Authors: Kevin J. Anderson
ALU, BEREN:
  station chief of Fireheart Station.
ANNIE D:
  Roamer salvage worker at Relleker.
ARAGAO, OCTAVIO:
  communications officer aboard the
Kutuzov.
ARITA, PRINCESS:
  daughter of King Peter and Queen Estarra, a budding naturalist.
ATOA:
  Confederation world, known for hanging kelp-vine gardens.
ATTENDER:
  servile Ildiran kith.
AURIDIA:
  sparsely inhabited planet over which Newstation and Academ orbit. Auridia contained a Klikiss transportal, which was destroyed by Tom Rom.
BEBOB:
  Rlinda Kett's pet name for Branson Roberts.
BIG RING:
  Kotto Okiah's large experimental accelerator at Fireheart Station. The first test run failed and tore a hole in space.
BLACK ROBOTS:
  intelligent and evil robots built by the Klikiss race; most of them were wiped out in the Elemental War, but now they have been resurrected by the Shana Rei.
BLOATERS:
  strange organic nodules found in deep, empty space, the source of ekti-X.
BRINDLE, ROBB:
  administrator of Kett Shipping, married to Tasia Tamblyn, father of Xander.
BRINDLE, XANDER:
  one of the pilots of the Kett Shipping vessel
Verne,
son of Robb Brindle and Tasia Tamblyn.
BUGBOT:
  deprecating slang term for a Klikiss robot.
CAIN, DEPUTY ELDRED:
  former deputy of the Terran Hanseatic League, now an administrator of Earth, loyal to the Confederation.
CELLI:
  green priest, married to Solimar, who tends a terrarium dome in Fireheart Station. Celli is the sister of Estarra and Sarein.
CHAIRMAN:
  leader of the former Terran Hanseatic League.
CHIAR'H:
  Ildiran woman of the noble kith, volunteer worker on the Kuivahr sanctuary domes tending misbreeds, married to human Shawn Fennis.
CHRYSALIS CHAIR:
  reclining throne of the Mage-Imperator.
CLINTON, RAJESH:
  interim supervisor at Handon Station.
COLICOS, ANTON:
  historian, known for his work with Ildiran records, first human to translate portions of the Saga of Seven Suns.
COLLIN:
  young green priest, friend of Arita's.
COMPETENT COMPUTERIZED COMPANION:
  intelligent servant robot, also called a compy, available in Friendly, Teacher, Governess, Listener, Worker, and other models.
COMPY:
  nickname for competent computerized companion.
CONDEN'S FEVER:
  deadly human disease.
CONFEDERATION:
  new human government replacing the Terran Hanseatic League, loose alliance among Roamer clans, independent planets, and remnants of the Hansa. Ruled by King Peter and Queen Estarra, capital on Theroc.
CONFEDERATION DEFENSE FORCES (CDF):
  military serving the Confederation, headquartered at Earth with its main base in the rubble of the Moon, the Lunar Orbital Complex. Commanded by General Nalani Keah.
COVITZ, ORLI:
  strong advocate for compies, former pilot for Kett Shipping. She recovered from the Onthos plague. She is the owner of DD and in a relationship with Garrison Reeves.
DARO'H, PRIME DESIGNATE:
  oldest noble-kith son and successor to Mage-Imperator Jora'h.
DD:
  Friendly compy owned by Orli Covitz.
DECLAN'S GLORY
:
  Kett Shipping vessel often flown by Rlinda Kett.
DENVA, MARIUS:
  line supervisor at Del Kellum's distillery on Kuivahr, presumed lost in the Shana Rei attack on that planet.
DOBRO:
  Ildiran splinter colony, former home of the secret breeding program where many humans were held captive.
DOMINIC, KELLIDEE:
  student at Academ, daughter of an ekti-harvesting clan.
DOMINIC, SEYMOUR:
  head of a Roamer ekti-harvesting clan, father of Kellidee.
DREMEN:
  cloudy Confederation planet primarily known for fungus harvests.
DRE'NH, SEPTAR:
  leader of a Solar Navy septa.
DUQUESNE:
  Roamer clan, victims of Elisa Enturi's attack on their bloater operations.
DURRIS-B:
  one of the seven suns of Ildira.
EARTH DEFENSE FORCES (EDF):
  former military for the Terran Hanseatic League, precursor to the Confederation Defense Forces.
