The Paladin's Odyssey (The Windows of Heaven) (60 page)

W
orld-end –
A term for two world-destroying cataclysms predicted, according to Josephus (95 AD), by Adam. It is the anglicized fictional root word for the Hebrew
mabbul
, which is a unique term used only for the global Noahic Flood in Scripture. Other normal floods of the Jordan and Nile that are mentioned in the Old Testament are a different Hebrew word. According to Josephus, Adam predicted that the world would be destroyed twice, once by water and another time through fire.

wurm –
Used in this story as a broad term for carnivorous dragons whose fossils are today categorized as the various therapod dinosaurs from gigantic
Tyrannosaurus Rex
to relatively small
Velociraptor
. The word itself is ancient Anglo-Saxon in origin. (See recommended reading list.)

wyverna –
A form of bipedal horned or crested wurm, the larger of which are classified today as
Gorgosaurus
and the smaller as
Dilophosaurus
. Also derived from an early Saxon taxonomic term for a type of two-legged dragon, though fictionally, the reverse is supposed to be true.

Y’Raddu –
The biblical Irad of Cain’s line in Genesis 4 and his land.

Zaqen
and
Zaqenar –
The root term for the Hebrew
zaken
, which means
elder
. In this story, a
zaqen
is an elder with governmental authority in a clan. If one is of princely lineage, like A’Nu-Ahki, one becomes a “first tier”
zaqen
at the age of 350. At 400 one becomes a “second tier”
zaqen
and gains an additional tier of rank after that for every century they live. A 900
-
year
-
old man graduates to the seventh tier, though by that time whatever rank or achievement they have attained in their work has more meaning in terms of real authority. Nevertheless, any seventh tier
zaqen
is due much symbolic respect—so much so that the plural of the three uppermost tiers use the masculine majestic
ar
rather than the common
im
ending. The majestic plural became extinct (in the story) after the Deluge, when languages needed to be simplified after events that will be covered in book 5 of this series.

THE PALADIN’S ODYSSEY
|
367

A
lso by K. G. Powderly Jr.


Dawn
Apocalypse Rising –
Book 1 of
The Windows of Heaven

A Broken Paradise –
Book 3 of
The Windows of Heaven

The Tides of Nemesis –
Book 4 of
The Windows of Heaven

Gate of the Gods –
Book 5 of
The Windows of Heaven
(Coming soon)

One Faith – Many
Transitions: Worldviews in Church History
(Non-fiction)