by Tad Williams
League of the Scroll—an exclusive and secret society of scholars, seeking and preserving knowledge
Li Fosena—Countess Yissola of Perdruin’s flagship
Mamarte and the Deceivers—famous tale from the Book of the Aedon
Meadowsweet—a flowering herb
Mooncloud—a Master Witness
Moonlight—Prince-Templar Prakiti’s sword
Moon Trees—part of Himano’s lands
Mother Church—the Aedonite church
Motherwort—a healing herb, used for bowel issues and as a sedative
Northern Alliance—a trade organization, in competition with the ancient Sindigato Perdruine
Ocean Indefinite and Eternal—the sea crossed by the Gardenborn to come to Osten Ard
Octander Covenant—pact between the Ingadarine and Benidrivine houses of Nabban
Parting, the—the separation of the Sithi and Norns
Pellarine Table—table of the Small Council of the High Throne; a gift from the Nabbanai Imperator Pellaris to King Tethtain
Pellipan Sisters—an Aedonite religious order
Promissi—“promises”, a chapter in the Book of the Aedon
Quarely Maid—a tavern in Erchester, Prince Morgan’s favored drinking establishment
Queen’s Huntsman—an honorific given by Queen Utuk’ku to a skilled mortal slave-hunter
Quinis-piece—a Nabbanai coin
Red Ruin—a plague
Rhiappa’s Bells—an herb used to treat women’s pains
Scale—Sithi device for talking over distance, “Witness”
Sacrifice—a Hikeda’ya soldier
Scrollbearers—members of the League of the Scroll, a secret society seeking and preserving knowledge
Shaynat—a Keida’ya strategy game for two players, called Shent by the Sithi
Snakesplitter—Morgan’s sword
Spar—a piece of one of the Eight Ships that came from the Garden, sacred to the Niskies
Speakfire—the Master Witness in Hikehikayo
Stag—emblem of Hern’s House, the ruling house of Hernystir
Sulian Heresy—King Vargellis Sulis’ conjecture, declared heretical, that Usires Aedon was one of the Sithi
Sutrinian Order—Aedonite religious order, whose patron saint is St. Sutrin
Swan of Naglimund—Josua’s coat of arms
Talon—a squad of five elite, specially-trained Sacrifices
Thanemoot—a yearly gathering of all Thrithings clans at Blood Lake
Thrithings Wars—a series of wars between the Thrithings and Aedonite kingdoms
Thrones—Erkynlandish gold coins roughly equivalent to Nabbanai gold Imperators
Traveler’s Hood—Sithi name of the herb wolfsbane
Treatise on the Aetheric Whispers, A—also called Tractit Eteris Vocinnen; a banned book
Tree, the—“Holy Tree”, or “Execution Tree”; symbol of Usires Aedon’s execution and the Aedonite faith
True Faith—the Aedonite religion (as Aedonites see it)
Twin Dragons—House Crest of King Simon and Queen Miriamele
Unbeing—an ancient threat which destroyed Venyha Do’sae
Usirean Brotherhood—a religious order of Aedonite monks
War of Return—Hikeda’ya name for the Storm King’s War
Westerling—language originating from Warinsten Island; now the common tongue of Osten Ard
Windflower—a little white flower, found in woods, flowering in early Spring
Witchwood—rare wood from trees brought from the Garden; as hard as metal
Witchwood Crown, the—Sithi: “kei-jáyha”. A circlet for heroes; a group of witchwood trees; a move in Shaynat/Shent
Witness—a Sithi device to talk over long distances and enter the Road of Dreams, oftentimes a dragon scale
Wood agrimony—a flowering herb
Word of Resurrection—used to bring life back to a dead body, at least for a little while
Words of Joining—chanted by Tanahaya to use the Witness
Xari—“scorpions”, a kind of Hikeda’ya hand-ax
Yedade’s Box—a Hikeda’ya device for testing children
Yerut—fermented mare’s milk that the Thrithings-folk have drunk since time before time
Yrmansol—a festival tree
STARS AND CONSTELLATIONS
Bend of the River—one of the stars of Venyha Do’sae, the Lost Garden
