AESSA'S CHILDREN: BOOK ONE -- THE LAST BORDER
By V. A. Watts (c) 1993
NOTE: This work is under a registered copyright and unauthorized distribution is prohibited and will be prosecuted. All characters are fictional and of my own invention. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Note on pronunciation: Proper Names and nouns within the language most commonly used on Aessa, Lliyassean, allow that each letter have its own sound. The first vowel in each word is long, the following vowels hold the short sound. Therefore, the name Thana is pronounced: T-HAYN-AH. Maygra is MAY-IH-G-RAH, Kieri is KI-ERR-IH, and Jael is JAY-EL. Diminutives such as Jai and Mag are pronounced as written, so Jai would be Ji (long "I") and Mag would be Mag with a short "a". The use of glottal stops is pervasive. Words ending in "I" are masculine gendered, "a" indicates feminine gender, "n" indicates plurals. Partial Glossary is at the end of each chapter.
Rhys reacted to the alert issued from the Web before the bell had sounded, his hypersensitive mind seeking a direct link with the senior Guardian even as he dropped the archival record he was studying and headed for the Web Garden. Fayr could barely spare him the thought of an answer as he struggled to maintain calm among the Guardians upset by the sudden alert. CHAPTER ELEVEN
Something just appeared in Irrekas, Maen, Fayr communicated briefly. And I do mean just appeared.
Rhys' hurried walk became a run, barely noticing people clearing out of his way as he hit the common hall and veered into the courtyard. The Web Garden was positioned just to the east of the common hall and kitchens, its exterior wall rising high above the inner court of Ravon Keep. It rose level with Ravon's high ramparts, the smooth walls broken only by a narrow unguarded stair that circled the outside before opening onto the observation platform and small bell-tower on the east side. The only entrance opened into the interior, the ornate double doors carefully carved with a rendition of the Iimarin Web contained within.
Both doors stood open as Rhys shouldered his way through the anxious, waiting crowd, for the bell had begun ringing as he had left his study, echoing off the gray walls and alerting every inhabitant within and without that a threat existed.
As in the hall, people dropped back as they realized exactly who was trying to gain entrance. Rhys had learned to ignore the reactions his presence elicited, primarily because he had no way to forestall such cautious awe. Ironically, that awe often stood him in good stead during an emergency, eliminating the need to answer questions or explain his actions before he was ready, and now was one of those times.
Alerted to his imminent arrival, Fayr waited for him in the outer chamber, the inner doors leading into the Web-frame carefully guarded and closed beyond him. Fayr managed to maintain a general appearance of calm on his lined face, his blue eyes meeting Rhys' pale gray ones evenly and his slender hands folded peacefully across the wide blue belt of his Guardian's robe. The senior Guardian was nearly bald and far shorter than Rhys, his skin white as a babe's from years of working within the Web Garden and rarely seeing the light of day. The nature of his work was demanding and it was a popular rumor that Guardians emerged from their sanctuary only long enough to eat and sleep and bathe. In truth, Web Guardians rarely socialized with even their closest kin and frequently seemed both tactless and awkward when dealing with others. In Masyr Fayr's case, this loss of social behavior was ruthlessly exploited to its fullest extent as it was no secret that Fayr's personality lacked warmth under even the best of circumstances. Before Rhys' could get a question out, Fayr raised one wrinkled hand, his eyes registering on someone over the Maen's shoulder. Rhys had barely to cast to identify the strong steady presence of Laurien, Masyr-Maen of Ravon.
The crowd parted again to admit Laurien, but in deference to his infirmity and rank, rather than fear tinged awe. The respect Laurien commanded was borne primarily out of affection and Rhys occasionally found himself envying the older man for just that, but such thoughts quickly faded in the Masyr-Maen's presence for he greeted Rhys with a warmth that made up for much of the reaction he received from so many others.
The smile Laurien greeted his protégé with was a trifle strained, but it did quell some of the anxiety apparent in the crowd and when he dismissed them it was with the calm assurance of one who anticipated no great threat. Nonetheless, the crowd dispersed slowly as Laurien turned his attention back to Rhys and Fayr, his careful smile fading as he softly reprimanded the senior Guardian.
"The whole Keep is on edge, Fayr. An alert bell without notice is not exactly what we need right now," Laurien said, motioning for the man to open the door into the Web chamber.
