Fires of the Desert (Children of the Desert Book 4) (74 page)

Esthit
(
ess-thitt
): A drug originally developed by the ketarches, whose use has altered significantly over the years.

Estiqi
(
est-eek-ee
): A liqueur made from esthit; lowers boundaries and dulls the senses. Used, in theory, to help “stuck” desert lords (i.e., desert lords resisting the transition to their altered natures) open fully to their new abilities. Tends to have an aphrodisiac side effect. The actual effects of estiqi vary by individual and can be unpredictable.

Fii
(
fee
): The teyanain (and thus vastly more complicated) version of
thio
.

Four Gods
: The pantheon of the Northern Church; Eki (Wind), Payti (Fire), Syrta (Earth), and Wae (Water). Each has a dual nature (good/evil), and the Church teaches that mankind must ever be careful not to provoke the “evil” side.

Fours
: street slang term for devout followers of the Northern Church.

Furun
(
fuhr
-roon): Chabi game piece representing money. Shaped like a coin, the furun may move one square in any direction once unlocked; it may only be unlocked by a grey shassen jumping over it.

Gods’-glory Flower
: A common vine in the humid areas of the southlands; sports large, funnel-shaped flowers in an infinite variety of colors and blooming patterns (morning, evening, middle of the night).

H’na
(
heh
-^hna): A teyanain-peculiar word (generally only pronouncable by the teyanain, as well), of obscure derivation and meaning, even to loremasters. Ties into an old story about a woman who worried herself into one crisis after another until at last she married a man who could calm her nerves.

Ha’bit vanaa
(hah-
beet
vah-
nahh
): Rough translation:
Forgive your servant’s offenses.
A very old and largely abandoned phrase, once used to indicate total submission/apology for wrongs done to a ha’ra’ha.

Ha’inn
(properly: hah-^
inn
; more commonly:
high
-inn): Lit. translation:
Honored One.
Reserved for ha’ra’hain. The glottal stop between
a
and
i,
always difficult for humans to manage, has fallen out of favor over the centuries.

Ha’inn-va
(high-
inn
-vah): Very old and abandoned phrase indicating total submission to the will of a ha’ra’ha.

Ha’ra’ha
(hah-^
rah
-^hah); plural
ha’ra’hain
(hah-^rah-^
hayn
): Person of mixed blood (human and ha’rethe).

Ha’ra’hain
(hah-^rah-^
hayn
): Plural of
ha’ra’ha
.

Ha’rai’nain
(hah-^
ray
-^nayn): Plural of
ha’rai’nin
.

Ha’rai’nin
(hah-^
ray
-^nin); plural
ha’rai’nain
(hah-^ray-^
nayn
): One who has dedicated his or her life to serving the ha’reye.

Ha’rethe
(hah-^
reth
-ay); plural
ha’reye
(hah-^
ray
): Lit. translation:
golden eyes.
An ancient race, predating humanity.

Ha’reye
(hah-^
ray
): Plural of
ha’rethe
.

Ha’reye-kin
(hah-^
ray
-kin); alt.
true-ha’rai’nin
(hah-^
hray
-nin): 1. A human who has spent so much time around the ha’reye that he or she has changed physically; no longer human, a ha’rai’nin more closely resembles a lesser ha’ra’ha. 2. A lesser ha’ra’ha who has spent so much time among the ha’reye that it is growing into greater powers. Both are extremely exceptional; at this time, only one human qualifies as the first and only one ha’ra’ha qualifies as the second.

Hai-katihe
(high-kat-
tea
): Rough translation:
those who serve (intimately) a ha’ra’ha.
No longer in common use.

Hanna-aerst-yin
(hah-
nahh ayrst
yin): Rough translation:
binding a bird in a cage of chains.
A rare and powerful teyanain marriage ceremony, only performed for people of extreme importance among the teyanain. Both
aerst
and
yin
are words peculiar to the teyanain dialect, and their exact meanings vary by context.

Hask
: Lit. translation:
cast out
.
Implications of dishonor, of betrayal, of irrevocable shame.

Hecht
(
hehkt
): trator; oath-breaker.

