The Unholy Consult by R. Scott Bakker
Bajeda, Straits of—The straits separating the southwestern tip of Nron from the southeastern extremities of Cironj.
Balait urs Kututha (4072—4110)—A Scylvendi warrior of the Utemot tribe, and Cnaiür urs Skiötha’s brother-in-law.
Bandit Padirajah—See Fanayal ab Kascamandri.
Bannut urs Hannut (4059—4110)—A Scylvendi warrior of the Utemot tribe, and Cnaiür urs Skiötha’s uncle.
Bardic Priest—In the traditional folk religions of the Ancient North, a type of wandering priest who earned his living reciting scriptural lays and performing priestly functions for various gods.
Barisullas, Nrezza (4053—4119)—The King of Cironj, at once admired and maligned throughout the Three Seas for his mercantile ingenuity. He is notorious for surviving and managing to reverse Shrial Censure not once but three times.
Barricades—One of the Sublime Contrivances of the Artisan, Emilidis, the sorcerous portal barring the only entrance to the Incû-Holoinas that Nil’giccas and his Quya could not seal from within. Though easily the most significant of the Artisan’s Aporos defying works, the Barricades remain largely a mystery. The few extant descriptions that remain are apocryphal and inconsistent.
Batathent—A ruined fortress-temple dating back to pre-classical Kyraneas, and destroyed by the Scylvendi shortly after the fall of Cenei in 3351.
Batrial Campus—Imperial parade and drill ground to the north of the Andiamine Heights, bounding the Guest Compound.
Battle-Celebrant—An honour bestowed by the Gilgallic Priesthood on those most responsible for victory in battle.
Battlemaster—Among the Inrithi, the traditional rank assigned to those commanding coalitions.
Battle of Anwurat—A pivotal battle of the First Holy War, fought in the summer of 4111 about the fortress of Anwurat south of the Sempis Delta. Despite early setbacks, the Inrithi under Cnaiür urs Skiötha managed to rout the Kianene host of Skauras ab Nalajan, allowing the subsequent conquest of southern Shigek and opening the road to Caraskand.
Battle of Caraskand—Sometimes called the Battle of Tertae Fields. The desperate and pivotal battle in 4112 between the host of Kascamandri ab Tepherokar, the Padirajah of Kian, and the First Holy War under Anasûrimbor Kellhus, where the Fanim, despite outnumbering the diseased and starved Inrithi, found themselves incapable of slowing or stopping the First Holy War’s general advance. Many attribute the Inrithi victory to the intercession of the God, though a more likely explanation is to be found in the revelatory events immediately preceding the battle. Nersei Proyas is particularly effective in his descriptions of the maniacal morale enjoyed by the Inrithi as a result of the Warrior-Prophet’s Circumfixion and subsequent vindication. That the Kianene were overconfident is amply demonstrated by the Padirajah’s decision to allow the First Holy War to assemble its ranks unmolested.
Battle of Eleneöt Fields—The great battle between the Horde of the No-God and the Second Ordeal on Kûniüri’s northeastern frontier in 2146. Despite having assembled the greatest host of their age, Anasûrimbor Celmomas and his allies were unprepared for the vast numbers of Sranc, Bashrag, and Wracu gathered by the No-God and his Consult slaves. The battle was an unmitigated catastrophe, and signalled the eventual destruction of Norsirai civilization.
Battle of Imogirion—The disaster that ended Illisserû’s attempt to surprise the Vile with a sea invasion. Scarcely one hundred Ishroi survived to sail back to their mansion. Of these, all but one—the famed Moryror—would die in the tempests that wracked their return.
Battle of Imweor—Also known as the First Battle of the Horde. The inaugural battle between the Great Ordeal and the Horde in the summer of 4132, so named for the ancient province that witnessed it. After spending several weeks retreating before the advancing Great Ordeal, sheer numbers and starvation triggered the Horde to attack. Unbeknownst to the Ordealmen, the Consult had shadowed their progress with several Yokes, divisions of chained Sranc that they unleashed in the Ordeal’s rear as the Horde descended upon them. The battle would have proved the expedition’s first great disaster, were it not for the Scions, who encountered the Consult Legion whilst foraging for food to the south of the host.
Battle of Isal’imial—Also known as the Abandon, the final open battle of the Cûno-Inchoroi Wars, where Nil’giccas, leading the Ishroi of Siol and Injor, threw the last of the Inchoroi back into the Incû-Holoinas.
