The Maelstrom

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE/GLOSSARY

This guide is to help readers pronounce some of the more challenging names and terms found in the Tapestry. Many of the words are of Irish origin, while others are simply the author’s own creations. Some nuances have been sacrificed in the name of simplicity, and this should not be interpreted as a scholarly work on Irish pronunciation.

Name/Term (Pronunciation) Definition

Atropos (AH-truh-pos) Among the three Greek Fates, Atropos cut the thread of life; the name was adopted by an assassin guild known for its ruthlessness and fanaticism

Bragha Rùn (BRAH-ga ROON) “The Red Death”; Max McDaniels’s alias in Prusias’s Arena

Brugh na Boinne (BROO na BOYNE) “On the Boyne”; a river in Ireland

Caillech (KAI-luh) “Crone”; the name Deirdre Fallow gives herself when she meets Max McDaniels and David Menlo in the Sidh

Cúchulain (KOO-hull-in) The Hound of Ulster; an Irish hero who was the son of the deity Lugh and a mortal woman

daemona (DAY-moan-uh) The demons’ preferred term for their kind; one that classifies their spiritual essence without automatic association with evil

Emain Macha (EV-in MA-ha) The royal seat of Ulster, northernmost of Ireland’s four ancient kingdoms

Emer (AY-ver) The wife of Cúchulain; also the name of Elias Bram’s daughter

gae bolga (GAY BULL-gah) Cúchulain’s spear, which was forged anew by Max McDaniels and the Fomorian. Its strike is almost always fatal; its wounds never heal.

grylmhoch (GRILLM-hoke) A massive, amorphous creature of unknown origins that Max encounters in Prusias’s Arena

koukerros (koo-KERR-os) The transformation that occurs when a demon has consumed enough souls to become a higher order of spirit

Lugh (LOO) A sun deity; High King of the Tuatha Dé Danaan, who slew Balor of the Fomorians. Lugh is the father of both Cúchulain and Max McDaniels.

malakhim (MAL-ah-keem) Fallen spirits that wear obsidian masks and serve the demon Prusias

médim (MAY-deem) Ritualized contests that mark important demonic gatherings; the contests include alennya (arts of beauty), amann (arts of blood), and ahülmm (arts of soul)

mehrùn (meh-ROON) Demonic word used to classify humans who can use magic

Morrígan (MOH-ree-gan) A Celtic war goddess whose willful and terrifying essence comprises the gae bolga

Rodrubân (ROD-roo-vaan) Lugh’s castle and lands within the Sidh

Scathach (SKAW-thah) A warrior maiden originally from Scotland (Isle of Skye) who has trained many heroes, including Cúchulain and Max McDaniels

Sidh (SHEE) A hidden realm home to the Tuatha Dé Danaan and other magical beings

Solas (SUH-las) Mankind’s greatest school of magic; destroyed by Astaroth in 1649

Tuatha Dé Danaan (TOO-ha DAY DAN-ahn) The Children of Danu; a race of divine beings that conquered the Fomorians and ruled Ireland before departing for the Sidh

Túr an Ghrian (THOOR un GREE-un) The highest tower at Solas, where the Gwydion Chair of Mystics resided