Devil's Night Dawning: The First Book of the Broken Stone Series

by Damien Black

  Northalde One of the Free Kingdoms, settled by Northland reavers from the Frozen Principalities seven hundred years ago. Has undergone something of a revival under the reign of Freidheim II since its power diminished from its zenith more than a century ago under the reign of the Hero King Thorsvald. Comprises the lands north of the Argael and west of the Hyrkrainian mountains that divide the north-west peninsular of Western Urovia between it and the kingdom of Thraxia. Northlendings are famed for their skill in warfare, horsemanship, shipwrighting, weaponsmithing and castle-building.

  Northlending Inhabitant of the Kingdom of Northalde in north-western Urovia; not to be confused with Northlander, an inhabitant of the Frozen Principalities.

  Other Side Collective name given to all the dwelling places of spirits, elementi, fays, demons, angels and Reus Almighty Himself. Said to be an endless sea of vapour punctuated by islands, including the Heavenly Halls, Gehenna, and Azhoanarn where Azrael dwells. All supernatural beings hail from the Other Side, and this is consequently where warlocks of all bents derive their powers using the Language of Magick and the Sorcerer’s Script.

  Palomedes Second of the Two Prophets; inspired the Creed, the major religion of Urovia. Born to a soldier in Ushalayim about a thousand years ago in what is now the Pilgrim Kingdoms. Initially intended to follow his father into the Thalamian Legions but began hearing the Voice of Reus shortly after coming of age at fourteen. Resolved to use his martial skills to lead a revolution against the tyrannical Thalamian Empire and acquired a great following, but later forsook the sword and led his supporters in a campaign of passive resistance. Was finally apprehended by the Thalamians after being betrayed by his former lieutenant Antiochus the Red-Handed, taken to Tyrannos and broken on the Wheel at the Emperor’s command. Also known by his abbreviated name, Palom, and his most common epithet, the Redeemer.

  Pangonia Most powerful of the Free Kingdoms, though its influence has waned somewhat since its apogee under the Chivalrous King Vasirius, who ruled some two centuries ago. Its capital Rima is also the headquarters of the True Temple and the Argolian Order. Currently ruled by King Carolus III of the House of Ambelin, a scheming, ambitious monarch known also as the ‘wily’ and the ‘greedy’ for heavy taxes imposed on his barons.

  Pilgrim Kingdoms Collective name given to northern Sassanian territories carved out by Urovian crusaders a century ago, consisting of the Kingdom of Ushalayim, named after its principal city, where Palomedes the Redeemer was born, the Kingdom of Keraka and the Kingdom of Ranishmend.

  Pilgrim Wars Series of crusades – holy wars against the heathen Sassanians sanctioned by the True Temple – begun more than a hundred years ago that recaptured the holy city of Ushalayim where Palomedes the Redeemer was born. Many factions besides the victorious crusading dynasties have profited from the Pilgrim Wars, most notably the merchant houses of Mercadia, most southerly of the Free Kingdoms. However, the Pilgrim Wars have not been endorsed by all Palomedians: the Orthodox Temple has openly voiced its disapproval, whilst the Argolian Order has refused to condemn or condone them. And few knights from the northerly Free Kingdoms of Thraxia and Northalde have taken the Wheel, with most crusaders originating from Mercadia, Vorstlund, Pangonia and Thalamy.

  Platinum Age A thousand-year epoch during which the Elder Wizards ruled all of the Known World from the Island of Varya; during this time mankind, though in bondage to the Priest-Kings, reputedly lived in a state of ease, comfort and luxury unparalleled in mortal history. According to some scholars the average lifespan exceeded a century and even the lowest of birth were well educated and literate. This era came to an abrupt end some five millennia ago when the Unseen punished Ma’amun for daring to challenge their authority by destroying Varya and much of the Known World, laying waste to the great civilisation it had built.

  Princes of Perfidy Collective name given to the seven most powerful archdemons who serve Abaddon: Sha’amiel (avatar of greed and bigotry); Azathol (vanity and hubris); Zolthoth (wrath); Ta’ussaswazelim (cruelty); Chreosoaneuryon (gluttony); Satyrus (lust and sexual depravity); and Invidia (envy). The Seven Princes are themselves dark emanations of the Seven Seraphim and thus have their celestial opposites among the archangels, whose virtues they seek to corrupt and subvert.

