Assimilate. The proclaimed law of the Talisman.
Audacy. A mission assigned to any of the Companions of Hira, a sacred trust.
Augur. One who foretells the future, a rank in the Authoritan’s court.
Authenticate. A title given to one who can verify the truth. See also Silver Mage.
Authoritan. The ruler of North Khorasan, the land beyond the Wall.
Avalaunche. A Talisman warning horn used to defend the Sorrowsong.
Aybek. Commander of the Buzkashi, leader of the people of the Wandering Cloud Door.
aylaq. Summer camp of the Buzkashi.
Basmachi. A resistance force north of the Wall who follow the teachings of the Usul Jade.
Black Aura Scaresafe. The Authoritan’s capital beyond the Wall.
Black Khan. The prince of West Khorasan, the Khan of Khorasan.
Bloodless. The guardians of the Bloodprint.
Bloodprint, The. The oldest known written compilation of the Claim.
Buzkashi. The name of the people of the Wandering Cloud Door.
buzkashi. A game of sport involving the carcass of a goat chased by horsemen.
Candour. A city in the south of Khorasan captured by the Talisman, home of the Silver Mage.
Candour, The. The book of the Silver Mage, instructing him in the history, traditions, and powers of the Claim, as well as his responsibilities as Silver Mage and Guardian of Candour.
chador. Shawl.
Citadel. The stronghold of the Council of Hira.
Citadel Guard. Warriors who guard the Citadel of Hira, assigned to the protection of the Companions.
Claim, The. The sacred scripture of Khorasan, also a powerful magic.
Clay Minar. A tower in the city of Black Aura Scaresafe.
Common Tongue. A language common to all parts of Khorasan and beyond.
Companions of Hira. Council of Hira, Oralists, the Affluent, sahabiya in the feminine singular, sahabah in the plural. A group of women charged with the guardianship of Khorasan and the sacred heritage of the Claim.
Council of Hira. See Companions of Hira.
dakhu. Bandit, disreputable person.
Death Run. A chain of mountains that forms one of the boundaries of the Wandering Cloud Door, east of the Valley of Five Lions.
East Wind. A people of a sister-scripture to the Claim. See also Esayin.
Empty Quarter. The lands of southwest Khorasan, destroyed by the wars of the Far Range.
Esayin. A people of a sister-scripture to the Claim. See also East Wind.
Everword. A people of a sister-scripture to the Claim.
Far Range. The uninhabitable country beyond Khorasan.
Fire Mirrors. A mountain chain that forms the northern boundary of the Wandering Cloud Door, just south of the Wall.
First Oralist. A rank of highest distinction among the Companions of Hira, reserved for the Companion with the greatest knowledge of and fluency in the Claim.
Firuzkoh. The Turquoise City, lost to time.
Five Lakes. A territory of Khorasan, north of Hazarajat.
ger. Home, tent, yurt.
geshlaq. Winter camp of the Buzkashi.
Gold House. A palace in the Registan where women are trained in the arts. See also Tilla Kari.
Golden Finger. A minaret at the meeting place of two rivers.
Gur-e-Amir. The Green Mirror. A tomb complex in Marakand.
Hallow. A hall in the valley of Firuzkoh.
haq. Truth, right, justice.
haramzadah. An epithet that means “bastard.”
Hazara. A people of central and east Khorasan, persecuted by the Talisman.
Hazarajat. A territory of central and east Khorasan, home of the Hazara people.
Hazing. A district of Marakand that is home to the Basmachi resistance. See also Tomb of the Living King.
High Companion. Leader of the Council of Hira.
High Road. A river of central Khorasan, also called the Arius, the Tarius, the Horaya, and the Tejen.
High Tongue. The language of the Claim.
hijra. Migration.
Hira. The sanctuary of the Companions.
Ice Kill. A valley at the entrance to the Wandering Cloud Door, home to the Buzkashi.
Immolans. Deputies of the One-Eyed Preacher, tasked with book-burning.
Inklings. Scribes from the Lands of the Shin Jang.
iqra. Read.
Irb. The language spoken by the people of the Wandering Cloud Door.
Jahiliya. The Age of Ignorance.
jorgo. Fast mountain horses.
kaghez. Paper manufactured from mulberry trees.
Kalaam. Word, one of the names of the Claim.
Kamish. A type of calligraphy pen.
karakash. Black jade.
Khagan. Khan of Khans or King of Kings.
khamsa. One of five mythical mares.
khamsin. A desert wind.
Khanum. A consort of the Khan, the Authoritan’s consort.
Khorasan. The lands of the people of the Claim, north, south, east, and west.
Khost-e-Imom. A protective cover or place for the Bloodprint.
khubi. Bounty, spoils of war.
khuriltai. Council.
kohl. Black eyeliner.
Kufa. A style of calligraphy taken from a city of the same name.
kuluk. Load-bearing horses with stamina.
lajward. Lapis lazuli.
likka. Raw silk fibers used in the practice of calligraphy.
