The Shadowed Sun (Dreamblood) (68 page)

The Kingdom of Gods

Dreamblood

The Killing Moon

The Shadowed Sun

“Many books are good, some are great, but few are truly important. Add to this last category
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
, N. K. Jemisin’s debut novel… In this reviewer’s opinion, this is the must-read fantasy of the year.”

—
Bookpage

“A complex, edge-of-your-seat story with plenty of funny, scary, and bittersweet twists.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(Starred Review)

“An offbeat, engaging tale by a talented and original newcomer.”

—
Kirkus

“The very best kind of sequel: as lush and evocative and true as the first, with all the same sense of mystery, giving us the world and characters we already love, and yet with a new story and a wonderfully new perspective on the whole dazzling world and pantheon the author has built.”

—Naomi Novik

“This is a book that readers won’t be able to put down… A magnificent novel and one of the best books this reviewer has read this year.”

—
RT Book Reviews
(Top Pick!)

“The key is just to tell a great, exciting, engaging story that keeps you turning pages long past your bedtime. And Jemisin has definitely done that here.”

—
io9.com

“N. K. Jemisin has written a fascinating epic fantasy where the stakes are not just the fate of kingdoms but of the world and the universe.”

—
sfrevu.com

“A similar blend of inventiveness, irreverence, and sophistication—along with sensuality—brings vivid life to the setting and other characters: human and otherwise…
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
definitely leaves me wanting more of this delightful new writer.”

—
Locus

“A compelling page-turner.”

—The Onion A.V. Club

“Jemisin’s talent as a storyteller should make her one of the fantasy authors to watch in the coming years.”

—
Library Journal

“
The Broken Kingdoms
had everything I loved about the first book in this trilogy—an absorbing story, an intriguing setting and world mythology, and a likable narrator with a compelling voice. The next book cannot come out soon enough.”

—
fantasybookcafe.com

“
The Broken Kingdoms
is an excellent sequel to
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
because it expands the universe of the series geographically, historically, magically and in the range of characters, while keeping the same superb prose and gripping narrative that made the first one such a memorable debut.”

—
fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com

“Wild and sharp… an engrossing, magic-filled thriller.”

—
Newark Star-Ledger

Acolytes:
  Boys of between twelve and sixteen floods who have elected to pursue the service of Hananja, but who have not yet sworn themselves to one of the four paths.

Age of adulthood:
  In Gujaareh and Kisua, four times four, or sixteen floods of age. The age at which young citizens are granted legal and all other rights of majority, and may be confirmed in their choice of vocation.

Age of choice:
  In Gujaareh and Kisua, three times four, or twelve floods of age. The age at which young citizens are counted old enough to pursue a chosen vocation, court a spouse, or undertake many other significant decisions.

Age of eldership:
  In Gujaareh, four times four times four, or sixty-four floods of age. The age at which citizens are counted old enough to hold positions of leadership or esteem. In Kisua, citizens are deemed elders at fifty-two years of age.

Anzi Seh Ainunu:
  A general of Kisua, assigned to oversee the occupation of Gujaareh.

Apprentices:
  Youths who have passed the age of adulthood and begun higher training in one of the four paths.

Aureole of the Setting Sun:
  Symbol of the authority and divinity of the Sunset Lineage. An emblem consisting of alternating plates of red and gold amber arranged in a sunburst pattern around a central gold semicircle, which sits atop a staff carved from white nhefti.

Banbarra:
  A desert race, longtime enemies of Gujaareh. Consists of six autonomous tribes that dominate trade in the Empty Thousand. At feud with the Shadoun.

Body wrap:
  A garment worn by men and women in Kisua. A woman’s wrap is usually ankle-length; a man’s wrap may be knee-length or shorter and accented by a shoulder-drape.

Caste:
  The social/vocational classes of Gujaareh and Kisua, assigned at birth. An individual may transcend his or her assigned caste only by entering public service (such as in the Hetawa or the military).

City of Dreams:
  Colloquial name for the capital of Gujaareh. Also known as Hananja’s City. Officially, the city’s name is simply “Gujaareh.”

Collar:
  Decorative item worn in Gujaareh and occasionally in Kisua. Consists of a band around the neck and dangling ornaments that drape about the chest and shoulders.

Council of Paths:
  With the Superior, the governing body of the Hetawa. Includes senior members of the Sentinels, Teachers, and Sharers, as well as one (non-voting) liaison from the Sisters. Out of courtesy, Gatherers operate under the authority of this body, although they are officially autonomous.

Donation:
  The monthly offering of dreams required of all citizens of Gujaareh. Donors are referred to as
tithebearers
.

Dreambile:
  One of the four dream-humors that form the basis of Gujaareen magic. Culled from unpleasant dreams, it is useful for discouraging harmful growth and destroying unnecessary tissue in the body.

