The Eyes of a Doll (The World of Shijuren Book 2) (43 page)

Shijuren
(shee-YOU-ren): The Imperial and Old Imperial word for the world. In Sevenish, the word is spelled Sciuren. There is a cognate of this word in every major language in the world.

Shopska
(shope-SKA): A type of salad common in the Empire. It consists of chopped cucumbers, onions, a vinegar dressing, and an extremely salty goat cheese.

Slain God
: An epithet for Baldr, the Sevenish god of love.

Sorcerer
: Old Imperial for a practitioner of Life Magic. The Sevenish term is “liffrea.” The Imperial term is “zokurios.”

Stanar Seljak
(STAN-ar sell-YAK): A derogatory term for a farmer or someone from a rural area.

Stonelord
: The Sevenish term for a practitioner of Land Magic. The Imperial term is “gekurios.”

Symkurios
(sim-KOO-re-ose) (Plural: symkurioi): The Imperial word for a practitioner of Line Magic. The Sevenish term is “leorner.” The Old Imperial term is “runelord.”

Tagmatarch
(tag-ma-TARK): A civilian rank in the Empire. It is applied to a bureaucrat in charge of some division or section.

Thegn
(thain): One of a class of military retainers who have sworn bencriht to a lord.

Trollsbane
: An epithet for Thor, a god in the pantheon of the Seven Kingdoms.

Turnshoes
: A type of shoe constructed by sewing the shoe inside out and then “turning” it right-side out. This method both protects the primary seams from unnecessary damage and helps keep water out of the shoe. 

Syngellos
(sin-GHEL-ose): A rank in the hierarchy of the church of Panteleimon.

Thegithu
(thay-GITH-oo): Sevenish for “shut up!”

Vranec
(VRA-nek): A type of grape grown in Dassaretum. Makes a delightful wine.

Wealthtaker
: An epithet for Hades, the God of Death in the Imperial pantheon.

Winingas
: A Sevenish term for strips of cloth used to wrap around the foot and calf.

Wizard
: The Old Imperial word for a practitioner of Lore Magic. The Sevenish term is “wyrdwita.” The Imperial term is “clikurios.”

Woden
: The head of the pantheon of gods in the Seven Kingdoms and Svellheim.

Wolfsbane
: An epithet for Tyr.

Wyrdwita
(WEIRD-wih-tah): The Sevenish word for a practitioner of Lore Magic. The Old Imperial term is “wizard.” The Imperial term is “clikurios.”

Zelnik
: A pastry made with cheese, meat, and spinach.

Zokurios
(Zoe-KOO-re-ose) (Plural: zokurioi): The Imperial word for a practitioner of Life Magic. The Sevenish term is “liffrea.” The Old Imperial term is “sorcerer.”

Zupan
(ZOO-pawn): A term for a clan or tribal leader in the Empire. In Achrida, both the Enchelei and Dassaretae tribes have their own zupan, who essentially compete for control of the city.

The current era is dated from the civilizations that rose after fall of the Giants. The abbreviation MG comes from the Old Imperial word metagigantes.

Days of the week

Six days of the week, five weeks per month.

• Helimera
  (HELL-ee-mair-ah)
  
• Selenemera
  (se-LAY-na-mair-ah)
  
• Aremera
  (ARR-ee-mair-ah)
  
• Hermoumera
  (hair-MOO-mair-ah)
  
• Jovimera
  (YOE-vee-mair-ah)
  
• Kronomera
  (KROW-no-mair-ah)
  

Months of the year.

Each month is 30 days long, plus five additional days (sometimes six).

Styrtendeniht
(stir-TEN-de-nikt): New Year’s Day. Every four years, the New Year is celebrated with two days.

Foarmoanne
(FORE-mo-an-nah): Corresponds with late January, early February.

Sellemoanne
(SEL-la-mo-an-nah): Corresponds with late February, early March.

Thunorsniht
(THOO-norz-nikt): The vernal equinox. 

Foarjiersmoanne
(for-YEARZ-mo-an-nah): Corresponds with late March, early April.

Gersmoanne
(GEHRZ-mo-an-nah): Corresponds with late April, early May.

Blommemoanne
(BLOW-muh-mo-an-nah): Corresponds with late May, early June.

Wodensniht
(WOAH-denz-nikt): The summer solstice. 

