The Unholy Consult (Aspect-Emperor #4)

Far Antiquity—The historical period beginning with the Breaking of the Gates and ending with the Apocalypse in 2155. See Near Antiquity.

Far Wuor—Name given to those portions of Wuor, the northwesternmost province of K?niüri, gradually abandoned between 1440 and 1680 due to Sranc incursions across the Leash.

Fathoming—A pilgrimage to the Holy Deep of Ishterebinth, sometimes called the Riminaloikas, or “Journey to the Underworld [Pit].” Even though Avoidance (or Ascetic) Faiths such as those characterizing Nonmen belief often defy human understanding, a number of ritualistic parallels can be identified, such as pilgrimages and various analogous rites of passage. The Fathoming constitutes a symbolic re-enactment of Imimor?l’s flight from the Heavens (or “Starving”) into the depths beneath what became Siol, the House Primordial, the idea being that souls so deep can slip the notice of the Gods and find oblivion. Fathomings were most common undertaken by those upon the threshold of death, the thought being that the Deepest Deep lay on the edge of Oblivion.

Fatwall—Scalper name for the Imperial outpost located on the ruins of Maimor beneath the eastern Osthwai Mountains.

Feast of Kussapokari—A traditional Inrithi holiday marking the summer solstice.

fevers—A generic name for various forms of malaria.

Few, the—Those born with the innate ability to sense the onta and work sorcery. Perhaps few aspects of sorcery have been more debated than the so-called “Arcane Eye”: what it consists in, how it enables sorcerous interventions, and why such a small proportion of Men (as compared, say, to Nonmen) are so unfortunate as to possess it. See sorcery.

Fina?l, Weofota (4066—4111)—Man-of-the-Tusk, Earl of the Tydonni province of Canute, slain at Anwurat.

Fingers—Name given to the summit of Irs?lor by the Men of the Ordeal during the Battle of Irs?lor, because of the five headless pillars jutting there.

First and Final Word—A common epithet for the words of Inri Sejenus.

First Holy War—The Inrithi host summoned by Maithanet that invaded Kian in 4111 bent upon the reconquest of Shimeh. Called by Hem Shibbo, quite without hyperbole, “The loins of all history to follow.”

Characterized by strife and jealousy from the outset, the First Holy War was not in fact the first pilgrim host to answer Maithanet’s call and march against the Fanim. It followed rather, upon the heels of the so-called “Vulgar Holy War,” which was utterly annihilated by the Fanim of Skauras ab Nalajan, the Sapatishah of Shigek, on the Plains of Mengedda in 4110. Where the Vulgar Holy War had failed, the host that has come to be called the First Holy War prevailed, despite the superior tactics of their Fanim adversaries. The Men-of-the-Tusk, as the Inrithi were called, seized the north bank of the River Sempis, and committed innumerable barbarities in the name of all they held sacred. The first recorded mention of Anas?rimbor Kellhus dates to this time.

In Late Summer of 4111, the Inrithi crossed the Sempis and met the Fanim in full array beneath the fortress of Anwurat. Rattled by the numbers the Fanim had amassed, as well as by the nearness of the match on Mengedda, the Great Names, the Princes and Generals of the various nationalities and factions ceded command of the host to a Scylvendi freebooter named Cnaiür urs Ski?tha, an extraordinary decision that would see Skauras killed and the Fanim routed.

On the Nansur Emperor’s assurance that his fleet could keep the host supplied with fresh water, the Great Names made the fateful decision to immediately strike south along the coast of the Carathay Desert. The Fanim, however, managed to surprise and destroy the Nansur Fleet at the Battle of Trantis, stranding the First Holy War deep in the Carathay with nothing but a few poisoned wells and fouled oases. The legendary suffering of the host likely played no small role in the transformation of Anas?rimbor Kellhus from mere sage to a prophetic figure.

By the time the survivors reached Enathpaneah and laid siege to Caraskand that autumn, several Great Names were already arguing for his destruction. Some, perhaps sensing future advantage, advocated for him. Others simply found the idea of a holy war being conquered from within preposterous.

Caraskand fell to the Inrithi invaders even as the skirmishers belonging to Kascamandri, the Padirajah of the Kianene Empire, rode within sight of the city’s great curtain walls. In another extraordinary twist, the First Holy War now found itself besieged within the very city it had spent weeks starving. Disease and deprivation wracked the host as violently as it had on the Carathay. The matter of Anas?rimbor Kellhus and his Zaudunyani finally came to a head; the Great Names condemned him and sentenced him according to Tusk Law. He was bound to the corpse of his wife, then hung upside down from an iron circumfix. Riots broke out between the Orthodox and the Zaudunyani.

According to various books in the Novum, it was the Scylvendi freebooter, Cnaiür urs Ski?tha, who revealed the first of the Consult skin-spies in the host’s midst. Vindicated, Anas?rimbor Kellhus was released and exalted in the eyes the entire host—all save a handful were subsequently whelmed into the Zaudunyani faith. The skin-spies were purged from the ranks, and then, in the early spring of 4112, the once fractious host marched out under the leadership of a new prophet to meet Kascamandri and his Fanim Grandees in battle. Despite their dreadful condition, their fanaticism and superior armaments proved invincible on the field, and the Kianene were once again put to route with grievous losses.

A far different First Holy War undertook the remainder of the epochal campaign. Called in the name of a long-dead prophet, Inri Sejenus, it now marched under the command of a living prophet, Anas?rimbor Kellhus. Once massive and inchoate, prone to fumble tactically, it was now compact and articulated, more liable to surprise than be surprised. The host swept into the Governorate of Xerash, and thence into Holy Amoteu itself, swatting aside what resistance the Fanim, now under the leadership of Fanayal ab Kascamandri, could rally to slow their advance.

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