  Purge Calamitous event a generation ago that saw the Argolian Order falsely accused and tried for witchcraft by clerics of the mainstream True Temple in Rima. Many Argolians were tortured and made false confessions which they later retracted. The Order eventually succeeded in refuting the charges and even turned the tables on their accusers – a divination led by Hannequin, Grand Master of the Order, revealed many of their accusers to have been themselves acting under the influence of the archdemon Sha’amiel. The guilty perfects were burned alive in the main square at Rima. However, in another twist, since then the Temple has been held to be itself ‘purged’ of all wrongdoing, its traitors having been brought to justice, whilst much suspicion continues to fall on the Argolians, whose psychic and spiritual abilities are held by many to be akin to sorcery itself.

  Redeemer Common epithet by which Palomedes is referred to among believers of the Creed.

  Rent Between Worlds The name given to the gap between the mortal vale and the Other Side that wizards of all kinds use to draw upon the supernatural powers essential to sorcery, using the Language of Magick and the Sorcerer’s Script. This gap was greatly widened during the Platinum Age when the Elder Wizards ruled the Known World, and is said to be responsible for all manifestations in the mortal vale, be it elementi, demonkind, fays, gaunts or other supernatural entities. The Rent widens in accordance with how much sorcery is being used; hence if a warlock is particularly active in one area, the Rent there will be widened, increasing the likelihood of possessions, hauntings and other apparitions.

  Reus Almighty God; responsible for the creation of the Universe and everything in it, including the Known World, the Other Side, archangels, angels, spirits, elementi, mortalkind and the animal kingdom. Sages differ on whether His power is truly infinite or simply incalculable according to the reckonings of mortalkind. The Almighty was unknown to pre-Faith mortals, who worshipped the archangels and archdemons as gods in their own right during the Platinum and Golden Ages.

  Right Hand Path More benign white magic originally taught to the Varyans by the Archangels to help them fashion their civilisation during the Platinum Age. Some thinkers, the Argolians among them, hold that all magic is a mistake, and that even the Right-Hand Path can be used to do evil in the wrong hands. Others such as the pagan followers of Kaia The Moon Goddess – who retaught aspects of white magic to the folk of the Island Realms during the First Age of Darkness – disagree on this point.

  Saltcaste One of the richest of the Southern Provinces of Northalde, along with Thule; its lands abut on the Wyvern Sea, giving it access to much trade. Joined the rebellion against the King during the War of the Southern Secession a generation ago; current ruler is Lord Aelrød.

  Sassania Lands of the hot south lying beyond the Sundering Sea that comprise the Four Sultanates, the Pilgrim Kingdoms and various other petty principalities. Principal religion is the Faith, founded by the First Prophet Sha’abat several generations before the coming of Palomedes.

  Second Age of Darkness Another period of decline marked in Western Urovia by the destruction of the Thalamian Empire after Tyrannos was sacked by Wulfric of Gothia more than nine hundred years ago. It is generally agreed to have ended with the consolidation of barbarian petty kingdoms into the six Free Kingdoms more than three centuries ago, ushering in the advent of the present Silver Age. Note that other cultures differ in their reckoning of the Second Age of Darkness; for instance the Urovian New Empire dates its ending with the completion of the Hundred Years Conquest slightly earlier, while the Sassanians date its beginning from the demise of the last Rightly Guided Sultan, two generations after Wulfric sacked Tyrannos.

  Seven Schools of Magick The core disciplines of sorcery practised by warlocks and wit
ches of varying bent and aptitude throughout the Known World. These are: Thaumaturgy, Transformation, Enchantment, Scrying, Alchemy, Necromancy and Demonology. The first five are broadly classified under the more benign Right Hand Path; the last two belong to the darker Left Hand Path.

  Seven Seraphim Foremost among the Archangels, those that sit at the right hand of Reus Almighty. They are: Logos (avatar of prosperity and tolerance); Siona (grace and dignity); Virtus (courage); Stygnos (stoicism and fortitude); Euphrosakritos (merriment); Luviah (love); and Aeriti (aspiration). The Seraphim are opposed by their dark emanations the Princes of Perfidy, who represent twisted or corrupted forms of the virtues they embody.

  Silver Age The present age; regarded by most Western Urovians as beginning with the consolidation of the Free Kingdoms some 350 years ago. Distinct from the previous Golden Age in that it is an era in which Reus Almighty has made Himself known to mortalkind – yet civilisation in Western Urovia is acknowledged by the learned to lag far behind that of the preceding epoch.

