Artesia Compendium

8/10/2019 Artesia Compendium

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/artesia-compendium 1/30



Being a complilation of Essays and Appendixes on the Known World, originally published as part of the rst three Artesia seriesand graphic novels and here collected for your amusement and

edication. Te material herein may also be found in full, in part, orexpanded upon as part of the histories of the Known World containedin the Artesia: Adventures in the Known WorldRoleplaying Game.

ESSAYS & APPENDIXES

A GUIDE O HE DIVINE 3HE DÜRÉANS 4

A MY H OF HE BLACK HUN ER 5 A YEAR OF HIR EEN MOONS 5DRAGON KINGS & EMPERORS 6

ALES OF HE WI CH QUEEN 7CI ADEL KING & HIGHLAND CLAN 7

ALES OF HE ISLIKLIDS 8HE WORM KING 9

PALA IA 10HE ARCANA 11

GODS & GODDESSES OF WAR 12 A BRIEF GLOSSARY 13

HE WAR IN HEAVEN 17

HE EN VIC ORIES OF ISLIK 18HE GOLDEN REALM OF AN A HAIR 19GI HWAINE, HE LAS WORM KING 20

HE WARS OF HE HRONE HIEF 22MAP OF HE KNOWN WORLD 24MAP OF HE MIDDLE KINGDOMS 26MAP OF LOS U HEDMAEL 28 ACKNOWLEDGMEN S 30SELEC BIBLIOGRAPHY 30

Artesia is © and M 1999 Mark S. Smylie. Te Book of Dooms is © and M 2003 Mark S. Smylie. Te material included herein was originapublished from 1999 to 2004 in the series Artesia, Artesia Aeld, and Artesia Are. All rights reserved. No unauthorized reproductions permitted. Any similarity to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. Permission is granted to print or photocopy this document for personal purpo



5

Q A GUIDE O HE DIVINE YHERA, QUEEN OF HEAVEN Yhera is the Goddess of Night, Queen of the Waters, and one ofthe goddesses of the Moon. She is worshipped by the DaradjanHighlanders, amongst others, as the Creatrix, the divine origin of allthat is. She is the Great Goddess of language, sovereignty, rulership,wealth, wisdom, love, fertility, protection, and war. Yhera is known bycountless names and epithets, so asYhera Cosmopeiia she is the divine World Spirit, asYhera Luna she is the Goddess of the Moon and sisterto Adjia andDjara , asYhera Chthonia she is the primordial earth andsister ofGeniché , asYhera redéa she is the protective goddess of alllife, asYhera Anath she is the goddess of war, and asYhera Invictus sheis the undefeated Queen of Victory.

GENICHÉ, QUEEN OF HE UNDERWORLDGeniché was once Goddess and Queen of the Earth, the giver of life,and, with her sisterGeteema , the mother of all withinYhera ’s creation.Te Earth was once her garden, and she ruled it as a Paradise until,in a moment of grief and anger, she abandoned the world and edinto darkness. She created the Underworld and spoke the First Law,mandating that all born of her Earth must follow her into Death. Tecause of her grief has been shrouded in mystery.

ADJIA LUNA, HE MOON HUN RESS Adjia Luna, sometimes called Adjiana , is one of the three goddesses ofthe Moon, along with her sistersYhera andDjara . She is the goddessof transformations, of birth, growth, maturity, maternity, and death.She is also the goddess of transitional places and moments – astheHuntress , she is the goddess of the space between man and animal,between culture and nature; asthe Dreamer , the giver of good visionsand dreams, the goddess of the space between consciousness andunconsciousness, the Heavens and the Earth.

DJARA LUNA Djara, sometimes known asUrgale or Morgale , is the Moon goddessof Death and Darkness; she is the queen of ghosts and dark magic,the giver of lunacy and nightmares, the keeper and revealer of secrets.Many of her dark brood serveGeniché as guardians and guides to thedead. She is most commonly worshipped like her twin sister Adjiaas the goddess of crossroads, both literal and gurative, though sheis often invoked in secret by anyone using curse magic or divinatorymagic, as she acts as an aid to both.

GE EEMA Sister toGeniché , Geteema is the monstrous Queen of the Dark Earth.She is sometimes known asthe Dragon Mother andthe Mother of theGiants , and her children includeIrré the Black Sun, Amaymon theWhisperer, Vani the Mountain King, Heth the Sea King, and manyothers. Out of jealousy she sent many of her children to destroyancient Ürüne Düré, and she herself consumed the body of AgdahCosmopeiia , after whichYhera imprisoned her in the Underworld.

AGDAH COSMOPEIIA, HE YEAR-GODTe God of the Shining Sky, Agdah Cosmopeiia is the god of theyear-cycle: the growths of spring, the harvests of the fall, and thedeprivations of the winter. Worshipped as Agdah Helios, he is theCosmos Sun, the Sun as the source of life. As Ammon Agdah he isthe Keeper of the Animals or the Household Protector, the guardianof herd and hearth, giver of fertility, luck, and household prosperity,and sometimes the lord of forests and wild animals, and as such isalmost always portrayed as having an animal’s head or horns or antlers.He taught the peoples of the world the arts of survival afterGenichéabandoned the Earth. As Agdah Cosmopeiia, he was slain byGeteema in defense of Düréa, but later restored to Heaven.

DAEDEKAMANI A son ofYhera, Daedekamani is considered by many the rst magicianand creator of the magical arts, especially alchemy; he created therst magical runes, and gifted them and the secrets of their use tomankind, particularly to his descendants amongst the ancient Golans.Daedekamani is a wanderer, and so is often considered a patron oftravelers as well as as a guide to the dead.

SEEDRÉ, GUARDIAN OF HE DEAD A son ofGeniché, Seedré was the rst to follow his mother to theUnderworld and became the Judge of the Dead. He watches over thecorporeal remains of the deceased, sendsDjara ’s daughters to guidethem on their journey, and judges them when they appear before himin the Underworld. He is sometimes calledOsidred.

ILLIKI HELIOS, HE SUN-BULLIlliki is the Sun-Bull, a son of Agdah Cosmopeiia and Ami the MorningStar. He lived for a time in Ürüne Düré, until it was lost beneath thesea. He was the father ofIslik the Divine King. He is worshippedin his guise asthe Spring Sun as the bestower of progeny and thepromoter and protector of vegetation and crops, an archetype of divinekingship; asthe Winter Sun, he is the dying god with knowledge of theUnderworld, cast from the Heavens by his half-brotherIrré the BlackSun. He was later restored, either byYhera or by his sonIslik.

IRRÉ, HE BOW-BEARER Half-brother toIlliki Helios, whom he usurped for a time, Irré is theBlack Sun, bringer of unbearable heat, drought, and the blindingintensity of both darkness and light. Irré is the bow-bearing god ofplague and re; he is the Black Goat, a god of war, struggle, disaster,disorder, the desert and the wilderness. He is often held responsiblefor illness, disease, and sudden death, and so is worshipped in apropitiatory manner to prevent or reverse such events; more positively,Irré is a protector of entrances, and so is invoked in the defense ofbuildings and cities against re and siege.

HA HHALLA Te Devouring Fire of the Sun, Hathhalla is worshipped as the lion-headed goddess of battle and vengeance. Hathhalla is the goddess ofthe Sun’s righteous strength, and atYhera ’s behest she imprisonedIrré in the Underworld after he cast down her brotherIlliki Helios. Somebelieve her to be a guise ofHalé, the Goddess of Slaughter.

AMI-AND-DIEVA, HE MORNING AND EVENINGS ARS

win daughters ofYhera, Ami and Dieva are the Maidens of Dawnand Dusk, respectively. Ami is a goddess of love, and is associated withfertility and fraternity in their more romantic and socially approvedaspects; Dieva is a goddess of sexuality, and is often associated withlicentiousness and immorality. Tey are worshipped singly, as a pair,or as the single entity Amadieva the Sun Maiden (the strong sun of themorning and the weak sun of the evening).

ISLIK, HE DIVINE KINGIslik is a demigod son ofIlliki Helios, the Sun-Bull. He was the rstof the Illian Dragon Kings, the founder of the Sun Court, and ruled

as King of the Earth. After his father was cast down byIrré, Islikwas usurped byIshraha the Rebel,who cast him into exile. Afterwandering the world for 21 years, he returned to reclaim his throne,and after imprisoning Ishraha in the Underworld, Islik ascendedto the Heavens and became King of both Heaven and Earth. Hisworshippers believe that rather than descending toGeniché ’sUnderworld, they ascend to the Heavens to Islik’s Palace after they die.

AGALL Agall is a demigod son of Agdah Cosmopeiia. Equally famous for hisconsiderable temper as for his strength and courage, he is worshippedas the First Hero. Te Sacker of Cities, he fought alongsideGeteema ’schildren at the destruction of Ürüne Düré. Tough already old, he joinedIslik in exile as the Black Sail, and helped him regain his throne.

HE GORGONÆ: MOGRAN, HALÉ, AND MÉDÜRETe Gorgonæ are the riple War Goddess, daughters ofDjara,worshipped singly and in combination. Mogran, the Riot Goddess,is the goddess of terror, confusion, and dissension; Halé, the Goddessof Slaughter, is the goddess of (mindless) rage and berserker fury; andMédüre, the Cunning One, is the goddess of warlike skill and heroicvalor. Tey are kept chained in the Underworld, and onlyYhera Anath or her general, Ariahavé, may set them loose. Amongst thePalatians and the Tulamites, they are known as theWargarad .



6

ARIAHAVÉ Ariahavé isYhera ’s brightest and most rebellious daughter. Known asthe Civilizer, she is the protectress of cities and citadels and their citizensand defenders; she is the patroness of civilization and its heroes. AfterGeniché abandoned the Earth, she taught the lost peoples of the worldthe arts of society -- agriculture, poetry, spinning, pottery, music, andmining. She is also the chief war goddess of the Palatians, her mostdedicated adherents.

BRAGE HE SMI HBrage, also called Abrage, Bragea, andBraphagos is the rst smith, thecreator of the arts of metal-working; he is the re-god of hearth, kiln,and foundry. He is the creator of a rune-system that bares his name,and a series of wondrous magical artifacts, some of which may still befound throughout the known world. For a time Brage lived amongstthe Düréans, and he fell in love with the Galéan QueenSurtara. Teyeloped to the Isle of Khael, and their daughters became the OracleQueens of Khael.

ACHRE A daughter ofBrage, Achre rebelled rather than undergo the ritual tobecome an Oracle Queen of Khael and lose her eyesight. She crippledBrage, drove him into the Underworld, and escaped the Isle. In herwanderings Achre was adopted by Ariahavé the Civilizer, who had beenher secret tutor on the Isle of Khael. Achre bound the great Dragonof the Pallithanes and, as the mother of Archaia, is the demi-goddessancestress of the Palatians.

ARCHAIA Te daughter of Achre, tutored by Ariahavé, Archaia is the founder ofthe city of Palatia and built its Seven Gates. She bore three daughters,Divinhrada, Vargate, and Baséa, who founded the three most ancientHouses of Palatia. With her daughters, she sailed to war againstGeteema ’s children, and was slain in defense of Düréa.

HULA A daughter ofGeniché, Tula is the demi-goddess ancestress of theTulamites, the snake-queen re-stealer who took the secrets ofmagic and civilization from the Düréans and the Otherworld for herdescendants. She and Achre dueled with both weapons and dance toa standoff, and according to some stories she performed magics thatallowed her to bear a child by Achre. Tula sailed to defend ÜrüneDüré againstGeteema ’s children, though she had herself weakened itsdefenses. She is known variously asthe Forked ongue, the Mother ofHeroes,andthe Fire-Queen.

DALL AND PULMA win daughters ofTula, Dall and Pulma were placed by Tula in the

care of Ami andDieva as infants, and they made the Heavens their rsthome. Tey used their mother’s stolen magics to bind horses, fought byher side at the sinking of Düréa, and later they returned to the Heavensand now appear as the wins constellation.

CERAM A son ofTula, Ceram is the demi-god ancestor of the Ceraics, exiledby his mother after he refused to aid the Düréans. He is called theTunderer, and his father is said to have beenIlliki the Sun-Bull,seduced by Tula in Ürüne Düré during her raid there, making him thehalf-brother ofIslik. Ceram hunted Islik and the Four Kings in Exilewhen they passed through the great deserts of the Midlands.

VANIDemi-god ancestor of the mountain-dwelling Vanimorians, Vani isthe son of Ammon AgdahandGeteema; he is often depicted as havingeither an eagle or vulture head. He is called the Mountain King, andbrings the Spring thaw. Worship of Vani spread considerably during theVanimorian dominance of the Tessid-Golan Empire, but with the riseof the Isliklids (who championIrré), his worship has largely retreatedback into the mountains.

LIGRID, HE EMP RESS A daughter ofGeteema, Ligrid is the Queen of Licentiousness andPerversity; she is often thought of as either a rival toDieva, Dieva’ssecret tutor, or even as a guise or mask of Dieva. While Dieva’s sexuality

is generally socially acceptable, Ligrid is the breaker of taboos and thecorruptor of esh and spirit.

AMAYMON, HE WHISPERER Te Prince of Intrigue and Secret Power, Amaymon is the dark rule-breaker. He is the son ofGeteemaandDaedekamani, though his fatherrejected him and denied his paternity. Amaymon is now his father’sgreatest rival and enemy. He is the god of secret knowledge, bribery,corruption, and assassins, worshipped by those who want somethingfor nothing. He counseledIrré to overthrowIlliki Helios andIshraha to begin his rebellion againstIslik the Divine King, thus beginning the War in Heaven.

ISHRAHA, HE REBEL ANGEL A demigod son ofIrré, Ishraha was a faithful general toIslik after hisascent to the Sun Trone of Illia and the creation of the rst Sun Court. After Irré cast downIlliki Helios, Ishraha led a rebellion against Islikand usurped the throne, casting Islik and his loyal followers into exile.Islik later returned to claim his rightful realm, casting Ishraha into aprison in the Underworld before ascending to the Heavens.

G HE DÜRÉANSIn the difficult years following Geniché’s abandonment of the Earth,amongst the peoples of the world wandering lost in confusion werethree tribes of the Moon’s descendants. Tey were the Améans,descended of Adjia Luna and her Companions; theNuméans, descended of Urige, daughter of Yhera Luna; and theGaléans,descended of the Gorgonæ, the triple daughters of Djara Luna. Ammon Agdah showed them how to survive in the harsh newwilderness that had overtaken Geniché’s gardens, and then Ariahavéone by one brought the three tribes across the sea to an isle. Ariahavétaught them the arts of the world, and showed them many of hermother’s secrets: beauty and magic, love and war, building andunbuilding. Tey built a great city on the isle, and planted greatgardens in its palaces. Te three tribes of the Moon named the isleÜrüne Düré (usually translated as either Mountain of Trones or Heartof Trones ), and in time they were called theDüréans.

For a thousand years, Ürüne Düré was the the greatest and mostbeautiful city on the face of the Earth, rivaled in art and learning onlyby the cities of the Gola founded byHashuwaht the First King, whereDaedekamani taught alchemy to his worshippers and descendants. TeQueens of Düréa were fabled for their wisdom, beauty, and knowledge,and men and women came from every corner of the world to learnfrom them. Te Düréans sent explorers and colonists to found citiesand build great palaces of marble and clay. Bragea the Smith came tolive in Ürüne Düré, and set up his great forge there, producing wondersfor the Düréan Queens. Illiki the Bull saw the city from the sky above,and came to live there for a time. He ruled from Ürüne Düré as theBull of Heaven, and the Düréans built temples to him wherever theirships went. After a thousand years had passed since its founding, the Queensof Ürüne Düré awoke to a bleak vision: Geteema, Goddess of the DarkEarth, had looked upon the treasures of Düréa and had been lled with jealousy, and she was sending her children to destroy it. Tis cameto pass, and an army of demigods, giants, titans, monsters and greatheroes led by a dark and ery Dragon crossed the sea to destroy theIsle and its defenders, who were led by the Düréan heroineHannathHammergreia. A great siege began, and gods and heroes from acrossthe world came to aid in its defense, but the Last Queens had alreadyforeseen their fate. For thirty-one years the siege raged, but in theend Geteema consumed Agdah Cosmopeiia and drove Illiki Heliosback into the Heavens, and her army swept triumphant over ÜrüneDüré’s great walls. Te Last Queens bade Achre of Palatia and Tulaof éthédré andOloma of Sabuta to take the last of the Düréans withthem across the sea, out of the doomed city. Te last three Queens– Néma, Queen of the Numéans,Evaka,Queen of the Galéans, andHercyna , Queen of the Améans – performed a nal enchantment andthe Isle crumbled into the waters, taking the armies of Geteema withit. Ürüne Düré was lost forever beneath the sea, and the Düréans werescattered into the world.



e A MY H OFHE BLACK HUN ER

Before the dawn of history, one amongst the Race of Men commited agrievous crime, and Geniché abandoned the Earth and withdrew intothe Underworld. Different cultures have different myths of the Crimethat ended the Age of the Gods, but most believe it was Teft, Murder,or Rape: something that was taken, rather than received as a gift. Teunknown perpretator was cursed by Geniché, Yhera, and Hathhallawith horns as a mark of his crime, and the Horned Man has been apopular scapegoat ever since. Bereft of the presence of Geniché, theEarth, once a Paradise, became a dangerous and desolate wilderness,and the creatures of the world wandered lost in confusion. Some amongst Geniché’s children chose to follow her into theUnderworld. Te rst was her sonSeedré, also called Osidred, whobecame the Judge of the Dead, appointed by his mother to greet thedead at the place of their judgment and listen to the accounts of theiraccusers, even as he awaited the arrival of the Horned Man. Manyof the spirits of the Earth followed after him, as did beasts great andsmall, and parts of the world were no longer fertile. And many ofDjara’s dark brood followed her, dark-hearted spirits who becameDeath Guides and furies, nightmares and carrion eaters, and teemed inthe darkness of the Underworld. Some of Geniché’s children stayed behind to help the peoples ofthe world in their struggle to survive their harsh new environs. Othersstayed behind to hurt them, blaming them for their mother’s decisionto abandon the Earth. One such was her youngest son, who grewangry that the world had driven his mother into exile. His brother, Ammon Agdah, had forgiven the Race of Men, and was now helpingthe lost peoples of the world to survive, but Geniché’s youngest couldnot forgive them. He looked up into the sky, and saw Hathhallasharpening her great axe, and he prayed to her for guidance. Shewhispered in his ear, and he fashioned a huge barbed spear out of anancient oak and summoned a great steed, and he began to hunt acrossthe Earth. Wherever he went, he would fall upon the lost peoples of theEarth with a great roar, taking the still-living heads of those he spearedas trophies to dangle from hooks, and casting a compulsion uponothers to make him join his vengeful quest. In time his rst name wasforgotten, and he came to be calledthe Black Hunter,and his madentourage was calledthe Wild Hunt, and they were a plague upon adesolate world. Te Wild Hunt raged across the Earth for long centuries, andone day the Black Hunter spied three tribes gathering upon an isle,and sought to hunt there. Te Wild Hunt jumped the Silver Scale Seaand landed upon the shores of Ürüne Düré, but the goddess Ariahavéleapt from the skies and drove them back across the sea, barring themfrom returning. Ariahavé taught the way to defeat the Black Hunter

to the Düréans. Tey in turn taught Achre and Tula, Ceram andOloma, King Hashuwaht and Agall together, Cewert, Surep; in time,a thousand heroes from across the world learned the way to defeat theBlack Hunter and one by one they did so, until he roared only in thedark places of the Earth where even heroes rarely went. Finally theDüréan QueenHannath Hammergreiasought him out, and thoughhe killed her once, she returned from the dead as was her wont andthe tables were turned, and the Black Hunter became the hunted. Shecaught him and banished him to the Underworld. When Geniché found her youngest son nally returned to her,she summoned Hathhalla from the Heavens, and sent Hathhalla as anemissary to her sister Yhera, to ask that her son be allowed one nightof the year to hunt upon the world. Hathhalla brought her requestto the Queen of Heaven, and after long thought Yhera relented and

commanded that the Black Hunter be loosed upon the world the nightbefore the Day of the Law, which marked the coming of Death, tohunt those that strayed from shelter. So now once a year, at the beginning of winter, the Wild Huntrides and the peoples of the world must seek shelter: behind door orgate, in house or city (protected by Ammon Agdahand Ariahavé );nearby blessed hearthstone or campre (protected by Ammon Agdah,Yhera Parage, or Ariahavé Parage ); or within a magic warding. Allothers are fair game for the Hunt. But sometimes the Wild Hunt breaks loose from theUnderworld, and rides out unannounced into the world.