Battle of Kiyuth—An important engagement between the Imperial Army of Nansur and the Scylvendi, fought in 4110 on the banks of the River Kiyuth, a tributary of the Sempis river system. The overconfident Scylvendi King-of-Tribes led his people into a trap laid by Ikurei Conphas, the Nansur Exalt-General. The resulting defeat was unprecedented, given that it occurred on the Jiünati Steppe.
Battle of Maän—A minor battle fought between Conriya and Ce Tydonn in 4092.
Battle of Mehsarunath—The first great battle fought between the gathered might of Kyraneas and the host of the No-God on the Attong Plateau in 2154. Though Aurang, the No-God’s Horde-General, won the battle, the Kyranean High King, Anaxophus V, was able to escape with much of his host intact, setting the stage for the far more decisive Battle of Mengedda the following year.
Battle of Mengedda, the Second—The desperate battle where Anaxophus V and his southern tributaries and allies made their victorious stand against the Horde of the No-God in 2155. Widely regarded as the most important battle in history.
Battle of Mengedda, the Fourth—The battle where the so-called Vulgar Holy War under Nersei Calmemunis suffered utter destruction at the hands of the Kianene under Skauras ab Nalajan in 4110.
Battle of Mengedda, the Fifth—The first decisive battle fought between the First Holy War and the Kianene, in 4111. Plagued with organizational problems and dissension among its commanders, the First Holy War, under the nominal command of Prince Coithus Saubon, was caught by Skauras ab Nalajan and his Kianene host on the Plains of Mengedda with only half of its available strength. From morning to late afternoon, the Inrithi managed to beat back innumerable Kianene charges. When the remainder of the First Holy War arrived on the Fanim flank, the will of the Kianene broke and they were routed.
Battle of Paremti—A minor battle fought between Conriya and Ce Tydonn in 4109, and the first military victory of Prince Nersei Proyas. Historically significant because Proyas had his cousin, Calmemunis, whipped for impiety, an act that many historians claim precipitated Calmemunis’s decision to prematurely march with the so-called Vulgar Holy War.
Battle of Pir Minginnial—Second Battle of the Ark, which ended in the dramatic defeat of the assembled Mansions after Nin-janjin struck down Cu’jara Cinmoi. Often referred to as simply “the Battle,” Pir Minginnial is widely eulogized in Nonmen treatises and lays for the sheer number of legendary heroes butchered there, as well as for the five centuries of woe that followed.
Battle of Pir Pahal—First great contest on the Fields of Eleneöt between the Inchoroi, under Sil, King-After-the-Fall, and the Nonmen under Cu’jara Cinmoi, who would strike down Sil and seize the Heron Spear. The Inchoroi fled back to the Incû-Holoinas so complete was the Nonmen victory. Facing crises elsewhere in his empire, Cu’jara Cinmoi instituted what has come to be called the Second Watch.
Battle of the Slopes—Name given to the prolonged contest between the Kianene and the Ainoni at the Battle of Anwurat.
Battle of Tertae Fields—The improbable victory of the First Holy War over Kascamandri and his Fanim host outside of Caraskand in 4112 that sealed the power of Anasûrimbor Kellhus over the Inrithi.
Battle of Trantis Bay—The decisive sea battle where the Kianene fleet, using Cishaurim, was able to annihilate the Imperial Nansur fleet under General Sassotian in 4111, thereby denying the First Holy War its primary source of water for its march across Khemema.
Battle of Tywanrae Fords—One of three disastrous defeats suffered by Akksersia and its allies at the hands of the Horde of the No-God. Tywanrae is often evoked by Mandate scholars as an ex
Battle of Zirkirta—A major battle fought between the Kianene host of Hasjinnet ab Skauras and the Scylvendi under Yursut urs Muknai on the Jiünati Steppe in 4103. Though their cavalry proved no match for the Scylvendi, and Hasjinnet himself was slain, the Kianene were quick in recovering, and most of the ill-fated expedition survived.
Battleplain—See Mengedda Plains.
Battles of Agongorea—See Apocalypse.
Bayal—A semi-mountainous fiefdom in northern Galeoth, widely thought accursed.
Believer-King—Epithet belonging to Zaudunyani Kings during the Kellic Empire.
Bengulla (4103—12)—Son of Aëngelas and Valrissa.
benjuka—A subtle and ancient game of strategy played by caste-nobility throughout the Three Seas. A derivative of the more esoteric mirqu played by Nonmen, the first extant references to benjuka date back to the so-called Nonmen Tutelage (555—825).
