Druids Sword by Sara Douglass – Page 134 – Library. Read online. Free books read online. Read books without registering

GREAT FOUNDING LABYRINTH, THE: the original labyrinth in Knossos on Crete, where was imprisoned the Minotaur ASTERION, and where ARIADNE betrayed him to Theseus.

GREAT ORDEAL, THE: whenever a woman is trained as a MISTRESS OF THE labyrinth, she must undergo a final test to determine whether or not she is capable of controlling the powerful sorceries of the labyrinth. It is the Great Ordeal, and not all novice Mistresses of the Labyrinth survive it.

GREAT MARRIAGE, THE: the formal union between the STAG GOD and the goddess of the waters (see EAVING), signifying that forest, water and land exist in harmony.

HAMPSTEAD HEATH: lying in the north-west of modern-day London, the Heath comprises eight hundred acres of parkland and woods; Parliament Hill rises in its south-east quadrant.

HERNE, WALTER: Loth-reborn and a clergyman within the Anglican Church.

IDYLL, THE: during the seventeenth century, when WEYLAND ORR lived in a house by ST DUNSTAN’S-IN-THE-EAST, he constructed in the attic a magical Faerie world that he called the Idyll. Only he, NOAH BANKS and later their daughter GRACE had access.

IMPS, THE: see PHILPOT.

INDENTURES: house and property deeds of sale and transfer in Britain were traditionally called indentures, and, until the early twentieth century, were usually written on vellum.

KINGMAN, THE: the TROY GAME is constructed and controlled by two people, the MISTRESS OF THE LABYRINTH and the KINGMAN. The Kingman was traditionally the king or ruler of the city which needed to be protected by the Game. In TROY, the original Kingman was Aeneas, and his descendant Brutus later took on the role.

KINGSHIP BANDS OF TROY, the: when Brutus originally constructed the TROY GAME with Genvissa, he used the power of the ancient and magical six kingship bands of Troy he wore about his limbs. But when CORNELIA killed Genvissa, and ASTERION threatened to invade, Brutus took the kingship bands and hid them about London as part of a protective enchantment. Ever since then both Brutus-reborn and ASTERION have competed in the effort to locate them. In book II, God’s Concubine, Caela (Cornelia-reborn and NOAH BANKS in this book) took them and hid them in different locations about London. Possession of the bands enables the wearer to control the TROY GAME.

LLANGARLIA: the ancient name of England during the Bronze Age (about 1500 BC).

LONDINIUM: Roman name for London.

LONG TOM: a SIDLESAGHE, and a close friend of NOAH BANKS. In medieval and early modern England, individual standing stones were often called Long Tom.

MAG: goddess of the waters in ancient LLANGARLIA, now reborn in NOAH BANKS as EAVING.

MAGOG: one of the legendary giant protectors of London, closely associated with the Guildhall (you can still see him there); his brother is GOG. Once a SIDLESAGHE.

MAKRIS, SILVIUS: Brutus’—now JACK SKELTON—father. Once murdered by his son, and trapped in the dark heart of the labyrinth for thousands of years. Now reunited with his son.

MALCOLM: servant at COPT HALL.

MESOPOTAMA: In the Bronze Age Mesopotama was a Dorian city on the River Acheron on the west coast of Greece. It was ruled by Pandrasus, who was CORNELIA’S father.

MISTRESS OF THE LABYRINTH: the TROY GAME is constructed and controlled by two people, the MISTRESS OF THE LABYRINTH and the KINGMAN. The Mistress is an ancient office which derives from the great founding labyrinth in Knossos in Crete. In previous lives Genvissa, reborn as Swanne (now STELLA WENTWORTH), has been the Mistress of the Labyrinth.

NAKED, THE: the greatest of the holy sites within the REALM OF THE FAERIE, and the site of the LORD OF THE FAERIE’S throne.

OG: see STAG GOD.