Mangudah. A death squad of the Buzkashi, a regiment of the Army of the One.
Marakand. A city of North Khorasan beyond the Wall.
Maze Aura. A city of central Khorasan.
Mir. Any leader of the Hazara people.
mllaya moya. My sweet, my love.
morin khuur. Horsehead fiddle.
neeli. Dark blue lapis lazuli.
Negus. Ruler of the lands south of the Empty Quarter, also the name given to these lands; the leader of Sinnia’s people.
nurm. Soft.
One-Eyed Preacher. A tyrant from the Empty Quarter whose teachings have engulfed all of Khorasan.
Oralist. A Companion of Hira who recites the Claim.
Otchigen. The Prince of the Hearth, a title given to the youngest male member of the family of the Lord of the Buzkashi.
pagri. A thick wool cap worn by the Talisman.
Plague Lands. A northern territory of Khorasan destroyed by the wars of the Far Range.
Plaintive. A warning horn sounded by the Buzkashi.
qarajai. A dangerous form of the sport buzkashi.
Qari. One who recites the Claim.
qiyamah. Resurrection, rising.
rasti, rusti. Originally “safety is in right”; the Authoritan’s motto, “Strength is justice.”
Registan. A public square in the heart of the city of Marakand, literally translated as “sandy place.”
Rising Nineteen. A cult that has come to power in the Empty Quarter.
Russe. A name given to the people of the Transcasp.
sabz. Green lapis lazuli.
Sacred Cloak. A holy relic worn by the messenger of the Claim.
Safanad. One of the five mares of the khamsa, Arian’s horse.
Sahabah. A title given to the Companions of Hira in the plural; sahabiyah, feminine singular.
Sailing Pass. A mountain pass en route to the Sorrowsong Mountain.
Sar-e-Sang. Sorrowsong, the Blue Mountain. Location of the oldest continuously worked lapis lazuli mines in Khorasan.
Sea of Reeds. A sea that divides the Empty Quarter from the Lands of the Negus.
Sea of the Transcasp. A body of water that divides West Khorasan from the Transcasp.
Shadow Mausoleum. A crypt used for storing the bones of the Authoritan’s enemies. See also Shir Dar.
shahadah. The bearing of witness.
shah-mat. Checkmate.
shahtaranj. A chess board.
Shin Jang. A northeastern territ
ory of Khorasan.
Shin War. One of the tribes of Khorasan, allegiant to the Talisman.
Shir Dar. A former House of Wisdom in the Registan. See also Shadow Mausoleum.
Shrine of the Sacred Cloak. A holy shrine where the Cloak has been stored for centuries and guarded by the Ancient Dead.
shura. A council or consultation.
Silver Mage. The Guardian of Candour, Keeper of the Candour.
Sorrowsong. See Sar-e-Sang.
suhuf. A sheaf of paper.
Sulde. The spirit banner of the Buzkashi.
tahweez. A gold circlet or circlets, worn on the upper arms by the Companions of Hira, inscribed with the names of the One and the opening words of the Claim.
taihe. A princess of Shin Jang.
Talisman. Followers of the One-Eyed Preacher, militias that rule most of the tribes of Khorasan.
Task End. A city of North Khorasan beyond the Wall, the original home of the Bloodprint.
Tilla Kari. A former site of worship in the Registan. See also Gold House.
Tomb of the Living King. A lost tomb in a district of Marakand known as the Hazing.
Tradition. The accompanying rites and beliefs of the Claim.
Transcasp. The lands of northwest Khorasan.
Valley of Five Lions. A territory in central Khorasan, fought over by the Shin War and the Zai Guild.
Valley of the Awakened Prince. A territory in central Khorasan.
Wall. A fortification built by the ancestors of the Authoritan to ward off the plague, dividing North Khorasan from South.
Wandering Cloud Door. The lands of the Buzkashi in northeast Khorasan.
Yassa. The law of the people of the Wandering Cloud Door.
Yeke Khatun. Great Empress of the people of the Wandering Cloud Door.
Yurungkash. White jade.
Zai Guild. One of the tribes of Khorasan, allegiant to the Talisman.
Zerafshan. A river of North Khorasan, beyond the Wall.
ziyara. A religious pilgrimage.
Zud. Animal famine.
About the Author
Ausma Zehanat Khan holds a PhD in international human rights law with a specialization in military intervention and war crimes in the Balkans. She is the author of the award-winning debut novel The Unquiet Dead, the first in the Khattak/Getty mystery series. Her subsequent novels include The Language of Secrets and Among the Ruins. A British-born Canadian, she now lives in Colorado with her husband.
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Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
the bloodprint. Copyright © 2017 by Ausma Zehanat Khan. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
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first edition
Cover design by Lex Maudlin
Cover illustration by Steve Stone; © Shutterstock (detail)
Maps created by Ashley P. Halsey, inspired by Ayesha Shaikh
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Star art on title page by Gala Matorina/Shutterstock, Inc.
Digital Edition OCTOBER 2017 ISBN: 978-0-06-245921-3
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-245919-0
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