"I think you'll agree I had sufficient cause, Maen," Fayr replied frostily as the three crossed the threshold. "The sighting was made in Irrekas and was sudden enough to upset the scanning Guardian into near panic," he added as he closed the door behind them.
Rhys let his Shields go the moment the doors were closed. The chamber had liberal protection, closing out any stray thoughts from beyond the walls and a good many of those within as well. As a child, his first sight of the Iimarin Web had captivated him with its beauty and the potential power it offered for those sufficiently adept to tap into the delicate network. Web was an inaccurate description of the physical nature of the carefully interlinked Iimari crystals. It far more resembled a bursting star or some great graceful sea flower suspended and balanced in mid air above an open pool of water constantly replenished from the mountain streams above the Keep. A narrow channel was cut into either side of the pool, allowing the water to flow freely and exit on the far side where it fed into other, purely ornamental pools throughout Ravon. Pale shimmers of light danced continuously in the reflection and the flowing water added to the faint musical chiming of the Web itself. Above it, the first clear rosy rays of dawn colored the clear crystals, casting pinpoints of rainbow light over the pale stone walls. Few other sounds disturbed the silence in the garden save the distant murmur of voices of those that maintained and guarded the Iimarin from the covered galleries and balconies that encircled the Web.
But if the name was visually misleading, it was not so for function. Some innate characteristic within the Iimari crystals permitted the delicate strands to catch and hold energy. Heat, light, sound, and most importantly to the Kieri, mental energies, were all collected in their most minute fractions and stored within the Web, waiting only to be tapped by someone with enough inborn talent to manipulate the waiting energy.
Rhys' own talents were sufficiently strong enough that he rarely relied on the Web to augment them, but he was an oddity among his folk in this; one of the reasons he was regarded with such mixed emotion by his peers. For Ravon and her sister Keeps further west, the Iimarin Web was as necessary to their lives as the fields in which they grew their crops. The power presented by the Web allowed the Keeps to maintain contact, even though there were days and sometimes months of distance between them. A speaking Gift within the Web could contact another Web over the long miles and so too, could a far-sighted Gift See a threat that was far beyond Ravon's walls.
Such a Gift had given the warning of something appearing in the grassy desert of Irrekas, a day's hard riding from Ravon. Fayr summoned the still agitated Guardian, a slender, dark-haired girl barely into her teens. Despite the chamber's Shielding, Rhys caught a tremor of fear from the girl even as she struggled to maintain the calm required of a good Guardian.
"Elas, isn't it?" Laurien inquired kindly and the girl murmured a soft affirmative. Encouraged by Laurien's warm smile and Fayr's prodding, she told them what she had seen.
"It was a routine sweep, Maen," Elas began, her voice quiet and strained. "We've had so much rain lately, I was checking the flood levels along the Cayer Riyv should we need to send warning to Riyvsend or the lowland settlements. There was no danger to speak of so I continued my watch along the eastern border of Nessa Hulden when I caught something in Irrekas -- my range extends almost to mid-point, Maen, and this was well within my range -- almost to the hulden itself. I covered that section going in -- there was nothing there. It just suddenly appeared. I thought I was mistaken at first, or that the Web was out of balance a little, distorting my Sight -- ,"
"We checked. There was no incongruity in the Web," Fayr interrupted.
"I had Derrys confirm my sighting," Elas continued. "It's there still and moving west if you want to check yourself, Maen Rhys."
"Can you identify what `it' is?" Rhys asked, ignoring the sidelong look Laurien gave him. He had every intention of confirming the sighting but he had his own methods -- which Laurien well knew.
Elas shook her head and Rhys realized this upset the girl more than anything. The responsibility of a border watch was only given to the clearest sighted Gifts and Elas was at an age where the strong Gifts of youth could begin to fade. The severe look on Fayr's face echoed his suspicion that someone had already planted the thought in the girl's head and he noted the refusal of the senior Guardian to meet the disapproval in his eyes. Fayr pretended ignorance, however, and directed the girl back to her station before either Rhys or Laurien could protest.
"Sharp-Sighted child, as I recall," Laurien said drily as he watched Elas walk gracefully, if hurriedly, away.
"I had hoped she would become second to Derrys, but Gifts do fail occasionally, especially in females," Fayr commented.
"Nevertheless, Fayr, you sounded the alarm. Therefore, you must have seen some merit in her report," Laurien said, his voice barely edged with the chill of warning. It had its desired effect as a flush crept up the elder Guardian's neck. His dislike of females monitoring the Web was a well known, if barely tolerated prejudice, one that extended to his own daughter, Raida. She had left the Web willingly but Laurien had, on more than one occasion, reinstated one of Fayr's "emotional females".
