Darkness Risen (The Ava'Lonan Herstories Book 4) (32 page)

She sobbed and sighed at the same time, heard
exhausted gasps all around her. She sagged and held her head, only then daring
to open her eyes.

Her family was arrayed about her, each looking as if
she or he had run around the Palace twice.

And before her, on the Temple floor, was the
crumpled form of Gavaron.

the darkness
turned...

abarine
graa – a feline, about the size of a bob-cat, with the precursors to higher
thought

Af’eno
– Lesser Goddess of Fortune, and Politics

afterzen
– after zenith, after mid-day

Ag’ko
– Greater Goddess of Peace and Wisdom

Ak’suya
– Greater Goddess of Motherhood, Fertility and Patience

Ak’ana
– Lesser Goddess of Weather and Storms

Alona
– the name of the world before its division by the Tru’Av’ru

Ans’ra
– the God of Death, also called the Beloved

ashe
– let it be so

Av
– the sun of the world of Alona; the physical embodiment of the Supreme One,
Shalgo

av’an
– private chamber to perform the Rite of Solu

Av’Daun
– the formally acknowledged High Heir to the wuman High Throne

Av’Fil
– Katari word for the other intelligent races

av’in
– the cousin to Av; a star

av’lak’ka
– a bird whose feathers are part fire

Av’Ma
– nature; the life on the earth due to Av

av’rita
– magic of light, inherent in all life

av’rito’ka
– the ability to wield av’rita; also a measure of how much one has or can use

Av’ru
– the separating wall of force made by those of Ava’Lona after the Hundred cycle
War

Av’rujo
– the keeper of the Av’ru; the one whose life sustains the Av’ru; the Av’rujo
is always wuman

Av’Touched
– wuman name for the other intelligent races

av’tun
– a tunnel made by light connecting two distant locations

av’turun
– a permanent av’tun

Av’vales
– places of high av’rita concentration where the wildlife has been mutated

ava
– the spirit of light

Ava’dan
– the age of light; the Golden age in Ava’Lona, currently going on

Ava’Lona
– the half of the world of Alona stronger in light and air magics

banti
– the gift bearers of a Queen

Beloved
– another name for the God of Death

Bo’journ’he
– the journey undertaken by a Katari First Filla to prove her worthiness to
lead the Tribe

boabi
– giant plains trees; the ancestral tree of the High Family

boalo
– the smaller relative to the boabi

Bolorn’toyo
– a gathering of the Queens and all affiliated
Av’Touched allies over matters of great importance

boro
– a small mammal found in the rainforests

calabash
– a gourd whose husk, when dried, can serve as a bowl or cup

Chajana
– a Katari ritual that allows courtship during migration

chas’kuno
– a scavenger of distasteful habits

chi’qi’ra
– moveable doorways of the Katari, anchor-points so that av’tunning is possible
between the nomadic tribes

chia
– the spirit of air

Cribeau
– one of the sentient races or Av’Touched, serpent-like beings with a jewel
located on the forehead

cycle
– one revolution of Alona around Av

Daiga
Ma – a formal Katari greeting

Dakua
– the crown of a Queen, made of her hair in guinne, special cloth with the
colors of her Tribe and gold fastenings; the Dakua crown shows her reign, Tribe
and Family

dashin
– a starch tuber

dav’ri
– a gem used for communication at formal meetings

de’siki
– a long dashiki–like tunic that comes down to the knees

Dal’Yo’teng
– the name of the division in the world, due to the Av’ru

desi
– a large square of heavy material that can be used as a towel or a sheet

De’enu
– Greater God of the Hunt, Harvest and Abundance

dio
– the spirit of water

dom’ma
– the katana-like sword of a warru

dwen
– the possession of the body of a still-born child by an evil spirit; burial in
consecrated ground prevents dwen-possession

egwae
– a group that travels together

Este
– the direction of Av rising

eve
– night

Fenoa
– another of the Av’Touched races, a group of sentient felines

ferr’flambeau
– a tree that bears shak-shaks, with brilliant orange–red flowers

First
Filla – the first female child of a Katari Herdress, the one designated to rule

giza’ati
– beautiful one

Go’Orisha
– the priestesses and priests of the twelve Goddesses

gila
– a vicious feline of the plains and grasslands

graa
shi – a female abarine with cubs

gran
– a unit of time, a little more than a minute; there are one hundred grans in a
san’chron

grane
– a unit of time a little more than a second; a hundred granes make one gran

