Inthis: Vithis’s clan of Aachim, first of the Eleven Clans (First Clan).
Irisis: Crafter, in charge of the controller artisans at the manufactory; niece of Barkus.
Jal-Nish Hlar: The perquisitor for Einunar; Nish’s father.
Joeyn (Joe): An old miner, Tiaan’s friend, killed in a roof fall.
Jym: One of Flydd’s guards.
Ketila: Elder sister of Colm.
Klarm: Scrutator for Borgistry; a dwarf.
Liett: A lyrinx with unarmoured skin and no chameleon ability; a talented flesh-former.
Liliwen: Daughter of Troist and Yara, twin of Meriwen.
Luxor: A conciliatory Aachim clan leader.
Lyrinx: Massive winged humanoids who came out of the void to Santhenar after the Forbidding was broken. Highly intelligent, they are able to utilise the Secret Art, most commonly for keeping their heavy bodies in flight. They have armoured skin and a chameleon-like ability to change their colours and patterns, often used for communication (skin-speech). Some lyrinx are also flesh-formers; they can change small organisms into desired forms using the Art. In the void they used a similar ability to pattern their unborn young so as to survive in that harsh environment. As a consequence, they are not entirely comfortable in their powerful bodies.
Malien: A venerable but ostracised Aachim living in Tirthrax; a heroine from the time of the Mirror. Also known as the Matah.
Marnie: Tiaan’s mother, a prize breeder of children.
Matron: Woman in charge of the breeding factory at Tiksi.
Meriwen: Daughter of Troist and Yara, twin of Liliwen.
Merryl: A human slave who teaches human languages to the lyrinx. Also known as Tutor.
Mihail: Gilhaelith’s manservant
Minis: A young Aachim man of high stature and foster-son of Vithis. Also Tiaan’s dream lover who was forced to spurn her when the Aachim came through the gate to Tirthrax.
Mira: Yara’s sister who dwells at Morgadis. She is embittered after the loss of her husband and three sons in the war. She communicates by skeet with a coalition of like-minded people.
M’lainte: The mechanician in charge of balloon construction.
Mounce: A disrespectful sergeant in Troist’s army.
Munnand: A lyrinx.
Myllii: Ullii’s long-lost twin brother.
Nish: Cryl-Nish’s nickname.
Nivulee: The navigator on Flydd’s air-floater.
Nixx: Gilhaelith’s seneschal
Numinator, the: A mysterious figure mentioned by Flydd when in his cups.
Nylatl, the: A malicious creature created by Ryll and Liett’s flesh-forming. It killed Haani’s aunts and mother and attacked Tiaan.
Nyrd: Messenger to Gilhaelith.
Oinan: Father of Colm.
Old Hyull: A venerable lyrinx, husband of Matriarch Gyrull.
Oon-Mie: A cheerful and reliable artisan at the manufactory.
Peate: A resentful senior miner.
Ranii Mhel: An examiner; mother of Nish.
Ranii Shyrr: Troist’s envoy.
Rulke: The greatest of all the Charon, he created the first construct.
Ruvix: Flydd’s sergeant.
Ryll: An ostracised wingless lyrinx who captured Tiaan and subsequently used her in flesh-forming. After Tiaan saved his life, he allowed her to escape from Kalissin.
Seeker: One who can sense use of the Secret Art, or people who have that talent, or even enchanted objects. Ullii is one.
S’lound: A soldier who travelled with Nish in the balloon to Tirthrax. He was killed when it landed.
Tchlrrr: A young soldier in Troist’s army.
Tiaan Liise-Mar: A young artisan; a visual thinker and talented controller-maker. With the amplimet, she picked up Minis’s cry for help, fell in love with him and carried the amplimet all the way to Tirthrax, where she used it in opening a gate to Aachan, to save Minis and his people.
Tinketil: Mother of Colm.
Tirior: An Aachim clan leader.
Troist: An ambitious junior officer in the army destroyed by the lyrinx at Nilkerrand.
Tuniz: A senior artificer from Crandor, now overseer at the manufactory.
Tyara: A young friend of Minis.
Ullii: A hypersensitive seeker, used by Scrutator Flydd to track Tiaan and the amplimet.
Vithis: Minis’s foster-father; an Aachim from Aachan and the head of Inthis First Clan. When all First Clan (except Minis) were lost in the gate, he became bitterness steeped in bile.
Vunio: A young friend of Minis.
Xervish Flydd: The scrutator (spymaster and master inquisitor) for Einunar. He now leads the hunt for Tiaan and the amplimet and the defence of the manufactory.
Yara: A brilliant advocate, wife to Troist.
Yorme: One of Flydd’s guards.
Zoyl Aarp: A clever but naïve and childish artisan.
MAJOR ARTEFACTS , FORCES AND POWERFUL NATURAL PLACES
Amplimet: A rare hedron which, even in its natural state, can draw power from the force (the field) surrounding and permeating a node. Occasionally can be very powerful.
Anthracism: Human internal combustion due to a mancer or an artisan drawing more power than the body can handle. Invariably fatal (gruesomely).
Booreah Ngurle (the Burning Mountain): A large, double-cratered volcano in northern Worm Wood, with a blue crater lake. It has a strange and powerful double node. Gilhaelith’s home, Nyriandiol, is built on the inner rim of the crater.
Clanker (also armoped or thumpeter): An armoured mechanical war cart with six, eight or ten legs and an articulated body, driven by the Secret Art via a controller mechanism which is used by a trained operator. Armed with a rock-throwing catapult and a javelard (heavy spear-thrower) which are fired by a shooter riding on top. Clankers are made under supervision of a mechanician, artisan and weapons artificer. Emergency power is stored in a pair of heavy spinning flywheels, in case the field is interrupted.
Construct: A vehicle powered by the Secret Art, based on some of the secrets of Rulke’s legendary vehicle. Unlike Rulke’s, those made by the Aachim cannot fly.
Controller: A mind-linked mechanical system of many flexible arms which draws power through a hedron and feeds it to the drive mechanisms of a clanker. A controller is attuned to a particular hedron, and the operator must be trained to use each controller, which takes time. Operators suffer withdrawal if removed from their machines for long periods, and inconsolable grief when their machines are destroyed, although this may be alleviated if the controller survives and can be installed in another clanker. The term is used in a more general sense, eg. construct controller.
Crystal fever: A hallucinatory madness suffered by artisans and clanker operators, brought on by overuse of a hedron. Few recover from it. Mancers can suffer from related ailments.