The Venomancer

Extended Glossary

Welcome. If you're here, it's for one of three reasons: you're ready to immerse yourself in further reading around this book; I've used a story-native term and you're thinking, 'what the crap are you on about, Finn'?; you clicked this chapter by mistake. Whatever the reason, feel free to browse.

I say 'extended glossary', because 'Definition of Terms + All the Stuff I Didn't Want to Clog the Story Up With' is a pretty lengthy chapter title. That, and this page will gradually fill up with terms and extra information as I post main-story chapters - I wouldn't want to hand out spoilers. For now, I've arranged this extended glossary by categories, and it is also separate so as not to feel patched on to the end of chapters.

Let us begin.

~Finn

Characters

Ajura Raqmarah - (Ah-joor-rah Rak-m'rah) A commander of the Painted Guard.

Rilv the Feral - A friend of Tan's and fellow thief, Rilv's haunt is the city of Elamendi.

Shara ­- A young mother from Odeis (see Locations - Odeis) of whom Tan is fond.

Tan Dei Ná - (Tan Dey Naah, with equal emphasis on each syllable) Full name: Tan Dei Ná Isol Vannen, meaning 'Quiet as the Voice of the Breeze' in Almysi, though his tribesfolk call him 'Tan'. The moniker 'Tandei Sol' is a line-of-best-fit pronunciation of his full name, for those who do not know how to. Tan is Almysi-born (see Locations - Almysia), and his tribe hails from a region known as Ná Ko Eraen (Eraen's Voice). He is 170cm (5'7"), and aged nineteen when this story takes place.

Locations

Almysia - (Al-miss-ee-ah) A heavily forested, sparsely populated region of northern Arcavaros. Its climate is warm and rainy in summer, and cold and snowy in winter.

Arcavaros ­- The universal spelling for the name of the continent, originally coined by an Odeise scholar. From extreme to extreme, the mainland is (in Earth measurements) 7617 kilometres/4733 miles. Pronunciation of this word varies per language. The origin of the landmass is also in dispute.

Farba'al Mar - (City of Colour by the Sea) The city at the heart of the deserts, the capital of Farba Province and hub of the Farban Empire as a whole. Once the seat of power for those who waged war on Arcavaros, in modern times it has been reduced to a fearful, friendless city with its sole purpose being to cater for whatever figurehead may occupy the throne. To the north of the city lies the Basin - a dried-up lake the size of an inland sea - and to the west are the Western Wastes - endless sandstone flats. Its climate is mostly arid, though the city experiences a brief period of annual rainfall.

Gamlakh - (Old Lake of One-Hundred Thousand) An impoverished town on the shores of the Basin, to the immediate east of Farba'al Mar.

Odeis - (Oh-dey-iss) A faithless republic the far side of the Western Wastes, perched on a plateau. Known for its introverted and scholarly population, lateral thinking and advances in medicine. Its people do not concern themselves with the affairs of other cities.

Rakha - (Rah-kaah) Capital: Rakhai'al Yuvuruch, (The Ash Fields of Yuvuruch). One of three major cities in the desertlands; 'united by war, broken by standards', as folk say. Rakha lies many leagues south of Farba'al Mar, surrounded by volcanic lands.

Ruiko - A city spread across Arcavaros' southernmost shores, boasting white sands, highly coveted spices, and ore of every kind. It is one of many in Saïlla Province.