The Skull Throne

KRASIAN DICTIONARY

Abban am’Haman am’Kaji: Wealthy khaffit merchant, friend to both Jardir and Arlen, crippled during his warrior training.

Ahmann asu Hoshkamin am’Jardir am’Kaji: Ahmann, son of Hoshkamin, of the line of Jardir, of the tribe Kaji. Leader of all Krasia. Believed by many to be the Deliverer. See also: Shar’Dama Ka.

Ajin’pal (blood brother): Name for the bond that forms on a boy’s first night fighting in the Maze, when he is tethered to a dal’Sharum warrior to keep him from running when the demons first come at them. An ajin’pal is considered a blood relative thereafter.

Ala: (1) The perfect world created by Everam, corrupted by Nie. (2) Dirt, soil, clay, etc.

Alagai: The Krasian word for corelings (demons). Direct translation is “plague of Ala.”

Alagai hora: Demon bones used by dama’ting to create magic items, such as the warded dice they use to tell the future. Alagai hora burst into flame if exposed to sunlight.

Alagai Ka: Ancient Krasian name for the consort to Alagai’ting Ka, the Mother of Demons. Alagai Ka and his sons were said to be the most powerful of the demon lords, generals, and captains of Nie’s forces.

Alagai’sharak: Holy War against demonkind.

Alagai tail: A whip consisting of three strips of braided leather ending in sharp barbs meant to cut deeply into a victim’s flesh. Used by dama as an instrument of punishment.

Alagai’ting Ka: The Mother of All Demons, the demon queen of Krasian myth.

Aleverak: Ancient, one-armed Damaji of the Majah tribe in Krasia. One of the greatest living sharusahk grand masters.

Amanvah: Jardir’s eldest dama’ting daughter by Inevera. Married to Rojer Inn.

Andrah: Krasian secular and religious dictator, second only to the Deliverer and Damajah.

Anoch Sun: Lost city that was once the seat of power for Kaji, the Shar’Dama Ka. Rediscovered by Arlen Bales, it was found to contain the secrets to battle warding.

Asavi: Dama’ting of the Kaji tribe. Former rival of Inevera as nie’dama’ting. Lover of Melan.

Ashan: Son of Dama Khevat and closest friend of Jardir’s during his training in Sharik Hora, Ashan is Damaji of the Kaji tribe and part of Jardir’s inner circle. Married to Jardir’s eldest sister, Imisandre. Father of Asukaji and Ashia.

Ashia: Jardir’s Sharum’ting neice. Daughter of Ashan and Imisandre. Married to Asome. Mother of Kaji.

Asome: Jardir’s second son by Inevera. Dama. Known as the “heir to nothing.” Married to Ashia. Father of Kaji.

Asu: “Son” or “son of.” Used as a prefix in formal names, as in Ahmann asu Hoshkamin am’Jardir am’Kaji.

Asukaji: Ashan’s eldest son by Jardir’s sister Imisandre, and heir to the Kaji tribe. Dama.

Baden: Rich and powerful dama of the Kaji tribe. Push’ting. Known to possess several items of hora magic.

Bazaar, Great: The largest merchant area in Krasia, located right inside the main gates. It is run entirely by women and khaffit.

Belina: Jardir’s dama’ting wife from the Majah tribe.

Bido: Loincloth worn by most Krasians under their robes, the bido is most commonly noted as the sole clothing of young Krasian boys and girls in training.

Chabbavah: Dal’ting woman killed in an attempt to be raised to Sharum.

Chin: Outsider/infidel. This word is also considered an insult, meaning that a person is a coward.

Chi’Sharum: Greenland adult men too old to go through Hannu Pash are levied and trained in the chin’sharaj. Those who pass are inducted into chi’Sharum. Generally used as fodder in combat.

Cielvah: Daughter of Abban. Raped by Hasik, leading Abban to have Hasik castrated.

Coliv: Krevakh Watcher, bodyguard to Amanvah.

Couzi: A harsh, illegal Krasian liquor flavored with cinnamon. Because of its potency, it is served in tiny cups meant to be taken in one swallow.

Crownsight: Enhanced wardsight from Crown of Kaji.

