Oblivion's Grasp

by Eric T Knight

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  Glossary

  abyss – place deep in the earth that is filled with unknown entities. It is the home of chaos power.

  akirma – the luminous glow that surrounds every living thing. Contained within it is Selfsong. When it is torn, Selfsong escapes. It also acts as a sort of transformative filter, changing raw LifeSong, which is actually unusable by living things, into Selfsong.

  Ankha del'Ath – ancestral home of the Takare. Empty since the slaughter at Wreckers Gate.

  aranti – Shapers of the Sphere of Sky that dwell within the wind. They are the only Shapers never to war against the others.

  Atria – (AY-tree-uh) name commonly used to refer to the landmass where the story takes place. It is a derivation of the name Kaetria, which was the name of the old Empire.

  Banishment – when the Eight created Melekath’s prison and sank the city of Durag’otal underground.

  Bereth – a Shaper of the Sphere of Stone, one of the Eight, who together with Xochitl laid siege to the city of Durag’otal. Along with the Shaper Larkind, he discovered the abyss and tried to enter it. Larkin was destroyed and Bereth was permanently damaged. He is the primary god in Thrikyl.

  beyond – also known as “in the mists,” the inner place where Tenders can see Song.

  Bonnie – Rome’s girlfriend, pregnant with his child.

  Book of Xochitl – the Tenders’ sacred book.

  Brelisha – old Tender at Rane Haven who taught the young Tenders.

  chaos power – The power that comes from the abyss. It is completely inimical to all power in the normal world, including LifeSong, Stone force, Sky force, and Sea force. Chaos power was drawn from the abyss by the Eight to form Melekath’s prison. When they did so, they did not seal the opening completely and chaos power has been leaking into the world ever since, forming the shadow world of the Pente Akka. The sand dunes of the Gur al Krin are a physical manifestation of chaos power that has contacted the normal world.

  Children – people who received Melekath’s Gift of immortality.

  Dreamwalker – the Dreamwalkers are those who are responsible for guiding the Takare in spiritual and supernatural matters.

  Dubron – one of Heram’s minions.

  Durag’otal – (DER-awg OH-tal) city founded by Melekath as a haven for his Children. It was sunk underground in the Banishment.

  Eight — eight Shapers of the First Ring who besieged the city of Durag’otal, formed a prison of chaos power around it, and sank it underground.

  Elihu – (eh-LIE-who) the Plantwalker for Bent Tree Shelter and Shakre’s closest friend.

  feeder lines – the intermediate sized current of LifeSong, between the trunk lines, which come off the River directly, and the flows, which sustain individual creatures.

  FirstMother – title of the leader of the Tenders.

  First Ring – the oldest and most powerful of the Shapers, the first to arrive on the world. They refer to themselves as the Nipashanti

  flows – the smallest currents of LifeSong. One of these is attached to each living thing and acts as a conduit to constantly replenish the energy that radiates outward from the akirma and dissipates. If the flow attached to a living thing is severed, it will only live for at most a few hours longer.

  Genjinn – leader of the rebel Takare at the time of the slaughter at Wreckers Gate.

  Gift – immortality. Melekath, seeing that the akirmas of living creatures eventually grow brittle and crack open, thus leading to death, came up with a way to make akirmas unbreakable. Essentially, he siphoned off from his immortal essence and infused it into the akirmas of those who chose to accept the Gift, permanently altering them.

  Golgath – one of the Shapers that stood with Xochitl at the siege of Durag’otal. He was the only one of the Eight who was a Sea Shaper.

  Gorim – one of the Shapers that stood with Xochitl at the siege of Durag’otal. Worshipped in Veragin, the dead city Rome found at the end of the summer campaign, where T’sim was found.

  gromdin – the leader of the Pente Akka. It seeks to steal enough Song to shred the Veil, thus allowing the Pente Akka to spill freely into the world.

  Gulagh – one of the three Guardians of the Children, also known as the Voice.

  Gur al Krin – desert that formed over the spot where Durag’otal was sunk underground. The dunes are formed by power leaking from the Pente Akka and contacting the normal world.

