftain-Kings named in the Tusk.
Utemot—A tribe of Scylvendi located in the northwest extremes of the Jiünati Steppe. Among the Scylvendi, the Utemot are noted as the tribe of both Uthgai and Horiötha, the two greatest conquerors in their history.
Utgarangi ab Hoularji (4059— )—The Sapatishah-Governor of Xerash.
Uthgai (c. 2100—c. 2170)—The folklore hero and Scylvendi King-of-Tribes during the Apocalypse, whose deeds are oft recited in the Scylvendi oral tradition.
V
Valrissa (4086—4112)—A daughter of the Werigda and wife of Aëngelas.
Vaparsi—The lost language of ancient Nilnamesh, a derivative of Shem-Varsi.
Vasnosri—The language group of the Norsirai peoples.
Vast Ingressus—See Ingressus.
Vastwhite—Akksersian name given to the unexplored northern wastes extending the length of the Great Kayarsus.
Vault-of-the-Tusk—See Junriüma.
Venicata—An Inrithi holy day celebrated in late spring, commemorating the so-called First Revelation of Inri Sejenus.
Vile—Nonman pejorative for Inchoroi. See Inchoroi.
Vindauga River—The westernmost of the three major river systems draining into Lake Huösi, and the primary geographical boundary between Galeoth and Cepalor.
virnol—The finger-locking hand shake that Sakarpi warriors reserve for their boonsmen.
Viri—One the Nine Mansions of Eärwa, and the first to be destroyed in the wars against the Inchoroi, located on the northern coasts of the Neleost Sea. Though populous, and though her sons were as widely traveled as those of any other Mansion, Viri was in many ways the most parochial of the Mansions, committed to the spare traditions of their fathers with zeal they saw only as wisdom. They were commonly derided as a result, and therefore more defensive of their characteristic identity than any other Mansion. (“Where the hearts are as callused as the hands, and the vision as crude as the cloth,” one chronicler of the Isûphiryas notes). They were, for instance, reluctant slavers, and unlike any other Mansion, still possessed Kinnings devoted to agriculture and menial trades, until, that is, Arkfall lead to their ruin and treachery.
Vishrûnûl—“Field Appalling” (Ihrimsû). The Nonman name for Agongorea.
Viturnal Nesting—Grounds to the northeast of Sakarpus periodically frequented by thousands of mating storks.
Vokalati—“Sun-wailers” (Vaparsi). The Major sorcerous School of Nilnamesh, famed for its subtlety, secrecy, and insularity. The Vokalati trace their origins to the very beginning of the Old Invishi period (1023—1572), arising from an informal confederacy under Ogadûl the Great designed to control prices among Invitic magi. They were instrumental to the expansionist ambitions of Anzumarapata II, and even feature in several famed weaves commissioned to commemorate his Far Antique victories. Their first true crisis was none other than Triamis the Great, whose Saka proved their tactical betters on the field of war. The Aspect-Emperor’s rout of Sarnagiri V in 2483 left them with no more than six sorcerers-of-rank. Faced with dissolution, the Six, as they would be called, agreed to acknowledge the rule of Imperial Cenei, as well as to perpetually limit their numbers to six. The Vokalati even changed the colours of their emblem—the Sundered Scroll—to the Triamic white and violet, so eager were they to appease Cenei and escape the fury of the Saka.
With the fall of Cenei in 3351, the Vokalati immediately began rebuilding, reestablishing themselves as one of the Great Factions of the Three Seas in three short generations.
Vûkyelt, Hringa (4097— )—Ordealman, Believer-King of Thunyerus, son of Hringa Skaiyelt.
Vulgar Holy War—The name given to the first contingent of the Holy War to march against the Fanim.
W
Wainhail, Swahon (4055—4111)—Man-of-the-Tusk, Galeoth Earl of Kurigald, slain at Mengedda.
