The Warlord's Domain (36 page)

“Easy, my son,” said Gemmel. “I know.” He raised the Dragonwand above his head and braced his newfound children close against his side. Power blasted down from the spellstaff and swirled about them so that they stood at the heart of a twisting column of ice-blue flame. “I know. We’re going where I can help you. Home…”

Aldric watched their faces, heard their voices, until all faded. All sound was lost. AH sight was swallowed up. All the world faded; and went black.

The fire faded and went out, and they were gone.

achran-kai.
(Alb.) “inverted cross”; a double cut in
taiken-ulleth
in which the blade, often striking from the scabbard, follows first a horizontal path at chest or eye level and then a vertical downward path, both to strike a target directly in front. If the first cut is delivered with proper force, focus and accuracy, the second is not usually required.

altrou.
(Alb.) “Foster-father”; also a title given to priests.

an-Sherban.
(Drus.) Patronymic of members of the Sherbanul dynasty, present rulers of the Drusalan Empire.

arluth
(Alb.) “Lord”; ruler of lands or of a town.

aypan-kailin
(Alb.) “Cadet-warrior”; a youth undergoing training in the military skills of sword, horse and bow.

Coerhanalth
(Drus.) “Lord General”; Commander-in-Chief, most senior of all Drusalan military (as opposed to political) ranks.

coyac.
(Jouv.) A sleeveless jerkin of fur, leather or sheepskin.

cserin.
(Alb.) Child of a clan-lord, and in line of succession to the title.

cymar.
(Alb.) Long overrobe for outdoor wear.

eijo.
(Alb.) “Outlier”; a wanderer or landless person, especially a lordless warrior.

eldheisart
(Drus.) “Commander”; Imperial military rank
.

elyu-dlas.
(Alb.) “Color-robe”; formal crested garment in clan colors.

erhan.
(Alb.) “Scholar”; especially used of one who travels in the course of his/her studies.

eskorrethen.
(Alb.) The coming-of-age ceremony at age twenty, when a warrior is confirmed in his status and in any ranks, styles or titles to which he may be entitled. His hair, grown long for the purpose, is tied back in a queue (originally the handle by which his severed head was carried if he fell in battle); oaths of loyalty are taken before religious and secular witnesses; and if he is
kailin-eir
(q.v.) and thus of a rank to warrant it, he is given a
tsepan
(q.v.) which is used to cut the Honor-scars in his left hand. These three scars are a permanent reminder of his blood-oath.of honor and duty to Heaven, Crown and Clan. From that time forward the
tsepan
must always be within arm’s length, and when in public his hair must be tied back in a queue.

estoc.
(Jouv.) A sword with a slender single-edged blade, sometimes slightly curved but more usually straight, whose fencing style makes more use of thrusting than does the Alban
taiken
(q.v.)

glas-elyu Menethen.
(Alb.) The Blue Mountains, a range in North-Western Alba.

hanalth.
(Drus.) “Colonel”; Imperial military rank.

hanan-vlethanek.
(Alb.) “Keeper-of-Years”; a Court archivist.

hautach.
(Drus.) “Sir”; literally “High One,” used when acknowledging the commands of a superior officer.

hauthanalth.
(Drus.) “Over-Colonel”; Imperial military rank.

hautheisart.
(Drus.) “Lord-Commander”; Imperial military rank.

hautmarin.
(Drus.) “Ship-captain”; Imperial naval rank equivalent to
hautheisart
.

hlensyarl, hlens’l.
(Drus.) “Outlander”; a foreigner or stranger. This can mean someone from a different province, city or even village, but is always a person of whom to be suspicious.

ilauan.
(Alb.) “Clan”; a noble family, linked by name and bloodline. All members of a clan are related to a greater or lesser extent, but only the
cseirin-
born(q.v.) may rule, and then only in line of succession.

ilauem-arluth.
(Alb.) “Clan-lord”; the head of a noble house, ruler of its lands and commander of its forces.

inyen-hlensyarl.
(Drus., from
hlensyarl
q.v.) “Alien-foreigner”; someone from another country, and therefore always considered a potential enemy. The present political situation within the Drusalan Empire has done nothing to amend this, and increasingly the word has taken on the connotation of insult.

kagh’ ernvakh.
(Drus.) “Honor’s-Guardians”; the Imperial Political and Secret Police.

kailin.
(Alb.) Warrior, man-at-arms, especially when in service to a lord.

kailin-eir.
(Alb.) Warrior nobleman, of lesser status than
arluth
(q.v.)

kortagor.
(Drus.) “Lieutenant”; Imperial military rank.

kourgath.
(Alb.) The Alban lynx-cat, proverbial for ferocity out of all proportion to its size; also a nickname.

margh-arluth.
(Alb.) “Horse Lord”; one of the Alban warrior nobility whose clan lands are found mostly in Prytenon and Elthan.

mathern-an arluth.
(Alb.) “Lord King”; literally “lord above other lords”; formal title of the King of Alba.

