Citadel of Fire (The Ronin Saga Book 2) (85 page)

Covai Riders
– A vast horse tribe from the Kingdom of Flesh that controls much of the plains of Farhaven.

Curtana
– Dared’s twin daggers, thin with broken tips.

Cyn
(KIN) – A game played with small, carved figurines, consisting of followers and a mark.

Daerval
(dare-vahl)– A land without magic, on the other side of Death’s Gate.

Dalic
– The leader of the Algasi tribe—a two-stripe Mundasi warrior.

Dared
(DARE-ED) – A Ronin, also known as the Shadow. His element is that of moon and his home is the Great Kingdom of Narim—a vast subterranean gem located in the dark hills, half above the land, half below. The least is known about Dared. He is said to never have spoken. Rumors of his powers include the ability to turn completely invisible in the night even under the brightest moon.

Dared
[the statue] – Dared the silent Ronin in statue form.

Darius
(dare-ee-us)– Darius is a wiry young man of seventeen who is from Lakewood, and we learn very little of his parentage; he appears to be an orphan. Darius is perhaps most well-known for his love of gambling, a skill he holds no modesty about.

Darkeye
– Leader of the Darkeye clan whose hold is called Lair of the Beast. He is famed for his brutality and malevolent deeds. He wears a cloak that flaunts these skills, showing the patches of slain Devari.

Darkwalkers
– Creatures that are neither living nor dead. They are immune to the spark and most weapons save for a Devari’s blade. They are described as black beasts with many forms, like a “hundred-limbed spider” or even walking on two legs. Most, however, are faceless with black prism-like bodies that shine like obsidian and knife-sharp limbs and beady dark eyes.

Death’s Gate
– The infamous gates that divide the two lands. The origin of the name is said to come from all those that died during the Great War, specifically during the final battle that stained the White Plains red.

Desiccating
– To remove one forever from their innate spark. It is a dreaded occurrence that is often worse than death to any wielder of the spark.

Devari
(duh-var-ii) – An elite group of warriors who live within the Citadel, and they are masters of the blade. Using “Ki” they hold certain powers, including inhabiting another’s body and feeling their sensations.

Diaon
(die-on) – Translates to “knows nothing”. It is title given to apprentices and slaves of Farhaven.

Dipping Tsugi
–Mistress Hitomi’s inn in the Shining City.

Dryads
– Fabled magical creatures of the forest of Drymaus, a great mythical forest to the north of Eldas.

Dryan
– High Councilor and elf who assumes the throne when Karil’s father, the old king, is murdered.

Drymaus
– Home of the mythical dryads.

Dun Varis
– An offshoot and fragment of Lander, the Great Kingdom of Stone, rumored to exist again within Daerval, and Aundevoriä’s homeland.

Durendil
– Aundevoriä’s famed sword. It has a wire-wrapped handle, and turns to stone.

Eldas
– Home of the Elves, one of the nine Great Kingdoms, also the Kingdom of Forest.

Elders of Eldas
– Also known as the sages or High Council of the Kingdom of Eldas. They are the ruling council of the Great Kingdom of Forest.

Elementals
– Magical beings of Farhaven.

Elements
– A game of Farhaven that Ezrah and Kirin play.

Eminas
– The name for Gray used by the elves, and literally means eminent one, but its variant meaning is harbinger.

Ester
– A city once bound together with Menalas in what was called a “false kingdom”.

Ethelwin
– A powerful Reaver and lecturer who is only a few below in rank and prestige of the female Arbiter.

Ezrah
– Arbiter of the second rank who lives in the Citadel, and Gray’s grandfather.

Farbs
– The sprawling desert city wherein the Citadel resides.

Farhaven
– A land full of magic, on the opposite side of Death’s Gate.

Faye
– Enthralling and unpredictable, Faye is a woman of many talents. A skilled fighter and a Farhaven-versed individual, she aids Gray, Ayva, and Darius on their journey to Farbs. Though with strange ties to Darkeye and his clan, she finds a way to be both a curse and a blessing in disguise.

Fendary
– Also called the Stormbreaker, or the Sentinel. He is Fendary Aquius, a high general during the Lieon who supposedly fought the Ronin.

Fisher in the Shallows
– An advanced technique where one flows through Low Moon stances, and makes several sweeping horizontal slashes directed at the attacker’s legs.

Fisher in the Shallows to Dipping Moon
– A snaking thrust to an upward strike, from which its power is derived from the bending and swift upward lift of the legs

Flow
– What is often called the source of all magic, or the “essence.” It is what the Ronin wield.

Frizzian Coast
– Located in Farhaven, full of peaceful towns and villages along the coast and in the Northern provinces.

Full Moon
– A defensive stance where one’s blade is above the head and their knees are heavily bent in order to absorb and redirect coming blows. It mimics the pattern of the arcing moon in the sky or a sphere, where water flows off the perfectly round surface, unable to find solid contact.

Fusing
– A bond between magic users that wields even greater power. It is said hundreds of Reavers were used in ancient times to forge epic creations, including the transporters.

Heartgard
– The name for Seth’s famed sword; meaning brave, enclosed.

