Bared Blade (41 page)

Aigo, Major
—An officer of the Elite.

Alinthide Poisonhand
—A master Blade, the third to die making an attempt on Ashvik VI.

Alley-Knocker
—An illegal bar or cafe.

Altia
—A onetime apprentice Blade.

Anyang
—Zhani city on the southern coast. Home of the winter palace.

Aral Kingslayer
—Ex-Blade turned jack of the shadow trades.

Ashelia
—A smuggler.

Ashvik VI, or Ashvik Dan Pridu
—Late King of Zhan, executed by Aral. Also known as the Butcher of Kadesh.

Athera Trinity
—The three-faced goddess of fate.

Balor Lifending
—God of the dead and the next Emperor of Heaven.

Black Jack
—A professional killer or assassin.

Blade
—Temple assassin of the goddess Namara.

Bontrang
—A miniature gryphon.

Calren the Taleteller
—God of beginnings and first Emperor of Heaven.

Caras Dust
—Powerful magically bred stimulant.

Caras Seed-Grinder
—Producer of caras dust.

Caras Snuffler
—A caras addict.

Channary Canal
—Canal running from the base of the Channary Hill to the Zien River in Tien.

Channary Hill
—One of the four great hills of Tien.

Chimney Forest
—The city above, rooftops, etc.

Chimney Road
—A path across the rooftops of a city. “Running the chimney road.”

Coals
—Particularly hot stolen goods.

Cobble-Runners
—A gang in the Stumbles.

Dalridia
—Kingdom in the southern Hurnic Mountains.

Devin (Nightblade) Urslan
—A former Blade.

Downunders
—A bad neighborhood in Tien.

Dragon Crown
—The royal crown of Zhan, often replicated in insignia of Zhani crown agents.

Drum-Ringer
—A bell enchanted to prevent eavesdropping.

Durkoth
—Others that live under the Hurnic Mountains.

Dustmen
—Dealers in caras dust.

Eavesman
—A spy or eavesdropper.

Elite, the
—Zhani mages. They fulfill the roles of secret police and spy corps among other functions.

Emberman
—A professional arsonist.

Erk Endfast
—Owner of the Spinnerfish, ex–black jack,
ex–shadow captain.

Eva
—With Eyn the dual goddess worshipped by the Dyads.

Everdark, the
—The home dimension of the Shades.

Eyespy
—A type of eavesdropping spell.

Eyn
—With Eva the dual goddess worshipped by the Dyads.

Face, Facing
—Identity. “I’d faced myself as an Aveni bravo.”

Fallback
—A safe house.

Familiar Gift
—The ability to soul-bond with another being, providing the focus half of the power/focus dichotomy necessary to become a mage.

Fire and Sun!
—A Shade curse.

Ghost, Ghosting
—To kill.

Graf
—A stone dog, familiar of Major Aigo.

Gryphon’s Head
—A tavern in Tien, the capital city of Zhan. Informal office for Aral.

Guttersiders
—Slang for the professional beggars and their allies.

Hand of Heaven
—The Son of Heaven’s office of the inquisition.

Harad
—Head librarian at the Ismere Library.

Hearsay
—A type of eavesdropping spell.

Highside
—Neighborhood on the bay side.

Howler
—Slang name for the Elite.

Ishka-ki
—Durkoth oath.

Ismere Club
—A private club for merchants.

Ismere Library
—A private lending library in Tien, founded by a wealthy merchant from Kadesh.

Issa Fivegoats
—A sellcinders or fence.

Jack
—A slang term for an unofficial or extragovernmental problem solver; see also, shadow jack, black jack, sunside jack.

Jax
—A former Blade and onetime fiancée of Aral’s.

Jerik
—The bartender/owner of the Gryphon’s Head tavern.

Jindu
—Tienese martial art heavily weighted toward punches and kicks.

Kaelin Fei, Captain
—Watch officer in charge of Tien’s Silent Branch—also known as the Mufflers.

Kaman
—A former Blade, crucified by the Elite, then killed by Aral at his own request.

Kanathean Hill
—One of the four great hills of Tien.

Kelos Deathwalker
—A master Blade who taught Aral.

Kip-Claim
—Pawn shop.

Kodamia
—City-state to the west of Tien, controlling the only good pass through the Hurnic Mountains.

Kothmerk
—The original signet ring of the first king of the Durkoth.

Krith
—A Durkoth word for a cave dwelling.

Kuan-Lun
—A water elemental, one of the great dragons.

Kvanas, the Four
—Group of interrelated kingdoms just north of Varya. Sometimes referred to as the Khanates.

Kyle’s
—An expensive Aveni whiskey.

Little Varya
—An immigrant neighborhood in Tien.

Loris
—A former Blade.

Magearch
—Title for the mage governor of the cities in the Magelands.

Mage Gift
—The ability to perform magic, providing the power half of the power/focus dichotomy necessary to become a mage.

Magelands
—A loose confederation of city-states governed by the faculty of the mage colleges that center them.

Magelights
—Relatively expensive permanent light globes made with magic.

Magesight
—The ability to see magic, part of the mage gift.

Mage Wastes
—Huge area of magically created wasteland on the western edge of the civilized lands.

Malthiss
—A Shade, familiar of Kelos Deathwalker.

Manny Three Fingers
—The cook at the Spinnerfish.