Hopam
(hoh-pahm): Literal translation:
dream house
.
Generally used to refer to establishments that provide various illicit but relatively minor narcotics and hallucinogens, such as aesa and esthit.

Iii-naa tarren, iii-nas lalien, iii-be salalae
(
eee
-nah tar-
ren
,
eee
-nahs
lah
-lee-en,
eee
-beh sah-
lah
-lay): Rough translation:
We serve the gods, the gods smile on us, we survive under the glory of the gods.
Implications of submission, sacrifice, loss of selfhood in service of the divine.

Iishin
(eee-eee-shinn): Master acrobat; prominently used as a frontman in southern parades and processionals.

Ish
(
isshh
): Prefix indicating feminine/female aspects.

Ishrai
(
Ish
-wry): One of the three gods honored in the southlands; represents the positive/feminine/birth energies. She is also connected to the season of spring, the color green, and the emotion of love.

Ishraidain
(ishh-wry-
dane
): Women serving penance for various crimes, under the protection of Ishrai.

Ishrait
(ishh-
rate
): High priestess of Ishrai.

Itibi
(ih-
tih
-bee): A small, high-pitched drum; generally held in one hand and struck with a light striker.

Itna tarnen, itnas talien, itnabe shalla
(
it
-nah tahr-
nehn
,
it
-nahs
tah
-lee-en, it-
nah
-bay
shah
-lah): Rough translation:
We empty ourselves into the gods, the gods pour themselves into us, glory be to the gods.
Implications of partnership, gods and man giving to one another in service of building a better world.

Jacau-drum
(jack-
how
drum): A large drum, generally stationary, with a wide head; produces a deep, booming tone. Originally covered with the skin of unusually large asp-jacaus, thus the name. Today these drums are usually made with cow, deer, horse, or goat skins, depending on how rich the owner is. Also called a
shaska drum
;
only experts make a distinction between the two styles.

Jii
(
geee
): Gifters; part of southern processionals and parades,
jii
toss candies and small coins to the watching crowds. Catching a
jii-
flung gift is considered a sign of good luck for the rest of the day.

Jungles
: Also called
Forbidden Jungles.
An area of tropical rainforest far to the south where the majority of the surviving ha’reye and their human deevotees live; outsiders are not permitted to enter.

Justice-right
: The right of a desert lord to intervene in a situation and see it resolved according to his own opinion of justice.

Ka
(
kah
): Honored (generic term).

Ka-s’a
(
kah
-ss-^
ah
): Honored lady (generic term).

Ka-s’e
(
kah
-ss^
eh
): Honored gentleman (generic term).

Ka
(
kah
): Honored (generic term).

Ka-s’a
(
kah
-ss-^
ah
): Honored lady (generic term).

Kain
(
cain
): Rough translation:
servant’s child;
honorable connotation, able to formally claim the relevant bloodline, and even inherit if more direct heirs are no longer eligible/available. The similarity between this and
kaen
makes the pronunciation, in this instance, very important; and yet, because kaens were seen as servants of their people, there is a certain blurring here as well. While it is not exactly
polite
to pronounce
kaen
as
kain,
only a person looking for an insult will take exception to the mispronunciation if it is an honest dialectic error rather than a deliberate attempt at offense.

Kath
(
kath
): Rough translation:
servant.
Used with a variety of modifiers to indicate occupation and status;
s’a-dinne kath
indicates a kitchen or dining hall servant;
s’a kathalle
indicates a cleaning servant. When used in conjunction with
kath,
the female gender indicator
(s’a)
does not imply a female servant, but rather the concept of serving. The term
katha village,
while in common usage, is grammatically incorrect: it should properly be
va-kathe,
“village of intimate services”.

Kathain
(kath-
ayn
): Personal servants to a desert lord; generally offered to visiting desert lords as a courtesy, and considered an essential part of a new desert lord’s staff for at least the first two years. Duties range from amusing their lord with playful games to more intimate services. This peculiar word is the same in both singular and plural forms, (i.e.:
Tanavin was a kathain;
The four kathain left the room; The kathain’s room was small.)

