(Shadowmarch #1) Shadowmarch (112 page)

Qul-na-Qar—ancient home of the Qar or Twilight People

Raven’s Gate—entrance to Southmarch Castle’s inner keep

Redtree—an Eddon holding

Reheq-s’lai—Wanderwind Mountains

Rose Garden—at the center of the Lesser Hall, sometimes called “Traitor’s Garden”

Sailmaker’s Row—a street near the docks in Great Xis

Salt Pool—underground sea pool in Funderling Town

Sania—a country in Xand

Scented Garden—a garden in the Seclusion of Xis

Seclusion—home of the wives of the autarch

Sessio—an island kingdom in the south of Eion

Settland—small, mountainous country southwest of the March Kingdoms; ally of Southmarch

Shadowline—line of demarcation between lands of Qar and human lands

Shehen
—“Weeping,” Qar name for Yasammez’s house

Shivering Plain—site of a great Qar battle

Siege of Always-Winter—a mythical castle

Silent Hill—place behind the Shadowline

Silk Door—a place beneath Funderling Town

Skimmer’s Lagoon—body of water inside Southmarch walls, connected to Brenn’s Bay

Silverside Road—thoroughfare leading, among other places, between Southmarch and Summerfield

Southmarch—seat of the March Kings, sometimes called “Shadowmarch”

Square of Three Gods—town square in mainland Southmarch

Stonecutter’s Door—an exit from Funderling Town

Squeakstep Alley—a street in Southmarch

Summerfield Court—ducal seat of Gailon and the Tolly family

Sunken Garden—a Southmarch castle garden, Erilo’s shrine is there

Sun’s Progress Square—a plaza in Great Xis

Suttler’s Wall—a Southmarch town near the Blueshore border

Syan—once-dominant empire, still a powerful kingdom in center of Eion

Tessis—capitol city of Syan

Three Gods—a triangular plaza in Southmarch; a populous district around that plaza

Three Brothers Road—thoroughfare leading, among other places, between Southmarch and Summerfield

Tin Street—a street in Southmarch

Torvio—an island nation between Eion and Xand

Tower of Autumn—one of the four cardinal towers of Southmarch Castle

Tower of Spring—one of the four cardinal towers of Southmarch Castle; Anissa’s residence

Tower of Summer—one of the cardinal towers of Southmarch Castle

Tower of Winter—one of the cardinal towers of Southmarch castle

Tribute Hall—hall outside Briony’s bedroom passage

Tuan—native country of Shaso and Dawet

Wedge Road—Chert and Opal’s street

Wharfside—a district of mainland Southmarch

White Desert—vast desert that covers much of the center of Xand

Whitewood—a forest on the border between Silverside and Marrinswalk

Wolfstooth Spire—tallest tower of Southmarch Castle

Xand—the southern continent

Xis—largest kingdom of Xand; its master is the autarch

Astion—a Funderling symbol of authority

Blueroot—favorite Funderling tea-herb

Book of Regret
—a semi-mythical Qar artifact/text

Book of the Trigon
—a late-era adaptation of original texts about all three gods

Cloudchip—a type of crystal

Dado—a dog, raised by Briony

“Dasmet and the Girl With No Shadow”—a Xandian folktale

Days of Cooling—legendary time in Funderling history and myth

Days of the Week—in the Eionic calendar, there are three ten-day periods in each month, called “ten-nights.” Therefore, the twenty-first day of August in our calendar would be more or less the third Firstday of Oktamene. (See the explanation under “Months” for more information.)

Firstday
Sunsday
Moonsday
Skyday
Windsday
Stonesday
Fireday
Watersday
Godsday
Lastday

Demia’s Ladder—a constellation

Earth-ice—a type of crystal

Eddon Wolf—the symbol of the Eddon family (silver wolf and stars on black field)

“Ever-Wounded Maid”—a famous story

Family of Stones and Metals—a Funderling scheme of classification

Feast of the Rising—Xixian festival at the end of the rainy season

Firegold—a mineral

Fireworm—a poisonous snake

Great Death—plague that killed a large part of Eion’s population

Great Golden Piece—part of the Rooftopper’s crown jewels

Harrier—a hunting hound

Hierosoline—the language of Hierosol, found in many religious services and scientific books, etc.