  Sixth Sense Special talent particular to the Argolian Order, honed by years of prayer and meditation. Its abilities are somewhat vague and thus difficult to define, but broadly speaking they allow a monk of the order to detect the following, with varying degrees of accuracy: when a person is lying or concealing something; when danger (particularly supernatural danger) is near; past pain or sorrow that continues to plague a victim; the presence of a warlock or witch and the type of magick being used; and a demon’s psychic spoor.

  Søren Legendary hero who hailed from the Frozen Principalities and came over with the First Reavers who began conquering and settling what is now Northalde seven centuries ago. Reputed to have been fathered on a mortal maiden by the archangel Sjórkunan, Lord of Oceans, whom the Northlanders worship as a god. Is most famed for his adventures thereafter, when seeking the westerly Island Realms in his magic ship Jürmengaard he stumbled upon the sorceress Morwena’s lair in the ruins of one of the Watchtowers of the Magi. She ensorcelled him into performing his Seven Deeds, the last of which saw the Headstone of Ma’amun recovered from the Forbidden City of Varya. Søren subsequently slew Morwena and broke the Headstone into four pieces, before taking his ship and sailing out across the Great Western Ocean, never to be seen again by mortal eyes. Has gone by various epithets during and after his lifetime, including the Doomed, Irongrip, Wavetamer and Wyrmslayer.

  Southern Provinces Collection of half a dozen small but prosperous baronies or jarldoms that comprise the lands of Northalde lying south of the King’s Dominions. The southron lords have a long-standing grievance with King Freidheim for war reparations imposed on them after being defeated during the Battle of Aumric Fields.

  Stornelund One of the richest of the nine baronies that compose the realm of Vorstlund, neighboured by Dulsinor to the west and Ostveld to the south. Ruled over by the House of Lanrak; the current Herzog is Lord Hengist – a vain, inept and bibulous man unworthy of the title.

  True Temple The church of the Creed that holds sway in Western Urovia, with the Supreme Perfect headquartered in Rima, the capital of Pangonia. Its name differentiates it from the Orthodox Temple, which administers the Creed in the Urovian New Empire east of the Great White Mountains. The True Temple was created by a schism, known as the Sundering of the Temple, six hundred years ago.

  Thraxia One of the Free Kingdoms of Western Urovia, composing the lands west of the Hyrkrainian Mountains that divide it from Northalde. Originally settled by clans fleeing the Island Realms after the Wars of Kith and Kin two thousand years ago. The last of the kingdoms to embrace the Creed, Thraxia has somewhat more tolerance for right hand magic than the other western kingdoms, although the Left Hand Path is punished severely. Thraxians are famed far and wide for the excellence of their poetry and music, and their greatest bard Maegellin is celebrated throughout the Free Kingdoms and beyond. Their skill at hunting and their fine mead are also noteworthy.

  Thule The most prosperous of the jarldoms of the Southern Provinces of Northalde, along with Saltcaste to the south. It was the Jarl of Thule, Kanga, who led the southron uprising against the King in the War of the Southern Secession. Had severe taxes imposed on it after losing the war in the Battle of Aumric Fields.

  Tintagael Name given to a haunted forest in the westernmost fiefs of the King’s Dominions and the ancient Watchtower of the Magi on its outskirts. Long the earthly sojourn of the Fay Folk, who exploited the Rent Between Worlds caused by the sorcery emanating from the Watchtower to cross over from the Other Side. Nowadays few wayfarers dare venture inside it, and of those who do fewer still emerge.

  Two Prophets Collective name given to the avatars, Sha’abat and Palomedes, whose teachings inspired the Faith and Creed respectively and brought the knowledge of Reus Almighty to mortalkind. Due to religious conflict, particularly the Pilgrim Wars, adherents of both religions respectively call the prophets ‘true’ and ‘false’ – though some loremasters acknowledge both. Note that the term ‘false prophet’ is also used to describe those possessed or impersonated by archdemons in order to lead mortalkind astray.

  Ulfang Name given to the largest Argolian monastery in Northalde, situated in the Highlands. The Great Monastery, as it is colloquially known, was founded on the ruins of a pagan shrine used by Northland priests who came over with the reavers that founded Northalde.

  Un-angels Collective name given given to ‘neutral’ entities that are considered neither angels nor demons. Foremost among them are Azrael, judge of souls; Kaia, worshipped as a nature goddess throughout pagan communities in the Island Realms; and Nurë, the archangel of fire, prayed to by smiths of all kinds. The Fay Folk are also considered by many loremasters to be lesser un-angels, being far from good but not truly evil.

