Kyralia 01 - [Black Magician 00] - The Magician's Apprentice

by Trudi Canavan

  quan – tiny disc-shaped beads made of shell

  undershift – Kyralian women’s undergarment

  vyer – stringed instrument from Elyne

  COUNTRIES/PEOPLES IN THE REGION

  Duna – tribes who live in volcanic desert north of Sachaka

  Elyne – neighbour to Kyralia and Sachaka and once ruled by Sachaka

  Kyralia – neighbour to Elyne and Sachaka and once ruled by Sachaka

  Lan – a mountainous land peopled by warrior tribes

  Lonmar – a desert land home to the strict Mahga religion

  Sachaka – home of the once great Sachakan Empire, where all but the most powerful are slaves

  Vin – an island nation known for their seamanship

  TITLES/POSITIONS

  Apprentice – Kyralian magician under training, and who has not been taught higher magic yet

  Ashaki – Sachakan landowner

  Ichani – Sachakan free man or woman who has been declared outcast

  Lady – wife of a Kyralian landowner

  Lord – Kyralian landowner, either of a ley or a city House, or their heir

  Magician – Kyralian higher magician (“Lord” used instead if magician is a landowner)

  Master – free Sachakan Village/Town Master – commoner in charge of a rural community (answers to the ley’s lord)

  OTHER TERMS

  the approach – main corridor to the master’s room in Sachakan houses

  blood gem – artificial gemstone that allows maker to hear the thoughts of wearer

  earthblood – term the Duna tribes use for lava

  kyrima – a game played by magicians to teach and practise strategic skills in battle

  master’s room – main room in Sachakan houses for greeting guests

  slavehouse – part of Sachakan homes where the slaves live and work

  slavespot – sexually transmitted disease

  storestone – gemstone that can store magic

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  The first half of this book was written during a very stressful and frustrating year, then the second half, rewrites and polishing in a tight six months. So I would like to thank Darren Nash and the team at Orbit for their understanding and patience, and Darren and Tim’s sympathetic ears when I poured out the whole house-extension saga on their visit to Melbourne.

  I also want to thank Fran Bryson, my agent, and her assistant, Liz Kemp, for their support and great work, and the agents all over the world who bring my books to readers who speak languages other than my own. Another thank you also goes to Phillip Berrie, who I hired to do a professional consistency check on the manuscript, that was well worth the investment.

  Thanks to my partner, Paul, who read the book, chapter by chapter, over the course of a year and a bit and kept encouraging me to write more, even though he was as demoralized over the house saga as I.

  And to my friends and family, who provided valuable feedback on part or all of the book: Mum and Dad, Donna Hanson, Fiona McLennan and Kylie Seluka.

  Lastly, but always most fondly, thank you to all the readers of my books who have sent lovely emails, left enthusiastic messages on my website’s guestbook, recommended or given my books to friends and family. You make my day.