History of Eion and Its Nations
—book by the historian Clemon

Horns of Zmeos—a constellation, also called the Old Serpent

K’hamao—a drink, part of Funderling ritual

Kettle—Barrick’s horse

Kloe—a cat

Kossope—a constellation

Kulikos
or
kulikos
stone—a reputedly magical object

Lastday—Funderling day of rest

Lander’s Hall—a near-mythical setting for stories of knightly adventure

“Lay of Kernios”—a famous story and song, part of the funeral service

Leaf, Singers, White Root, Honeycomb, Waterfall—Flint’s names for constellations

Lymer—a hunting hound

M’aarenol—a location, possibly a mountain, in Qar lands

Maker’s-pearl—a stone used by Funderlings for decoration

Mantis—a priest, usually of the Trigon

Meadowsweet—a common wildflower M

onths—each Eion month is thirty days long, divided into three ten-nights, with five intercalary days between the end of the year—Orphan’s Day—and the first day of the new year, also known as Firstday or Year Day. Thusly month/month correspondents are liable to differ by a few days: the first day of Trimene in Southmarch is not the exact same day as March 1 on our calendar.

Eimene—January
Dimene—February
Trimene—March
Tetramene—April
Pentamene—May
Hexamene—June
Heptamene—July
Oktamene—August
Ennamene—September
Dekamene—October
Endekamene—November
Dodekamene—December

Mordiya—Tuani for “uncle,” can be honorary or actual

Morning Star of Kirous
—Jeddin’s ship

Mossbrew—a strong Funderling drink

Neverfade—a small white wildflower

Pass-evil—hand sign made to avert bad luck

Pentecount—a troop, numbering fifty

“Perin’s great planet”—Perinos Eio, largest planet in the skies

Perinsday—a spring holiday

Podensis
—a Hierosoline ship

Procession of Penance—a holy festival

Puffkin—a cat

Quiller’s Mint—a tavern

Rack—a dog, raised by Briony

S’a-Qar—language of the Qar

Sandy—a river on the Blueshore border

Seal of War—a Qar gem, object of great importance Screaming Years—an era of Qar history

Shining Man—center of the Funderling Mysteries

Shivering Plain—a famous Qar battleground

Silver Thing—part of the Rooftopper’s crown jewels

Skyglass—Funderling name for a type of crystal

Snow—Briony’s horse

Sun’s Blood—an elixir prepared by the priest of Nushash

Vuttish longboat—a raiding boat used by Vuttish islanders in the northern ocean

Whitefire—the sword of Yasammez

Wildsong Night—a holiday evening, in the days after Winter’s Eve

Wolf’s Chair—throne of Southmarch Castle

 

A
T TIMES like this, when Pinimmon Vash had to look directly into his master’s pale, awful eyes, it was hard to remember that Autarch Sulepis had to be at least partly human.

“It will be done, Golden One,” Vash assured him, praying silently to be dismissed and released. Sometimes just being near his young ruler made him feel queasy. “Just as you say.”

“Swiftly, old man. She has tried to escape me.” The autarch’s gaze slid upward, until he seemed to be staring intently at something invisible to anyone else. “Besides, the gods . . . the gods are restless to be born.”

Confused by this strange remark, Vash hesitated. Was it something that needed to be understood and answered, or was he at last free to scurry away on his errand? Although he might be the paramount minister to Xis, the old man reflected with some bitterness, and thus in theory more powerful than most kings, he had no more real authority than a child. Still, being a minister who must jump to serve the autarch’s every whim was much better than being a
former
minister: the vulture shrines on the Orchard Palace’s roofs were piled high with the bones of former ministers. “Yes, the gods, of course,” Vash said at last, with no idea of what he was agreeing to. “The gods must be born, it goes without . . .”

“Then let it be done
now
. Or heaven itself will weep.” Despite his harsh words, Sulepis began to laugh in a most inappropriate way.

