Draykon
Page 31
Istore: Named by Llandry Sanfaer, istore is an indigo-coloured gemstone with a silver shine.
Litorn mushroom: Originally from the Upper Realms, the litorn mushrooms are cultivated in Glinnery for their pain-killing properties when prepared.
Lower Realms: Existing as an adjacent plane to the Seven Realms, the Uppers are so-called because they are believed to be situated somewhere beyond the ground. There is no sun in the Lowers, and as such it is always dark - though there are multiple moons which sometimes change colour. This place is notoriously unstable and difficult to navigate, as the geographical layout and scenery are in a state of constant flux. The Lower Realms may be reached by opening a gate between the two worlds.
Luminaef blossoms: Pungently-scented flowers that grow in Glinnery, green in leaf and rich blue in bloom. Their fragrance is strongest around the Evenglow.
Milkleaf: Named for its milk-white leaves, this herb grows wild in the Lower Realms. It is popularly cultivated across the Darklands for its stomach-settling properties.
Muumuk: A huge, heavy, slow-moving creature, omnivorous, its hide the colour of polished bronze. Muumuks have poor eyesight but much keener hearing with their enormous ears.
Nara-fruit: A juicy fruit with pink skin and flesh, grown in Glinnery.
Night Cloak: A magical enchantment wrought by sorcerers which cloaks the Darklands in shadow, keeping the sunlight away from the delicate and night-loving plants and animals cultivated by its citizens.
Nivven: The most popular mount across the Seven Realms, the nivven is a tall beast with four long, powerful legs and a graceful stride. Their scaled hides range in colour from pearly grey to dark brown. Nivvens are herbivorous and pacifistic in nature, making them ideal beasts of burden.
Off-Worlds: A term used to refer to all those worlds (the Upper and Lower Realms) which are not part of the mainland and can only be reached via magical travel.
Olifer: These small, furred animals live underground in burrows but emerge into the air to feed on worms and insects. They have unusual purple-and-grey striped hide, long noses and stubby tails.
Orting: A small mammal with pale grey fur, short ears and a short tail. The orting is a friendly, herbivorous species native to the Upper Realms.
Rosuis: A lustrous flower usually to be found in shades of pink or red. Their delicate fragrance makes their petals and seeds popular for use in perfumes and teas.
Rylur: A delicate tree which grows only in the Lower Realms. All attempts to transplant it to the Darklands provinces have ended in failure. The seed pods of the rylur tree are a primary component in prophylactic draughts.
Shortig hound: A small but energetic dog celebrated for its tracking abilities. Shortigs are black-furred, with long ears and large noses. They can be difficult to befriend, but are capable of great loyalty.
Ulenath: A tree-climbing feline creature with dappled, short-furred hide and large ears. Ulenaths are nocturnal, meat-eating beasts that typically live alone or in pairs.
Upper Realms: Existing as an adjacent plane to the Seven Realms, the Uppers are so-called because they are believed to be situated somewhere behind the sky. Multiple suns shine down on the Upper Realms, ensuring that it is always light. This place is notoriously unstable and difficult to navigate, as the geographical layout and scenery are in a state of constant flux. The Upper Realms may be reached by opening a gate between the two worlds.
Whistworm: A fat worm, native to the Lowers, that climbs the stems of tall plants and feeds off tiny insects. They are an unwholesome yellow in colour and lightly furred.
Whurthag: A fearsome beast from the Lower Realms, long since banned as summoner companions. Whurthags are large, muscular and very aggressive, with night-black hide and vicious claws and teeth. They are adept at stalking prey, their black hide all but invisible in Darklands provinces.
Yasmind: A little white flower, heavily fragranced; a popular ingredient in tea and cosmetics for its scent and flavour.
Excerpt from Lokant (Draykon 2)
Tren was staring vacantly at the pages of an open book when the woman appeared.
It wasn’t that he’d given up, precisely. He had been hard at work since soon after moonrise and it was now long after moonset, but as he had nothing better to do and no company at all, he had every intention of continuing with his reading until he couldn’t stay awake anymore.
But some awkward part of his mind had had other ideas, ever since he’d learned that Lady Glostrum was spending the evening with Lord Angstrun instead of studying side-by-side with him as she usually did.
Particularly since he had realised that she wasn’t coming home until the next day. What that meant did not take a great deal of intellect to decipher. When he had heard light footsteps crossing the floor of the study, his grey misery had lifted with the brief hope that Eva had come back after all.
But when he looked up, he saw a complete stranger.
She wasn’t as tall as Eva, but she was larger in every other sense. Her hair was chestnut brown and her complexion was a shade of brown he’d never seen before. She smiled at him and paused before the desk.
‘Forgive my intrusion,’ she murmured. She had a lilting accent that was pleasing to the ear, though he couldn’t place it. ‘I wasn’t expecting anyone to be here so late.’
Tren stood up and bowed politely. ‘I probably shouldn’t be.’
‘Then that makes two of us, for I shouldn’t be here either.’
Tren smiled uncertainly. ‘Are you a friend of Lady Glostrum’s?’
‘I have never met her ladyship. I am looking for some lost property.’ The woman shifted her attention to the desk, still scattered with books, and she actually began searching through them. Feeling a flicker of alarm, Tren closed the book he was reading and stacked it up with a few others.
‘If you’ll grant me your name, I’ll tell Lady Glostrum you called. Perhaps she could help you another time?’
‘Oh, no, no,’ she replied mildly. ‘I don’t need to be helped. Ah, there it is.’ Her hand darted out; she grabbed a book from the middle of Tren’s pile and pulled it out. The rest collapsed and slithered to the floor.
‘Um – wait, those belong to Lady Glostrum, you can’t just –’ He quickly began picking up fallen books, stacking them out of her reach.
‘This one is mine,’ the woman said, leafing through the large book that she held. Then her brow furrowed. ‘Hm. Did you remove these?’
Tren realised she was holding Andraly Winnier’s memoirs. The torn stubs of the missing pages stuck forlornly out of the centre of the book.
‘Certainly not!’
‘I see,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’ She turned away and made for the door, but before she reached it her form became suddenly less solid. He could make out the outline of the door before her.
Then she vanished.
For an instant Tren sat frozen with confusion. Then, remembering that the study overlooked the street outside, he jumped out of his chair and hurried to the window. The streets were dark - the Night cloak reigned overhead, blotting out all sunlight - but the lamplighters had done their work diligently, and the streets were well illuminated with silvery-white light globes bobbing gently in the air. He could discern no sign of the chestnut-haired woman.
Tren drifted back to his chair and sat down, suddenly realising how tired he was. He had probably hallucinated the figure out of pure sleep deprivation.
But the book was certainly gone...