KRASIAN DICTIONARY
Abban am’Haman am’Kaji: Wealthy khaffit merchant, friend to both Jardir and Arlen, crippled during his warrior training.
Ahmann asu Hoshkamin am’Jardir am’Kaji: Ahmann, son of Hoshkamin, of the line of Jardir, of the tribe Kaji. Leader of all Krasia. Believed by many to be the Deliverer. See also: Shar’Dama Ka.
Ajin’pal (blood brother): Name for the bond that forms on a boy’s first night fighting in the Maze, when he is tethered to a dal’Sharum warrior to keep him from running when the demons first come at them. An ajin’pal is considered a blood relative thereafter.
Ala: (1) The perfect world created by Everam, corrupted by Nie. (2) Dirt, soil, clay, etc.
Alagai: The Krasian word for corelings (demons). Direct translation is “plague of Ala.”
Alagai hora: Demon bones used by dama’ting to create magic items, such as the warded dice they use to tell the future. Alagai hora burst into flame if exposed to sunlight.
Alagai Ka: Ancient Krasian name for the consort to Alagai’ting Ka, the Mother of Demons. Alagai Ka and his sons were said to be the most powerful of the demon lords, generals, and captains of Nie’s forces.
Alagai’sharak: Holy War against demonkind.
Alagai tail: A whip consisting of three strips of braided leather ending in sharp barbs meant to cut deeply into a victim’s flesh. Used by dama as an instrument of punishment.
Alagai’ting Ka: The Mother of All Demons, the demon queen of Krasian myth.
Aleverak: Ancient, one-armed Damaji of the Majah tribe in Krasia. One of the greatest living sharusahk grand masters.
Amanvah: Jardir’s eldest dama’ting daughter by Inevera. Married to Rojer Inn.
Andrah: Krasian secular and religious dictator, second only to the Deliverer and Damajah.
Anoch Sun: Lost city that was once the seat of power for Kaji, the Shar’Dama Ka. Rediscovered by Arlen Bales, it was found to contain the secrets to battle warding.
Asavi: Dama’ting of the Kaji tribe. Former rival of Inevera as nie’dama’ting. Lover of Melan.
Ashan: Son of Dama Khevat and closest friend of Jardir’s during his training in Sharik Hora, Ashan is Damaji of the Kaji tribe and part of Jardir’s inner circle. Married to Jardir’s eldest sister, Imisandre. Father of Asukaji and Ashia.
Ashia: Jardir’s Sharum’ting neice. Daughter of Ashan and Imisandre. Married to Asome. Mother of Kaji.
Asome: Jardir’s second son by Inevera. Dama. Known as the “heir to nothing.” Married to Ashia. Father of Kaji.
Asu: “Son” or “son of.” Used as a prefix in formal names, as in Ahmann asu Hoshkamin am’Jardir am’Kaji.
Asukaji: Ashan’s eldest son by Jardir’s sister Imisandre, and heir to the Kaji tribe. Dama.
Baden: Rich and powerful dama of the Kaji tribe. Push’ting. Known to possess several items of hora magic.
Bazaar, Great: The largest merchant area in Krasia, located right inside the main gates. It is run entirely by women and khaffit.
Belina: Jardir’s dama’ting wife from the Majah tribe.
Bido: Loincloth worn by most Krasians under their robes, the bido is most commonly noted as the sole clothing of young Krasian boys and girls in training.
Chabbavah: Dal’ting woman killed in an attempt to be raised to Sharum.
Chin: Outsider/infidel. This word is also considered an insult, meaning that a person is a coward.
Chi’Sharum: Greenland adult men too old to go through Hannu Pash are levied and trained in the chin’sharaj. Those who pass are inducted into chi’Sharum. Generally used as fodder in combat.
Cielvah: Daughter of Abban. Raped by Hasik, leading Abban to have Hasik castrated.
Coliv: Krevakh Watcher, bodyguard to Amanvah.
Couzi: A harsh, illegal Krasian liquor flavored with cinnamon. Because of its potency, it is served in tiny cups meant to be taken in one swallow.
Crownsight: Enhanced wardsight from Crown of Kaji.
Dal: Prefix meaning “honored.”
Dal’Sharum: The Krasian warrior caste, which includes the vast majority of the men. Dal’Sharum are broken into tribes controlled by the Damaji, and smaller units answerable to a dama and a kai’Sharum. Dal’Sharum dress in black robes with a black turban and night veil. All are trained in hand-to-hand combat (sharusahk), as well as spear fighting and shield formations.
Dal’ting: Fertile married women, or older women who have given birth.
Dama: A Krasian Holy Man. Dama are both religious and secular leaders. They wear white robes and carry no weapons. All dama are masters of sharusahk, the Krasian hand-to-hand martial art.
Damajah: Singular title for the First Wife of the Shar’Dama Ka.
Damaji: The twelve Damaji are the religious and secular leaders of their individual tribes, and serve the Andrah/Shar’Dama Ka as ministers and advisors.
Damaji’ting: The tribal leaders of the dama’ting, and the most powerful women in Krasia.
Dama’ting: Krasian Holy Women who also serve as healers and midwives. Dama’ting hold the secrets of hora magic, including the power to foretell the future, and are held in fear and awe. Harming a dama’ting in any way is punishable by death.
Daylight War, the: Also known as Sharak Sun. Ancient war during which Kaji conquered the known world, uniting them for Sharak Ka.
Desert Spear, the: The Krasians’ term for their city. Known in the North as Fort Krasia.
Domin Sharum: Literally translating as “two warriors,” Domin Sharum refers to a strict ritual of single combat under Evejan law.
Draki: Krasian unit of currency.
Drillmasters: Elite warriors who train nie’Sharum. Drillmasters wear standard dal’Sharum blacks, but their night veils are red.
Enkaji: Damaji of the powerful Mehnding tribe.
Enkido: Eunuch servant and sharusahk instructor of the Kaji dama’ting. Made personal bodyguard to Amanvah, killed by a mimic demon.
Evejah, the: The holy book of Everam, written by Kaji, the first Deliverer, some three millennia past. The Evejah is separated into sections called Dunes. Each dama pens a copy of the Evejah in his own blood during his clerical training.
Evejan: Name of the Krasian religion, “those who follow the Evejah.”
Evejan law: The militant religious law the Krasians impose on chin, meant to force nonbelievers to follow the Evejah under threat rather than belief.
Everalia: Jardir’s third Kaji wife.
Everam: The Creator.
Everam’s Bounty: After Fort Rizon with its vast farmland was taken by the armies of the Deliverer in 333 AR, the city-state was renamed Everam’s Bounty to honor the Creator. It is the Krasian foothold in the green lands.
Everam’s light: Wardlight, and the ability to see otherwise invisible flows of magic using warded sight.
Fahki: Dal’Sharum son of Abban. Raised to hate his khaffit father.
Gai: Plague, demon.
Gaisahk: Form of sharusahk modified by Arlen Bales to maximize the effect of his warded flesh.
Ginjaz: Turncoat, traitor.
Greenlander: One from the green lands.
Green lands: Krasian name for Thesa (the lands north of the Krasian desert).
Hannu Pash: Literally “life’s path,” this represents the period of a boy’s life after he has been taken from his mother but before his caste (dal’Sharum, dama, or khaffit) is set. It is a period of intense and brutal physical training, along with religious indoctrination.
Hanya: Jardir’s youngest sister, four years younger than he. Married to Hasik, mother to Sikvah.
Hasik: Disgraced bodyguard to Jayan, castrated by Abban. Called Whistler because his missing tooth causes his s’s to whistle.
Heasah: Prostitute.