ORR, GRACE: daughter of NOAH BANKS and WEYLAND ORR. In Darkwitch Rising Grace was hexed by CATLING, who tied their fates together.

ORR, WEYLAND: ASTERION-reborn, husband of NOAH BANKS and father of GRACE.

PEN HILL: one of the ancient sacred VEILED HILLS of Llangarlia. Pen Hill has now vanished underneath the nineteenth-century urban sprawl (and waterworks) of London.

PHILPOT, BILL and JIM: WEYLAND ORR’S imps, who he first created in the eleventh century to torment NOAH BANKS and STELLA WENTWORTH (once Caela and Swanne). Jim and Bill are now far more independent, running their own private investigation agency in Southwark.

PRASUTAGUS: British druid-king of the Iceni. Husband of BOUDICCA. He died circa AD 60.

RINGWALK, THE: the medieval term for the path of the stag through the forest.

RINGWALKER: the name of the current STAG GOD, JACK SKELTON.

STACEY, ROBERT: concierge of the private residents’ lobby at the SAVOY. Stacey is a SIDLESAGHE.

ST DUNSTAN’S-IN-THE-EAST: one of the medieval churches of London. It stands in Idol Lane near the Tower of London.

ST PAUL’S CATHEDRAL: situated in the heart of London, St Paul’s is the heart of the TROY GAME. The cathedral that stood during World War II (and which stands now) is that designed by Sir Christopher Wren to replace that destroyed by the GREAT FIRE of London in 1666.

SAVOY, THE: a famous hotel situated on the banks of the Thames on the Strand. It takes its name from the medieval palace which once stood on the spot.

SKELTON, JACK: once Brutus, who, with Genvissa, began the TROY GAME during the Bronze Age, Jack is now also RINGWALKER, the STAG GOD of the forests. Previously he had lived as William the Conqueror and Louis de Silva.

STAG GOD: one of the ancient gods of the land of LLANGARLIA, the Stag God is particularly associated with the forests. For aeons he was known as Og. In the previous life JACK SKELTON assumed the powers of the Stag God and took the name RINGWALKER.

STONE DANCES, THE: the ancient circles of standing stones which dot the British Isles.

SIDLESAGHES: ancient magical creatures of the land who often take the form of standing stones within the STONE DANCES.

SILVIUS: father to BRUTUS, murdered by BRUTUS in the forests outside Alba in Italy almost three thousand years ago. (See also MAKRIS, SILVIUS.)

THORNTON, REVEREND JOHN: see GEORGE VI.

TROY: the fabulous city of Troy sat on the western shores of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). Paris, son of the Trojan king Priam, stole away Helen from her husband, Menelaus, King of Sparta, precipitating the Trojan War in which the city-states of Greece united against Troy. Although it survived a long Greek siege, Troy was eventually destroyed due to a combination of hubris, the betrayal of the gods, and Greek cunning. Those Trojans who survived the destruction were scattered about the lands of the Mediterranean, either as refugees or slaves.

TROY GAME, THE: the ancient protective sorcery which draws on the power of the ancient labyrinth in order to protect a city. In Hades’ Daughter Brutus and Genvissa constructed the Game, but were unable to complete it when CORNELIA murdered Genvissa. Now the Game has taken on a life and power of its own, and wishes only to be completed by the KINGMAN and the MISTRESS OF THE LABYRINTH.

VEILED HILLS, the: the six sacred hills of LLANGARLIA, clustered above the Thames River in the area now known as London. The six hills were: Tot Hill (where now stands Westminster); the Llandin, the most sacred of the hills (now called Parliament Hill); PEN HILL; Og’s Hill (Ludgate Hill); Mag’s Hill (Cornhill); and the White Mount (Tower Hill).

VERULAMIUM: the Roman name for St Albans.

WENTWORTH, STELLA: once Genvissa, who started the TROY GAME with BRUTUS, Stella is now the CAROLLER (she who sings in the dawn and the dusk in THE FAERIE), and lives as the LORD OF THE FAERIE’S lover.