Tears of the Dead (46 page)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brian L. Braden is the author of the
Black Sea Gods
and the novelette
Carson’s Love.
He is a founder and assistant editor at Underground Book Reviews.

Please support indie literature. If you enjoyed this novel, please rate
and review this book on Amazon, Goodreads, or Shelfari.

ai-halah: (eye-HAL-ah)
“The reed and the wood”, traditional Lo music. Ai is female vocals, halah is male vocals.

Adyghe (ad-YAH-gay) Mountains:
Eastern edge of the known world, home of the Hur-po and the Narim

a-g`an: (AYE—
ghahn)
Lo word meaning ‘of the steppe’ or ‘enemy’.

Aizarg:
(AYE-zarg)
Lo phrase meaning
I give him the east
, or
He leads the east
. Sco-lo-ti of the Crane Clan and Uros of the Lo Nation, husband of Atamoda, father to Bat-tor and Kol-ok.

E’laa: (Aye-LAH)
Orphaned Minnow child, twin sister to Toma

Alaya:
(ah-LAH-ya)
Wife to Levidi.

Amiran:
(ah-MEER-ahn)
Scholar in the service of Lord Leviathan or Wu.

arun-ki: (ah-ROON-ki)
Lo word meaning “village upon the womb,” a stilted village built off-shore in shallow lagoons.

Aryans:
(air-EE-ans)
One of the three nomadic tribes of the g’an.

Ashtoreth (ASH-tore-ehth)
Called “The Snake of Hur Ar”, a ruthless member of Hur-ar’s nobility bent on placing her son, Baal-eeb, on the throne at any price.

Atamoda: (At-uh-MOWH-dah)
Patesi-li of the Crane Clan, wife of Aizarg, mother to Ba-tor and Kol-ok.

Atta: (AT-uh)
Levidi’s grandfather, oldest man in the Crane Clan.

Ba’al: (BAH-awl)
A sinister deity called The Black Dragon, worshipped by cult in Hur-ar.

Bal-eeb: (BAHL-eeb)
Second Prince of Hur-ar, Captain of the City Gate.
Son of
Ashtoreth
.

Ba-lok:
(BAY-lok)
Sco-lo-ti of the Minnow Clan, Second to Aizarg, husband to Kus-ge, son of Aie-lok, grandson of Setenay.

Bat-or:
(BAHT-or)
Toddler and youngest son of Aizarg and Atamoda, brother to Kol-ok.

Bla-la-te:
(blah-LAH-tay)
Xva’s uncle and sco-lo-ti of the Gar Clan.

Carp Clan:
Lo village of which Okta rules as the sco-lo-ti, the chieftain.

Crane Clan:
Lo village of which Aizarg rules as the sco-lo-ti, the chieftain.

Council of Boats:
A gathering of the more than one Lo village or perhaps the entire Lo nation, usually a festive event.

Doinna: (DOH-ee-nah)
Young Minnow Clan woman

Ezra: (ezz-RAH)
Sarah’s brother. Thief and gang leader of pack of feral children in the slums of Hur-ar.

Fu Xi:
(foo-HI or foo-ZI)
Immortal demigod, son of Goddess Nuwa, often called the God of Names, or the Wanderer.

Gar Clan:
Also known as the Lost Arun-ki. Kus-ge, wife of Ba-lok, hailed from arun-ki, once the farthest east of all Lo villages. Shortly after Kus-ge departed as Ba-lok’s new bride, the villagers vanished without a trace, the arun-ki burned to the water line.

g`an:
(gh-AHN)
Lo word for the open steppe bordering the marshes north of the Great Sea.

Ghalen:
(GAY-lehn)
Lo phrase for
iron spirit
. Younger brother of Masok, sco-lo-ti of the Turtle Clan.

Great Sea:
Immense body of fresh water and home to the Lo people. Its northern shore is lined with vast expanses of reed beds, marshes and narrow coastal forests which give way to open steppe.

heli-dar:
(hell-EYE-dar)
Lo word for the afterlife. The Lo believe it is far out to sea beyond the reach of any boat.

H
eise: (HAY-suh)
Fu Xi’s black stallion, his name simply means “black”.

Hu
ise: (Hhway-suh)
Fu Xi’s gray mare, her name simply means “gray”.

Hur-ar:
(her-AR)
“City of the Yellow Metal,” located at the base of the Adyghe Mountains in a deep canyon overlooking the Hur River; also called
Ghund-Ghund
, The Place of Mazes, by the Scythians.

Hur-Po:
(her-POE)
“People of the Yellow Metal, those who inhabit Hur-Ar.

Hur River:
River running north to south separating the Adyghe Mountains from the open g’an;
spanned by the Kupar Bridge.

Ice Men:
Savage race living in the far north lands.

Isp:
Patesi-le selected to serve the Uros.

Kol-ok:
(kall-AWK)
Aizarg’s and Atamoda’s oldest boy, brother to Bat-or.

köy-lo-hely:
(coy-ee-LOW-hell-eye)
Lo word meaning “the sacred place where the people gather”; a large wooden platform without a hut at the heart of the Lo community, usually a in the middle of a lagoon encircled by huts.

