The Derzhi Empire:
Characters, Language, and Locations of Restoration
Glossary
- attellé: (ah tell LAY) the student partner in an extremely close mentoring relationship;
- aveddi: (ah VEHD ee) firstborn;
- avocar: (AH voe kar) oracle;
- carroc: (KARE rock) a fleshy, thick-skinned plant that grows in the desert;
- chukar: (CHEW kar) desert bird;
- cofat: (KOE faht) short Derzhi cape fastened at one shoulder, leaving one arm bare;
- flet: (fleht) a thick mush of boiled millet stuck together with pig fat and flavored with onion and scraps of meat;
- gonaj: (GO naj) the manager of a caravan who arranges for guards, bribes, and taxes;
- gualar: (GWAY lar) a traditional Manganar garment; a large woven square with many pockets that drops over the head; the colors and patterns indicate the wearer’s family;
- hali: (HAH lee) alkali; found in the desert by dry waterholes;
- haffai: (hah FIE) a simple, full-length robe, having a trailing scarf that can be wrapped about the face, traditionally worn in the desert to protect skin and clothing from sun and blowing sand;
- kanavar: (KAH nah var) a Derzhi clan vow that must be carried out though every man of the clan dies in the attempt;
- kayeet: (KIE yeet) a medium sized desert cat; the fastest runner in the desert;
- merat: (MARE aht) intermittent salt lakes;
- mezzon(a): (mehz OWN (ah)) a businessman (woman);
- nagera: (nah GEH rah) a desert tree that produces oil from the hard seeds of its fruit; its gray-green fibrous leaves are used for weaving mats and baskets;
- namhir (namhirra): (nahm HEAR (ra)) Derzhi assassin(s);
- namhiddar: (nahm hid ARE) death vow of a namhir; the assassin will carry out his mission or kill himself;
- nyel: (nee ELL) Madonai word for forgotten;
- nyamot: (NEE ah moe) a tiny white desert flower;
- octar: (OCK tar) bitumen; a flammable, asphalt-like seepage in the desert;
- palatine: (pah lah TEEN) a desert ruler, in particular, a Suzai noble;
- paraivo: (pah RYE voe) a powerful sandstorm, said to be raised by the gods;
- siffaru: (sihff FAR oo) a Derzhi warrior’s rite in which the warrior seeks visions to restore mental balance;
- srif: (sreef) the dune seas of the Azhaki desert;
- taíne: (tie EEN) a desert spring or well;
- tef-coat: (TEFF coat) a knee-length, sleeveless coat worn by Derzhi men;
- wasil: (wah SEAL) desert area of stone and sand;
- the ways: the magical paths that can be traveled by joined humans/demons, taking the traveler long distances in short times;
- zhaideg: (ZHIE deg) a scavenger wolf;
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Characters
- Admet: (AHD met) a Suzaini outlaw with a twisted shoulder;
- Aleksander: crown prince of the Derzhi Empire;
- Arago: (ARE ah go) false name used by Seyonne;
- Avrel: (AH vrel) a Manganar beekeeper;
- Blaise: (blays) the Yvor Lukash; the charismatic leader of a rebellion against the Empire;
- Bohdan: (BOE dahn) brutish second lord of the Rhyzka heged;
- Borian: (BORE ee ahn) a potter in Karn’Hegeth; Vanko’s brother-in-law;
- Brynna: (BRINN na) a joined Ezzarian woman member of Blaise’s outlaw band;
- Catrin: (CAT rin) a mentor of Wardens in Ezzaria;
- Damok: (DAY mock) Princess Lydia’s sixteen-year-old brother;
- Denas: (DAY nass) a powerful rai-kirah who is joined with Seyonne;
