How Firm a Foundation (108 page)

Hairatha Dragons
—the Hairatha professional baseball team.
The traditional rivals of the Tellesberg Krakens for the Kingdom Championship.

Hake
—a Safeholdian fish. Like most “fish” native to Safehold, it has a very long, sinuous body but the head does resemble a terran hake or cod, with a hooked jaw.

High-angle gun
—a relatively short, stubby artillery piece with a carriage specially designed to allow higher angles of fire in order to lob gunpowder-filled
shells in high, arcing trajectories. The name is generally shortened to “angle-gun” by the gun crews themselves.

Hill dragon
—a roughly elephant-sized draft animal commonly used on Safehold. Despite their size, hill dragons are capable of rapid, sustained movement. They are herbivores.

Ice wyvern
—a flightless aquatic wyvern rather similar to a terrestrial penguin. Species of ice wyvern are native
to both the northern and southern polar regions of Safehold.

Insights, The
—the recorded pronouncements and observations of the Church of God Awaiting’s Grand Vicars and canonized saints. They represent deeply significant spiritual and inspirational teachings, but as the work of fallible mortals do not have the same standing as the
Holy Writ
itself.

Intendant
—the cleric assigned to a bishopric
or archbishopric as the direct representative of the Office of Inquisition. The intendant is specifically charged with ensuring that the Proscriptions of Jwo-jeng are not violated.

Journal of Saint Zherneau
—the journal left by Jeremy Knowles telling the truth about the destruction of the Alexandria Enclave and about Pei Shan-wei.

Jungle dragon
—a somewhat generic term applied to lowland dragons
larger than hill dragons. The gray jungle dragon is the largest herbivore on Safehold.

Kercheef
—a traditional headdress worn in the Kingdom of Tarot which consists of a specially designed bandana tied across the hair.

Knights of the Temple Lands
—the corporate title of the prelates who govern the Temple Lands. Technically, the Knights of the Temple Lands are
secular
rulers who simply happen to
also hold high Church office. Under the letter of the Church’s law, what they may do as the Knights of the Temple Lands is completely separate from any official action of the Church. This legal fiction has been of considerable value to the Church on more than one occasion.

Kraken
—(1) generic term for an entire family of maritime predators. Krakens are rather like sharks crossed with octopi. They
have powerful, fish-like bodies, strong jaws with inward-inclined, fang-like teeth, and a cluster of tentacles just behind the head which can be used to hold prey while they devour it. The smallest, coastal krakens can be as short as three or four feet; deep-water krakens up to fifty feet in length have been reliably reported, and there are legends of those still larger.

Kraken
—(2) one of three
pre-Merlin heavy-caliber naval artillery pieces. The great kraken weighed approximately 3.4 tons and fired a 42-pound round shot. The royal kraken weighed four tons. It also fired a 42-pound shot but was specially designed as a long-range weapon with less windage and higher bore pressures. The standard kraken was a 2.75-ton, medium-range weapon which fired a 35-pound round shot approximately 6.2
inches in diameter.

Kyousei hi
—“great fire” or “magnificent fire” from the
Holy Writ
. The term used to describe the brilliant nimbus of light the Operation Ark command crew generated around their air cars and skimmers to “prove” their divinity to the original Safeholdians.

Langhorne’s Watch
—the 31-minute period which falls immediately after midnight. It was inserted by the original “Archangels”
to compensate for the extra length of Safehold’s 26.5-hour day. It is supposed to be used for contemplation and giving thanks.

Master Traynyr
—a character out of the Safeholdian entertainment tradition. Master Traynyr is a stock character in Safeholdian puppet theater, by turns a bumbling conspirator whose plans always miscarry and the puppeteer who controls all of the marionette “actors” in the
play.

Messenger wyvern
—any one of several strains of genetically modified Safeholdian wyverns adapted by Pei Shan-wei’s terraforming teams to serve the colonists as homing pigeon equivalents. Some messenger wyverns are adapted for short-range, high-speed delivery of messages, whereas others are adapted for extremely long range (but slower) message deliveries.

