Skarabost.
BRACKEN, River: the river that rises in the Bracken Ranges and which, dividing the
provinces of Skarabost and Arcness, flows into the Widowmaker Sea.
BRIGHTFEATHER: wife to RavenCrest SunSoar, Talon of the Icarii.
BROTHER-LEADER, The: the supreme leader of the Brotherhood of the Seneschal.
Usually elected by the senior brothers, the Office of Brother-Leader is for life. He is a powerful
man, controlling not only the Brotherhood and all its riches, but the Axe-Wielders as well. The
current Brother-Leader is Jayme.
BURDEL, Earl: lord of Arcness and friend to Borneheld, Duke of Ichtar.
CARLON: capital city of Achar and residence of the kings of Achar. Situated on Grail
Lake.
CAULDRON LAKE: the lake at the centre of the Silent Woman Woods.
CHAMBER OF THE MOONS: chief audience and sometime banquet chamber of the
royal palace in Carlon.
CHAMPION, A: occasionally an Acharite warrior will pledge himself as a noble lady‘s
Champion. The relationship is purely platonic and is one of protection and support. The pledge
of a Champion can be broken only by his death or by the express wish of his lady.
CHARONITES: a lost race of Tencendor.
CLANS, The: the Avar tend to segregate into Clan groups, roughly equitable with family
groups.
COHORT: see ―Military Terms‖.
COROLEAS: the great empire to the south of Achar. Relations between the two countries
are usually cordial.
CREST: Icarii military unit composed of twelve Wings.
CRIMSONCREST: an Icarii male.
CREST-LEADER: commander of an Icarii Crest.
DESTROYER, The: another term for Gorgrael.
DEVERA: daughter to Duke Roland of Aldeni.
DISTANCES: League: roughly seven kilometres, or four and a half miles. Pace: roughly
one metre or one yard. Handspan: roughly twenty centimetres or eight inches.
EARTH TREE: a tree sacred to both the Icarii and the Avar.
EGERLEY: a young man from Smyrton.
EMBETH, Lady of Tare: widow of Ganelon, good friend and sometime lover of Axis.
ENCHANTERS: the magicians of the Icarii people. Many of them are very powerful. All
Enchanters have the word ―Star‖ somewhere in their names. The power of the Enchanters is
blood-related, thus an Enchanter is not created, but born.
ENCHANTER-TALONS: Talons of the Icarii people who were also Enchanters.
EVENSONG: an Icarii woman.
FARADAY: daughter of Earl Isend of Skarabost and his wife, Lady Merlion.
FARSIGHT CUTSPUR: a Crest-Leader in the Icarii Strike Force.
FERNBRAKE LAKE: the large lake in the centre of the Bracken Ranges.
FESTIVALS of the Avar and the Icarii: Yuletide: the winter solstice, in the last week of
Snow-month. Beltide: the spring Festival, the first day of Flower-month. Fire-Night: the summer
solstice, in the last week of Rose-month.
FINGUS: a previous BattleAxe. Now dead.
FIRE-NIGHT, The: see ―Festivals‖.
FLEAT: an Avar woman.
FLURIA, River: a minor river that flows through Aldeni into the River Nordra.
FORBIDDEN, The: the two races, the Icarii and the Avar, that the Seneschal teaches are
evil creatures who use magic and sorcery to enslave humans. During the Wars of the Axe, a
thousand years before the events of the Prophecy of the Destroyer, the Acharites pushed the
Forbidden back beyond the Fortress Ranges into the Shadowsward and the Icescarp Alps. It is
part of Acharite legend that one day the Forbidden will try to reclaim their old lands.
FORBIDDEN TERRITORIES, The: the lands of the Forbidden, the Shadowsward and
the Icescarp Alps.
FORBIDDEN VALLEY, The: the only known entrance into the Shadowsward from
Achar. It is where the River Nordra escapes the Shadowsward and flows into Achar.
FOREST, concept of: the Seneschal teaches that all forests are bad because they harbour
dark demons who plot the overthrow of mankind, thus most Acharites have a terrible fear of
forests and their dark interiors. Almost all of the ancient forest that once covered Achar has been
destroyed. The only trees grown in Achar are fruit trees and plantation trees for timber.
FORTRESS RANGES: the mountains that run down Achar‘s eastern boundary from the
Icescarp Alps to the Widowmaker Sea. The Forbidden are penned behind these ranges.
FRANCIS: an elderly Brother from the Retreat in Gorkentown.
FREEFALL: an Icarii male.
FULKE, Baron: lord of Romsdale.
―FURROW WIDE, FURROW DEEP‖: an all-embracing Acharite phrase which can be
used as a benediction, as a protection against evil, or as a term of greeting.
GANELON, LORD: lord of Tare, once husband to Embeth, Lady of Tare. Now dead.
GARDEN, The: the Garden of the Mother.
GARLAND, GOODMAN: Goodman of Smyrton.
GAUTIER: lieutenant to Borneheld, Duke of Ichtar.
GHOSTMEN: another term for Skraelings.
GHOSTTREE CLAN: one of the Avar Clans, headed by Grindle.