Blade—a star of Venyha Do’sae
Dancer—a star of Venyha Do’sae
Horned Owl—Erkynlandish
Lamp—Erkynlandish
Lantern—Hikeda’ya
Pool—a star of Venyha Do’sae
Staff—Erkylandish
Swallower—a star of Venyha Do’sae
HOLIDAYS
Feyever 2–Candlemansa
Marris 25–Elysiamansa
Marris 31–Fool’s Night
Avrel 1–All Fool’s Day
Avrel 3–St. Vultinia’s Day
Avrel 24–St. Dinan’s Day
Avrel 30–Stoning Night
Maia 1–Belthainn Day
Yuven 23–Midsummer’s Eve
Tiyagar 15–Saint Sutrin’s Day
Anitul 1–Hlafmansa
Septander 29–Saint Granis’ Day
Octander 30–Harrows Eve
Novander 1–Soul’s Day
Decander 21–Saint Tunath’s Day
Decander 24–Aedonmansa
Days of the Week
Sunday, Moonday, Tiasday, Udunsday, Drorsday, Frayday, Satrinsday
Months of the Year
Aedonite: Jonever, Feyever, Marris, Avrel, Maia, Yuven, Tiyagar, Anitul, Septander, Octander, Novander, Decander
Sithi: Raven, Serpent, Hare, Grieving Sister, Nightingale, Lantern, Bearer, Fox, Lynx, Crane, Tortoise, Rooster, Moon-Herald
Hikeda’ya: Ice-Mother, Serpent, Wind-Child, Dove, Cloud-Song, Otter, Stone-Listener, Lynx, Sky-Singer, Tortoise, Fire-Knight, Wolf
Thrithing: Second Blue Moon, Third Blue Moon, First Green Moon, Second Green Moon, Third Green Moon, First Yellow Moon, Second Yellow Moon, Third Yellow Moon, First Red Moon, Second Red Moon, Third Red Moon, First Blue Moon
KNUCKLEBONES
Qanuc auguring tools
Patterns include:
Wingless Bird
Fish-Spear
The Shadowed Path
Torch at the Cave-Mouth
Balking Ram
Clouds in the Pass
The Black Crevice
Unwrapped Dart
Circle of Stones
Mountains Dancing
Masterless Ram
Slippery Snow
Unexpected Visitor
Unnatural Birth
No Shadow
HIKEDA’YA ORDERS
Order, Ordination, Ordinal
Order House—actual location of Order’s school, offices
Orders mentioned: Sacrifices; Whisperers; Echoes; Singers; Builders; Tillers; Celebrants; Gatherers
Order hierarchies: Magister or High Magister (Highest official outside Royal Household—master of an Order)
THRITHINGS CLANS (AND THEIR THRITHING):
Adder—Lake
Antelope—Meadow
Bison—High
Black Bear—Meadow
Crane or “Kragni”—Lake
Dragonfly—Lake
Fitch—Lake
Fox—High
Grouse—High
Kestrel—Lake
Lynx—Lake
Polecat—Lake
Sparrow—High
Stallion or “Mehrdon”—High
White Spot Deer—Lake
Wood Duck—Lake
Other clans include:
Badger, Bustard, Otter, Pheasant, Roebuck, Snake, Sparrowhawk, Vulture, Whipsnake, and Wild Horse
WORDS AND PHRASES
QANUC
Croohok—Rimmersman
Dhoota—an angry, hungry ghost
Kunikuni—name for the creatures Morgan calls “Chikri”
-sa—suffix meaning “dear”
SITHI (KEIDA’YASAO)
A’do-Shao—Unbeing
Hikka Staja—Arrow bearer
Hikeda’ya—Cloud Children
Kayute—word for brush strokes used in Sithi and Hikeda’ya writing
Kei-jáyha—witchwood crown
Seku iye-Sama’an—the Earth-Drake’s Back, name for Wealdhelm Mountains
S’huesa—feminine form of S’hue, both terms of respect for a family elder; plural: S’huesae
Sudhoda’ya—Sunset Children/mortals
Tinukeda’ya—Ocean Children
T’si Suhyasei—Her Blood is Cool, name for the river mortals call the Aelfwent
Tzo—star
Zida’ya—Dawn Children
NORN (HIKEDA’YASAO)
Hike—Cloud
Rayu ata na’ara—I hear the Queen in your voice
Ni’iyo—glow-sphere
Ujin é-da Sikhunae—Trap that catches the Hunter, name for the fortress mortals call Naglimund
NABBANAI
Dominiatis Patrisi—“Fathers of the houses”; Nabban’s city fathers
Honsa—noble house; plural Honsae
Futústite—fuck yourself
Mansa séa Cuelossan—death mass
Matra sa Duos—Mother of God, a swear word
Patrissi—Fathers, used for the members of the Dominiate (singular Patris)
Podegris—gout
Vindissa—revenge
THRITHINGS SPEECH
Setta—gathering place
Shan—a title meaning “lord of lords”; a leader unifying all Thrithing clans under his rule
Skeem—slang for male genitalia
Vilagum. Ves zhu haya.—Welcome. I wish you health.
