Prodigal Steelwielder (Seals of the Duelists Book 3) (35 page)

Imperial Duelist
: a duelist of any rank assigned to the Kheerzaal

Indentured
: a servant with a finite number of years to serve. Indentureds usually enter service due to financial need or to learn a valuable trade with a master tradesman or guild, such as the Firedust Guild

Ingerika
: a trio singer and member of Tala's coterie

Invocation
: a combination of sacred motions that open the duelist up to either elemental magic in general, or a specific element, or avatar-level spells. The Elemental Invocation is usually performed at the beginning of a duel or a bout of arena practice at the Academy, but during a trainee’s first semester on campus, it is performed only once a day, at the beginning of the day, to tame and focus the trainee’s magic through daily exposure to the sacred motions and with meditation. Other, more specific invocations are performed after the duelist has invoked elemental magic to bring about specific kinds of spells

Isagani Magittang
: a wealthy Balanganese merchant, father of Imee

Isos Sarantis
: a distant cousin of the Hegemon of Karkhedon, an ally of Casper voorde Helderaard and Savitu Tammaba. After his plans for a steel empire were thwarted by Bayan and his hexmates, he fled eastward and took refuge in the Corona, finding a place in
Yl
Senyecho
‘s court

Iulan
: a member of Clan Treinfhir and a powerful anima caster, rescued by Bayan and freed to return to his Tuathi people across the Waarden border. His son, Murchadh, fell in love with Aleida and married her, and he and Iulan moved to the small border town of Katacha, where Aleida’s assigned duel den is located. He is often seen with a hexbird he named Griogair

Iyanu K’mokamo
: a fierce noblewoman who schedules banquets for the emperor and his guests. Wife to Wateyo tes’Eshkin, adoptive mother of Kiwani t'Eshkin, her only child

Jaap voorde Helderaard
: His Imperial Majesty, ruler of the Second Waarden Empire, younger son of Emperor Hedrick. After he exiled Bayan for using illegal magic to save the empire, a dissenting faction broke away from imperial control and began agitating for the Hexmates

Joos de Rood
: the Academy’s history teacher, descended from the last Master Duelist in imperial history, Helma de Rood

Jorn
: a Potioneer Savant in Odjin's cohort

Jujufish
: small, inquisitive fish that live in Balanganese rice paddies. Eaten by people and swamp vipers

Jurgen
: one of the Academy’s Meditation Instructors, dismissed for illegal smuggling

Juriaan voorde Helderaard
: younger son of Emperor Jaap

Kah
: a hexbird who shared a room with Bayan, Odjin, Calder, and Eward

Kakios Phokapolou
: a patient killer for hire, killed after attempting to assassinate Kiwani in the middle of her skill duel with Bayan

Kalabao
: a domesticated bovine, used for farm work and cart transport in Balanganam

Karkhedon
: a neutral land across the Godsmaw from Helderaard. Its inhabitants share a cultural heritage with the Imperial lands of Aeolis, Kallichon, and Pallithea

Katacha
: the small Aeolian border town where Aleida, her husband, Murchadh, and his father, Iulan, the Tuathi once known by his clan name of Treinfhir, live

Kheerzaal
: the imperial campus, comprised of the royal palace and the headquarters of all imperially run businesses and services

Kilik
: an indentured man who was in service to, and colluding with, the mad princess Qivinga

Kipri Nayuuti
: Philo’s former assistant, a eunuch of the Second Class. He receives his first assignment as the newly created position of Cultural Liaison at the Duelist Academy, and continues to act on Philo’s behalf as a party to the secret Savant training sessions on campus

Kiwani t'Eshkin
: daughter of Wateyo tes’Eshkin and Iyanu K’mokamo, powerful nobles who have fallen from the emperor’s good graces. Ambitious and proud, Kiwani had her life all planned out before her magic manifested. Learning that she isn’t nobility, but merely the adopted child of indentured workers, has crushed her, and her magic suffers. On the advice of a sint, Kiwani leaves campus to seek the truth about her origins and come to terms with her true identity. After Bayan’e exile, she becomes Head Duelist of a duel den near the Shadow Canyons

Kobus vooren Zeegat
: sterile husband to the mad princess Qivinga, murdered by her hand

Kuvi
: Kipri’s uncle, who died trying to assassinate Emperor Jaap during the Battle of the Kheerzaal

Kwaranaak
: southern Nunaa town where Tarin and Taban are assigned to a duel den

Laarwyck
: a Waarden-dominated province east of Helderaard, whose citizens speak with a thick country accent. Doc Theo’s land of origin

Last Starflower, the
: the name given to princess Qivinga when her realm lost its bid for freedom during the Raqtaaq Wars

Lailani Lualhati
: one of Bayan’s sisters, aged ten

Liliwa Lualhati
: Bayan’s mother

Lost Starflower, the
: Aklaa people’s name for the Last Starflower, when she was stolen away by Emperor Hedrick

Lotte
: Philo’s personal chef during his travels in Balanganam, and employee of the royal kitchens before and after her time with Philo

