The Blood Mirror

Mot: God of envy, associated with blue. See Appendix, “On the Old Gods.”

  Mother, the: A statue that guards the south gate into Garriston. She is depicted as a teenager, heavily pregnant, with a dagger bared in one hand and a spear in the other.

  mund: An insulting term for a person who cannot draft.

  murder hole: A hole in the ceiling of a passageway that allows soldiers to fire, drop, or throw weapons, projectiles, luxin, or fuel. Common in castles and city walls.

  nao: A small vessel with a three-masted rig.

  Narrows, the: A strait of the Cerulean Sea between Abornea and the Ruthgari mainland. Aborneans charge high tolls on merchants sailing the silk route, or simply between Paria and Ruthgar.

  near-polychrome: One who can draft three colors, but can’t stabilize the third color sufficiently to be a true polychrome.

  Nekril, the: Will-casting coven that laid siege to Aghbalu before being destroyed by Gwafa, a Blackguard.

  non-drafter: One who cannot draft.

  norm: Another term for a non-drafter. Insulting.

  nunk: A half-derogatory term for a Blackguard inductee.

  Oakenshield Fortress: The old, original fortress in Ruthgar on Jaks Hill, which eventually became known as Castle Guile, Corinth Castle, Rath Skuld, and finally simply the Castle.

  Odess: A city in Abornea that sits at the head of the Narrows.

  old world: The world before Lucidonius united the Seven Satrapies and abolished worship of the pagan gods.

  oralam: Another term for paryl, meaning ‘hidden light.’

  Order of the Broken Eye, the: A secret guild of assassins. They specialize in killing drafters and have been rooted out and destroyed at least three times. The pride of the Order is the Shimmercloaks, or Shadows, pairs of purportedly invisible, unstoppable assassins.

  Overhill: A neighborhood in Big Jasper.

  Ox Ford: The site of a disastrous battle in the White King’s War.

  Pact, the: Since Lucidonius, the Pact has governed all those trained by the Chromeria in the Seven Satrapies. Its essence is that drafters agree to serve their satrapy and receive all the benefits of status and sometimes wealth—in exchange for their service and eventual death before they break the halo.

  Palace of the Divines: The residence and meeting place of Dúnbheo’s Council of the Divines.

  parry-stick: A primarily defensive weapon that blocks bladed attacks. It sometimes includes a punching dagger at the center of the stick to follow up on a deflected blow.

  pathomancy: Related to hex-casting, the reading or manipulation of emotions directly via orange drafting. Forbidden by the Chromeria.

  Pericol: A city on the coast of Ilyta.

  petasos: A broad-brimmed Ruthgari hat, usually made of straw, meant to keep the sun off the face, head, and neck.

  pilum: A weighted throwing spear whose lead shank bends after it pierces a shield, preventing the opponent from reusing the weapon against the user and encumbering the shield. They are becoming more rare and ceremonial.

  polychrome: A drafter who can draft three or more colors.

  portmaster: A city official in charge of collecting tariffs and managing the organized exit and entrance of ships in his harbor.

  Prism: There is only one Prism each generation. She senses the balance of the world’s magic and balances it when necessary, and can split light within herself. Other than balancing, her role is largely ceremonial and religious, with the Colors and the satraps all working hard to make sure that Prisms rarely turn their fame into political power.

  Prism’s Tower, the: The central tower in the Chromeria. It houses the Prism, the White, and superviolets (as they are not numerous enough to require their own tower). The great hall lies below the tower, and the top holds a great crystal for the Prism’s use while he balances the colors of the world.

  promachia: The institution of giving nearly absolute executive powers to a single person (the promachos) during wartime.

  promachos: Literally ‘he [or she] who fights before us,’ it is a title that may be given during a war or other great crisis. A promachos may be named only by order of a supermajority of the Colors. Among other powers, the promachos has the right to command armies, seize property, and elevate commoners to the nobility.

