The Nameless Slave

by Vitaly Zykov

  Khorr – one of the few known words of the In-between-worlds dragons. The literal translation is an enemy, a killer. It is not known who exactly is characterized by this word.

  Forest or Death Forest – the name of the deadly dangerous territory in the north of Sarduor, overgrown with all kinds of vegetation. It is a place where battles between two warring races of Toarn took place in antiquity (and possibly the place where the last representatives of these races died). Waves of distorted magic spawned monsters and changed the laws of Reality in this place. From the several thousand of intelligent beings who went into these places, no more than a hundred have returned, most of who lost mind or degenerated.

  Plaguelands – the territory, located between the Death Forest, the Heathland and the Border Mountains. The habitat of human tribes and trolls. Although this land obeys the general laws of our world, but it continues to be deadly dangerous.

  Loggs – the self-name of the race of the mythical In-between-worlds dragons regardless of their clan. According to the legends, this kind of dragons differs from ordinary dragons in size, strength and magic inclination, but the most important is their ability to travel between worlds. The strength of influence upon the Reality is about 70-90 points on the scale of Ptolomey.

  Lir, lirissa – a respectful address to a True mage, male or female.

  Usual magicians (insulting: «Thieves», «Hairsplitters») – the ordinary people not having inborn magical talent, and receiving the Force through long training. The average life span is two or three hundred years.

  Marhuz – a creature similar to representatives of cat family, covered with long wool of gray-steel color and possessing the characteristic yellow eyes without pupils and iris. Half-intelligent, have their own magic. The life span is unknown (presumably unlimited). The product of the joint work of alchemists and magicians of the Dusk Empire. After its fall, they fled, but were called to service of the United Colonies of the Dusk. After the defeat of the latter they were globally destroyed by special search groups of magicians, only remaining within the Forbidden Land.

  Nikerra (old Cayen – The Dance of Death) – the Sword school, entirely built on the culture of Garlun smoking. In comparison with other fencing schools, this one differs with its antiquity and a huge amount of secrets and mysteries. Sometimes the masters of Nikerra are called Mage Killers, which says a lot. A representative of any other school was never awarded with such a title. The top masters of Nikerra are not humans in the literal sense of this word, just like the magicians are not either. Closeness of the school, which keeps its traditions since the fall of the Dusk Empire, does not allow to speak about it more definitely.

  The Rite of Merger with Elements – a ritual, quite complex and dangerous for the consciousness of a magician, determining his magical inclination or kinship with the Elements. A mage passing through the Merger is capable of more powerful magical actions in the sphere of influence of his kin Element. The moment of undergo of the rite is determined by the period of formation of a magician's power. An inexperienced or immature magician can lose control of his Gift and excarnate during the rite.

  The United Colonies of Dusk – the survived colonies of the Dusk Empire in Grold and Suud, which preserved all their traditions. They gained enormous power during the centuries and started the war for domination on Toarn in 100 before A.S. and lost this war in 30's from A.S.

  Rollback – a group of phenomena accompanying certain spells. Very often, they are extremely painful, and sometimes the reactions of magical Forces could be dangerous for the health of the magician. Sometimes they call "rollback" a wave of wild, chaotic energy that distorts the space itself, generated by a spell of high order.

  Spawns – the creatures of magic of the Forbidden Land, inhabitants of the Heathland, cannot be classified.

  Palm – is the weapon of goblins. It is a spear with a leaf-shaped tip. Traditionally, it carries some primitive shamanistic spells.

  A.S. (Acceptance of the Scepter) – the turning point of history (2127 years ago), from which the modern chronology begins. It matches the date of Acceptance of the Scepter of Power by lord Tardon, which led to creation of a military alliance of Men, True magicians, Elves, Dwarves and, as a result, to complete victory over the United Colonies of the Dusk.