  Gwinen – FirstMother who temporarily allied with Legate Tarnin to crush the rebels at Wreckers Gate.

  Heartglow – the brighter glow in the center of a person’s akirma. Like concentrated Selfsong. When it goes out, the person is dead.

  Heram – one of the two leaders of the Children, a blocky, muscular man who was a blacksmith in his former life.

  Ilsith – Lowellin’s staff. Nothing is known of this creature or why it obeys Lowellin.

  ingerlings – ravenous creatures Kasai took from the abyss.

  Jenett – young Lementh’kal who helped Shorn and Netra.

  Kaetria – (KAY-tree-uh) capital city of the Old Empire.

  Karthije – (CAR-thidge) kingdom neighboring Qarath to the northwest.

  Karrl & Linde – husband and wife of the Children.

  Karyn – (CARE-in) Tender from Rane Haven.

  Kasai — one of the three Guardians of Melekath, also known as the Eye.

  Ketora – ronhym who helped Melekath erect the barrier which protected Durag’otal during the siege by the Eight. She placed herself into Sententu when the Stone Shaper closed the hole in the prison wall with his body, so that there would be a chance of the prison being broken someday. Her time trapped within the wall, and her proximity to the power of the abyss, left her vulnerable. When she was drawn from the prison wall by Rome, she had no true shape and only became the black axe because in the moment he pulled her free he wished for a weapon that would allow him vengeance against King Arminal Rix and his primary weapon in battle is an axe. As time passed and he used her to cut stone repeatedly, she began to awaken.

  Khanewal – one of the Eight, the hooded figure Quyloc sometimes encountered at the entrance to the Pente Akka.

  ki'Loren – sentient, floating island that is home to some of the Lementh’kal.

  Kirtet – second-in-command of the Takare at the time of the slaughter at Wreckers Gate. He inhabited Pinlir.

  Leckl – one of Heram’s minions.

  Lementh'kal – beings who live on the ocean. Created by Golgath.

  Lenda – simpleminded Tender who accidentally received two sulbits and lost control of them.

  LifeSong – energy that flows from the River and to all living things. It turns into Selfsong after it passes through the akirma, which acts as a sort of filter to turn the raw energy of LifeSong into something usable by the living thing.

  li-shlikti – a lesser Shaper of the Sphere of Sea.

  Lowellin – (low-EL-in) Shaper of the Second Ring who turned the humans against Melekath while he was away creating the Gift. He also created a rift between humans and Xochitl.

  macht – title from the old Empire meaning supreme military leader of all the phalanxes. Adopted by Rome for himself instead of king.

  Melekath – powerful Shaper of the Sphere of Stone, one of the First Ring. After eons of existence, he became bored with Shaping and created Life by taking energy from the three Spheres of Stone, Sea, and Sky. Still this was not enough. He desired living things who were free-willed, that he could talk to, and so created people. However, then he could not bear to see them die, so went away for hundreds of years and created the Gift of immortality. It was during this absence that Lowellin turned people against him and caused them to forget he was their creator.

  Nalene – FirstMother of the Tenders.

  Nel
ton – small city where Netra and Siena encountered the Guardian Gulagh.

  Netra – a young Tender of Rane Haven.

  Nicandro – aide to Wulf Rome.

  Nipashanti – what the Shapers of the First Ring call themselves.

  Ominati – secret organization in Kaetria that was studying the power within the Spheres in an attempt to harness that power to defend Kaetria against the encroaching sands of the Gur al Krin. It was their headquarters where Netra and Shorn took refuge in Hunger’s Reach. They were all killed when they began to meddle with Sea force, the power within the Sphere of Sea. Golgath sent the zhoulin to slaughter them all.

  Orenthe – Tender who received the Gift. Filled with horror over those she has killed, she tries not to join in the slaughter at Thrikyl. When she does anyway, she takes hold of a trunk line so that she is torn to pieces and can never hurt another person again.

  Owina – one of the Tenders from Rane Haven.

  Pastwalker – the Pastwalkers are entrusted with remembering the past. They can take others to actually relive past events from the history of the Takare.

  pelti – Shapers from the Sphere of Stone.

