“Can I say good-bye?”
“You can see them both soon. They’ll be invited to the Opening Celebrations of the Secondborn Trials—to our private party, Roselle. You will be, after all, our celebrity guest of honor at the event.” We enter the Verringer. The door behind us closes. Clarity Bowie offers me a seat by a window. “You can rest after your trying evening. We’ll be in Virtues in no time. Your room is waiting for you, and someone there is very excited to greet you.”
I gaze out the window at Clifton’s and Hawthorne’s grim visages. The Verringer purrs softly and rises into the air. “Who is waiting for me?” I ask absently.
“Your mentor. Dune.”
I gape at him. Then I notice a shiny pin on his lapel. “Are you a gardener, Clarity Bowie?” I gesture to the pin.
“I’ve become very interested in the flower’s beauty and incomparable essence.”
“Roses come with sharp thorns,” I reply.
“I’m counting on them.”
Glossary
air-barracks. Kidney-shaped dormitory airships that dock on the military Trees in Bases like the Stone Forest. They transport troops and house them.
air-billiards. A game played on a multilevel billiards table with an airstick—a cross between pool and air hockey.
airstick. A cue stick that uses forced air to move a ball.
Anthroscope. An expensive sports-model airship.
Aspen Lake. The body of water located within the Stone Forest Base.
atom splitter. An invisible security force field that explodes the atoms of whatever crosses into its path.
Brixon. A port town in the Fate of Stars.
Bronze City. A port city in the Fate of Swords. It’s located on the Vahallin Sea.
Burton Weapons Manufacturing. A Sword-Fated weapons manufacturing company owned by Sword-Fated Edmund Burton.
Census. A branch of the government comprised of agents whose mission is to hunt down and kill unauthorized thirdborns and their abettors. Their uniform is a white military dress shirt, black trousers, black boots, and a long, tailored leather coat. Their Bases are underground, beneath the Sword military Trees at Bases like the Stone Forest Base and the Twilight Forest Base.
chet. A nonaddictive substance that is used to relieve tension and induce relaxation. It looks like a white stamp.
Clarity. The title held by the leader of a Fate.
CO. An abbreviation for commanding officer.
cooler. A slang term for a detention center.
Copper Towne. A moderately sized city in the Fate of Swords. A Salloway Munitions warehouse is located here. It is also near the border to the Fate of Seas.
counter. A slang term for a Census agent.
CR-40. A topical polymer dispensed in an aerosol device that, when sprayed on the skin, temporarily blocks the signal of an implanted moniker. It can be scrubbed off the skin or it will wear off in a few hours, making it ineffective.
crella. A type of donut.
Culprit-44. A sidearm, also called a fusionmag. It’s a fusion-powered gun-like weapon with a hydrogen-powered option.
death drone. An automated robot with a black metallic outer casing. It’s shaped like a bat and used primarily on the battlefield to interrogate and execute captured enemy soldiers. The drone is summoned by a black-blinking “death-drone beacon” that emits a high-pitched sound, prompting a drone to respond to the location. Once the drone interrogates an enemy, it decides whether to kill the soldier or take it back to a containment airship for further interrogation.
death-drone beacon. A black, disc-shaped device the size of a thumbnail. It blinks with light and emits a high-pitched frequency that summons a death drone. The device is placed on a captured enemy soldier to target him or her for interrogation and/or death.
drone camera. A spherically shaped automated floating camera that has a multitude of lenses. Some are automated and can be programmed to follow a specific target, while others are operated remotely.
Dual-Blade X16. The Salloway Munitions brand name for the dual-sided sword—the fusionblade/hydroblade—designed by Star-Fated secondborn Jakes Trotter and Sword-Fated secondborn Roselle St. Sismode. It was sold to the company by Roselle St. Sismode.
evac (or evac’ed). To evacuate (or evacuated).
Exo. A rank in the firstborn Sword military. It is higher than all the secondborn ranks. Only the Admiral and Clarities are higher. Black uniforms. Clifton Salloway is an Exo.
Fairweather. An expensive, state-of-the-art airship.
Fated Sword. A title given to the spouse of The Sword (the Clarity of the Fate of Swords). Kennet Abjorn is considered the Fated Sword because he’s the husband of Othala St. Sismode.
fatedom. The realm of a Fate, like a kingdom.
Fates of the Republic. Also know as the Fates Republic. The Fates of the Republic society is comprised of nine Fates or “fatedoms.” The Fates highest to lowest in the caste system are Virtues, Swords, Stars, Atoms, Suns, Diamonds, Moons, Seas, and Stones. The leader of the Republic is the Clarity of Virtues.
First Lieutenant. A position on the Swords Heritage Council that is considered the “right hand” to the Firstborn Sword (the heir to The Sword).
Firstborn Commander. A title given to the firstborn son or daughter of The Virtue. Grisholm Wenn-Bowie is the Firstborn Commander.
Firstborn Sword. A title given to the firstborn son or daughter of The Sword. Gabriel is the Firstborn Sword.
Forest Base Tree. A tree-shaped military building used by Sword-Fated personnel.
Forge. The capital city of the Fate of Swords.
FSP (Fusion Snuff Pulse). A device that acts like an EMP (electromagnetic pulse), delivering a short pulse of energy that disrupts the fusing of atoms that create fusion energy. The device is a palm-size sphere with a silver metallic outer shell with a trigger button.
fusionblade. A fusion-energy-driven laser-like sword. The sword resembles a broadsword without the expected weight. Fusion cells reside in the hilt of the sword and create a stream of energy when engaged. The hilt is constructed of a metal alloy and usually personalized by a family crest or some other distinctive marking. The St. Sismode family is the originator of the fusionblade. They came to power because of their prowess with weapons centuries ago. They are the heirs to the fatedom of the Fate of Swords.
fusionmag. A gun-like weapon that fires energy in “bullets” hot enough to burn through skin.
glide mode. A mode of propulsion used by antiquated hovercars, such as the Vicolt. It uses magnetic attraction to propel a vehicle.
Golden Circle. The area just outside the walls of the Stone Forest Base where secondborns are processed on Transition Day.
gravitizer. The anti-gravity mechanism in a combat jumpsuit. It uses magnetic repulsion from the molten core of the planet to slow the descent of a soldier after he or she jumps from an airship. It disengages once the soldier is within feet of the ground, allowing him or her to land safely.
head case. A mentally unstable person.
heartwood. An escalator-like machine that carries occupants up or down levels through a vertical tube within a Forest Base Tree.
helium-suckers. A derogatory term meaning morons.
Heritage Council. A committee comprised of firstborn members of the Sword aristocracy. The leader of the council is the firstborn heir to The Sword. It’s a junior council of sorts in which firstborn heirs hold positions of power until they assume their parents’ roles as the leaders of the Sword aristocracy.
hover. An abbreviated term for hovercar.
hoverbin. A programmable drone that carries items from one place to another.
hovercar. A wheelless vehicle that hovers above the ground and is propelled by various means.
hoverstretcher. An automated, self-propelled stretcher that floats above the ground. It carries wounded people from one place to another.
hovertaxi. An automated hovercar for hire.
hovertruck. A large wheelless vehicle that hovers above the ground and is propelled by various means.