  Ptolomey – the legendary Archimagus of the True magicians, the hero of the Wars of the Fall Age, the author of the fundamental work «The Theory and Practice of In-between-worlds Magic». Date of birth is unknown, birthplace is a small village in the territory of the present kingdom of Tlantos. In 361 from A.S. disappeared without a trace during the stochastic storm of Ptolomey. His main work, «The Theory and Practice of In-between-worlds Magic», is considered unfinished. Only the first volume is known, the other two are considered to have been destroyed by Ptolomey himself in order to conceal the dangerous knowledge from mankind.

  Heathland – the territory adjacent to the Forest. The habitat of goblins and Spawns.

  Ralayat gryg – a spicy dish of baked of finely chopped meat, mixed with pieces of fruit. Very popular in many countries.

  Reptomen – at first an academic, and later a common name for the representatives of the ancient race of reptile-men, who were rulers of Toarn tens of thousands of years ago.

  Reptohorses – the name of the ancient race of reptile-horses, who were rivals of Reptomen.

  Rolt – a huge (more than two yards at the withers), bear-like beast with a dense scaly hide, inhabiting the jungles of Khalis and Zalimar and rarely in Zikkur and Ralayat. Omnivorous, extremely strong and cunning. It is considered a symbol of the caliph house of Lailat. The chances of surviving when meeting this beast are equal zero.

  Roarer – a four-legged warm-blooded predator, dwells throughout the whole Toarn. It is omnivorous, but prefers the fresh meat of killed prey. It hunts both from ambushes and during long chases. It prefers not to attack humans. It has received its name for deafening roar, which it periodically gives. The most dangerous is a subvariety of mutated roarers that live in the Death Forest.

  Saigal (old Cayen – a snot or a puppy) – the lowest rank among the adepts of secret knowledge, the modern analogue is neophyte.

  Ssarr'larr'Goarr – the city of the Dark Elves(M'Lleurr), was burnt by their Light brothers during the years of the War of the Stars.

  The Law of the Scepter – is one of Nold's fundamental laws. The Founders of the island Republic decided that only the most powerful magician deserves power in the realm of the True Magicians, since his own Force would not allow him to accept orders from a weaker mage. That is why any member of the Masters Council has a right to demand from the others to allow him a duel with Archimagus. It is possible that the Council considers the situation in the country unsuitable for a change of power, or too many do not like the challenger, in such a case the duel could be banned, and the unsuccessful rebel should be expelled from the country.

  Scort – is a flesh-eating tame animal, characterized by armor covering its whole body and bad temper. The fashion to keep scorts as house animal is especially common among the Grold nobility.

  Tarks (endonym) – trolls. High creatures, with hard skin, strong bones, powerful muscles, they have small head, and due to the insignificant brain volume, very rarely demonstrate mental activity. Immune to lower magic, which makes them excellent bodyguards.

  The stone of Tass – amber

  Tirrs – riding reptiles, originated in the Forbidden Land, but later spread throughout the whole Toarn as riding animals. Today, there are hundreds of subvarieties of Tirrs.

  Toarn – 1) the name of the world(the planet); 2) the language of interracial communication and the unified language of humanity. Since 1215 from A.S. the study of this language by backward folks took place under the patronage of the United Protectorate. Since 1329 from A.S. only documents in Toarn are considered valid.

  Urgs – (endonym) – goblins. A small, insidious tribe of long-eared shorties with rudiments of magic, concentrated in the hands of their s
hamans. Sly, dodgy and witty. The latter causes some rulers to keep them as jesters. They are not worthy of attention of civilized folks.

  Falet – is a respectful reference to a noble person in Zagorny Caliphate(in tune with the old Cayen "F'al'yet" – a man whose dignity is great and undeniable).

  Haarg-Logg – a mage-hunter dragon. Very high rank in the hierarchy of dragons, only Dharg Log above it.

  Huffs – representatives of the most ubiquitous and harmful race of Toarn. Short, no more than a yard in height, with feet covered with wool, they became a real scourge of crops. The peasants call them rabbits for their similarity with these rodents. The Huffs are numerous, cowardly and devouring. There is no place on the Toarn, where people would live without Huffs there (except, perhaps, the Forbidden land).

