Foreword

In the relative quiet of a carrel niche, while positioning the long-sought volume squarely on the desk top, you notice an edge of paper extending at an odd angle from the side of the book. Gently pulling the folded paper from its long forgotten filing between a thousand or more sheets, you see that it bears writing in a cramped but practiced hand. The words open to you despite their ancient composition, explaining that on the page marked by this paper lies a clue to that place where the note’s writer cached a horde of books, now of inestimable value, stolen from this very library. Your eyes return to the giant closed volume with a newfound anguish and a regret that will never leave you. Once you remember to breathe again, you open the book which includes all entries from Aa through Az.

Pronunciation Key: A (long a = bay, lay), AY (short a = cat, sack), AH (soft a = ma, pa)

Definitions

• aahl (a-ahl); Sha. One; first.
• Aanna (a AHN nah); 1. Unkn. Sorceress affiliated with Endren’s Seven who supposedly was refused admittance into the Northwood Coven; 2. Magess who identified Jak‘s elixir of longevity in exchange for a undefined future favor.
• Acentyri (ae SEHN tihr E ah); 1. Acen. An archaic term for a confederacy of eastern kingdoms and city-states that united to resist the expansion of the Dekàli Empire into Vulmùra; 2. A collection of kingdoms that surround the Mar Acèntyri.
• acèntyryn (aeh SEHN tihr E ahn); 1. Acen. Coll. An unwelcome foreigner; a barbarian. Term originally adapted by Dekàlyr to describe any non-native Yrūn during the Occupation. Term is considered insulting in contemporary usage; 2. Common language spoken in Acèntyra.
• Acentyri Knights (ae SEHN tihr E ahn); Dek. Ðardràm Acèntyri, Acen. An ancient fraternal order of knights that travel the World to ensure that the Dekàli Empire will not rise again. Some believe that the order is comprised of undead warrior cohorts from the Second Acèntyri-Dekàli War who are locked in unholy pacts of eternal vigilance.
• Mar Acèntyri (ae SEHN tihr E ahn se); Acen. The Inner Sea.
• Acharal (AHK ahr ahl); OOð. A sword-smith of Ōddon.
• Salàn dā Adal (SAH lahn da AH dahl); Unkn. Traveling priest of Naðal that blamed Dammon Shroudson for the enslavement and torture of air spirits in the City of Oð.
• Adælya (ah DAYL yah); Dek. [The Weaver of Time] Zodiacal star-sign of the weaver. An old woman portrayed with flowing silver hair knits a tapestry draped heavily across her lap. At the bottom of the tapestry rolls a kitten named Talèis who unravels the tapestry from one end as it is woven at the other. Adælya’s origins lay within Kændàlan Feyri tales. The tales involve an elderly man who seeks out an Elve woman to turn back time so that he can save his beloved from drowning in a river, many years before. Touched by his dedication and love, Adælya searched the tapestry and pulled out a single thread that ended with blue. The man returned to the bridge and found his young beloved, standing on the bridge where she had fallen unaged. The young woman holds the old man who dies exhausted in her arms. In later renditions of the story, the woman is an old Yrūn rather than an Eylfāe.
• Ad’Anuph Shulut (AHD ah nuhf SHU lut); Shul. Cervid Shul tribe of the Telàbra Plain.
• Addiç (ahd dihch); 1. Unkn. A small god of Jædð; 2. God of Idiocy, worshipped as a protector of half-wits; sometimes viewed as a luck deity, offering good fortune to those who have no common sense.
• Adjeryx the Witch; Oðári Tales
• Adkul (AHD kuhl); Oð. (rf. Adkul)
• Adnædt (AHD naynt); Oð. (rf. Adnædt)
• Adolv (A dohlv); OOð. Ōddon sergeant that was killed in the town streets prior to the siege on Kry Ōddon.
• Agâru (ah GA-ah ru); Ort. (rf. Agâru)
• Agflet (AHG fleht); Oð. An Yrūn carpenter that lives north of Oð in the neighborhood of Toch’s Square. He injured his back several years ago, so is no longer able to work on roofs and barns. His three sons that he had raised alone following the death of his wife, all developed wanderlust and haven’t returned home to learn the family trade.
