The Thousandfold Thought

by R. Scott Bakker

  Pharixas—A disputed island stronghold in the Meneanor Sea.

  Phayus River—The primary river system of the Kyranae Plains, draining the south central Hethanta Mountains and emptying into the Meneanor Sea.

  Pherokar I (3666-3821)—One of Kian’s earliest and fiercest Padirajahs.

  pick—A derogatory term often used by Norsirai when referring to Ketyai. The word comes from the Tydonni pikka, or “slave,” but has come to have broader, racial connotations.

  Pilaskanda (4060- )—The King of Girgash and a tributary ally of the Kianene Padirajah.

  Pirasha—An old Sumni whore befriended by Esmenet.

  Pisathulas—The personal eunuch attendant of Ikurei Istriya.

  Plaideöl—A fiefdom of Ce Tydonn, one of the “Deep Marches” above the eastern headwaters of the River Swa. Plaideölmen are famed for their ferocity in battle, and are easily distinguished by their great beards, which they never trim.

  Pon Way—An old Ceneian road that runs northwest from Momemn parallel to the River Phayus and serves as one of the Nansurium’s primary commercial arteries.

  Poripharus—An ancient Ceneian philosopher and adviser to Triamis the Great, famed for drafting the Triamic Code, the body of laws that forms the basis of legal practice in most Three Seas nations (with the notable exception of Kian).

  Possessors of the Third Sight—An alternate name for the Cishaurim, so called because of their reputed ability to see without their eyes.

  Pragma—The title given to the most senior of the Dûnyain.

  Prima Arcanata, The—The magnum opus of Gotagga, representing the first sustained examination of sorcerous metaphysics by Men.

  Prince of God—One of several names given to the Warrior-Prophet by the Men of the Tusk.

  Principle of Before and After—Also known as the Empirical Priority Principle. See Dûnyain.

  Proadjunct—The highest non-commissioned rank in the Imperial Nansur Army.

  Probability Trance—A meditation technique used by the Dûnyain to assess consequences of hypothetical acts in order to determine the course of action that will most effectively allow them to master their circumstances.

  Prophet of the Tusk—The name given to the prophets depicted in The Chronicle of the Tusk.

  Prophilas, Harus (4064- )—The commander of Asgilioch.

  Protathis (2870-2922)—A famed near antique poet of Ceneian descent, celebrated for many works, including The Goat’s Heart, One Hundred Heavens, and the magisterial Aspirations. Protathis is regarded by many as the greatest Ketyai poet.

  Proto-Caro-Shemic—The language group of the ancient pastoralists of the Eastern Carathay Desert, a derivative of Shemic.

  Psailas II (4009-86)—The Shriah of the Thousand Temples from 4072 to 4086.

  Psammatus, Nentepi (4059- )—A Sumni Shrial priest of Shigeki descent, and regular customer of Esmenet’s.

  Psûkalogues, The—The magnum opus of Imparrhas, sorcerer of the Imperial Saik and esoteric metaphysician primarily interested in the Psûkhe of the Cishaurim.

  psûkari—Practitioners of the Psûkhe.

  Psûkhe—The arcane practice of the Cishaurim, much like sorcery, though cruder in its exercise, and distinguished by its invisibility to the Few. See sorcery.

  Pulit—A tribe of Scylvendi from the southern desert fringes of the Jiünati Steppe.

  Q

  Quandary of Man—The classic Dûnyain problem referring to the fact that Men, though beasts like other beasts, can apprehend the Logos.

  Quorum—The ruling council of the Mandate.

  Quya—The generic name for Nonmen Magi.

  R

  Rash (4073-4112)—The nickname of Houlta, a caste-menial Zaudunyani agitator, slain in the Battle of Caraskand.

  Rauschang, Hringa (4054- )—The King of Thunyerus and father of Skaiyelt and Hulwarga.

  Restored Empire—For some in Nansur, the cherished goal of restoring all the “lost provinces” (the territories seized by the Kianene) to the Nansur Empire.