Katheele
(kath-
eel
): Rough translation:
spy through seduction
.
An honorable profession, in the southlands; katheele are generally trained as spies and assassins as well as two or three minor specialties such as herbalist or etiquette master. They must maintain a keen understanding of current politics. They never act alone, but serve a specific Family or individual. Toscin Family trains the bulk of katheele, but at some point in their training, katheele decide whom they wish to serve; for their chosen master to refuse their service is nearly unheard of and incredibly rude.

Katihe
(kat-
tea
): Rough translation:
honorable intimacy;
obscure term rarely used in modern times.

Ke
(
keh
): Prefix or suffix indicating masculine/male aspects.

Ketarch
(
kee
-tarsch): Organized groups of healers in the south who focus on preserving old healing lore and researching new ways of healing.

L’chin
(lee-^
kin
): A teyanain-peculiar word (and generally only pronouncable by a teyanain, as well) of obscure derivation and meaning, even to loremasters. Ties into an old story about an opely welcomed guest who turned out to be less than honorable, was not what he professed to be, caused a major disaster, and yet redeemed himself by saving the day in the end.

Loremaster
: Combination historian, genealogist, and researcher; as a group, one of the major political forces behind the scenes in the southlands. Every Family has (or is supposed to have) a group of loremasters resident.

Louin
(loo-
een
): Lit. translation:
honored representative.
Largely used during transitional periods, when a newcomer has not yet taken his new station but must be granted some formal title for the sake of status.

Loremaster
: Combination historian, genealogist, and researcher; as a group, one of the major political forces behind the scenes in the southlands. Every Family has (or is supposed to have) a group of loremasters resident.

Mahadrae
(mah-
hahd
-ray): Rough translation: chosen mother of the free people. Proper title for the female Head of Aerthraim Family. A male leader would be mahadran; but that version has not been used for quite some time.

Mocker
: The lead figure in a southern drum line; usually female. She finds anything and everything to make fun of during a procession, then creates songs (called
mokoi)
afterward and spreads them far and wide.

N’sion
(nn-
sigh
-on): The supreme leader of the Northern Church; previously referred to the head of the Bright Bay branch of the church. Since the banishment of all Northern Church priests from Bright Bay, a new n’sion has yet to be selected.

Nu-s’e
(
noo
-ss-^
eh
): Honored man of the south (female is
nu-s’a);
generic honorific in the absence of specific indicators.

Numaina
(noo-
main
-ah); plural
numainiae
(noo-main-
ay
): Proper title for a Scratha Family ruler.

Oamver
(ohm-
vehr
): Rough translation:
negotiation table.
Ceremonial item of furniture, brought to all southland meetings; what is on the table at the beginning of the meeting has tremendous symbolic value. (During Scratha Conclave, the central table served as the oamver, and the fact that it was empty reflected a state of temporary truce among those normally at odds).

Oiu
(ooh-
ee
-ooh):
1.
The number
four
(southern).
2.
A complex, and usually rather large, four-pipe instrument common to the southlands. Like
alli
and
bene,
it is normally made of wood.

Pahenna
(pah-
hen
-nah): Rough translation:
Stay out of my business, I know what I’m doing.

Payti
(
pay
-tee): One of the Four Gods of the Northern Church pantheon; represents Fire. Payti’s “kind” incarnation is usually pictured as a short, plump man, with ruddy cheeks and a contagious cheeriness. In Payti’s “dark” incarnation, the form is that of a tall, beautiful woman with a seductive gaze that bewitches all men who gaze upon her to their destruction. Payti’s strength is that of the sun and the flame.

Peh-tenez
(
pay
-tehn-
ehz
): A negotiation ceremony held over tea in which only truth may be spoken and the conversation may not be disclosed to those not a part of it. Largely a teyanain protocol, but some other Families use it when they wish to seem very serious about a political arrangement. Only the teyanain, ironically, can be fully trusted to hold to the original, sacred nature of the ceremony; to outsiders, it’s largely a show, but teyanain will be absolutely honest during a true peh-tenez, and consider any deceit or breach of protocol a killing offense.