Kelly McCullough

Oh hey, I’ve been meaning to post this for forever. Due to production errors the glossary for Drawn Blades was incomplete. So, belatedly, here are the missing terms:

Ancubonite—An Asavi-made poison, among the deadliest in the world.

Arimandro Tree—An enormous semi-tropical hardwood native to the Sylvani Empire.

Asavi—Tiny Others living in miniature cities within the Sylvani Empire. Allied with air.

Buried Gods—Undead sorcerer gods of the Others, bound into the earth by the forces of Heaven after the godwar.

Calren the Taleteller—God of beginnings and first Emperor of Heaven.

Castelle Filathalor—A fortress erected atop the tomb of The Changer.

City Understairs—One of the greatest of the Asavi cities. Located under the grand stairs in Sylvas.

Cobble-runners—A gang in the Stumbles.

Darksight—One of the terms used by the Blades to describe the sense that they borrow from their Shade companions.

Disquisition, the—The Sylvani Imperial authority associated with the nuliphate. The Disquisition is tasked with stamping out any rising of the buried gods and the elimination of their cultic followings.

Dorak-ki—Durkoth term. A throne of earth tied into the elemental energy flows of earth and stone.

Durkothi—The language of the Durkoth.

Dyad—A binary entity made up of a human sorcerer and their familiar fused into a single consciousness.

Eight Major Elements, The—Light, shadow, earth, air, water, fire, death, and life. Only the first seven are known to have corresponding elementals.

Fallows, The—The strip of land that runs on either side of the Wall of the Sylvain. God-magic prevents any construction from happening there.

Fathudor—Durkoth word for the sense-of-stone.

Filathalor—A beast of the Sylvain, more or less a cross between a tiger and a boar.

Fiver—A Magelander coin—literally a fifth of a broken kalend.

First—The word the Others use to describe themselves.

God-sniffer—A type of Sylvani mage trained to smell out god-magic.

Godwar—The war between Heaven and those among the Others who sought to rival them.

Grays—The traditional garb of the blade. Usually consists of low boots, flowing pants, a loose shirt, and a yoke and cowl, all dyed in an abstract pattern of dark grays. In colder weather a poncho is added.

Gutterside—The world of the slums.

Hasheth—A Durkoth word for cursed. Usually refers to weapons touched by the power of the buried gods.

Hasheth-ctark—A sort of spell-stone used by the Uthudor of the Durkoth to encyst a curse.

Heaven—The land of the gods, ruled by the Emperor of Heaven.

Heaven’s Reach—The temple kingdom ruled over by the Son of Heaven.

Heaven’s Shadow—The name the Son of Heaven has given to his organization of Blade traitors. Their grays are slightly red tinted.

Hierarch—A rank in the Sylvani anti-priesthood of the nuliphate. (Rank is denoted on badge by shield pips.)

Iander—One of the Blades who went over to the Son of Heaven.

Illiana—A Master Blade, killed in a suicide attack at the fall of the temple, one that ended the life of the then-Signet.

Inkathiq—Durkoth word for an unbroken chain of earth energy.

Ishka-ki—Durkoth oath.

Grave Tree—A burial tradition of the Sylvani in which a very long lived breed of tree is planted to mark the graves of their fallen.

Kalend—A Magelander coin, roughly equivalent to the Zhani riel.

Key of Sylvaras—A mythical item associated with the god Sylvaras.

Kothmerk—The original signet ring of the first King of the Durkoth.

Kreyn—The oldest branch of the Others. They live in forest enclaves within the Sylvani Empire. Allied with shadow.

Krith—A Durkoth word for a cave dwelling.

Krithak, Dame—A Durkoth Uthudor.

Kyrissa—A Shade, familiar to Siri. Takes the form of a winged serpent.

Liess—A Shade, familiar of Sharl.

Lin-hua—A Zhani game of chance involving tiles.

Mabung—One of the Blades who went over to the Son of Heaven.