The senior Guardian waved his hands to change the subject. "Yes, yes, Derrys confirmed her sighting. He couldn't identify the intruders either -- "
"Intruders? I thought you couldn't see --," Rhys interrupted, stretching his own senses beyond the Keep walls.
"We can't identify them specifically!" Fayr snapped, his calm broken by what could only be a repressed fear. "Derrys identified at least three individual presences -- that is why the alarm was sounded."
"Where is Derrys?" Laurien asked heading for the spiral ramp that circled the Web and led to the galleries.
"Second level, east. He says their movement is slow but steady. Maen Rhys!" Fayr almost shouted as Rhys brushed by the two older men, taking the ramp at a near run. "Inappropriate behavior, Masyr-Maen!" Fayr snarled whirling back on Laurien.
"Very inappropriate, Fayr," Laurien said quietly and Fayr blanched further as he realized the criticism was not aimed at Rhys's retreating back. "I pray your alarm is not merited, Fayr. I thought it was made clear at the last Elder Council that the Keep was not to be set to panic by any future strange incidence."
"This seemed to justify such measures, Masyr-Maen. If a threat from the north has taken position in Irrekas, the whole Keep should be on alert -- and the other Keeps along the net as well," Fayr said coldly, gathering his dignity in one breath.
"You contacted the other Keeps?" Laurien demanded, and Fayr deflated in the face of the iciness in Laurien's tone.
"No, no. Not yet -- we need confirmation. But they should be warned!"
Laurien hid his relief carefully. "They will be. When we know what we're warning them against," he said and followed Rhys' path up the ramp, Fayr a respectful two steps behind.
Given Fayr's dislike for the fairer sex, it was amazing that he'd ever fathered a child, much less a son and a daughter and to be honest, Derrys favored his father not at all in looks or temperament but had inherited Fayr's prodigious range in his Gifts; the chief reason Fayr held the position of senior Guardian. Unable to escape all of Fayr's teaching, Derrys had nevertheless turned his natural aloofness to his advantage and always exuded a calmness of spirit that soothed even the most agitated and panic driven emotions.
He inclined his head in acknowledgment of the arrival of two of Ravon's most powerful Masyren but gave no other indication that anything was as important as the focus he concentrated on his Iimarin enhanced sight. Rhys had no difficulty in following Derrys's line of Sight and after a moment broke away, his already sharp features made more severe by the frown on his face.
"It's the damnedest thing I have ever encountered, Lauri," Rhys commented as his pale eyes focused on his mentor's face. "There are multiple presences, but I can't get a lock on who or what they are. The number seems to shift -- it's like trying to track ghosts."
"Still moving slowly?" Laurien asked.
"Aye. Barely moving at all."
"Not Kieri?"
Rhys shook his head. "I can't even tell you that, although I doubt it. If that's a Shield of some kind, I've never encountered its like. It will take us a least a day to reach them -- longer if what ever or whoever it is makes the hulden."
"Derrys, what do you think?" Laurien asked the Guardian.
"I would hesitate to offer any opinion, Masyr-Maen. The rate they are traveling seems to suggest our visitors are not mounted, but the suddenness of their appearance gives no clue as to which direction they originally came from. I can tell you that they are not wild animals -- there is an intelligence manipulating their Shields. My guess would be the Shield is weakening -- I cannot tell if it is intentional or not."
"As they get closer, does your sighting get any clearer?" Laurien inquired.
Derrys frowned. "No, sir. Truth to tell, the more focused I get, the more deflection of my Gift there seems to be. Additionally odd as I am using Sight only and no Touch. They should not even be aware they are being observed from this range."
"But do you think they know?"
"Given the response, Lauri," Rhys said, "they almost have to know someone's watching. There's no way to tell whether or not they know it is us."
Laurien nodded, narrowing his eyes. "I wonder if they mean to approach us unawares or if they are trying to elude something or someone else. An interesting question, eh, Rhys?"
"Very. If they are being pursued --."
"It rather alters the circumstances, does it not?" Laurien commented. "Derrys, keep an eye on our `visitors'. If anything odd occurs, you are to report directly to me -- understood? And get Elas to back you up."