• Agnàdthæna (ahg NAHD thay nah); Dek. Lady Winter, The Elder, The Teacher. Zodiacal star sign of the teacher. An icon of the Panæði Cycle, Agnàdthæna is depicted as an ancient and cruel woman who sits with a sagely owl upon her head. Lady Winter, as she is sometimes called, is responsible for the dying world. Perhaps more interesting is the evolution within the Panæði Cycle of an infant, to a boy, to a man, and finally to an old woman. Early Dekàlans referred to Agnàdthæna as gender neutral, though later Dekàlans (9th cent. HK) referred to her (and all icons of the Panæði cycle) as hermaphrodites. She is the patron of the childless and mother of orphans. There are few that admit to being born beneath Agnàdthæna’s steely gaze. Those that are delivered then are sometimes hidden until Berl swings into the night sky.
• Ajzdèranta Boulevard (AEJZH dehr ahn tah); Unkn. The main transeptal avenue of the Leðúrēa City of Dirapzir that connects the Unknown and Leaving Gates.
• Akazjir (A kahz JIHR); OJæd. Neighborhood on the southern shore of the City of Jædð.
• Alac (AEHL ahk); Unkn. Probably the name of a mage responsible for writing the spell used by Worron to disappear (i.e., Alac’s Fading).
• Allyra; And. Any denizen of the spiritual Rings of Illyris, Celybis, or Yyrn.
• Alm (ahlm); 1. Unkn. A small god of Jædð; 2. God of farmers and harvest. It is tradition in some areas of southern Tassèrus to submit burnt offerings of thanks to Alm following every harvest; sacrifices can be crop or livestock and are brought before a graven shrine and burned. The ashes of the offerings are then brought back to one’s home and worked into the soil.
• Almper, Ozur (O zuhr AHLM puhr); OOð. A professional pick pocket of Erhet who was killed by Feyd when he and others ambushed Bugaven’s Feast and Sleep on 5 Lanal 652.
• Almris (AHLM rihs); OOð. Kavàllūn henchman sent to assess the damage done in Jaris following the Drûr 652 Tidus Nerwither incident.
• Almus of Roð (AHL muhs); Oðári Tales. OOð. Young priest of Roð that accompanied the High Lord’s search party heading from Oð into the Tor’n Evalshat, looking for the lost caravan of Tolvor in 653 DR. Deceased.
• Amánydrylurádralyth the Old (ah MAHN yhd ry luhr AHD rah lihth); Dra. First Dragul of Lanàdus.
• Amàrad (ah MAHR ahd); 1. Dek. First month of the Dekàlan calendar; 2. The first month of spring.
• Amàrænthra (AH mahr AYN thrah); Dek. An uncommon rose colored gem found in Taldàna that is associated with the Temple and worship of Amra. Crafting of the stone is regulated by the Temple to insure that Amàrænthan goods are worthy of the goddess.
• Amra (AHM rah); Dek. (rf. Amra)
• Amyrathylya (AYM yhr ay THIHL yah); Nirg. Nekruhl sword-guardian of the Telàbran Bridge circa 652 DR.
• anahl (AY nahl); 1. Eyl. An old forest. This is a reference to the idea that the old forests are all that remain of the days remembered by the most ancient of the Eylfāe. -”’ya”’ pl.; 2. Obsc. The World as it is in the daylight, based on the belief that the World is transformed by the night.
• anahla (ay NAH lah); Eyl. Of the forest.
• Anàhlāe Eylfārehl (ay NAH lah ehl VAYR ehl); Eyl. (rf. Anàhlāe Eylfārehl)
• Ancient Æzàlar (AY zah LAHR e); Trade. Precursor Æzàlari language to Dekàlan.
• Andâsh (AHN da-ahsh); Sha. Sha’al god of war. Andâsh is typically depicted with a hand-blade in each fist and a third held in the “knot” of his tail. Shrines to the war god are often built along the borders of Sha’al lands where the warriors may stop on their way to battle and patrols may find shelter.
• Andul Allyra 1. And. Favored Land of the Allyra. Ancient region encompassing most of present-day Acèntyra and the Illyri Peninsula; 2. (rf. History of the Andul Allyra Empire)
• Anðus Nor; 1. Dek. Anðus the Great (rf. Anðùs Terrud); 2. Founder of the Dekàli Empire.