Dal: Prefix meaning “honored.”

Dal’Sharum: The Krasian warrior caste, which includes the vast majority of the men. Dal’Sharum are broken into tribes controlled by the Damaji, and smaller units answerable to a dama and a kai’Sharum. Dal’Sharum dress in black robes with a black turban and night veil. All are trained in hand-to-hand combat (sharusahk), as well as spear fighting and shield formations.

Dal’ting: Fertile married women, or older women who have given birth.

Dama: A Krasian Holy Man. Dama are both religious and secular leaders. They wear white robes and carry no weapons. All dama are masters of sharusahk, the Krasian hand-to-hand martial art.

Damajah: Singular title for the First Wife of the Shar’Dama Ka.

Damaji: The twelve Damaji are the religious and secular leaders of their individual tribes, and serve the Andrah/Shar’Dama Ka as ministers and advisors.

Damaji’ting: The tribal leaders of the dama’ting, and the most powerful women in Krasia.

Dama’ting: Krasian Holy Women who also serve as healers and midwives. Dama’ting hold the secrets of hora magic, including the power to foretell the future, and are held in fear and awe. Harming a dama’ting in any way is punishable by death.

Daylight War, the: Also known as Sharak Sun. Ancient war during which Kaji conquered the known world, uniting them for Sharak Ka.

Desert Spear, the: The Krasians’ term for their city. Known in the North as Fort Krasia.

Domin Sharum: Literally translating as “two warriors,” Domin Sharum refers to a strict ritual of single combat under Evejan law.

Draki: Krasian unit of currency.

Drillmasters: Elite warriors who train nie’Sharum. Drillmasters wear standard dal’Sharum blacks, but their night veils are red.

Enkaji: Damaji of the powerful Mehnding tribe.

Enkido: Eunuch servant and sharusahk instructor of the Kaji dama’ting. Made personal bodyguard to Amanvah, killed by a mimic demon.

Evejah, the: The holy book of Everam, written by Kaji, the first Deliverer, some three millennia past. The Evejah is separated into sections called Dunes. Each dama pens a copy of the Evejah in his own blood during his clerical training.

Evejan: Name of the Krasian religion, “those who follow the Evejah.”

Evejan law: The militant religious law the Krasians impose on chin, meant to force nonbelievers to follow the Evejah under threat rather than belief.

Everalia: Jardir’s third Kaji wife.

Everam: The Creator.

Everam’s Bounty: After Fort Rizon with its vast farmland was taken by the armies of the Deliverer in 333 AR, the city-state was renamed Everam’s Bounty to honor the Creator. It is the Krasian foothold in the green lands.

Everam’s light: Wardlight, and the ability to see otherwise invisible flows of magic using warded sight.

Fahki: Dal’Sharum son of Abban. Raised to hate his khaffit father.

Gai: Plague, demon.

Gaisahk: Form of sharusahk modified by Arlen Bales to maximize the effect of his warded flesh.

Ginjaz: Turncoat, traitor.

Greenlander: One from the green lands.

Green lands: Krasian name for Thesa (the lands north of the Krasian desert).

Hannu Pash: Literally “life’s path,” this represents the period of a boy’s life after he has been taken from his mother but before his caste (dal’Sharum, dama, or khaffit) is set. It is a period of intense and brutal physical training, along with religious indoctrination.

Hanya: Jardir’s youngest sister, four years younger than he. Married to Hasik, mother to Sikvah.

Hasik: Disgraced bodyguard to Jayan, castrated by Abban. Called Whistler because his missing tooth causes his s’s to whistle.

Heasah: Prostitute.

Hora magic: Any magic using demon body parts (bones, ichor, etc.) as a battery to power spells.

Horn of Sharak: Ceremonial horn blown to begin and end alagai’sharak.

Hoshkamin: Father of Ahmann Jardir; deceased. Also Jardir’s third son by Inevera.

Hoshvah: Jardir’s middle sister, three years younger than he. Married to Shanjat. Mother of Shanvah.

Hundred, the: The kha’Sharum and chi’Sharum warriors in Abban’s employ. Taking their name from the one hundred kha’Sharum warriors given him by Jardir, Abban has increased their numbers well beyond that.