EDILYN:
  Ildiran planet known for its beautiful ice geysers.
EKTI:
  exotic allotrope of hydrogen used to fuel Ildiran stardrives.
EKTI-X:
  stardrive fuel with higher energy potential than traditional ekti, harvested from bloaters.
ELEMENTAL WAR:
  conflict across the Spiral Arm involving the human race, the Ildiran Empire, the hydrogues, faeros, wentals, verdani, as well as the Klikiss and their black robots.
ELJIID:
  abandoned Klikiss world where Tom Rom obtained his first samples of Klikiss royal jelly. Eljiid and its small research colony were wiped out by a malicious attack from the Shana Rei and the black robots.
ENTURI, ELISA:
  former wife of Garrison Reeves and mother of Seth, deputy of Lee Iswander at the Sheol lava mines. Once went by her married name of Elisa Reeves.
ESTARRA, QUEEN:
  ruler of the Confederation, married to King Peter, with two children, Reynald and Arita.
EXXOS:
  leader of the surviving Klikiss robots.
FAEROS:
  sentient fire entities.
FENNIS, SHAWN:
  human born on Dobro, volunteer worker in the Kuivahr sanctuary domes to take care of the misbreeds, married to Ildiran woman Chiar'h.
FIREHEART STATION:
  Roamer research and industrial station at the heart of a nebula, specializing in energized films. Site of Kotto Okiah's Big Ring experiment.
FITZKELLUM, KRISTOF:
  thirteen-year-old son of Zhett Kellum and Patrick Fitzpatrick III, also called Toff.
FITZKELLUM, REX:
  two-year-old son of Zhett Kellum and Patrick Fitzpatrick III.
FITZKELLUM, SHAREEN:
  seventeen-year-old daughter of Zhett Kellum and Patrick Fitzpatrick III.
FITZPATRICK, PATRICK, III:
  husband of Zhett Kellum, one of the managers of the Kellum skymine on Golgen.
FORAY PLAZA:
  gathering area in front of the Prism Palace.
FORNU:
  Ildiran planet known for its colorful fossil canyons.
FUNGUS-REEF:
  large inhabited fungal growth on the worldtrees of Theroc.
GALE'NH, TAL:
  halfbreed son of the green priest Nira and Ildiran war hero Adar Kori'nh, a tal in the Ildiran Solar Navy. Gale'nh was the captain of the exploration ship
Kolpraxa
and once captured by the Shana Rei.
GARDENERS:
  ancient, original tenders of the worldforest, also called the Onthos.
GOLGEN:
  gas-giant planet, former home of the Kellum skymine before it was destroyed by the Shana Rei.
GORHUM:
  transportal nexus world.
GOR'KA:
  one of the misbreeds in the Kuivahr sanctuary domes.
GREEN PRIEST:
  servant of the worldforest, able to use worldtrees for instantaneous communication.
GUIDING STAR:
  Roamer philosophy and religion, a guiding force in a person's life.
GUPTA:
  Roamer clan.
GWENDINE, LYNNE:
  assistant manager at Dr. Krieger's sun-bomb-manufacturing facilities.
HANDIES, EDGAR, ADMIRAL:
  CDF Admiral, one of the “Three H's.”
HANDON STATION:
  new repair complex established by Terry Handon and Xander Brindle at the former site of Rendezvous.
HANDON, TERRY:
  one of the pilots of the Kett Shipping vessel
Verne,
partner of Xander Brindle.
HANSA:
  Terran Hanseatic League.
HAR'LC:
  one of the misbreeds in the Kuivahr sanctuary domes, son of swimmer and scaly kiths.
HAROUN, SHIMAL, ADMIRAL:
  CDF Admiral, one of the “Three H's.”
HARVARD, PETROV, ADMIRAL:
  CDF Admiral, one of the “Three H's.”
HEIDEGGER'S SYNDROME:
  fatal degenerative neurological disease, thought to be incurable. Adam Alakis died of Heidegger's Syndrome.
HILTOS:
  Ildiran shrine to the Lightsource, destroyed by the Shana Rei.
HYDROGUES:
  alien race that dwells within gas-giant planets, the main destructive antagonists in the Elemental War.
IKBIR:
  Confederation colony world.
ILDIRA:
  home planet of the Ildiran Empire, under the light of seven suns.
