The Burning White (156 page)

blunderbuss:
A musket with a bell-shaped muzzle that can be loaded with nails, musket balls, chain, or even gravel. Devastating at short distances.

Braxos:
A legendary, now dead city thousands of years old, cut off from the Seven Satrapies by the Cracked Lands, which were reputed to have been formed with magic during the Ptarsu expansion centuries before Lucidonius.

brightwater:
Liquid yellow luxin. It is unstable and quickly releases its energy as light. Often used in lanterns.

Brightwater Wall:
Its building was a feat to match the legends. This wall was designed by Aheyyad Brightwater and built by Prism Gavin Guile at Garriston in mere days before and while the rebel King Garadul’s army approached.

burnous:
A long cloak with a hood, common in Paria and elsewhere.

caleen (masc. calun):
A diminutive term of address for a female (or male) slave, used regardless of the slave’s age.

Cannon Island:
A small island with a minimal garrison between Big Jasper and Little Jasper. It houses formidable artillery.

Cerulean Sea, the:
The great body of water circled by the Seven Satrapies.

chirurgeon:
One who stitches up the wounded and studies anatomy.

chromaturgy:
Literally ‘color working,’ it usually refers to drafting, but has been expanded to cover the study of luxins and will. See also Appendix, ‘On Luxin.’

Chromeria, the:
The ruling body of the Seven Satrapies; also a term for the academic institution where drafters are trained.

Chromeria trained:
Those who have or are studying at the Chromeria school for drafting on Little Jasper Island in the Cerulean Sea. The Chromeria’s training system does not limit students based on age, but rather progresses them through each degree of training based on their ability and knowledge.

cocca:
A type of merchant ship, usually small.

Colors, the:
The seven members of the Spectrum. Originally each represented a single color of the seven sacred colors; each could draft that color, and each satrapy had one representative. Since the founding of the Spectrum, that practice has deteriorated as satrapies have maneuvered for power. Thus a satrapy’s Color could be appointed to a color she doesn’t actually draft. Likewise, some of the satrapies might lose their representative, and others could have two or even three representatives on the Spectrum at a time, depending on the politics of the day. A Color’s term is for life. Impeachment is nearly impossible.

Compelling Argument, The:
The greatest masterpiece of famed cannon-caster Phineas Vecchini.

conn (
fem.
banconn):
A title for a mayor or leader of a village sometimes used in far-northern Atash, but more common in Blood Forest.

Corbine Street:
A street in Big Jasper that leads to the Great Fountain of Karris Shadowblinder.

Cracked Lands, the:
A region of broken land in the extreme west of Atash. Its treacherous terrain is crossed by only the most hardy and experienced traders.

Crag Tooth:
A fine whiskey with a sublime nose hinting at rose and cinnamon, made in distilleries at the edge of Blood Forest in the highlands above Green Haven. It evinces orange and raisin flavors under powerful chocolate.

Crater Lake:
A large lake in southern Tyrea where the former capital of Tyrea, Kelfing, sits. The area is famous for its forests and the production of yew.

Crossroads, the:
A kopi house, restaurant, and tavern, the highest-priced inn on the Jaspers, and downstairs a similarly priced brothel. Located near the Lily’s Stem, the Crossroads is housed in the former Tyrean embassy building, centrally located in the Embassies District for all the ambassadors, spies, and merchants trying to deal with various governments.

culverin:
A type of cannon, useful for firing long distances because of its heavily weighted cannonballs and long-bore tube.

Cwn y Wawr:
The ‘Dogs of Dawn,’ a Blood Forest martial company of archers, mastiff handlers, tree climbers, green drafters, and masters of camouflage. A semisecret society found in the deep parts of Blood Forest.

dagger-pistols:
Pistols with a blade attached, allowing the user to fire at distance and then use the blade at close range or if the weapon misfires.

Dagnu:
Pagan god of gluttony, associated with red. See Appendix, ‘On the Old Gods.’

danar:
The primary unit of currency in the Seven Satrapies. An average worker makes about a danar a day, while an unskilled laborer can expect to earn a half danar a day. The coins have a square hole in the middle and are often carried on square-cut sticks. They can be cut in half and still hold their value.

tin danar:
Worth eight regular danar coins. A stick of tin danars usually carries twenty-five coins—that is, two hundred danars.

Deimachia, the:
The War of/on the Gods. A theological term for Lucidonius’s battle for supremacy against the pagan gods of the old world.

Demiurgos:
Another term for a Mirror such as Janus Borig; literally

‘half creator.’

dey (
fem.
deya):
A Parian title. A near-absolute ruler over a city and its surrounding territory. (Equivalent to the Atashian/Tyrean ‘corregidor.’)

Diakoptês:
An ambiguous term. Literally ‘He who rends asunder,’ but a looser translation could be ‘Breaker.’ In Braxian belief, both the name and title of Lucidonius and the name or title of a similar figure, possibly a reincarnation of Lucidonius, who will come again to break or heal the Cracked Lands.

discipulus
(masc. pl.
discipuli
, fem.
discipula
, fem. and mixed gender pl.
discipulae):
Those who study both religious and magical arts, usually at the Chromeria.

djinn (
fem.
jinni-yah):
Immortals also known as the fallen, or elo-him, or gods, or the Two Hundred. Alternate spelling
jinn
. A fuzzy, much-debated religious and historical term, as the reality of such beings, much less their nature(s), is unknown.

drafter:
One who can shape or harness light into physical form (luxin). See also Appendix, ‘On Luxin.’

Dúnbheo:
Also known as the Floating City. Sits in the middle of Loch

Lána, the great lake in Blood Forest.

elohim
:
Immortals or gods (see entry for ‘djinn’), spiritual beings of some sort.