  Providence: The care of Orholam over the Seven Satrapies, and his intervention on behalf of its people.

  psantria: A stringed musical instrument.

  pygmies [of Blood Forest]: A rare, fierce people of the Blood Forest interior, they claim common ancestry with the people of Braxos. Almost extinct. Their taxonomy is debated, with some saying they are related to humans only as mules are to horses. They can interbreed with humans, though with great danger if the mother is the pygmy, death in childbirth being the norm. Some Blood Forest chiefs and kings in the past claimed that pygmies were not human, and as they weren’t, they deemed the killing of pygmies a morally neutral or even laudable act. The Chromeria declared pygmies human and such killing to be murder, but pygmy numbers have never recovered from a number of massacres and human diseases.

  pyrejelly: Red luxin that, once set alight, will engulf whatever object it adheres to.

  pyroturges: Red and/or sub-red drafters who create wonders of flame, known particularly for their wonders in Azûlay.

  qassisin kuluri: Possibly an early incarnation of the Order, ‘the color warriors [or assassins].’ The exact provenance of the term is lost to history.

  Rage of the Seas, the: An Ilytian galley.

  raka: A heavy insult, with the implication of both moral and intellectual idiocy.

  Raptors of Kazakdoon, the: Flying reptiles from Angari myth.

  Rath: The capital of Ruthgar, set on the confluence of the Great River and its delta into the Cerulean Sea.

  Rathcaeson: A mythical city, on the drawings of which Gavin Guile based his Brightwater Wall design.

  Rathcore Hill: A hill opposite (and somewhat smaller than) Jaks Hill in the city of Rath. The hippodrome is carved into its side.

  ratweed: A toxic plant whose leaves are often smoked for their strong stimulant properties. Addictive.

  Red Cliff Uprising, the: A rebellion in Atash after the end of the False Prism’s War. Without the support of the royal family (who had been purged), it was short-lived.

  reedsmen: Drafters used to propel skimmers.

  Rekton: A small Tyrean town on the Umber River, near the site of the Battle of Sundered Rock. An important trading post before the False Prism’s War. Now uninhabited after a massacre by King Rask Garadul.

  Rozanos Bridge, the: A bridge on the Great River between Ruthgar and the Blood Forest that Blessed Satrap Rados famously burnt, so that his troops had no choice but to win or die.

  Ru: The capital of Atash, once famous for its castle, still famous for its Great Pyramid.

  Ru, Castle of: Once the pride of Ru, it was destroyed by fire during General Gad Delmarta’s purge of the royal family in the Prisms’ War.

  Ruic Head: A peninsula dominated by towering cliffs that overlooks the Atashian city of Ru and its bay. A fort atop the peninsula’s cliffs guards against invaders and pirates.

  runt: An affably derogatory term for a new Blackguard inductee.

  sabino cypress: A tree that grows to massive heights, often found in marshes.

  salve: A common greeting, originally meaning ‘Be of good health!’

  Sapphire Bay: A bay off Little Jasper.

  satrap/satrapah: The title of a ruler (male or female respectively) of one of the seven satrapies.

  scrogger: Slang for a small rodent.

  sev: A unit of measurement for weight, equal to one-seventh of a seven.

  seven: A unit of measurement for weight, equal to the weight of a cubit of water.

  Seven Lives of Maeve Hart, The: A Blood Forest epic.

  Shadow: Another term for a member of the Order of the Broken Eye who can use a shimmercloak.

  Shadow Watch: A secretive martial drafting society based in Ruthgar.
r />   Sharazan Mountains, the: Impassable mountains south of Tyrea.

  shimmercloak: A cloak that makes the wearer mostly invisible, except in sub-red and superviolet.

  Sitara’s Wells: An Atashian town north of Ruic Head. In otherwise arid land, its numerous artesian wells have made it a stop for traders and travelers for all of recorded history.

  slow fuse/slow match: A length of cord, often soaked in saltpeter, that can be lit to ignite the gunpowder of a weapon in the firing mechanism.

  Skill, Will, Source, and Still/Movement: The four essential elements for drafting.

  Skill: The most underrated of all the elements of drafting, acquired through practice. Includes knowing the properties and strengths of the luxin being drafted, being able to see and match precise wavelengths, et cetera.

  Will: By imposing will, a drafter can draft and even cover flawed drafting if her will is powerful enough.

  Source: Depending on what colors a drafter can use, she needs either that color of light or items that reflect that color of light in order to draft. Only a Prism can simply split white light within herself to draft any color.