  Khalinae – a respectful reference to a highborn lady in Zagorny Caliphate (in tune with the old Cayen "Hai'lyin" – a daughter of a great man).

  Hri'kil (the Guardian of the High) – is a ring with a stone in the form of a beast's eye. Hri'kil is in close connection with its owner and gives him(or her) a lot of remarkable opportunities, which are not fully studied. Hri'kils were widespread in the Age of Wars among the high nobility, which explains the name of the Guardian of the High. It could detect poisons, delusions and other acts of magic, making the ring a good substitute for magician's feelings for those who have no Gift. Nowadays hri'kils are quite rare.

  Hfurrg – a very indecent expression from the language of Trolls. It means the son of a huff and a shusha, born in an unnatural manner.

  Kh'rugis – the cold steel weapon, outwardly similar to a sickle with a long handle. It was especially widespread in the troops of the United Colonies of the Dusk. Its name in rough translation from the old Cayen sounds like "The tooth of a dead demon." It was used as a ritual weapon in necromantic ceremonies.

  Crow's foot (caltrop) – a weapon in the form of a ball with three or four thorns, which were scattered handfuls under the enemy's feet. Sometimes it's just spikes welded together, making a malicious thorn which is always dangerous, no matter how it falls on the ground(one spike always looks up).

  Sixpaws – draft animals of the Plaguelands' folks. Sixpaws are representatives of a small set of useful creatures of the Forbidden land's magic. They have calm, phlegmatic temper, high (up to three yards) height and thick long wool. They are tremendously hardy, feed on tubers of the steppe spines. They look most like tall six-legged bears with behemoth muzzles (behemoth – amphibious animal from the banks of the river Zaaran, which is in the country of Khan).

  Shushas – the rock rat is a small rat-like animal of the size of a hare, with fangs sticking out from under the upper lip, like wild boar's. Herbivorous. Edible for humans.

  The Wars of the Fall Age – a very pretentious name of the era before the Acceptance of the Scepter, designed to emphasize overabundance of that age with meaningless bloodshed. Unfortunately, the world remains imperfect in our days, and small local conflicts continue to exist, but the name of the epoch has already taken hold.

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  [1] Toarn – 1) the name of the world (the planet); 2) the language of interracial communication and the unified language of humanity. Since 1215 from A.S. the study of this language by backward folks took place under the patronage of the United Protectorate. Since 1329 from A.S. only documents in Toarn are considered valid.

  [2] Wartags (old Cayen – lord) – the mythical masters of Toarn. In the few remaining fragments of myths, there is an image of them as of monstrously cruel and powerful creatures. Their appearance is unknown. So far, no material evidence of their existence has been found. Wartags are an object of the most thorough study of lir Ptolomey.

  [3] The True magicians – natural magicians, having magic abilities since birth (40-60 points on the scale of Ptolomey). Those having reached the heights in studying magic have an unlimited life span.

  [4] Lir, lirissa – a respectful address to a True mage, male or female.

  [5] Usual magicians (insulting: «Thieves», «Hairsplitters») – the ordinary people not having inborn magical talent, and receiving the Force through long training. The average life span is two or three hundred years.

  [6] Forbidden Land – the territory, which includes the Death Forest, the Heathland, the Plaguelands and the western spurs of the Border Mountains.

  [7] Zaarr'h'dorr (old Cayen – the lands of dead spirits) – the mythical, deadly dangerous lands in the center of the Death Forest. Nothing is known for sure about those who visited them. Presumably, they are located to the east of Guurr'o'demy (The demons threatening to the heaven) – a high mountain resembling a clenched fist, seen by many sailors venturing to come into the Old Harbor.

  [8] Ptolomey – the legendary Archimagus of the True magicians, the hero of the Wars of the Fall Age, the author of the fundamental work «The Theory and Practice of In-between-worlds Magic». Date of birth is unknown, birthplace is a small village in the territory of the present kingdom of Tlantos. In 361 from A.S. disappeared without a trace during the stochastic storm of Ptolomey. His main work, «The Theory and Practice of In-between-worlds Magic», is considered unfinished. Only the first volume is known, the other two are considered to have been destroyed by Ptolomey himself in order to conceal the dangerous knowledge from mankind.