  Pente Akka – the shadow world that Lowellin showed Quyloc how to access. It is formed of chaos energy leaking from the abyss.

  Perganon – palace historian/librarian.

  Pinlir – Takare man who was opposed to the use of violence until his father was killed by the outsiders. He is Rehobim’s right-hand man and is later inhabited by the spirit of Kirtet.

  Plantwalker – the Plantwalkers are Takare who are sensitive to plants and can even communicate with them in a fashion.

  Protaxes – one of the Eight, who together with Xochitl laid siege to the city of Durag’otal. Worshipped in Qarath by the nobility.

  Qarath – (kuh-RATH) city ruled by Rome.

  Quyloc – (KWY-lock) Rome’s chief adviser and oldest friend.

  Rane Haven – where Netra grew up.

  Rehobim – (reh-HOE-bim) Takare who is first to receive one of the old spirits, that of Tarnin, former leader of the Takare.

  Rekus – (REE-kus) Pastwalker for Bent Tree Shelter.

  relif crystal – type of crystal that can serve as a focal point for Stone power. In Hunger’s Reach, Netra encountered one in the dead city of Kaetria and realized that no person could touch one without being destroyed.

  Reyna – one of two leaders of the Children, she was a powerful noblewoman in old Qarath.

  Reminder – a many-pointed star enclosed in a circle, the holy symbol of the Tenders.

  rendspear — weapon Quyloc made in the Pente Akka from a tooth of the rend, lashed to a tree limb from the jungle, then doused in the River. It is capable of slicing through the flows of the three Spheres, as well as those of Life.

  Ricarn – Tender of the Arc of Insects.

  River – the fundamental source of all LifeSong, deep in the mists of beyond.

  ronhym – race of ancient shapeshifting beings that are able to merge with the stone, manipulate it and move around in it at will. They are the ones who created Wreckers Gate. Think of them as elementals.

  see – the act of perceiving with inner, extrasensory perception. It has nothing to do with the eyes yet what the mind perceives while seeing is interpreted by the brain as visual imagery.

  Selfsong – when LifeSong passes through a person’s akirma it becomes Selfsong, which is the energy of Life in a form that can be utilized by the body. It dissipates at death. It is continually replenished, yet retains a pattern that is unique to each individual.

  Sententu – a pelti, Shaper of the Sphere of Stone, one of the Eight who joined with Xochitl to besiege Durag’otal. He sacrificed himself to be the door of the prison.

  Shakre – Netra’s mother. She lives with the Takare, having been driven to the Plateau by the wind after being exiled from the Tenders.

  Shapers – powerful beings inhabiting the world long before life. Each belongs to one of the three Spheres, Stone, Sea or Sky, though some left to be part of the Circle of Life.

  shlikti – Shapers of the Sphere of Sea.

  Shorn – powerful humanoid from Themor who was exiled and crashed to earth near the Godstooth.

  sonkrill – talismans that the Tenders receive/discover at the end of their Songquest. The use of sonkrill came about after the fall of the Empire, as the Tenders sought to recover their lost power.

  Sounder – one who worships the Sea and its denizens. Due to the ancient wars between the Shapers of the Sea and those of the Stone, in which many people died and the seas and coastal areas abandoned, the people of Atria have a long history of fearing the Sea. As a result Sounders risk injury and death if they are found out.

  Spheres – Stone, Sea and Sky. The three elements.

  spirit-kin – Takare who have received the spirit of a Takare ancestor. The spirits are those who did not follow the Takare into exile, believing it to be a mistake.

  spirit-walking — an ability that the Tenders of old had, a way of separating the spirit from the body, the spirit then leaving the body behind to travel on without it. A thin silver thread connects the spirit to the body. If the thread is broken, there is no way for the spirit to find its way back to the body.

  sulbit – creatures that dwell in the River, living on pure LifeSong. In an effort to gain allies in the fight against Melekath, Lowellin gives them to the Tenders. When a Tender melds with her sulbit, she gains the creature’s natural affinity for Song. As the sulbit becomes larger and stronger, the Tender can use its ability to touch and manipulate Song.

