Elven Star (Margaret Weis) читать бесплатно онлайн полную версию книги (ч. notes)

1

The Lord of the Nexus, History of the Patryns Following the Destruction of the World.

2

Excerpt from the private diaries of the Lord of the Nexus.

3

Haplo, Pryan, World of Fire, vol. 2 of Death Gate journals.

4

Made from a compound of calcium deposits taken from the bones of dead animals and processed with other organic elements to form a pliable paste.

5

Elven society in Equilan regulates time as follows: one hundred minutes to an hour, twenty-one hours in a cycle, fifty cycles to a season, and five seasons to a year. Time measurement varies from place to place on Pryan, according to the local weather conditions. Unlike the planet Arianus, where there is day and night, the sun never sets on Pryan.

6

A winged fowl of the segrouse family used for long-distance communication. A faultless, once properly trained, will fly unerringly between two points.

7

The medium of exchange of Equilan. It is a paper equivalent of stones, which themselves are extremely rare, being found generally only at the very bottom of the world.

8

Lodestone.

9

The thickness of moss used to cover elven dead.

10

The darktime is not truly dark in terms of night falling. It refers to the time during the cycle when shades are drawn and proper people go to sleep. It is also the time, however, when the lower, “darker” levels of the city come to life, and so has developed a rather sinister connotation.

11

Seasons on Pryan are named according to the cycle of the crops: Rebirth, Sowing, Younglife, Harvest, Fallow. Rotation of crops is a human concept. The humans, with their skill in elemental magic as opposed to the elven skill in mechanical magic, are much better farmers than the elves.

12

A plant whose perpetually flowering petals curl each cycle in rhythm with the weather cycle. All races use the plant to determine the hours of the day, though each race knows them by a different name. Humans use the actual plant itself, whereas elves have developed magical mechanical devices to mimic its motion.

13

Originally a child’s toy known as a bandalore, the raztar was made into a weapon by the elves. A round case that fits snugly in the palm holds seven wooden blades attached to a magical spindle. A coiled length of cutvine, wrapped around the spindle, is looped around the middle finger. A quick Scfc of the wrist sends the spindle lashing out, blades magically extended. Another flick pulls the weapon, blades shut, back into the hand. Those skilled in the art can send the weapon out as far as ten feet, the flashing blades ripping through flesh before the opponent knows what’s hit him.

14

Moss beds that grow in the very tops of the gigantic jungle trees.

15

The eleven army is divided into three branches, the Queen’s Guard, the Shadowguard, and the City Guard. The Shadowguard keep to the lower regions of the city and are presumably adept at dealing with the various monsters that dwell beneath the moss plains.

16

Anciently, in the Labyrinth, a person’s age was calculated by how many Cites he or she had passed in the attempt to escape. This system was later standardized by the Lord of the Nexus to enable him to keep accurate records regarding the Patryn’s population. A person emerging from the Nexus is questioned extensively and, from what details he or she provides, an age is determined and assigned to them by their lord.

17

A gigantic spider with a shelled body, the tyro has eight legs. Six are used for tree and web climbing, the two front legs each end in a clawed “hand” that is used for lifting and manipulation. Cargo is mounted on the back of the thorax between the leg joints.

18

Ice does not occur naturally in any of the known lands of Pryan. It came into common use after its discovery through human magical experiments on weather. Ice is one of the few products made by humans that is in demand in elven lands.

19

Peytin, Matriarch of Heaven. The elves believe that Peytin created a world for her mortal children. She appointed her eldest twin sons, Om and Obi, to rule over it. Their younger brother, San, become jealous and, gathering together the greedy, warlike humans, waged war against his brothers. This war sundered the ancient world. San was banished below. The humans were cast out of the ancient world and sent to this one. Peytin created a race known as elf and sent them to restore the world’s purity.

20

Elven word, meaning “boss.”

21

candy, the elven expression for someone passing fiction off as the truth, is a human concoction much loved by elves, who are extremely fond of sweets. The candy tastes quite delicious but eating too much can have dim consequences on elven digestive systems.

22

Human measure of time, equal to a fortnight.

23

Firebrand—a length of wood soaked in resin that flames quickly when the proper rune is spoken.

24

A word used by both Sartan and Patryn to designate those of the “lower” races—human, elf, and dwarf. Applies to all equally.

25

A navigational device developed by the Quindiniars. A sliver of ornite is suspended in a tiny globe of magically enhanced glass. Because ornite always points a certain direction (believed by elven astrologers to be a magnetic pole), this direction is labeled norinth. The other directions are determined from that point.

26

An extremely large, squirrellike animal that can bound swiftly over flat plains on all fours or can glide from treetop to treetop, utilizing a winglike flap of skin, connecting its front and hind legs.

27

Without any means to navigate, exploration was extremely hazardous because the odds were slim that a person leaving one place would ever find his way back to it.

28

Labyrinth takes its toll on those imprisoned there. Those Patryns who are driven insane by the hardships are known as “gatecrashers” due to the peculiar form the madness took, leading all its victims to run blindly into the wilderness, imagining that they have reached the Last Gate.

29

The elves are a matriarchal society; by elven law, land holdings, residence, and household goods pass from mother to eldest daughter. Businesses remain in the hands of the elven males. The house, therefore, belongs to Calandra. All the Quindiniars—including Lenthan, her father—live there by her sufferance. Elves have great respect for their elders, however, and therefore Calandra would politely term the house “her father’s.”

30

Elven for “I don’t understand.”

31

Stout beer.

32

Haplo, Pryan, World of fire, vol.2 of Death Gate journals.

33

The Fifth Realm—often called Limbo or simply the Nexus by those who are unfamiliar with its structure—is divided into three concentric regions. The outermost region is called the Nexus and is the place where the Deathgates of all realms converge. Four of the Deathgates lead to the Elemental Realms while the fifth gate leads into the Labyrinth. Beyond the Labyrinth lies the Vortex. It was in this place that the Sartan originally imprisoned the Patryns. After three millennia, the Patryns managed to escape the Vortex through the Labyrinth and gain control over the Nexus and all of its Deathgates.