Kus-ge:
(kuss-GEE)
Ba-lok’s wife, hails from the mysterious Lost Arun-ki, the farthest Lo settlement to the east that vanished years earlier.

Ood-i:
(OO-die)
Member of the Crane Clan, husband of Ula, father to Su-gár.

Levidi:
(lev-EE-dee)
Aizarg’s best friend, husband of Alaya.

li-ge:
(lie-GHEE)
Lo symbol meaning “balance” or “joining of flesh and spirit.”

Lo:
(LOW)
“The people” or “the family.” Nation of fishing tribes divided into different clans. They live along the Great Sea’s northern shore in stilted villages over the water.

Masok:
(MAY-sock)
Sco-lo-ti of the Turtle Clan and Ghalen’s older brother.

Narim:
(nah-RHEEM)
Race of demigods who live in the Black Fortress in the mountains above Hur-ar.

Nushen:
(NEW-shen)
Village of Goddess, an ancient village that has served the goddess Nuwa for ages.

Nuwa:
(NEW-ah)
She is also called the Queen of the West and the Celestial Queen. A goddess who sired Fu Xi with a human man. She dwells in seclusion in her temple on Tortoise Mountain above the village of Nushen.

Minnow Clan:
Lo village ruled by Ba-lok as sco-lo-ti.

Oeto-sy:
(oy-TOW-see)
the sky god or “father above” of the Lo pantheon. Husband of Psatina, father of Sethagasi.

Okta:
(AWK-tah)
Leader of the Carp Arun-ki. An older sco-lo-ti, but not yet an elder. Tall, lean and light complexioned like Aizarg, but
older, nearing the age of an elder.

patesi-le:
(pah-TEH-see-lee)
A lo shaman, always a woman and the wife of the sco-lo-ti.

Psatina: (sat-EEN-a)
The Earth Mother, prime goddess of the Lo pantheon.

Quexil:
(Kek-zil)
Captain of the Obsidian Guard, warrior and Lord Leviathan’s closest servant.

Ro-xandra: (Row-ZAN-drah)
Old Minnow Clan woman.

sco-lo-ti:
(skoh-LOW-tee)
“leader of the people”, village chieftain

sagar:
(SAY-garr)
Sammujad spears, heavier and longer, made to defend against Scythian horse warriors.

Sahti:
(sah-TEE)
Wife of Xva.

Sammujad:
(sam-MOO-jahd)
one of the three nomadic tribes inhabiting the g’an. They occupy the fringes of the steppe and rely mostly on trading to survive. They have been pushed back in recent years by the Scythians.

Sana:
(SAH-nah)
Scythian princess, sister of Prince Tuma, daughter of King Sawseruquo, granddaughter of King Sosa and his captive bride, Setenay.

Sarah:
Former pleasure slave in bondage in Virag’s camp. She is originally of the Hur-ar and vows to lead Aizarg’s party to the Narim.

Scythians:
(sith-EE-ans)
Horse warriors who’ve come to dominate the g’an over the course of several generations, they are the most savage and feared of the three steppe tribes.

Setenay:
(set-EN-aye)
Patesi-li of the Minnow Clan, grandmother to Ba-lok, oldest living member of the Lo people. Called “The Grandmother of the Lo.”

Sethagasi:
(seth-ah-GOS-ee)
The sea goddess of the Lo pantheon, daughter of Psatina and Oeto-sy. Synonymous with Great Sea. Also means “womb.”

Spako: (SPAY-koh)
Sammujad mercenary in the employ of Virag. Enormous and imposing, but dimwitted and, if left to his own devices, gentle.

Summoning of Spears:
Ceremony where the Lo choose an Uros to lead them in time of war.

Silt Flats:
Place near Crane Clan village with the shallows meet the deep sea and large waves form and the village boys wave ride atop their small reed boats.

Sunalei Ostu
:
(Sue-NAH-lay OH-stooh)
Called “Sunnah,” he is Lord Leviathan’s master of horses.

Su-gar:
(sue-GARR)
daughter of Ood-i and Ula.

Tiejiang: (Teh-ZHANG)
Blacksmith of Nushen, raised by Fu Xi.

Time of the Spear:
Lo term for a time of war when an Uros leads all the Lo nation, superseding the power of individual sco-lo-ti.

Toma: (Tow-MAH)
Orphaned
Minnow child, twin brother to E’laa

Tortoise Mountain:
Home of the Goddess Nuwa.

Turtle Clan:
Lo village ruled by
Masok as sco-lo-ti, also home to his younger brother, Ghalen.

Ula:
(OOW-lah)
Wife of Leedi, mother of Su-gár.

Uros:
(UR-ouws)
War Chieftain of the Lo.

Valley of the Beasts
: A valley discovered by Aizarg and Levidi filled with a milling multitude of animals of every sort.

Virag: (veye-RAG)
Sammujad Slaver, former owner of Sarah.

Wu:(WOO)
A mysterious land far to the east of Cin. Fu Xi thought of this land as the end of the earth.

Xva:
(ZEE-vah)
Aizarg’s cousin and youngest man in the Crane Clan Nation. Husband of Sahti.