N A YEAR OFHIR EEN MOONS

Tree primary calendrical systems are used throughout the Known World. Te oldest is the Düréan Lunar Calendar, which divides theyear into a cycle of thirteen full moons that appear over the courseof 364 days. Each moon cycle lasts 28 days, and is divided into fourseven-day weeks. Te Düréans marked the rst day of the year on theanniversary of the return of Ami and Dieva from the Underworld,announcing the return of Helios. raditionally, the months of the yearareFirst Moon ( Arisa-luna),Spring Moon (Nisa-luna), Axe Moon(Labra-luna),Green Moon (amaz-luna), Bull Moon ( Auros-luna),

win Moon (Diana-luna), Scarab Moon (Rab-luna),Harvest Moon(Elul-luna),Red Moon ( Marina-luna), Judgment Moon (Hannan-luna), Scorpion Moon (Urgala-luna), wilight Moon(Daradana-luna), and Last Moon ( Annua-Luna). Te Düréan Lunar Calendar is essentially the official FestivalCalendar of the Cult of Yhera, and is still used, sometimes withdifferent names, in Khael, Palatia and its territories, by the Ceraic andOceraic nomads of the Midlands, and in parts of the Far West and FarNorth. Te Düréans dated their calendar from the founding of ÜrüneDüré, and according to the scribes of Khael the current Lunar year is2616 (usually marked with a ‘d’ to indicate the Düréan Calendar, as ind2616). Te Palatians begin the dating of years from the founding ofthe City of Palatia Archaia, and mark their dates with a ‘p,’ so for themthe current year is p1640. Almost as old as the Düréan Lunar Calendar is the GolanCelestial Calendar, based upon the cycle of the Star Signs. Teappearance of a new Sign in the Heavens marks the beginning of a newmonth. Te Signs of the Celestial Calendar areTe Ram (Nisanu),Te Bull ( Ayargu),Te Sky wins(Hasiggisah),Te Scarab (Dam’uzu), Te Sun Lion(Lebargu), Te Maiden (Urigu), Te Scales ( ashru),Te Sphinx (Djarahsvan), Te Archer (Hanun’at), Te Dragon ( iamet), Te Star-Child (Shebetae),and Te Serpent (Adaral).

Te Celestial Calendar is the official secular calendar of theTessid-Golan Empire and the neighboring Queendom of Amora-and-Meretia, though they both use the Imperial Avellan Calendar asthe official Divine King liturgical calendar. Te dating of Celestialyears began with the institutionalization of the calendar by KingHashuwaht, and generally mark the current date as c2432 (with a ‘c’ toindicate the Celestial Calendar). Official Imperial annals in Tessid-Gola are generally dated from the ascent of Akkalion to the Emperor’sthrone, 446 years ago, though some in the Empire insist on datingrecent years from when he fell into the Gray Dream, 406 years ago. Te third primary calendar is the Imperial Avellan Calendar,created and instituted by the Court of Dauban Hess, the GoldenEmperor (at the time the Court was located in Avella, in Tessidia).Te year begins on the anniversary of the Divine King’s return to Illia

from exile, when Islik emerged from his ordeals in the Underworld toregain his throne (corresponding to the 4th day of the First Moon inthe Düréan Lunar calendar). Te year is divided into twelve monthsbased upon the anniversaries of various heroic deeds performed bythe Divine King: ten months to mark His en Victories (elesium,Sirenium, Myradéum, Arathéum, Ceranum, Midéadad, Édorum,Hemodium, Mortiumand Illianum), one month to mark his reignon earth (Emperium), and one month to mark his ascension to theHeavens ( Ascensium). Te Imperial Avellan Calendar functions as theofficial liturgical calendar of Divine King worship.

Te Imperial Avellan Calendar is also the official secularcalendar throughout Sun Court Divine King lands, including theHemapoline League of Cities (comprising the Isle of Illia, where theSun Court is located, and the Hemispian Peninsula), the Middle

Kingdoms, and amongst the priestly hierarchy of the Phoenix Court ofthe Tessid-Golan Empire. Te calendar was backdated from the timeof Dauban Hess to the ascension of Islik the Divine King into Heaven.Te current year (marked with an ‘i’ to indicate the Imperial AvellanCalendar) is generally recorded as i1472. In the Highlands of Daradja, both the Lunar Calendar and theImperial Avellan Calendar of the Middle Kingdoms are used, as is the Avellan Year, currently i1472.

Te events of this book take place beginning on the 26th day ofGreen Moon.



G DRAGON KINGS& EMPERORSIslikwas born a half-mortal, the demigod son ofIlliki Helios,the Sun-Bull, andHerratathe Blessed, a daughter of the line of the ancientheroMyrcalion, was born on the isle of Illia, sometimes called theIsle of the Sun, standing as it does between the Silver Scale Sea andthe great Golden Sea of the East. He ascended to the throne of Illiaand established his Sun Court soon after reaching manhood. As Kingof Illia he warred against the barbarian warlords of the HemispianPeninsula, and eventually brought those lands under his control.ributes were sent to him from the Gola and Galia, and he was then

called for the rst time King of the Earth. Islik was overthrown byIshraha, the Rebel Angel, who usurpedhis throne and cast him into exile. For 21 years, Islik wandered theworld with Agall, Coromat of Vanimoria, and Jala of Samarappa as thefourKings in Exile, traveling beyond the Midlands and nally eveninto the Underworld. He performed en Victories during his journeysto prove his right to the throne, the last of which was casting Ishraha

into Hell. After siring many sons he ascended into the Heavens into anew palace of his own making. Tere Islik became the Divine King ofboth Heaven and Earth, at least according to his followers. His descendants and followers held near-divine power in hisname throughout Illia and Hemispia. Te greatest of them were calledDragon Kingsin the manner of days of old, for they seemed to have inthem the powers of the ancient followers ofCewert, the great hero ofHemispia, but without having to kill dragons and giants to gain theirpowers as Cewert had taught; such power was simply their birthrightas the heirs of Islik.

DAUBAN HESSIn time, however, the Dragon Kings of Illia and Hemispia fell tosquabbling, and war rent the land untilDauban Hess, a descendant ofIslik, unied them again under his own banner and was hailed as theConqueror King. Some said that Islik had come down from Heavento sire Dauban Hess himself, so great was his power. Dauban Hess consolidated Illia and Hemispia, and thenstruck out into the world. He conquered Amora with ease, and thenthe ancient courts of the Gola welcomed him with open arms, andhe established his court at the city of Seker. Tere he was told ofNymarga the yrant, the great lord of Tessidia, by rumor a son ofIshraha. Nymarga had taken power in the West, and was being hailedas the Worldly yrant. Divine King seers proclaimed Nymarga a son of Ishrahaand Ligrid, the emptress Queen. So in i221 Dauban Hess led hisarmies out of the Gola into Tessidia, and began a great war, thewar between the Conqueror King and the Worldly yrant. wentyyears passed in bloody conict on a scale not seen since the War inHeaven, until Dauban Hess slew Nymarga in ir-en- iel and took hiscrown. Nymarga’s body was cursed by priests of the Divine King andentombed in salt.

Dauban Hess conquered Tessidia and Vanimoria, far into the West to Metea and Samarappa and the lands of the Ghal, where hedrove out theIsliklidae,False Pretenders who claimed descent fromIslik as he did, before returning to conquer Dania. He received tributefrom Khael, and in all the known world only a minor city-state,Palatia, refused to recognize him as the Golden Emperor of the World. Dauban Hess moved the Sun Trone of Illia to Millene andestablished his own political court in Avella, capital of Tessidia, rulingover the largest empire in history. He tired of court life, however, and

soon left on a great expedition to the East to nd the Dawn, whereHelios the Sun rises each day. He was never heard from again.

HE WORM KINGSBefore sailing into the Golden Sea, Dauban Hess had appointed aseries of great Kings who held power over his territories, each givena Dragon Trone as a sign of their authority in his name. As timepassed without word from the Emperor, some of the Kings declaredthemselves powers in their own right, and fell into squabbling. After

divinations seemed to reveal the death of Dauban Hess, a split emergedbetween the generals appointed by Dauban Hess and the Dragon Kingsof Illia, Hemispia and Dania, who held power as hereditary monarchsof the ancient Sun Court. None could hold the Golden Empiretogether on their own, and soon the Empire broke into many pieces,ruled bythe Successor Kings. Worship of the Divine King suffered a schism. In the east

and in Dania, where Dauban Hess had kept Dragon Kings in power,the principle of inherited kingship was championed by those whoreinstatedthe Sun Court in Illia. In the south and west, the SuccessorKings of Tessid-Gola proclaimed their allegiance tothe PhoenixCourt at Millene in response, and asserted non-hereditary claims onkingship, being for the most part generals appointed to power.

As it was once the Imperial Court of Dauban Hess, the PhoenixCourt at rst outshone the Sun Court, but in time, the Tessid-Golan Kings fell prey to the subtle inuence of magic inherited fromNymarga’s rule in Millene. Since rule by appointment could notguarantee the lasting legacy of an inheritance passed on to descendantsafater death, some of the rulers of the Phoenix Court grew increasinglyinterested in enchantments to extend their lives. Te use of alchemyand sorcery increased, as did the worship of dark Forbidden Godsamongst the Successor Kings of the Phoenix Court. Tey becametwisted and corrupt shadows of their former selves, and their bodiesrotted but did not die, and they were calledthe Worm Kings. Teywaged war against the Sun Court, warring against the Dragon Kings, Amora, Khael, and Palatia, even as rebellion swept Tessid-Gola. A Worm King eet sacked the Oracle City, on Khael, and inso doing brought about their doom. Tey were cursed by the OracleQueen with her dying breath, and their capital of Millene disappearedin a volcanic maelstrom, taking with it the original Sun Trone andplunging the world into theWinter Century. After the destruction of Millene, Tessid-Gola disintegrated.Vanimoria and the Gola, now called Grand Sekeret, went their separateways. New kings and priests came to power in Tessidia, and they ledthe great purge of Worm King inuence from the new Phoenix Court.Tey rejected the title of King, and called themselvesEmirs,ruling byappointment in the Phoenix Court tradition. Troughout the world,the last of the Worm Kings were hunted to their deaths, though thehunt took centuries. Te last known Worm King,Githwaine, wasfound disguised in Uthed Dania, and thereErlwulf, called by somethe last true Dragon King, was slain in its pursuit. Githwaine wasunmasked and destroyed, and Uthed Dania was blighted and becameLost Uthedmael.

HE LION EMPEROR In time a new power rose in Tessidia, the young emir Akkalion, scion of a princely house untainted by a Worm King past. A greatwarlord, he led his armies into Grand Sekeret, but after conquering the

land he submitted himself to the testing of the Golan Great Schools,and so was hailed as the Tessid-Golan Emperor. He reconstitutedthe Phoenix Court in Sekeret, and then turned west and conqueredVanimoria, Metea and Ramoristan, intent on reestablishing the GoldenEmpire of Dauban Hess. He was unable to conquer Samarappa from the Isliklids,who had returned to rule the West, and Akkalion returned from hisconquests having learned humility. He conquered Amora and receivedtribute from the Sun Court cities of Illia and Hemispia. He turnedthen to the land of Dania, now called the Four Kingdoms of Dania, Auria, Atallica, and Maece. He landed with a great eet in Maece,and there was met by the Watchtower Kings of the coast, backed byinland allies. Te night before their battle Akkalion was overcome by astrange dream from which he did not awake, and in the morning Irré,the Black Sun, rose in the sky; bereft of their Emperor, the demoralizedTessid army was driven into the sea.

Te Black Day Battle marked the end of the Empire’s expansion. Akkalion was taken back to his capital, Avella, but his mind remainedtrapped in his dream. Te Sun Court lands of Illia-and-Hemispia,organized now into the Hemapoline League of Cities, ceased theirtributes, and the Queens of Amora, backed by the upstart city-stateof Palatia, threw out their Tessid overlords. Power in the Empire fellrst to the Phoenix Court and the priests of the Emperor’s own cult,but eventually a Sultan was appointed to speak in the Emperor’s steadand lead the Imperial emirs.



f ALES OFHE WI CH-QUEEN

Of the three goddesses of the Moon, the most feared isDjara Luna, the goddess of the waning and Dark Moon, when the Moon disappearsfrom the Heavens and travels the distant and secret paths of theOtherworld and the Underworld. When the Moon is dark, the doorbetween the worlds is open and may be passed through by those whoknow the way, and by the unwary. Since before time Djara has walkedthe paths of darkness, and she is said to have known Death even beforeGeniché rst pronounced her Law. Djara built the Underworld fromher dreams and held its throne in readiness until Geniché descended tobecome Queen of Death as she had been Queen of Life. Despite her dark and secret ways – or perhaps because of them– Djara has a great unnumbered brood, both by unnamed consorts andby her own magics. Her children include Sleep and Doom, who serve Yhera herself, and Din and Discord, who serve the Gorgonæ. Angelsof death and dooms, nightmares, furies, death guides and guardians,haunts and other frightening spirits – almost all of the inhabitants of

the dark and secret parts of the Underworld and the Heavens are herchildren, according to theCorpus Divinica Düréa , the rst codiedbook of stories about the gods. Of her children, all but four were born into the Otherworldand claim the Otherworld as their proper domain. Her four childrenborn in the worldly sphere were four daughters: Annaft,who dwellson an isle in the Golden Sea where Ami the Morning Star rst comesto call each day;Hemwayne,also called the Sand Queen, who dwellsin an oasis of the Ulik Desert and leaves no footprints in the dunes;Memyra, who dwells on a wooded isle of the Panoch Sea, north evenof Palatia; andUrgrayne,who dwells upon a lofty crag in the HarathÉduin mountains. Urgrayne has haunted the world since before human memory.Tough she is calledthe Witch-Queen of the Harath Eduins and makes

her residence in those mountains by all report, folktales tell of herpresence throughout the Midland steppes and deserts, the mountains ofMetea and Vanimoria (where she is calledGeteema’s midwife ), and eveninto the distant Kessite kingdoms (where she is called the Seer of Kings ). Amongst the Isliklids, who migrated from Kessite lands in the Far Westto the Dain Eduins, ghting and then joining the Tessid Empire alongthe way, she is reportedly calledthe Pathnder . Legends say that Urgrayne and her sisters were active in thecourts of Ürüne Düré. In more recent times Urgrayne has been rarelyseen, and is more often spoken of in folktales and popular stories inwhich she is encountered at night by travelers on the road. Accordingto these folktales, Urgrayne appears riding an ornamented sled drawnby a team of black horses, accompanied by armed and armoredknights who never speak or show their faces. Some tales say that herbodyguards are merely hollow suits of armor that have been enchantedwith the semblance of life; other tales claim that her bodyguards aremen who have gazed upon her face and form and become enchantedby the sight of her, leaving their former lives to exist solely on thesustenance of her presence. Several ballads based on such tales –theErl and the Witch Queen, the Knight of Torns and the Witch Queen, andthe more recent (and some say, historical) Lord Malcolm and the WitchQueen – are popular throughout the region. Amongst the Highland Clans, by both legend and local report,are self-proclaimed members ofthe Witch’s Host, who claim someconnection to Urgrayne; they claim her blessing is a mark of fortunefor their chieftains, captains and priestesses. She is described as theirpatron and protector, though no clear benet seems to result fromthis association. Some claim she directs their actions in secret, but noevidence of this has ever been found. Te warlords who fought DaubanHess’ legions long ago and the leaders of the Highland companies thatfought the Empire at the Black Day Battle were all from the Witch’sHost, according to popular lore. Even less certain is her inuence upon practitioners of magicthroughout the Middle Kingdoms. Te Divine King order of Agall,dedicated to their hero-patron’s hatred of unlicensed practitioners of themagical arts, have long held that Urgrayne is the titular and actual headof a vast network of evil-doers. Tey have blamed her and her agentsas the frequent cause of disease, pestilence, drought, rebellion, andsedition throughout the Middle Kingdoms.

I CI ADEL KING& HIGHLAND CLANTe Danian Highlands, which include the Harath and Dain Éduinmountain ranges, comprise some of the worst terrain in the region of

the Silver Scale Sea. According to legend, the Highlands were oncegreen and prosperous in the days of Geniché’s Eden, but becameblighted and desolate with her absence from the world. Te originalinhabitants of the Highlands were descendants ofQueen Dara,daughter of Yhera, and called themselvesDaradjans. Under barbarickings and queens they led an isolated life, though they are recorded asamongst the defenders of Düréa at the Isle’s fall. After the fall of Düréa, the Daradjan warriors who returnedbrought with them Düréan refugees, who were granted lands andaccepted as subjects of the realm of Daradja by Queen Lanys.Herhospitality and openness angered some amongst the mountain folk, whorejected the newcomers and began to refer to themselves asHighlanders (to distinguish themselves from the newer lowland arrivals to Daradja).

Tough never a cause of outright violence, this schism continued

to the point where even today the termHighlander is only applied tothose that claim a direct descent from the original Daradjans, whilethe termDaradjan is used for anyone who lives in the Highlandsregardless of bloodline or origins. Düréans who ed the sinking ofthe Isle, Danians and Aurians from the lowlands, Déskédrans andéthédrans from the north, Galians and Vanimorians who settled there

during Dauban Hess’ brief rule, Hemispian adventurers who huntedGithwaine, even slaves and servants of the Isliklid who have ed theDain Eduins – all have over time mixed with the original peoples of theland, and come to be called Daradjans, though the realm of Daradjaceased to exist centuries ago in any meaningful political sense after thefour daughters of Arathea plunged her realm into civil war, ghting tocontrol the four Great Citadels of Daradja: An-Athair, Finleth, DaraDess and Heth Moll.