Betmulla Mountains—A minor mountain range forming the southwestern frontier of both Xerash and Amoteu. The traditional location of the lost Nonman Mansion of Illisserû.
Biaxi, House—One of the Houses of the Congregate, and traditional rival to House Ikurei.
billows—Name of the specialized robes worn by sorcerers and witches of all Schools throughout the Great Ordeal. Typical robes possessed dozens of silk bolts as long as ten cubits or more, which, with the assistance of a specialized Cant, would writhe about the wearer when unfurled, providing some measure of protection from any thrown or fired Chorae.
Bios—The principle of living things independent of the soul.
Black Heaven—Sranc name for the No-God, translated from Iruturu-ka (Agurzhoi).
Black Iron Seat—The throne of the Nonman King of Ishterebinth, hewn from the spot where, during the Siege of Ishterebinth (2147-9), Aurang struck the ensorcelled Mirinotic Gates with the Sun Lance (sister of the Heron Spear) before it exploded. The impact crater forms the seat of the throne, with the slag thrown by the strike constituting the back and sides, and the remaining thickness of the Gate making the base.
blood-of-the-onta—A common term for what Zarathinius called the “ink” of the Mark.
Bloodthirsty Excuse—Memgowa’s term for the use of atrocity suffered to justify the commission of atrocity.
Boatman—The Nonman charged with feeding the Erratics dwelling in the Holy Deep of Ishterebinth, once known as Morimhira, the Father-of-Orphans, Most Ancient Warrior, and uncle of Cu’jara Cinmoi. As the only aged Nonman to be rendered immortal by the Inoculation, he is a perpetual reminder of the mortality and decrepitude his nephew exchanged for the Womb-plague.
Bogras, Praxum (4059—4111)—Man-of-the-Tusk, general of the Selial Column, slain at Anwurat.
Bogyar, Thurhig (4000—4132)—Holca Ordealman, descendant of the famed Thurror Eryelk, and Spearbearer to Coithus Saubon during the Great Ordeal.
Bokae—An old Ceneian fort on the western frontier of Enathpaneah.
Boksarias, Pirras (2395—2437)—The Ceneian Emperor who standardized trading protocols within the empire and established a thriving system of markets in its major cities.
Book of Circles and Spirals, The—The magnum opus of Sorainas, providing an entertaining blend of philosophical commentary and religious aphorism.
Book of Devices, The–An oft-revised Nansur military manual depicting the banner devices of their ancestral foes.
Book of Divine Acts, The—The magnum opus of Memgowa, the famed Zeümi sage and philosopher. Though not as commonly read or copied as his Celestial Aphorisms, most scholars consider it a vastly superior work.
“Bowing into the fire”—Zaudunyani metaphor for divine revelation.
Bowl—Caraskand’s central quarter, which is surrounded by five of the city’s nine heights.
Branch of Umiaki—The name given to the switches used in Penance.
Breacher—Mysunsai term used to describe members who renege on their contracts.
Breaking of the Gates—Legendary assault on the Gates of Eärwa, a series of fortified passes through the Great Kayarsus, by the Men of Eänna. Since The Chronicle of the Tusk ends with the determination to invade Eärwa, or the Land of the “Uplifted Sun,” and since the Nonmen Mansions most involved in resisting the Tribes of Men were all destroyed, very little is known either of the Breaking of the Gates or of the subsequent migratory invasions.
Bukris—The God of famine. As one of the so-called Punitive Gods, who command sacrifices through threat and the imposition of suffering, Bukris has no real Cult or priesthood. According to Kiünnat tradition, Bukris is the older brother of Anagkë, which is why Anagkean Cultic Priests typically administer the rites of propitiation during times of hunger.
Burning of the White Ships—One of the more famous acts of treachery during the Apocalypse. Falling back before the Consult legions, Anasûrimbor Nimeric dispatched the Aörsic fleet in 2134 to shelter in the Kûniüri port of Aesorea, where it was burned by agents unknown mere days after its arrival, deepening the feud between the two peoples, with tragic consequences. See Apocalypse.
Burulan (4084— )—One of Esmenet’s Kianene body-slaves.
Byantas (2463-2515)—A near antique writer of the Ceneian Empire. His Translations, an account of all the varied customs of the peoples making up the Empire, would render him famous to later generations. The precision of his observations remain unparalleled. The death of those customs in the intervening centuries has had a profound impact on Three Seas thought, embuing it with a historical self-awareness it had not possessed before. Before Byantas, Men were blind to the fundamental transformations wrought by the passage of time. A far smaller fraction of the soul belonged to the realm of the Immutable after him.