Great
Laine – the Hall where Bolorns and Alorns are held, located in the Palace T’Av’li

griot
– a storyteller and keeper of oral traditions and herstories

guinne
– the way of braiding the hair in Ava’Lona; also the name of the braids
themselves

gulu
– the patron fruit of the land

her’domi
– how one is called; a Katari word for name

Herdress
– the Leader of a Katari Tribe

If’la
– Lesser Goddess of Herstory and Science

in’dil’av’chi
– a rite to heal the mind of anguish and sorrow

in’do
– madness, craziness; can also mean anguish

Is’kala
– Lesser Goddess of the Arts and Inspiration

Ja’Utu’kae
– presentient bear-like creatures

jadine
– purple corundum, a precious jewel

joumbi
– a spirit, sometimes bad

Journey
– a wanderjahr that wuman Tribal Heirs undertake to better understand the needs
of their people

Jur’Av’chi
– the joining of mind and soul of two beings

ka’dama
– a Katari endearment

Ka’warr’a
– the Katari warriors

Kat’im’a
– the Katari child-bearers

Katari
– one of the Av’Touched races, closest to the wumans; the Katari are half
wuman, half equine, like centaurs, except the equine part is based on the
zebra; the Katari are nomads

kati’yori
– equines of the savannas and plains, with the markings similar to a zebra but
possessing much longer necks and legs

Kin’herd
– the Sacred herd of the Katari, made up of their equine counterparts when the
two halves are separated

kiro
– a scavenger bird

kri
– the jewel on the forehead of the Cribeau which enables them to perform magic,
detect the truth and which indicates their age

kri’ssha’si
– oral traditions of the Cribeau

Kuf’yo
– God of the Av’Touched Ones and patron of Higher Thought

Kwabana
– the mad half-god that was brought down and cut in half by the Tru’Av’ru; the
former God–mate of Ya’kano

Ka’bi
– Lesser God of Nature, Mercy and the Son of Ans’ra

kwats
– very loose–fitting pants that taper at the ankles

ky’pen’dati
– dear one

lain
– a room

laire
– a suite of rooms

Lan’mba
– the suites of visiting Lesser Queens located around the Palace T’Av’li but
not connected to the Palace proper

Lan’mya
– suite of rooms in the Palace T’Av’li reserved for the Greater Queens

lon
– a territory owned by a Tribe

lor’den
– an illness suffered by the denizens of Ava’Lona if they have not performed
the Rite of Solu in over three turns

Lor’ima
– the largest, palest moon

Lor’Ma
– the earth beneath the life influenced by Av

Lor’ya
– the third and smallest moon

Lora’Lona
– the half of the world stronger in water and earth magic; the place beyond the
Av’ru, thought to be a place of evil

Lori’ku
– the second, yellowish moon

lorn
– a meeting

Loro
– the earth

loro
– the earth spirit

Lors’eve
– dark night; a night with no moons

lu’mar
– a reptilian predator of the rainforests

lurdu
– a stringed instrument

maddi
– special servants that tend a Queen’s hair

maubi
– a drink made from the bark of the maubi tree

Mon’da
– Lesser Goddess of Puberty and Youth

morn
– morning

N’haewa’ko
– flatbed wagons used by the Katari in their migration

N’haewa’ra
– the designated leader of a traveling group of Katari or a group containing
Katari

N’jaho’tan
– a semi-temporary Katari camp

nansi
story – a folktale

Norae
– at ninety degrees to the right of rising Av

oath-claim
– a written agreement that acts as a sworn oath, but is not tied to the four
magics as spoken oaths are