Broken Road (16 page)

Kegyelem a Mennydörgés:
Chárí’s full name in Hungarian. [Keg-ya-lem ah Men-door-gesh]

Kejahatan:
(Indonesian) “evil”. [Kay-ja-ha-tah]

King:
the form of address for the husband of an Elder Goddess.

Krystállina Óneira:
(Greek) “crystal dreams”.
[Kris-tal-na Oh-nee-rah]

Lady:
the form of address for an Elder Goddess.

Léi Shēng:
(Chinese) Thunder [Lay Shung]

Little Wife:
in polygamous marriages, a term used to mean those who were added to the family after a certain number of wives (usually four).

Lord:
the form of address for an Elder God.

Mademoiselle:
(French) “miss” [Ma-dem-wa-zell]

Masama:
(Filipino) “evil”.
[Ma-sah-muh]

Měilìde:
(Chinese) “beautiful”. [Mih-lead-uh]
[12]

Mennydörgés a Szél:
Amihan’s full name in Hungarian. [Men-door-gesh a Seh]

Mére:
(French) “mother” [M’air]

Mortal:
anyone who is not a deity.

Ní:
(Chinese) “Salamander” [Nee]

Pelisse:
a cloak that is trimmed or lined in fur. Sometimes used to refer to a fur cloak.

Prince:
the form of address for the son of a deity.

Princess:
the form of address for the daughter of a deity.

Queen:
the form of address for the wife of an Elder God.

Śēśa:
(Bengali) “end”. The Underworld, where all souls—regardless of status at death or stature in life—go after dying. [Say-sah]
[13]

Sight, the:
clairvoyance, far-seeing.

Signore:
(Italian) “mister”. [Seen-yor-ay]

Soeur:
(French) “Sister” [Sayur]

Souers de la Parole Eternelle, Les:
(French)
“The Sisters of the Eternal Word”.

Sundara:
(Hindi) “beautiful”. [Soon-dar-uh]

Tahanan:
(Filipino) “home”. The name of our world, our plane of existence. In some stories, Tahanan is called the “Earthrealm”. [Tah-ha-nahn]

Traveller:
another name for someone of gypsy or Romani descent.

Vardo:
Romani name for the wagons in which they live.
[Vahr-doe]

Wài:
(Chinese) “outer” or “out”.
The Otherworld, where the gods and other mystical beings are thought to reside. In some stories, Wài is called the “Outworld”. [Why]

Ostia was not officially in existence at the time Krystállina and Amihan were there. The original Ostia, now known as Ostia Antica, appears to have been abandoned with the fall of the Roman Empire. Modern Ostia is near Ostia Antica, but was not founded until 1884.

Honorius III was born as Cencio Savelli. There is no proof he ever conducted a census of Christians during his time as pope. Even if he did, it is doubtful that he would have allowed the Holy Roman Emperor to canvass the Empire on his behalf. I used the census as a plot device to ensure that Amihan and Krystállina had a reason to leave Milan after having settled there so comfortably.

The Holy Roman Empire traditionally centered on the Kingdom of Germany. However, the capital of the empire was changed to Vienna for the purposes of the story.

The first duke of England—the Duke of Cornwall—was so invested in 1337. There were no Dukes in Great Britain at the time Amihan claimed to be Duke of Hartford.

Traditionally, one of the duke’s subsidiary titles would fall to his eldest son; however, the story goes that the Duke of Hartford got special permission for the title of Marchioness to be granted to his daughter Caroline. Queensb
er
ry
is
a real marquisate (located in Scotland); however, it was not created until 1682.

Isabella II was also known as Yolande of Brienne; I chose the former name so as not to confuse her with Yolanda de Courtenay. If Amihan and Krystállina had been real, they would not have met Isabella at the Emperor’s court—he kept her in seclusion in Palermo, Sicily from the time of their marriage until she died in childbirth three years later. It is also improbable; therefore, that Isabella and Yolanda de Courtenay ever met, much less that they were best friends.

The Viennese waltz did not make its first appearance in ballrooms until the eighteenth century; the galliard and the pavane until the sixteenth century. However, as I couldn’t find anything on thirteenth century dances—and the Viennese waltz seemed appropriate for a dance between Frederick and Catherine—that’s what I chose. (Of course, it’s unlikely that the Holy Roman Emperor was dancing with anyone at the time “Andrew” and “Catherine” were at his court, if he was the sort to keep his wife in seclusion in another country. But that’s creative license for you.)

In real life, Conrad married Elisabeth of Bavaria, one of the daughters of the Duke of Bavaria, in 1246. It is unknown why he was never made Holy Roman Emperor after his father disinherited his older brother Henry. It is possible that Frederick was worried that, given another title, Conrad, too, would rebel and it would therefore not be worth the effort.

Berlin was never a grand duchy, but instead a part of the Duchy of Bavaria. Like the Duke of Hartford, the Grand Duchess of Berlin was a title I made up.

I wanted a historical Princess to attend on Krystállina at her crowning as Grand Duchess, but every monarch I looked up from that period either hadn’t had a daughter by 1228 or had daughters that died before 1228. The closest I got was Berengaria of Castilla,
Isabella’s stepmother
; but I chose not to use her, as she was not crowned Latin Empress until the following year (and therefore had no title in 1228.) Thus, I created Midonyari, who was supposed to appear Japanese, but came from Băihélù—the Chinese words for “Lily Road”. Side note: in September 1228, Midonyari married Emperor Wo Ai Ni—“wo ai ni” being Chinese for “I love you”.

The first Duke of Savoy was not created until February 19, 1416. The Duchies of Lorraine and Savoy were extant at that time, but—of course—had titleholders other than the characters in the story. I have never heard the title of “Duke/Duchess Consort”, but I created them to show who the ruling power in each duchy was.

The Thaler was not introduced as currency in Austria until the mid-fifteenth century. Unfortunately, I had extreme trouble finding which currency predated the Thaler, so I used what I found.

[1]
Cries Rain is so named because when she was a baby, a very loud and prolonged crying fit could cause it to rain.

[2]
Born Cencio Savelli.

[3]
Milan is still the capital of the Lombardy region. It is also the capital of the Province of Milan.

[4]
See historical notes for more detail.

[5]
It is unclear when the Egyptians made the change from Thebes to Luxor.

[6]
The proper word has diacritical marks that aren’t compatible with American keyboards, so I adjusted the word to make a name that would be a little more suitable.

[7]
Feminine of
anchorite
.

[8]
The full phrase, Romanized and with diacritical marks removed, is “Anpana oru”. (The exchange of “eng” for “n” was my idea—I thought it made the word look prettier.)

[9]
Diacritical marks are intact, but two words have been combined into one.

[10]
Diacritical marks have been adjusted.

[11]
Diacritical marks have been adjusted.

[12]
Diacritical marks are intact, but two words have become one.

[13]
Diacritical marks have been adjusted.