Great Tree
– The tree that is at the center of Eldas, and bears the spire; the great buildings where all nobility reside.

Gryphons
– Mounts of Farbs that are half eagle and half lion.

Hall of Wind
– Within the legendary Morrow, Great Kingdom of Wind. Mura claims Kail stashed his most precious of weapons in the “Hall of Wind.”

Hando Cloak
– A black and forest green cloak Rydel wears. It signifies that he is one of the
Hidden
.

Haori
(Ha-o-ri) – Colored vests, each matches the powers the Ronin hold, and the color of the Kingdom they represent.

Heartwood
– Harder than most human metals, most of Eldas is constructed out of it.

Heron in the Reeds
– A powerful and agile strike from above—most often where one baits with the front leg, then pulls it into a “Heron” (a stance upon one leg), and strikes down at the now lunging and exposed attacker.

Herbwort
— An herb that aids with shivers and insomnia.

High Council
– The council of elves in Eldas that oversee affairs;
see also
Elders of Eldas.

High Moon
– A Devari stance where the back leg is heavily bent, and holding the majority of the weight, while the other foot rests lightly upon the ground. The fighter’s shoulders are angled, just enough to minimize a target, but enough to engage their upper-body, turning for powerful strikes if need be. It is a stance few ever master.

Hitomi
– Often called “Mistress” Hitomi. Hitomi is the proprietor of the Dipping Tsugi in the Shining City. When the others stumble upon several rare books in her packed library, they discover her obsession for books.

Hiron
(HEE-row-nn) – A Ronin, also known as the Kingslayer. His element is that of water, and the Great Kingdom of Seria. He is known as the peacekeeper, and the Ronin of wisdom and serenity.

Iridal
– Baro’s famed sword, rumored to be impossible to shatter.

Jiryn
– A high elf healer from Eldas.

Kage
(KAH-gey) – The nine nameless evils who pose as the Ronin and hold equal powers.

Kagehass
–The saeroks and verg’s name for what others refer to as the Nameless (the Shadow’s Hand).

Kail
– The once leader of the fabled Ronin. He is known by many names, from many eras including the blight seeker, betrayer of men, and the wanderer. He is rumored to have survived the Lieon, and still exists, told in fearful tales for the past two thousand years.

Karil
– Karil is the queen of Eldas, home and kingdom of the Elves. She is half-human and half-elf. Karil is tall and beautiful, with silver eyes, and white-blonde hair. Her beauty is only equaled by her intelligence.

Ki
–The source and power of a Devari.

Kin
– Dark men and women who are agents of the “shadow”, specifically the Kage. Gray runs into one in Lakewood when trying to retrieve the sword.

King Gias
– Karil’s father and the King of Eldas.

King Katsu
– King of the Shining City.

King Owen Garian
– King of Median, the rebuilt Great Kingdom of water—said to be a righteous man of conviction with a blue-tinted beard.

Koru Village
– The town Gray and the others run across. It is just north of Lakewood.

Laidir
–
The second of Hiron’s famous twin swords.

Lair of the Beast
– The home of the Darkeye clan within the Underbelly.

Lakewood
– A peaceful town, but resides close to the ill-famed Lost Woods. It is the home of Ayva and Darius.

Lander
– One of the “forgotten kingdoms”. Lander was the Great Kingdom of Stone. It was a city that had
walls purported to be thicker than small cities.

Lando
– Translates as “redeemers” or “liberators” in the common tongue. They are the group that saves Karil in the woods of Eldas.

Lieon
–The Great War during the Final Age that lasted over a thousand years.

Lokai
– The god Darius evokes; the god of “luck”.

Lopping the Branch
– A slashing strike, twisting the torso and attacking the opponent’s head.

Lord Nolan
– Steward of Vaster, Great Kingdom of Sun.

Lost Woods
– The infamous dark forest where Gray and Mura live, and said to be full of direbears and other nefarious beasts. Villagers say the woods come alive at night, and travelers who venture in are rarely ever seen again.

Low Moon
– A Devari stance where one leg is heavily slanted for a low center of gravity for balance and stability, and the other is heavily bent and holds the majority of the swordsman’s weight.

Malik
–Leader of the Kage. He has a spiked pauldron and is bigger than his brethren. He speaks to Vera and is the voice of the dark army.

Maris
(mare-is) – A Ronin, also called the Trickster, a Ronin of many names and faces. He wields Masamune, the leaf blade—its powers unknown. His element is that of leaf, and his homeland is the Great Kingdom of Eldas.

Maris’ Luck
– the most dangerous inn in Farbs and perhaps all Farhaven.

Masamune
– Maris’ famed sword.

Mashiro
– Guard captain of the Shining City.

Matriarch
– leader of the phoxes.

Menalas
– A southern city of Farhaven that was once part of Ester, together they were deemed a false kingdom denied the position of power as one of the nine Great Kingdoms. They were forced to split and divide up their power. Many of their inhabitants, however, still lust for a throne that no longer exists. Moreover, they share an iron mine with Ester that was too difficult to upend in the Lieon.