711492
Copyright ⓒ 2022 Jules Moreau
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reprinted, replicated, or used without the author's explicit permission.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
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Dedication
For Daniel Govea,
the best friend I've ever had; despite the fact that we've never met.
It's been almost a decade and we're still going strong.
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Notes
These are things I kind of just jotted down on my notepad when writing the book to keep for later so I'd remember. It'll tell you some basic information about this world that is important.
"Oriande" -- Is what the elves call the world. Each language has their own word for it but everybody tends to use the Elvish word as elves are the mass population in Oriande. Oriande is a medieval fantasy world and is in no way set to advance into modern technology. Magic exists but doesn't dry up. Elves named a lot of things in Oriande so there are Elvish words everywhere.
"Valhalla" -- Not the same as the one from Norse mythology. Their Valhalla is still considered "heaven" or the afterlife but it is supposedly a place with no pain, suffering or sadness. There are no deities in this afterlife to look after the deceased or Valkyries who choose the dead. It's said that the dead are supposed to live happily again with everybody they've lost in life. A part of me thinks Valhalla should translate to "Promised Neverland" in the Common tongue. Valhalla is the Elvish name for it.
"Arün" -- The High Kingdom of Elven Guard. Pronounced like 'are-rune'. It is where the three main characters currently live. It is built to the east of a large lake called Lake Adgränia. The city is built in the mountains and is surrounded by a forest so it is densely packed into the flat-ish area of land. The city has around 12,000 elves living in it. Its main exports were magically enhanced weaponry and armor but exporting has toned way down in recent times.
"The Castle of Glass" -- What the Elven palace is called and where the Ingerman family lives. It's not made entirely of glass but in certain rooms there are massive windows. The roof/ceiling of the throne room is made of stained glass. The color scheme is gold, green and a turquoise blue for the stones it's made of. The castle is made of mostly stone but has metal incorporated into its design. Furniture inside is specifically made of previously dead wood and any fur and upholstery from already deceased animals or plants. The castle gates are open during the day but watched carefully. There are many secret passages through the innards of the castle walls. There are multiple ways to get within the walls of the castle other than the gate that are secret. Only the royal family is actually knowledgeable of the secrets passages within the castle. It's one of the oldest buildings in Elven Guard that still stands.
"Elven Guard" -- The mountain range on the west coast of Icast where most elves live safely. It houses five large kingdoms that make up the Elven Pentarchy, Arün, Yїves, Öpéli, Havaña and Jimëne as well as lots of small towns and villages. Arün is the kingdom that rules over the four others and along with their kings. The four kingdoms give loyalty to Arün and Arün has a set of laws the four kingdoms must follow. They are allowed to make laws of their own if they don't go against Arün's set rules. Smaller towns and villages are run by lower-ranked noble families and tend not to get mixed up in the affairs of the five kingdoms.
"No Man's Land" -- The North and Southmost pieces of land in Oriande, think North and South poles. They're super cold and pretty much uninhabitable icy wastelands. A lot of them are islands as there's no land masses on their poles. There's a legend about the expected to be the extinct Dragon race living only in No Man's Land.
"The Islands of Elderon" -- A group of seven islands southwest of Icast, six with towns on them. The southernmost island is a piece of No Man's land. They are considered a part of Icast. Hüyuti, Laür, Azë, Kawë, Miënne and Rúadhán are the island names who have people living on them. They were named by Elves as the islands were originally going to be colonies of Elven Guard when King Iravor was in power.
"Ettrail" -- Elbereth's hometown which is also referred to as "The Golden City". It is a walled-in town full of assassins who worship a man called Atlas Eukanova for being able to speak to the gods. Their religion and livelihood is extremely cult-like with how they ID people by giving them number tattoos and everyone sharing the same last name.
"The Outside World" -- Is what Elbereth and his friends grew up calling the world beyond Ettrail's walls thanks to his kinsmen handing down their name for it.
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Translations
Most of these translations are for the Elvish or Celestial languages of Oriande. If it's a different language in the book, it will be stated in the chapter near the speech.
"Rüghï" -- "Master"
"Elberen" -- "Ebony"
"Valk'rý" -- "Glory"
"Elb" -- "Ebony"
"Cezzë'el ё záris e'inve véwrent áci es fréja kis véwrent julx" -- "There's a fire in your eyes and blood on your hands"*
"Nuvёmme" -- "November"
"Jänwe" -- "January"
"Ëtēn" -- "Bean"
"Juën" -- "June"
* This is a lyric from Lord Huron's song "Lullaby". I might change it the future to avoid copyright infringement, I might not.
YOU ARE READING
711492
FantasyEveryone's heard stories of how a rogue assassin came to be. Dead parents, a fight for survival, perhaps someone who takes pity on the teenaged child and nudges them towards leaving the past behind. This isn't that story. Elbereth Eukanova's parents...