  T’sim – (TUH-sim) aranti Rome meets in the dead city of Veragin.

  Tairus – (TEAR-us) General of the army.

  Takare – (tuh-KAR-ee) the greatest warriors of the old Empire. After the slaughter at Wreckers Gate they renounced violence and migrated to the Landsend Plateau.

  Tarnin – leader of the Takare at the time of Wreckers Gate.

  Tharn – the Guardian known as the Fist.

  Themor – Shorn’s home planet.

  Thrikyl – coastal city whose inhabitants mostly killed themselves to avoid being killed by the Children.

  Treylen – Sounder who saved the city when the Children tried to come in under the wall. He is the same man from Landsend Plateau who mourned the giant sea creature killed by the Tenders after it came over the wall into Qarath.

  Truebane Mountains – home to Ankha del’Ath, ancestral home of the Takare.

  trunk lines – the huge flows of LifeSong that branch directly off the River. From the trunk lines the feeder lines branch off, and off the feeder lines come the individual flows that directly sustain every living thing.

  Tu Sinar – one of the Eight, who lived under the Landsend Plateau and was the first Shaper destroyed by the ingerlings.

  Velma – Tender that Nalene leaves in charge when she leaves with the army.

  Werthin – young Takare man who carries Shakre off the Plateau and keeps an eye on her.

  Windcaller – men reputed to be able to call things in the wind. They are considered blasphemers by the Tenders.

  Windrider – name given by the Takare to Shakre after she rides the wind to save the people of Bent Tree Shelter when the Plateau is tearing itself apart.

  Wreckers Gate – the name of the main gate at Ankha del’Ath, ancestral home of the Takare. It was made by the ronhym.

  Wulf Rome – leader of Qarath.

  Xochitl (so-SHEEL) – the deity worshipped by the Tenders. She is a Nipashanti of the First Ring and was a Shaper of the Sphere of Stone before moving to Life.

  Ya'Shi – Lementh’kal who abducted Netra and Shorn to save them from the zhoulin.

  Yelvin – name of the two Insect Tenders who accompany Ricarn.

  Youlin – (YOU-lin) young Pastwalker from Mad River Shelter. She awakens the Takare warriors to their past lives and calls in the old spirits.

  zhoulin – powerful, deadly creature that Golgath sent to kill the Ominati when they began to meddle
with Sea force.

  About The author

  Born in 1965, I grew up on a working cattle ranch in the desert thirty miles from Wickenburg, Arizona, which at that time was exactly the middle of nowhere. Work, cactus and heat were plentiful, forms of recreation were not. The TV got two channels when it wanted to, and only in the evening after someone hand cranked the balky diesel generator to life. All of which meant that my primary form of escape was reading.

  At 18 I escaped to Tucson where I attended the University of Arizona. A number of fruitless attempts at productive majors followed, none of which stuck. Discovering I liked writing, I tried journalism two separate times, but had to drop it when I realized that I had no intention of conducting interviews with actual people but preferred simply making them up.

  After graduating with a degree in Creative Writing in 1989, I backpacked Europe with a friend and caught the travel bug. With no meaningful job prospects, I hitchhiked around the U.S. for a while then went back to school to learn to be a high school English teacher. I got a teaching job right out of school in the middle of the year. The job lasted exactly one semester, or until I received my summer pay and realized I actually had money to continue backpacking.

  The next stop was Australia, where I hoped to spend six months, working wherever I could, then a few months in New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands. However, my plans changed irrevocably when I met a lovely Swiss woman, Claudia, in Alice Springs. Undoubtedly swept away by my lack of a job or real future, she agreed to allow me to follow her back to Switzerland where, a few months later, she gave up her job to continue traveling with me. Over the next couple years we backpacked the U.S., Eastern Europe and Australia/New Zealand, before marrying and settling in the mountains of Colorado, in a small town called Salida.

  In Colorado we started our own electronics business (because, you know, my Creative Writing background totally prepared me for installing home theater systems), and had a couple of sons, Dylan and Daniel. In 2005 we shut the business down and moved back to Tucson where we currently live.

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