Battleaxe (58 page)

ACHAR: the realm stretching over most of the continent, bounded by the Andeis, Tyrre and Widowmaker Seas, the Shadowsward Forest and the Icescarp Alps. (Achar is pronounced with a hard ch, as in “loch”.)

ACHARITES: the people of Achar.

AFTERLIFE: both Acharites and the Forbidden believe in the existence of an AfterLife, although exactly what they believe depends on their particular culture.

ALDENI: a small province in western Achar, devoted to small crop cultivation. It is administered by Duke Roland.

ANDAKILSA, River: the extreme northern river of Ichtar, dividing Ichtar from Ravensbund. It remains free of ice all year round and flows into the Andeis Sea.

ANDEIS SEA: the often unpredictable sea that washes the western coast of Achar.

ARCEN: the major town of Arcness.

ARCNESS: large eastern province in Achar, specialising in pigs. It is administered by Earl Burdel.

ARNE: a cohort commander in the Axe-Wielders.

ARTOR THE PLOUGHMAN: the one true god, as taught by the Brotherhood of the Seneschal. According to the Book of Field and Furrow, the religious text of the Seneschal, Artor gave mankind the gift of the Plough, the instrument which enabled mankind to abandon his hunting and gathering lifestyle and to settle in the one spot to cultivate the earth and thus to build the foundations of civilisation.

AVAR, The: one of the races of the Forbidden who live in the forest of the Shadowsward, or the Avarinheim as they call it. The Avar are sometimes referred to as the People of the Horn.

AVARINHEIM, The: the home of the Avar people, known to the Acharite people as the Shadowsward. See “Shadowsward”.

AVONSDALE: province in western Achar. It produces legumes, fruit and flowers. It is administered by Earl Jorge.

AXE-WIELDERS, The: the elite crusading and military wing of the Seneschal. Its members have not taken holy orders but have nevertheless dedicated their battle skills to the Seneschal to use as it wishes. The Axe-Wielders were the main reason the Acharites managed to defeat the Forbidden in the Wars of the Axe and, over the subsequent thousand years, have enjoyed a well-deserved reputation for military excellence.

AXIS: illegitimate son of the Princess Rivkah and an unknown father. Currently he holds the position of BattleAxe of the Axe-Wielders. See “BattleAxe” and “Axe-Wielders”.

AZHURE: daughter of Brother Hagen of Smyrton. Her mother came from Nor.

AZLE, River: a major river that divides the provinces of Ichtar and Aldeni. It flows into the Andeis Sea.

BANES: the religious leaders of the Avar people. They wield magic, although it is usually of the minor variety.

BARROWS, The Ancient: the burial places of the ancient Enchanter-Talons of the Icarii people. Located in southern Arcness.

BARSARBE: a Bane of the Avar people.

BATTLEAXE, The: the leader of the Axe-Wielders, appointed by the Brother-Leader for his loyalty to the Seneschal, his devotion to Artor the Ploughman and the Way of the Plough, and his skills as a military commander. See “Axis” and “Axe-Wielders”.

BEDWYR FORT: a fort that sits on the lower reaches of the River Nordra and guards the entrance to Grail Lake from Nordmuth.

BELAGUEZ: Axis’ war horse.

BELIAL: lieutenant and second-in-command of the Axe-Wielders.

BELTIDE: see “Festivals”.

BOGLE MARSH: a large and inhospitable marsh in eastern Arcness. Strange creatures are said to live in the Marsh.

BOOK OF FIELD AND FURROW: the religious text of the Seneschal, which teaches that Artor himself wrote it and presented it to mankind.

BORNEHELD: Duke of Ichtar, the most powerful noble in Achar. Son of the Princess Rivkah and her husband, Duke Searlas.

BRACKEN RANGES, The: a low and narrow mountain range that divides Arcness and Skarabost.

BRACKEN, River: the river that rises in the Bracken Ranges and which, dividing the provinces of Skarabost and Arcness, flows into the Widowmaker Sea.

