NORDEN: captain of the watch on Carlon's walls.

NORDMUTH: the port at the mouth of the River Nordra.

NORDRA, River: the great river that is the main lifeline of Achar. Rising in the Icescarp Alps, the River Nordra flows through the Avarinheim before flowing through northern and central Achar. It is used for irrigation, transport and fishing.

OGDEN: one of the Sentinels, brother to Veremund.

ORDER OF THE STARS: the order of nine priestesses who keep watch in the Temple of the Stars. Every priestess gives up her own name upon taking orders.

ORMOND: a soldier in Zared's army.

ORR: the Charonite Ferryman. Now dead.

PACE: see 'Distances'.

PALESTAR SNAPWING: an Icarii Enchanter.

PALMSTAR SWEPTNEST: an Enchanter of the Minaret Peaks.

PARLENDER, Wilfred: Prime Notary of Carlon.

PIRATES' NEST: for many centuries the common name of the Island of Mist and Memory and still the haunt of pirates.

741.

PIRATES' TOWN: the town in the northern harbour of the Island of Mist and Memory. PLOUGH, The: under the rule of the Seneschal each Acharite village had a Plough, which not only served to plough the fields, but was also the centre of their worship of the Way of the Plough. PLOUGH-KEEPERS: the Seneschal a.s.signed a Brother to each village in Achar, and these men were often known as Plough-Keepers. PORS: one of the nine Icarii Star G.o.ds, Pors is the G.o.d of Air. PRIVY CHAMBER: the large chamber in the ancient royal palace of Carlon where the Achar's Privy Council once met. PROPHECY OF THE DESTROYER: an ancient Prophecy that told of the rise of Gorgrael in the north and the StarMan who could stop him. PROUDFLIGHT: a member of the Lake Guard. PUMSTER, Netherem: Master Bell-Maker of Carlon. QETEB: the Demon of Destruction that wastes at Midday.

His life parts are scattered about Tencendor, and the rest of the TimeKeepers need to gather them up in order to effect his resurrection. QUESTORS, The: a term the TimeKeepers occasionally gave themselves to dupe victims. RAINBOW SCEPTRE: a weapon constructed of the life of the five Sentinels, the power of the craft that lie at the bottom of the Sacred Lakes, and the power of the Earth Tree. Axis used it to destroy Gorgrael, and Drago stole it and took it through the Star Gate with him. RASPU: one of the TimeKeeper Demons, Raspu is the Demon of dusk, and of pestilence. RAUM: once a Bane of the Avar people, now the sacred White Stag. RAVENCREST SUNSOAR: previous Talon of the Icarii people, father of FreeFall and brother to StarDrifter.

* 742*RAVENSBUND: the extreme northern province of Tencendor.

RAVENSBUNDMEN: the inhabitants of Ravensbund.

RENKIN, Goodwife: a peasant woman of northern Arcness who is often a disguise for the Mother. The Goodwife helped Faraday plant out Minstrelsea, finally leaving to wander the forests.

RHAETIA: small area of Achar situated in the western Bracken Ranges.

RIVERSTAR SUNSOAR: third child of Axis and Azhure. Twin sister to Drago (DragonStar). She is now dead. Drago was convicted of her murder, but many suspected that the true murderer was RiverStar's secret lover.

RIVKAH: Princess of Achar, mother to Borneheld, Axis, EvenSong and Zared. Married to Prince Magariz.

Now dead.

ROMSDALE: a province to the south west of Carlon that mainly produces wine. It is administered by Baron Marrat.

ROSCIC: Chamberlain of Askam's Household.

ROX: one of the TimeKeeper Demons, Rox is the Demon of night, and of terror.

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 know the paths to the Grove.

SACRED LAKES, The: the four magical lakes of Tencendor: Grail Lake, Cauldron Lake, Fernbrake Lake (or the Mother) and the Lake of Life. According to myth, the lakes were formed during Fire-Night when ancient G.o.ds fell through the skies and crashed to Tencendor. At the bottom of each lake lie the craft of the Enemy, containing Qeteb's life parts.

SA'DOMAI: Chief of the Ravensbundmen, son of Ho'Demi.

SANDMEYER, Gregoric: Mayor of Carlon.

