Waterfire Saga, Book One: Deep Blue (A Waterfire Saga Novel) (27 page)

M
Y HEARTFELT THANKS
to Stephanie Lurie, Suzanne Murphy, Jeanne Mosure, and the whole Disney team for introducing me to Sera and the gang; to Steve Malk for being the most wonderful agent an aut
hor could ask for; and to my mother, Wilfriede; my husband, Doug; and my daughter, Daisy, for their love and encouragement, and for always, always being there for me.

A
BBADON
an immense monster, created by Orfeo, then defeated and caged in the Antarctic waters

A
CQUA
B
ELLA
a village off the coast of Sardinia

A
CQUA GUERRIERI
Miromaran soldiers

A
HADI
, E
MPRESS
the female ruler of Matali; Mahdi’s mother

A
LÍTHEIA
a twelve-foot, venomous sea spider made out of bronze, combined with drops of Merrow’s blood. Bellogrim, the blacksmith god, forged her, and the sea goddess Neria breathed life into her to protect the throne of Miromara from any pretenders.

A
MĂGITOR
Romanian word for
deceiver

A
MPHOBOS
the language spoken by amphibians

A
NARACHNA
Miromaran word for
spider

A
PĂ PIATRĂ
an old Romanian protection songspell that raises water ten feet high and then hardens it into a shield

Ā
PARĀDHIKA
Matali word for
criminals

A
PATEÓN
Greek word for
deceiver

A
QUABA
a mer village near the mouth of the D
u
n
ă
rea
river

A
RATA
a spell that allows its caster to manifest in a chosen location

A
RMANDO
C
ONTORINI
duca di Venezia, leader of the Praedatori (a.k.a. Karkharias, the Shark)

A
STRID
teenage daughter of Kolfinn, ruler of Ondalina

A
TLANTICA
the mer domain in the Atlantic Ocean

A
TLANTIS
an ancient island paradise in the Mediterranean peopled with the ancestors of the mer. Six mages ruled the island wisely and well: Orfeo, Merrow, Sycorax, Navi, Pyrra, and Nyx. When the island was destroyed, Merrow saved the Atlanteans by calling on Neria to give them fins and tails.

A
VA
teenage mermaid from the Amazon River; she is blind but able to sense things

A
VARUS
Lucia Volerno’s pet scorpion fish

B
ABA
V
RĂJA
the elder leader—or
obârşie
—of the Iele, river witches

B
ABY
Ava’s guide piranha

B
ACO
G
OGA
captor of Serafina and Neela, in league with Traho

B
ARICADĂ
a strong blocking spell

B
ARRENS OF
T
HIRA
the waters around Atlantis, where the Opafago live

B
ARTOLOMEO
, C
ONTE
the oldest and wisest of Regina Isabella’s ministers

B
ASTIAAN
, P
RINCIPE
C
ONSORTE
Regina Isabella’s husband and Serafina’s father; a son of the noble House of Kaden from the Sea of Marmara

B
AUDEL’S
the songpearl shop where Becca works as a spellbinder

B
ECCA
a teenage mermaid from Atlantica

B
EDRIEËR
one of three trawlers that Rafe Mfeme owns

B
IANCA DI
R
EMORA
one of Serafina’s ladies-in-waiting

B
IBIC
Romanian word for
darling

B
ILAAL
, E
MPEROR
the male ruler of Matali; Mahdi’s father

B
ING-BANG
a Matalin candy

B
IOLUMINESCENT
a sea creature that emits its own glow

B
LOODBIND
a spell in which blood from different mages is combined to form an unbreakable bond and allow them to share abilities

B
LOODSONG
blood drawn from one’s heart that contains memories and allows them to become visible to others

B
LU
, G
RIGIO, AND
V
ERDE
three Praedatori who help Neela and Serafina escape Traho

B
ORU
long, thin herald trumpets

C
ABALLABONG
a game involving hippokamps, similar to the human game polo

C
ADAVRU
living human corpses, devoid of a soul (see also
R
OTTERS
). The Iele use them as sentries.

C
ANTA MAGUS
one of the Miromaran magi, the keeper of magic (
MAGI
, pl.)

C
ANTA MALUS
darksong, a poisonous gift to the mer from Morsa, in mockery of Neria’s gifts

C
ANTA MIRUS
special song

C
ANTA PRAX
a plainsong spell

C
ARCERON
the prison on Atlantis. The lock could only be opened by all six talismans. It is now located somewhere in the Southern Sea.