Te stone citadels that dot the region, built by the ancientDaradjans and their most lasting physical legacy, have long fallen intothe hands of different competing factions. In addition to the fourGreat Citadels, at least twenty minor citadels of ancient provenance(and perhaps hundreds more castles, keeps, and towers of more recentconstruction) serve as seats of local power. Te rulers of the ancientcitadels generally claim the title of King or Queen, though the usageof such titles is far more informal than the strict hierarchies of theMiddle Kingdoms. Te only title of rank for high-born landholdersacknowledged throughout the whole of the Highlands islord; lordsacting in a martial capacity who can muster a fullbanner – a militaryunit of at least 20 mounted soldiers – are calledbanner lords. Othertitles (the ancient Danianerl , the Hemispianbaron, the Imperial title ofdux orduke ) are claimed on occasion, but are not common. Te Highlanders that claim direct descent from the ancientDaradjans long ago established themselves as theHighland Clans,the First Children of Dara, and claim the status of exiles in their ownland. Te Clans generally eschew the politics of the region’s otherinhabitants, and dwell in the most desolate areas from the Dain Eduinsto Pela’s Gap. wenty-eight Clans are generally acknowledged, thoughthat number is in dispute as several of them are factions that have splitoff from larger Clans. By tradition the Clans’ military might has beenthe Free Companies, standing bodies of mercenaries that seek servicewith clan chieftains in times of strife, the oldest of which were formedaround i1065 to follow KingCynanto ght at the Black Day Battle.Eight Highland Companies of some history – theMarauders, theBlackhearts, theLong Claws, theLeatherskins, theBronzehearts, theBlackwings, theSilverwings, and theIronclads – currently serve theKing of Dara Dess. Many consider the Citadel Kings and Free Companies of Daradjato be little better than brigands and pirates, and indeed many of themhave either risen from such pasts or slunk into those careers in times oftrouble and want. Te Highlands have long been a gathering groundfor bandits and worse, in particular for criminals and exiles banished“over the mountains” from the Middle Kingdoms. Some brigand bandshave elaborate histories, such as theCyr Faira Mal, who have seeminglyhaunted the Vale of Skulls since the dawn of time, and theBloodyHundred.Te northern coast of Daradja is dotted with seaside citadelsand fortied ports that act as the home base for erce pirates.



5

Q ALES OFHE ISLIKLIDS

After the fall of Ürüne Düré, Yhera left the Heavens to wander theUnderworld in search of the spirit of Agdah Cosmopeiia. In herabsence, Illiki Helios was overthrown from his throne as the Sun Kingby his older brother Irré the Black, who accused him of abandoningthe defense of Düréa and too hastily claiming the mantle of the SunGod after Agdah’s death. And for a brief time Irré the Black ruled theHeavens as the Sun. ButIslik , the King of the Earth and once heir tohis father Illiki’s throne, denied the validity of Irré as the Sun King,and so withheld the sacrice due the Sun.

Islik’s general, Ishraha, used this to foment rebellion againsthim, and Islik was overthrown. Wandering in exile, Islik met threeother Kings who had rejected the rule of the Black Sun: ancient Agall,in exile from his Kingdom after the disgrace of his war on Düréa andthe loss of his army;Coromatof Vanimoria, roaming the earth afterthe binding of Geteema, Queen of the Dark Earth; and Jala the GoodPrince, son of Surep, King of far Samarappa, exiled by a magician ofthe Celestial Court after the death of his father. While the exploits of the Kings in Exile are part of Divine Kinglore, no mention is made in traditional Sun Court or Phoenix Courttexts of Islik having children while in the Far West, where the Kings inExile spent time in their wanderings.Te en Victories of Islik includesa Victory over the magics of the Kings of the West, and a Victory overthe treachery of an enemy called the Blooded prior to Islik’s descentinto the Underworld and his victory over Death, but no mention ofhim having any descendants. But according to Golan scholars of the Great Schools whohave studied them, the Isliklids make this claim: that the four Kingsin Exile, while pursued by Ceram the Tunderer, came across theMidlands to lands near Jala’s Samarappa, where they dwelt in safetyamongst the Rajiks, and took wives and bore children. Islik, whocalled himself ‘the son of the rue Sun,’ was greeted by the people ofthe desert West as the son of Irré, who blazed black in the sky, andthey conquered the nearby Khaghals for him, and for a time he ruledthe Kingdom of the Sun by Lake Hazrat. But in time his sons anddaughters asked why they made no sacrice to the Black Sun, as wasconsidered proper; and Islik revealed his true paternity, and proclaimedhis rebellion against Irré.

His children gathered in great dismay, and after much heateddiscussion amongst themselves they chose to defy the edicts of Islikand revive the practice of sacrice to Irré and the other gods, andwar broke out between the Kings in Exile and their children. Jalalistened to the reasoning of his children, and was swayed; he left withhis children and returned to Samarappa, and became King, and madesacrice to the gods. Coromat killed his children in battle, and lost hismind, and ed into the wilderness. Te great hero Agall was slain by

his sons, who roared their anger and rage as they rent his esh. Islikfought his progeny, but could not kill them, such was their strength. When he saw Agall dead, he mourned his beloved companion, anddescended into the Underworld to save his friend, and while in theUnderworld, Islik placed a curse upon his rebellious children. Islik’s descendants – theIsliklids, or Isilklidae– held thrones inthe West despite the curse of their father, though they now called theirdomain theKingdom of Hazrat-Ghal. Tey extended their rule overthe peoples of the Western Midlands, the Rajiks and the Khaghals andthe Urghals, and eventually over parts of Samarappa, challenging theprincely sons of Jala. Te Isliklids ruled with an iron grip until thecoming of Dauban Hess, the Conqueror King, and his army. At rst,hearing that Dauban Hess claimed descent from Islik, they greetedhim as their brother and cousin. But Dauban Hess denounced them

and their false claims, saying they were the children of Ishraha and Irré,and condemned them for sacrice to the gods and other unseemly anddegenerate practices. For 16 years the armies of Dauban Hess and thelords of Hazrat-Ghal fought throughout the West, until at last DaubanHess drove the Isliklids into exile, in the year 262 (of the Imperial Avellan calendar, marked as i262). For a time, the Isliklids disappeared from the Known World. According to their own histories as revealed to the Imperial Court,they took service with the Emperors of Califa in the Unknown Worldfor several centuries. Tey reappeared in the Far West in the WinterCentury, leading an army of warlords and thralls through the Valley of

Hooves. Tey rst reconquered the Lake Hazrat region, driving out orenslaving the Kessite lords, then the entirety of Samarappa, destroyingthe Celestial Court and ending the direct line of descent of the sonsof Jala the Good Prince. Te Isliklids proclaimed their lands as theKingdom of the Düméghal, and ruled for four dark centuries.

In i1038, the new ruler of the revived Tessid-Golan Empire, Akkalion, nished his conquest of neighboring Ramoristan and

established a temporary court at the City of Opals. He sent emissariesto the Isliklids, proclaiming his ancient right to the lands of theKessites and Samarrapans, but the Isliklids sent back the bones of hismessengers. Akkalion launched campaigns against the Isliklids for tenyears, and despite some victories he was thwarted at every turn, and sohe returned to the East having learned humility. At the Black Day Battle against the Middle Kingdoms, Akkalion fell under the spell of what would come to be called the GrayDream. When word of this reached the Isliklids, they abandoned theKingdom of the Düméghal, leading their warlords and thralls intoRamoristan. Tey conquered the City of Opals by i1083 and invadedTelea and the Sea of Sands, warring against both the Empire andthe Ceraics. Te Isliklids came slowly east, spreading darkness anddeath and pestilence and slaughter; rst Telea, then Metea, then

Pfalk, until by i1150 they had invaded Vanimoria and were drivingthe Princes of the Mountains from their cities. For over fty years, theEmpire poured the armies of the East into Vanimoria to ght off thepredations of the Isliklids, but nally in i1206 the Isliklids sacked theancient Vanimorian capital city of ir-en- iel and were on the verge ofinvading the lowlands of Galia and Tessidia. Te Empire offered the Isliklids any price for peace, then. Forsix years, the Isliklids were silent, and held their warlords in check,poised above the Tessid-Golan lowlands, until they nally assentedto a truce and alliance with the reaty of ir-en- iel. Te Isliklids ledtheir warlords and thralls north, across the Red Wastes and into theDain Éduins. With the help of the Empire, they subjugated the wildKings of Djar Mael, who ruled in the far reaches of the mountains,and by i1214 they had proclaimed three kingdoms –Boradja,Ugeram, and Morica . No great love existed between the MiddleKingdoms and the subjected Djar Maelites, but the Defender Kings ofMaece, who had led the Middle Kingdoms against Akkalion, soughtto aid their distant Mael cousins against the conquering Isliklids, andlaunched a series of crusades to liberate them. Teir wars were in vain,and over the course of the next fty years the strength of the DefenderKings was broken in Lost Uthedmael and the Dain Éduins, and Maececeased to exist. Over time the Isliklids’ warlords, the Düméghal, were grantedplaces in the Emperor’s court, and became the chief generals shapingthe Empire’s military might, displacing the Vanimorian princes andwarlords who had held those positions. In the western reaches of theEmpire, where the Isliklids carved their path of depredation, a periodcalled theFire Crusade is sometimes spoken of, when the lords of the West purged all remnants of their passage, but given the Isliklids’ placeof power in the Empire they are not openly criticized. Teir goalsand interests in the East are a matter of great speculation, even in theEmpire amongst their nominal allies.

c HE DÜMÉGHALTe warlords, warriors, chief servants, and spokesmen forthe Isliklids are called theDüméghal. Te name is usuallytranslated as eitherTe Doomed of the Ghal orTe Doomsof the Ghal, and is generally believed to be a reference tothe origins of the Isliklids’ warlords amongst the Khaghalsand Urghals of the Lake Hazrat region. Te ranks ofthe Düméghal currently also include the descendants ofSamarappans, Ramorites, Teleans, Ceraics, Metics, andDjar Maelites who chose to serve the Isliklids as warriorsrather than as slaves and thralls – even by rumor Califansand others from the Unknown World. No Isliklidae hasbeen seen in public since they ensconced themselves in theDain Éduins; while they are reported to travel the Empirein secret, their public affairs, even at the Imperial Court,are conducted entirely by the Düméghal.



6

G HE WORM KINGNYMARGA Born when the world was young wasNymarga , a great and powerful

magician who came out of the wilderness and served in the CelestialCourt of Samarappa as Vizier to King Surep. Nymarga’s heart was dark– some say he was born evil, others that he listened to the whispers of Amaymon the Spider – and he plotted against his King. Surep waspoisoned, and Nymarga broke the Celestial Court and remade it inhis own image, casting Jala the Good Prince, son of Surep, into exile.Nymarga’s dark rule cast a shadow over Samarappa, and eventuallyhis inuence even reached into the Heavens, and Irré the Black Sunreplaced Illiki the Sun Bull for a time. But Jala returned after long yearsin the wilderness, and with his sons and daughters and new allies hedrove Nymarga from Samarappa and remade the Celestial Court anew. Nymarga ed east into the mountains, and there he shaped hisown empire. He masqueraded as a loyal servant to King Coromir underthe name ofMaelfess, until he killed the King and usurped his secondthrone. As a tyrant on the throne of Vanimoria, he came in time to rulethe Metic Kings and the Princes of Tessidia and Tessure, Galia andthe great city-states of the Silver Scale Sea coast as well.

In i221, the great war between Nymarga, as the yrant of the West, and Dauban Hess, as the Conqueror King of the East, beganafter Divine King seers proclaimed Nymarga a son of Ishraha, the hatedRebel Angel, and Ligrid, the emptress Queen. Nymarga and DaubanHess warred for many years, but Dauban Hess’ skills as a general andwarrior proved Nymarga’s undoing in campaign after campaign inTessidia and Galia and nally in Vanimoria itself. In i240, Nymargawas slain by Dauban Hess in his capital of ir-en-tiel and his bodycursed by priests of the Divine King and entombed in salt.

WORM AND DRAGON After divinations in i281 were rumored to conrm the death of DaubanHess in the East, his generals began to whisper that they, and not theDragon Kings of Illia and Hemispia, deserved to rule the GoldenEmpire by right of Dauban Hess’ trust in them. And so the Empire heleft behind broke into many pieces, as his Successor Kings squabbledamongst themselves about the proper mode of succession -- heredity orappointment, kingship based onblood or trust -- and the Dragon Kingsof the East broke all contact with the Imperial Court and establishedtheir own court in Heliopolis, which they called theSun Court. At rst the Imperial Court in Millene, which took the nameof thePhoenix Court – both to symbolize the rebirth of a trustedgeneral as a King, and the rise of the Court from the ashes of DaubanHess’ disappearance – outshone the Sun Court of Illia. Te PhoenixCourt, inuenced by the Great Schools of the Gola, was the model ofthe civilized, imperial court, as the educated and the ambitious soughtappointment to seats of power. But in time, the Phoenix Court grewdarker and dimmer. Since rule by appointment could not guarantee thelasting legacy of an inheritance passed on to descendants after death,some of the rulers of Phoenix Court lands grew increasingly interestedin magics that could prolong life. Practitioners of alchemy and sorcery,arts with long traditions in Tessidia and the Gola, gained many newpatrons, and Nymarga’s old advisors and adjutants began to reasserttheir power in what some calledthe Return of the Magicians , makingthemselves useful in this pursuit of long life and even immortality. Teunderground worship of dark and ambitious gods grew slowly butsteadily, as secret temples to Amaymon the Whisperer and Ligrid theemptress and Ishraha the Rebel were built throughout the cities of

Tessid-Gola. And many believe that the stage was nally set for theentrance of the Worm Kings by the plundering of Nymarga’s tomb ini360, when the Oracle Queen of Khael cried out that his spirit had beenreleased into the world once more. Te Phoenix Court was in open warfare with the Sun Courtby i380. Wars were launched against Amora, Illia, Hemispia, Dania,Palatia, and Khael; cities were sacked or conquered, the Kingdom ofelesia centered at Agrapios was destroyed, and slowly the deaths of

Dragon Kings began to mount in number. Te Kings of the PhoenixCourt withdrew into seclusion, even as they sponsored intriguesin neighboring lands, sent their eets and armies out to sack and

despoil almost indiscriminately, and sought out gold and slaves forthe darkening city of Millene as rebellion spread through overtaxedand depleted provinces. Eventually the reason for their seclusion wasrevealed, when in i475 emissaries from Amora bearing tribute nallygained an audience with the Phoenix Court, and ed in terror at theworms that dripped from the rotting, still-living esh of the depravedKings and Lords of Tessid-Gola, some of them kept alive since

Dauban Hess’ time by strange rituals and bloody human sacrices. Word spread quickly throughout the Known World, and the damnedrulers of Tessid-Gola became known as the Worm Kings.

Teir secret revealed, the Worm Kings lashed out at the world,sending their eets to destroy and pillage in a campaign of destructionthat culminated in the sack of the Oracle City of Khael in i498. TeOracle Queen was raped, and as she lay dying she called up omensof destruction, and pronounced her last prophecy as a curse. Sevendays later, the city of Millene, capital of the Worm Kings’ empire, wasdestroyed in a great volcanic explosion, a maelstrom which buried theentire city, drove back the sea, and turned the sands black for a hundredmiles in every direction. Most of the Worm Kings were destroyed in the explosion, as wasthe Phoenix Court, countless other lives, the ancient city of Millene,and even the original Sun Trone, brought from Illia to Millene byDauban Hess when he established his capital there. But some of the Worm Kings managed to escape the destruction, and a great huntbegan. For a hundred years after the destruction of Millene, Heliosthe Sun hid his face in shame, and Hathhalla the Sun Veil held the skyduring theWinter Century, as the Known World sought its vengeanceon the Worm Kings. Te Dragon Kings and their allies sought the Worm Kings out and slew them wherever they or their dark servantshid, whether in tomb or cave or disguised on a throne. Te last DragonKings set sail into the Great Southern Sea and into the Far West in theirpursuit of the last of their eeing enemies.

GI HWAINE ANDERLWULFTe power of the Dragon Kings was expended in this great hunt for the Worm Kings, however, and only one true Dragon King,Erlwulf , of theline which had been granted rule of Dania, remained to return to theEast in i648. Upon his return, he found a dark kingdom grown nearhis own; a Worm King had insinuated itself in Uthed Dania, gatheringbattle lords and war captains from the Utheds and the Kings of DjarMael, and turning them to its own evil purposes, though Erlwulf didnot know with certainty who the Worm King was. Te world wasalready fatigued from its long war with the Worm Kings, but Erlwulfrallied some of the lords of Dania, Auria, and Daradja, and with ahandful of Mael Kings and adventurers from throughout the Known World, they launched a small crusade against Uthed Dania. A long and cruel war ensued, the last tired ght between the last Worm and the last Dragon. Te Worm King remained hidden andmasked, using terror and stealth to war with Erlwulf through disguiseand poison and ambush. In i657, Erlwulf was slain on campaign, heand his guard taken by surprise returning to the Daradjan Citadel ofHeth Moll through the Vale of Barrows. Erlwulf’s cause was takenup by other heroes, however, from Dania and Daradja and even fromforeign lands. In i666, some of the Mael Kings and the heroFortias ofthe city of Terapoli unmasked the last Worm King:Githwaine, oncea minor general to Dauban Hess, masquerading as a local Uthed lord.He escaped them, however, and was not slain until i675, when Fortiastrapped him and slew him face-to-face. Githwaine’s body was spiritedaway by his followers, however, and was buried in secret. Te priestsof the Sun Court pronounced a great curse upon Uthed Dania in thename of the Divine King, blighting the whole of the land. Uthed Dania was from then on calledLost Uthedmael , to remove

the taint of the Worm King from the name Dania. Te Mael Kingswho had fought against Githwaine resettled to the coast of the MiddleKingdoms, becoming the Kings of Maece. Utheds and Djar Maeliteswho had fought for Githwaine withdrew into the harsh fastness of theDain Éduin mountains, and were shunned by the rest of the world.Fortias was made King of Atallica and High King of the MiddleKingdoms by the Sun Court, and granted the rights to the DragonTrone of Terapoli. His rst act as High King was to build a greatwall between the Middle Kingdoms and the cursed land of Uthedmael. Awain, High King of Terapoli, is his descendant.



