by Eric Flint
No matter where they went, to whatever star system-in time, to whatever galaxy-the crystals would select a constellation from the skies. It was their only constellation. Often enough, simply adopted from a constellation named by the fleshy humans among whom they lived.
But if they adopted the star pattern from their neighbors, they did not adopt the name. The crystals had their own name for that one and only constellation. As if the ritual of the invariant name was a great talisman of their own, protecting them from whatever horrors might lurk in the universe.
They would call it, always, The Craftsman.
Cast Of Characters
From the future
Aide: A representative of a crystalline race from the far distant future, allied with Belisarius. Originally developed as an artificial intelligence by the Great Ones to combat the "DNA plague," the crystals became instrumental in the formation of the Great Ones themselves. Aide is sent back in time to counter the efforts of the "new gods" to change the course of human history.
Great Ones: Originating out of humanity, the Great Ones are a completely transformed type of human life. They no longer bear any physical resemblance to their human ancestors. Indeed, they are not even based on protoplasmic biological principles.
Link: An artificial intelligence created by the "new gods" of the future and sent back in time to change the course of human history. It exists in the form of a cybernetic organism, transferring its mental capacity from one human host to another as each host dies.
New gods: A quasi-religious cult from the far future which is determined to prevent the various mutations and transformations which humanity has undergone during the millions of years of its spread through the galaxy. There being no way to overturn that present reality, the new gods decide to stop the process early in human history. They send Link back in time to create a world empire based in northern India, organized along rigid caste principles, which will serve as the basis for a eugenics program to create a race of "perfect" humans.
Romans
Agathius: Commander of the Constantinople Greek cataphracts who were led by Belisarius in the opening campaign against the Malwa in Mesopotamia.
Anastasius: One of Belisarius' bodyguards.
Anna : Anna Saronites, wife of Calopodius the Blind
Anthony (Cassian): Bishop of Aleppo. He brought Aide and Michael to Belisarius.
Antonina: Wife of Belisarius.
Ashot: An Armenian and one of Belisarius' bucellarii, his personal household troops. He becomes one of the top officers in the Roman army during the war against the Malwa.
Belisarius: Roman general.
Bouzes and Coutzes: Twin brothers commanding the Army of Lebanon, later top officers in Belisarius' forces.
Calopodius: A young Greek nobleman who serves as an officer in Belisarius' Indus campaign. Later becomes Belisarius' historian.
Cottomenes : Attached to Anna's Service
Cyril: Commander of Constantinople Greek troops.
Eusebius: A young artisan employed by John of Rhodes in creating the Roman armaments project. Later an officer in the Roman navy.
Felix (Chalcenterus): A young Syrian soldier promoted by Belisarius. Eventually becomes an officer, commanding musketeers.
Gregory: One of Belisarius' commanders; specializes in artillery.
Hermogenes: Roman infantry commander.
Hypatia: Photius' nanny; later married to Julian.
Illus : Attached to Anna's Service
Irene (Macrembolitissa): Head of the Roman spy network.
John of Rhodes: Former Roman naval officer, in charge of Belisarius' weapons project.
Julian: Head of Photius' bodyguard.
Justinian: Roman emperor.
Koutina: Antonina's maid.
Mark of Edessa: Another young officer promoted by Belisarius.
Maurice: Belisarius' chief military lieutenant.
Menander: A young Roman soldier; later a naval officer.
Michael of Macedonia: A monk who first encountered Aide.
Photius: Antonina's son and Belisarius' stepson.
Procopius of Caesaria: Antonina's original secretary.
Sittas: An old friend of Belisarius and one of the Roman empire's generals.
Theodora: Justinian's wife and the Empress of Rome.
Valentinian: One of Belisarius' bodyguards.
Ethiopians
Eon: Kaleb's son.
Ezana: Eon's bodyguard; later commander of the royal regiment.
Garmat: A top Axumite royal counselor.
Kaleb: The negusa nagast (King of Kings) of Axum.
Ousanas: Eon's dawazz; later, aqabe tsentsen.
Rukaiya: Arab princess, bride of Eon.
Wahsi: Eon and Rukaiya's son, named after Eon's bodyguard, new negusa nagast of Ethiopia
Persians
Baresmanas: a Persian nobleman (sahrdaran), of the Suren family.
