Alps, the River Nordra flows through the Shadowsward before flowing through northern and
central Achar. It is used for irrigation, transport and fishing.
OGDEN: Brother of the Seneschal attached to the Silent Woman Keep.
PACE: see ―Distances‖.
PEASE: an Avar woman.
PIRATES‘ NEST: a large island off the coast of Nor and close to Ysbadd and the haunt
of pirates. Some say the pirates are protected by Baron Ysgryff himself.
PLOUGH, The: each Acharite village has a Plough, which not only serves to plough the
fields, but is also the centre of their worship of the Way of the Plough. The Plough was the
implement given by Artor the Ploughman to enable mankind to civilise themselves. Use of the
Plough distinguishes the Acharites from the Forbidden; neither the Icarii nor the Avar practise
cultivation.
PLOUGH-KEEPERS: the Seneschal assigns a brother to each village in Achar, and these
men are often known as Plough-Keepers. They are literally the guardians of the Plough in each
village, but they are also the directors of the Way of the Plough and guardians of the villagers‘
souls.
PRIAM: King of Achar and uncle to Borneheld, brother to Rivkah.
PRIVY CHAMBER: the large chamber in the royal palace in Carlon where the king‘s
Privy Council meet.
PRIVY COUNCIL: the council of advisers to the King of Achar, normally the lords of
the major provinces.
PROPHECY OF THE DESTROYER: an ancient Prophecy that tells of the rise of
Gorgrael in the north and the StarMan who can stop him. No-one knows who wrote it.
RAINBOW SCEPTRE: a weapon mentioned in the Prophecy of the Destroyer.
RAUM: a Bane of the Avar people.
RAVENCREST SUNSOAR: current Talon of the Icarii.
RAVENSBUND: the extreme northern province of Achar, although it is rarely
administered by the Acharite monarchy.
RAVENSBUNDMEN: the inhabitants of Ravensbund, generally loathed by the Acharites
as barbarous and cruel.
REINALD: retired chief cook of Sigholt, undercook when Rivkah lived there.
RENKIN, GoodPeople: farming couple of northern Arcness.
RETREATS: many brothers of the Seneschal prefer the contemplative life to the active
life, and the Seneschal has various retreats about Achar where these brothers live in peace in
order to contemplate the mysteries of Artor the Ploughman.
RHAETIA: small area of Achar situated in the western Bracken Ranges. It is controlled
by Baron Mascen.
RIVKAH: Princess of Achar, sister to King Priam and mother to Borneheld, Duke of
Ichtar, and Axis, BattleAxe. It is said that she died in Axis‘ birth.
ROLAND, Duke: also known as ―The Walker‖ because he is too fat to ride. Duke of
Aldeni and one of the major military commanders of Achar. He is commander of the Keep of
Kastaleon.
ROMSDALE: a province to the south-west of Carlon that mainly produces wine. It is
administered by Baron Fulke.
SACRED GROVE, The: the most sacred spot of the Avar people, the Sacred Grove is
rarely visited by ordinary mortals. Normally the Banes are the only members of the Avar race
who can find the paths to reach the Grove.
SEAGRASS PLAINS: the vast grain plains that form most of Skarabost.
SEARLAS: previous Duke of Ichtar and father of Borneheld. Once married to the
Princess Rivkah. Now dead.
SENESCHAL, The: the religious organisation of Achar. The Religious Brotherhood of
the Seneschal, known individually as brothers, direct the religious lives of all the Acharites. The
Seneschal is extremely powerful and plays a major role, not only in everyday life, but also in the
political life of the nation. It teaches obedience to the one god, Artor the Ploughman, and the
Way of the Plough.
SENESCHAL, TOWER of the: the headquarters of the Brotherhood of the Seneschal.
The Tower of the Seneschal is a massive pure white seven-sided tower that sits on the opposite
side of the Grail Lake to Carlon. It is very old.
SENTINELS: magical creatures of the Prophecy of the Destroyer.
SHADOWSWARD, The: the great forest that stretches north behind the Fortress Ranges.
It is home to the Forbidden. See ―Avarinheim‖.
SHRA: a young Avar child.
SIGHOLT: one of the great Keeps of Achar, situated in HoldHard Pass in the Urqhart
Hills in Ichtar. One of the main residences of the Dukes of Ichtar.
SILENT WOMAN KEEP: the Seneschal houses a few of its brothers in the Silent
Woman Keep to study the records left from the Wars of the Axe. The Silent Woman Keep lies in
the centre of the Silent Woman Woods.