Monastery of Saint Zherneau
—the
mother monastery and headquarters of the Brethren of Saint Zherneau, a relatively small and poor order in the Archbishopric of Charis.

Monkey lizard
—a generic term for several species of arboreal, saurian-looking marsupials. Monkey lizards come in many different shapes and sizes, although none are much larger than an Old Earth chimpanzee and most are considerably smaller. They have two very human-looking
hands, although each hand has only three fingers and an opposable thumb, and the “hand feet” of their other forelimbs have a limited grasping ability but no opposable thumb. Monkey lizards tend to be excitable,
very
energetic, and talented mimics of human behaviors.

Mountain spike-thorn
—a particular subspecies of spike-thorn, found primarily in tropical mountains. The most common blossom color
is a deep, rich red, but the white mountain spike-thorn is especially prized for its trumpet-shaped blossom, which has a deep almost cobalt-blue throat, fading to pure white as it approaches the outer edge of the blossom, which is, in turn, fringed in a deep golden yellow.

Narwhale
—a species of Safeholdian sea life named for the Old Earth species of the same name. Safeholdian narwhales are about
forty feet in length and equipped with twin horn-like tusks up to eight feet long. They live in large pods or schools and are not at all shy or retiring. The adults of narwhale pods have been known to fight off packs of kraken.

Nearoak
—a rough-barked Safeholdian tree similar to an Old Earth oak tree. Found in tropic and near tropic zones. Although it does resemble an Old Earth oak, it is an evergreen
and seeds using “pinecones.”

NEAT
—Neural Education and Training machine. The standard means of education in the Terran Federation.

New model
—a generic term increasingly applied to the innovations in technology (especially war-fighting technology) introduced by Charis and its allies. (See “new model kraken,” below.)

New model kraken
—the standardized artillery piece of the Imperial Charisian
Navy. It weighs approximately 2.5 tons and fires a 30-pound round shot with a diameter of approximately 5.9 inches. Although it weighs slightly less than the old kraken (see above) and its round shot is twelve percent lighter, it is actually longer ranged and fires at a higher velocity because of reductions in windage, improvements in gunpowder, and slightly increased barrel length.

Nynian Rychtair
—the Safeholdian equivalent of Helen of Troy, a woman of legendary beauty, born in Siddarmark, who eventually married the Emperor of Harchong.

Offal lizard
—a carrion-eating scavenger which fills the niche of an undersized hyena crossed with a jackal. Offal lizards will take small living prey, but they are generally cowardly and are regarded with scorn and contempt by most Safeholdians.

Operation
Ark
—a last-ditch, desperate effort mounted by the Terran Federation to establish a hidden colony beyond the knowledge and reach of the xenophobic Gbaba. It created the human settlement on Safehold.

Pasquale’s Basket
—a voluntary collection of contributions for the support of the sick, homeless, and indigent. The difference between the amount contributed voluntarily and that required for the Basket’s
purpose is supposed to be contributed from Mother Church’s coffers as a first charge upon tithes received.

Persimmon fig
—a native Safeholdian fruit which is extremely tart and relatively thick-skinned.

Prong lizard
—a roughly elk sized lizard with a single horn which branches into four sharp points in the last third or so of its length. They are herbivores and not particularly ferocious.

Proscriptions
of Jwo-jeng
—the definition of allowable technology under the doctrine of the Church of God Awaiting. Essentially, the Proscriptions limit allowable technology to that which is powered by wind, water, or muscle. The Proscriptions are subject to interpretation by the Order of Schueler, which generally errs on the side of conservatism, but it is not unheard of for corrupt intendants to rule for or
against an innovation under the Proscriptions in return for financial compensation.

Rakurai
—literally “lightning bolt.” The
Holy Writ
’s term for the kinetic weapons used to destroy the Alexandria Enclave.

Reformist
—one associated with the Reformist movement. The majority of Reformists outside the Charisian Empire still regard themselves as Temple Loyalists.