Y PALA IA ACHRE AND ARCHAIA WhileBragea , the rst smith, lived in Ürüne Düré, he fell in love with

Surtara , a Galéan Queen. Surtara was also an oracle, and traditionforbid her from taking a consort, so they left Düréa and with theirfollowers eventually settled on the island of Khael in the year d577.It was there that Bragea created the Book of Dooms for his Queen,22 brass plates based on images he had seen in Yhera’s CelestialBook. Peridia, the daughter of Bragea and Surtara, ritually give upher eyesight to become the next Oracle Queen, and then she lay withher father and bore him a daughter. Tis rite was repeated with eachgeneration, and in short time the daughters of Bragea became knownas the greatest oracles of the Known World. Tis continued untild819, when Achre, due to become the twelfth Oracle Queen, refusedto undergo the ritual and be blinded. Always a rebellious girl, she hadbeen tutored in secret by Ariahavé, who had come to Khael in disguise. Achre crippled her father in their battle over the ritual, and drove himinto the Underworld. Achre and her followers were exiled by her sisters, and they wentto the nearby Pallithane Peninsula, a wild and mountainous land. Shebrought the native Héskédran barbarians under her rule and in timeshe slew the Great Dragon of the Pallithane Mountains and bound itsspirit to her own with great magics. She bore to the Dragon a child,pregnant for 3 years to bring her daughter Archaia into the world ind933. Archaia received the tutelage of Ariahavé as her mother had,and was a Companion to Adjia Luna on her hunts, along with herhalf-sisters Dall and Pulma, the daughters of Achre and Tula. Archaiafounded the city of Palatia in d977 (which the Palatians mark as p1,the rst year of their calendar), and built its Seven Gates. From herconsorts amongst the Héskédran princes she bore three daughters,Divinhrada , Vargate, andBaséa , who founded the three Great Housesof Palatia. Achre and Archaia and her three daughters slew monsters,moved rivers, built roads and bridges, and in so doing tamed thePallithanes. Te great women of Palatia were amongst the rst to respondto the summons of Ürüne Düré when it came under siege. Archaiadied there in d1109, slain while defending the fallenHannath Hammergreia , the last great Carrion Queen killed by the spirit of theKing of Brass. Te Last Queens ordered the abandonment of ÜrüneDüré two years later, and Achre returned to Palatia with her daughter’sbody. In grief she sealed herself in the earth in her daughter’s tomb,and left her granddaughters to rule Palatia. So began the cycles of the Veiled Queens in Palatia, when thecity was in mourning and withdrawn from the world. Te VeiledQueens ruled for over 200 years, until the migration of Aurian invadersfrom the north threatened to overcome their isolation. Te Aurianswere barely driven off, and later settled on the Danian Peninsula,where they accepted the Divine King and became part of the MiddleKingdoms. Te Veiled Queens looked about the Known World then,and saw the rising dangers of Dauban Hess and Nymarga in the south,and threw off their torpor, and became theBlack Arrow Queens. TeBlack Arrow Queens founded the rst legions and the rst Sea Houses,with which began the great Palatian eet. Tey fought Dauban Hessto a standstill, though in truth he thought the city so poor that hecould barely be bothered, and were in open warfare with the WormKings long before most suspected the extent of the evil at the heart ofthe Phoenix Court.

AUDRA HE VOYAGER After the destruction of Millene and the Winter Century, Queen Audra of the House of Baséa set sail to Khael, to see for herself theruins of Oracle City. Even as the Palatian rebuilding of Khael began,she descended into the Underworld and spoke to the last OracleQueen, to learn if their line continued. Armed with her knowledge,she quested for and found the Book of Dooms made by Bragea, andset sail into the East, and found Ursula, the heir to the throne ofKhael, in hiding in the Islands of the Dawn. Audra returned with herand reinstated her as the Oracle Queen in p812, placing the Book ofDooms upon her lap.

Audra then embarked on a series of expeditions – to Hemispia,and south to Amora, to Sekeret, the cities of the Déskédran coast, andnorth past Magara’s Land into the Panoch Sea. Her voyages markedthe true end of the Winter Century, establishing the network of seatrade that would make Palatia a formidable power in the centuries tocome. She established the Arsenal of the City, the great dockyards ofthe Palatian eet, and created new ships and sail designs unmatchedfor centuries. Audra is commonly called the last of the Black ArrowQueens, and the rst of theCopper Queens.

HE ASSASSIN CYCLESTe Copper Queens, who were also called the Queens of the Arsenal,ruled during Palatia’s rst great expansions. Labira, Haralia, andthe ’goonai Kingdoms became Palatian provinces, and the CopperQueens expanded on Audra’s voyages, sponsoring eets south tothe Gold Coast and Sabuta and north across the Panoch Sea to the Wood Kings, and sent the rst caravans across the Midlands to the West, establishing the Spice Road. For over six centuries, the CopperQueens solidied their hold on the north of the Known World,and ruled the sea lanes with little rivalry, even from Akkalion, untilQueen Pherusa died in p1425 (d2402) with no clear heir amongst theGreat Houses. Palatia plunged into a period of chaos and upheaval,as wealthy Houses struggled for control over Palatia’s thrones – theQueen’s Trone, traditionally held by a woman of a Great House,descended of Archaia’s daughters; theDucal Trone, held by a maleof a Great House; and the throne of theCountess Palatine, held bya woman of any House. Te bloody period earned the name ofthe Assassin Cycles, as over the next 128 years over 90 different throne-holders met unnatural ends.

HE USURPER ANDHE LORD MO

Te early 16th century (by the Palatian calendar) saw the rise ofHamellus of House Devarra, who became a great power in the Houseof Lords and in the Archaiate, the Palatian Council of War. He ledthe legions to victory in the north against uprisings amongst Palatia’sallies amongst the Lycinians. Tough he was not from a Great House,Hamellus was made the Duke of Palatia in p1551 by dispensationof the House of Lords. Hamellus soon stretched for more power,and in p1553 he declared that since the Queen’s throne was vacantand without candidates, he would becomeKing of Palatia, and endthe Assassin Cycles. Te populace, weary of the bloodshed of theproceeding years, accepted his proclamation, and some even whisperedthat Hamellus had the powers of one of the ancient Dragon Kings.But on the eve of his coronation, one of Hamellus’ most trustedlieutenants,Urech of the Sea House of Aiths, led a violent and bloodycoup, and he killed Hamellus in the Great emple of Palatia Archaia. With the help of the legions and the acquiescence of Hamellus’ GrandVizier,the Lord Mott of the House of Pylon, Urech imposed his ownrule over Palatia, and though he was not from a Great House he satupon the Ducal Trone, and came to be calledthe Usurper. With Akkalion still trapped in the Gray Dream, many considerUrech to be the most dangerous man in the Known World, thoughthe Lord Mott – a renowned alchemist and creator of the rst Indexesof the ancient texts – is often rumored as the true power in Palatia.Indeed, the Lord Mott is sometimes called theKing in Waiting, andsome of his disciples claim that great propchecies predict the comingof an Empire of Reason, with the Lord Mott as its Philosopher-King.Many believe the Usurper to be little more than his puppet. Whatever the truth, in the last 86 years Urech has annexed thecities of Lycinia and the Déskédran coast; fought two wars against theTessid Empire for control of the Spice Road across the Midlands,the second of which ended with the sacking of the Tessid cities ofDaubia, Lephdros, and (most embarrassingly for the Empire) Talos;and signed the Stone reaty with the Tulamites and fought theirenemies, the Lokhite barbarians of the West, to a stand-still. Hecourted a Tulamite Queen,Nihagen of Desmagria, during Palatia’swar with the Lokhites, and she bore him twin daughters before shewas slain by assassins. His daughters are being raised amongst theTulamites, and have never seen their father’s city.



B HE ARCANA When Yhera created and ordered the cosmos, she codied the magicalfoundations of the world; she set the rst patterns which all thingsmust follow. When she had nished creating the cosmos, she wroteher rst book, and upon each of its pages she scribed and xed one of

the great principles underpinning her creation. 21 of those pages werenumbered, and there was a 22nd page, which was unnumbered. Temagical principles of her creation are usually called the Arcana; theyare at once ideals, archetypes, themes, memes, principles, agents, andactors in the lifeblood of the world. Te Arcana, with their numbers,are sometimes known by a variety of names –I. Te Magicianor Minstrel. II. Te Great Priestess. III. Te Empress. IV. TeEmperor. V. Te Great Priest. VI. Te Lovers. VII. Te Hermitor Te Loveror Te Seeker. VIII. Te Swordor Te Chariot. IX. Justice. X. Te Wheel of Fortuneor Te Fates. XI. Strength. XII.Te Hanged Man. XIII. Death. XIV. emperanceor Te Circle. XV. Te Sphinx. XVI. Te Riven ower. XVII. Te Stars. XVIII.Te Moon. XIX. Te Sun. XX. Te Last JudgmentorTe Rose. XXI. Te World. And last and unnumbered,Te Fool.

Te Arcana manifest themselves in the world in many ways; they arepresent in the divine world, part and parcel of the gods, and theymanifest as creatures and spirits in the celestial, chthonic and materialworlds. Teir powers can be accessed as spells, magics, and ecstasies,learned through priestcraft, magical study, or inborn and innateknowledge. Te Arcana of the Lovers, for example, is closely identiedwith the goddesses Ami and Dieva, and can be seen in the celestialworld as the Graces and angels of love, in the chthonic as spirits oflust and succubi and incubi, in the material world as sirens and satyrsand rabbits. Te Lovers inspire powers of mesmerism and fascination,charm and lust and empathy, and fuels spells and magics devoted tolove, fellowship, attraction, and lust of all sorts.

ENCHAN MEN SEnchantments are one of the principle forms of magic in the Known World, aimed at awakening or imbuing magical power in objects,locations, and people. Many things found in the natural world have alatent magical power that can be focused and made manifest by ritualor rune. Te skin and mane of a lion, for example, can become amagical aid to strength, vigilance, and rulership with the proper rituals,and will sometimes be made into an enchanted mask, hood, or cloak;a brown agate, inscribed with a victory rune, becomes an aid in warand conict to its bearer. Animal parts and gem stones are the mostcommon kinds of enchanted objects carried or used in cultures thatallow them; while the Old Religion embraces the use of enchantments,the cult of the Divine King tends to proscribe such items. Common enchanted items include apotropaic herms, guardianstatues, cult statues, and cultic amulets; less common examples includespirit masks, which magicians use to see into the Otherworld, andmagical grimoires, which are often written with a magic ink. Despitea general hostility to magic, high nobles in Divine King lands wielda triad of magical objects – orb, scepter, and crown – which aid themas magical symbols of their offices. Enchanted arms and armor areproduced by almost every culture: the Palatian Arsenal producesenchanted copper armor, the city of Hemelin produces enchanted steelharnesses for the League, and the smiths of the Imperial Court makescimitars capable of cutting steel plate.

Enchanted items of great power belonging to the gods or greatheroes have even been passed down through the ages. Te divinesmith, Bragea, made numerous items of great power which he giftedto kings and queens and cities, perhaps most famously the DragonTrone of Islik the Divine King, lost in the destruction of Millene, anda number of famous (or infamous) magical swords are known fromhistory and legend, includingDaybringer, the sword of Dauban Hessforged of sun-metal, andGhavaurer, certainly the most evil sword ofnote. Forged by Nymarga to have special powers against the bloodof Islik and his descendants, the Dragon Kings,Ghavaurer was bestedwhen Nymarga tried to use it against Dauban Hess; but Githwaineused it quite successfully to end the lineage of Islik when he killedErlwulf, the last Dragon King.

ALCHEMY Alchemy is an ancient practice, rst discovered by Ariahavé, and laterrened by Daedekamani, who inscribed his secrets upon tablets andgifted them to his followers and descendants amongst the Golanscholars of the Great Schools. Alchemy in the Known World primarilypursues the renement of the two great chemicals, mercury and sulfur,into the White Elixir, capable of great acts of healing; theRed Elixir,the elixir of immortality capable of transforming the spiritual as wellas the body and made from scrapings of the Philosopher’s Stone;the Alkahest, an elixir of transmutation capable of transforming thematerial; or theBlack Elixir, a ammable black powder that generatesheat and energy. Over the centuries, Daedekamani’s original writingshave spawned different methods of varying success for achieving thevarious elixirs, and these processes are jealously guarded secrets passedfrom master alchemist to apprentice. Various uses for those elixirshave also been discovered, ranging from the creation of the dreadedbasilisk to the transformation of lead into gold. Generally, twocamps exist amongst alchemists – those who pursue the Elixirs for thematerial powers that they possess, and those who believe that alchemyconcerns the transformation of the spirit of man and the attainment ofimmortality.

RUNES AND SIGNSo aid in the casting of spells and enchantments, magicians have over

the centuries created a number of different systems of magical runes,sigils, and glyphs, which can be used to focus the deeper powers ofthe world. Te oldest runes are theDaedekine Runes, thedaedeki

grammata , created by Daedekamani himself. First used in the Gola,they have spread far and wide, but fallen into disuse in more recenttimes, with the advent of newer sign systems. Bragea developed a set ofrunes in his forges while in Düréa, but he was the only one who coulduse them;Brage’s Runes may still be found on many of the wondrousmagical artifacts that he gifted to the world. TeRiven Runes, alsocalled thelabira grammata , or the witch’s runes, were inscribed uponthe cult statue of Djara Luna taken from Ürüne Düré to the Greatemple of Labira. Tey are used mostly by practitioners of the Old

Religion, who still hold Yhera above all others – mostly in Palatia and Amora, and amongst the Tulamites and some other barbarians onthe edges of the Known World. Of more recent creation are the signsand glyphs variously called theTessid, Imperialor Daubanite Sigils,which were created in the court of Dauban Hess prior to the sailing ofthe Golden Fleet. Te Imperial Sigils are fewer in number and in scopethan the runes of other systems, but have beneted from both a certainease of use and the official endorsement of the Empire. Imperialmagicians use them almost exclusively, and they are also widespreadthroughout Divine King lands. Another set of runes has appeared of

late in the north, amongst the Panagh Kings across the Panoch Sea.Te Panaghs call their runesDragon Runes, while they are calledcattara grammata (lit.claw runes) by the Palatians.

Artesia’s sword bears upon it ve Riven Runes.

Aglamourrune – an aid to glamours andillusions, towards magics which transformsurfaces and appearances.

Abinding rune – an aid to entrapping, binding,and controlling otherworldly spirits.

Acommand rune – an aid to leadership and themagical control of spirits, animals, or men.

A victory rune – an aid towards victory andsuccess in conict and battle.

Anoath rune – an aid to oath magics, givingstrength to vows and promises.



Q HE GODS AND GODDESSESOF WAR AN OLDDÜRÉAN ALEIn the Golden Age, when the Düréans recreatedGeniché’s Garden on their isle, rumors of theirwealth spawned jealousy and greed amongstmany outlanders. Te strongest of the barbarianscame together, and conspired to build a eet,and sail to Ürüne Düré, and rob the Düréans oftheir wealth. Te oracles of Düréa dreamed darkvisions and learned of this raid, and they turnedto their predator goddess, to the great consumerof sacrice, to Dread Yhera , for deliverance,asking her to show them how to defendthemselves from the raiders. Yhera called the other devouring beasts– rst Adjia andIrré, the sun-masked archers,the huntress and the hunter, the javelin-wieldingkiller of women and the bow-bearing killer ofmen; thenHathhalla , the Devourer, the goddessof grief and vengeance; and her hunter andanimal keeper, her consort Ammon Agdah. And she set them and their Companions to defending the Düréans.Te raiders came and many died, stalked by Adjia, and Irré, and Agdah, but still they pillaged the Isle of many of its treasures and lefttriumphant with slaves and booty. Yhera looked down with sadness atthe destruction they had wrought, and was lled with the grief of herchildren. Hathhalla came to her then, and whispered in her ear, andawoke the secret in her heart. Yhera summoned Ariahavé, her brightest daughter, and bade hermake unbreakable chains, and sent her to capture three of the ercesthalf-mad daughters ofDjara , who were the mothers of the Galéans andcalled theGorgonae. So Ariahavé searched the dark places of Düréa,and found the Gorgonae hidden in their daughters’ shame, and boundthem, and brought them to Yhera:Mogran, the Riot Goddess andQueen of Discord;Halé, the Goddess of Rage and Fury; andMédüre,the Cunning One. And Yhera consumed them, chains and all, andthen she gave a great cry and she disgorged them from her belly, and Yhera gave bloody birth to War.Soon the raiders returned, unsatised with their rst plunder. Yhera unchained the Gorgonae and they went amongst the Düréans,and taught them the secrets to transform themselves and becomewarriors, the ways to harness din and discord, rage and cunning. Teydanced, and drummed, and drank potions, and marked themselves anddonned masks, and the Düréans armed themselves to war. And theygreeted the raiders with the howls of lions and the speed of serpents,and drove them back across the sea. Te Düréans pursued them intothe outlands, and slew their families, and freed the slaves they hadtaken. And when they had returned to Düréa, the Gorgonae showedthem how to purify themselves and take off their masks and stop beingwarriors, and become themselves again. So the Gorgonae were the rst goddesses of War and Battle, the

goddesses of warrior transformation, who invoked war and ended it,and rst made it an art. Yhera held their chains, and became Yhera Anath, the Queen of War and Victory, Dread and Unconquered. Adjiaand Irré came and learned from them, and Adjia became the initiator,the rst to take a child and show them the ways of war, and Irré becameLykeios , the old wolf, the destroyer prayed to by gray-haired veterans. Agdah and his hunting band came too, and they learned to become awarrior band, the Consort-Defender and his companions.

But Ariahavé, the goddess of civilization, had been midwife atthe birth of War, and she learned better than them all. She went to her

forge, and made skins and scales of metal for theDüréans to wear, and made the rst sword, andshared her secrets with Bragea. She taught themthe arts of forage and supply, so that warriorscould go where they wanted when they wanted.She taught the Düréans how to take the dancesthat they loved so much, and turn them to war

and give battle a rhythm: how to make manymove as one, and make one part of many, howto makewarriors intosoldiers. And for all thesethings Yhera made Ariahavé her general, and gaveher the chains of the Gorgonae for safekeeping.