Derrys nodded, glancing at his father out of the corner of his eye. Fayr's mouth was set in a thin disapproving line but he remained silent. "Masyr Fayr, I want Derrys and Elas freed up from other duties until this mystery is cleared. In the meantime, run a routine sweep through the other Keeps to see if anything else unusual has turned up. I trust you will be discreet?"
Fayr bit back an angry retort and assented, turning away to carry out Laurien's orders.
"Keep on it, Derrys," Laurien said as he took Rhys' arm and headed down the ramp. "I'll expect half-hour reports, regardless of change."
"Done, Masyr-Maen," Derrys agreed with another inclination of his head, then turned his attention back to the Web.
"I don't like sending out a patrol with so many unknowns, " Laurien said softly as he and Rhys made their way through the lower level of the garden and into the antechamber.
"No more than I like going, Lauri, but we cannot risk whoever they are getting any closer without identifying their intentions," Rhys responded. "Kevyn can have his patrol together and ready to ride within the hour. We could be there by dusk."
"To encounter possibly hostile foes in the dark? We've lost too many lives to be so reckless, Rhys," Laurien scolded gently.
"Better a small patrol at dusk than the Keep at tomorrow's dawn," Rhys said harshly.
"It's a small number --."
"We think!" Rhys said hotly, interrupting him. "Dammit, Laurien, we could not get a clear sighting! Yes, it could be only a few -- maybe even plainsmen who are traveling out of season with the last harvest of Iimari -- that would explain the distortion. But what if it is many, disguised as few?"
Laurien stopped, gripping the younger man's arm lightly as he peered intently into his face. "That's what you think, is it not?"
"Goddess below, Laurien! Lorisa has both the skill and the raw power to work such a trick and it has been a long time since I was her favorite student. She has, no doubt, developed some new tricks! Even since winter," he added harshly.
Laurien frowned. He was well aware of the encounter the patrol had with the enspelled children on Arris. That Lorisa had turned to using children as weapons disturbed him far more than even Rhys knew. He motioned his protégé to silence. Few at Ravon knew of the incident and Laurien intended to keep it that way. "I'll admit to her inventiveness, Rhys, but do you think if this is some trick of hers Kevyn's patrol can deal adequately with such a threat?"
"I can better their odds," Rhys said grimly.
Laurien's voice became sharp as he dropped the younger man's arm and lowered his voice. "You cannot beat her at this, Rhys. You barely survived the last encounter and from what you've told me, you had an ally you weren't aware of intercede at the last moment. You endanger those with you if you try. I'll not have you taking her on in single combat -- even through her minions. This is not an argument I thought we would repeat."
Rhys' gaze darkened and he turned away, stalking through the portals into the courtyard. Laurien watched him go, his own temper flaring as he summoned Ravon's First Sword and told him to meet him in his chambers.
Despite his infirmity, Laurien maintained his quarters on the second level of the main residence hall, a broad balcony affording him a panoramic view of Ravon's expansive grounds. Immediately below him was one of the smaller meditative gardens, vacant at such an early hour. The small stream running through its center afforded him some measure of tranquillity as did the broad fields beyond. To travel from the great hall to Ravon's main gate on foot took nearly an hour, skirting by the kitchen fields and barracks. Self-sufficiency had been the plan when Ravon was built should she come under siege. By choice rather than necessity, Ravon fostered trade between herself and several of the closer Haian settlements, most notably Riyvsend, which had good use for the unusual stone-working Gifts of the Kieri and who produced more than enough foodstuffs for the needs of their own folk. Nevertheless, Laurien was reassured by the fact that Ravon could provide for her own should the day come when her heavy gates would have to be shut against invaders.
His mood remained somber even after his First Sword made his usual exuberant entrance. Kevyn's youth had never betrayed him within Ravon's guard, for despite the energy with which he took his comings and going, the young guardsman was thoughtful and cautious when attending to his duties.
"I saw Rhys in the yard, Masyr-Maen. I assume the alarm bell was not false?" He asked as he entered his elder's chambers.
Laurien eased himself down in his favorite chair near the balcony, propping his crippled leg up on the broad arm. "Premature perhaps," he sighed and motioned Kevyn to sit. The guardsman did so quickly, perching on the corner of Laurien's ornate writing table.
"I've precious little information to give you, Kev, save that the Web Guardian says several presences suddenly appeared in Irrekas. We can't tell how many or who because they are Shielded in some way unfamiliar to us."
"You mean some sorcerous way," Kevyn prodded quietly.