  [9] Heathland – the territory adjacent to the Forest. The habitat of Goblins and Spawns.

  [10] Urgs – (endonym, self-name) – goblins. A small, insidious tribe of long-eared shorties with rudiments of magic, concentrated in the hands of their shamans. Sly, dodgy and witty. The latter causes some rulers to keep them as jesters. They are not worthy of attention of civilized folks.

  [11] Haarg-Logg – a mage-hunter dragon. Very high rank in the hierarchy of dragons, only Dharg Log above it.

  [12] Marhuz – a creature similar to representatives of cat family, covered with long wool of gray-steel color and possessing the characteristic yellow eyes without pupils and iris. Half-intelligent, have their own magic. The life span is unknown (presumably unlimited). The product of the joint work of alchemists and magicians of the Dusk Empire. After its fall, they fled, but were called to service of the United Colonies of the Dusk. After the defeat of the latter they were globally destroyed by special search groups of magicians, only remaining within the Forbidden Land.

  [13] The Wars of the Fall Age – a series of monstrous wars between the united forces of Men, Elves, Dwarves and True magicians on the one hand, and human and Elven renegades on the other. The latter called themselves the United Colonies of the Dusk and were led by unknown creatures who destroyed themselves at the end of the war, refusing to surrender to the victors. The results of the War have determined today's world order. The True magicians have got the most benefit, receiving the island of Nold in their possession.

  [14] The Dusk Empire – the empire, created by men and representatives of other races, was located on two continents – Sarduor and Gorkh, and had the strongest influence on other two – Grold and Suud. According to the legends, Nold, the island of the True magicians, was created by the magicians of this Empire (this information is only for students of the Academy of General Magic). There are tales about unknown races who were allies of this state. The Empire had wars with unknown races, in collisions with who the fifth continent was destroyed (the fact of existence of this continent is still unproved, so this information is equated to rumors). The Empire existed, according to various sources, from 5000 to 10000 years. It fell in a series of cataclysms and disasters of a magical and natural character about 4500 years ago.

  [15] Aura – magical radiation of physical objects on the etheric plane of existence.

  [16] Saigal (old Cayen – a snot or a puppy) – the lowest rank among the adepts of secret knowledge, the modern analogue is neophyte.

  [17] Forest or Death Forest – the name of the deadly dangerous territory in the north of Sarduor, overgrown with all kinds of vegetation. It is a place where battles between two warring races of Toarn
took place in antiquity (and possibly the place where the last representatives of these races died). Waves of distorted magic spawned monsters and changed the laws of Reality in this place. From the several thousand of intelligent beings who went into these places, no more than a hundred have returned, most of who lost mind or degenerated.

  [18] The Epoch of Wars – a very pretentious name of the era before the Acceptance of the Scepter, designed to emphasize overabundance of that age with meaningless bloodshed. Unfortunately, the world remains imperfect in our days, and small local conflicts continue to exist, but the name of the epoch has already taken hold.

  [19] Huffs – representatives of the most ubiquitous and harmful race of Toarn. Short, no more than a yard in height, with feet covered with wool, they became a real scourge of crops. The peasants call them rabbits for their similarity with these rodents. The Huffs are numerous, cowardly and devouring. There is no place on the Toarn, where people would live without Huffs there (except, perhaps, the Forbidden land).

  [20] Shusha – the rock rat is a small rat-like animal of the size of a hare, with fangs sticking out from under the upper lip, like wild boar's. Herbivorous. Edible for humans.

  [21] Byhdurk – a very rare beast. It is mainly found in the Heathland and Plaguelands. It reminds of a hamster which has grown to the size of a fox, but with horns like of a goat. The meat of byhdurk is the subject of trade of all the tribes of Plaguelands with the other lands, as it is considered a delicacy.

  [22] Spawns – the creatures of magic of the Forbidden Land, inhabitants of the Heathland. Cannot be classified.