  Still: An ironic usage. Drafting requires movement, though more skilled drafters can use less.

  spectrum: A term for a range of light (for more information on the luxin spectrum, see the Appendix); or (capitalized) the council of the Chromeria that is one branch of the government of the Chromeria (see ‘Colors, the’).

  spidersilk: Another term for paryl.

  spina: The center line of a hippodrome, which often has a raised platform for announcements, demonstrations, and executions.

  spyglass: A device using curved, clear lenses to bend light to aid in sighting distant objects.

  star-keepers: Also known as tower monkeys, these are petite slaves (usually children) who work the ropes that control the mirrors in the Thousand Stars of Big Jasper to reflect the light throughout the city for drafters’ use. Though well treated for slaves, they spend their days working in two-man teams from dawn till after dusk, frequently without reprieve except for switching with their partners.

  Stony Field: A border town between Blood Forest and Atash.

  Strang’s Commentary: The authoritative work of theology, teleology, and epistemology (in that order) by Aldous Strang, the full opus fills one thousand scrolls.

  Strong’s Commentary: The authoritative work of epistemology, teleology, and theology (in that order) by Albus Strong, pupil and rumored illegitimate son of Aldous Strang, the full opus fills one thousand and one scrolls.

  subchromats: Drafters who are color-blind, overwhelmingly male. A subchromat can function without loss of ability—if his handicap is not in the colors he can draft. A red-green color-blind subchromat could be an excellent blue or yellow drafter. See Appendix.

  Sun Day: A holy day for followers of Orholam and pagans alike, the longest day of the year. For the Seven Satrapies, Sun Day is the day when the Prism Frees those drafters who are about to break the halo and go mad. The ceremonies usually take place on the Jaspers, when all of the Thousand Stars are trained onto the Prism, who can absorb and split the light, whereas other men would burn or burst from drafting so much power.

  Sun Day’s Eve: An evening of festivities, both for celebration and for mourning, before the longest day of the year and the Freeing the next day.

  Sundered Rock: Twin mountains in Tyrea, opposite each other and so alike that they look as if they were once one huge rock that was cut down the middle.

  Sundered Rock, Battle of: The final battle between Gavin and Dazen Guile near a small Tyrean town called Rekton on the Umber River.

  superchromats: Extremely color-sensitive people. Luxin they seal will rarely fail. Overwhelmingly female.

  Sword of Heaven: The luxin-imbued lighthouse of Azûlay.

  Tafok Amagez: The Nuqaba’s elite personal guard, composed entirely of drafters.

  tainted: One who has broken the halo, also called a wight.

  Tanner’s Turn: A village on the border of Atash and the Blood Forest.

  targe: A small shield.

  Tellari separatists: Rebels behind the burning of the Great Library three hundred years prior to Prism Guile, they also attempted to destroy the Lily’s Stem.

  telos: A man’s end or his highest good.

  Tenling Rise: A hill in Blood Forest.

  thobe: An ankle-length garment, usually with long sleeves.

  Thorikos: A town below the Laurion mines on the river to Idoss. Serves as the center for arriving and departing slaves, the bureaucracy necessary for thirty thousand slaves, and the trade goods and supplies necessary to the mines, as well as the shipping of the silver ore down the river.

  Thorn Conspiracies, the: A series of intrigues that occurred after the False Prism’s War.

  Thousand Stars, the: The mirrors on Big Jasper Island that enable the light to reach into almost any part of the city for as long as possible during the day.

  Threshing, the: The initiation test for candidates to the Chromeria. Through subjecting the initiates to things that most commonly instigate fear and providing appropriate spectra of light, it usually reveals the initiates’ ranges of drafting ability (with some uncertainty around the edges).

  Threshing Chamber, the: The room where candidates for the Chromeria are summoned to be tested for their abilities to draft.

  Thundering Falls: An enormous waterfall at the intersection of the Great River and the Akomi Nero. The city of Verit is right at the base of the falls.

  Tiru, the: A Parian tribe.

  Tlaglanu, the: A Parian tribe, hated by other Parians, from whom Hanishu, the dey of Aghbalu, chose his bride, Tazerwalt.

  torch: A red wight.

  translucification, forced: See ‘willjacking.’