Ichach: Damaji of the Khanjin tribe.

Imisandre: Jardir’s eldest sister, one year younger than he. Married to Ashan. Mother of Asukaji and Ashia.

Inevera: (1) Jardir’s powerful dama’ting First Wife. Kaji tribe. Also known as the Damajah. (2) Krasian word meaning “Everam’s will” or “Everam willing.”

Jamere: Abban’s dama nephew and heir apparent.

Jardir: The seventh son of Kaji, the Deliverer. Once a great house, the line of Jardir lasted more than three thousand years, slowly dwindling in number and glory until its last son, Ahmann Jardir, restored its renown.

Jayan: Jardir’s first Sharum son by Inevera. Sharum Ka.

Jiwah: Wife.

Jiwah Ka: First wife. The Jiwah Ka is the first and most honored of a Krasian man’s wives. She has veto power over subsequent marriages, and can command the lesser wives.

Jiwah Sen: Lesser wives, subservient to a man’s Jiwah Ka.

Jiwah’Sharum: Literally “wives of warriors,” these are women purchased for the great harem of the Sharum during their fertile years. It is considered a great honor to serve. All warriors have access to their tribe’s jiwah’Sharum, and are expected to keep them continually pregnant, adding warriors to the tribe.

Jurim: Kai’Sharum Spear of the Deliverer who trained with Jardir. Kaji tribe.

Kad’: Prefix meaning “of.”

Kai’Sharum: Krasian military captains, the kai’Sharum receive special training in Sharik Hora and lead individual units in alagai’sharak. The number of kai’Sharum in a tribe depends on its number of warriors. Some tribes have many, some just one. Kai’Sharum wear dal’Sharum blacks, but their night veils are white.

Kai’ting: Jardir’s mother, sisters, nieces, and Sharum daughters. Kai’ting wear a white veil with their blacks. Striking one means death or the loss of the offending limb.

Kaji: The name of the original Deliverer and patriarch of the Kaji tribe, also known as Shar’Dama Ka, as the Spear of Everam, and by various other titles. Kaji united the known world in war against demons some thirty-five hundred years past. His seat of power was the lost city of Anoch Sun, but he also founded Fort Krasia.

Kaji had three artifacts for which he was famous: (1) The Spear of Kaji—the metal spear he used to slay alagai by the thousand. (2) The Crown of Kaji—bejeweled and molded in the shape of powerful wards. (3) The Cloak of Kaji—a cloak that made him invisible to demons, so he could walk freely in the night.

Kajivah: Mother of Ahmann Jardir and his three sisters, Imisandre, Hoshvah, and Hanya. Also known as the Holy Mother. While not a trained cleric, she has great (if largely undefined) religious power among the commoners, who adore her.

Kasaad: Inevera’s father. Crippled khaffit. Former Sharum.

Kaval: Gavram asu Chenin am’Kaval am’Kaji. Drillmaster of the Kaji tribe. One of Jardir’s dal’Sharum instructors during his Hannu Pash. Killed by a mimic demon.

Khaffit: A man forced to take up a craft instead of becoming a cleric or warrior. Lowest male station in Krasian society. Expelled from Hannu Pash, khaffit are forced to dress in the tan clothes of children and shave their cheeks as a sign that they are not men.

Kha’Sharum: Able-bodied khaffit whom Jardir has made into low-skill infantry. Kha’Sharum wear tan robes, turbans, and night veils to show their khaffit status.

Kha’ting: Infertile women. Lowest female caste in Krasian society.

Khevat: Father of Ashan. Most powerful dama in Krasia.

Lifan: Bespectacled and weak-looking Sharach kha’Sharum who serves as tutor to Fahki and Shusten. One of Abban’s Hundred.

Little sisters: Inevera’s term for her sister-wives.

Lonely road: Krasian term for death. All warriors must walk the lonely road to Heaven, with temptations on the path to test their spirit and ensure that only the worthy stand before Everam to be judged. Spirits who venture off the path are lost.

Maji: Jardir’s second Majah son, a nie’dama who will have to fight Aleverak’s heir for the Majah Damaji throne.

