Demon Cycle 04 - The Skull Throne

by Peter V. Brett

  Jamere: Abban’s dama nephew and heir apparent.

  Jardir: The seventh son of Kaji, the Deliverer. Once a great house, the line of Jardir lasted more than three thousand years, slowly dwindling in number and glory until its last son, Ahmann Jardir, restored its renown.

  Jayan: Jardir’s first Sharum son by Inevera. Sharum Ka.

  Jiwah: Wife.

  Jiwah Ka: First wife. The Jiwah Ka is the first and most honored of a Krasian man’s wives. She has veto power over subsequent marriages, and can command the lesser wives.

  Jiwah Sen: Lesser wives, subservient to a man’s Jiwah Ka.

  Jiwah’Sharum: Literally “wives of warriors,” these are women purchased for the great harem of the Sharum during their fertile years. It is considered a great honor to serve. All warriors have access to their tribe’s jiwah’Sharum, and are expected to keep them continually pregnant, adding warriors to the tribe.

  Jurim: Kai’Sharum Spear of the Deliverer who trained with Jardir. Kaji tribe.

  Kad’: Prefix meaning “of.”

  Kai’Sharum: Krasian military captains, the kai’Sharum receive special training in Sharik Hora and lead individual units in alagai’sharak. The number of kai’Sharum in a tribe depends on its number of warriors. Some tribes have many, some just one. Kai’Sharum wear dal’Sharum blacks, but their night veils are white.

  Kai’ting: Jardir’s mother, sisters, nieces, and Sharum daughters. Kai’ting wear a white veil with their blacks. Striking one means death or the loss of the offending limb.

  Kaji: The name of the original Deliverer and patriarch of the Kaji tribe, also known as Shar’Dama Ka, as the Spear of Everam, and by various other titles. Kaji united the known world in war against demons some thirty-five hundred years past. His seat of power was the lost city of Anoch Sun, but he also founded Fort Krasia.

  Kaji had three artifacts for which he was famous: (1) The Spear of Kaji—the metal spear he used to slay alagai by the thousand. (2) The Crown of Kaji—bejeweled and molded in the shape of powerful wards. (3) The Cloak of Kaji—a cloak that made him invisible to demons, so he could walk freely in the night.

  Kajivah: Mother of Ahmann Jardir and his three sisters, Imisandre, Hoshvah, and Hanya. Also known as the Holy Mother. While not a trained cleric, she has great (if largely undefined) religious power among the commoners, who adore her.

  Kasaad: Inevera’s father. Crippled khaffit. Former Sharum.

  Kaval: Gavram asu Chenin am’Kaval am’Kaji. Drillmaster of the Kaji tribe. One of Jardir’s dal’Sharum instructors during his Hannu Pash. Killed by a mimic demon.

  Khaffit: A man forced to take up a craft instead of becoming a cleric or warrior. Lowest male station in Krasian society. Expelled from Hannu Pash, khaffit are forced to dress in the tan clothes of children and shave their cheeks as a sign that they are not men.

  Kha’Sharum: Able-bodied khaffit whom Jardir has made into low-skill infantry. Kha’Sharum wear tan robes, turbans, and night veils to show their khaffit status.

  Kha’ting: Infertile women. Lowest female caste in Krasian society.

  Khevat: Father of Ashan. Most powerful dama in Krasia.

  Lifan: Bespectacled and weak-looking Sharach kha’Sharum who serves as tutor to Fahki and Shusten. One of Abban’s Hundred.

  Little sisters: Inevera’s term for her sister-wives.

  Lonely road: Krasian term for death. All warriors must walk the lonely road to Heaven, with temptations on the path to test their spirit and ensure that only the worthy stand before Everam to be judged. Spirits who venture off the path are lost.

  Maji: Jardir’s second Majah son, a nie’dama who will have to fight Aleverak’s heir for the Majah Damaji throne.

  Manvah: Mother of Inevera. Wife of Kasaad. Successful basket weaver.

  Mehnding tribe: The largest and most powerful tribe after the Majah, the Mehnding devote themselves wholly to the art of ranged weapons. They build the catapults, slings, and scorpions used in sharak, quarry and haul the stones for ammunition, make the scorpion bolts, etc.