Reformist movement
—the movement within
the Church of God Awaiting to reform the abuses and corruption which have become increasingly evident (and serious) over the last hundred to one hundred and fifty years. Largely underground and unfocused until the emergence of the Church of Charis, the movement is attracting increasing support throughout Safehold.

Round Theatre
—the largest and most famous theater in the city of Tellesberg. Supported
by the Crown but independent of it, and renowned not only for the quality of its productions but for its willingness to present works which satirize Charisian society, industry, the aristocracy, and even the Church.

Saint Evehlain
—the patron saint of the Abbey of Saint Evehlain in Tellesberg.

Saint Zherneau
—the patron saint of the Monastery of Saint Zherneau in Tellesberg.

Sand maggot
—a loathsome
carnivore, looking much like a six-legged slug, which haunts Safeholdian beaches just above the surf line. Sand maggots do not normally take living prey, although they have no objection to devouring the occasional small creature which strays into their reach. Their natural coloration blends well with their sandy habitat, and they normally conceal themselves by digging their bodies into the
sand until they are completely covered, or only a small portion of their backs show.

Sea cow
—a walrus-like Safeholdian sea mammal which grows to a body length of approximately ten feet when fully mature.

Seijin
—sage, holy man, mystic. Legendary warriors and teachers, generally believed to have been touched by the
anshinritsumei.
Many educated Safeholdians consider
seijins
to be mythological,
fictitious characters.

Shan-wei’s War
—the
Holy Writ
’s term for the struggle between the supporters of Eric Langhorne and those of Pei Shan-wei over the future of humanity on Safehold. It is presented in terms very similar to those of the war between Lucifer and the angels loyal to God, with Shan-wei in the role of Lucifer.

Slash lizard
—a six-limbed, saurian-looking, furry oviparous mammal. One
of the three top land predators of Safehold. Its mouth contains twin rows of fangs capable of punching through chain mail and its feet have four long toes, each tipped with claws up to five or six inches long.

Sleep root
—a Safeholdian tree from whose roots an entire family of opiates and painkillers are produced. The term “sleep root” is often used generically for any of those pharmaceutical
products.

Slime toad
—an amphibious Safeholdian carrion eater with a body length of approximately seven inches. It takes its name from the thick mucus which covers its skin. Its bite is poisonous but seldom results in death.

SNARC
—Self-Navigating Autonomous Reconnaissance and Communications platform.

Spider-crab
—a native species of sea life, considerably larger than any terrestrial crab. The
spider-crab is not a crustacean, but more of a segmented, tough-hided, many-legged seagoing slug. Despite that, its legs are considered a great delicacy and are actually very tasty.

Spider-rat
—a native species of vermin which fills roughly the ecological niche of a terrestrial rat. Like all Safeholdian mammals, it is six-limbed, but it looks like a cross between a hairy gila monster and an insect,
with long, multi-jointed legs which actually arch higher than its spine. It is nasty-tempered but basically cowardly. Fully adult male specimens of the larger varieties run to about two feet in body length, with another two feet of tail, for a total length of four feet, but the more common varieties average only between two or three feet of combined body/tail length.

Spike-thorn
—a flowering shrub,
various subspecies of which are found in most Safeholdian climate zones. Its blossoms come in many colors and hues, and the tropical versions tend to be taller-growing and to bear more delicate blossoms.

Steel thistle
—a native Safeholdian plant which looks very much like branching bamboo. The plant bears seed pods filled with small, spiny seeds embedded in fine, straight fibers. The seeds are
extremely difficult to remove by hand, but the fiber can be woven into a fabric which is even stronger than cotton silk. It can also be twisted into extremely strong, stretch-resistant rope. Moreover, the plant grows almost as rapidly as actual bamboo, and the yield of raw fiber per acre is seventy percent higher than for terrestrial cotton.

Surgoi kasai
—“dreadful” or “great fire.” The true spirit
of God. The touch of His divine fire, which only an angel or Archangel can endure.