Dreamblood:
  One of the four dream-humors that form the basis of Gujaareen magic. Culled from the final dream that occurs at the moment of death, it is useful for bringing peace.

Dream-humors:
  The magical energies culled from dreams, used by Sharers for healing.

Dreamichor:
  One of the four dream-humors that form the basis of Gujaareen magic. Culled from ordinary “nonsense” dreams, it is useful for repairing damage in the body.

Dreaming Moon:
  The mother of all gods and goddesses save Sun and Waking Moon, and mistress of the sky. Also called
the Dreamer
.

Dreamseed:
  One of the four dream-humors that form the basis of Gujaareen magic. Culled from erotic dreams, essential for stimulating growth that ordinarily occurs only in the womb (e.g., new limbs).

Easternese:
  Collective term for people from lands to the east of the Sea of Glory.

Empty Thousand:
  The desert that stretches from the southernmost edge of the Gujaareen Territories to the northernmost reaches of the Kisuati Protectorate.

Endless, The:
  The great ocean to the west of the Sea of Glory.

False-seeing:
  A dream that appears to be a vision of the future or past, but is too distorted for interpretation or is simply inaccurate.

Flood:
  An annual event in which the Goddess’s Blood river overflows its banks and fills the Blood river valley, renewing the fertility of the soil. Also: the marker by which valley-dwellers count perennial changes, such as age.

Founding Sages:
  The founders of Gujaareh, foremost among them Inunru.

Four:
  The number of bands on the face of Dreaming Moon. A holy number, as are its multiples.

Four-of-four:
  Four by four by four by four, or two hundred and fifty-six. A holy number.

Gatherers:
  Those in one of the four paths to the Service of Hananja, responsible for enforcing Hananja’s Law.

Goddess, The:
  In Gujaareh, an alternative term for Hananja. In Kisua, may refer to any female deity.

Goddess’s Blood:
  A river whose source is in the mountains of Kisua. Its mouth is along the Sea of Glory in northern Gujaareh.

Gujaareh:
  A city-state whose capital (also called Gujaareh, or the City of Dreams, or Hananja’s City) lies at the mouth of the Goddess’s Blood along the Sea of Glory.

Hamyan Night:
  The shortest night of the year, when dreams become so sparse that the Goddess Hananja starves.

Hanani:
  A Sharer-Apprentice of the Hetawa.

Hananja:
  One of the divine children of Dreaming Moon and Sun. The goddess of dreams, also associated with death and the afterlife.

Hananja’s City:
  Alternate name for Gujaareh’s capital.

Hananja’s Law:
  The body of law that governs Gujaareh. Its principal tenet is peace.

Hananja’s Wisdom:
  A collection of proverbs, prophecies, and other lore that faithful Hananjans must learn.

Healing:
  Any non-magical healing art, including herbalism and surgery. In Gujaareh, these arts are practiced primarily by Sharers of Hananja.

Hekeh:
  A fibrous plant native to the Blood river valley, cultivated in Gujaareh and other river nations. Useful in making cloth, rope, and many other products.

Hetawa, The:
  The central temple, and physical center of spiritual life in Gujaareh. The Hetawa oversees education, law, and public health.

Hieratics:
  A shorthand or “cursive” form of the Gujaareen written language.

Highcaste:
  The Gujaareen royal family, shunha, and zhinha. In Kisua, highcastes include the sonha and hunters.

Hipstraps:
  Straps used to hold loindrapes in place.

Hona-Karekh:
  The realm of wakefulness.

Ina-Karekh:
  The land of dreams. The living may visit this land for short periods during sleep. The dead dwell here in perpetuity.

Indethe:
  Sua word for attention/honor/love.

Inunru:
  A great and honored figure in the history of the Hananjan faith.

Jungissa:
  A rare stone that resonates in response to stimuli. Skilled narcomancers use it to induce and control sleep. All jungissa are fragments of the Sun’s seed, fallen to earth from the stars.

King:
  In Gujaareh, the most recently deceased Prince (may he dwell in Her peace forever).

Kisua:
  A city-state in the mideastern region of the continent, motherland of Gujaareh.

Kite-iyan:
  The Prince’s alternate palace, home of his wives and children.

Loindrapes:
  A garment worn primarily by men in Gujaareh, consisting of two long panels of cloth (knee-length or ankle-length) linked about the hips by straps of leather or metal chain.

Loinskirt:
  A garment worn primarily by men in Gujaareh, consisting of a knee-length wrap of hekeh or a pleated drape of linen.

Lowcaste:
  A member of any of the castes at the bottom of the Gujaareen social hierarchy. Includes farmers and servants.

Magic:
  The power of healing and dreams, used by Gatherers, Sharers, and Sisters of Hananja.