• Anū Gyð (AH noo gihth); rf. Anū Gyð
• Aqolaqba Elvarel (AH kwo LAHK bah ehl VAYR ehl); Aqoq. Aquatic Elve. A long-limbed race of Eylfāe that are easily differentiated from their kin by blue to green skin, green hair, opalescent white eyes, webbed digits, and a gill ruff that flares from the jawline. The Aqolaqba Elvarel do not interact with surface races very often.
• Aqolaqbagôl (AH kwol AHK bah GO-ohl) or (AH kwol i); Aqoq. [Coll. Aqoli] Language of the Aqolaqba Elvarel. The language of the aquatic Elve is exceedingly difficult to master for non-water breathing speakers; those who have made the effort however are often well-received.
• AR; Trade. Abrev. Year(s) of Ancient Reckoning. A measure of years that preceded the establishment of the first Dekàlan High King. The AR counting of years is reversed (i.e. lower numbers are more recent) and open-ended.
• Aracen (AR ah SEHN); Acen. An Acèntyran hero of great renown for which the Vulmùran region is named.
• Aradas (AR ah dahs); Dek. A secret society (rf. sirkūlī dragàdir) of Yrūn sorcerers who claimed their magics were originally learned from Eylfāe masters. Furthermore, members of the society were believed to share traces of the immortal bloodlines. These charges are not easily supported as the group was long ago hunted and destroyed for treasonous activities leading up to and during the Occupation. The Unmaking of Aradas was the last edict given by the Council of Ildûn before its destruction.
• Aradth (ahr AHDTH); Unkn. A former region of the Old Empire that is now divided into many smaller kingdoms; the cities of Terédus and Ildûn once stood within its borders.
• Aras (AR uhs); Oð. Thief leader who tried to find Cogham’s treasure but was thwarted at the Nar Drūden ruins of Durûn’s Wall and later murdered by Jak the Red.
• Ardùwū (AHR duh wuh); rf. Ardùwū
• Argæn, Crazy (AHR gayn); Oð. A professional thug of Erhet who was killed by Kaithah and Mishara when he and others ambushed Bugaven’s Feast and Sleep on 5 Lanal 652 DR. Crazy Argæn had a reputation for impulsive behavior and violent humor.
• Argentæl (AHR gehn tayl); OOð. A stream that runs through the Silverwood and empties into the Run Telàbra.
• Argentale, Gaelyn (GA lihn AHR gehn tayl); 1. OOð. Mother of Kaithah Argentale; 2. A sorceress of Eldarkar.
• Argentale, Iahn (E aen AHR gehn tayl); 1. OOð. Father of Kaithah Argentale; 2. Retired ranger who settled along the Argentale near Eldarkar.
• Argentale, Kaithah (KA thah AHR gehn tayl); OOð. Member of the Oðári Tales (rf. Kaithah). She was buried in the Bald Hill near Eldarkar.
• Argud (AHR guhd); 1. Dek. A legendary fisherman who could catch anything in the water. Argud lived in a village called Nantak which was swept into the sound centuries ago. One story relates how Argud’s line got hooked onto a galley, and he single-handedly was able to keep the galley from rowing to sea. Legends state that Argud’s pole and line were crafted by Ðurkan the Apprentice; 2. A small Oðic fishing town along the western shore of Argud’s Sound.
• Argud’s Sound (AHR guhd); Oð. A deep body of water that separates the Lord’s Island from the mainland. The western shore of the sound is lined with prosperous fishing villages. It is named for the ancienDat fisherman Argud.
• Argum the White (AHR guhm); 1. Murd. (412-785 HK) An old Dwürden King of Nurumwar Gurm who was buried at Krysurgörnn circa 785 HK. His body was disturbed in Orid 653 DR at the direction of Dammon Shroudson who sought the magical aura of Argum’s shield; 2. Argum was known for his great age and wise rulership as well as his tireless battling with the Ortor of the Tor’n Evalshat. His epithet referred to his beard which turned snow white early in his years. Argum’s only son Guum, is seen through history’s eyes as something of wastrel and coward.
• Arkirun (AHRK ih run); Unkn. An ancient city of unknown provenance, hidden in the frozen north of Teréðor. Mishara Mythdaras and other travelers were led to the ancient walls of this forgotten place to restore health to a dying Sōlàhrāe Eylfārehl named Mar’yeel within the roots of Dru’Irigrim. Arriving at the city, the travelers soon discovered that it was populated entirely by Gru.