  Travertine Palace, the: One of the wonders of the old world. Both a palace and a fortress, it is built of carved travertine (a mellow green stone) and white marble. Notable for its bulbous horseshoe arches, geometric wall patterns, Parian runes, and chessboard patterns on the floors. Its walls are incised with a crosshatched pattern to make the stone look woven rather than carved. The palace is a remnant of the days when half of Tyrea was a Parian province.

  Tree People, the: Tribesmen who live (lived?) deep in the forests of the Blood Forest satrapy. They use zoomorphic designs, and can apparently shape living wood. Possibly related to the pygmies.

  tromoturgy: A form of hex-casting, ‘fear-working’ or ‘fear-casting’ banned by the Chromeria, as are other forms of direct manipulation of emotions; man being created in the likeness of Orholam, any assault on the dignity of man’s body (violence, murder) or his mind (emotion-casting, torture, slave-taking) is considered sinful—except as allowed by just-war theory and the rights of rule: a city can imprison a thief where citizens doing so would be punished, et cetera. In general, the Chromeria takes a harder line toward things magical, especially manipulation of emotions and minds, as such things generate a natural terror and distrust among those the Chromeria would rule. Luxors were a noted exception to this blanket prohibition, allowed ‘a righteous fear-casting.’

  Túsaíonn Domhan: ‘A World Begins’—the name of a piece by a legendary Blood Forest woodwright.

  Two Hundred, the: Apocryphal. Two hundred of Orholam’s progeny who rebelled and came to the world to rule over men and magic.

  Two Mills Junction: A small village in Blood Forest, not far from the border of Atash.

  tygre striper: Also known as the sharana ru, said to be carved sea demon bone. Sources contest that the even rarer whalebone makes superior weapons. It is the only known mundane material that reacts to will, becoming hard or flexible depending on the user’s will.

  tygre wolves: Fierce creatures of deep Blood Forest, untamable, but able to be directed by will magic.

  ulta: In the Order’s religion, a man’s highest goal, his life’s purpose and final test.

  Umber River, the: The lifeblood of Tyrea. Its water allows the growth of every kind of plan
t in the hot climate; its locks fed trade throughout the country before the False Prism’s War. Often besieged by bandits.

  Unchained, the: A term for the followers of the Color Prince, those drafters who choose to break the Pact and continue living even after breaking the halo.

  Unification, the: A term for Lucidonius’s and Karris Shadowblinder’s establishment of the Seven Satrapies four hundred years prior to Gavin Guile’s rule as Prism.

  Ur, the: A tribe that trapped Lucidonius in Hass Valley. He triumphed against great odds, primarily because of the heroics of El-Anat (who thereby became Forushalzmarish or Shining Spear) and Karris Atiriel (later Karris Shadowblinder).

  urum: A three-tined dining implement.

  vambrace: Plate armor to protect the forearm. Ceremonial versions made of cloth also exist.

  Varig and Green: A bank with a branch on Big Jasper.

  vechevoral: A sickle-shaped sword with a long handle like an axe’s and a crescent-moon-shaped blade at the end, with the inward bowl-shaped side being the cutting edge.

  Verdant Plains, the: The dominant geographical feature of Ruthgar, enabling the farming and grazing that give Ruthgar its immense wealth. The Verdant Plains have been favored by green drafters since before Lucidonius.

  Verit: A town on the Great River at the base of Thundering Falls.

  Vician’s Sin: The event that marked the end of the close alliance between Ruthgar and Blood Forest, and purportedly led to Orholam’s raising White Mist Reef and the mist itself at the center of the Cerulean Sea.

  Wanderer, the: Andross Guile’s flagship during the fight to save Ru.

  warrior-drafters: Drafters whose primary work is fighting for various satrapies or the Chromeria. Usually far inferior in drafting to the Blackguard, who are the foremost warrior-drafters in the world.

  water markets: Circular lakes connected to the Umber River at the centers of the villages and cities of Tyrea, common throughout Tyrean towns. A water market is dredged routinely to maintain an even depth, allowing ships easy access to the interior of the city with their wares. The largest water market is in Garriston.

  Weasel Rock: A neighborhood in Big Jasper dominated by narrow alleys.

  Weedling: A small coastal village in Ru close to Ruic Head.