  Melan: Kaji dama’ting daughter of Qeva. Granddaughter of Kenevah. Former rival of Inevera. Lover of Asavi.

  New Bazaar, the: Rebuilt Great Bazaar in the outer city of Everam’s Bounty.

  Nie: (1) The name of the Uncreator, feminine opposite to Everam, and the goddess of night and demonkind. (2) Nothing, none, void, no, not. (3) Prefix for Krasian children in training.

  Nie’dama: Nie’Sharum selected for dama training.

  Nie’dama’ting: Krasian girl who is in dama’ting training but is too young to take her veil. Nie’dama’ting are given great respect by men and women alike, unlike nie’Sharum, who are less than khaffit until they complete the Hannu Pash.

  Nie Ka: Literally “first of none,” a term for the head boy of a nie’Sharum class, who commands the other boys as lieutenant to the dal’Sharum drillmasters.

  Nie’s abyss: Also known as the Core. The seven-layered underworld where alagai hide from the sun. Each layer is populated with a different breed of demon.

  Nie’Sharum: Literally “not warriors,” name for boys who have gone to the training grounds to be judged and set on the path to dal’Sharum, dama, or khaffit.

  Nie’ting: Barren women. The lowest rank in Krasian society. Also known as kha’ting.

  Night veil: Veil worn by dal’Sharum during alagai’sharak to hide their identities, showing that all men are equal allies in the night.

  Oot: Dal’Sharum signal for “beware” or “demon approaching.”

  Par’chin: “Brave outsider”; singular title for Arlen Bales.

  Pig-eater: Krasian insult referring to khaffit. Only khaffit eat pig, as it is considered unclean.

  Push’ting: Literally “false woman,” Krasian insult for homosexual men who shun women altogether. Homosexuality is tolerated in Krasia only so long as the men also impregnate women and add to their tribe.

  Qasha: Jardir’s Sharach Damaji’ting wife.

  Qeran: One of Jardir’s Kaji dal’Sharum drillmasters during his Hannu Pash. Later crippled, he is taken in by Abban to train his kha’Sharum Hundred. Bodyguard and advisor to Abban.

  Savas: Jardir’s Mehnding dama son.

  Scorpion: A Krasian ballista, the scorpion is a giant crossbow using springs instead of a bowstring. It shoots thick spears with heavy heads (stingers) and can kill sand and wind demons outright at a thousand feet, even without wards.

  Shalivah: Krasian girl working at Shamavah’s restaurant in Cutter’s Hollow. Kaval’s granddaughter, whom Rojer dotes on out of guilt that her father was killed saving his life.

  Shamavah: Abban’s Jiwah Ka. She speaks fluent Thesan and is assigned to oversee Abban’s operations in Hollow County.

  Shanjat: Kaji kai’Sharum who trained with Jardir. Leader of the Spears of the Deliverer and wed to Jardir’s middle sister, Hoshvah. Father of Shanvah.

  Shanvah: Sharum’ting niece of Jardir. Daughter of Shanjat and Hoshvah.

  Sharach: The smallest tribe in Krasia, with fewer than two dozen warriors at one point. They were rescued from extinction by Jardir.

  Sharaj: Barrack for young boys in Hannu Pash, much like a military boarding school. The sharaji are located around the training grounds, and there is one for each tribe. The name of the tribe is a prefix, followed by an apostrophe, so the sharaj for the Kaji tribe is known as the Kaji’sharaj. Plural is sharaji.

  Sharak Ka: Literally “the First War,” the great war against demonkind the Deliverer will begin upon completion of Sharak Sun.

  Sharak Sun: Literally “the Daylight War,” during which Kaji conquered the known world, uniting it in Sharak Ka. It is believed that Jardir must do the same if he is to win Sharak Ka.

  Shar’dama: Dama who fight alagai’sharak in defiance of Evejan Law.

  Shar’Dama Ka: Literally “First Warrior Cleric,” the Krasian term for the Deliverer, who will come to free mankind from the alagai.

  Sharik Hora: Literally “heroes’ bones,” the name for the
great temple in Krasia made out of the bones of fallen warriors. Having their bones lacquered and added to the temple is the highest honor that warriors can attain.

  Sharukin: Literally “warrior poses,” practiced series of movements for sharusahk.