IRON, FIRE, FURY Te Yheran goddesses and gods of war stillhold sway where the Old Religion is practiced,supplemented by local gods and heroes. Amongstthe Palatians, Ariahavé is held the most dear,along with the hero cults of sharp-speared Achre, Archaia the Defender, and Audra the Voyager,Queen of Sails. Ami the Morning Star is invokedas protectress of harbors and ships in war inPalatia, the Déskédran cities, and the Gola. Amongst the Amorans, where the worship of theSun Bull is still strong,Illiki Helios is revered asthe Consort-Defender, following in the footstepsof his father. Te Tulamites make sacrice to Yhera Anath and the Gorgonae, but hold theirancestressTula , who stole the secrets of warfrom the Düréans, as their goddess of war aboveall others. Tey also follow the hero cults ofDalland Pulmaof the Starlight Spears, andCeram,

the Storm King, who initiates their warriors. In some armies Irré is stillinvoked as the Lykeios, and in some places as the Last Defender, whoaverts siege and disease and pestilence, and brings them, too. In Divine King lands – the Tessid-Golan Empire, the MiddleKingdoms, and the great Hemapoline League of Cities –Islik theDivine King is naturally held as the god of war, as war is seen as theprerogative of the King. Divine King knights usually join the ordersof a number of hero cults, the most popular being the several ordersdedicated toDauban Hess, the Conqueror King, held as warriorinitiator, logistician, and hero of armies. Te Daubanite orders swornto the Phoenix Court are the backbone of the Imperial armies drawnfrom Tessidia, Galia, and Sekeret, and maintain cordial relations withtheir brethren in the Middle Kingdoms and the League, even duringhostilities. Orders dedicated toCoromat and Jala , two of the otherKings in Exile, have adherents in the Phoenix Court, but not in theSun Court, where the greatest non-Daubanite order is that ofCewert,an ancestor-hero of the ancient world known as the rst King to kill aDragon. Agall, the Hero King, was worshipped and propitiated alreadyas Sacker of Cities before he joined with Islik’s cause and became hiswarrior champion. His order is known for its zeal in battle and inpursuit of Agall’s old enemy, the Witch. Te Agallite order is small butpowerful; it has adherents primarily in the Middle Kingdoms and tosome extent in the League, but oddly is not popular in Galia, the landof his descendants.

Te Imperial armies have any number of hero-cults outside theDivine King orders amongst its diverse soldiery; notable amongst themareMyrcalion, the hero wanderer, called the greatest hero that everlived, whose cult is popular in Tessidia and Galia; Vani, worshipped asboth the vulture-headed earthshaker and as the eagle-headed warrior-ancestor of the mountain princes of Vanimoria;Hamarat the Night

Fire, the Defender King popular amongst the Metics for his efforts topurge their lands of the taint of the long occupation of the Isliklids;Ceram, invoked by the Ceraic tribes who have sworn to the Empire;and Illiki Helios, still worshipped by some soldiers from Galia and theGola, though his invocation is frowned on by the Phoenix Court. TeIsliklids and their Düméghal warriors are said to invoke Irré as theirchief war god, as the Wolf and the Locust, the wilderness at war, andthey are said to make bloody offerings to him, a practice tolerated butunloved by the Phoenix Court, but other rumors claim they hold nogods of war but themselves.



a A BRIEF GLOSSARYof DEITIES, PLACES,PEOPLE,and EVENTS

ACHRE –rebellious daughter ofBrage , who refused to becomeanOracle Queen. Instead she wounded her father, bound a greatDragon and, as the mother of Archaia , became ancestress of thePalatians (seePalatia ).

ADJIA LUNA –the Moon Huntress, one of the three goddessesof the Moon, along with her sistersYhera andDjara . She is thegoddess of birth, growth, maturity, maternity, the hunt, dreams,and death. Sometimes called Adjiana .

AGALL – demigod son of Agdah Cosmopeiia , famous for hisconsiderable temper, strength and courage; he is worshipped as therst Hero. Te Sacker of Cities, he fought alongsideGeteema’s children at the destruction ofÜrüne Düré . One of theFourKings in Exile , slain in theFar West but redeemed byIslik in theUnderworld.

AGDAH COSMOPEIIA –the Year God and God of the ShiningSky, the god of the year-cycle: the growths of spring, the harvestsof the fall, and the deprivations of the winter. He was slain byGeteema in defense ofDüréa , but later restored byYhera toHeaven. Also called Agdah Helios (the Cosmos Sun) and Ammon

Agdah (the Household Protector and the Keeper of Animals).

AGE OF LEGENDS, the – the second age ofKnown Worldhistory, beginning withIslik’s ascension to the Sun Trone inHeaven and ending with the destruction of the Imperial capital ofMillene some 498 years later.

AKKALION – the Lion Emperor ofTessid-Gola . Te rstprince of Tessid-Gola to claim the throne ofDauban Hess since the wars of theWorm Kings . He embarked on a series ofconquests to restore the Empire to its former glory until he wasovercome by theGray Dream the night before theBlack DayBattle . His mind has been trapped in the Gray Dream ever since,and he has sat dreaming on his throne in Avella ever since.

AKINE MOG – Sorceror-King of Kathek, a city inSetine , whorose to power in theWinter Century.Started the Fire War withSekeret in which cannon and bombards were used for the rst time(seeGrand Sekeret ).

AMAYMON –the Whisperer,the Prince of Intrigue and SecretPower, and the god of secret knowledge, bribery, corruption, andassassins, worshipped by those who want something for nothing.He counseledIrré to overthrowIlliki Helios andIshraha to beginhis rebellion againstIslik the Divine King, thus beginning theWarin Heaven.

AMI -the Morning Star, the Dawn Maiden, twin sister ofDieva ,and the goddess of love, fertility, and romance.

AMORA – anciently aDüréan colony favored byIlliki Helios ,now a realm balancing the worship of the old gods and morerecent inuence of theSun Court . Once part of theTessid-GolanEmpire , Amora is now independent with the help ofPalatia , andhas annexed nearby Meretia as a buffer state with the Empire.

AN ATHAIR – a castle and small city in theErid Wold , oncethe center of a realm ruled by theSpring Queens . Birthplace of Artesia.

ANGOWRIE – one of the Middle Kingdoms , originally thehold of one of theWatchtower Kings . Te current King, Euwen Jaraslas, betrayed Awain and swore an oath of featly to theSultan.

ARCHAIA – the daughter of Achre , student of Ariahavé , and thefounder of the city ofPalatia and builder of its Seven Gates. She

bore three daughters, who founded the three most ancient Housesof Palatia. With her daughters, she sailed to war againstGeteema’s children, and was slain in defense ofDüréa .

ARIAHAVÉ –the Civiliser,Yhera’s brightest and most rebelliousdaughter. She is the protectress of cities and citadels and theircitizens and defenders; she is the patroness of civilization andits heroes. AfterGeniché abandoned the Earth, she taught thelost peoples of the world the arts of society -- agriculture, poetry,spinning, pottery, music, and mining. She is Yhera’s generaland the chief war goddess of thePalatians , her most dedicatedadherents.

ASSASSIN CYCLES, the – hundred-year period in recentPalatian history of internicine, inter-House struggle for controlover the thrones ofPalatia , ending with the rise of theUsurper .

AUDRA – the Voyager, legendary Queen ofPalatia at thebeginning of theBronze Age largely responsible for that city’s riseto current power. Last of the Black Arrow Queens and rst of theCopper Queens.

AURIA – a principality of the Middle Kingdoms , and ancientname for the lands settled by the Aurians , seagoing pillagersdescended ofHeth .

AWAIN – the current High King ofTerapoli and the MiddleKingdoms ; a descendant ofFortias the Brave .

AVELLA – the Immortal City, current Imperial Capital of theTessid-Golan Empire . Once a minor city ofTessidia , it waschosen by Akkalion to be his capital while he was recuperatingfrom wars against theIsliklids and transformed into a city of greatbeauty. Home to thePhoenix Court .

BLACK DAY BATTLE. the –battle fought on the shores ofDania between the forces of the Middle Kingdoms andDaradja and the invading Tessid Empire beneathIrré the Black Sun.Because of the Emperor’s absence in the thrall of theGray Dream,the Empire was routed.

BLACK HUNTER, the – son of Geniché, brother of Ammon Agdah, leader of the Wild Hunt. At the beginning of winterand sometimes when he escapes the Underworld, he leads a hostof ghosts, spirits, and demons across the Known World huntingthose that stray from protected shelter.

BOOK OF DOOMS, the book of 22 plates created byBrage for his Queen and their descendants to aid their oracles. Basedupon the Celestial Book ofYhera . Briey lost after the sack of

Khael , but recovered by Audra.BRAGE –the rst smith, the creator of the arts of metal-working;he is the re-god of hearth, kiln, and foundry, creator of rune-systems and artifacts of great power. Brage eloped with a DüréanQueen to the Isle ofKhael , and their daughters became theOracleQueens . Also called Abrage andBraphagos .

BRANIMIR – the Wolf of Dara Dess, son of Coromir and Ella.King of Dara Dess for a time, now beheaded and bound to thecitadel.

BRONZE AGE, the – the third age ofKnown World history,dating from theCatastrophe and theWinter Century to theascension of Akkalion to the throne of Tessid-Gola some 528years later.CATASTROPHE, the – the destruction of Millene , capital oftheTessid-Golan Empire , at the end of the Age of Legends by avolcanic maelstrom caused by a curse from theOracle Queens ;begins theWinter Century .

CELESTIAL COURT, the – the ruling court ofSamarappa during theGolden Age , which underSurep included the deities ofHeaven in its ranks. During theWar in Heaven the Court was



6

ruled byNymarga , until he was deposed by the return of Jala .Te Court faded in power during the Age of Legends , was held bytheIsliklids for a dark time, and ended after the disappearance ofits hero-savior,Dauban Hess .

CERAM –the Tunderer, a son ofTula andIlliki the Sun-Bull,

ancestor-god of the nomads of the Midlands . Ceram hunted theFour Kings in Exile across the Midlands.

COROMAT –a son ofGeteema and tragic hero of the ancientworld. Banished fromVanimoria for withdrawing from hismother’s war onDüréa , he became one of theFour Kings inExile and went mad for many years before returning home toreconcile with his people and resume his throne. Deposed andslain byNymarga .

DAEDEKAMANI –a son ofYhera ; the rst magician, creatorof the magical arts and the rst magical runes. Daedekamani isa wanderer, a patron of travelers, and sometimes a guide to thedead.

DALL AND PULMA –twin daughters ofTula and chiefamongst her children. Tey bound horses, fought by Tula’s sidein defense ofDüréa , and now appear in the Heavens as the winsconstellation.

DANIA – lands of the Danians, now part of the MiddleKingdoms. Once comprised of Uthed Dania and Dania proper,until Uthed Dania was lost in the war againstGithwaine (seeLostUthedmael ) and Dania split into Dain Dania and Erid Dania.

DARA – rst Queen ofDaradja , from which the land derives itsname. Slain byTula.

DARA DESS – called the greatest of the four ancient citadels ofDaradja (Dara Dess, Heth Moll, An-Athark,andFinleth ), nowheld by Artesia.DARADJA – traditional name for the mountainous highlandsof the Middle Kingdoms . Literally “Realm Of Dara” inOldÉduinan.

DAUBAN HESS – the Golden Emperor, the Conqueror King,greatest of theDragon Kings . He was reputed to be a son ofIslik, who rose to power inHemispia , defeatedNymarga anddrove theIslilkidsout of theCelestial Court, and came to rulethe whole of theKnown World.He set sail to nd theDawnIslesto greet his alleged father, and was never seen again.

DAWN ISLES, the –fabulous islands at the edge of the world,

where every morning Ami throws open the Gates of the Dawn tolet in the Sun.

DÉSKÉDRÉ – swath of coastal cities just north of the MiddleKingdoms . Déskédran cities are known for their licensiousnessand devotion to the worship ofDieva .

DIEVA – the Evening Star, the Dusk Maiden, twin sister of Ami ,and the goddess of sex and physical pleasures.

DJAR MAEL – land of the Maelites, a cursed people distantlyrelated to the Daradjans and Danians, now servants of theIsliklids .

DJARA LUNA – the Moon goddess of Death and Darkness,

the queen of ghosts and dark magic, the giver of lunacy andnightmares, the keeper and revealer of secrets; goddess ofcrossroads, curse magic and divinations. Also calledUrgale or

Morgale .

DRAGON KINGS, the –ancient Kings possessed of greatmight and powers of dominion.Islik was the rst,Dauban Hess was the greatest; descent from either indicated Dragon Kingblood and great latent power, but they were wiped out in warsexterminating their hated enemies, theWorm Kings , during the

Winter Century .

DÜMÉGHAL – warlords and warriors of theIsliklids , recruitedfrom their subjects in theFar West and bound to their service byfoul magics.

DÜRÉA – ancient queendom of theGolden Age and crucible ofcivilization. Lost to the armies ofGeteema and sunk beneath theSilver Scale Sea at the end of theGolden Age . (SeeÜrüne Düré ).

ÉDUINS – mountain range in the Midlands , forming a peninsulainto theSilver Scale Sea ; constituted by the Dain Éduins in thewest, the Harath Éduins in the east, and the minor ranges of theBora, Djar, and el Éduins as well as many smaller Moles .

EMIR – Tessid-Golan term for an officer of high rank.

ERID WOLD, the – a great wood inDania , once ruled by theSpring Queens and now a haunted place, full of ghosts and spiritsand reputed the refuge of witches eeing the persecution of theSun Court .

ERLWULF – last of the knownDragon Kings , slain byGithwaine .

FAR WEST,the –common name for any lands west of the Midlands .

FORTIAS THE BRAVE – Aurian hero-knight of the MiddleKingdoms , who slewGithwaine to end theWinter Century andwho later built the Great Wall that stands between the MiddleKingdoms andLost Uthedmael . His descendants are the HighKings of the Middle Kingdoms.

FOUR KINGS IN EXILE,the – during theWar in Heaven, fourkings banished and in exile –Islik , Agall , Coromat , and Jala – joined together for adventures. Tey fought many battles, resistedthe temptations of the Daradj Queen, were pursued byCeram across the Midlands , and broke up their fellowship in theFar West after the death of Agall at the hands of a treacherous enemy calledthe Blooded (seeIsliklids ).

GALIA – an emirate of theTessid-Golan Empire just south of the Middle Kingdoms . Anciently the kingdom of Agall , now a realmof prosperous merchant-traders.

GENICHÉ –Queen of the Underworld and once Goddess andQueen of the Earth, the giver of life, and, with her sisterGeteema ,the mother of all withinYhera’s creation. Te Earth was once hergarden, and she ruled it as a Paradise until, in a moment of griefand anger, she abandoned the world and ed into darkness. Shecreated the Underworld and spoke the First Law, mandating thatall born of her Earth must follow her into Death.

GETEEMA –sister toGeniché andYhera , monstrous Queen ofthe Dark Earth, the Dragon Mother and the Mother of the Giants;her children includeIrré the Black Sun, Amaymon the Whisperer,Vani the Mountain King,Heth the Sea King, and many others.Out of jealousy she sent many of her children to destroy ancientÜrüne Düré , and she herself consumed the body of Agdah Cosmopeiia , after whichYhera imprisoned her in the Underworld.

GITHWAINE – last of theWorm Kings , discovered amongst thewarlords ofDjar Mael and Uthed Dania. He killedErlwulf , thelast knownDragon King , before being slain byFortias the Brave ;his death marked the end of theWinter Century .GOLA, the – name for the lands of the south around the Letariver and home to some of the oldest cities in theKnown World now organized asGrand Sekeret andSetine , key emirates of theTessid-Golan Empire .

GOLDEN AGE, the – rst age ofKnown World history afterGeniché left the Earth for the Underworld. Generally dated fromthe founding ofDüréa and considered to have lasted just over



7

1000 years, until the fall ofÜrüne Düré and theWar in Heaven.

GORGONAE,the –the riple War Goddess, daughters ofDjara , worshipped singly and as a trio. Te Gorgonae are keptchained in the Underworld, and onlyYhera Anath or her general, Ariahavé , may set them loose.

GRAND SEKERET – the city-states of theGola , as they havecome to be known, after their victory over Akine Mog ; sceneto some of the greatest ghting in the wars against theWormKings following theCatastrophe . Te largest and oldest is Seker,followed by Camathune, both of which have some of the oldestGreat Schools .

GRAY DREAM, the – the cursed dream that befell Akkalion before theBlack Day Battle , now the subject of intensespeculation amongst mystery cults throughout theTessidEmpire , theHemapoline League , andPalatia .

GREAT SCHOOLS – halls of learning originally founded andpatroned byDaedekamani himself, found throughout theGola

andTessidia .HALÉ –the Goddess of Slaughter, goddess of (mindless) rageand berserker fury. One of theGorgonae .

HANNATH HAMMERGREIA – greatest of the last Queensof Düréa, and considered by many its last rue Queen and lastof theRethet Tesa . A virgin huntress and voracious warrior, shedefeated theBlack Hunter and died many deaths, until her naldeath at the fall ofÜrüne Düré .

HATHAZ GHÚL –Old Éduinan name for cursed once-men,things that should be dead but cling to life by feedin on thebodies of the living and recently deceased. Tey are often said tocome fromLost Uthedmael .

HATHHALLA –the Devouring Fire of the Sun, worshippedas the lion-headed goddess of battle and vengeance, goddess ofthe Sun’s righteous strength. AtYhera’s behest she imprisonedher half-brotherIrré in the Underworld after he cast down herhalf-brotherIlliki Helios . She ruled the Heavens as the Sun’s Veilduring theWinter Century .

HEMAPOLI MAGNI –greatest city ofHemispia , and a rival toPalatia in all things merchantile and military.

HEMAPOLINE LEAGUE, the –a patchwork of city-states andkingdoms inHemispia andIllia dedicated primarily to trade, ledby the rulers of the city ofHemapoli Magni . Stronghold of the

followers of theSun Court .HEMISPIA –lands east of the Silver Scale Sea now ruled bytheHemapoline League . Anciently the lands of the rstDragonKings .

HETH – the Sea Bull, the Sea King, god of surface waves, andancestor-god of the Aurians.

ILLIA – isle just north ofHemispia , favored by the gods of theSun and location of the rst Dragon Trone. Home to theSunCourt .

ILLIKI HELIOS –the Sun-Bull, a son of Agdah Cosmopeiia and Ami the Morning Star, the father ofIslik the Divine King.

As the Spring Sun he is the bestower of progeny and protector ofcrops, an archetype of divine kingship, and as the Winter Sun, heis the dying god with knowledge of the Underworld, cast fromthe Heavens by his half-brotherIrré the Black Sun. He was laterrestored, either byYhera or by his sonIslik .

IRON AGE, the – the fourth and current age ofKnown World history, beginning with Akkalion’s assumption of the Imperialthrone 446 years ago and leading to the current date: 1472 inthe standard Imperial Avellan calendar, 2616 in the oldDüréan

calendar, 2432 in the Celestial calendar, or 1639 in thePalatian calendar.

IRRÉ –the Black Sun, bringer of unbearable heat, drought, andthe blinding intensity of both darkness and light; the Bow Bearer,god of plague and re; the Black Goat, god of war, struggle,disaster, disorder, the desert and the wilderness; the Last Defender,who guarded the gates ofDüréa from the armies ofGeteema .He overthrewIlliki Helios for abandoningDüréa before its fall,starting theWar in Heaven.

ISHRAHA –the Rebel Angel, a son ofLigrid and a general toIslik when he was King ofIllia . AfterIrré cast downIlliki Heliosat the start of theWar in Heaven, Ishraha led a rebellion againstIslik for withholding the sacrices due the gods and usurpedhis throne, castingIslik into exile. He was defeated when Islikreturned and is imprisoned in the Underworld.