Simmermoanne
(SIM-mer-mo-an-nah): Corresponds with late June, early July.

Heamoanne
(HEY-ah-mo-an-nah): Corresponds with late July, early August.

Hjerstmoanne
(ha-YERST-mo-an-nah): Corresponds late August, early September.

Wyrdsniht
(WEIRDZ-nikt): The autumnal equinox. 

Wynmoanne
(WIN-mo-an-nah): Corresponds with late October, early November.

Slachtmoanne
(SLAWKT-mo-an-nah): Corresponds with late November, early December.

Helsniht
(HELZ-nikt): The winter solstice. 

Wintermoanne
(WIN-ter-mo-an-nah): Corresponds with late December, early January.

Magic in Shijuren is both a talent and a skill. Approximately one out of ten people have the capability to manipulate energy with their mind to some degree. With training, the most talented can perform great feats, while those with lesser talent can do many useful things depending upon the type of magic they can use.

There are five types of magical energy in Shijuren: life magic, love magic, lore magic, land magic, and line magic. They are often called Streams of Magic. The traditional rhyme used to remember these types is:

To change nature’s guise

One needs loves or lives

Stone's laws or sharp lines

Or lore of the wise

Magicians are limited by several factors, including raw talent, distance, type of magic, and the difficulty of the magic. As noted, magical talent varies in the person. Some magicians seem tireless, and can cast spells seemingly without rest. Some magicians fade quicker, but are especially powerful in what they can do. In general, the greater the spell the greater the resulting fatigue.

Generally, magicians in Shijuren can only affect things near them. Essentially, this means that they have to see their targets, though this is not necessarily required. Some magicians can reach longer distances, and the most powerful of these can reach far indeed. However, their power attenuates the farther they reach.

With few exceptions, a magician can only influence one type of magic. Furthermore, within their type of magic, there are things that come more naturally to a given magician than to another. In other words, though magicians fall into these five broad categories, each magician is different from every other.

There are tools to enhance magical power, generally differing for each type of magical energy. Pitchblende and Mavric iron are notable as the only known substances that can enhance all types of magic. Mavric iron is created by powerful land magicians who focus their power upon pure chunks of pitchblende. Once created, Mavric iron can be forged liked any other metal, though it often must be alloyed with other metals as it tends to be brittle.

Unfortunately, both pitchblende and Mavric iron tend to be extraordinarily harmful to anyone who uses them. Their minor effects are rashes, burns, and a pallid, wan appearance. Nearly every magician who uses these substances records nausea and headaches. Magicians who have survived prolonged use report suffering from wasting diseases and headaches so powerful they prevent magic use. In truth, however, most magicians who use these substances tend to die quickly.

There are much safer methods to increase power, however. Each type of magic is more powerful in certain circumstances.

Also, magicians can collaborate to create increased power or store power in other objects. A love magician could work with a life magician to increase the emotional power of a plant. For example, certain flowers enhanced in this way increase feelings of love in a couple. A life magician could imbue healing power into a crystal with a land magician to channel life magic into an object. That item would then have the ability to help heal someone, like perhaps a wounded soldier. The possible combinations of collaboration are truly limitless.

A larger description of each type of magic follows.

Life Magic

Also known as Zomajea, life magic manipulates the energy of living things. Some names for a life magician are zokurios, sorcerer, and liffrea.

Life magic can heal or harm living things, but does not have much power over non-living things unless a living thing can affect that non-living item. For example, a life magician could not affect a boulder. However, if the boulder was near a tree, he or she could influence the tree’s roots to grow swiftly and shatter that boulder.

A life magician sees an energy field around living things and can feed or draw from it as he or she sees fit. The more living things around a life magician, the more powerful the magic he or she can perform. A life magician is especially powerful in a jungle, for example.

Also, life magicians can imbue residual life energy in a single place filled with living things. In other words, a life magician can create a garden or a grove where his or her power is especially enhanced. A staff or wand from the wood of such a garden or grove can allow a life magician to carry some of that power with them, though much reduced compared to actually being in that place.

Love Magic

Also known as Ermajea, love magic manipulates human emotions. Two names for a love magician are erkurios and enchanter.