‘elrahee, elishama, eliada, eliphalet’:
A Parian prayer meaning ‘[Orholam] sees, He hears, He cares, He saves.’

Embassies District:
The Big Jasper neighborhood that is closest to the Lily’s Stem and thus is closest to the Chromeria itself. It also houses markets and kopi houses, taverns, and brothels.

Everdark Gates, the:
The strait connecting the Cerulean Sea to the oceans beyond. It was supposedly closed by Lucidonius, but Angari ships have been known to make it through from time to time.

evernight:
Often a curse word, it refers to death and/or hell. A metaphysical or teleological reality, rather than a physical one, it represents that which will forever embrace and be embraced by void, full darkness, night in its purest and most evil form.

eye caps:
A specialized kind of spectacles. These colored lenses fit directly over the eye sockets, glued to the skin. Like other spectacles, they enable a drafter to draft her color more easily.

False Prism’s War, the:
A common term for the brief but violent war between Gavin and Dazen Guile. The ‘False Prism’ is a reference to Dazen, who claimed to be a Prism even after his older brother had already been chosen and installed.

Ferrilux:
Pagan god of pride, associated with superviolet. See Appendix, ‘On the Old Gods.’

flashbomb:
A weapon crafted by yellow drafters. It doesn’t harm so much as dazzle and distract its victims with the blinding light of suddenly evaporating yellow luxin.

flying pulpit:
Skimmers used for scouting, designed by Ben-hadad. These boats dispense with the weight of a deck entirely. They are held from the waves by only a narrow horizontal foil giving lift and the drafter’s vertical reeds, which also provide propulsion. Though they require great muscular and magical strength and endurance, they are the lightest and fastest skimmers in existence.

Four Festivals, the:
Seasonal celebrations in the Seven Satrapies.

Sun Day:
Summer solstice, the longest day of the year; aka the Braxian Feast of Dying Light.

Feast of Light & Darkness, or Waning Light:
Autumnal equinox.

Feast of the Longest Night:
Winter solstice, the shortest day of the year; the Luxlord’s Ball is also on this night.

Feast of Waxing Light:
Spring equinox.

Free, the (see disambiguation with ‘Freed, the’ below):
Those drafters who reject the Pact of the Chromeria to join the White King’s army, choosing to intentionally break the halo to become wights. Also called the Unchained. (Similarities between ‘Free’ and ‘the Freed’ are deliberate; the White King’s pagans use it to appropriate the Chromeria term.)

Freed, the (see disambiguation with ‘Free, the’ above):
Those drafters who accept the Pact of the Chromeria and chose to be ritually killed in the Freeing (see entry below).

Freeing:
The ritual death of a drafter immediately before or after they break their halos. Performed by the Prism every year as the culmination of the Sun Day rituals. A sensitive and holy time, it is accompanied by both mourning and celebration. Each drafter meets personally with the Prism for their Freeing. Many refer to it as the holiest day of their lives; pagans take a different view.

frizzen:
On a flintlock, the L-shaped piece of metal against which the flint scrapes. The metal is on a hinge that opens upon firing to allow the sparks to reach the black powder in the chamber.

galabaya:
A robe-like dress, common in Paria.

galleass:
Originally a large merchant ship powered by both oar and sail. Later, the term referred to ships with modifications for military purposes, which include castles at bow and stern and cannons that fire in all directions.

Gargantua,
the:
A veritable floating castle, it was Ilytian pirate king Pash Vecchio’s flagship, with one hundred and forty-one light guns and forty-three heavy cannons. Sunk by Kip and Gavin Guile.

Garriston:
The former commercial capital of Tyrea, at the mouth of the Umber River on the Cerulean Sea. Prism Gavin Guile built Bright-water Wall in an attempt to defend the city from Koios White Oak, and very nearly completed it before the pagans took Garriston.

gciorcal:
A traditional dance of the Blood Forest pygmies involving paired, spinning dancers.

ghotra:
A Parian head scarf, used by many Parian men to demonstrate their reverence for Orholam. In Old Parian tradition, a man’s hair is a sign of his virility and dominance and thereby his glory. Most wear it only while the sun is up, but some sects wear it even at nighttime.

Golden Mean,
the:
The finest ship to ever sail the Cerulean Sea. An Ilytian galleass, white teak with a brightwater sheen to its hull; it has forty guns on tracks and a masterpiece culverin on the forecastle named The Compelling Argument.

Great Chain (of Being), the:
A theological term for the order of creation. The first link is Orholam Himself, and all the other links below (creation) derive from Him.

great hall, the:
Located under the Prism’s Tower, a revered space in the Chromeria that is converted once a week into a place of worship, at which time mirrors from the other towers are turned to shine light in. It includes pillars of white marble and the largest display of stained glass in the world. Most of the satrapies have a great hall in their respective capitols, but none parallel the hall beneath the Prism’s Tower.

Great Library of Azûlay:
An ancient library in Paria, the building itself is more than eight hundred years old and is built on the foundations of another library at least two hundred years older.

Great Mirror(s):
A set of enormous mirrors, spread out among the entire Seven Satrapies.

Great River, the:
The river between Ruthgar and Blood Forest, the scene of many pitched battles between the two countries.

great yard, the:
The training yard at the base of the towers of the

Chromeria, used primarily by the Blackguard.

green flash:
A rare flash of color seen at the setting of the sun; its meaning is debated. Some believe it has theological significance, citing Karris Atiriel’s sighting of it the evening before the battle in Hass Valley. The previous White, Orea Pullawr, called it Orholam’s wink.