Aetherium (Omnibus Edition)

by Joseph Robert Lewis

  Europa – Fiction: A continent to the west of Asia, currently experiencing an Ice Age. Fact: While Europe emerged from the Ice Age long ago, it still has many glaciers in the Alps.

  Fariza Othmani – Fiction: A wealthy Mazigh industrialist. Fact: The name Fariza means light.

  Father – Fiction: In the Roman and Constantian Churches, this is the aspect of God that embodies the concepts of law and justice. Fact: In Catholicism, the Father is one of the aspects of the Holy Trinity.

  Ferdinand Magellan – Fiction: An Espani admiral. Fact: A Portuguese explorer in the sixteenth century, and the first person to lead a sailing expedition all the way around the world (although he died halfway along).

  Firenze – Fiction: A city in northern Italia. Fact: Firenze is the Italian name for the city of Florence, Italy.

  Flying foxes – Fiction: Large flying nocturnal mammals that can be found throughout North Ifrica. Fact: Some large species of bats are called flying foxes.

  Gadir – Fiction: A city in southern España. Fact: A real location in Spain. Gadir was the Phoenician settlement that became the modern city of Cadiz.

  Ganesh – Fiction: An Indian (Hindu) god of art, science, wisdom, intelligence, and removing obstacles. Fact: Same.

  Ghanima – Fiction: A young pilot in the Mazigh Air Corps. Fact: The Swahili name Ghanima means good fortune.

  Ghost – Fiction: When a person dies, their soul lives on outside the body as a ghost, which can only be seen by living people when there is enough aether mist in the area. Because aether can only be seen under cold conditions, ghosts are rarely seen in warm climates. Only a small fraction of souls choose to walk the earth as ghosts. Fact: None.

  Giant armadillo – Fiction: A huge armored mammal, similar to a tortoise but much larger with a mace-like tail. Fact: These creatures roamed ancient South America before becoming extinct 10,000 years ago. Also known as glyptodonts.

  Gibraltar – Fiction: A city in southern España. Fact: A real location in Spain.

  Gideon – Fiction: A soldier from Damascus who was made immortal by Bashir two thousand years ago. He was taught the science of sun-steel and now he wanders the earth, destroying sun-steel weapons to free enslaved souls. Fact: In the Bible, Gideon defeated the Midianites to free the Israelites.

  Gilded Grebe – Fiction: One of the courier airships in the Mazigh Northern Air Corps stationed in the city of Tingis. Fact: None.

  Ginger – Fiction: The preferred snack of a certain herbalist to promote general health, lower anxiety, and cure headaches. Fact: Ginger has several confirmed and many unconfirmed health benefits.

  Golden Death – Fiction: A plague native to South America, where most indigenous people are immune. This disease killed the majority of the invading Espani army. Fact: When the Spanish invaded South America, they brought diseases such as small pox that killed millions of the indigenous peoples.

  Gondola – Fiction: The cockpit and cabin compartment of an airship located below the envelope (balloon). Fact: Same.

  Granada – Fiction: A city in southern España. Fact: A real location in Spain.

  Gurbir – Fiction: A small fruit with a bitter taste that desiccates the human body but keeps the eater alive indefinitely in a mostly delusional state. Fact: Gurbirs resemble strawberries (slightly) and are edible.

  Gurjaratra – Fiction: A region of northwestern India, home to the Gurjars. Fact: Same.

  Gurjars – Fiction: An ethnic group in northwestern India and Rajasthan. Fact: Same.

  Halcyon I – Fiction: One of the courier airships in the Mazigh Northern Air Corps stationed in the city of Tingis. Built by Isoke Geroubi and Taziri Ohana with electric motors instead of a steam engine to improve air safety following the explosion of the Silver Shearwater. Fact: None.

  Halcyon II – Fiction: The first aeroplane in the world. Designed and built by Isoke Geroubi. Fact: The first airplanes were built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Seaplanes resembling the Halcyon II were first built around 1940.

  Halcyon III – Fiction: A Mazigh aeroplane able to transform into a locomotive using the first petrol-powered engine in the world. Designed and built by Taziri Ohana. Fact: Flying locomotives are rarely seen in reality.

  Harpy eagle – Fiction: This species of predatory bird from the New World is the largest and most powerful eagle in the world. Fact: Same.

  Hartebeest – Fiction: A species of antelope found in Ifrica. Fact: A species of antelope found in Africa.