"No, I do not!" Laurien snapped then waved a hand in apology. "Your pardon, Kev, but that is precisely what Rhys thinks and why he is even now storming about the Keep like an enraged rock-cat. The truth is, we don't know anything more than what I've told you. It may well be some new trick of Lorisa's, then again, it may not. We Kieri are not the only Gifted creatures on Aessa's fair face."
"So, what do you want done, Laurien? A full rotation, patrol or scout? I can provide any or all. Just point us in the right direction -- we're pretty good at getting into trouble without any further assistance."
Laurien chuckled and eyed the young man appreciatively. "Aye, that you can. A full patrol, I think, but try not to engage whoever it is unless you are sure of your ground."
"I never do, Masyr-Maen. If I come back with as much as a brier scratch, my mother and that ferocious sister of mine will have me on bedrest for a week," Kevyn said lightly then shifted his tone and stance. "And what of Rhys?"
"Spoken to you already, has he?"
"Not exactly. He ordered his mount saddled."
Laurien swore and rose to his feet. His mental call caused Kevyn to flinch and wish he were anywhere but in Laurien's chambers at the moment.
RHYS!!!! Rhys ka'kiiri Lorisa! Report to Masyr-Maen Laurien, by the count! It was a formal call, such as a master used with a disobedient apprentice and it echoed through every mind in Ravon capable of receiving it.
Kevyn winced at the force in Laurien's call, following it minimally and catching the edge of Rhys' barely controlled anger.
"I don't think I want to be here," he murmured but fell silent at Laurien's glare. They waited in uncomfortable silence, well aware of the commotion in the halls as Rhys returned, answering the Maen's call. When he entered Laurien's chambers, Kevyn tensed, for Rhys looked as dangerous as Ravon's First Sword had ever seen him. Laurien was unimpressed by the dark Kieri's expression. Instead, he rose to his feet, slamming his cane across the table with such a force that even Rhys jerked at the crack.
"If you leave against my express order, Rhys, do not plan to return," Laurien said evenly but his voice was also edged with barely bridled anger and Kevyn rose from his casual seat on the table. "I have tolerated and made excuses for your headstrong behavior since you were first brought to Ravon, but I will no longer give you such lenience. This battle is not between you and your mother, it is between Lorisa and the Kieri. All of us. Unless you are willing to tap into the powers she uses, Goddess Below forbid, you will never be her match. Are you willing to take that step?"
"You know I will not," Rhys growled. "I have enough blood on my hands without sinking to her level."
"Good. I want that disgust to include your own blood as well," Laurien said more gently. "Rhys, if you had the power to defeat her, I would send you against her without hesitation, even if it meant you would die in victory. I will not, however, allow you to cast your life away needlessly. You cannot defeat her alone -- but we cannot win without you. Please, kinai. I have buried enough of the people I love due to time. I would not mourn you on account of foolishness, however noble."
Rhys drew a breath, the muscles in his jaw working. He was uncomfortable with displays of affection, but the heartfelt plea in Laurien's voice affected him as few things Kevyn had ever seen. He dropped his own gaze, feeling the exchange between the two men required privacy.
"Now," Laurien said quietly, retrieving his cane. "I have given Kevyn his instructions, and if you are willing to accompany him -- and follow his counsel -- then I am sure he will appreciate your company." Both Kevyn and Rhys stared at him in shock. "Oh, close your mouths," Laurien said impatiently. "I know what I said before -- and I mean what I say now, Rhys. You will follow Kevyn's counsel. Somehow that impertinent sister of his has been able to drill into his scattered brain a superb sense of survival. Something I and Sarai have been unable to accomplish with you, kiri. Nor do you forget my warning, Rhys. If you go off on your own I will bar the gates of this Keep to you." The last was said sadly, but Rhys could hear the truth in it.
"I agree to your request, Masyr-Maen," he said with a respectful bow. "And will endeavor to return in one piece."
Laurien nodded. "I'll expect regular reports of what you find -- that may tax you enough to keep you sensible," he said sternly, though the corner of his mouth twitched. Rhys swallowed a chuckle and nodded again, leaving the chamber much more calmly he had entered.
Kevyn sighed, the tension leaving him slowly. Finding Laurien's eyes upon him, he straightened unconsciously.
"I trust you to keep a rein on him, Kev," Laurien said solemnly. "If he strikes off on his own you are to stop him by any method short of killing him," he said. "Put an arrow in his back and pray Merida can repair the damage, if that's what it takes."