BRIGHTFEATHER: wife to RavenCrest SunSoar, Talon of the Icarii.

BROTHER-LEADER, The: the supreme leader of the Brotherhood of the Seneschal. Usually elected by the senior brothers, the Office of Brother-Leader is for life. He is a powerful man, controlling not only the Brotherhood and all its riches, but the Axe-Wielders as well. The current Brother-Leader is Jayme.

BURDEL, Earl: lord of Arcness and friend to Borneheld, Duke of Ichtar.

CARLON: capital city of Achar and residence of the kings of Achar. Situated on Grail Lake.

CAULDRON LAKE: the lake at the centre of the Silent Woman Woods.

CHAMBER OF THE MOONS: chief audience and sometime banquet chamber of the royal palace in Carlon.

CHAMPION, A: occasionally an Acharite warrior will pledge himself as a noble lady’s Champion. The relationship is purely platonic and is one of protection and support. The pledge of a Champion can be broken only by his death or by the express wish of his lady.

CHARONITES: a lost race of Tencendor.

CLANS, The: the Avar tend to segregate into Clan groups, roughly equitable with family groups.

COHORT:
see
“Military Terms”.

COROLEAS: the great empire to the south of Achar. Relations between the two countries are usually cordial.

CREST: Icarii military unit composed of twelve Wings.

CRIMSONCREST: an Icarii male.

CREST-LEADER: commander of an Icarii Crest.

DESTROYER, The: another term for Gorgrael.

DEVERA: daughter to Duke Roland of Aldeni.

DISTANCES: League: roughly seven kilometres, or four and a half miles. Pace: roughly one metre or one yard. Handspan: roughly twenty centimetres or eight inches.

EARTH TREE: a tree sacred to both the Icarii and the Avar.

EGERLEY: a young man from Smyrton.

EMBETH, Lady of Tare: widow of Ganelon, good friend and sometime lover of Axis.

ENCHANTERS: the magicians of the Icarii people. Many of them are very powerful. All Enchanters have the word “Star” somewhere in their names. The power of the Enchanters is blood-related, thus an Enchanter is not created, but born.

ENCHANTER-TALONS: Talons of the Icarii people who were also Enchanters.

EVENSONG: an Icarii woman.

FARADAY: daughter of Earl Isend of Skarabost and his wife, Lady Merlion.

FARSIGHT CUTSPUR: a Crest-Leader in the Icarii Strike Force.

FERNBRAKE LAKE: the large lake in the centre of the Bracken Ranges.

FESTIVALS of the Avar and the Icarii: Yuletide: the winter solstice, in the last week of Snow-month. Beltide: the spring Festival, the first day of Flower-month. Fire-Night: the summer solstice, in the last week of Rose-month.

FINGUS: a previous BattleAxe. Now dead.

FIRE-NIGHT, The: see “Festivals”.

FLEAT: an Avar woman.

FLURIA, River: a minor river that flows through Aldeni into the River Nordra.

FORBIDDEN, The: the two races, the Icarii and the Avar, that the
Seneschal teaches are evil creatures who use magic and sorcery to enslave humans. During the Wars of the Axe, a thousand years before the events of the Prophecy of the Destroyer, the Acharites pushed the Forbidden back beyond the Fortress Ranges into the Shadowsward and the Icescarp Alps. It is part of Acharite legend that one day the Forbidden will try to reclaim their old lands.

FORBIDDEN TERRITORIES, The: the lands of the Forbidden, the Shadowsward and the Icescarp Alps.

FORBIDDEN VALLEY, The: the only known entrance into the Shadowsward from Achar. It is where the River Nordra escapes the Shadowsward and flows into Achar.

FOREST, concept of: the Seneschal teaches that all forests are bad because they harbour dark demons who plot the overthrow of mankind, thus most Acharites have a terrible fear of forests and their dark interiors. Almost all of the ancient forest that once covered Achar has been destroyed. The only trees grown in Achar are fruit trees and plantation trees for timber.