Khusrau Anushirvan: King of Kings of Iran and non-Iran.
Kurush: Baresmanas' nephew; a top Persian military leader.
Tahmina: Baresmanas' daughter; Photius' bride.
Malwa
Ajatasutra: Malwa spy and assassin; Narses' right-hand man.
Balban: Malwa spymaster in Constantinople during Nika revolt.
Damodara: Malwa military commander.
Holi: "Great Lady." Skandagupta's aunt; vessel for Link.
Indira: Rana Sanga's half-sister; to be married to Toramana.
Mirabai: Rana Sanga's daughter.
Nanda Lal: Head of Malwa spy network.
Narses: Roman traitor; Damodara's spymaster.
Rajiv: Rana Sanga's son.
Rana Sanga: Rajput king; Damodara's chief lieutenant.
Sati: "Great Lady." Vessel for Link.
Skandagupta: Emperor of Malwa.
Toramana: A Ye-tai general; subordinate to Damodara.
Venandakatra: "The Vile One." Powerful Malwa official.
Marathas amp; Andhrans
Baji: Dhruva's infant son.
Bindusara: Hindu sadhu.
Dadaji Holkar: Malwa slave freed by Belisarius; later peshwa of Andhra.
Dhruva: Dadaji's oldest daughter; Malwa slave.
Gautami: Dadaji's wife.
Lata: Dadaji's youngest daughrer; Malwa slave.
Maloji: Rao's friend and chief military lieutenant.
Namadev: Shakuntala and Rao's infant son.
Raghunath Rao: Maratha chieftain, leader of the Maratha rebellion. "The Panther of Majarashtra." "The Wind of the Great Country." Shakuntala's mentor, later her husband.
Shakuntala: Last survivor of the Satavahana dynasty; later Empress of reborn Andhra; "The Black-Eyed Pearl of the Satavahanas."
Kushans
Kungas: Commander of the Kushans guarding Shakuntala; later king of the reborn Kushan kingdom.
Kanishka: Kungas' troop leader.
Kujulo: Kungas' troop leader.
Vasudeva: Commander of the Kushans captured by Belisarius at Anatha.
Glossary
A note on terminological usage. Throughout the series, the terms "Roman" and "Greek" are used in a way which is perhaps confusing to readers who are not very familiar with the historical setting. So a brief explanation may be helpful.
By the sixth century a.d., the only part of the Roman Empire still in existence was what is usually called by modern historians the Eastern Roman Empire, whose capital was in Constantinople. The western lands in which the Roman Empire originated-including Rome itself and all of Italy-had long since fallen under the control of barbarian tribes like the Ostrogoths.
The so-called "eastern" Roman Empire, however, never applied that name to itself. It considered itself-and did so until its final destruction at the hands of the Ottoman Turks in 1453 a.d.-as the Roman Empire. And thus, when referring to themselves in a political sense, they continued to call themselves "Romans."
Ethnically speaking, of course, there was very little Latin or Roman presence left in the Roman Emp
ire. In terms of what you might call its "social" content, the Roman Empire had become a Greek empire in all but name. In Justinian's day, Latin was still the official language of the Roman Empire, but it would not be long before Greek became, even in imperial decrees and political documents, the formal as well as de facto language of the Empire. Hence the frequency with which the same people, throughout the course of the series, might be referred to (depending on the context) as either "Roman" or "Greek."
Loosely, in short, the term "Roman" is a political term; the term "Greek" a social, ethnic or linguistic one-and that is how the terms are used in the series.
Places
Adulis: a city on the western coast of the Red Sea; the kingdom of Axum's major port; later, the capital city of the Ethiopians.
Ajmer: the major city of Rajputana.
Alexandria: the major city of Roman Egypt, located on one of the mouths of the Nile.
Amaravati: the former capital of the Empire of Andhra, located on the Krishna river in south India; sacked by the Malwa; Shakuntala taken into captivity after her family is massacred.
Anatha: an imperial villa in Mesopotamia; site of the first major battle between Belisarius and the Malwa.
Axum: the name refers both to the capital city in the highlands and the kingdom of the Ethiopians.
Babylon: ancient city in Mesopotamia, located on the Euphrates; site of a major siege of the Persians by the Malwa.