  Ring Mountains—The range that encircles Golgotterath.

  Rite-of-the-Spring-Wolves—A rite of passage marking the transition of Scylvendi adolescent boys to manhood.

  Rohil River—The easternmost of the three major river systems draining into Lake Huösi.

  Ruminations—The magnum opus of Stajanus II, the so-called Philosopher-Emperor who ruled Cenei from 2412 to 2431.

  Ruöm—The innermost citadel of Asgilioch, often called the High Bull of Asgilioch, destroyed by an earthquake in 4111.

  S

  Sacred Lands—A name for Xerash and Amoteu, the two lands that figure directly in The Tractate.

  Sagas, The—A collection of epic lays that recount the Apocalypse. It primarily consists of “The Kelmariad,” the story of Anasûrimbor Celmomas and his tragic Ordeal; “The Kayûtiad,” the account of Celmomas’s son, Nau-Cayûti, and his heroic exploits; “The Book of Generals,” the story of the deceptive events following Nau-Cayûti’s murder; “The Trisiad,” which recounts the great city’s destruction; “The Eämnoriad,” the story of ancient Atrithau’s expulsion of Seswatha and subsequent survival; “The Annal Akksersa,” which recounts the Fall of Akksersia; and lastly, “The Annal Sakarpa,” or “The Refugee’s Song” as it is sometimes called, the strange account of the city of Sakarpus during the Apocalypse.

  Despite the scorn of Mandate scholars (or perhaps because of it), The Sagas possess an almost scriptural reputation in the Three Seas.

  Saik—The Anagogic School based in Momemn and indentured to the Nansur Emperor. The Saik, or the Imperial Saik as they are often called, are the institutional descendants of the Saka, the notorious state-sanctioned School of Imperial Cenei, who for a thousand years dominated the Three Seas under the aegis of the Aspect-Emperors. Though still considered a Major School, the Saik have dwindled in strength, their resources limited by Nansur’s losses and their numbers diminished by continual skirmishing with the Cishaurim. Also known as “Sorcerers of the Sun.”

  saka’ilrait—“Trail of Skulls” (Khirgwi) The Khirgwi name for the route taken by the Holy War across Khemema.

  Sakarpic—The language of Sakarpus, a derivative of Skettic.

  Sakarpus—A city of the Ancient North located in the heart of the Istyuli Plains, and, aside from Atrithau, the only city to survive the Old Wars.

  Sakthuta—A mountain in the Hethantas overlooking the River Kiyuth.

  Sanathi (4100- )—The daughter of Cnaiür and Anissi.

  Sancla (4064-83)—Achamian’s cellmate and lover during his adolescence in Atyersus.

  Sansor—A nation of the Three Seas tributary to High Ainon.

  Sansori—The language of Sansor, a derivative of Sheyo-Kheremic.

  Sapatishah-Governor—The title of the regional, semi-autonomous rulers of the various provinces of Kian.

  Sapatishah’s Palace—The name given by the Men of the Tusk to Imbeyan’s palace in Caraskand, located on the Kneeling Heights.

  Sapmatari—The lost language of Nilnameshi labouring castes, a derivative of Vaparsi.

  Sappathurai—A powerful mercantile city in Nilnamesh.

  Sarcellus, Cutias (4072-99)—A Knight-Commander of the Shrial Knights, murdered and replaced by Consult skin-spies.

  Sareotic Library—In the time of the Ceneian Empire, one of the greatest libraries in the known world. The so-called “script law” of Iothiah forced, on punishment of death, all visitors bearing books to surrender them for copying and inclusion in the Library. Though the Sareots were massacred when Shigek fell to the Fanim in 3933, Padirajah Fan’oukarji III spared the Library, thinking it the will of the Solitary God.

  Sarothesser I (3317-3402)—The founder of High Ainon, who overthrew the yoke of the Ceneian Empire in 3372 and ascended the Assurkamp Throne as the first Ainoni King.