Love magic can control human behavior by influencing emotions, but like life magic, cannot influence non-living things unless a creature can be prompted to affect that item. Sometimes, a love magician can influence animals, but as animal brains get smaller and less emotional, this becomes less likely. Unlike life magicians, a love magician cannot influence plants at all.

Though the name of the magic is “love” magic, in truth, this is a magic of all emotions. Love magicians see tendrils of emotion flowing from people and creatures. They can manipulate these tendrils, and at times create them.

Emotion feeds emotion, so in places where there is a great deal of emotion, a love magician has access to more power, such as in a large crowd. A love magician can be fed emotion by those close to him or her. For example, the Velikomat of Periaslavl marries to three husbands who are picked for their great capacity to love her. They feed her emotion allowing her to perform the magic needed for a leader of a country.

It takes less power to enhance an existing emotion than to create an emotion, and one needs more power still to overrule and go against an existing emotion. So, while a love magician can, for example, change a person’s love to hate or vice versa, it takes a great deal of power to do so.

Lore Magic

Also known as Climajea, lore magic manipulates knowledge. Some names for a lore magician are clikurios, wizard, or wyrdwita.

The past influences the future, and a lore magician shapes that energy. The most subtle of all the Five Streams, lore magicians tend to think in longer terms than nearly anyone else. Lore magicians see potentialities in people and items. He or she influences their target to reach one of those potentials, though this often takes significant time and is not necessarily a sure destination.

The more knowledge a lore magician has, the more potentiality they can see, and hence the more they can influence their targets. The most prominent collection of lore magicians in Shijuren are the Readers. Though not every Reader is a lore magician, the focus of their order clearly is based in lore magic. This means that their strongest magicians have at their hand that great pool of knowledge, making them extraordinarily powerful. It is this power that prompts the Readers to take and live up to their obscure oaths that essentially force them to remain neutral.

In many cases, lore magicians do not even need to use magic to influence events. Those that are not affiliated with the Readers or another order are in great demand as advisors. They can change the future simply by advising based upon the potentialities that they see.

Land Magic

Also known as Gemajea, land magic manipulates the non-living energy and matter of the universe. Two names for a land magician are gekurios and stonelord.

In contrast to lore magic, land magic is the least subtle of all of the streams. Since matter is energy and energy matter, a land magician can manipulate any type of energy or matter to some extent. Land magicians can even affect light, depending upon power and aptitude.

Land magicians see the energy available in all things and can, to a certain extent, draw that energy from matter. Theoretically, a land magician could liberate all the energy of a thing, though no land magician has ever come close to that capability.

Not surprisingly, it cannot affect living beings except when a land magician can manipulate an object around a creature or plant. For example, a life magician can induce blindness by encouraging a creature or person to stop seeing, but a land magician can simply stop light from traveling in an area whose size is limited to their power. In this particular instance, land magic is often superior because its effect is instantaneous whereas the life magic takes some time to influence its target.

Land magic can be enhanced by mineral crystal forms, though the type of crystal that is most effective depends entirely on the land magician. Some require diamonds to enhance their power and some needs sapphires or rubies. On the other hand, some land magicians do better with simple quartz than a more traditionally valuable gemstone.

As mentioned, some land magicians can convert pitchblende to Mavric iron. It is always worth remembering the health costs of working with this material, and few land magicians are willing to make that sacrifice. Mavric iron is thus extraordinarily valuable.

Line Magic

Also known as Symmajea, line magic manipulates runes, writing, and symbols. Some names for a line magician are symkurios, runelord, or leorner.

The most versatile of the streams, Line Magic can essentially do anything if the correct pattern or line or symbol can be created. Line magicians do not necessarily “see” symbols, but symbols can be taught. For example, one of the first set of symbols taught is some version allowing the line magician to determine whether or not a person is speaking truthfully.

As a line magician becomes more experienced, and as they are taught more and more symbols, they can increasingly create the kinds of symbols that might influence things in a given situation.

There are often many types of symbols that can achieve similar effects. For example, a banner can increase the military might of a unit, but so can a particular song.

However, line magic works only if a recipient can “recognize” a symbol, so there are only a small number of instances where inanimate objects can be affected by line magic. However, line magicians can imbue objects with symbols giving objects the ability to affect things. In the example above, a line magician could add power to either the banner or the song increasing its effect upon a group of soldiers.