ISLIK –the Divine King, demigod son ofIlliki Helios . He wasthe rst of the IllianDragon Kings , the founder of the Sun Court,and ruled as King of the Earth. After his father was cast down byIrré , Islik was usurped byIshraha . After wandering the world for21 years as one of theFour Kings in Exile , he returned to reclaimhis throne, and after imprisoning Ishraha in the Underworld, Islikascended to the Heavens and became King of both Heaven andEarth. His worshippers do not make sacrices to the old gods andbelieve that rather than descending toGeniché’s Underworld, theyascend to the Heavens to Islik’s Palace after they die, but they havedivided into two rival schisms, theSun Court and thePhoenixCourt .

ISLIKLIDS, the – strange and evil Kings who arose in theFarWest and conquered the lands ofDjar Mael some 200 years ago,dividing the land into three Kingdoms: Morica, Ugeram, and

Boradja. Tey claim descent fromIslik the Divine King, andare served by theDüméghal and Maelite warlords. Also calledIsliklidae , Islikids , and thePretenderai .

JALA – the Good Prince, son ofSurep. One of theFour Kings inExile , he returned toSamarappa to confrontNymarga , regain hisfather’s throne, and restore theCelestial Court .

KHAEL – isle just east ofPalatia , where theOracle Queens live.Sacked by theWorm King s at the end of the Age of Legends , nowprotected by Palatian legions.

KNOWN WORLD, the –term used to describe the whole ofthe known, mapped world, to distinguish it from the unknown,unmapped world.

LIGRID –the emptress, the Queen of Perversity, the breakerof taboos and the corruptor of esh and spirit; a daughter ofGeteema, she is described variously as a rival, tutor, or mask ofDieva .

LOST UTHEDMAEL – name given to Maelite and Danianlands loyal toGithwaine and cursed by theSun Court after hisfall at the end of theWinter Century (seeDjar Mael andDania ).Now a barren and ashen wasteland of inhospitable ruins.

MAECE – name of the realm taken by the Maelites Kings whostood againstGithwaine (seeDjar Mael ). Teir strength waswasted in wars against theIsliklids , and they remain only as theWatchtower Kings .

MÉDÜRE– the Cunning One, goddess of warlike skill andheroic valor. One of theGorgonae.

MERETIA – small realm next to theGola , once part of theTessid-Golan Empire and now annexed by Amora .

MIDLANDS, the common name for the lands to the west oftheSilver Scale Sea . Once the Paradise ofGeniché , now mostlyinhospitable desert and mountain.



8

MIDDLE KINGDOMS, the –common name for the Aurianand Danian kingdoms on a peninsula in theSilver Scale Seas (see Auria , Dania ), all aligned with theSun Court and ruled bythe High King ofTerapoli .

MILLENE – legendary capital ofDauban Hess’ Golden Empire,destroyed by a volcanic maelstrom in theCatastrophe . All that isleft are a few ruins at the center of a plain of volcanic ash.MOGRAN –the Riot Goddess, goddess of terror, confusion,and dissension. One of theGorgonae .

NYMARGA –the Magician, called by some the rst andgreatest evil of theKnown World , who rst rose to power in theCelestial Court . He slew KingSurep to usurp the throne ofSamarappa , but Jala returned and threw him down. He nextappeared inVanimoria , where he killedCoromat to usurp thethrone, conqueredTessidia , and ruled as the Worldly yrantuntil he was defeated byDauban Hess .

OLD ÉDUINAN – ancient language ofDania , Daradja , and

the Maelites (seeDjar Mael), similar to the language of ancientDüréa .

ORACLE QUEENS, the – the descendants ofBrage,possessedof the greatest oracular visions in theKnown World, and rulersof the Isle ofKhael.

OSIDRED –a son ofGeniché who was the rst to follow hismother to the Underworld and became the Judge of the Dead. Also calledSeedré .

PALATIA – city-state of the northernSilver Scale Seas , foundedby Achre and Archaia . A minor city in theGolden Age , but nowthe center of a vast and expanding empire, possessed of legions,eets, and merchant networks rivaled only by theHemapolineLeague andTessid-Golan Empire , each of which it has defeatedin recent wars. Now ruled by theUsurper .

PHOENIX COURT, the – the Imperial Court of the EmpireofTessid-Gola located in Avella ; also the highest Divine Kingauthority in the West (seeIslik ). Opposed to theSun Court ,the Phoenix Court advocates a model of kingship based onappointment or election rather than inheritance, and so choosesor elects the officers of the Court and the emirates of theEmpire. Briey but disastrously corrupted by theWorm Kings .

RETHET THESA, the – name for the Carrion Queens ofDüréa during theGolden Agewhen they were most active in theKnown World as warriors, hunters, and conqerors, just prior tothe fall ofÜrüne Düré.SAMARAPPA – fabled land of spices in theFar West , knownfor its literate and sensuous peoples.

SEATED KING – a King recognized by theSun Court . SeatedKings were granted power once it was obvious there would be nomoreDragon Kings .

SETINE – an emirate of theTessid-Golan Empire , inland ofthe cities ofGrand Sekeret in theGola . Ruled by Akine Mog during and after theWinter Century , until his defeat by thearmies of Sekeret.

SILVER SCALE SEA – inland sea framed byHemispiain theeast, theGolain the south, the coast of the Midlandsto thewest, and the territories ofPalatia in the north.

SPRING QUEENS, the – priestesses of the Green emple of An-Athair during the Age of Legends , who created a wondrousand magical land centered in theErid Wold by marrying thekings of surrounding realms. Teir realm was ended by thearrival of the Aurians (see Auria).

SULTAN – title given anEmir elected by thePhoenix Court to

speak in the name of Akkalion. Te current Sultan is Agameentep Marahet .

SUN COURT, the –the highest religious authority in easternlands devoted toIslik . Located onIllia , once the home of Islikhimself, the Sun Court stands against thePhoenix Court andchampions the tradition of hereditary kingship passed from fatherto son. Sun Court lands include theHemapoline League , Amora and Meretia , and the Middle Kingdoms .

SUREP –son ofYhera and Agdah Cosmopeiia ; a legendaryand divine ruler ofSamarappa during theGolden Age , slain byNymarga .

THERAPOLI –ancient capital of the Middle Kingdoms , builtduring theGolden Age .

THESSID GOLAN EMPIRE, the –name for the vast empirerst created byDauban Hess , then dismembered after hisdisappearance, rst during civil wars between theSun Court andrebel generals in the west, and then by the wars of theWorm

Kings . At the height of its expansion under Dauban Hess inwhole of theKnown World onlyPalatia andKhael were outsidethe Empire and even they sent tribute. Akkalion began toreconstitute the Empire after theBronze Age , but his efforts werehalted by his lapse into theGray Dream, and have only beenrecently been continued by the most recentSultan. IncludesVanimoria , Tessidia , Grand Sekeret , Setine , Galia , and a host ofminor emirates and principalities.

THESSIDIA – principal emirate of theTessid-Golan Empire just to the west of theGola ; home to the current Imperial Capitalof Avella and site of the ruins of the old capital, Millene .

THULA –a daughter ofGeniché ; the Forked ongue, the

Mother of Heroes, the Fire Queen who stole the secrets of magicand civilization from theDüréans and the Otherworld for herdescendants, theTulamites . She killedDara in one of hermany raids, and dueled Achre with both weapons and dance toa standoff; according to some stories she performed magics thatallowed her to bear a child by Achre. Tula sailed to defendÜrüne Düré againstGeteema’s children, though she had herselfweakened its defenses. Mother ofCeram andDall and Pulma .

THULAMITES – barbarians of the Midlands , horse-ridingraiders who dwell in great stone citadels. Now allied toPalatia .

URGRAYNE – a daughter ofDjara Luna ; called the Witch-Queen of the HarathÉduins . Active throughout the world since

the days ofÜrüne Düré , she has a reputation as a mysteriousmeddler. Some Daradjans are said to follow her instructions andare called members of the Witch’s Host (seeDaradja ).

ÜRÜNE DÜRÉ – a great isle in theSilver Scale Sea,where Ariahavé led her favorites in theGolden Ageto teach them thearts of civilization and found the realm of Düréa. Lost beneaththe sea at the end of the Golden Age. Usually translated from theDüréan as “Mountain of Trones.”

USURPER, the – common name for Urech Aiths, the currentDuke ofPalatia , who took the Ducal Trone in a coup at the endof the Assassin Cycles .

VANI – a son of Ammon Agdah andGeteema , often depicted ashaving either an eagle or vulture head; the Mountain King whobrings the Spring thaw. Ancestor god of the Vanimorians (seeVanimoria ).

VANIMORIA – mountainous land to the west of theSilver ScaleSea; considered part of the Midlands, but during theGolden Age was the earthly realm ofGeteema, and so was spared some ofthe desolation which has marked the rest ofGeniché’sParadise.Inhabited by proud, martial mountain barbarians and considereda key component of theTessid-Golan Empire.



WATCHTOWER KINGS, the – Maelite and Danian kingsand warlords who fought againstGithwaine and were grantedcitadels in westernDania to keep watch overLost Üthedmael andtheTessid-Golan Empire byFortias the Brave (seeDjar Mael ).Once their domain was called Maece .

WORM KINGS, the – common name for the kings and generalsof the Imperial Court of theTessid-Golan Empire who becametwisted by foul magics after the disappearance ofDauban Hess. o retain their appointed thrones, they embraced bloodthirsty

rituals that extended their lives at the price of their humanity andthe corruption and decay of their bodies. TeOracle Queenscursed them in revenge for the sack ofKhael,and after theCatastrophe befell them, they were hunted to extinction by thelast of theDragon Kings.

WAR IN HEAVEN, the– a 21-year war at the end of theGolden Age. After the sinking ofÜrüne Düréand whileYhera wandered in grief,IrréaccusedIlliki Heliosof abandoning thedefense ofDüréa to become the Sun King after the death of

Agdah Cosmopeiia, and organized a rebellion in the Heavensagainst him. Illiki Helios was cast into the Underworld and Irréassumed the mantle of the Sun King. On Earth,Ishrahausurpedthe Dragon Trone ofIlliafromIslikin a parallel rebellion. Atthe end of the war, Yhera returned from the Underworld andrestored Agdah and Illiki to the Heavens, though neither could beSun King. Tat position was taken by Islik himself, who returnedfrom exile to claim both the Dragon Trone and the Sun Trone.

WINTER CENTURY, the – period of over 100 years followingtheCatastrophe , during which the world saw a period of cold anddarkness, andHathhalla ruled as the Sun’s Veil. Te hunt for theWorm Kings is most intent during this period. Ends with thedeath ofGithwaine .

YHERA –Queen of Heaven, Goddess of Night, Queen of the Waters, one of the goddesses of the Moon, and often worshippedas the Creatrix, the divine origin of all that is. She is the goddessof language, sovereignty, rulership, wealth, wisdom, love, fertility,protection, and war. Also known asYhera redea, Yhera Negra,Yhera Cosmopeiia , Yhera Luna , Yhera Chthonia , Yhera Genetra,Yhera Parage, Yhera Fortuna , Yhera Hegemone, Yhera Daradja,Dread Yhera, Yhera Anath,andYhera Invictus, amongst otherepithets.

G

THE WARIN HEAVEN AS TOLD IN THEHIGHLANDS OF DARADJA

After the death of Agdah Cosmopeiia at the hands of Geteema,his son Illiki the Bull left the embattled walls of Ürüne Düréand rode the Moon Path into the Heavens. Tere he assumedthe Sun Trone and was hailed as Illiki Helios, the Sun Bull, thenew god of the Sun, and he took over the solar duties of AgdahCosmopeiia, seeing that golden Helios followed its route alongthe Sun Path each day. But Yhera, the Queen of Heaven, did notgreet Illiki as the new Sun, so gripped by mourning was she forthe loss of Agdah; for nine years Yhera grieved, even as ÜrüneDüré fell to Geteema’s jealous children. Yhera grieved untilHathhalla came to her and woke the anger in her, and guided herto where Geteema hid in her Garden, mourning her own losses. Yhera and Geteema fought and the world roiled with their battle,until Yhera drove her sister into the Underworld and imprisonedher there. But Yhera too experienced death of a sort, and she

wandered lost in the Underworld clothed in ashes, seeking thespirit of her lover, Agdah.

THE CLAIM OF IRRÉ

While she searched the Underworld for 27 years, the War inHeaven began, for not all accepted the new order. Irré the BlackGoat, the Locust of the Wilderness, had been the last consortof Yhera to stand on the walls of Ürüne Düré, and the exiledDüréans now held him as the Last Defender, who had brandishedhis courage at the howling hordes of Geteema’s children. And Irrélooked about the Heavens and did not like what he saw. Agdahhad been consumed, but death to a god, even at the hands ofanother god, is not a nal state, and he should have returned; butIrré instead saw Illiki on the Sun Trone.

Irré came to the Heavens wrapped in a mantle of dark reand smoke, and came to the Court of Heaven and stood beforethe Sun Trone itself, and there he accused Illiki of abandoningthe defense of Düréa. Illiki freely admitted doing so: the SunTrone had been vacant, and needed to be lled, and so he hadtaken the seat of Helios. And then Irré used these words fromIlliki’s own mouth to condemn him further, saying that Illiki hadseized the Sun Trone improperly and was a Usurper, as it was Yhera’s right to appoint the next Sun God, and that Illiki’s hasteto claim power had sealed the death of Agdah Helios, his ownfather, by preventing his return.

Illiki at rst laughed, thinking Irré insane to come andaccuse him of such things in his own Court, but then he realizedthat very few were laughing with him. Irré had done his workwell, as had Amaymon, and many of the Court had already hadtheir hearts poisoned against Illiki. Fear and anger gripped Illikithen, and he cried out for his guards to arm themselves, and heung himself off the Sun Trone at Irré and they battled in theCourt of Heaven.

For a year and a day they fought, and around them battledthe Celestial orders; on Illiki’s side fought many of the angels oflight and the celestial spirits of re and air, but many of them alsofought on Irré’s side, as did many of the Star Dragons and thespirits of storm and thunder, even nightmares and angels of deathwho came up from the Underworld. And nally Irré prevailed,and sent Illiki the Bull crashing down from the rmaments ofHeaven into the pit of the Underworld, where he was imprisoned.Irré took the Sun Trone then, and it was a Black Sun that rosethe next day, and for the next 22 years. But the spirits and angelsthat had sided with Illiki refused to accept Irré on the Sun Trone,

and so the War in Heaven continued unabated, as angel killedangel and Star hunted Star across the turbulent Heavens.

A WAR ON EARTHOn Earth the reign of Islik in Illia grew troubled; his father

had been cast out of Heaven, and now a Usurper rose eachmorning in his place. In anger Islik renounced Irré as a murderer,and renounced the gods for allowing Illiki’s ouster, and he orderedthat sacrice be withheld from the gods until they restored hisfather to the Sun Trone and the Cosmos to its rightful order. Yhera had been silent for some years, and many of the priestsand priestesses had already begun to doubt her return, so mostaccepted his law. But some did not, and they began to speak outagainst the King on Earth. Amongst his Court was a generalnamed Ishraha, a prideful half-angel born of the blood of Ligrid,who had come down from the Heavens to serve in Islik’s army.Ishraha was displeased with Islik’s renunciation of the gods and hewished to side with those that wanted to keep to the old ways, and Amaymon knew this and began to whisper to Ishraha.Had notIslik sat idly by while his own father was thrown down from Heaven? asked Amaymon. And as Ishraha thought on this he realized that



0

if Islik had not aided his father it was because he could not haveaided his father; that despite his power, Islik did not have thestrength or the knowledge to travel any of the Paths to Heaven.

And so Ishraha came to suspect that the real cause of Islik’sanger at the gods was Islik’s own weakness, his own inability to aidhis father in his time of need, and Ishraha found delight in this,

and a great hate for Islik and his weakness was born in him. Heconspired with others in the Court of Illia and with other spiritsof the Celestial Realms, and he overthrew Islik, and cast him intoexile. Ishraha reinstated sacrices and offerings to all the gods,beginning with Irré.

Islik wandered for 21 years in the wilderness, and duringthis time the War in Heaven came often to the Known World,as the angels and spirits seeking to depose Irré also turned to waragainst Ishraha on the Trone of the World, and men and angelsfought side by side and against each other under the visage of theBlack Sun.

THE RETURN OF THE QUEEN Yhera’s wanderings came to an end in the Court of her sister

Geniché, who initiated her into the mysteries of death and lossand showed her the path back to the Heavens. But Yhera couldnot leave without Agdah, and naked and unveiled she boweddown before her sister and pleaded for Agdah’s release. Genichérelented, and revealed the secret of where Agdah was imprisoned,and guided by a small but bright light Yhera quested deep intothe Underworld to nd him in the belly of Geteema, and theybattled once again until Yhera had Geteema pinned within theEarth. Yhera held her sister’s gaping maw open and reached inand plucked Agdah out, and to her surprise she found Illiki hadbeen swallowed too, and so she freed both of her consorts, and leftGeteema chained and bound in deepest darkness. Yhera returned to the Heavens with Agdah and Illiki to ndthe Celestial World aame with war, and Irré upon the SunTrone. As Yhera gazed upon the angels of Heaven their ghtingstopped. Irré rose and greeted his Queen and his King, but at rsthe would not step down from the Sun Trone, for neither Agdahnor Illiki had returned from the Underworld by their own power. Yhera saw the hatred that had grown in the Heavens duringIrré’s reign, and did not want to conrm him as the Sun, and shedespaired until there was a clangor of trumpets, and Islik ascendedto the Heavens.

For Islik, too, had been recently in the Underworld, where hehad journeyed to free his companion Agall from the clutches of

Death, and he had returned in triumph to reclaim his Trone onEarth from Ishraha. He had nally seen the Way to Heaven, andafter setting his earthly kingdom in order he had ascended theSun Path, and stood to claim the Sun Trone of his fathers. Yherawelcomed him then, and Irré acquiesced before his brightness, andIslik became a King in Heaven, as he was a King on Earth. Agdahbecame Cosmopeiia again, the Cosmos King, and Illiki becamethe Sun Bull again, and Irré too still laid a claim to the SunTrone on some days, but none was truly the Sun King anymore;instead, they shared that title in turn.

Irré returned to the dark parts of the Earth from whence hecame, but many of the angels and celestial spirits that had foughtwith him did not much like the new King in Heaven, and they

followed Irré into darkness and re, and became the orders ofthe dark angels of the Underworld, the Rahabi: the Dhurélealand the Golodriel, the Bharab Dzerek and the Sharab Deceal,the Gamezhiel and the Ghazharab. And many of the Rahabiremained armed for war, and still ght the War in Heaven whenthey think Yhera is not looking.

c THE TEN VICTORIES OF ISLIK WHILE IN EXILE FROM HISEARTHLY THRONEIn the temple lore of the Divine King, Islik achieved en GreatVictories while in exile from his throne that marked him asworthy of the Sun Trone of his father. Te main text of theDivine King’s cult is the Islikinaem – called imit es AshvailIslik by the Phoenix Court – which is composed of the screedTe

en Victories of Islik and then the appendedKing Cycles , the listsof Hemispian Dragon Kings and their Deeds that followed in thecenturies immediately after Islik’s ascension. According to theIslikinaem, these are the en Victories of Islik:

HIS FIRST: OVER THE LIONS OF TELESIA

After being exiled from Illia, Islik journeyed south into Hemispia,to the ancient kingdom of elesia and its capital of Agrapios.He sought aid and allies against the Rebel and Usurper Ishraha,and petitioned King Buradis of elesia to withhold tribute fromIshraha and sacrice from the gods until he was restored to histhrone and his father to his. But instead the lion-headed sons ofKing Buradis, each of whom had the strength of a dozen men,challenged his tness as King and sought to imprison him asa prize for Ishraha, to whom they had sworn allegiance. Islikdefeated them in ceremonial combat, and realizing that he hadfew allies amongst the traitor Kings of the south, he left Hemispiawith their lion heads on the prow of his ship.