Maylien Dan Marchon Tal Pridu
—A former client of Aral’s.

Miriyan Zheng
—High-end sellcinders specializing in Durkoth art.

Mote
—Dyadic term for their constituent halves, mote and Meld.

Mufflers
—Captain Fei’s organization, so known because they keep things quiet.

Namara
—The now-deceased goddess of justice and the downtrodden, patroness of the Blades. Her symbol is an unblinking eye.

Nightcutter
—Assassin.

Nightghast
—One of the restless dead, known to eat humans.

Night Market
—The black market.

Nima
—Mana, the stuff of magic.

Nipperkins
—Magical vermin.

Noble Dragons
—Elemental beings that usually take the form of giant lizardlike creatures.

Old Mews
—An upscale neighborhood in Tien that burned to the ground.

Olen
—A master Blade who taught Aral.

Oris Plant
—A common weed that can be used to produce a cheap gray dye or an expensive black one.

Others
—the various nonhuman races.

Palace Hill
—One of the four great hills of Tien.

Petty Dragons
—Giant acid-spitting lizards, not to be confused with noble dragons.

Qamasiin
—A spirit of air.

Qethar
—A Durkoth outcast living in Tien.

Rabbit Run
—An emergency escape route.

Restless Dead
—Catchall term for the undead.

Riel
—Currency of Zhan, issued in both silver and gold.

Risen, the
—A type of restless dead, similar to a zombie.

Sanjin Island
—Large island in the river below the palace in Tien.

Scheroc
—A qamasiin, or air spirit.

Sellcinders
—A fence or dealer in hot merchandise.

Shade
—Familiar of the Blades, a living shadow.

Shadow Captain
—A mob boss.

Shadow Jack
—A jack who earns his living as a problem solver in the shadow trades.

Shadowside
—The underworld or demimonde.

Shadow Trades
—The various flavors of illegal activity.

Shadow World
—The demimonde or underworld.

Shan Starshoulders
—The god who holds up the sky, current Emperor of Heaven.

Shekat
—Durkoth word for the soul, which they see far more clearly than they do faces.

Shrouding
—When a Shade encloses his Blade in shadow.

Silent Branch
—The official name of the Mufflers.

Siri Mythkiller
—A former Blade.

Skip
—A con game or other illegal job, also a “play.”

Sleepwalker
—An efik addict.

Slink
—Magical vermin.

Smuggler’s Rest
—The unofficial name of the docks near the Spinnerfish.

Snicket
—Alley.

Snug
—A resting place or residence.

Son or Daughter of Heaven
—The title of the chief priest or priestess who leads the combined religions of the eleven kingdoms.

Sovann Hill
—One of the four great hills of Tien.

Spinnerfish, the
—A shadowside tavern by the docks.

Ssithra
—A Shade.

Stingers
—Slang term for Tienese city watch.

Stone Dog
—A living statue, roughly the size of a small horse. The familiar of the Elite.

Straight-Back Jack
—A shadow jack who gets the job done and keeps his promises.

Stumbles, the
—Neighborhood of Tien that houses the Gryphon’s Head tavern.

Sunside
—The shadowside term for more legitimate operations.

Sunside Jack
—A jack who works aboveboard, similar to a modern detective.

Sylvani Empire
—Sometimes called the Sylvain, a huge empire covering much of the southern half of the continent. Ruled by a nonhuman race, it is ancient, and hostile to the human lands of the north.

Tailor’s Wynd
—An upscale neighborhood in Tien.

Tangara
—God of glyphs and runes and other magical writing.

Thauvik IV, or Thauvik Tal Pridu, the Bastard King
—King of Zhan and bastard half brother of the late Ashvik.

Thieveslamp/Thieveslight
—A dim red magelight in a tiny bull’s-eye lantern.

Tien
—A coastal city, the thousand-year-old capital of Zhan.

Timesman
—The keeper of the hours at the temple of Shan, Emperor of Heaven.

Triss
—Aral’s familiar. A Shade that inhabits Aral’s shadow.

Tuckaside
—A place to stash goods, usually stolen.

Tucker
—Tucker bottle, a quarter-sized liquor bottle, suitable for two or for one heavy drinker.

Twins, the
—Eyn and Eva, the patron goddess or goddesses of the Dyads. Sometimes represented as one goddess with two faces, sometimes as a pair of twins, either identical or conjoined.

Uln North
—The Magelander’s Quarter of Tien.

Underhills
—An upscale neighborhood in Tien.

Vangzien
—Zhani city at the confluence where the Vang River flows into the Zien River in the foothills of the Hurnic Mountains. Home of the summer palace.

Warboard
—Chesslike game.

Wardblack
—A custom-built magical rug that blocks the function of a specific ward.

Westbridge
—A bridge over the Zien, upriver from the palace and the neighborhood around it.

Worrymoth
—An herb believed to drive away moths.

Wound-Tailor
—Shadowside slang for a healer for hire.

Zass
—A Shade, familiar of Devin.

Zhan
—One of the eleven human kingdoms of the east. Home to the city of Tien.

Zishin
—A sergeant of the watch answering to Captain Fei.

Bronze Sixth Kip (sixer)

Bronze Kip

Bronze Shen

Silver Half Riel

Silver Riel

Gold Half Riel

Gold Riel

Gold Oriel