Sildor Valasin Dictionary

Background on the Valasin

The Valasin, inhabitants of the world of Iselfin, are an ancient race spoken about in the book Rift World. The book does not give a detailed history, however, and all the reader knows about the Valasin is what Glael Valascor tells Elias in the story. Here is a more in depth account of the ancient people.

Thousands of years ago, a small group of about ten people woke to find themselves in a world different from their home. The issue was, they couldn't remember who they were, where they came from, or how they got there. All they knew was that they needed to survive.

They called themselves the Valasin, which means "The Brave" in their ancient tongue. Their leader, Aeleas, (for whom Elias is named, as you find in Rift world, though there is some difference in spelling and pronunciation due to various factors) was what they called an Elder Valasin, for he had the great wings of a bird emerging from his shoulder blades. There were two others like him, Elders in the same respect. They all carried swords slung on their belts, and a few knew some form of magic, including Aeleas.

They roamed the land for a small amount of time, until finding a large clearing in a forest, in a little valley with many small overlooks providing a view of the area. It was here that they created a city, the first and greatest of all the civilizations in Iselfin. (Side note: the Valasin came through a rift, as you might expect, and due to subtle shifts in the fabric of the universe, certain points are more likely to attract rifts, and those knowledgeable about the subject call them "contact points". The contact point where the Valasin came through happens to be the same point where Elias and the other Colonists appeared, and Elias took more or less the same route as the original Valasin.)

For thousands of years, the great kingdom of the Valasin thrived, and many others found themselves in Iselfin, mostly humans. The rifts are complicated things, and sometimes they aren't created intentionally. They might only pop up for a second, transporting someone to a random place. In this respect, Iselfin is like a magnet for rifts, and many end up there. It is not the only world, but that is not relevant to the story. Another effect of the rifts is that Iselfin time is different from earth time. A hundred years on earth could be a second in Iselfin, or it could be a millennium. It could also be that a century in Iselfin could be back a decade on earth. There is no way to tell.

Continuing on, there were many people who found themselves amongst the Valasin, but the human population never grew to the size and strength as the rich Valasin culture. Eventually the humans died off, and by the birth of Glael, they were all but forgotten.

As for what happened to the original leader of the Valasin, Aeleas Valascor, he became the first king, and established the system of a council of eight other advisors to the king. It represented the original Nine Valasin that founded the kingdom. The council positions were elected, but the kingship was more traditional. Aeleas and his descendants were the kings of the Valasin from then on, until about a hundred years before the birth of Glael. A councilman named Laedon Kodhr was jealous, and one night he faked his own death, assassinated the current king, and posing as his son, took over the kingdom. He abolished the council and gave himself full command of everything. He did not fool everyone, however. The king's real son escaped, and grew up as a commoner, throughout his whole life remembering what had happened. He became the father of two sons, Glael, an Elder, and Inilien, a regular Valasin. (A note on the Elders: the birth of Elder versus not had nothing to do with heredity. Elders, though growing continually rarer, pop up randomly in families. The Valascor line, was one of the exceptions. Every generation of Valascor had at least one Elder, and it was the Elder that became king.)

Glael ended up fighting for freedom from the Kodhrs, and eventually destroyed the tyrants' rule. He gave the kingship to his Elder father, and began experimenting with the mysterious rifts that plagued their world. He had many misadventures, leading up to the coming of the Intelligence and destruction of the Valasin, and his redemption with Elias Hinton in Rift World. A more detailed account of Glael's life can be found in Glael: The Untold Story. And so ends the era of the Valasin.