GILBERT: Brother of the Seneschal and assistant and adviser to the Brother-Leader.
GOLDFEATHER: an Icarii woman.
GORGRAEL: the Destroyer, an evil lord of the north who, according to the Prophecy of
the Destroyer, will threaten Achar.
GORKENFORT: the major fort situated in Gorken Pass in northern Ichtar.
GORKEN PASS: the narrow pass that provides the only way from Ravensbund into
Ichtar. It is bounded by the Icescarp Alps and the River Andakilsa.
GORKENTOWN: the town that huddles about the walls of Gorkenfort.
GRAIL LAKE: a massive lake at the lower reaches of the River Nordra. On its shores are
Carlon and the Tower of the Seneschal.
GREVILLE, BARON: lord of Tarantaise.
GRINDLE: an Avar man, head of the GhostTree Clan.
HAGEN: Plough-Keeper of Smyrton.
HANDSPAN: see ―Distances‖.
HELM: a young Avar male.
HOGNI: a young Avar female.
HORDLEY, GOODMAN: Goodman of Smyrton.
HORNED ONES: the almost divine and most sacred members of the Avar race. They
live in the Sacred Grove.
HOVEREYE BLACKWING: an Icarii Crest-Leader.
HSINGARD: the large town situated in central Ichtar, seat of the Dukes of Ichtar.
ICARII, The: one of the races of the Forbidden, living in the Icescarp Alps. They are
sometimes referred to as the People of the Wing.
ICESCARP ALPS, The: the great mountain range that stretches across most of northern
Achar. It is home to the Icarii, one of the Forbidden races.
ICESCARP BARREN: a desolate tract of land situated in northern Ichtar between the
Icescarp Alps and the Urqhart Hills.
ICHTAR, DUKE of: the lord of Ichtar, currently Borneheld.
ICHTAR, The Province of: the largest and richest of the provinces of Achar. Ichtar
derives its wealth from its extensive grazing herds and from its mineral and precious gem mines.
ICHTAR, River: a minor river that flows through Ichtar into the River Azle.
ISEND, EARL: lord of Skarabost, a darkly handsome but somewhat dandified lord.
ISLAND OF MIST AND MEMORY: one of the sacred sites of the Icarii people, long
lost to them after the Wars of the Axe.
JACK THE PIG BOY or JACK SIMPLE: pig herder of Arcness.
JAYME: Brother-Leader of the Seneschal.
JERVOIS LANDING: the small town on Tailem Bend of the River Nordra. The gateway
into Ichtar.
JORGE, Earl: Earl of Avonsdale, and one of the most experienced military campaigners
in Achar.
JUDITH: Queen of Achar, wife to Priam.
KAREL: old king of Achar, father to Priam and Rivkah. Now dead.
KASTALEON: one of the great Keeps of Achar, situated on the River Nordra in central
Achar. Of recent construction.
KEEPS, The: the three main Keeps of Achar. See separate entries under Kastaleon,
Sigholt, and Silent Woman Keep.
LEAGUE: see ―Distances‖.
LORD OF SORROW KRAK: the highest mountain in the Icescarp Alps. According to
Acharite legend, it is the home of the King of the Forbidden, the Lord of Sorrow himself. (Also
see ―Talon Spike‖.)
MAGARIZ, LORD: commander of Gorkenfort.
MAGIC: the Seneschal teaches that all magic, enchantments or sorcery are evil and the
province only of the Forbidden races who will use magic to enslave the Acharites if they can.
Consequently all Artor-fearing Acharites fear and hate the use of magic.
MAGIC LAKES: the ancient land of Tencendor had a number of magical lakes whose
powers are now mostly forgotten. Also known as the Sacred Lakes.
MALFARI: the tuber that the Avar depend on to produce their bread.
MASCEN, BARON: Lord of Rhaetia.
MERLION, LADY: wife to Earl Isend of Skarabost and mother to Faraday.
MILITARY TERMS—Acharite (for both regular army and the Axe-Wielders): Squad: a
group of thirty-six men, generally archers. Unit: a group of one hundred men, either infantry,
pikemen, or cavalry. Cohort: five units, so five hundred men.
MIRBOLT: a Bane of the Avar people.
MONTHS: (northern hemisphere seasons apply) Wolf-month: January Raven-month:
February Hungry-month: March Thaw-month: April Flower-month: May Rose-month: June
Harvest-month: July Weed-month: August DeadLeaf-month: September Bone-month: October
Frost-month: November Snow-month: December
MORYSON: Brother of the Seneschal and friend and chief assistant and adviser to the
Brother-Leader.
MOTHER: either the Avar name for Fernbrake Lake, or an all-embracing term for nature
which is sometimes personified as an immortal woman.
NEVELON: lieutenant to Duke Roland of Aldeni.
NOR: the southernmost of the provinces of Achar. Nors people are darker and more
exotic than the rest of the Acharites. Nor is controlled by Baron Ysgryff.
NORDMUTH: the port at the mouth of the River Nordra.
NORDRA, River: the great river that is the main life line of Achar. Rising in the Icescarp