Definitions and Places

Glossary

·         Biomancy – The power to manipulate the body. Althea has this power. She uses it primarily to heal and cause pain, though, if she really wants to tire herself out, she could kill you.

·         Black Flame – The original Flame created by Zohara and tainted by the death god Nathair. It passes through the Asheten royal line from king to oldest son. Because it’s tainted, it slowly drives the person to madness, paranoia, and eventually murder and death.

·         Ember – This is what members of The Order of Obsidian Embers call themselves.

·         Empathy – The ability to sense, feel and understand the emotions, desires, and fears of others. Absalom has this power. He uses it mainly to influence others feelings about things, but he tries not to use it very often. If he really wanted to tire himself out, he could use his ability for combat sensing, which would allow him to sense what his opponent will do based on their emotional pulses.

·         Glade, the – The Glade is the place where Nathair, god of death and destruction, resides. It’s used in here primarily as a curse similar to how one might say “What the hell happened?” These characters say “What in the Glade happened?”

·         Mimic – Desdemona is a mimic. Her power allows her to copy the powers of other people. She does this through touch and can only use one power at a time.

·         Order of Obsidian Embers – The Order of Obsidian Embers is the group of women dedicated to the belief that the original Flame given by Zohara was meant only for women, and that men use it for selfish purposes. Their goal is to purge the Flame from all the men they can and use the strongest men as breeding stock and labor.

·         Order of the White Flame – Conversely, The Order of the White Flame is the group of rebels led by Absalom who believe the Flame was tainted by the darkness in people’s hearts. They believe that through goodness, perseverance, and the destruction of the Order of Obsidian Embers, they can convince the goddess Zohara to restore the Flame to its pure form.

·         Pyromancy – The ability to manipulate fire. Marietta has this power, and we see it used in the battle scenes by members of the Order of Obsidian Embers. Marietta isn’t very strong with her fire, so she uses it mostly for fireballs, streams, and to cook food.  

·         Vuli – This is the term used to describe a man whose Flame has reached a breaking point. To become Vuli means to lose your personality, your thoughts, and everything it means to be human. The Flame transitions and breaks you, taking over your consciousness until the only thing you want to do is kill. Eventually, you’ll wear yourself to pieces and die, thus allowing the Flame to completely devour you.

·         White Flame – The White Flame is the pure Flame given to Zahir. It is everything the Flame was meant to be before it was tainted.

Places

·         Ashet – Ashet is the capital of the country of Athera and the seat of the high king.

·         Athera – Athera is the name of the country the story takes place in.

·         Black Caves, the – The Black Caves is where members of The Order of Obsidian Embers take men who are particularly hard to break or that need to be punished badly. The torture and experimentation that goes on in there is so heinous it is rarely mentioned. Marietta was one of only a few female prisoners to ever go there.

·         Citadel, the – The Citadel is the seat of power for The Order of Obsidian Embers. It is located in Queril.

·         Hell’s Gate – Hell’s Gate is the name given to the prison cell deep within the Maze where Jen was held.

·         Lorom – Lorom is the city where Absalom’s rebel headquarters are located.

·         Maze, the – The Maze is the name given to the labyrinthine dungeons beneath the palace in Ashet. 

·         Pit, the – The Pit is the place where prisoners go when they can’t be sold at the slave auctions. Once in there, they are forgotten. The guards don’t bring them food, they are bathed using the leftover water from the upper floors, and they are expected to die a slow death.

·         Queril – Queril is the name of the city where the citadel is located.

·         Zulfikar – Zulfikar is the capital city of the eastern lands and Zahir’s homeland.