- Dolgar: (DOLE gar) the Manganar god of strength and virtue; a one-eyed warrior hero elevated to divinity and revered by the common people;
- Dovat: (DOE vaht) a powerful baron of the Hamrasch heged; the first lord Zedeon’s younger son;
- Drych: (dritch) a young Warden and former student of Seyonne’s, wounded in the final battle of Revelation;
- D’Skaya: (d SKY ah) a Thrid woman warrior;
- Edik: (EH dick) Derzhi prince; Ivan's cousin; second in line to the throne after Aleksander;
- Elinor: (EH lih nore) Blaise’s sister; Ezzarian by birth;
- Evan-diargh: (EH vahn-dee ARE) small boy being fostered by Elinor and Gordain;
- Farrol: (FAIR role) Blaise’s best friend and foster brother;
- Felics: (FAY licks) a Derzhi tax-collector in Karn’Hegeth;
- Feyd: (fade) a young Suzaini warrior, son of an exiled Suzai nobleman;
- Fiona: (fee OH na) a young Aife; the exiled successor to the Ezzarian queen;
- Gaspar: (GAS par) a blind Derzhi mystic, who lives in ancient Drafa;
- Gordain: (GORE dain) a one-legged Manganar man; Elinor’s husband and a former outlaw;
- Gorrid: (GORE rid) an Ezzarian born demon-joined; a member of Blaise’s outlaw band;
- Hadeon: (HAY dee on) a young noble of Karn’Hegeth; son of Vassile, First Lord of the Mardek;
- Hessio: (HESS ee oh) Aleksander’s longtime bodyslave;
- Ivan: (EYE vahn) Emperor of the Derzhi; Aleksander’s father;
- Kasparian: (kah SPAHR ee an) a war-like Madonai of modest talents;
- Kerouan: (CARE oo ahn) powerful Madonai sorcerer;
- Kiril: (KEER ill) Aleksander’s cousin and friend; born of the female line and thus unable to inherit the throne;
- Leonid: (LAY oh nid) powerful Hamraschi warrior baron; Zedeon’s oldest son;
- Madonai: (MAD oh nigh) ancient race of long-lived sorcerers;
- Malver: (MAL ver) lowborn soldier, who has risen to command in service to Aleksander;
- Marouf: (mar OOF) Suzai palatine; Feyd’s father;
- Magda: (MAHG dah) wife of Yulai, a Manganar exile;
- Marya: (MAH ree ya) Manganar village woman;
- Mattei: (mah TAY) orphaned Kuvai youth; one of Blaise’s outlaw band;
- Nyamot: (NEE ah moe) Leonid zha Hamrasch’s daughter; forced into marriage with Bohdan zha Rhyzka;
- Olia: (OH lee ah) a Manganar child who lives in Karn’Hegeth;
- Panfeya: (pahn FAY ah) Manganar goddess of family and home;
- Pujat Kavel: (POO zhat KAH vel) a Hollenni caravan owner;
- Qeb: (keb) a talented Derzhi boy of twelve who lives in Drafa;
- Rahil: (rah HEEL) Kiril’s mother; sister to the Emperor Ivan;
- Roche: (roesh) a joined Ezzarian outlaw in Blaise’s troop;
- Sarya, Manot, Fessa: elderly Derzhi women in Drafa;
- Seyonne: (say OWN) an Ezzarian sorcerer;
- Sovari: (so VAH ree) captain of Aleksander’s personal guard;
- Terlach: (TER lock) son of Yulai and Magda;
- Valdis: (VAHL diss) the god of the forest; son of Verdonne and the Nameless God;
- Vallot: (VAH low) a Derzhi tax collector in Karn’Hegeth;
- Vallyne: (vah LEEN) a female rai-kirah who chose to remain in Kir’Vagonoth even after the gateway was opened to Kir’Navarrin; Denas’s lover and Seyonne’s enchantress;
- Vanko: (VAHN koe) poor Manganar stonemason;
- Vassile: (vah SEEL) First Lord of the Mardek heged;
- Verdonne: (vare DOAN) mortal maiden beloved of a god, who gave birth to Valdis and became the goddess of the forest;
- W’Assani: (wah SAH nee) a Thrid woman, cloth trader and bone smuggler;
- Wat: (watt) false name used by Aleksander;
