The Brotherhood: Blood (104 page)

Orcs
– The most war-driven Leatherskin species, Orcs were, in part, the reason why humanity drove them away from the mainland. Standing at seven to eight-feet tall, their muscular, stocky frames make them imposing creatures, on the battlefield and off. The only Leatherskin species to build forgeries and engage in advanced warfare, they are constantly building weapons and forging armor in an attempt to conquer other tribes. They are ruled by one ‘king’ or ‘bull,’ under which the rest of a tribe is governed. Carnivorous, they will eat almost anything, including decomposing bodies. Orc population has exploded due to high rape rates among societies. Males are used as fighters and women as breeders, though an Orc ‘king’ will usually take a ‘queen’ as his mate, who is automatically protected from other Orxs under law. Orxs are almost always dark green or black in color.

Naga
– A snake people that live within the Tel ‘Enlath jungle. Bearing the face of lizards and crowns of bone, they are humanoid from the waist-up, but their bodies from the waist-down are a single tail that they use as both a weapon and means of movement. Most are poisonous and depending on their lineage range in colors from anywhere to purples, reds and pinks to more camouflaged shades of greens and browns. They work in caste systems and are usually ruled by a single queen, usually the mother of the tribe or the Snake that has killed another queen to take over her people.

Treant
– A Treant is defined as any sentient, tree-like construct that can move either by Sprite possession or the use of magic. Rumored to be summoned to life by the very creatures that souls are said to be made of, Treants usually live solitary lives alone like most any other tree would, but have the ability to move, interact and sometimes even speak human and other races’ tongues. They were once thought to have a greater presence within the world, but legend has it that the great fire that once swept across the Three Kingdoms ended the majority of their existences and all but killed them. It is said, however, they still survive within the Abroen Forest, dwelling silently for fear of persecution.

Troll
– The least-intelligent of the Leatherskin family, Trolls are described as ‘lumbering giants of average animal intelligence.’ Though capable of learning speech, they mostly communicate through grunts and other sounds. They stand from eight to ten-feet tall and have long, lank arms knotted with muscle and short, stocky legs. Most Trolls live alone, though will live in families if bonded to a mate, and live solitary lives away from others. Trolls possess flesh-toned skin, which fades to grey and white with age.

Unclean
– The Unclean were a race of rat people that inhabited the Abroen Forest before The Great Purge
(see Terms.)
Hunted to extinction by Elves because they killed their children, they were commonly known to be tall, ugly creatures with black and grey fur and only the most basic speaking capabilities. Their ability to mimic and replicate sound gave them the innate ability to prey on the Elves’ children, which they quickly took to making prey when the Elves began to form their homes in more open and less populated areas. Once found to be nothing more than pests that could not be otherwise controlled, the Elves spent one-hundred years dedicating themselves to wiping each and every one from the face of the earth. Solitary creatures by nature except when mating, the rats commonly took to living in holes and the great trees, though social structures were nearly nonexistent unless governed or housed by females.

Undead
– The Undead are the remnants of what used to be the humanity that lived within the passages of the land Denyon. Cursed due to an unknown calamity that occurred sometime after the humans rose and began to populate the northern Minonivnan world, they continue to haunt the badlands in a constant search for consumption. They are not created by magic and as such are not bound by the needs of a Necromancer. Unlike Flesh Summons or other Necromantically-magicked creatures, they do not attack without reason. Instead, they crave the flesh of the living to fuel their bodies, as has been demonstrated by past attempts to board away the dead country from the rest of the world. They do not die, but wither away based on the elements and surroundings they are in, and they do not bear intelligence of any sort. Each Undead is only driven by the most primal of urges (to feed) and can only be killed if their head is severed from their body, they sustain trauma to their brain or unless they are set on fire.

TERMS

Battle Mage
– A warrior mage trained to use both weapons and magic on the field.

Blood Cough
– An illness generally found in children, but fewer young adults. Blood Cough occurs during the spring months. Though there is no physical source, the cough is thought to come from the winds that rise up from the deserts. Blood Cough causes the sufferer to cough phlegm from their throat, though this most often leads to blood being expelled from raw lungs. The sickness is often treated with a mixture of water and medicine. A healer normally dips a cloth into the solution, then presses it to the ailing child or young adult’s mouth and nose, asking him or her to breathe the solution through their mouth, then out their nose. This is thought to lessen the affects of the illness. Blood Cough usually goes away in a few weeks. It is only fatal if severe and untreated.

Bone Magery
– A sect of Necromantic magic, Bone Magery (or Bone Magic) is the act of magicking bones, normally to create constructs or golems out of the physical structure of living beings.

Chill, The
–Hypothermia.

Dangil Orb
– A metal ball with a hollow center, filled with smaller bells inside. Commonly used by Tentalin Monks on the island of Ohmalyon. They are believed to keep dangerous animals and lesser sentient being from encroaching on inhabited lands.

Derman
– Elven terminology, roughly meaning ‘sir.’

Doe
(Elf) – An Elven term for a female Elf.

Dwarflings
– A Dwarven term. Children are referred to as ‘Dwarflens’ until they enter their young adult years, usually around the age of fifteen, and are then called Dwarflings shortly thereafter.

Ether
– Otherwise known as ‘the endless pool,’ the ether is a place commonly believed to be the source of all magical energy. It is thought that when mages cast spells, they are summoning the energy from the Ether, an infinite source of power said to lurk everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Enlightened Times
– The era before the rise of the Ornalan empire. Most famously, it is known as the lawless days, where cities were controlled by state governments rather than a monarchy and when Dwaydor was but one big arena.