743 *

SEAGRa.s.s PLAINS: the vast grain plains that form most of Skarabost. SENESCHAL, The: once the all-powerful religious organisation of Achar. The Religious Brotherhood of the Seneschal was extremely powerful and played a major role, not only in everyday life, but also in the political life of the nation. It taught obedience to the one G.o.d, Artor the Ploughman, and the Way of the Plough. SENTINELS: five magical creatures of the Prophecy of the Destroyer. Originally Charonites, they were recruited by WolfStar (in his guise of the Prophet) in order to serve the Prophecy. They gave their lives to form the Rainbow Sceptre. SEPULCHRE OF THE MOON: a cave on Temple Mount, the haunt of the Star G.o.ds. SEVERIN: a new town built by Prince Magariz as the replacement capital of Ichtar. SHEOL: one of the TimeKeeper Demons, Sheol is the Demon of mid-afternoon, and despair. SHRA: the senior Bane of the Avar. As a girl she was saved from death by Axis. SICARIUS: leader of the pack of Alaunt hounds. One of the Lesser immortals. SIGHOLT: one of the great magical Keeps of Tencendor, situated on the sh.o.r.es of the Lake of Life in the Urqhart Hills in Ichtar. Caelum's personal home. SILENT WOMAN KEEP: one of the magical Keeps of Tencendor, it lies in the centre of the Silent Woman Woods. SILENT WOMAN WOODS: an ancient wood in southern Arcness, now joined to the Minstrelsea. SILTON: one of the nine Icarii Star G.o.ds, Silton is the G.o.d of Fire. SKARABOST: large eastern province of Achar which grows much of the realm's grain supplies.

744.

SKRAELINGS: creatures of the frozen northern wastes who fought for Gorgrael.

SKYLAZER BITTERFALL: a member of the Lake Guard. SMYRTON: formerly a large village in northern Skarabost, it was destroyed by Azhure for its close a.s.sociation to the Plough G.o.d, Artor. 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 enchantments 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.

SORCERY: see 'Magic'. SPIKEFEATHER TRUESONG: once a member of the Strike Force, SpikeFeather spent years as Orr's apprentice. No-one knows the waterways as well as he does. SPIREDORE: one of the magical Keeps of Tencendor.

Azhure's tower. STAR DANCE, The: the source from which the Icarii Enchanters derive their power. It is the music made by the stars in their eternal dance through the heavens.

The music of the Star Dance died when the TimeKeepers plunged through the Star Gate and destroyed it. STARDRIFTER: an Icarii Enchanter, father to Gorgrael, Axis and EvenSong. STARFEVER HIGHCREST: Master Secretary of Talon FreeFalPs palace in the Minaret Peaks. STAR FINGER: the tallest mountain in the Icescarp Alps, dedicated to study and worship. Formerly called Talon Spike. STAR GATE: one of the sacred sites of the Icarii people, situated underneath the Ancient Barrows. It is a portal through to the universe.

745 .

STAR G.o.dS, The: the nine G.o.ds of the Icarii. See separate entries under Axis, Azhure, Adamon, Xanon, Narcis, Flulia, Pors, Zest and Silton.

STARLAUGHTER SUNSOAR: wife of WolfStar, murdered and thrown through the Star Gate four thousand years before current events. Now she has returned with the TimeKeeper Demons, and seeks revenge for her death so many years previously. With her, she carries the body of her and WolfStar's infant son.

STARMAN, The: Axis SunSoar. STARS, House of the: Axis' personal House. STARSON: the t.i.tle Axis gave to Caelum. STRAUM ISLAND: a large island off the coast of Ichtar and inhabited by sealers.

STRIKE FORCE: the military force 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). Generally of the House of SunSoar.

TALON SPIKE: the former name of Star Finger. TARANTAISE: a rather poor southern province of Achar.

Relies on trade for its income. TARE: small trading town in northern Tarantaise. TARE, Plains of: the plains that lie between Tare and Grail Lake.

TEKAWAI: the preferred tea of the Ravensbund people, made from the dried seaweed of the Icebear Coast. It is always brewed and served ceremonially. TEMPLE MOUNT: the plateau on the top of the ma.s.sive mountain in the south-east corner of the Island of Mist and Memory. It houses the Temple Complex.

.746.

TEMPLE OF THE STARS: one of the Icarii sacred sites, located on the Island of Mist and Memory.