  Unseen Collective noun given to all inhabitants of the Other Side after the Breaking of the World, when angels and other supernatural entities ceased to walk openly among mortalkind. Throughout the Golden Age they are said to have reappeared occasionally, though with diminishing frequency, and by the advent of the Silver Age such manifestations had become virtually unknown. Note that demonkind will manifest in the form of possessions and in response to summonings by a demonologist meddling with the Other Side using the Left Hand Path.

  Urovia Name given to all the lands lying north of the Sundering Sea and the Great Inland Sea, as far the Steppes of Koth that lie beyond the Mercenary Kingdoms to the east of the Urovian New Empire. Nowadays Urovian culture is usually associated with the Creed; but note that the Three Emirates lying directly south of the Mercenary Kingdoms and Koth are considered Sassanian by virtue of their religion and culture.

  Urovian New Empire The most powerful and technologically advanced country of the Silver Age, a land empire comprising seven former kingdoms that were consolidated four centuries ago by the House of Usharok during the Hundred Years’ Conquest. Protected by a string of fortresses in the Great White Mountains to the west and the Great Wall to the east, the Empire guards its secrets jealously and trades selectively with its neighbours. It is said to have preserved or relearned much of the lore of Ancient Thalamy, and former outlying provinces of that fallen empire are now part of the New Empire. Its capital, Illyrium, is said to be the greatest Urovian city since Ancient Tyrannos, and is the seat of the Imperator, the Ruling Senate, and the Orthodox Temple.

  Varya Name given to the civilisation and the island city that spawned it more than six thousand years ago in the midst of the Great Inland Sea. Inspired by the Archangels, who regularly visited them and taught them the Language of Magick among many other arts and crafts, the Varyans founded an empire that covered the Known World, from the Island Realms in the West to the Steppes of Koth in the East. They were ruled over by the Synod of Elder Wizards, said to number some five dozen warlocks of power unsurpassed before or since. This empire lasted about a thousand years until it was destroyed by the Unseen at the Breaking of the World, by which time it had fallen into demonolatry, decadence and corruption thanks to Ma’am
un, foremost among the Elder Wizards, who was seduced by Abaddon during his astral wanderings through the Other Side. Varya is also frequently referred to in texts as Seneca, the name given to it in Decorlangue, the language of Ancient Thalamy.

  Vorstlund Formerly a kingdom until the Partition Crisis some two centuries ago, Vorstlund is now a loose federation of nine baronies, although it is still classed as being one of the Free Kingdoms. Vorstlendings are known for their gluttony and generosity, but can also be quick to anger and are doughty fighters.

  Wadwo The result of disastrous experiments by the Elder Wizards to create a race of superhuman soldiers, Wadwos are generally solitary, near-mindless creatures of humanoid but grossly distorted aspect who dwell in remote forests and mountain lairs. Also known as ogres, woses and beastmen, they are possessed of huge strength but are clumsy and ill-disciplined.

  Watchtowers of the Magi A series of huge towers built by the Elder Wizards to watch over their vast domains across the Known World. Many were destroyed during the Breaking of the World, but some survived partially intact, including the Watchtowers of Tintagael in Northalde, the Valley of the Barrow Kings in the Island Realms, and Mount Brazen in the Great White Mountains dividing the Free Kingdoms from the Urovian New Empire.

  Wheel Chief symbol of the Creed, derived from the execution of its prophet Palomedes on a torture wheel in Tyrannos a thousand years ago. The sign of the Wheel is made by first touching the forehead and then splaying the fingers of the hand across one’s chest, in representation of the spokes the Redeemer’s limbs were broken on.

  White Valravyn Chivalrous order founded by the Hero King Thorsvald of Northalde a hundred years ago, in memory of the warrior saint Ulred; charged with upholding Royal Law throughout the King’s Dominions and bringing justice to all during peacetime, defending the realm in times of war, and the King’s personal security. Revived during the reign of Freidheim II after falling out of favour during the rule of King Aelfric III. The Order’s prestige means it draws the greatest and most ambitious knights of the realm to its ranks. Its present High Commander is Prince Freidhoff, younger brother to the King. It is headquartered at Staerkvit, one of Northalde’s greatest castles, which lies on lands in the Dominions that the Order rules directly on royal grant.