  Sasheoka (4049-4100)—The Grandmaster of the Scarlet Spires, assassinated in 4100 by the Cishaurim for reasons unknown, and predecessor to Eleäzaras.

  Saskri River—A maj
or river system in Eumarna, with headwaters in Eshgarnea and draining the Jahan Plains.

  Sassotian, Pomarius (4058-4111)—The General of the Imperial Fleet during the First Holy War, slain at the Battle of Trantis Bay.

  Sathgai—The Norsirai name for Uthgai, Chieftain of the Utemot and legendary Scylvendi King-of-Tribes, who led the People under the No-God during the Apocalypse.

  Satiothi—The language group of the Satyothi peoples.

  Satyothi—The black-haired, green-eyed, black-skinned race predominantly concentrated in the nation of Zeüm and the southern extremities of the Three Seas. One of the Five Tribes of Men.

  Saubon, Coithus (4069- )—The seventh son of King Coithus Eryeat of Galeoth and titular leader of the Galeoth contingent of the Holy War.

  Sauglish—One of the four great ancient cities of the Aumris Valley, destroyed in the Apocalypse in 2147. From the early days of the Nonmen Tutelage, Sauglish was established as the intellectual capital of the Ancient North, home to the first Gnostic Schools and to the Great Library of Sauglish. See Library of Sauglish and Apocalypse.

  Sayut River—One of the great rivers of Eärwa, originating in the Southern Great Kayarsus and draining into the Nyranisas.

  Scaralla, Hepma (4056-4111)—The ranking high priest of Akkeägni during the First Holy War, taken by disease at Caraskand.

  Scarlet Magi—A name for Schoolmen belonging to the Scarlet Spires.

  Scarlet Spires—The most powerful School of the Three Seas and de facto ruler of High Ainon. The roots of the Scarlet Spires reach as far back as ancient Shir (to this day traditionalists within the School refer to themselves as the “shiradi”). In many ways the development of the Scarlet Spires exemplifies the development of every Three Seas School, that of loose networks of sorcerous practitioners becoming progressively more organized and insular in the face of chronic, religiously motivated persecution. Originally called the Surartu—“Hooded Singers” (Ham-Kheremic) —the Scarlet Spires secured the river fortress of Kiz in Carythusal c. 1800, and emerged from the chaos surrounding the Apocalypse, the collapse of Shir, and the Great Pestilence as one of the most powerful factions in ancient Ainon. Sometime around 2350, Kiz was severely damaged in an earthquake and subsequently covered with red enamel tiles in the reconstruction, thus leading to the School’s now-famous moniker.

  Scholastic Wars—A series of holy wars waged against the Schools from 3796 to 3818. Called by Ekyannus XIV, the Scholastic Wars saw the near-destruction of several Schools and the beginning of the Scarlet Spires’ hegemony over High Ainon.

  Schoolmen—Sorcerers belonging to the Schools.

  Schools—Given the Tusk’s condemnation of sorcery, the first Schools, in both the Ancient North and the Three Seas, arose out of the need for protection. The so-called “Major Schools” of the Three Seas are the Circle of Nibel, the Imperial Saik, the School of Mandate, the Mysunsai, and the Scarlet Spires. The Schools are among the oldest institutions in the Three Seas, surviving, by and large, both because of the terror they inspire and by their detachment from the secular and religious powers of the Three Seas. With the exception of the Mysunsai, all the Major Schools predate the fall of the Ceniean Empire.

  Scindia—The Scylvendi-dominated land to the immediate west of the Hethanta Mountains.

  Scorpion Braid—A mummer’s trick, consisting of a rope soaked in a poison that makes the jaws and claws of scorpions seize when they grasp it.

  Scoulas, Biaxi (4075-4111)—The secondKnight-Commander of the Shrial Knights, slain at Mengedda.