Manvah: Mother of Inevera. Wife of Kasaad. Successful basket weaver.

Mehnding tribe: The largest and most powerful tribe after the Majah, the Mehnding devote themselves wholly to the art of ranged weapons. They build the catapults, slings, and scorpions used in sharak, quarry and haul the stones for ammunition, make the scorpion bolts, etc.

Melan: Kaji dama’ting daughter of Qeva. Granddaughter of Kenevah. Former rival of Inevera. Lover of Asavi.

New Bazaar, the: Rebuilt Great Bazaar in the outer city of Everam’s Bounty.

Nie: (1) The name of the Uncreator, feminine opposite to Everam, and the goddess of night and demonkind. (2) Nothing, none, void, no, not. (3) Prefix for Krasian children in training.

Nie’dama: Nie’Sharum selected for dama training.

Nie’dama’ting: Krasian girl who is in dama’ting training but is too young to take her veil. Nie’dama’ting are given great respect by men and women alike, unlike nie’Sharum, who are less than khaffit until they complete the Hannu Pash.

Nie Ka: Literally “first of none,” a term for the head boy of a nie’Sharum class, who commands the other boys as lieutenant to the dal’Sharum drillmasters.

Nie’s abyss: Also known as the Core. The seven-layered underworld where alagai hide from the sun. Each layer is populated with a different breed of demon.

Nie’Sharum: Literally “not warriors,” name for boys who have gone to the training grounds to be judged and set on the path to dal’Sharum, dama, or khaffit.

Nie’ting: Barren women. The lowest rank in Krasian society. Also known as kha’ting.

Night veil: Veil worn by dal’Sharum during alagai’sharak to hide their identities, showing that all men are equal allies in the night.

Oot: Dal’Sharum signal for “beware” or “demon approaching.”

Par’chin: “Brave outsider”; singular title for Arlen Bales.

Pig-eater: Krasian insult referring to khaffit. Only khaffit eat pig, as it is considered unclean.

Push’ting: Literally “false woman,” Krasian insult for homosexual men who shun women altogether. Homosexuality is tolerated in Krasia only so long as the men also impregnate women and add to their tribe.

Qasha: Jardir’s Sharach Damaji’ting wife.

Qeran: One of Jardir’s Kaji dal’Sharum drillmasters during his Hannu Pash. Later crippled, he is taken in by Abban to train his kha’Sharum Hundred. Bodyguard and advisor to Abban.

Savas: Jardir’s Mehnding dama son.

Scorpion: A Krasian ballista, the scorpion is a giant crossbow using springs instead of a bowstring. It shoots thick spears with heavy heads (stingers) and can kill sand and wind demons outright at a thousand feet, even without wards.

Shalivah: Krasian girl working at Shamavah’s restaurant in Cutter’s Hollow. Kaval’s granddaughter, whom Rojer dotes on out of guilt that her father was killed saving his life.

Shamavah: Abban’s Jiwah Ka. She speaks fluent Thesan and is assigned to oversee Abban’s operations in Hollow County.

Shanjat: Kaji kai’Sharum who trained with Jardir. Leader of the Spears of the Deliverer and wed to Jardir’s middle sister, Hoshvah. Father of Shanvah.

Shanvah: Sharum’ting niece of Jardir. Daughter of Shanjat and Hoshvah.

Sharach: The smallest tribe in Krasia, with fewer than two dozen warriors at one point. They were rescued from extinction by Jardir.

Sharaj: Barrack for young boys in Hannu Pash, much like a military boarding school. The sharaji are located around the training grounds, and there is one for each tribe. The name of the tribe is a prefix, followed by an apostrophe, so the sharaj for the Kaji tribe is known as the Kaji’sharaj. Plural is sharaji.

Sharak Ka: Literally “the First War,” the great war against demonkind the Deliverer will begin upon completion of Sharak Sun.

Sharak Sun: Literally “the Daylight War,” during which Kaji conquered the known world, uniting it in Sharak Ka. It is believed that Jardir must do the same if he is to win Sharak Ka.

Shar’dama: Dama who fight alagai’sharak in defiance of Evejan Law.