  Hasika – Fiction: A woman living in eastern Rajasthan with her family, surviving on gurbirs. Fact: The Sanskrit name Hasika means laughing.

  Hatun-anka – Fiction: A nine-foot tall “terror bird” used by the Incas as mounts and weapons in war. Resembles a feathered velociraptor. Fact: Terror birds such as Titanis roamed South America until becoming extinct about two million years ago. The Quechua (Incan) words hatun anka mean great eagle.

  Hellan – Fiction: A person from or the language of Hellas. Fact: The adjective for something from Greece is Hellenic (as well as Greek).

  Hellas – Fiction: A country in east-central Europa. Fact: A real location in Europe. The Greek name for Greece was originally Hellas, and the official name of Greece today is the Hellenic Republic.

  Herat – Fiction: A city in western Afghanistan. Fact: Same.

  Herbalist – Fiction: A practitioner of traditional medicine, relying on the use of plants and animals to create effective treatments and not using invasive techniques such as surgery. Fact: Same.

  Hidalgo – Fiction: An Espani rank, similar to a knighthood. Entitles the individual to the title “Don” and exemption from taxes. Fact: Same. The Spanish rank of hidalgo was created in the twelfth century.

  Hindi – Fiction: The common and official language of India. Fact: Same.

  Horus – Fiction: A young man gifted with a sun-steel soul-locket, granting him eternal life and youth, as well as other abilities. A member of a large family of similarly immortal men and women, he lives a generally secluded life in the undercity of Alexandria. Four thousand years ago, he and his family posed as high priests and living gods of the Aegyptian people, presiding over state and religious functions, such as funerals. Fact: The Egyptian god Horus was associated with the sky and war. He was depicted as having a falcon’s head.

  Huesca – Fiction: A town in northern España. Fact: A real location in Spain.

  Ice-sailer – Fiction: A vehicle for traveling the frozen rivers of España. Resembles an outrigger canoe mounted on ice skates and powered by a sail. Fact: The sport of ice yachting is at about three hundred years old and is practiced in northern Europe, Russia, Canada, and the United States.

  Ifrica – Fiction: A continent to the south of the Middle Sea. Currently the most temperate and fertile region in the civilized world. Fact: The name “Africa” evolved from multiple sources, and the northern coast of Africa was called “Ifriqya” from the seventh to the sixteenth century. Thousands of years ago, the region we now call the Sahara Desert was in fact green and fertile and contained a massive inland sea.

  Igbo – Fiction: One of the peoples of West Ifrica conquered by the Songhai Empire. Fact: The Igbo people currently live in southern Nigeria.

  Ikelan – Fiction: The slave caste of the traditional Mazigh society, which was abolished two generations ago. Fact: The slave caste of the Tuareg (Berber) people still exists today.

  Ikosim – Fiction: A town in Numidia, originally settled by the Phoenicians. Fact: An ancient village settled by the Phoenicians three thousand years ago.

  Imajeren – Fiction: The ruling caste of the traditional Mazigh society, which was abolished two generations ago. Fact: The warrior-aristocrat caste of the Tuareg (Berber) people still exists today, but in a diminished form.

  Imrad – Fiction: The worker caste of the traditional Mazigh society, which was abolished two generations ago. Fact: The worker or servant caste of the Tuareg (Berber) people still exists today, but in a diminished form.

  Inadi
n – Fiction: The free craftsman caste of the traditional Mazigh society, which was abolished two generations ago. Fact: The smith/artist caste of the Tuareg (Berber) people still exists today, but in a diminished form.

  Inca – Fiction: The ruling empire and people of South America, who speak the Quechua language and repulsed the Espani military invasions led by the Pizzaro brothers. This empire, called Jisquntin Suyu (“The Nine Nations”), is ruled by the young emperor Manco Inca from the capital city of Cusco. Fact: One of the largest indigenous empires of the New World in the sixteenth century, who spoke the Quechua language and were defeated by the Spanish invasions led by the Pizzaro brothers. This empire, called Tawantin Suyu (“The Four Nations”), was briefly ruled by the young emperor Manco Inca from the capital city of Cusco (in modern Peru). Technically, the word “Inca” only referred to the ruling nobility or family, but the Spanish applied the word to the entire people.

  India – Fiction: A large nation on the southern edge of central Asia. Fact: Same.

  Ineslemen – Fiction: The priest caste of the traditional Mazigh society, which was abolished two generations ago. Fact: The clerical caste of the Tuareg (Berber) people still exists today, but in a diminished form.

  Inti – Fiction: The Incan sun god. Fact: Same.