  Sharum: Warrior. The Sharum dress in robes often inlaid with fired clay plates as armor.

  Sharum Ka: Literally “First Warrior,” a title in Krasia for the secular leader of alagai’sharak. The Sharum Ka is appointed by the Andrah, and the kai’Sharum of all tribes answer to him and him only from dusk until dawn. The Sharum Ka has his own palace and sits on the Spear Throne. He wears dal’Sharum blacks, but his turban and night veil are white.

  Sharum’ting: Female warrior, mostly used to describe Inevera’s personal guard. The chin Wonda Cutter was the first to be recognized by Jardir.

  Sharusahk: The Krasian art of unarmed combat. There are various schools of sharusahk depending on caste and tribe, but all consist of brutal, efficient moves designed to stun, cripple, and kill.

  Shevali: Dama advisor to Damaji Ashan.

  Shusten: Dal’Sharum son of Abban. Raised to hate his khaffit father.

  Sikvah: Hasik’s daughter by Jardir’s sister Hanya, and Amanvah’s personal servant. Offered to Rojer as a second bride.

  Skull Throne: Made from the skulls of deceased Sharum Ka and coated in electrum, the throne is powered by the skull of a mind demon, casting a forbiddance that prevents demons from entering the inner city of Everam’s Bounty. The seat of power for Krasia’s leader.

  Soli: Dal’Sharum brother of Inevera. Push’ting. Lover of Cashiv. Killed by Kasaad.

  Spears of the Deliverer: The elite personal bodyguard to Ahmann Jardir, made up mostly of the Sharum from his old Maze unit.

  Spear Throne: The throne of the Sharum Ka, made from the spears of previous Sharum Kas.

  Stinger: The ammunition for the scorpion ballistae. Stingers are giant spears with heavy iron heads that can punch through sand demon armor on a parabolic shot.

  Sunian: Artifacts from the city of Anoch Sun. Also the name of its people.

  Tachin: Dama son of Jardir, Krevakh tribe.

  Thalaja: Jardir’s second Kaji wife, mother of Icha and Micha.

  Tikka: Grandmother (informal term of affection).

  ’Ting: Suffix meaning “woman.”

  Tribes: Anjha, Bajin, Jama, Kaji, Khanjin, Majah, Sharach, Krevakh, Nanji, Shunjin, Mehnding, Halvas. The prefix am’ is used to denote both family and tribe, as in Ahmann asu Hoshkamin am’Jardir am’Kaji.

  Undercity: Huge honeycomb of warded caverns beneath Fort Krasia where women, children, and khaffit are locked at night to keep them safe from corelings while the men fight. Still being constructed in Everam’s Bounty.

  Vah: Literally “daughter” or “daughter of.” Used as a suffix when a girl is named after her mother or father, as in Amanvah, or as a prefix in a full name, as in Amanvah vah Ahmann am’Jardir am’Kaji.

  Waning: (1) Three-day monthly religious observance for Evejans occurring on the days before, of, and after the new moon. Attendance at Sharik Hora is mandatory, and families spend the days together, even pulling sons out of sharaj. Demons are supposedly stronger these nights, when it is said Alagai Ka walks the surface. (2) The three nights each month when it is dark enough for mind demons to rise to the surface.

  Watchers: Watchers are the dal’Sharum of the Krevakh and Nanji tribes. Trained in special weapons and tactics, they serve as scouts, spies, and assassins. Each Watcher carries an iron-shod ladder about twelve feet long and a short stabbing spear. The ladders are light, flexible, and strong. They have interconnecting ends (male/top, female/bottom), so ladders can be joined together. Watchers are so proficient they can run straight up a ladder without bracing it and balance at the top.

  Zahven: Ancient Krasian word meaning “rival,” “nemesis,” or “peer.”

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Raised on a steady diet of fantasy novels, comic books, and Dungeons & Dragons, PETER V. BRETT has been writing fantasy stories for as long as he can remember. He received a bachelor of arts degree in English literature and art history from the University at Buffalo in 1995, then worked for a decade in pharmaceutical publishing before returning to his bliss. He lives in Manhattan.

  Visit Peter online at www.petervbrett.com or follow him on Twitter @PVBrett.