The Ashes of Worlds

Corribus — ancient Klikiss world where Margaret and Louis Colicos discovered the Klikiss Torch technology, site of one of the first new Hansa colonies. Eradicated by Klikiss robots; Orli Covitz and Hud Steinman were the only survivors

Covitz, Orli — teenaged girl, one of two survivors of the Klikiss robot attack on Corribus. Later, she moved to a new home on Llaro, only to be caught in the Klikiss invasion. After discovering that her music could stun the Klikiss hive mind, she helped the remaining colonists escape.

Crenna — former Ildiran splinter colony, evacuated due to plague, and resettled by humans, then later frozen when its sun died in hydrogue-faeros battles. The colonist refugees resettled on Llaro, and were trapped by the Klikiss invasion there.

cutter — small ship in Ildiran Solar Navy.

Cyroc’h — former Mage-Imperator, father of Jora’h, poisoned himself so that Jora’h would have to take over the leadership.

Daniel — Prince candidate selected as a replacement for Peter, left stranded on neo-Amish world of Happiness.

Daro’h — former Dobro Designate-in-waiting but now the Prime Designate of the Ildiran Empire after the death of Thor’h.

DD — Friendly compy owned by Margaret Colicos, seized by the Klikiss robot Sirix, before he escaped through a transportal to rejoin Margaret. Now DD serves as the companion to Orli Covitz.

Designate — any purebred noble son of the Mage-Imperator, ruler of an Ildiran world.

diamondfilm — crystalline parchment used for Ildiran documents.

Diente, Admiral Esteban — one of the four surviving grid admirals after the black robot uprising and the hydrogue war; he was ordered to capture the Mage-Imperator’s Flagship.

Dobro — Ildiran colony world, former site of human-Ildiran breeding camps before a revolt shut them down.

domate — largest sub-breed of Klikiss, silver carapace with black tiger stripes. The domates acquire and provide genetic material to the breedex during reproductive fissioning.

drogue — deprecatory term for hydrogues.

Durris — trinary star system, close white and orange stars orbited by a red dwarf; three of the Ildiran “seven suns.” Durris-B was extinguished in the hydrogue-faeros war, but reignited when faeros incarnate Rusa’h led an armada of faeros back through the star’s transgate.

Earth Defense Forces (EDF) — Terran space military, led by General Kurt Lanyan, devastated during the black robot uprising and the hydrogue war.

Eddies — slang term for soldiers in EDF

ekti — exotic allotrope of hydrogen used to fuel Ildiran stardrives, primarily extracted from gas-giant planets.

Eldora — Confederation forestry colony.

Estarra, Queen — second daughter, fourth child of Father Idriss and Mother Alexa, married to King Peter, recently gave birth to a son, Reynald.

faeros — sentient fire entities dwelling within stars.

featherviper — poisonous serpent from Theroc.

Fitzpatrick, Maureen — former Chairman of the Terran Hanseatic League, grandmother of Patrick Fitzpatrick III, nicknamed “Old Battleaxe.”

Fitzpatrick, Patrick III — General Lanyan’s protege in the Earth Defense Forces, presumed dead after battle of Osquivel but captured by Roamers. Later, he abandoned the EDF, stole his grandmother’s space yacht, and went in search of the Roamers; now he is married to Zhett Kellum.

Frederick — previous Great King of the Hansa, Peter’s predecessor, assassinated by hydrogue emissary.

Freedom’s Sword — outspoken protest group that is attempting to oust Hansa Chairman Basil Wenceslas.

fungus reef — giant worldtree growth on Theroc, carved into a habitation by the Therons.

Gale’nh — experimental half-breed son of Nira and Adar Kori’nh, third oldest of her children.

Gold, Jerome — Sullivan and Lydia’s adult son.

Gold, Lydia — Sullivan’s wife.

Gold, Patrice — Sullivan and Lydia’s adult daughter.

Gold, Philip — Sullivan and Lydia’s teenaged grandson.

Gold, Sullivan — former administrator of the Hansa’s modular cloud harvester at Qronha 3, which was destroyed by hydrogues; temporarily held captive by Ildirans, then quietly returned to Earth by Rlinda Kett and Branson Roberts.

Gold, Victor — Sullivan and Lydia’s adult son.

Golgen — gas giant where Ross Tamblyn’s Blue Sky Mine was destroyed; now it is the site of renewed Roamer skymining, particularly by clan Kellum.

green priest — servant of the worldforest, able to use worldtrees for instantaneous telink communication.

Guiding Star — Roamer philosophy and religion, an inspirational force in a person’s life.

Gypsy— space yacht flown by Patrick Fitzpatrick III, renamed after he stole it from his grandmother to search for Zhett Kellum.

Hansa — Terran Hanseatic League.

Hansa headquarters — pyramidal building near the Whisper Palace on Earth.

Hobart — Roamer clan, operators of a skymine on Golgen.

Horizon Cluster — large star cluster near Ildira, location of Hyrillka and many other splinter colonies. Most of Rusa’h’s rebellion took place in the Horizon Cluster.

Huck, Tabitha — engineer aboard Sullivan Gold’s cloud harvester, held captive by Ildirans and turned her talents to helping in the war against the hydrogues. A devotee of the green priest Kolker’s joined telink/thismphilosophy, Tabitha was killed by faeros when they reemerged from the dead sun of Durris-B.

hydrogues — alien race living in the cores of gas-giant planets, allied with the black robots and defeated by a combined force of verdani, wentals, Solar Navy, EDF, and Roamers.

Hyrillka — Ildiran colony in the Horizon Cluster, from which Designate Rusa’h began his rebellion. When battles between faeros and hydrogues threatened to extinguish one of Hyrillka’s suns, the population was evacuated and taken temporarily to Ildira. The current Hyrillka Designate is the boy Ridek’h.

Idriss, Father — former ruler of Theroc, husband of Mother Alexa and father of Reynald, Beneto, Sarein, Estarra, and Celli.

Ildira — home planet of the Ildiran Empire.

Ildiran Empire — large alien empire, the only other major civilization in the Spiral Arm.

Ildiran Solar Navy — space military fleet of the Ildiran Empire, much of which was devastated defending Earth during the end of the hydrogue war. Many warliners were being rebuilt in large orbiting shipyards over Ildira before the recent faeros invasion.

Ildirans — humanoid alien race with many different breeds, or kiths.

Isix cats — sleek feline predators native to Ildira; Jora’h’s daughter Yazra’h kept three of them, though one was killed by faeros.

jazer — energy weapon used by Earth Defense Forces.

Jonah 12 — icy planetoid, site of Kotto Okiah’s hydrogen-extraction facility, destroyed by Klikiss robots. Caleb Tamblyn was stranded on Jonah 12 after faeros destroyed his water tanker.

Jora’h — Mage-Imperator of the Ildiran Empire.

Juggernaut — largest battleship class in Earth Defense Forces.

Jupiter— Admiral Willis’s flagship Juggernaut.

Kamarov, Raven — Roamer captain, destroyed with his cargo ship during a secret EDF raid. Patrick Fitzpatrick III gave the order to fire on him, following instructions given by General Lanyan.

Kellum, Del — Roamer clan leader, in charge of Osquivel shipyards and many Golgen skymines; formerly engaged to Shareen Pasternak, who was killed by hydrogues; father of Zhett.