ILDIRAN EMPIRE:
  large alien empire, the only other major civilization in the Spiral Arm.
ILDIRAN SOLAR NAVY:
  space military fleet of the Ildiran Empire, commanded by Adar Zan'nh.
ILDIRANS:
  humanoid alien race with many different breeds, or kiths.
ISWANDER, ARDEN:
  thirteen-year-old son of Lee Iswander.
ISWANDER INDUSTRIES:
  company owned by Lee Iswander, prominent producer of ekti-X.
ISWANDER, LEE:
  Roamer industrialist with numerous operations, including the Sheol lava mines and now ekti-X extraction from bloaters.
ISWANDER, LONDA:
  wife of Lee Iswander.
JAZER:
  energy weapon used by the Confederation Defense Forces.
JORA'H:
  Mage-Imperator of the Ildiran Empire. He is the father of numerous important Ildirans, including Adar Zan'nh and the halfbreed Osira'h. His consort is the green priest Nira.
JUGGERNAUT:
  largest battleship class in the Confederation Defense Forces.
KEAH, NALANI, GENERAL:
  commander of the Confederation Defense Forces.
KELLUM, DEL:
  former Speaker of the Roamer clans, successor to Cesca Peroni, father of Zhett Kellum. He ran a distillery on the Ildiran ocean planet of Kuivahr before it was destroyed.
KELLUM, ZHETT:
  daughter of Del Kellum, married to Patrick Fitzpatrick III. She ran a large skymine on Golgen, then helped with the Kuivahr distillery, both of which were destroyed by the Shana Rei. She and Patrick have three children, Shareen, Kristof, and Rex.
KENNEBAR:
  leader of an isolationist faction of green priests on Theroc, possessed by the shadows.
KETT, RLINDA:
  trader and former Trade Minister of the Confederation, now owner of Kett Shipping. She also owns several high-end restaurants.
KETT SHIPPING:
  Rlinda Kett's shipping company, managed by Robb Brindle and Tasia Tamblyn.
KLANEK, TONY:
  operations worker at Newstation.
KLEE:
  a hot beverage made from ground worldtree seeds, a specialty of Theroc.
KLIKISS:
  ancient insectlike race, creators of the black robots, long vanished from the Spiral Arm, leaving only their empty cities. After their resurgence in the Elemental War, they departed through their transportal network and are considered lost or extinct.
KLIKISS ROBOTS:
  intelligent and evil beetle-like robots built by the Klikiss race; most of them were wiped out in the Elemental War. Also called black robots.
KRIEGER, JOCKO:
  human weapons scientist who developed modifications to the Ildiran sun-bomb design.
KOLPRAXA
:
  Ildiran exploration ship that ventured beyond the Spiral Arm, led by Tal Gale'nh; destroyed by the Shana Rei.
KUIVAHR:
  Ildiran planet with shallow seas and strong tides, site of Tamo'l's sanctuary domes for misbreeds and Del Kellum's distillery; was completely englobed by the Shana Rei and destroyed.
KUTUZOV
:
  flagship Juggernaut of the Confederation Defense Forces.
LENS KITH:
  one of the Ildiran breeds, religious philosophers.
LIGHTSOURCE:
  higher plane of existence above normal life, an Ildiran version of heaven.
LUNAR ORBITAL COMPLEX (LOC):
  military and civilian base established in the rubble of Earth's Moon.
MAGE-IMPERATOR:
  the god-emperor of the Ildiran Empire.
MANTA:
  cruiser-class battleship in the Confederation Defense Forces.
MIJISTRA:
  Ildiran capital city.
MUNGL'EH:
  one of the misbreeds in the Kuivahr sanctuary domes, a powerful singer.
MUREE'N:
  halfbreed daughter of Nira and a warrior kithman, a skilled fighter, student of Yazra'h.
NADD:
  green priest serving aboard the
Kutuzov.
NEW PORTUGAL:
  Confederation planet, home of a university and also known for its wines.
NEWSTATION:
  large orbiting station above planet Auridia, the new Roamer center of government. The Roamer school Academ is also nearby.
NIRA:
  green priest consort of Mage-Imperator Jora'h, mother of five halfbreed children: Osira'h, Rod'h, Gale'nh, Tamo'l, and Muree'n.
OHRO:
  spokesman for the Onthos on Theroc.