A Time of Exile - Katharine Kerr [196]
Javelin (trans, of Dev. picecl) Since the weapon in question is only about three feet long, another possible translation would be “war dart.” The reader should not think of it as a proper spear or as one of those enormous javelins used in the modern Olympic Games.
Lwdd (Dev.) A blood-price; differs from wergild in that the amount of lwdd is negotiable in some circumstances, rather than being irrevocably set by law.
Malover (Dev.) A full, formal court of law with both a priest of Bel and either a gwerbret or a tieryn in attendance.
Pan (Elv.) An enclitic, similar to -fola-, defined earlier, except that it indicates that the preceding noun is plural as well as the name of the following word, as in Corapanmelim. River of the Many Owls. Remember that Elvish always indicates pluralization by adding a semi-independent morpheme, and that this semi-independence is reflected in the various syntax-bearing enclitics.
Pecl (Dev.) Far, distant.
Rhan (Dev.) A political unit of land; thus, gwerbretrhyn, tierynrhyn, the area under the control of a given gwerbret or tieryn. The size of the various rhans (Dev. rhannau) varies widely, depending on the vagaries of inheritance and the fortunes of war rather than some legal definition.
Scrying The art of seeing distant people and places by magic.
Sigil An abstract magical figure, usually representing either a particular spirit or a particular kind of energy or power. These figures, which look a lot like geometrical scribbles, are derived by various rules from secret magical diagrams.
Thought-form An image or three-dimensional form that has been fashioned out of either etheric or astral substance, usually by the action of a trained mind. If enough trained minds work together to build the same thought-form, it will exist independently for a period of time based on the amount of energy put into it. (Putting energy into such a form is known as ensouling the thought-form.) Manifestations of gods or saints are usually thought-forms picked up by the highly intuitive, such as children or those with a touch of second sight. It is also possible for many untrained minds acting together to make fuzzy, ill-defined thought-forms that can be picked up the same way, such as UFOs and sightings of the Devil.
Tieryn (Dev.) An intermediate rank of the noble-born, below a gwerbret but above an ordinary lord (Dev. arcloedd). Wyrd (trans, of Dev. tingedd) Fate, destiny; the inescapable problems carried over from a sentient being’s last incarnation.
A SPECIAL PREVIEW OF
A TIME OF
OMENS
BY
KATHARINE KERR
The winds of change are blowing through Deverry, and in every epoch the omens of those changes are undeniably vivid to those who can recognize them. In one era, a battle of dark dweomer is brewing, while signs from the shadowy lands of the Guardians herald unprecedented change. In an earlier time, for the near-immortal wizard Nevyn, they speak of struggles yet to occur, of a dead king and the coming of his long foretold successor. With the Wyrd of a land in the balance, Nevyn, long awaiting such omens, finds them suddenly upon him in ways even he could not have foreseen….
All winter Nevyn had been wondering when the king in Cerrmor would die, but he didn’t get the news until that very day, just before the spring equinox. It had rained over Dun Drwloc, dissolving the last of the snow and leaving pools of brown mud in its stead. When the sky started clearing in earnest, the old man climbed to the ramparts and looked out over the slate gray lake, choppy in the chill wind. He was troubled, wondering why he’d received no news from Cerrmor in five months. With those who followed the dark dweomer keeping a watch on the dun, he’d been afraid to contact other dweomermasters through the fire in case they were overheard, but now he was considering taking the risk. All the omens indicated that the time was ripe for King Glyn’s Wyrd to come upon him.
Yet,