C
ASSIO
god of the skies

C
ERULEA
the royal city in Miromara, where Serafina lives

C
HILLAWONDA
a Matalin candy

C
IRCE
a witch who lived in ancient Greece

C
LEPIO
a malus spell used for stealing

C
LIO
Serafina’s hippokamp

C
ONCH
a shell in which recorded information is stored

C
ONFUTO
a canta prax spell that makes humans sound insane when they talk about seeing merpeople

C
ONTE
O
RSINO
Miromara’s minister of defense

C
ONVOCA
a songspell that can be used for summoning and communicating with people

C
OSIMA
a young girl from Serafina’s court; nickname: Coco

C
URRENSEA
mer money; gold trocii (trocus, sing.), silver drupe, copper cowries; gold doubloons are black market currensea

D
AÍMONAS TIS
M
ORSA
demon of Morsa

D
AVUL
bass drums made out of giant clamshells, played with whalebone sticks

D
EATH RIDERS
Traho’s soldiers, who ride on black water horses

D
EFLECTO
a songspell that casts a protective shield

D
EMETER
the ship that Maria Theresa, an infanta of Spain, was sailing on when it was lost in 1582 en route to France

D
EPULSIO
a songspell that moves objects

D
ESIDERIO
Serafina’s older brother

D
EVIL’S
T
AIL
a
protective thorn thicket that floats above Cerulea

D
OKIMÍ
Greek word for
trial
;
a ceremony in which the heir to the Miromaran throne has to prove that she is a true descendant of Merrow by spilling blood for Al
í
theia, the sea spider. She must then songcast, make her betrothal vows, and swear to one day give the realm a daughter.

D
OLPHEEN
the language spoken by dolphins

D
RACDEMARA
the language spoken by catfish

D
UCHI OF
V
ENEZIA
created by Merrow to protect the seas and its creatures from terragoggs

E
JDERHA
Turkish for
dragon

F
EUERKUMPEL
goblin miners, one of the Kobold tribes, who channel magma from deep seams under the North Sea in order to obtain lava for lighting and heating

F
ILOMENA
Duca Armando’s cook

F
LĂCĂRI
a songspell to summon waterfire

F
OSSEGRIM
one of the Miromaran magi, the liber magus, the keeper of knowledge

F
RAGOR
the storm god

F
RAGOR LUX
a songspell to cast a light bomb

F
RESHWATERS
the mer domain in rivers, lakes, and ponds

G
ÂNDAC
a bug that is planted near a person or thing that a songcaster wants to observe; it catches and holds the ochi spell

H
ABEO
a malus spell used to take control of another’s mind or body

H
IPPOKAMPS
creatures that are half horse, half serpent, with snake-like eyes

H
ÖLLEBLÄSER
goblin glassblowers, one of the Kobold tribes

I
ELE
river witches

I
LLUMINATA
a songspell to create light

I
LLUSIO
a spell to create a disguise

I
NCANTA
(
INCANTI
, pl.) river witch

I
NCANTARIUM
the room where the incanta—river witches—keep Abbadon at bay through chanting and waterfire

I
RON
repels magic

I
SABELLA
, L
A
S
ERENISSIMA
R
EGINA
Miromara’s ruler; Serafina’s mother

J
ANIÇARI
Regina Isabella’s personal guard

J
ANTEESHAPTA
a Matalin candy

K
ALUMNUS
a member of the Volnero family who tried to assassinate Merrow

K
ANJAYWOOHOO
a Matalin candy

K
ARKHARIAS
“the Shark,” or leader of the Praedatori

K
OBOLD
North Sea
goblin tribes

K
OLEGIO
the mer equivalent of college

K
OLFINN
Admiral of the artic region, Ondalina

K
OLISSEO
a huge open-water stone theater in Miromara that dates back to Merrow’s time

L
AGOON
the waters off the human city of Venice, forbidden to merfolk

L
AVA GLOBE
a light source, lit by magma mined and refined into white lava by the Feuerkumpel

L
ENA
a freshwater mermaid—and the owner of several catfish—who hides Serafina, Neela, and Ling from Traho

L
IBER MAGUS
one of the Miromaran magi; the keeper of knowledge

L
ING
a teenage mermaid from the realm of Qin; she is an omnivoxa

L
IQUESCO
a songspell that liquefies objects

L
OQUORO
a songspell that
enables a mer to temporarily understand another creature’s language

L
UCIA
V
OLNERO
one of Serafina’s ladies-in-waiting; a member of the Volnero, a noble family as old—and nearly as powerful—as the Merrovingia

M
AGDALENA
one of the Iele, or river witches, who helps the mermaids master their magic

M
AGNITIS
a songspell that allows the caster to attract something like a magnet

M
AHDI
crown prince of Matali; Serafina’s betrothed; cousin of Yazeed and Neela

M
ALACOSTRACA
huge crayfish that guard the entrance to the Iele’s caves

M
ARKUS
T
RAHO
, C
APTAIN
leader of the Death Riders

M
ATALI
the mer realm in the Indian Ocean. It started as a small outpost off the Seychelle Islands and grew into an empire that stretches west to the African waters, north to the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, and east to the shores of Malaysia and Australia.