Nansurium—See Nansur Empire.
Narradha, Hringa (4093-4111)—The 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.
Nau-Cayûti (2119-40)—“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.
Nautzera, Seidru (4038- )—A senior member of the Mandate Quorum. See Mandate, School of.
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.
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 3942, 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.
Neuropuncture—The Dûnyain art of producing various behaviours by probing the exposed brain with fine needles.
Ngarau (4062- )—The Grand Seneschal to Ikurei Xerius III.
Nil’giccas (?- )—The Nonman King of Ishterebinth.
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.
Nimeric, Anasûrimbor (2092-2135)—The High King of ancient Aörsi before 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 (?- )—The last surviving Nonman King.
Nine Great Gates—The epithet given to the main gates of Sumna.
Nirsodic—The language group of ancient Norsirai pastoralists ranging from the Sea of Cerish to the Sea of Jorua.
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.
Their decline is the result of three different catastrophic events. The first, and most significant, was the so-called Womb-Plague. In the hope of achieving immortality, the Nonmen (specifically, the great Cu’jara Cinmoi) allowed the Inchoroi to live among them as their physicians. The Nonmen did in fact attain immortality, and the Inchoroi, claiming their work done, retired back to the Incû-Holoinas. The plague struck shortly after, almost killing males and uniformly killing all females. The Nonmen call this tragic event the Nasamorgas, the “Death of Birth.”
The following Cûno-Inchoroi Wars further sapped their strength, so that by the time the first Tribes of Men invaded, the Nonmen had not the numbers or, some say, the will to resist their advance. Within the course of a few generations they were nearly exterminated. Only the Mansions of Ishoriol and Cil-Aujas survived.
See Cûno-Inchoroi Wars.
Nonmen Tutelage—The great period of Norsirai-Cûnuroi trade, education, and strategic alliances, beginning in 555 and ending with the Expulsion in 825 (following the famed Rape of Omindalea).
Norsirai—The typically blond-haired, blue-eyed, fair-skinned race predominantly concentrated along the northern fringe of the Three Seas, although they once ruled all the lands north to the Yimaleti Mountains. One of the Five Tribes of Men.
noschi—A Kûniüric term meaning “source of light,” but used in the sense of “genius” as well.
Noshainrau the White (c.1005-72)—The founding Grandmaster of the Sohonc and author of the Interrogations, the first elabor
ation of the Gnosis by Men.
Nron—A minor island nation of the Three Seas, nominally independent but in fact dominated by the School of Mandate in Atyersus.
Nroni—The language of Nron, a derivative of Sheyo-Kheremic.
Numaineiri—A populous and fertile fiefdom of interior Ce Tydonn, located to the west of Meigeiri. Numaineiri warriors are known to paint their faces red whenever they believe themselves doomed in battle.
number-sticks—A means of generating random numerical results for the purposes of gambling. The first references to number-sticks reach as far back as ancient Shigek. The most common variations consist of two sticks typically referred to as the Fat and the Skinny. A groove is carved all the way through the Fat so that the Skinny can drop up and down its interior length. The Skinny is then capped on either end to prevent it from falling out. Numerical values are marked along the length of the Fat, so that when the sticks are thrown, the Skinny can indicate a result.
Numemarius, Thallei (4069-4111)—The Patridomos of House Thallei, and General of the Kidruhil until his death in Nagogris.
Nymbricani—A tribe of Norsirai pastoralists who range southern Cepalor.
Nyranisas Sea—The easternmost of the Three Seas.
O
Oknai One-Eye (4053-4110)—The inveterate chieftain of the Munuäti, a powerful federation of Scylvendi tribes.
Okyati urs Okkiür (4038-82)—The cousin of Cnaiür urs Skiötha, who first brought Anasûrimbor Moënghus as a captive to the Utemot camp in 4080.
Old Ainoni—The language of Ceneian Ainon, a derivative of Ham-Kheremic.
Old Father—An epithet used by skin-spies to describe their Consult makers.
Old Meöric—The lost language of the early Meöri Empire, a derivative of Nirsodic.
Old Name—A term referring to the original members of the Consult.
Old Science—See Tekne.
Old Scylvendi—The language of ancient Scylvendi pastoralists, a derivative of Skaaric.
Old Zeümi—The language of Angka (ancient Zeüm), a derivative of Ankmuri.
Olekaros (2881-2956)—A Ceneian slave-scholar of Cironji descent, famed for his Avowals.
omen-texts—The traditional indexes, usually specific to each of the Cults, detailing the various omens and their meaning.
Omiri urs Xunnurit (4089-4111)—The lame daughter of Xunnurit and wife of Yursalka.