Wair Chirsal—The “Fords of the Skull,” several miles to the north of Antareg, famed for the Far Antique wars waged upon them (primarily between Golgotterath and Aörsi), and so named for the countless lives they have taken.
wairo—Zeumi folk term meaning “entangled” with the Gods, a somewhat more sophisticated way of thinking “accursed.”
Wall of the Dead—Name given to the seaward fortifications of Dagliash following its fall to Golgotterath in 2133.
war, Scylvendi mode of—Despite their illiteracy, the Scylvendi possess an extensive war nomenclature that provides them with a thorough understanding of battle and its psychological dynamics. They call battle otgai wutmaga, a “great quarrel,” wherein the point is to convince the foe of their defeat. The concepts central to the Scylvendi understanding of war are as follows:
unswaza—envelopment
malk unswaza—defensive envelopment
yetrut—penetration
gaiwut—shock
utmurzu—cohesion
fira—speed
angotma—heart
utgirkoy—attrition
cnamturu—vigilance
gobozkoy—moment of decision
mayutafiüri—ligaments of conflict
trutu garothut—flexible unit cohesion (literally, “men of the long chain”)
trutu hirthut—inflexible unit cohesion (literally, “men of the short chain”)
War-Cants—The Gnostic sorceries developed in Sauglish (primarily by Noshainrau the White) for the express purpose of waging war and overcoming opposing sorcerers. See Gnosis.
Wards—The name given to defensive sorceries in contradistinction to offensive sorceries, or Cants. See sorcery. The most common types of Wards (found in both Anagogic and Gnostic sorceries) are: Wards of Exposure, which provide advance warning of intruders or imminent attacks; Shield-Wards, which provide direct protection against offensive sorceries; and Skin-Wards, which provide “protection of last resort” against all types of threat.
Warling—In traditional Kunniat faith and the Girgallic Cults of both Inrithism and Zaudunyani-Inrithism, the name given to those ritually committed (typically as children) to the aegis of Gilgaöl, God of War.
Warnute—A fiefdom of Ce Tydonn, one of the so-called Deep Marches of the Upper Swa.
“war of word and sentiment”—The explanation of jnan found in Byantas’s Translations.
Water—Euphemism for displays of the Psûkhe. Versions include, “Accursed Water,” and “Water-that-is-Light.”
Wathi Doll—A sorcerous artifact common to Sansori witches, also known as a “murder doll,” either because a human sacrifice is required for its manufacture (a soul is imprisoned as the artifact’s animus) or because the Dolls are often used as remote assassins.
Wayward, the—See Erratic.
Weal—Name given to those suffering memories of the wars against the Inchoroi.
Weep
ing Mountain—Epithet for Ishterebinth.
Werigda—A Norsirai tribe from the Plains of Gâl.
Werijen Greatheart, Rilding (4063— )—Man-of-the-Tusk, Tydonni Earl of Plaideöl.
Werjau, Sainhail (4070— )—Man-of-the-Tusk, one of the Nascenti, formerly a Galeoth thane.
Wernma River—An extensive river system in east central Eärwa, draining vast tracts of the Dameori Wilderness and emptying into the Meneanor Sea.
Whelming—A hypnotic trance instrumental to Dûnyain Conditioning, and a purificatory rite of induction for the Zaudunyani.
“When sorcerers sing, men die”—The traditional expression used to refer to the fact that sorcery is destructive rather than constructive.
Wiglic—Legendary founder of the Holca, the first Man to possess the second heart that is reputedly the source of their physical strength.
White Jihad—The holy war waged against the Nansur Empire by Fan’oukarji I and the Kianene from 3743 to 3771. See Kian.
White Lord of Trysë—An honorific of the Kûniüric High King.
White-Sun Palace—See Korasha.
White Yaksh—The traditional tent of Scylvendi tribal chieftains.
Whore, the—A popular name for the Goddess Anagkë. See Anagkë.
Wight-in-the-Mountain—The accursed shade of Gin’yursis, the long dead Nonman King of Cil-Aujas.