matherneil.
(Alb.) “Kingswine”; the sweet white vintages of Hauverne in Jouvann, rare and expensive in Alba because of small vineyards and restrictive export tariffs.

moyya-tsalaer.
(Alb.) “Great Harness”; full battle armor, with helmet, lamellar cuirass, armored sleeves and leggings. Shields are uncommon, normally carried only during formal combats.

pesoek.
(Alb. dialect, Cernuan and Elthanek.) “Charm”; a lesser spell, or a conjuring trick performed without true magic.

pestreyhar, pertrior.
(Cernuan, Alb. dialect.) “Wizard” or “sorcerer”; literally, one who creates power with words.

pestreyr-pesok’n.
(Cernuan, Alb. dialect.) “Petty-wizard”; a conjurer, one incapable of using true power, an employer only of insignificant charms or sleight-of-hand,
(pesoek
, q.v.)

purcanyath.
(Cernuan, Alb. dialect.) “Enchanter”; literally a spell-singer.

seisac
(Drus.) A distinctive form of helmet with (usually) a high, conical crown, deep neck-guard and cheekplates and a peak through which may be slid a nasal bar.

Slijei?
(Vlech.) “Understand?”; interrogative imperative of an officer completing the issue of an order to subordinates. The word carries an element of prom-isory threat.

slij’hah!
(Vlech.) “Understood!”; standard response to the interrogative imperative.

taidyo.
(Alb.) “Staffsword”; a wooden practice foil, usually of oak or a similar hardwood.

taiken.
(Alb.) “Longsword”; the
kailin’s
classic weapon, a straight, double-edged cut-and-thrust blade in a hilt long enough for both hands but sufficiently balanced for only one. When in these trained hands, a properly forged and polished
taiken
(the word “sharpened,” with its suggestion of prior bluntness, is not encouraged) delivering a focused strike can shear through most forms of composite armor. The body of the armor’s wearer has never been considered an obstacle.

taiken-ulleth.
(Alb.) Generic name for all schools and styles of
taiken-play
.

taipan.
(Alb.) “Shortsword”; a short, sometimes curved, often richly mounted weapon which is usually restricted to wear with the formal
elyu-dlas
(q.v.)

tarann’ach.
(Alb.) “Striking thunderbolt”; a cut in
taiken-ulleth
in which the blade follows a diagonal downward path to strike a target directly in front.

tarannin-kai.
(Alb.) “Twin thunderbolts”; a cut in
taiken’ulleth
(q.v.) in which the blade follows a horizontal figure-eight to strike two targets at right and left.

tau-kortagor.
(Drus,) “Under-lieutenant”; the lowest Imperial military rank.

taulath.
(Alb.) “Shadowthief”; secretive mercenaries, available for hire through devious routes for the purpose of spying, sabotage, blackmail and assassination; they perform all those politically necessary duties forbidden to
kailinin
by their codes of Honor.

telek.
(Alb.) “Thrower”; a personal-defense sidearm which projects lead-weighted darts with considerable force (over short distances) from either a box or rotary magazine by means of powerful springs.

tlakh-woydan.
(Vlech.) “Lord’s-Protectors”; the Grand Warlord’s Bodyguard Regiment, stationed in the Drakkesborg Barracks.

tsalaer.
(Alb.) “Harness”; the lamellar cuirass worn without armored sleeves or leggings, often under clothing as a concealed defense. (All parts of
an moyya tsalaer
(q.v.) may be worn separately, as need dictates.)

tsepan.
(Alb.) “Small-blade”; the Honor dirk of Alba was originally a weapon carried into battle by its owner as a mercy knife, for others or himself. (It was and still is considered dishonorable and vulgar to finish off a fallen
kailin
with a
taiken
, for all that he may be killed outright with one while still on his feet.) As the requirements of honor, duty and obligation came to be observed with e.ver-increasing stringency, the
tsepan
became instead a means whereby a warrior could recover lost honor (or at least evade the consequences of its loss) by killing himself. This was an acceptable form of self-punishment, and meant that other penalties, notably forfeiture of lands or titles, were withheld. With a few notable exception, the practice has fallen into disuse.

tsepanak’ulleth.
(Alb.) The act of ritual suicide.

vosjhaien, vosjh’.
(Vlech.) Father, “papa.”

Woydach.
(Drus.) “Grand Warlord”; while the title appears exclusively military, it also carries political connotations. The Grand Warlord of the Drusalan Empire was originally responsible for foreign affairs, frontier security and the overseeing of any policies of expansion put forward by the Emperor. More recently the post has been that of military dictator, with the Emperor as no more than a figurehead.

woydachul.
(Drus.) The Warlord’s faction in the Empire.

woydek-hlautan.
(Drus.) “The Warlord’s Domain”; all those provinces of the Empire which through policy or conquest regard the
Woydach
rather than the Emperor as true head of state.

ymeth.
(Drus.) “Dreamsmoke”; a common recreational narcotic, used also as a soporific before surgery and as an adjunct to certain forms of sorcery.