  Scuäri Campus—The main parade ground of the Imperial Precincts in Momemn.

  Sculpa River—The northernmost of the three major river systems draining into Lake Huösi.

  Scylvendi—The dark-haired, pale-blue-eyed, and fair-skinned race predominantly concentrated in and around the Jiünati Steppe. One of the Five Tribes of Men.

  Seat, the—A symbolic name for the station of Shriah.

  Secharib Plains—The vast alluvial tablelands that sweep north from the River Sayut in High Ainon, noted for their fertility (sixty- to seventy-fold crop yields) and dense population.

  Second Apocalypse—The hypothetical catastrophe that will inevitably befall Eärwa should the No-God ever walk again. According to the Mandate tradition, Anasûrimbor Celmomas, the High King of Kûniüri during the Apocalypse, prophesied that the No-God will in fact return. The prevention of the Second Apocalypse is the Mandate’s ultimate goal.

  Seleukara—The commercial capital of Kian, and one of the great cities of the Three Seas.

  Selial Column—A division of the Imperial Nansur Army traditionally stationed on the Kianene frontier.

  “selling peaches ...”—A common Three Seas euphemism for selling sex.

  Sempis River—One of the great river systems of Eärwa, draining vast tracts of the Jiünati Steppe and emptying into the Meneanor Sea.

  Seökti (4051- )—The Heresiarch of the Cishaurim.

  Sepherathindor (4065-4111)—The Count-Palatine of the Ainoni palatinate of Hinnant, claimed by disease at Caraskand.

  Seswatha (2089-2168)—The founder of the School of Mandate and implacable enemy of the Consult throughout the Apocalypse. Born the caste-menial son of a Trysean bronzesmith, Seswatha was identified as one of the Few at a very young age and brought to Sauglish to study with the Gnostic School of Sohonc. A prodigy, he became the youngest sorcerer of rank in the history of the Sohonc at the age of fifteen. During this time he became fast friends with Anasûrimbor Celmomas, a so-called “Hostage of the Sohonc,” as the School referred to its resident exoteric students. As this strategic friendship might suggest, Seswatha proved an adroit political operator, both before becoming Grandmaster and after, forging relationships with important personages across the Three Seas, including Nil’giccas, the Nonman King of Ishterebinth, and Anaxophus, who would become the High King of Kyraneas. These skills, in addition to his peerless command of the Gnosis, would make him the natural, if not the titular, leader of the various wars waged against the Consult before the Apocalypse. He and Celmomas would become estranged during this time, apparently because Celmomas resented Seswatha’s influence over his youngest son, Nau-Cayûti, but legends have long circulated that Nau-Cayûti was in fact Seswatha’s son, the product of an illicit union between him and Sharal, the most prized of Celmomas’s wives. They would not be reconciled until the eve of the Apocalypse—after it was far too late. See Apocalypse.

  Seswatha’s Dreams—See Dreams, the.

  Seswatha’s Heart—The mummified heart of Seswatha, which is the key artifact in the so-called Grasping, the sorcerous rites that transfer Seswatha’s memories of the Apocalypse to Mandate Schoolmen. See Mandate, School of.

  Setpanares (4059-4111)—The General in command of the Ainoni contingent of the First Holy War, slain by Cinganjehoi at Anwurat.

  Shaeönanra (c. 1086- )—“Gift of Light” (Umeritic) The Grandvizier of the Mangaecca who, according to legend, went mad studying the Incû-Holoinas, and whose subsequent acts would eventually see him convicted of impiety and his School outlawed in 1123. The greatest prodigy of his age, Shaeönanra claimed to have rediscovered a means of saving the souls of those damned by sorcery. He reputedly spent his life investigating various soul-trapping sorceries in the hope of avoiding passage to the Outside—and to great effect, given that he allegedly continues to live some three thousand years afterward, though in an obscene and unnatural manner. By the fourteenth century the Trysean annals began referring to him as Shauriatas, the “Cheater of Gods.”