Shar’Dama Ka: Literally “First Warrior Cleric,” the Krasian term for the Deliverer, who will come to free mankind from the alagai.

Sharik Hora: Literally “heroes’ bones,” the name for the great temple in Krasia made out of the bones of fallen warriors. Having their bones lacquered and added to the temple is the highest honor that warriors can attain.

Sharukin: Literally “warrior poses,” practiced series of movements for sharusahk.

Sharum: Warrior. The Sharum dress in robes often inlaid with fired clay plates as armor.

Sharum Ka: Literally “First Warrior,” a title in Krasia for the secular leader of alagai’sharak. The Sharum Ka is appointed by the Andrah, and the kai’Sharum of all tribes answer to him and him only from dusk until dawn. The Sharum Ka has his own palace and sits on the Spear Throne. He wears dal’Sharum blacks, but his turban and night veil are white.

Sharum’ting: Female warrior, mostly used to describe Inevera’s personal guard. The chin Wonda Cutter was the first to be recognized by Jardir.

Sharusahk: The Krasian art of unarmed combat. There are various schools of sharusahk depending on caste and tribe, but all consist of brutal, efficient moves designed to stun, cripple, and kill.

Shevali: Dama advisor to Damaji Ashan.

Shusten: Dal’Sharum son of Abban. Raised to hate his khaffit father.

Sikvah: Hasik’s daughter by Jardir’s sister Hanya, and Amanvah’s personal servant. Offered to Rojer as a second bride.

Skull Throne: Made from the skulls of deceased Sharum Ka and coated in electrum, the throne is powered by the skull of a mind demon, casting a forbiddance that prevents demons from entering the inner city of Everam’s Bounty. The seat of power for Krasia’s leader.

Soli: Dal’Sharum brother of Inevera. Push’ting. Lover of Cashiv. Killed by Kasaad.

Spears of the Deliverer: The elite personal bodyguard to Ahmann Jardir, made up mostly of the Sharum from his old Maze unit.

Spear Throne: The throne of the Sharum Ka, made from the spears of previous Sharum Kas.

Stinger: The ammunition for the scorpion ballistae. Stingers are giant spears with heavy iron heads that can punch through sand demon armor on a parabolic shot.

Sunian: Artifacts from the city of Anoch Sun. Also the name of its people.

Tachin: Dama son of Jardir, Krevakh tribe.

Thalaja: Jardir’s second Kaji wife, mother of Icha and Micha.

Tikka: Grandmother (informal term of affection).

’Ting: Suffix meaning “woman.”

Tribes: Anjha, Bajin, Jama, Kaji, Khanjin, Majah, Sharach, Krevakh, Nanji, Shunjin, Mehnding, Halvas. The prefix am’ is used to denote both family and tribe, as in Ahmann asu Hoshkamin am’Jardir am’Kaji.

Undercity: Huge honeycomb of warded caverns beneath Fort Krasia where women, children, and khaffit are locked at night to keep them safe from corelings while the men fight. Still being constructed in Everam’s Bounty.

Vah: Literally “daughter” or “daughter of.” Used as a suffix when a girl is named after her mother or father, as in Amanvah, or as a prefix in a full name, as in Amanvah vah Ahmann am’Jardir am’Kaji.

Waning: (1) Three-day monthly religious observance for Evejans occurring on the days before, of, and after the new moon. Attendance at Sharik Hora is mandatory, and families spend the days together, even pulling sons out of sharaj. Demons are supposedly stronger these nights, when it is said Alagai Ka walks the surface. (2) The three nights each month when it is dark enough for mind demons to rise to the surface.

Watchers: Watchers are the dal’Sharum of the Krevakh and Nanji tribes. Trained in special weapons and tactics, they serve as scouts, spies, and assassins. Each Watcher carries an iron-shod ladder about twelve feet long and a short stabbing spear. The ladders are light, flexible, and strong. They have interconnecting ends (male/top, female/bottom), so ladders can be joined together. Watchers are so proficient they can run straight up a ladder without bracing it and balance at the top.

Zahven: Ancient Krasian word meaning “rival,” “nemesis,” or “peer.”