This (likely apocryphal) prophecy of competition between Ishori?l and Siol did not come to pass until the famed marriage of Queen Tsinir? (one of the most gifted of the Quyil) with Sin’niroiha, the Nonman King of Nihrims?l, the ancient rival of Ku’jara-Kinmoi. Whether due to the wealth of her nimil mines, or the engineering marvel of the Vast Ingressus, or the formidable will of his sorceress wife, Sin’niroiha’s decision to relocate his court to Ishori?l would have the effect of radically rewriting the politics of E?rwa. Almost overnight, ancient Nihrims?l, the ageless rival to Siolan hegemony, became an outpost projecting a far different power. The subsequent birth of their son, Nil’giccas, would bring the Sons of Nihrims?l into the House of Tsonos, and so removed illegitimacy as a perpetual pretext for Siolan aggression. The fusion of the more ancient mansion’s martial vigour with the commercial might and artistic sensibilities of Ishori?l resulted in one of the most glorious periods of cultural efflorescence in Nonman history—ultimately to become the very House Eschatological prophesied, the one Mansion to survive both the apocalypse occasioning the arrival of Men and the apocalypse occasioning their departure.
Following the disaster of Pir-Minginnial, the remnants rallied about Sin’niroiha, and Ishori?l, given its proximity to the Inc?-Holoinas, found itself perpetually embattled, besieged no less than five times for spans exceeding ten years. Sin’niroiha, who had never been inoculated, became the last Nonman to die of old age during the Siege of the Second Delve, leaving his gifted son, Nil’giccas, the Seals of Nihrims?l and Ishori?l. As a Son of Tsonos, Nil’giccas was able to lead the other Mansions in a way his father could not.
See C?no-Inchoroi Wars.
Ishu?l—“Exalted Grotto” (Ihrims?). The secret fastness of the K?niüric High Kings, located in the Demua Mountains, and subsequently inhabited by the D?nyain.
Isiram?lis—“Hearth-cracker” (Ihrims?). First of six Cinderswords forged by Emilidis, coveted in ancient times for the immunity it provided to Dragon fire.
Iskaul, Powtha (4094— )—General of the Twenty-ninth Imperial Column, stationed in Oswenta.
Israti—One of the Houses of the Congregate.
Israzi’horul—“Shining Men” (Aghurzoi). Sranc term for the Great Ordeal of Anas?rimbor Kellhus.
Issiral—“Fortune” (Shigeki). The name the White-Luck Warrior gives to Anas?rimbor Esmenet after she contracts him to murder Maithanet.
Istriya, Ikurei (4045—?)—The mother of Emperor Xerius III, once famed for her legendary beauty.
Istyuli Plains—A vast and largely semi-arid tableland running from the Yimelati Mountains in the north to the Hethanta Mountains in the south.
Is?phiryas—“Great Pit of Years” (Ihrims?). The great work chronicling the history of the Nonmen prior to the Breaking of the Gates. In all likelihood it is the most ancient text in existence. Sometime in the fourth century, a copy of the Is?phiryas was given to C?nwerishau by Nil’giccas, the Nonman King of Ishori?l (Ishterebinth), as part of the ancient treaty between their two peoples—the first between Nonmen and Men. During the reign of the God-King Car?-Ongonean, five ?meri translations of the Is?phiryas were bequeathed to the Library of Sauglish. Four of these were destroyed in the Apocalypse. The fifth was saved by Seswatha, who delivered it to the scribes of the Three Seas.
As a historical chronicle, the Is?phiryas exhibits a number of peculiarities beyond its inhuman provenance and enormous length (Seswatha famously referred to it as the “great pyre of eyes”). For one, it relies on a place dating system: the year chronicled can only be determined by where the entry stands in relation to all other entries. As legend has it, this was why the Nonmen refer to it as a “pit”: the earlier the entry, the deeper the reader stands in the pit of history (recalling that for the Nonmen, the connotation of the term “pit” is general opposite that typically found in Mannish languages). The absence of any numerical dating system means, crucially, that the Is?phiryas is a perpetually living document, one that can only place events in historical context via the continuous inscription of present events. Although human historians generally find this vexing in the extreme, Nonmen scholars seem entirely unconcerned.