TENCENDOR: once the ancient name for the continent of Achar before the Wars of the Axe, and, under Caelum's leadership, the reforged nation of the Acharites, Avar and Icarii.

THREE BROTHERS LAKES, The: three minor lakes in southern Aldeni.

THEOD, Duke of Aldeni: grandson of Duke Roland who aided Axis in his struggle to unite Tencendor.

TIMEKEEPER DEMONS, The: the TimeKeepers are a group of six Demons: Sheol, Barzula, Rox, Mot, Raspu and their leader, Qeteb (who waits to be resurrected). Hundreds of thousands of years previously, on a distant world, they had ravaged at will until the people of that world (called the Enemy by the TimeKeepers) had managed to trap Qeteb and dismember his life parts - warmth, movement, breath and soul - before fleeing with them in s.p.a.ce craft through the universe. The remaining five Demons followed the craft to Tencendor and now actively seek to resurrect Qeteb. See also 'Demonic Hours'.

TIME OF THE PROPHECY OF THE DESTROYER, The: the time that began with the birth of the Destroyer and the StarMan and ended with the death of Gorgrael.

TREE FRIEND: a role Faraday played during the time of the Prophecy. She was instrumental in bringing the forests behind Axis.

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'.

747.

UR: an old woman who lives in the Enchanted Woods. For aeons she guarded the transformed souls of the Avar female Banes.

URBETH: an immortal bear of the northern wastes. URQHART HILLS: a minor crescent-shaped range of mountains in central Ichtar. The hills cradle Sigholt. VEREMUND: one of the Sentinels, brother to Ogden.

WARS OF THE AXE: 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 b.l.o.o.d.y. They took place over one thousand years before current events. WAY OF THE HORN: a general term sometimes used to describe the lifestyle of the Avar people. WAY OF THE PLOUGH: the religious obedience and way of life as taught by the Seneschal. The Way of the Plough was centred about the Plough and cultivation of the land. The Way of the Plough was all about order, and the earth and nature being subjected to the order of mankind. Some of the Icarii and Avar fear that many Acharites still long for life as it was lived to the Way of the Plough. WAY OF THE WING: a general term sometimes used to describe the lifestyle of the Icarii.

WESTERN MOUNTAINS: the central Acharite mountain range that stretches west from the River Nordra to the Andeis Sea.

WHITE STAG, The: when Raum transformed, he transformed into a magnificent White Stag instead of a Horned One. The White Stag is the most sacred of the creatures of the forest.

WIDEWALL BAY: a large bay that lies between Achar and Coroleas. Its calm waters provide excellent fishing.

748 .

WIDOWMAKER SEA: vast ocean to the east of Achar. From the unknown islands and lands across the Widowmaker Sea come the sea raiders that hara.s.s Coroleas.

WILDDOG PLAINS, The: plains that stretch from northern Ichtar to the River Nordra and bounded by the Fortress Ranges and the Urqhart Hills. Named after the packs of roving dogs that inhabit the area.

WING: the smallest unit in the Icarii Strike Force consisting of twelve Icarii (male and female).

WING-LEADER: the commander of an Icarii Wing.

WINGRIDGE CURLCLAW: Captain of the Lake Guard.

WOLFSTAR SUNSOAR: the ninth and most powerful of the Enchanter-Talons. He was a.s.sa.s.sinated early in his reign, but came back through the Star Gate three thousand years ago. Father to Azhure.

WOLVEN, The: a bow that once belonged to WolfStar SunSoar.

XANON: one of the nine Icarii Star G.o.ds, Xanon is the G.o.ddess of the Firmament, wife to Adamon.

YLLGAINE, Prince: Prince of Nor, son of Ysgryff.

YR: one of the Sentinels.

'YSBADD: capital city of Nor.

YULETIDE: see 'Festivals'.

ZARED: son of Rivkah and Magariz, half-brother to Axis, Zared is Prince of the North and newly- (and self-) crowned King of Achar. His first wife was Isabeau (sister of Herme), who died in a hunting accident, and Zared is now married to the Princess Leagh, sister of Askam.

ZEHERAH: one of the Sentinels.

ZENITH: youngest daughter of Axis and Azhure. ZEST: one of the nine Icarii Star G.o.ds, Zest is the G.o.ddess of the Earth.