  Iron – Fiction: A common metal with several uncommon properties and uses, including shielding a living person from ghosts. Fact: In European folklore, faeries and similar creatures fear and avoid iron objects and weapons.

  Isis – Fiction: A woman gifted with a sun-steel soul-locket, granting her eternal life and youth, as well as other abilities. A member of a large family of similarly immortal men and women, she lives a generally secluded life in the undercity of Alexandria. Four thousand years ago, she and her family posed as high priests and living gods of the Aegyptian people, presiding over state and religious functions, such as funerals. Fact: The Egyptian goddess Isis was associated with motherhood, nature, and magic. She was sometimes depicted as having the horns of a cow.

  Isle of Lanka – Fiction: A large island off the southeast coast of India. Fact: Same. The Sanskrit name Sri Lanka means venerable island.

  Isoke Geroubi – Fiction: An officer and engineer in the Northern Air Corps in Marrakesh. Last captain of the Silver Shearwater. Designer of the Halcyon I and Halcyon II. Fact: The name Isoke means Gift from God.

  Italia – Fiction: A country in central Europa. Fact: This is the Italian name for Italy.

  Italian – Fiction: A person from or the language of Italia. Fact: The Italian adjective is Italiano.

  Izza – Fiction: The personal assistant of Lady Sade. Fact: The Arabic name Izza means honor.

  Jagdish – Fiction: A mongoose that Asha found and that accompanies Priya. Fact: The Sanskrit name Jagdish means king of the world.

  Jaguar Order – Fiction: A military order in the Aztec nation. Fact: The Aztecs had several military orders including the Jaguar knights and Eagle knights. The Jaguar knights wore jaguar skins. And while they were deadly fighters, they specialized in military tactics to capture, not kill, their enemies.

  Jaipur – Fiction: The capital city of Rajasthan. Fact: Same.

  Jal Mahal – Fiction: The “Water Palace” of Jaipur. Fact: Same.

  Jeronimo Carranza – Fiction: An Espani fencing master who trained Lorenzo Quesada. Fact: A Spanish fencing master who invented the destreza fencing style in the sixteenth century.

  Jisquntin Suyu – Fiction: The Incan (Quechua) name for the Incan Empire, it means Nine Nations because it encompasses nine conquered provinces. Fact: The Incan Empire was called Tawantin Suyu, meaning Four Nations.

  Kahina – Fiction: A Mazigh airship pilot employed by a wealthy gentleman in Damascus. Fact: The Arabic name Kahina means female seer.

  Kanem Empire – Fiction: A nation in central North Ifrica. Fact: The Kanem Empire existed from the seventh to the fourteenth century in central North Africa (modern Chad, Nigeria, and Libya).

  Kasar – Fiction: A village in Rajasthan. Fact: Same.

  Kathmandu – Fiction: A large city on the northern border of India near Ming, high in the mountains. Fact: The capital of Nepal, located between India and China in the Himalayan Mountains.

  Kavi – Fiction: A boy who lived near the village of Kasar in Rajasthan before dying of tetanus. Fact: The Sanskrit name Kavi means sage or seer.

  Kel Ahaggar – Fiction: A people related to the Mazighs. They live in the mountainous nation of Ahaggar to the east of Marrakesh. Fact: The Kel Ahaggar (“people of Ahaggar”) live today in southern Algeria and are also known as the Tuareg or Berber peoples.

  Kel Tamasheq – Fiction: The ancestors of the modern Mazighs and Kel Ahaggar. Fact: The Kel Tamasheq (“people who speak Tamasheq”) is another name for the Tuareg or Berber peoples.

  Kella Massi – Fiction: A police detective in Arafez, Marrakesh. Fact: The name Kella is Amazigh.

  Kemet – Fiction: The ancient Aegyptian name for Aegyptus. Fact: The ancient Egyptian name for Egypt, meaning black land (fertile). Note: The name Egypt is a foreign word derived from ancient Greek.

  Kenan Agyeman – Fiction: A former Mazigh soldier, he transferred into the marshals, then into the Air Corps, and finally became a private detective in Tingis. Fact: The Biblical name Kenan means possession.

  Khahesh mikonam – “You’re welcome” in Farsi (Persian / Eranian)

  Khemisset – Fiction: A city in central Marrakesh. Fact: A real location in Morocco.

  Kilima Njaro – Fiction: The tallest mountain in Ifrica. Fact: Mount Kilimanjaro, located in Tanzania, is the tallest mountain (and volcano) in Africa. One theory is that the name comes from the Swahili “Kilima Njaro” meaning little white mountain.