The second glaring peculiarity lies in the scriptural status the Is?phiryas enjoys among the Nonmen, who, seeing a holy analogue between the chronicle and their subterranean pilgrimages, believed it could only be read backward. The reader of the Is?phiryas, according to the Nonmen, had to descend into it, laying eye upon entry after entry, until arriving at the depth they had sought. The Is?phiryas itself recounts the execution of three different scholars for “despoiling the Holy Deep” whilst reading the chronicle. This so struck the Men of ancient ?meri that “consulting the pit” became a common idiom for delaying tactics during the Nonman Tutelage.
Iswa (c. 1450—c. 1530)—Legendary creator of the Iswazi. A despised Hapwee (the child of a Satiothi women raped by Nilnameshi soldiers), Iswa famously grew up as a prostitute in Domyot, and in this way secured the patronage of Xarah Wab-wabi, the feared and maligned Satta Warlock, who took him as a student and comfort-slave. A prodigy, Iswa very quickly outstripped his master. As a child of the street he knew well enough to conceal his burgeoning ability. According to legend, a dozen bronze and wooden figurines—little idols and fetishes he had filched for toys during his years on the street—were his sole possessions. These became the raw materials of an entirely new way to conceive sorcery, one which he would use to wreak vengeance upon Xarah Wab-wabi when he was scarcely twelve years old.
Iswazi—“Way of Iswa” (Ankmuri). A branch of sorcery that turns on the resonance between meanings and concrete things, via the medium of physical fetishes. The result is a sorcery in some ways more powerful yet generally less flexible than the Anagogis. Arcane legend offers several accounts of battles fought between Anagogic and Iswazi Magi, with the outcome favouring the former in group combat, and the latter in individual contests.
Ivory Gate—The northernmost gate of Caraskand, so named because of the pale sandstone used to construct it (as well as the Gate of Horns).
Iyengar, N?kulk (4070—4112)—Man-of-the-Tusk and Earl of Nangaelsa, slain at the Battle of Shimeh.
Iyisk?—The Inchoroi term for themselves.
Iyokus, Heramari (4014— )—Ordealman (and one-time Man-of-the-Tusk), chanv addict, and Grandmaster of the Scarlet Spires in the Great Ordeal of Anas?rimbor Kellhus, often called the “Blind Necromancer.” Master of Spies to Hanamanu Ele?zaras during the time of the First Holy War, he was made Grandmaster immediately after the fall of Shimeh in 4112. Also called “Second Tutor” (Drusas Achamian being the first) of Anas?rimbor Kellhus, who was rumoured to have spent months with Iyokus in the fortress of Kiz (the “Scarlet Spires”) plumbing the depths of the Daimos in 4121.
J
Jahan Plains—The large, arid tableland that makes up the western frontier of Eumarna.
Jarutha—A small agricultural town some twenty miles southwest of Momemn.
Javreh—The slave-soldiers of the Scarlet Spires, famed for their ferocity in battle. The first unit was created in 3801 by Grandmaster Shinurta at the height of the Scholastic Wars.
Jekhia—A tributary nation of High Ainon, famed as the mysterious source of chanv, located at the headwaters of the River Sayut in the Great Kayarsus. The Men of Jekhia are unique in that they exhibit Xiuhianni racial characteristics.
Jeshimal River—The primary river system of Amoteu, draining the Betmulla Mountains and emptying into the Meneanor Sea at Shimeh.
Jihads—Fanim holy wars. Since the inception of Fanimry, the Kianene have waged no fewer than seven jihads, all of them against the Nansur Empire.
Jirux—A great Kianene fortress on the north bank of the River Sempis.