• Arnèsya (AHR nehs yah); Kæn. Mad Kændàlan general who marched his army into the mountains where they froze to death in the high winter passes; An opera of the same name that explains the story of Arnèsya through the dreams and ravings of the mad general.
• Aroán of Drāūn; Oðári Tales. (rf. Aroán of Drāūn)
• Arren (AHR rehn); Oð. A thin man with a long black ponytail that attacked Kaithah Argentale on Temple Square on 23 Tolth 652. Mishara Mythdaras killed the would-be assassin after pelting him with arrows despite a circling crowd. Kaithah retrieved an angel medallion from her attacker’s neck.
• Artana (ahr TAH na); OOð. Member of the Vullinshrith Cabal.
• Arven Dor (AHR vehn dohr); Dek. New year’s day. A festival day set-aside for celebrating the arrival of the new year in many area’s of the Old Empire. The first day of Spring is usually marked by drinking, feasting, dancing, and marriages (for those unsure of their exact birth-dates).
• aryllym (AR ihl lehm); OOð. A missionary that represents a Dekàlan Temple or Order. Aryllym usually refers a wandering priest of Roð.
• Telmèrya Asálāyd; (rf. Telmèrya Asálāyd)
• Ash (azh); 1. Dir. Dirimoran god of everything. Ash is commonly depicted as an old bearded male figure dressed as a king, holding an orb in his right hand and a tree in his left. Sometimes the orb is a mapped globe, other times it appears to be a star chart; 2. Unkn. A small god of Jædð. It is unclear whether the graven Ash of Jædð is in anyway related to the one god of Dirimor. Both gods are viewed as almighty but neither have specific spheres of influence.
• Asmural, Cadalya (ka DAHL yah AYZ muhr ahl); Tirg. Old Anàhlāen wizard that accompanied Mishara Mythdaras to the City of Nazhalyr. Deceased.
• aspect; Trade. A divine servant or representative to a Dekàlan deity (rf. Aspects)
• Assembled, The; Trade. Abominable flesh constructs magically created through the assembly of incongruent parts from other creatures. A community of Assembled led by the terrible Uruss were found by Jak the Red.
• Asylsylth’s Inn (a SIHL sihlth); OOð. A corner inn among the dark streets Tormòlis (rf. Oðári Tales).
• Atanee, Sister (ah TAHN E-eh); Oð. A member of the Melàdran sisterhood of Eldra who along with Brother Timius assisted Dammon Shroudson and Jak the Red into the Lower Streets of Oð.
• Ættràkar the Artificer (AYT trah kahr); Dek. (rf. Ættràkar the Artificer)
• Audar (AUH dahr); Dek. A Dekàlan silver piece. –a pl.
• Āúla the First, High Queen (a UHL ah); ALan. First High Queen of Dekàlas, second monarch of the high throne. Āúla is famous for overthrowing and reforming the Council of Lanàdus after the priests’ attempted coup following the death of her husband. Āúla founded the Council of War, the first Dekàlan body to decentralize the balance of power within the empire.
• Aunda (a UHL ah); Oð. Thief of uncertain allegiances who is believed to have escaped the Cænden Massacre. Aunda is allegedly responsible for the torture and murder of several Cænden residents including Cogham, Carad Farsh, and Jak the Elder.
• Aurad (AUR ahd); OOð. An Oðic silver coin; based on the Dekàlan Audar.
• Avahrlyn (ayhv AHR lihn); Tirg. (rf. Town of Avahrlyn)
• Awlyn (AHW lihn); Pald. A musician and the wife of Falkwell the traveling musician; one of Falkwell’s Players.
• Aylyrea (AYHL ihr ah); Ayl. Traditional name for the island of Ildûn.
• Aylyréar; 1. Ild. A general hero of Ælyra; 2. Paldòr Batrūlan’s ship that was overtaken by the Lōyōlīyeð on 6 Tolð 653 DR.
• Azal (ayz AHL); AÆza. Ancient region of the northern Esh, home to the Azali.
• Azali (ayz AHL e); AÆza. Early Tassèri stone age people, predecessors to the Æzàlaran.