FORTRESS RANGES: the mountains that run down Achar’s eastern boundary from the Icescarp Alps to the Widowmaker Sea. The Forbidden are penned behind these ranges.

FRANCIS: an elderly Brother from the Retreat in Gorkentown.

FREEFALL: an Icarii male.

FULKE, Baron: lord of Romsdale.

“FURROW WIDE, FURROW DEEP”: an all-embracing Acharite phrase which can be used as a benediction, as a protection against evil, or as a term of greeting.

GANELON, LORD: lord of Tare, once husband to Embeth, Lady of Tare. Now dead.

GARDEN, The: the Garden of the Mother.

GARLAND, GOODMAN: Goodman of Smyrton.

GAUTIER: lieutenant to Borneheld, Duke of Ichtar.

GHOSTMEN: another term for Skraelings.

GHOSTTREE CLAN: one of the Avar Clans, headed by Grindle.

GILBERT: Brother of the Seneschal and assistant and adviser to the Brother-Leader.

GOLDFEATHER: an Icarii woman.

GORGRAEL: the Destroyer, an evil lord of the north who, according to the Prophecy of the Destroyer, will threaten Achar.

GORKENFORT: the major fort situated in Gorken Pass in northern Ichtar.

GORKEN PASS: the narrow pass that provides the only way from Ravensbund into Ichtar. It is bounded by the Icescarp Alps and the River Andakilsa.

GORKENTOWN: the town that huddles about the walls of Gorkenfort.

GRAIL LAKE: a massive lake at the lower reaches of the River Nordra. On its shores are Carlon and the Tower of the Seneschal.

GREVILLE, BARON: lord of Tarantaise.

GRINDLE: an Avar man, head of the GhostTree Clan.

HAGEN: Plough-Keeper of Smyrton.

HANDSPAN:
see
“Distances”.

HELM: a young Avar male.

HOGNI: a young Avar female.

HORDLEY, GOODMAN: Goodman of Smyrton.

HORNED ONES: the almost divine and most sacred members of the Avar race. They live in the Sacred Grove.

HOVEREYE BLACKWING: an Icarii Crest-Leader.

HSINGARD: the large town situated in central Ichtar, seat of the Dukes of Ichtar.

ICARII, The: one of the races of the Forbidden, living in the Icescarp Alps. They are sometimes referred to as the People of the Wing.

ICESCARP ALPS, The: the great mountain range that stretches across most of northern Achar. It is home to the Icarii, one of the Forbidden races.

ICESCARP BARREN: a desolate tract of land situated in northern Ichtar between the Icescarp Alps and the Urqhart Hills.

ICHTAR, DUKE of: the lord of Ichtar, currently Borneheld.

ICHTAR, The Province of: the largest and richest of the provinces of Achar. Ichtar derives its wealth from its extensive grazing herds and from its mineral and precious gem mines.

ICHTAR, River: a minor river that flows through Ichtar into the River Azle.

ISEND, EARL: lord of Skarabost, a darkly handsome but somewhat dandified lord.

ISLAND OF MIST AND MEMORY: one of the sacred sites of the Icarii people, long lost to them after the Wars of the Axe.

JACK THE PIG BOY or JACK SIMPLE: pig herder of Arcness.

JAYME: Brother-Leader of the Seneschal.

JERVOIS LANDING: the small town on Tailem Bend of the River Nordra. The gateway into Ichtar.

JORGE, Earl: Earl of Avonsdale, and one of the most experienced military campaigners in Achar.

JUDITH: Queen of Achar, wife to Priam.

KAREL: old king of Achar, father to Priam and Rivkah. Now dead.

KASTALEON: one of the great Keeps of Achar, situated on the River Nordra in central Achar. Of recent construction.

KEEPS, The: the three main Keeps of Achar. See separate entries under Kastaleon, Sigholt, and Silent Woman Keep.