Oncis Sea—The westernmost of the Three Seas.
111 Aphorisms—A minor work of Ekyannus VIII, consisting of 111 aphorisms that primarily deal with matters of faith and integrity.
“one lamb for ten bulls”—A saying that refers to the relative difference in value between a witting and an unwitting sacrificial victim.
Onkis—The Goddess of hope and aspiration. One of the so-called Compensatory Gods, who reward devotion in life with paradise in the afterlife, Onkis draws followers from all walks of life, though rarely in great numbers. She is only mentioned twice in the Higarata, and in the (likely apocryphal) Parnishtas she is portrayed as a prophetess, not of the future, but of the motivations of Men. The so-called “shakers” belong to an extreme branch of the Cult, where the devotees ritually strive to be “possessed” by the Goddess. Her symbol is the Copper Tree (which also happens to be the device of the legendary Nonman Mansion of Siol, though no link has been established).
“Only the Few can see the Few”—The traditional expression used to refer to the unique ability of sorcerers to “see” both the practitioners and the products of sorcery.
Onoyas II, Nersei (3823-78)—The King of Conriya who first forged the alliance between the School of Mandate and House Nersei.
onta—The name given by the Schools to the very fabric of what is.
On the Carnal—The most famous of Opparitha’s exhortatory works, popular among lay readers though widely derided by Three Seas intellectuals.
On the Folly of Men—The magnum opus of the famed satirist Ontillas.
On the Temples and Their Iniquities—A quasi-heretical Sareot text.
Ontillas (2875-2933)—The near antique Ceneian satirist most famous for his On the Folly of Men.
Opparitha (3211-99)—The near antique Cengemian moralist most famous for his On the Carnal.
Opsara (4074- )—A Kianene slave who serves as the infant Moënghus’s wet nurse.
Ordeal, the—Sometimes referred to as the Great Ordeal. The tragic holy war Anasûrimbor Celmomas called against Golgotterath in 2123. See Apocalypse.
Orthodox—The name taken by the Inrithi opponents of the Zaudunyani during the siege of Caraskand.
Osbeus—A basalt quarry used in Near and Far Antiquity, located near the ruins of Mehtsonc.
Osthwai Mountains—A major mountain range located in central Eärwa.
Oswenta—The administrative and commercial capital of Galeoth, located on the north coast of Lake Huösi.
Other Voice—The name given to the “voice” used to communicate in all Cants of Calling.
Othrain, Eorcu (4060-4111)—The Tydonni Earl of Numaineiri, slain at Mengedda.
Ottma, Cwithar (4073- )—One of the Nascenti, formerly a Tydonni thane.
Outside—That which lies beyond the World. Most commentators follow Ajencis’s so-called Dyadic Theory when characterizing the World and its relation to the Outside. In Meta-Analytics, Ajencis argues that it is the relation between subject and object, desire and reality, that underwrites the structure of existence. The World, he argues, is simply the point of maximal objectivity, the plane where the desires of individual souls are helpless before circumstance (because it is fixed by the desire of the God of Gods). The many regions of the Outside then represent diminishing levels of objectivity, where circumstances yield more and more to desire. This, he claims, is what defines the “spheres of dominance” of Gods and demons. As he writes, “the greater will commands.” The more powerful entities of the Outside dwell in “sub-realities” that conform to their desires. This is what makes piety and devotion so important: the more favour an individual can secure in the Outside (primarily through the worship of Gods and the honouring of ancestors), the greater the chance of finding bliss rather than torment in the afterlife.
Over-Standard—The sacred military standard of the Nansur Exalt-General, decorated with the disc-shaped breastplate of Kuxophus II, the last of the ancient Kyranean High Kings. Imperial Columnaries often refer to it as “the Concubine.”
P
Paäta (4062-4111) A body-slave belonging to Krijates Xinemus, slain in Khemema.
Padirajah—The traditional title of the ruler of Kian.
Palpothis—One of the famed Ziggurats of Shigek, named after Palpothis III (622-78), the Old Dynasty God-King who raised her.
Panteruth urs Mutkius (4075-4111)—A Scylvendi of the Munuäti tribe.
Parrhae Plains—A region of fertile tablelands located in northwestern Galeoth.
Pasna—A town on the River Phayus, known for the quality of its olive oil.
pembeditari—A common pejorative used for camp prostitutes, meaning “scratchers.”
pemembis—A wild bush prized for its fragrant blue blooms.
peneditari—A common name given to camp prostitutes, meaning “long-walkers.”
perrapta—A traditional Conriyan liquor, often used to inaugurate meals.
Persommas, Hagum (4078- )—One of the Nascenti, formerly a Nansur blacksmith.
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