SILENT WOMAN WOODS: the dark and impenetrable woods in southern Arcness that
house the Silent Woman Keep.
SONG OF CREATION: a Song which can, according to Icarii and Avar legend, actually
create life itself.
SONG OF RECREATION: one of the most powerful Icarii spells which can literally
recreate life in the dying. It cannot, however, make the dead rise again. Only the most powerful Enchanters can sing this Song.
SKALI: a young Avar female.
SKARABOST: large eastern province of Achar which grows much of the kingdom‘s
grain supplies. It is administered by Earl Isend.
SKRAEBOLDS: leaders of the Skraelings.
SKRAEFEAR: senior of the SkraeBolds.
SKRAELINGS: (also wraiths) insubstantial creatures of the northern wastes who feed off
fear and blood.
SMYRTON: a large village in northern Skarabost, virtually at the entrance to the
Forbidden Valley.
STARMAN, The: the man who, according to the Prophecy of the Destroyer, is the only
one who can defeat Gorgrael.
SORCERY: see ―Magic‖.
SPIKEFEATHER TRUESONG: an Icarii Wing-Leader.
STAR DANCE, The: the source from which the Icarii Enchanters derive their power.
STARDRIFTER: an Icarii Enchanter.
STAR GATE: one of the sacred sites of the Icarii people, long lost to them after the Wars
of the Axe.
STRAUM ISLAND: a large island off the coast of Ichtar and inhabited by sealers.
STRIKE FORCE: the military wing of the Icarii.
SUNSOAR, House of: the ruling House of the Icarii for many thousands of years.
TAILEM BEND: the great bend in the River Nordra where it turns from its westerly
direction and flows south towards Nordmuth and the Sea of Tyrre.
TALON, The: the hereditary ruler of the Icarii people (and, once, over all of the peoples
of Tencendor); from the House of SunSoar for over six thousand years.
TALON SPIKE: highest mountain in the Icescarp Alps, the home of the Icarii people.
( See “Lord of Sorrow Krak” .)
TARANTAISE: a rather poor southern province of Achar. Relies on trade for its income.
It is administered by Baron Greville.
TARE: small trading town in northern Tarantaise. Home to Embeth, Lady of Tare.
TARE, PLAINS of: the plains that lie between Tare and Grail Lake.
TENCENDOR: the ancient name for the continent of Achar before the Wars of the Axe.
A name now forgotten by all except the Forbidden.
THREE BROTHERS LAKES: three minor lakes in southern Aldeni.
TIME OF THE PROPHECY OF THE DESTROYER, The: the time that begins with the
birth of the Destroyer and the StarMan and that will end when one destroys the other.
TIMOZEL: son of Embeth and Ganelon of Tare, and a member of the Axe-Wielders.
TREE FRIEND: in Avar legend Tree Friend will be the person who will lead them back
to their traditional homes south of the Fortress Ranges. Tree Friend is also the person who will
bring the Avarinheim behind the StarMan.
TREE SONG: whatever Song the trees choose to sing you. Many times they will Sing the
future, other times they will Sing love and protection. The trees can also Sing death.
TYRRE, Sea of: the ocean off the south west coast of Achar.
UNIT: see ―Military Terms‖.
URQHART HILLS: a minor crescent-shaped range of mountains in central Ichtar.
VEREMUND: Brother of the Seneschal attached to the Silent Woman Keep.
WARLORD: title given to Borneheld, Duke of Ichtar, by King Priam in
acknowledgement of Borneheld‘s de facto command of the armies of Achar.
WARS OF THE AXE, The: the wars during which the Acharites, under the direction of
the Seneschal and the Axe-Wielders, drove the Icarii and the Avar from the land of Tencendor
and penned them behind the Fortress Ranges. Lasting several decades, the wars were
extraordinarily violent and bloody. They took place some thousand years before the time of the
Prophecy of the Destroyer.
WAY OF THE HORN, The: a general term sometimes used to describe the lifestyle of
the Avar people.
WAY OF THE PLOUGH, The: the religious obedience and way of life as taught by the
Seneschal according to the tenets of the Book of Field and Furrow. The Way of the Plough is
centred about the Plough and cultivation of the land. Its major tenets teach that as the land is
cleared and ploughed in straight furrows, so the mind and the heart are similarly cleared of
misbeliefs and evil thoughts and can consequently cultivate true thoughts. Natural and untamed
landscape is evil; thus forests and mountains are considered evil because they represent nature
out of control and because they cannot be cultivated. According to the Way of the Plough, then,
mountains and forests must either be destroyed or subdued, and if that is not possible, then they