Byantas was Excised by Imperial Authorities in 4121 for perhaps this very reason.
C
Calasthenes (4055—4111)—Man-of-the-Tusk, a sorcerer of rank in the Scarlet Spires, slain by a Chorae at Anwurat.
Calmemunis, Nersei (4069—4110)—Man-of-the-Tusk, the Palatine of the Conriyan province of Kanampurea, and nominal leader of the Vulgar Holy War.
Canons of Imimorûl—Nonman regulative scriptures outlining a wide variety of largely anachronistic codes of personal and social conduct.
Canons of the Dead—One of six so-called Canons of Imimorûl.
Canted Horn—See Horns of Golgotterath.
Cants—The name given to offensive sorcerous incantations. See sorcery.
Cants of Calling—The family of incantations that enable communications over distance. Though the metaphysics of these Cants is only loosely understood, all long-distance Cants of Calling seem to turn on the so-called Here Hypothesis. One can call only to slumbering souls (because they remain open to the Outside) and only to those residing someplace where the Caller has physically been. The idea is that the “Here” of the Caller can only reach a “There,” or other location, that has been a “Here” sometime in the past. The degree of similarity between Anagogic and Gnostic Cants of Calling has led many to suspect that they hold the key to unravelling the Gnosis.
Cants of Compulsion—The family of incantations that control the movements of an individual’s soul. Typically these include the so-called Cants of Torment, though not always. An insidious aspect of these Cants is that their subject often has no way of distinguishing sorcerously compelled thoughts from his own thoughts. This has spawned a whole literature on the very notion of “will.” If the compelled soul feels every bit as uncompelled as the free soul, then how can anyone truly know himself to be free?
Cants of Scrying—The family of incantations that enable observation from long distances or obstructed vantages.
Canute—A Province of Ce Tydonn, one of the so-called Deep Marches of the Upper Swa.
Caphrianus I (3722—85)—Commonly called “the Younger” to distinguish him from his Ceneian namesake. The Nansur Surmante emperor famed for his wily diplomacy and far-reaching reforms of the Nansur l
Cara-Sincurimoi—“Angel of Endless Hunger” (Ihrimsû). Ancient Nonman name for the No-God. See No-God.
Caraskand—A major city and great caravan entrepot of the southwestern Three Seas. The administrative and commercial capital of Enathpaneah.
Carathay Desert—Vast arid region of dunes and gravel flats occupying southwestern Eärwa. Large oases are primarily found along the eastern regions of the desert, but there are skeletal river systems throughout.
Caravaneeri—Name for the route connecting the Three Seas to Kûniüri in Far Antiquity.
Carindûsû (4081—4132)—Ordealman, Grandmaster of the Vokalati in the Great Ordeal of Anasûrimbor Kellhus. Known for his pride and mercurial temper, Carindûsû is widely regarded as the soul most responsible for the disaster of Irsulor, where he met his end at the hands of Apperens Saccarees in 4132.
Caro-Shemic—The language of the scriptural pastoralists of the Carathay Desert.
Carû-Ongonean (524—588)—The third God-King of Ûmerau who, among many things, raised the original Library of Sauglish.
Carythusal—Also known as “the City of Flies.” The most populous city in the Three Seas, and the administrative and commercial capital of High Ainon.
Casidas (3081—3142)—A famed philosopher and historian of Near Antiquity, best known for his magisterial The Annals of Cenei, and famed for his youthful tenure as a galley slave.
caste-apparati—A term for hereditary officials in Three Seas bureaucracies.
caste-menial—A term for the suthenti, or the hereditary labourer caste.
caste-noble—A term for the kjineta, or the hereditary warrior caste.
caste-priest—A term for the nahat, or the hereditary priest caste.
castes—Inherited social statuses. Though weaker in the so-called Middle-North, the Inrithi caste system is one of the central institutions of Three Seas society. In a technical sense, there are almost as many castes as there are occupations, but in practice they fall into roughly four different groups: the suthenti or labouring castes, the momurai or transactional castes, the nahat or priestly castes, and the kjineta or warrior castes. Elaborate protocols supposedly govern all interactions within and between castes to ensure the observances of various privileges and obligations, as well as to minimize ritual pollution, but in practical terms they are rarely adhered to unless in the pursuit of advantage.