The Unholy Consult (Aspect-Emperor #4)

Amrezzer the Black (1753—1897)—Legendary Surartu Grandmaster responsible for securing the river fortress of Kiz in Far Antique Carythusal, c. 1800, called the “Black” for his propensity to burn down the homes of those opposed to him.

Anagk?—The Goddess of fortune. Also known as “the Whore of Fate.” Anagk? is one of the primary “Compensatory Gods,” which is to say, one who rewards devotion in life with paradise in the afterlife. Her Cult is extremely popular in the Three Seas, especially among the higher, political castes.

Anagogis—A branch of sorcery that turns on the resonances between meanings and concrete things.

In Kellian metaphysics, there is the meaning that is being, the meaning that is your angle upon the world, and then there is the meaning that inflects being, merely. This latter we know as everyday writing and speech, whereas the former is the province of sorcery and religion. To be a soul is to be at once an angle on the world and to be the world, but one small angle that existence possesses on existence—on itself. The so-called Many, given their blindness to being, cannot close the circuit of thought and being. The Few can see the onta, however, and so can, given the proper rigour and training, close the circuit of thought and being, work what appear to be miracles. As it turns out, there are two quite different ways of deriving being from thought, one analogical (as with the Anagogis and the Iswazi) and the other inferential (as with the Gnosis and Metagnosis). So where the Gnosis deals directly with abstract forces, the Anagogis deals with substances embodying those forces. The Anagogis is, once again deferring to Kellian metaphysical parlance, a phenomenological sorcerous art, relying on the densities of experiential meaning as described to drive the manifestations. The Gnosis, by contrast, is a formal sorcerous art. Both rely on the same intellectual gymnastics (essentially, speaking and thinking different yet intricately interrelated things simultaneously), but they draw their semantic force very different sources, much as poetry and mathematics do.

Throughout history, the Scarlet Spires has consistently been the most innovative of the Anagogic Schools, which is why a good fraction of the Anagogic Canon is derived from their research, Cants such as the infamous Dragonhead or Houlari Twin-Tempests.

Analogies—An alternate name for Anagogic sorceries.

Anas?rimbor Dynasty—The ruling dynasty of K?niüri from 1408 to 2147. See Apocalypse.

Anaxophus V (2109—2156)—The Kyranean High King who wielded the Heron Spear against the No-God at Mengedda in 2155.

ancestor scroll—A scroll kept by most pious Inrithi, bearing the names of all the dead ancestors who might intercede on their behalf. Since the Inrithi believe that honour and glory in life brings power in the afterlife, they are particularly proud of renowned ancestors and ashamed of known sinners.

Ancient North—The name given to the Norsirai civilization destroyed in the Apocalypse.

Ancilline Gate—One of the so-called Lesser Gates of Momemn, located to the immediate south of the Girgallic Gate.

Andiamine Heights—The primary residence and principal administrative seat of Nansur Emperors, located on the seaward walls of Momemn.

Anfirig, Thagawain (4057—4114)—Man-of-the-Tusk, and the Galeoth Earl of Gesindal.

Angeshra?l (?—?)—The most famed Old Prophet of the Tusk, responsible for leading the Five Tribes of Men into E?rwa. Also known as the Burnt Prophet for bowing his face into his fire after confronting Husyelt at the foot of Mount Eshki. His wife was Esmenet.

Angka—The ancient Norsirai name for Zeüm.

animas—The “moving force” of all existence, typically analogized as the “breath of God.” Much ink has been spilt over the question of the relation between animas, which is primarily a theological concept, and the sorcerous concept of “onta.” Most scholars are of the opinion that the latter is simply a secular version of the former.

Anissi (c. 4089—4113)—The favourite wife of Cnaiür urs Ski?tha.

Ankaryotis—A demon of the Outside, one of the more manageable Potents controlled by the Scarlet Spires.

Ankharlus—A famed K?niüric commentator and high priest of Gilga?l.

Ankirioth—A province of south central Conriya.

Ankmuri—The lost language of ancient Angka.

Ankulakai—The mountain on the southern limit of the Demua that cradles the city of Atrithau.

Anmergal, Skinede (4078—4112)—Man-of-the-Tusk. A Tydonni thane, slain at the Battle of Tertae Fields.

Annals of Cenei, The—The classic treatise of Casidas, covering the history of Cenei and the Ceneian Empire from the Imperial City’s legendary foundation in 809 to the time of Casidas’s death in 3142.

Annand—A province of north central Conriya, known primarily for its silver and iron mines. “All the silver in Annand” is a common Three Seas expression, meaning “pricelessness.”

Anochirwa—“Horns Reaching” (K?niüric) An early mannish name for Golgotterath.

Anphairas, Ikurei—See Ikurei Anphairas I.

Anplei—The second-largest city in Conriya after A?knyssus.

anpoi—A traditional drink throughout the Three Seas, made of fermented peach nectar.

Ansacer ab Salajka (4072—4116)—The Sapatishah-Governor of Gedea. The Black Gazelle is his totem.

Ansansius, Teres (c. 2300—2351)—The most famed theologian of the early Thousand Temples, whose The City of Men, The Limping Pilgrim, and Five Letters to All are revered by Shrial scholars.

Anserca—The southernmost province of the Nansur Empire.

Antanamera—A province of High Ainon, located on the highland frontier of Jekk.

Antareg—The westernmost mountain of the Urokkas, at once the roof of ancient Viri and the foundation of Dagliash.

An?nuarc?—Ancient K?niüric province located west of ?mer and south of Far Wuor, famed as a Sranc frontier and the birthplace of heroes.

Anwurat—A large Kianene fortress to the south of the Sempis Delta, constructed in 3905.

Anyasiri—“Tongueless Howlers” (Ihrims?). An early C?nuroi name for the Sranc.

A?knyssus—The administrative and commercial capital of Conriya. Once the capital of the long-lost Shiradi Empire, A?knyssus is perhaps the most ancient of the Three Seas’ great cities, with the possible exception of Sumna or Iothiah.

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