Malora—A master Blade slain by the Hand of Heaven several years after the fall of the Temple.

Maryam—A onetime journeyman Blade.

Milkstone—A white stone similar to alabaster.

Mouse Gates—Magical gates that allow full sized people to enter the miniature cities of the Asavi.

Nuliphate—An institution of the Sylvani Empire. Essentially an official anti-religion that arose as a response to the godwar and its aftereffects. Equally against the buried gods and the forces of Heaven.

Oaken Throne—The seat of the High King of the Kreyn.

Olen—A master Blade who taught Aral.

Olthiss—A Shade.

Omira—A onetime apprentice Blade, once one of Faran’s closest friends.

Oyani—Zhani term of respect denoting outland nobility.

Parsi—One of the Blades who went over to the Son of Heaven.

Patiss—A Shade, familiar of Master Urayal.

Ping-slick-fingers—A professional gambler in Tien.

Pol—A master Blade, long since dead.

Rakshifthra the Changer—A buried god who sometimes takes the shape of a filathalor. Once of the Kreyn.

Rapportomancer—A person with the familiar gift but no mage gift.

Roric—A onetime journeyman Blade, Avarsi by birth.

Scent-breaker—A charmed fan used to prevent hounds or other smell hunters from catching a scent.

Seldan, Dukes of—Varyan nobles, two of whom were executed by Jax.

Shekat—Durkoth word for the soul, which they see far more clearly than they do faces.

Shekatudor—Durkoth word meaning the soul of the stone.

Smoldering Flame, The—A buried god. Once one of the Durkoth.

Ssalassiss—A Shade, familiar to Iander. Takes the form of a miniature elephant.

Ssassisshatha—A Shade word denoting identity or, soul signature.

Sshssithssha—A Shade word denoting a sort of path through shadow.

Ssissathshta—A Shade curse.

Ssolvey—A Shade, familiar to Roric. Takes the form of an enormous six-legged badger.

Ssuma—A Shade, familiar to Illiana.

Stirby—A freshwater fish common in Zhan.

Sunrunning—Blade slang for maintaining a shroud in bright daylight.

Sword-Rig—An arrangement of leather straps and blackened steel D-rings that allows a Blade to attach their swords and other tools in a variety of configurations.

Sylvani—The Others who populate the Sylvani Empire south of the eleven kingdoms. Allied with the element of light.

Sylvaras—First emperor of the Sylvain and greatest of the gods who rose from the First. Allied himself with Heaven in the godwar.

Sylvas—Capitol of the Sylvani Empire.

Tamerlen—A Master Blade killed in the fall of the temple.

Thera—A Master Blade killed in a magical experiment.

Thiess—A Shade, familiar to Javan. Takes the shape of a huge horned owl.

Thuroq—A Durkoth envoy (or speaker).

Tolar—A branch of the Others living within the Sylvani Empire, mostly in the wastes. Allied with fire.

Truevelyn—A word the buried gods use to refer to their disciples.

Tunnelworm—A sort of earth elemental that bores passages large enough for people to walk in.

Ulriss—A Shade, familiar to Leyan.

Urayal—A Master Blade, killed in an attempt on Ashvik.

Ussiriss—Shade to Kaman.

Uthudor—A Durkoth scholar of the earth.

Vadric Poetry—An Aveni form of epic poetry.

Veira—A Master Blade, killed after the fall of the temple.

Velyn—A Sylvani word for Otherkind.

Vrass—A Shade, familiar to Maryam. Takes the form of a hydra.

Wall of the Sylvain—Or simply the wall. A giant magical warding in the shape of a five thousand mile wall. Built by the forces of Heaven to bind the buried gods and the magic-using Others into the lands of Sylvani Empire.

Wind-Carpet—An enchanted rug designed to capture the attention of the great air elementals who live in the upper winds. Has to be launched from at least a mile above the ground.

Zissatha—A Shade, familiar to Parsi. Takes the form of a giant rat.