Low Solstice
: the shortest day of the year

Low Spring
: the first day of spring according to the Waarden calendar

Mambajao
: the broad, silty river that flows past Bayan’s home. It was considered too wide and dangerous to cross with a bridge, until Surveyor Philo Sallas arrived

Marco
: a false name adopted by Caspar voorde Helderaard during his years in Karkhedon

Marton Ly Ronardo
: commander of
Yl Senyecho
’s armies

Marilag
: Lady Caolan’s efficient assistant

Master Duelist
: the highest rank a duelist may achieve, though it happens so rarely that those who achieve this rank reach near-mythical status. No one is sure of the full range of abilities a Master Duelist gains, but the test for Master Duelist requires the ability to cast magic and summon avatars without using the sacred motions, and the ability to perform the actions of six Hexmagic students at once

Mendre
: the Corona word for mother

Mindo
: Bayan’s only brother, aged eleven

Mitlik
: a castrated prince of Aklaa, brother to Qisuk, cousin to Savitu and Qivinga

Muckling
: insulting term for a person from Balanganam

Muggenhem
: a resort town for the Waarden nobility. The only town of note along the narrow strip of coastline Helderaard has along the Godsmaw. Due to the winter storm season, most families only visit Muggenhem during the summer months, despite owning permanent residences there

Murchadh
: son of Iulan, member of Clan Treinfhir, and husband of Duelist Aleida

Muted steel
: steel enclosed in one of the three heavy elements. Used during the First Tuathi War by the Waarden duelists in battle

Mynike
: a new potioneer in Kwaranaak and a member of Taban’s network

Nambulay
: Tala’s seaside home town in Balanganam

Neutral Pitch
: the voice pitch with which an individual chanter casts healing magic. Neutral pitch varies from chanter to chanter. A chanter finds his or her personal neutral pitch by murmuring aloud without consciously choosing any pitch

Newnik
: general term for Academy trainees, who haven’t learned to cast magic or been assigned to hexes yet

Nigha
: a recent member of the potioneer ranks, she lost her hands in an accident at the Duelist Academy. She learns from Odjin that there is a way to regain the use of her magic

Nine Empires, the
: the nine iterations of imperial Waarden rule, spanning more than two millennia

North Keenaght
: the district of Renallen that supports the duel den where Calder was brought for healing on his way to the Academy

Northern Crescent
: Corona term for the vast curve of land that hooks through the northern ocean

Nunaa
: a Raqtaaq realm on the eastern border of the Waarden Empire, conquered some twenty years past

Octet
: the advisory committee to the First Singer at the Temple of Ten Thousand Harmonies. All members must be of choralist rank

Odjin
: see Diogenes Essendorp

Okatin
: a business manager in the employ of Lord Eshkin, at his Wisnuk Bay estate. Kiwani’s birth father

Opposition Duelist
: term for one’s opponent within a duel den arena. The official version of tegen

Ordomiro
: An inkmage and Bayan's good friend in Cresconio's circus. His magic works through the motion of an ink brush as it draws on paper. He sacrifices himself to save Bayan’s life from a Corona mob

Ouachasta
: a
valio
in the Corona. No resident may use magic within its borders. The
valio
’s primary export is steel, made in its many smelteries

Pangusay
: Bayan’s home town, located on the Mambajao River at the southern tip of Balanganam

Peace Village
: a village that shares the top of the mountain with the Duelist Academy. The Academy’s support staff live there, as do dozens of non-duelist students. It receives mail packets separately from the campus and has its own mayor

Periorion
: the restricted section of the library at the Temple of Ten Thousand Harmonies, holding their oldest, most fragile documents

Philo Sallas
: a plump gourmand and eunuch of the Third Class who enjoys feminine wigs and flashy accoutrements. For his efforts to uncover an Aklaa assassination plot, Philo has been promoted from Imperial Surveyor to Minister of Information. He secretly communicates with the Hexmates via a select few Singers like Tala, keeping tabs on various aspects of the empire

Pim Aalthoven
: the Academy’s Wood Instructor, he holds the rank of Avatar Duelist

Pinamuyoc
: a realm populated by Bantayan people to the north of Balanganam, it has been a province of the Waarden Empire for three centuries

Plum
: derogatory name for an Aklaa pretending to be Waarden. Dark on the outside, with a pale white heart

Portal
: a magical passageway from one physical location to another, created by Trio level song magic. Portals open in front of the singer, and close when the crystals lose their resonance. Locations are targeted as portal endpoints with various destination sequences. Individuals are located with unique combinations of notes

Potion
: A liquid concoction created by a potioneer, or apothecary. All potions affect the emotional state of the drinker, a temporary effect lasting less than a day

Potioneer
: a failed duelist of any rank (or none), whose magic has been stripped away. Potioneers wash out of the Academy for various reasons, including permanent physical injury—rendering them incapable of performing spell motions—mental strain, or emotional imbalance—such as falling in love and becoming incapable of achieving the void. They are generally dismissed as weak or incompetent since they were unable to handle the stresses of the vaunted duelist training. Potioneers are monitored regularly by the empire, as they were when they were duelists or students, and they are not allowed to travel without permission. The only job the empire lets them perform is making potions with secret recipes