Barbaricum: the major port in the Indus delta; located near present day Karachi.
Begram: the major city of the Kushans.
Bharakuccha: the major port of western India under Malwa control; located at the mouth of the Narmada river.
Charax: Persian seaport on the Persian Gulf.
Chowpatty: Malwa naval base on the west coast of India; located at the site of present day Mumbai (Bombay).
Constantinople: capital of the Roman Empire; located on the Bosporus.
Ctesiphon: capital of the Persian empire; located on the Tigris river in Mesopotamia.
Deccan: southern India.
Deogiri: a fortified city in central Majarashtra; established by Shakuntala as the new capital of Andhra.
Gwalior: location of Venandakatra's palace in north India where Shakuntala was held captive.
Hindu Kush: the mountains northwest of the Punjab. Site of the Khyber Pass.
Kausambi: capital of the Malwa empire; located in north India, at the junction of the Ganges and Jamuna rivers.
Majarashtra: literally, "the Great Country." Land of the Marathas, one of India's major nationalities.
Marv: an oasis city in Central Asia; located in present day Turkmenistan.
Mindouos: a battlefield in Mesopotamia where Belisarius fought the Persians.
Muziris: the major port of the kingdom of Kerala in southeastern India.
Nehar Malka: the ancient canal connecting the Euphrates and Tigris rivers; scene of a battle between Belisarius and the Malwa.
The Pass: a pass in the Zagros mountains separating Mesopotamia from the Persian plateau; site of a battle between Belisarius and Damodara; called The Battle of the Mongoose by the Rajputs.
Peshawar: located in the Vale of Peshawar, between the Punjab and the Khyber Pass.
Punjab: the upper Indus river valley.
Rajputana: the land of the Rajputs, one of India's major nationalities.
Sind: the lower Indus river valley.
Sukkur: a major city on the Indus; north of the city is the "Sukkur gorge" which marks the boundary between Sind and the Punjab.
Suppara: a port city on India's west coast, to the north of Chowpatty.
Tamraparni: the island of Ceylon; modern day Sri Lanka.
Vindhyas: the mountain range which marks the traditional boundary between northern India and southern India.
Terms
Anvaya-prapta sachivya: members of the Malwa royal clan.
Aqabe tsentsen: literally, "keeper of the fly-whisks." The highest ranked official in the Axumite government.
Azadan: literally, "men of noble birth." Refers to a class of people in the Persian empire roughly analogous to medieval European knights.
Cataphract: the heavily armed and armored mounted archer and lancer who formed the heart of the Roman army. Developed by the Romans as a copy of the dehgan.
Dawazz: a slave assigned as adviser to Ethiopian princes, specifically for the purpose of deflating royal self-aggrandizement.
Dehgan: the Persian equivalent of a cataphract.
Dromon: a Roman war galley.
Kushans: originating as a barbarian tribe from the steppes, the Kushans became civilized after conquering Central Asia and were the principal support for Buddhism in the early centuries of the Christian Era; later subjugated by the Malwa.
Negusa nagast: "King of Kings." Ruler of Axum, the kingdom of the Ethiopians.
Nika: the name of the insurrection against Justinian and Theodora engineered by the Malwa.
Peshwa: roughly translates as "vizier." Top civilian official of the Empire of Andhra.
Sahrdaran: the highest ranked nobility in the Persian empire, next in status to the emperor. Traditionally consisted of seven families, of which the "first among equals" were the Suren.
Sarwe: a regiment of the Axumite army. The plural is "sarawit." Individual soldiers are called "sarwen."
Spatha: the standard sword used by Roman soldiers; similar to the ancient Roman short sword called the gladius, except the blade is six inches longer.
Vurzurgan: "grandees" of the Persian empire. Noblemen ranked between the azadan and the sahrdaran.
Ye-tai: a barbarian tribe from central Asia incorporated into the Malwa governing structure. Also known as "Ephthalites" or "White Huns."
Maps
FB2 document info
Document ID: fbd-346373-1545-f54e-8d96-c1ca-70b9-e396ce
Document version: 3
Document creation date: 20.12.2012
Created using: calibre 0.9.7, Fiction Book Designer, FictionBook Editor Release 2.6.6 software
Document authors :
Eric Flint
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