Fair Ones
– A glorified term for White Elves.

Fawn
(Elf) – An Elven term. All young males and females of an Elven society are referred to as Fawns until they come to age, when then and there they can be referred to as a full-grown stag (male) or doe (female.)

Field Missionary
– A priest or acolyte sent to the front lines during times of war to offer spiritual assistance to soldiers. Some say their divine power can turn the tides of battle and heal mortally-wounded men.

Flesh Summoning
– A sect of Necromantic magic, Flesh Summoning is the act of magicking flesh. It is most commonly associated with the revival of dead creatures to be used in combat. Flesh summons are immune to pain, which therefore make them useful aspects in war or skirmishes. A flesh summon is created by conjuring a freshly-departed soul and forcing it to exist inside a dead body, albeit violently and without command other than from its original summoner.

Firebug
– A firefly.

Gaia Magic
– A broad earth/animal magic term generally used to describe people who can speak to animals, control plant growth and sometimes even communicate with immortal animal-like creatures.

Gift, The
– Term commonly used to describe the ability to use magic.

Great Dispute, The
– An event in time during which humans and Elves feuded over who owned what parts of the Ornalan territory. The conflict ultimately resolved itself when the fairer kind chose to retreat to the forest with the agreement that humans would never build in the Abroen.

Golden Country, The
– Otherwise known as Ornala.

Golden Towns
– A series of four towns (excluding Ornala) that rest in the northern Ornala territory.

Golem
– A creature assembled from the elements and brought back to life through magical means. (I.e, Fire golem—a creature made entirely out of fire; Earth golem—a creature made entirely out of the elements of the earth, normally mud, rock and dirt.)

Immortal
– A creature (or being) that is said to never die.

Kadarian
– A black-skinned, human people from the Cadarack Desert.

Leatherskin/Skins
– A term generally used to describe the outer sentient races that live in the Tentalin Isles. Characterized by their leathery/rough skin. (i.e, Ogres, Trolls, Orcs, Goblins.)

Life for Life Law
– A law put into effect in the Three Kingdoms countries that states that if one kills another, they themselves shall be killed.

Mage
– An individual with the ability to use magic.

Meera
– Elven terminology, roughly meaning ‘madam.’

Minonivnan Month
– Fifty days.

Nafran
– An Ogre word, meaning ‘bastard blood.’

Necromancy
– A dark, forbidden magic that is illegal throughout the majority of the Minonivnan mainland, Necromancy is a broadened term for bringing the dead back to life. Dark Elves (or Drow) are notorious for the darker magic, as it is what’s believed to have tainted their blood and destroyed their good conscience.

(See also,
Necromantic.)

Necromantic
– Of or by Necromancy.

(See
Necromancy.)

Neven D’Carda
– An Elven creature that is neither male nor female, if only by birth or personal pronunciation.

New Haven
– A religious sect with the belief that only one God exists.

Ohmalyon Storm
– A weather condition in which a rain or thunderstorm continuously repeats its cycle (due to the circular wind currents that surround the Tentalin Isles) until it drifts toward the mainland.

Peacemaker’s Leaf
– A plant commonly used to treat nerves and anxiety.

Pilgrimage
– An acolyte’s passage to priesthood: a quest that involves going on a journey to find God.

Purge, The Great
– An event in which the White Elves exterminated the Unclean from the Abroen Forest.

Rainmelon
– A watermelon.

Road Runner
– Word used near Elna to describe bandits that attack travelers on the ‘Ela Alna road. The term originated from the attack and run tactics the thieves commonly use on traders.

Scrying Bowl
– A bowl, usually filled with water or tea leaves, used to predict the future.

Seer
– An individual with the ability to see visions, whether that be through natural means or via the assistance of an object.

Sight, The
– Term commonly used to describe the ability to see visions and look into the future.

Sorcerer’s Streak
– A shock of grey hair that lines a mage’s head. It is particularly seen on individuals who express extreme magical ability or have used their powers in ways that has almost killed them, thus destroying the color of their hair.

Stag
(Elf) – An Elven term for a male Elf.

Silent Man, The Legend Of
– A tale about a man who dies when, after giving his voice to the God’s and only speaking with his fingers, his hands decay and fall off. Meant to illustrate the ignorance in staying silent instead of asking questions.

Tentalin Monk/Acolyte
– A religious man/boy who has made the journey to the island of Ohmalyon to sacrifice all but the good of their life. They teach honor, valor, and standard education to any and all boys who end up on the island. They don themselves in long, tannish-brown cloaks and wield staves as weapons.

Will (The)
– The physical and mental concentration in which all magic is produced.

Yamda
– An Elven term meaning ‘Halfling.’

Ze/Zir
– Gender-neutral pronouns.

About the a Author

Kody Boye has been a lifelong fan of fantasy fiction since he first picked up
Dragon’s Milk
by Susan Fletcher at the age of ten. Inspired by authors such as Christopher Paolini’s
Inheritence
Saga, Tamora Pierce’s
Tortall
universe and Garth Nix’s
Abhorsen
trilogy, he wrote what was initially the first book in a three-book trilogy that eventually became part one of
The Brotherhood Saga
when he was thirteen. Since his first publication at fourteen, he has gone on to publish more than thirty-six short stories and three book-length works, including the collection
Amorous Things
, the novella
The Diary of Dakota Hammell
and the zombie novel
Sunrise.
He currently lives and writes in the Austin, Texas area. You can visit him online and find out more about
The Brotherhood
and other works at KodyBoye.com.