  Kirumichi – Fiction: Large feline predators used by the Incans as hunters and weapons of war. Fact: Saber-toothed cats like Smilodon were the dominant predators of North and South America until they became extinct about 10,000 years ago.

  Kishan – Fiction: A boy living in eastern India with his mother in a village beside a mountain stream. Fact: This Sanskrit name means black and is a variant of Krishna.

  Kolkata – Fiction: A city in eastern India. Fact: Same (also spelled Calcutta).

  La Seo – Fiction: A large cathedral in Zaragoza. Fact: A real location in Spain. Also known as the Cathedral of the Savior.

  Lady Nerissa – Fiction: A Hellan princess and hereditary ruler of the city-state of Constantia. Fact: The Greek name Nerissa means nymph.

  Lakshmi – Fiction: An Indian (Hindu) goddess of prosperity, courage, and beauty. Fact: Same.

  Landsick – Fiction: When travelers step off a ship after a long journey, the sudden stillness of the land after the gentle rocking of the ship may cause dizziness, queasiness, and other mild symptoms similar to motion sickness, which usually pass in a matter of minutes. Fact: Same.

  Langur – Fiction: A monkey with white-gray fur and a black face. Fact: Same.

  Lilith – Fiction: A royal courtesan from Damascus who was made immortal by Bashir two thousand years ago. She was taught the science of soul-breaking and has since disappeared, though some suspect she is conducting cruel experiments in Aegyptus. Fact: In Jewish mythology, Lilith was the first woman, but she rejected Adam in favor of an angel, and is sometimes depicted as a demon.

  Lixus – Fiction: A coastal town in Marrakesh, originally settled by the Phoenicians. Fact: A coastal town in Morocco, originally settled by the Phoenicians in the seventh century BC. Its ruins are located near Larache, Morocco.

  Lorenzo Quesada de Gadir – Fiction: An Espani soldier, master fencer, and hidalgo. He was one of the few soldiers to survive the plague in the New World and he led the final retreat of the Espani survivors from the fort-town of Cartagena at the end of the war. In addition to his prowess with the sword, he is famous for his wife, an Incan princess, and her dangerous animal companions, as well as his discovery of the “skyfire stone,” an ancient Espani relic. Fact: None.

  Lotus – Fiction: A water flower u
sed by an angry ghost as a weapon. Fact: In India, the lotus is a symbol of purity and beauty.

  Lynx – Fiction: A large wild cat from España with long-haired ears. Fact: A real animal in western Europe.

  Macuahuitl – Fiction: An Aztec weapon, the hardened wood club is studded with obsidian spikes to form a sword-like blade. A devastating weapon against bare flesh. Fact: Same.

  Madrid – Fiction: A city in central España. Fact: A real location in Spain.

  Maharana – Fiction: An Indian title meaning king. Fact: Same.

  Maharashtra – Fiction: A province of India to the south of Rajasthan. Fact: Same.

  Mahua – Fiction: A tree that produces flowers, which when eaten have a powerful intoxicating effect. Fact: The mahua tree is used to produce alcoholic drinks, soap, butter, oil, fertilizer, and medicinal products.

  Malaga – Fiction: A city in southern España. Fact: A real location in Spain.

  Mali – Fiction: One of the peoples (and nations) of West Ifrica conquered by the Songhai Empire. Fact: The Mali Empire existed from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century in regions of modern Mali and Mauritania.

  Mallorca – Fiction: An island of the eastern coast of España. Fact: A real location in the Mediterranean Sea.

  Mamnoon – “Thank you” in Farsi (Persian / Eranian)

  Manco Inca – Fiction: The current ruler of the Incan Empire. Fact: Manco Inca was one of the last Incan emperors. A very young man, he initially welcomed the Spanish conquistadors (the Pizzaro brothers). But after the abuses of the Spanish became obvious, Manco led several unsuccessful campaigns against the Spanish before his death in 1544.

  Mandana – Fiction: A village in Rajasthan. Fact: Same.

  Mandrake – Fiction: A small tree that can absorb a variety of materials from the environment, such as oil, milk, or blood, to make different helpful or harmful products. Fact: The mandrake root is poisonous and associated with several European and Middle Eastern myths, including the story that when the mandrake is pulled from the earth it will scream and thus kill the person pulling it.

  Marbella – Fiction: A city in southern España. Fact: A real location in Spain.