"You don't trust him," Kevyn said slowly, sadly.
"I trust him to kill himself trying to stop his mother if I give him the chance. He is as much my son as you are, Kevyn, though I had no part in his making. He is more my child than you or your sister -- he chose me to save him from that horror we know as Lorisa. In many ways, Kevyn, you are far older than he. I know you love him as I do and you and Merida are the primary reason why he is accepted at all among our people. But if you love him, Kev, you must protect him -- from Lorisa and from himself."
"Father, kidan, do you think him free of her? I thought when the nightmares stopped --."
Laurien took his son's left hand in both of his. "Could you be free of me, Kev? Or of Sarai? For all that I had very little to do with your upbringing, we are still part of one another. Rhys has none of my blood, but he has that which Lorisa could not give him -- my love -- and yours and the love of a dozen or so others in Ravon. Lorisa's influence makes it difficult to take what we offer. Until he can do that, he will never be free of her."
Kevyn gripped his hand solemnly and nodded. "I'll do as you ask, father. I don't resent him, or your affection for him -- you need to know that. To lose me would hurt you, I know. To lose Rhys would destroy you, I think."
Laurien drew back a little, shock and shame registering on his face, but there truly was no resentment or even disappointment in Kevyn over his grasp of the truth. He hugged the young man to him, relaxing as Kevyn returned the embrace. "Goddess below knows I don't deserve such a son as you, Kevyn. You See to the heart of so many things." He pulled away slightly so he could meet Kevyn's eyes. "I have invested much of myself in Rhys, far more than he knows -- or anyone save, perhaps, you. It must remain so, Kevyn. For all our sakes. Especially from Rhys. To know that he has been controlled, however marginally, twice would likely shatter him like a dead Iimarin."
Kevyn smiled and tapped his forehead. "Locked up like Mother's wine stores, Kidan. I don't think I will have to use drastic tactics to save my brother from his own foolishness. You have taught him what Lorisa did not. He may not be able to receive love very well, but he can give it. You remember that well, Masyr-Maen Laurien," he said and kissed his father, striding quickly out of the chamber to catch Rhys.
Laurien stared after him, suddenly wondering if Kevyn's loss might not also destroy him and praying he would never have to find out.
GLOSSARY
A'del'eva:..............Literally: "By your oaths to Aessa" A war cry and a summons. (think au secors)A'Ki'Ka................A binding Oath of will, heart , soul and mind...reserved for the Goddess.
asa:........................Literally: Truth. an affirmative as in, "yes" or "is it not so?"
Graen:....................pl. Mountains, (also Grae; Mountain)
hait:........................ "To Me" or "Here", imperative, a summons.
Ien Ki'Ka............... Soul Oath. An oath of binding.
ka'kiira...................f. Daughter of...
kira'sai:...................f. sister, little sister, beloved sister, [familial]
kira:........................f. little one, child (diminutive)
kiri:........................m.little one, child (diminutive)
kiri'nai:...................m.brother, little brother, beloved brother [familial]
ki'ta.........................f.heart sister. Not quite a lover.
Makyera:................f. First, as in a title.
Makyera Gen:........as in First Sword a title, overall commander of the Watch (also: gen... sword, shield, defense)
Makyeran Gyeld......First Born. A title of respect applied to no other peoples but the original five Oathtakers who birthed the Kieri race.
Masyra-Maena:......f. title of rank for females, equivalent of Lord-Master, title for a member of the Elder Council (or Lady-Master)
n'gari:.......................large lizards, desert scavengers, about the size of a rhinoceros, but looking more like komodo dragons.
N'yris.......................Oath Breaker...a broken oath. A fatal transgression
Shadrai:...................Literally, Shadow Speaker.
shan'nai:.................m.Wise man or brother, an affectionate term of respect. Used between equals.
shan'sai:..................f.Wise woman or sister, an affectionate term of respect. Used between equals.
theris:.......................fruit bearing tree native to Elerak and the Eastern Plains, rather like a pulpy pomegranate
uralen:.....................pl. Ural; a large cliff dwelling bird, average wingspan is about 20 feet, scavengers mostly.
varin:........................a breed of extremely stocky, sure-footed horses, powerful bodies but small heads. (pl. varinen)
vegen:........................historically they were small leather-winged creatures, not unlike bats, but with elogated snouts and long flattened tails used as messengers for the gods. (pl. vegenen)