HIS SECOND: OVER THE SIRENSOF THE SILVER SCALE SEA Islik crossed over the Silver Scale Sea with his friend andcompanion, Agall of the Black Sail, once King of Galia, whorenounced sacrice and became the second of the Four Kings inExile, and a handful of vassals who were loyal to him as the rueKing of Illia. Te sirens of the Silver Scale Sea called to themwith their enchanted songs, and Agall and the others on boardtheir ship were overcome and would have sailed their ship intodanger, but Islik heard the songs of the sea-spirits and was notmoved. He saved his companions from being lost forever in themists of the Sea.

HIS THIRD: OVER THE CRUELTYOF THE DANIAN KING

Islik and Agall landed in Dania, where they were taken prisonerby the warriors of the Danian King, Myrad, lord of Terapoli.Tey were imprisoned in his dungeons, from which none hadever escaped, and therein met two other Kings who were in Exile, Jala the Good, Prince of distant Samarappa, and Coromat, onceKing of Vanimoria. Islik convinced them to renounce sacrice,and they joined him as blood brothers. Islik solved the puzzles ofKing Myrad’s dungeons, and led the other Kings in Exile to theirfreedom.

HIS FOURTH: OVER THE TEMPTATIONSOF THE DARADJ QUEEN

Te Four Kings in Exile crossed over the mountains into theHighlands of Daradja, and there they were enchanted by thecharms of the Daradj Queen, Arathea. Tey lingered in herCourt for many moons, and one by one they were seduced by herlies and honeyed words – rst Jala, then Agall, and then Coromat– until she attempted to compromise Islik. He alone amongsthis companions saw through her disguise and her glamours tothe ugliness within her, and he exposed her to his fellow Kings,freeing them from the spells she had cast upon them.



HIS FIFTH: OVER THE TRICKERY OF CERAMTe Kings in Exile ed Daradja and its Spider Queen into thebrightness of the Sun’s Anvil. Tere they found the camps of afth King in Exile, Ceram the Storm King, the Tunderer. Ceraminvited them to share his re, and they sought to convince himto renounce sacrice and join their wandering life, but in themorning Ceram revealed his base nature and set them as thesacricial prey to his hunt. Ceram hunted them across the Sun’s Anvil and into the Sea of Sands, and they despaired of his pursuit,but Islik found Ceram’s Gate into the Dain Éduins, and therethe Four Kings hid among his trophies in the Vale of Bones untilCeram had thundered into the distance.

HIS SIXTH: OVER THE DANGERSOF THE SEA OF SANDS

Te Four Kings in Exile went back out into the Sea of Sands afterCeram departed, having failed in his hunt, and headed West,hoping to reach lands close to Jala’s former home in Samarappa.But the Sea of Sands is a vast and trackless waste, full of curses andtraps, and they were brought close to the brink of death. But Islikwould not let the ill will of the Dead Earth overcome him, and hefound great wells of strength within himself, and these he sharedwith his companions. He persevered and led them out of the Seaof Sands when it seemed as though they would at last perish.

HIS SEVENTH: OVER THE MAGICSOF THE KINGS OF THE WEST

When the Four Kings in Exile came out of the trackless wastes,they were set upon by the evil Warlock-Kings of the desert peoplesof the West, the Rajiks and the Khaghals, who barred them fromcrossing the Ferras Nash, the Mountains of Iron, into the valleys ofLake Hazrat. Each of the Four Kings in Exile attempted to crossthe mountain passes, but only Islik was able to lead the others tothe green pastures and waters of the lake. When they saw theirmagics had been overcome by his purity, the Warlock-Kings ofthe Rajiks and the Khaghals slunk into the mountains, and theFour Kings in Exile came to rule the Lands of the Lake, outlawingsacrice and taking wives amongst the Rajiks and Khaghals.

HIS EIGHTH: OVER THE TREACHERYOF THE BLOODED

Teir peaceful reign lasted for 19 years, until some amongst theirRajik and Khaghal subjects rebelled and made sacrice once moreto the gods. Te rebels, called the Blooded, strove against theKings in Exile with sword and magic and argument. Jala wasconvinced by trickery to join with the Blooded, and he fell into

sacrilege and ed back to his homeland, abandoning the otherKings in Exile; Coromat killed many of their attackers, but wasdriven insane by their magics, and ed into the wastes; great Agalllost his legendary strength and was slain by the enemy. Islik alonestood to the very end against the Blooded, and though they hadended the Four Kings in Exile, he was able to drive them from thebattleeld and stand there alone, protecting the body of his friendand stalwart companion, Agall.

HIS NINTH: OVER DEATHStanding over the body of his boon companion Agall, Islikswore an oath to not be conquered by Death, and he swore thathe would save those that had been loyal to him from the coldembrace of the Underworld. Islik followed the spirit of Agall intothe Underworld, pausing once past its Gates to curse the Bloodedso they could not follow him, and in the depths of Hell he cameto grips with the Queen of the Dead, and learned her secrets andhis mind became illuminated by forbidden knowledge. Whilein the Underworld he saw two great Leviathans ghting, and inthe belly of one he spied the spirit of his father, and he freed hisfather’s spirit while the dark Leviathans were in combat. He foundand freed Agall from the clutches of the Queen of the Dead, andbrought his spirit back to the Known World.

HIS TENTH: OVER ISHRAHA THE USURPER Having returned with the secrets of the Underworld and the spiritof Agall in his keeping, Islik returned to Illia in disguise, andcame before Ishraha upon his usurped throne. Ishraha and histraitorous courtiers did not recognize him, until he threw off hisdisguise and burned them with the fury of his righteousness andthe illumination of his spirit. Despite his hurts Ishraha assailedIslik with sword and claw, but Islik was infused with the power ofDeath and the strength of the spirit of Agall, and he tore Ishraha’swings from his body and hurled him into the Underworld. Toseat the Court that had supported the Rebel Angel ed, but Islikand those that had remained loyal to him while he was in exilehunted many of them down.

Tese are the en Great Victories of Islik, which he performedwhile in exile to prove his worth to reclaim the Trone of Illia andthe title of King of the Earth, and his divinity, so that he couldenter the Heavens as the true heir to the Sun Trone of his fatherand claim the title of the King of Heaven.

e THE GOLDENREALM OF AN-ATHAIR AFTER THE FALL OFÜRÜNE DÜRÉ

Te Known World was a tumultuous place after the fall ofÜrüne Düré. Irré ruled the Heavens for a time, and the Black Sunwas harsh; for many, it seemed as though the desperate and hardtimes that wracked the world after Geniché left the earth andimposed the First Law had returned. In a few spots civilizationand wonder remained, and one of those places was in Daradja,where Queen Lanys, descended of lamented Dara, had invitedDüréan exiles to settle, and though this displeased some of hersubjects she foresaw the benets the civilized Düréans could bringher Highland realm. Word of her beauty and the strengths ofher realm reached the ears of the wandering Four Kings in Exile,and they visited to vie for her hand and win her aid in regainingtheir thrones. She saw greatness in each of them and she desiredthose qualities for her own realm as well, but she also saw in them jealousy and possessiveness; they were Kings, after all, and eachwanted to claim her for himself. So she secretly took each of

them as consorts without telling the others, and bore them eacha daughter, before the Kings in Exile discovered her ploy andcontinued on their way.

Eventually Yhera returned from the Underworld andcommanded Irré to relent his place, and Islik assumed themantle of the Sun King, and the world, though still struggling,rejoiced, though sorrow and despair and hardship lingered. Lanys’daughters grew in power and might, but in the end the jealousyLanys had seen in their fathers was their undoing, and Goatis,daughter of Agall, grew jealous that her sister Damara, daughterof Islik, and murdered her in a drunken rage. Te bright futureLanys had sought for Daradja disintegrated in a civil war fromwhich the land never fully recovered.

Daradjans and Düréans alike sought refuge from the bloodywars that wracked the Highlands amongst their neighbors. TeDanians, who had paid tribute to Daradja since Dara’s time, nolonger did so after the death of Damara, and they did not wish toallow exiles in their lands, fearing they might be drawn into thewars of the mountain citadels; all of the Kings and Queens of theDanians turned the refugees away. But the Athairis, the Danianswho lived in the great Erid Wold, invited those eeing themountain wars to settle in the spirit-lled woods of their domain.



So Daradja’s plight became An-Athair’s fortune, for in exchange,the Athairis learned many secrets.

THE SPRING QUEENSOF AN ATHAIR

Amongst the Düréan refugees were priestesses descendedfrom those who had held the Great Garden emple of Genichéin Ürüne Düré, where the Queen of the Underworld had stillbeen the Queen of the Earth, and they knew secrets of thenatural world long since lost. Tey showed the Athairis how toreawaken the Earth abandoned by Geniché, where to nd powerin it, where to draw strength. And they showed the Athairis howthey could make the land resemble the lost Paradise of Genichéonce again, at least to some small degree. Te Athairis built awondrous temple out of living tree and carved rock, a Greenemple that nourished, refreshed, and healed all who entered

it, and the High Priestesses of the emple came to be called theSpring Queens. Te Erid World grew green and lush, a bountyfor those that lived there, and the land and the people lived inbalance and in harmony, and the sheen of Paradise lay upon themboth.

Te neighboring Kings and Queens of the Danians marveledat the beauty and wealth of An-Athair; some made tribute,and became part of what came to be called the Golden Realm.Others, however, sought to take the wealth of the Athairis byforce, but here again Daradja’s plight was An-Athair’s fortune, foramongst the exiled Daradjans and Düréans were many veterans ofthe mountain wars and the descendants of those who had foughtat Ürüne Düré. Tey knew war well, and they taught their secretsto the Athairis. But the Athairi knights of the Golden Realmfought not only with secret war knowledge but also with magicalvigor to protect the Queens of the Green emple.

Te exploits of the knights of the Golden Realm became thestuff of Danian legend: Gyfryd’s single-handed defense of thecastle of Hyrval, Penwyrd’s rescue of Queen ara, Dyrk’s captureof the Wyvern King, the duel between Benreuth and Ferne for thestill-beating heart of the Maiden of Abeuth. Just as legendary, ifnot more so, were the feasts and celebrations in their honor andat the Green emple, where the fertility of the land was ensuredby the ritual union of the Spring Queens of An-Athair with localheroes who wore golden Sun Masks to invoke Islik, the returnedSun King. Women came from far and wide to serve as SpringQueens, and heroes, knights, and woodsmen came too to dotheir duty and bless the land, and with every union the land grew

greener and the Golden Realm grew brighter.

THE COMING OFTHE SEA BULLS

A shadow soon fell on An-Athair, the sails of the Sea Bulls:the Aurians, the descendants of Heth the Sea King. Raiders andpillagers from the far north, they had been fought off, if barely,by the Veiled Queens of Palatia, and had found safe landing onthe unpopulated eastern coast of Dania, which they called theGift of Heth. Soon they came through the pass of Édain, andthey conquered portions of the Danian lands and subjected

their peoples, until they came to the borders of An-Athair. Teymarveled at the plenty of the Plain of Horns, and sought to makeit their own, but the knights of the Golden Realm rode fromthe Erid Wold to disrupt their hunts and war parties, and the Aurians retreated to the east. Some amongst the Aurians becameenchanted with the knights of the Golden Realm, and sentemissaries to the Green emple, and lay with the Spring Queensand were granted domain over lands in the east.

Most of the Aurians were not enchanted, but were stillinstilled with the fury and rage of their ancestor and god, Heth,

who embodied the hurricane and the tidal wave. Teir magicianssought ways to ght the knights of the Golden Realm, and one daya Horned Man visited one of them, and told him how to make anaxe and enchant a stone that could cut down an Erid Wold treeand prevent it from growing again. Te Horned Man explainedthat the trees were the source of the knight’s power, and once theywere cut down the knights would be made weak and vulnerable.

So the Aurians brought axe and re to the Erid Wold, andbegan at the river Abenbrae. Tey burned and cut down the treesof the wood, and on the each stump they placed an enchantedstone, and as the Horned Man had promised the trees did notgrow back. Te knights of the Golden Realm fought valiantly, butonce the Aurians knew this trick, their fate was sealed; they becameweaker and weaker as the forest disappeared, and one by one theknights of the Golden Realm fell.

THE SACK OFTHE GREEN TEMPLE

Te Erid Wold being destroyed acre by acre, the knights of theGolden Realm falling, the fate of the Green emple became xed,though it took years of pillage to bring about the end. Eventuallythe Aurians weakened the knights’ defenses enough to strikedirectly at the Green emple, and the trees and stones of the Green

emple were pulled down and ruined, and the Spring Queens wereraped and then drowned in the Eridbrae, and the paradise of An- Athair faded in an instant.

Te Aurians’ moment of triumph was short-lived, however, forthe bodies of the Spring Queens oated down the Eridbrae to thesea, and there they were found by Heth; and Heth the Sea Kinghad been a lover of Geniché’s, and he knew that the Earth andthe Sea were one, and that Yhera was Queen of both. Further,he saw something that his children had not: that Amaymon, the Whisperer, who forever seeks to undermine all that is fair andbeautiful, had sent the Horned Man with the secret of axe andstone. Heth has always been ckle and arbitrary, for such wasthe Sea, and though he too destroyed without pity it enraged himthat his children had done so dark a deed, and at the Whisperer’sbehest. So he turned his back on them, and withdrew hisblessings, so that when the Aurian lords put to sea to continueon their pillaging, the waves crushed their boats and water spiritsdragged them to the depths.

Te end of the Golden Realm left a rent Dania and thedispirited, land-locked Aurians open to the arrival of Dauban Hessand the Tessid-Golans, who came and subjected the land with

ease, bringing with him the teachings of the Sun Court, whichwere embraced by the Aurians in particular, as they had lost theirpatron and ancestor, Heth. Te Erid Wold in time recovered, butis a place of dark memories and vengeful spirits; Aurian lords of theeast destroyed a vast part of the forest, and the trees never returned,and that land became the Plain of Stones. o this day, Aurians areconsidered cursed at sea, and rarely leave the land.

I GITHWAINETHE LAST WORM KING

For a time, only one known Worm King in the East escapedunseen from the questing Dragon Kings who took Hathhalla astheir guiding light and sought to destroy those that survived theCatastrophe:Githwaine, a young lord of Na Caila, who joined thearmies ofDauban Hess after the Golden Emperor had conqueredthe Danias. He was but 26 when Dauban Hess made him Lordof ir-en-tiel in i275, a position of great honor and trust as itincluded guarding both the sacred elds where Dauban Hess haddefeatedNymarga the Tyrant and the secrets of Nymarga’s nal



resting place, his cursed tomb.Proximity to such evil has its costs; despite that trust,

Githwaine later grew close to many of Nymarga’s old magiciansas they returned to advise the Phoenix Court, and he is thoughtto have become a corrupted Whisperer devoted to Amaymonand beholden to the spirit of Nymarga. His name is recorded asamongst the rst lords of the Phoenix Court to embrace the foul

rituals that transformed them into the undead things that wouldso plague the Age of Legends. He was away in ir-en-tiel whenthe Catastrophe destroyed Millene, and hid in shadows while hisfellows perished in the Dragon King’s hunts.

GITHWAINE RETURNS TOUTHED DANIA

Githwaine appears to have returned in secret to Uthed Daniaby i627, when his now-distant relations in Na Caila (he hadbeen gone from there almost four hundred years) were all killedmysteriously. Na Caila stood vacant afterwards, and Githwaine

instead used magic and fell powers to masquerade as a younglordling of nearby Arath. He used that keep’s position guardingthe approach to Bora Gara to make contact with the barbarianDjar Mael lords there, and cultivate them as his allies. Te lastDragon King of Uthed Dania,Heraud, had perished in Sekerethunting Worm Kings, but had left behind a Council of Kingsfrom amongst his Danian and Mael subjects, and Githwainebegan by whisper and intrigue to grow a secret network at theirCourt in Sanas Sill. He introduced the worship of corruptionamongst those that followed him, and human sacrices andunspeakable rites were performed in hidden catacombs andtemples in the name of dark and forbidden gods.

Erlwulf , Dragon King of Dania, of the blood of Islik the

Divine King and the last known of his kind, returned to hisrealm in i648. He and his entourage thought to nd a peacefulrest, having completed their task of destroying their Worm Kingenemies, but instead he discovered to his horror the telltale signs,now lost to history, of a Worm King’s presence amongst hisneighbors. He raised an army of Danian, Aurian, and Daradjanknights, and with the nominal aid of the Uthed Council of Kingsbegan searching through Uthed Dania for the source of thiscorruption, but the allies of Githwaine fought a war of stealthand cunning against them, never warring openly but insteadthrough disguise and ambush and poison. Tis was a cruel war,with none knowing who was friend or foe, and Githwaine and hisallies preyed upon the noblemen and common folk of the countryalike, visiting grievous dooms upon those that aided Erlwulfagainst them.

Erlwulf sensed the corruption in the heart of the Council ofKings, and so never trusted them fully, instead making his chiefquarters the citadels of Warwark in the south and Heth Mollin the north. It was while returning to Heth Moll through theVale of Barrows in i657 with his closest aides that Erlwulf wasfatally ambushed by a force of Djar Maelite warlords and Daradjbrigands led by Githwaine himself. Trough nine years of theirwar, Githwaine had heretofore avoided direct confrontationwith Erlwulf, but he chose to strike when hard campaigning hadnally exhausted the Dragon King and his entourage. From theirheights the knights of Heth Moll saw the attack, and sent a strongrelief party, but they arrived too late to do aught but save the bodyof Erlwulf from the clutches of their dark enemy. Te body of thelast Dragon King was brought to Heth Moll, and he was interredthere as a bulwark against the evils of the Vale of Barrows.

Te danger and strength of the Worm Kings had been theirpowers of corruption and sorcery and poison, as they struck withhoneyed words and magic spells and a touch that brought diseaseand decay; their battles with the Dragon Kings had been foughtwith mortal proxies, for the powers of Islik’s blood in the meleewere unrivaled. But the knights of Heth Moll and the few thatsurvived of Erlwulf’s entourage reported Githwaine had sought

out Erlwulf on the eld of battle and slain him undisguised, armed,and face-to-face, and this turn shocked and worried many.