Even as Vash hurried so swiftly from the bath chamber that he almost tripped over his own intricately decorated silk robes, he found himself hoping that one of the eunuchs shaving the autarch’s long, oiled limbs had accidentally tickled him. It would be disturbing to think the man with life-and-death power over oneself and virtually every other human being on the continent had just giggled like a madman for no reason.

Partly human.
Vash reminded himself.
He must be at least partly human.
Even if the autarch’s father Parnad had also been a living god, the autarch’s mother must surely have been a mortal woman, since she had come to the Seclusion as the gift of a foreign king. But whatever the godlike (although now fairly inarguably dead) Parnad’s heritage, few mortal traits had made their way down to the son. The new autarch was as bright-eyed, remorseless, and inscrutable as his family’s heraldic falcon. Sulepis was also full of inexplicable, seemingly mad ideas, as proved by this latest strange whim—the errand on which Vash was now bustling toward the guard barracks.

As he left the guarded fastness of the Quince Court and hurried through the cavernous ministerial audience chamber at the heart of the Pomegranate Court lesser folk scattered from his path like pigeons, as frightened of his anger as he was terrified of the autarch’s. Pinimmon Vash reminded himself he should conduct a full sacrifice to Nushash and the other gods soon. After all, he was a very fortunate man—not just to have risen so high in the world, but also to have survived so many years of the father’s autarchy and this first year of the son’s: at least nine of Parnad’s other high ministers had been put to death just in the short twelve months or so of Sulepis’ reign. In fact, should he need an example of how lucky he was compared to some, Vash only had to think about the man he was going to see, Hijam Marukh, the new captain of the Leopard guards—or more to the point, think about Marukh’s predecessor, Jeddin.

Even Pinimmon Vash, no stranger to torture and execution, had been disturbed by the agonies visited upon the former Leopard captain. The autarch had ordered the entertainment conducted in the famous Lepthian library, so he could read while keeping an eye on the proceedings. Vash had watched with well-hidden terror as the living god danced his gold fingerstalls in the air in rhythm with the shrieks, as though enjoying a charming performance. Many nights Vash still saw the terrible sights in his dreams, and the memory of the captain’s agonized screaming haunted his waking mind as well. Near the end of Jeddin’s suffering, Sulepis had even called for real musicians to play a careful, improvised accompaniment to the man’s horrendous cries. At points, Sulepis had even sung along.

Vash had seen almost everything in his more than twenty years of service, but he had never seen anything like the young autarch.

How could an ordinary man know whether or not a god was mad?

 

“This makes no sense,” said Hijam.

“You are foolish to say so,” Vash hissed at him.

The officer known as “Stoneheart” allowed only a lifted eyebrow to animate his otherwise inexpressive face, but Vash could see that Hijam had realized his error—the kind that could prove fatal. Recently promoted to
kiliarch,
or captain, the squat, heavily muscled new master of the Leopards had survived countless major battles and deadly skirmishes, but he was not used to the dangers of the Xixian court, where it was to be assumed that every word would be overheard by someone and that one of those listeners either wanted or needed you dead. Hijam might have been cut, stabbed, and scorched so many times that his dark skin was covered in white stripes like a camp mongrel’s, might have earned his famous nickname by passing unmoved through the worst carnage of war, but this was not the battlefield. This was the Orchard Palace, where no man’s death came at in him from the front, or in plain sight.

“Of course,” Hijam Stoneheart said now, slowly and clearly as if for the benefit of other ears, “the Golden One must have his contest if he wills it so. But I am just a soldier and I don’t understand such things. Explain to me, Vash. What good is there in having my men fight with each other? Already several are wounded and will need weeks of healing.”

Vash took a breath. Nobody was obviously eavesdropping, but that meant nothing. “First of all, the Golden One is wiser than we are, so perhaps we are not clever enough to understand his reasons. All we can know is that they must be good. Secondly, though, I must point out to you that it isn’t your men, the Leopards, who are fighting for the honor of the autarch’s special mission, Hijam. It is the White Hounds, and although they are valuable fighters, they are only barbarians.”