- W’Osti: (WAW stee) a Thrid chieftain;
- Yulai: (YEW lie) an old Manganar who lives in the valley of Taíne Horet;
- Ysanne: (ee SAHN) Seyonne’s wife, the Queen of Ezzaria;
- Zedeon: (ZEH dee on) the first lord of the Hamrasch heged;
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Locations
- Andassar: (AHN dahs sahr) village in Manganar; site of an Yvor Lukash raid on a slave caravan;
- Eleuthra: (eh LEW thrah) village in Manganar;
- Mount Kyroscha: (kee ROW shah) the tallest mountain in Azhakstan;
- Parassa: (pah RAH sah) ancient capital of Suzain, when that land was known as Suza; utterly destroyed in the Derzhi conquest, its women sold away, its boys gelded, and its men condemned to slavery in the mines;
- Senigar and Thryce: conquered territories north of Azhakstan;
- Suza: (SOO sah) the ancient name of the country of Suzain; Suzain means “little Suza”, a derogatory name;
- Suzai: (SOO zie) the ancient name of the Suzaini people, and the name free Suzainis call themselves;
- Syra: (SIGH rah) town east of Zhagad, near a rich mining region;
- Taíne Dabu: (tie EEN dah BOO) a lush well north of Tanzire, on the road between Karn’Hegeth and Vayapol;
- Taíne Het: (tie EEN het) a spring fed sink in the desert near Zhagad;
- Taíne Horet: (tie EEN HOAR et) a fertile valley in the mountainous regions of the Azhaki desert; named after the deep spring that feeds it; adjoins Taíne Keddar;
- Taíne Keddar: (tie EEN kehd DAR) a fertile valley in the mountainous regions of the Azhaki desert; named after the deep spring that feeds it; adjoins Taíne Horet;
- Tanzire: (tan ZEER) a moderately sized town in north central Manganar; ruled by the Bek until Edik gives it to the Rhyzka;
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Derzhi Hegeds
- The Ten
The eldest, though not necessarily the richest, of Derzhi families, along
with their power base.
- Danatos: (dahn AH toes) gold;
- Denischkar: (DEN ish car) horses, land, political savvy; Aleksander’s heged; ruling family of Azhakstan for 500 years;
- Gorusch: (GORE ush) a highly traditional heged; controls trade in olive oil;
- Fontezhi: gold and silver;
- Marag: (MAH rahg) Princess Lydia’s family; less wealthy than many, but ancient and highly respected;
- Nyabozzi: slaves;
- Palderiff: silk;
- Saluz: horses;
- Tambour: priests; caretakers of the lore of Druya and the more ancient gods; Gaspar
and Qeb are of the Tambour heged;
- Yaniv: one of the original families;
Others of the Twenty
Ten families who have gained great power strictly through wealth and battle prowess.
- Hamrasch: (Hahm RAHSH) Derzhi heged leading the rebellion against Aleksander; wealth is in land and horses;
- Mezzrah: (MEHZ rah) northern family; one of its minor lords, Vanye, was disgraced by Aleksander and executed by Ivan;
- Rhyzka: (RIZ ka) powerful heged that holds a dangerous border of the Empire;
Minor houses (some)
Minor houses are often wealthy, but tend to be newer families with limited
resources of warriors and horses.
- Juran: (JUH rahn) spices;
- Bek: wheat; lands in Manganar;
- Mardek: (MAR deck) silver; traditional guardians of the royal treasury;
- Fozhet: (foe ZHAY) copper;
- Naddasine: (NAH dah seen) land, wheat;
- Ramiell: (rah MEEL) the heged of Kiril’s father; horses;
- Sadavar: (SAH dah VAHR) wine;
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