OTHER
Bunukta—angry winds (Wranna)
Higdaja—giants’ name for “Hikeda’ya”
Katulo—spirit knowers (Wranna)
Laup!—jump! (Rimmerspakk)
Settro—neighborhood or district (Perdruinese)
Vao—Tinukeda’ya name for their race
Valada—wise woman (Rimmerspakk)
A GUIDE TO PRONUNCIATION
ERKYNLANDISH
Erkynlandish names are divided into two types, Old Erkynlandish (O.E.) and Warinstenner. Those names which are based on types from Prester John’s native island of Warinsten (mostly the names of castle servants or John’s immediate family) have been represented as variants on Biblical names (Elias—Elijah, Ebekah—Rebecca, etc.) Old Erkynlandish names should be pronounced like modern English, except as follows:
a—always ah, as in “father”
ae—ay of “say”
c—k as in “keen”
e—ai as in “air,” except at the end of names, when it is also sounded, but with an eh or uh sound, i.e., Hruse—“Rooz-uh”
ea—sounds as a in “mark,” except at beginning of word or name, where it has the same value as ae
g—always hard g, as in “glad”
h—hard h of “help”
i—short i of “in”
j—hard j of “jaw”
o—long but soft o, as in “orb”
u—oo sound of “wood,” never yoo as in “music”
HERNYSTIRI
The Hernystiri names and words can be pronounced in largely the same way as the O.E., with a few exceptions:
th—always the th in “other,” never as in “thing”
ch—a guttural, as in Scottish “loch”
y—pronounce yr like “beer,” ye like “spy”
h—unvoiced except at beginning of word or after t or c
e—ay as in “ray”
ll—same as single l: Lluth—Luth
RIMMERSPAKK
Names and words in Rimmerspakk differ from O.E. pronunciation in the following:
j—pronounced y: Jarnauga—Yarnauga; Hjeldin—Hyeldin (H nearly silent here)
ei—long i, as in “crime”
e—ee, as in “sweet”
ö—oo, as in “coop”
au—ow, as in “cow”
NABBANAI
The Nabbanai language holds basically to the rules of a romance language, i.e., the vowels are pronounced “ah-eh-ih-oh-ooh,” the consonants are all sounded, etc. There are some exceptions.
i—most names take emphasis on second to last syllable: Ben-i-GAR-is. When this syllable has an i, it is sounded long (Ardrivis: Ar-DRY-vis) unless it comes before a double consonant (Antippa: An-TIHP-pa)
es—at end of name, es is sounded long: Gelles—Gel-leez
y—is pronounced as a long i, as in “mild”
QANUC
Troll-language is considerably different than the other human languages. There are three hard “k” sounds, signified by: c, q, and k. The only difference intelligible to most non-Qanuc is a slight clucking sound on the q, but it is not to be encouraged in beginners. For our purposes, all three will sound with the k of “keep.” Also, the Qanuc u is pronounced uh, as in “bug.” Other interpretations are up to the reader, but he or she will not go far wrong pronouncing phonetically.
SITHI
Even more than the language of Yiqanuc, the language of the Zida’ya is virtually unpronounceable by untrained tongues, and so is easiest rendered phonetically, since the chance of any of us being judged by experts is slight (but not nonexistent, as Binabik learned). These rules may be applied, however.
i—when the first vowel, pronounced ih, as in “clip.” When later in word, especially at end, pronounced ee, as in “fleet”: Jiriki—Jih-REE-kee
ai—pronounced like long i, as in “time”
’ (apostrophe)—represents a clicking sound, and should be not voiced by mortal readers.
EXCEPTIONAL NAMES
Geloë—Her origins are unknown, and so is the source of her name. It is pronounced “Juh-LO-ee” or “Juh-LOY.” Both are correct.
Ingen Jegger—He is a Black Rimmersman, and the “J” in Jegger is sounded, just as in “jump.”
Miriamele—Although born in the Erkynlandish court, hers is a Nabbanai name that developed a strange pronunciation—perhaps due to some family influence or confusion of her dual heritage—and sounds as “Mih-ree-uh-MEL.”
Vorzheva—A Thrithings-woman, her name is pronounced “Vor-SHAY-va,” with the zh sounding harshly, like the Hungarian zs.
About the Author
Tad Williams is a California-based fantasy superstar. His genre-creating (and genre-busting) books have sold tens of millions worldwide. His works include the worlds of Otherland, Shadowmarch, and Osten Ard—including the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, and The Last King of Osten Ard series—as well as standalone novels Tailchaser’s Song and The War of the Flowers. His considerable output of epic fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy, comics, and more have strongly influenced a generation of writers. Tad and his family live in the Santa Cruz mountains in a suitably strange and beautiful house.
What’s next on
your reading list?
Discover your next
great read!
Get personalized book picks and up-to-date news about this author.
Sign up now.
k with friends