GHAVAURER, DAYBRINGER &GLADRINGER

Divinations were performed, and though a veil of shadowslay about Githwaine a secret was gleaned: the Worm King hadarmed himself with an enchanted sword, the fell and infamousGhavaurer , made by Nymarga himself to have special powersagainst the blood and lineage of Islik. He had wielded it againstDauban Hess at ir-en- iel, and when tested against the GoldenEmperor’s famedDaybringer , that great heirloom of the Sun Courtforged of sun-metal by Daedekamani,Ghavaurer was found to belacking. Tough perhaps the weakness had been in the hand thatwielded it, for now Githwaine held it, plundered from Nymarga’stomb when he had been it’s guardian, and he used it to end theknown line of Islik.

In i666, after more years of this shadow war, the lords of the

Middle Kingdoms called for a great council in Sanas Sill, andthere many of the Kings and lords of Uthed Dania gathered. Temagisters of the University of Terapoli and the priests of the SunCourt had prepared a secret ritual at the behest of the Aurian hero-knightFortias of Édain, and when the Uthed Court had gatheredthey performed it suddenly, and Githwaine was unmasked, andhe was revealed in all his horror. But his foes had underestimatedthe depths of corruption in Sanas Sill and did not realize they wereoutnumbered there, and once Githwaine was revealed, his followersin the Court drew arms against his enemies and slaughtered manyof them.

Fortias was amongst those that escaped, and he rallied the lastuncorrupted Uthed and Mael lords and with knights of Dania,

Auria, and Daradja led them into war against the Last Worm.Githwaine took as his seat the citadel at Liss Dyved, and ruledopenly and without disguise, and nine years of dark and hauntedwar followed as Uthed Dania was contested. Githwaine wouldraise his slain soldiers as Hathaz-Ghúl to ght his enemies even indeath, and he called up wights and ghosts from the Barrow-Vale tostalk them in the night.

AgainstGhavaurer and the unnatural foot soldiers ofGithwaine’s army Fortias sought a counter, butDaybringer hadbeen lost with Dauban Hess, and for a time he despaired. ButGobelin, the great Daradj smith of the Bodmall clan, brought himGladringer , a sword forged in the ruins of the Green emple andquenched in the pools of the Spring Queen’s blood that could stillbe found there, along with harnesses of bronze plate enchantedagainst the unquiet dead. With that the tides turned, and re andsword were brought to all those that aided Githwaine in UthedDania, until Fortias sacked Liss Dyved and hunted Githwaineto his death, piercing his magics and illusions and nally hiscorrupted body withGladringer’s enchanted blade.

A full and nal victory eluded Fortias even then, for loyal DjarMael lords spirited away Githwaine’s body even as the knights ofHeth Moll had recovered Erlwulf’s, and it is said they buried itin secret and protected it with grave glyphs, bound ghosts, andwarriors who accepted the curse of undeath to guard the body oftheir master. Some believe it was interred beneath Holl Ari, as anicon against the body of Erlwulf at Heth Moll; others that it wasreturned to his birthplace at Na Caila; others that it was taken deepinto Djar Mael; and still others believe that his body was buried inan unmarked barrow in the Vale, the location lost now even to theDjar Maelites.

Te cursedGhavaurer was never found and is believed buriedwith Githwaine’s body. Four centuries laterGladringer was lost inthe Black Day Battle when it fell from the hand of the High KingDarwain Urfortias, ever afterwards called the Fumbler, the onesour note to the resounding victory of the Middle Kingdoms overthe Tessid-Golan Empire. None know who recovered it from theeld, or where it is today.



Q THE WARS OFTHE THRONE THIEF

THE ISLIKLIDS APPEAR In i1211, soon after the Peace of ir-en-tiel, the Isliklidae

crossed the Red Wastes with their Düméghal army and appearedin the southern reaches of the Dain Éduins. By i1214 they hadconquered and pacied those most barbarian kings of Djar Maeland proclaimed three Kingdoms of their own: Ugeram, Boradja,and Morica. No great love existed between the Middle Kingdomsand the subjected Djar Maelites, but the Watchtower Kings ofMaece roused themselves into a crusade to rid the mountainsof the new arrivals. For over thirty years the armies and heroesof Maece and Dania crossed the horrors of Lost Uthedmael andthe Vale of Barrows to reach the western mountains, only to bedefeated time and again by the Düméghal and Djar Mael warlordscommanded by the Isliklidae. In i1239 the last of the Kings ofMaece, Gwyrfyr Brightstar, and his chief warlords reached thefurthest into the Isliklid realms of any of their kin, but weremassacred attempting to besiege the plateau tower-gate of Cir At’tor. No heir to the throne of Maece survived, and the HighKing, Fergus, appointed no other, signaling an end to the realm ofMaece and their wars against the Isliklidae.

A THRONE DISAPPEARSTe throne of the Kings of Maece, like the thrones of the

other sovereign kings of the Middle Kingdoms, had been built

in imitation of the Dragon Trone of Terapoli, itself based onthe original Dragon Trone of Illia made by Brage himself andlost in the Catastrophe. Great power resided in it and in whoeverrightfully took its seat, and some of that power was conferred intothe thrones that were modeled after it and given to the petty kingsof the Middle Kingdoms. Not as much, for sure, but enough for

the minor thrones to be considered relics of great power andauthority. With no King left in Maece, the throne of Maece wasordered returned from Angora to Terapoli in i1240, but onthe West King’s Road on the way to ruse it vanished from theprocession in the middle of the night.

A great hue and cry was raised, and a search of the Plain of

Stones begun, but no sign of the throne or who had taken itcould be found. alk of witchcraft and treachery began – howelse could a throne of power disappear from within an armedcamp? – but the priests of the Divine King could nd no proofof either in their divinations. Te disappearance of the thronewas a considerable loss, but seemed destined to become a minormystery of legend, retold over tankards of ale and wine – untilthe throne of Dain Dania disappeared as well.

SUSPICIONS ARISE Te throne of Dain Dania disappeared from the

very throne room in the Dain King’s castle at Aprenna onenight; it had simply vanished by morning, though the King’sGuard watched over the hall. Once again a great search wasconducted, but no trace of the throne or who had taken it couldbe found. With two thrones now missing, the courts of theMiddle Kingdoms soon abounded with rumor and innuendoand speculation about who could be taking them and why. TeKing of Erid Dania, who had last seen charge of the throne ofMaece as it made its way to ruse, was quickly suspected, as werethe witches and warlocks said to reside in the haunts of the Erid Wold. Some suggested brigands from the Highlands, or cultistsof Nymarga seeking some secret power in the thrones, or asecret cult of Ishraha the Rebel seeking to undermine the SeatedKings, or the new threat from the west, the Isliklidae, sending

their hidden hands forth to rob those who had so recentlywarred against them. Others dismissed it as coincidence, oreven suggested that the Dain King had hidden his own throneto divert suspicion from his involvement in the theft of thethrone of Maece, which he had long coveted. An emissary ofthe High King was sent to the Danias to question the Dainand Erid Kings, and while the emissary was in royal Westmarkin conference with the Erid King Dyvryn, the Ivory Trone ofDainphalia disappeared.

Tis caused great consternation in Terapoli, for up to thatpoint the problem was to some extent assumed to be a Danianproblem; but now whoever was taking the thrones had reachedpast the capital to pluck the Ivory Trone, though a minor one,

from the hall of Urphalia while the Phalian Duke hunted in theMarek Mole. Tere was no longer any question in the courtsof the land but that some intelligent design was at work, an evilintent at play. A year of searching yielded no clues, however,and in i1241 the minor thrones of Huelt and Édain disappeared,though the hall guards swore they saw nothing, even undertorture before they were executed.

THE WARS BEGINTe next year, the princely throne of Auria in the city of Loria

disappeared; but this time, the guards caught someone in thecastle who wasn’t supposed to be there: an Umati merchant. Temerchant forswore any knowledge of the disappearance of thethrone, but died in the custody of the guards before the DivineKing’s priests could question him. Prince Teodric of Auria andKing Cawal of Umat exchanged heated barbs, and soon Aurianknights were raiding across the Dyer Moors, though King Cawalswore oaths before the Sun Court’s emissaries that he had nopart in the taking of the thrones and the High King Fergusordered an end to the attacks. Within a year full-edged warbroke out between Umat and the lords of Auria and Dainphalia,

Fergus, High King of Terapoli and Atallica



both pressing for the return of their thrones, and soon the DainKing Chidric had moved against the Erid King Dyvryn, layingsiege to Westmark. Te High King’s marshals took the eld tostop these minor wars lest they spread like contagion, but the fearand mystery that gripped the land proved too strong.

Once started, the wars did not seem to end; nor did the

theft of the thrones. Te throne of Erid Dania disappearedfrom the royal hall of Westmark in i1246, though the DainKing accused Dyvryn of simply sneaking it off into the Erid Wold. Umat lost its war with Dainphalia and Auria by i1247,and Lysias was sacked and the Silver Trone carted off to Loriaas booty; it disappeared from the throne room in Loria thenext year, prompting King Cawal to renew hostilities with anarmy of mercenary knights from the pirate holds of the BarrenCoast. Te secondary throne of Umis in Caven disappeared ini1248 as well, and the chairs of the magisters of the Universityof ruse disappeared the same year, though some weren’t sure ifit wasn’t just a student prank, and scholars from the Universityof Terapoli started turning up dead at an alarming rate. Tethrone of the Watchtower King of Warwark disappeared ini1249, though it was not enchanted like the thrones of the Seatedand minor Kings, and on it went, until a general paranoia hadbecome the standard way of life for the entire Middle Kingdoms,and not a chair was considered safe anywhere.

Te region exploded in ame in i1250, when the heavilyguarded Dragon Trone in Terapoli disappeared. Te HighKing Fergus ordered the city turned upside down; foreigners,vagrants, and criminals were put to the sword wholesale, butno trace of the Dragon Trone was found. Soon search partiesspread out from the capital, and knightly hosts hunted throughcity street, sleepy village, and wooded copse alike, questioningeveryone from the highest noble to the lowliest peasant. Witchburnings, already on the rise, began in earnest; over a thousandwere burned in An-Athair alone over the next decade. Everyrumor of the secret worship of Nymarga, Amaymon, Ligrid,and Ishraha was taken as truth, and hundreds put to deathby emissaries of the Sun Court. Renewed ghting broke outbetween Umat and the other Principalities and Kingdoms,between the Danias and the High King’s host, between minornoblemen and their neighbors, and between the MiddleKingdoms and the Highlands, as search parties sought access tothe Highlands citadels and the brigand camps of the mountains.

In i1253 attention shifted to Umis; alone amongst the Seatedand minor Kings of the Middle Kingdoms, he had retainedhis original king’s throne, because it was carved from the veryrock of his hall in Caven More in what was called the Daradjanstyle; the throne in Caven, stolen years before, was not the trueseat of his power, as Caven More was the true King’s hold inUmis. Te Umisi were well known as a strange and barbaricpeople who held themselves aloof and separate from the rest ofthe Middle Kingdoms, and the High King formally accused theStone King Golgosyn of orchestrating the throne thefts, thoughhe presented no proof, and he led a great host against him. Butthis was Fergus’ undoing, for though they sacked Caven, the wildterritory of the Umis Mole proved beyond their control, and eachcampaign to take Caven More or the other hill towers proveddisastrous. Te High King Fergus was killed besieging Hardaghin i1266 on his sixth campaign in Umis; his oldest son and heirFairal was killed attempting Rhodia from the sea only six months

later, and his second son Fergrain was slain by Golgosyn himselfin hillside ambush.

THE WARS END ANDNEW KINGDOMS APPEAR

Fergus’ third son, Forwain, called the Wise, became HighKing next and sealed off the borders of Umis, but made no

further attempt on its interior. Instead he began the painstakingtask of bringing the various wars and general mayhem in theMiddle Kingdoms to a halt. Tirty years, it took him, before thelast armed conicts and purges of the Wars of the Trone Tiefcame to an end in exhaustion and futility.

With the blessing of the Sun Court he elevated the Watchtower

King of Angora to become the Seated King of Angowrie, andelevated the minor kings and nobles of Umat, Umis, Huelt andDainphalia to be Seated Kings as well. Te Sun Court pardonedKing Golgosyn of Umis for his part in the deaths of three HighKings, as he swore his innocence in the throne thefts before theSun Court’s emissaries, and so was held to be acting in defense ofhis rightful Kingship. A general amnesty was issued for crimes,war deaths, and murders during the Wars of the Trone Tief byboth the High King and the Sun Court, and a reward posted forthe thrones’ return in the hope that the Trone Tief would comeforward, but no evidence was ever found of the identity of theTrone Tief and the stolen thrones were never recovered.

Several theories have persisted to this day as to the identity of

the Trone Tief. Te rst and most prevalent continues to beKing Golgosyn of Umis, despite the Sun Court’s vindication of hisdefense; the relative isolation of the Kings of Umis only emboldensthe talk that the halls of Caven More hold a secret room with acircle of stolen thrones. Te second popular theory blames witchpowers in the Erid Wold, who reportedly buried the stolen thronesin a magical pattern to increase the enchanted powers of the wood.Te third popular theory blames the Isliklids, who have come tobe seen as bogeymen in the eyes of the Middle Kingdoms, thoughlike theories of the Erid witches this seems more to result frompopular prejudice than any suggestive evidence. A fourth theorynow increasingly popular is that the thrones were stolen by agentsof the High King Fergus himself, seeking to diminish the powersof his subject Kings, and that the theft of the Dragon Trone wasorchestrated to justify the invasion of Umis and the destruction ofthe Stone Trone in Caven More, the last great throne outside hispossession. Proponents of this theory claim that the thrones areheld in the catacombs beneath the High King’s Hall in Terapoli.Te reward for the return of the stolen thrones stands to this day.

Golgosyn, King of Umis



6



7



8





0





I ACKNOWLEDGMEN SI

I wish to express my thanks to the folks at Sirius Entertainment who rst gave Artesia a home: Robb Horan(and Brenda), Larry Salamone, my former editor Mark Bellis, and the ever-resourceful Keith Davidsen

My thanks as well to Mark McNabb of McNabb Studios for his invaluable prepress and design work on t

rst two Artesia series; to Lisa Webster (& im) and Wendy Wellington for their help on the original www.artesiaonline.com, and to Jeremy Mohler and Dustin Dade for their work on the new sites;to Michael, Bob, and Paul (and family) at PrintSolutions in Englewood; to Kristin, Jessica, and everyon

at Brenner Printing; to Robert Conte and Stephen Boomgard at Regent Publishing Services; to Peter Ho Wa Fei Graphic Arts Printing Co.; to Filip Sablik, Robert Randle, Mark Herr, Jim Kuhoric, Patricia Moor Andrew Smith, Chana Goldberg, Karen Huddler, Janice Wilhelm, Bill Schanes, and the other ne folks a

Diamond Comics and Diamond Books; to Steve Wieck, Ned Cosker, and Craig Grant at DriveTruRPG anDriveTruComics; and to Brian Petkash and Lys Fulda at Sphinx Group.

Tanks also to Dawn Murin and Robert Raper at Wizards of the Coast; Jim Pinto; and Becky Jollensten,Rich Tomas, and Mike Chaney at White Wolf Publishing and its Swords & Sorcery studios, for occasiona

providing me employment outside of a world of my own making.

For their occasional encouragement, comments, criticisms, conversation, and continual example over the ymy thanks to John Kovalic, Joe Linsner, Eva Hopkins, Voltaire, Jill Tompson, Brian Azzarello, Mark Cril Jason Alexander, Mike Norton, Sherard Jackson, Michael Kaluta, Kevin insley, Dave Napoliello, TomaHarlan, Arvid Nelson, Alec Peters, Chris Gossett, Carla Speed McNeil, Alex Smits, Joe Koch, Dave ElliKensuke Okabayashi, Dave Forrest, Christian Beranek, Marshall Dillon, Dave Lewis, David Petersen, JuPetersen, Marvin Mann, Jennifer Rodgers, Russell Collins, Sean Wang, Peggy wardowski, Julie Haehn,

Martin, Mike Lee, Janet Young, Luke Crane, Chris Moeller, and Ray Lago, amongst others.

As always, my thanks to my brother John, Lillian, Hide, Michael & Naomi (and Noah and Eli and Maya John & Heather (and Colombine), Aki & ammy (and Gordo and yler ), Patti, Liz, Alice, Ray & Lucy (a Winston), Vera, Al & Kaoru, David & Wendy, David C., Marc & Lisa (and Scott and Patrick and GregoryMikey & Meg, Dennis & Kelly, my father, and Joe Scott, who got the ball rolling on this world, and Chris

Aimee (and Spencer and Chloe), whom I still hold, much to their continued seeming bemusement,as my Ideal Readers.

___________________

A Select Bibliography of books that have inuenced the writing of the Artesia seriesand the content of the Known World:

-- Roberto Calasso,Te Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony , Alfred A. Knopf, 1993.-- Joseph Campbell,Te Hero with a Tousand Faces , Princeton/Bollingen, 1949.-- Yves Bonnofoy (compiler) and Wendy Doniger (translator), Mythologies , University of Chicago Press, 1991.

-- J.G. Frazer,Te Golden Bough, 12 volumes, Macmillan, 1935.-- Marcel Detienne and Jean-Pierre Vernant (translated by Paula Wissing),Te Cuisine of Sacrice Among the Greeks ,University of Chicago Press, 1989.

-- Christopher A. Faraone,alismans & rojan Horses: Guardian Statues in Ancient Greek Myth and Ritual , OxfordUniversity Press, 1992.

-- Christopher A. Faraone and Dirk Obbink, editors, Magika Hiera: Ancient Greek Magic & Religion, Oxford UniversityPress, 1991.

-- Jennifer Larson,Greek Heroine Cults , University of Wisconsin Press, 1995.-- Neil Forsyth,Te Old Enemy: Satan & Te Combat Myth , Princeton University Press, 1987.-- Carlo Ginzburg,Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches’ Sabbath , Pantheon Books, 1991.-- Barbara Ehrenreich,Blood Rites: Origins and History of the Passions of War , Metropolitan Books, 1997.-- Bruce Lincoln,Death, War, and Sacrice: Studies in Ideology and Practice , University of Chicago Press, 1991.-- Antonia Fraser,Boadicea’s Chariot: Te Warrior Queens , Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1988.-- John Keegan,Te Face of Battle , Viking Press, 1976.-- Victor Davis Hanson,Te Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece , Hodder & Stoughton, 1989.-- Donald W. Engels, Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army , University of California Press, 1978.-- Malcolm Vale,War and Chivalry: Warfare and Aristocracy in England, France, and Burgundy at the End of the Middle

Ages , University of Georgia Press, 1981.-- J. R. Hale,War and Society in Renaissance Europe, 1450-1620 , Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985.-- Sydney Anglo,Te Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe , Yale University Press, 2000.-- Mary Gentle,Te Book of Ash , four volumes, Avon, 1999.

G R R M iA S f I d Fif l f B S 1996

Documents

Artesia Compendium