The Warlord's Domain

  pestreyhar, pertrior. (Cernuan, Alb. dialect.) "Wizard" or "sorcerer"; literally, one who creates power with words.

  pestreyr-pesok'n. (Cernuan, Alb. dialect.) "Petty-wizard"; a conjurer, one incapable of using true power, an employer only of insignificant charms or sleight-of-hand, (pesoek, q.v.)

  purcanyath. (Cernuan, Alb. dialect.) "Enchanter"; literally a spell-singer.

  seisac (Drus.) A distinctive form of helmet with (usually) a high, conical crown, deep neck-guard and cheekplates and a peak through which may be slid a nasal bar.

  Slijei? (Vlech.) "Understand?"; interrogative imperative of an officer completing the issue of an order to subordinates. The word carries an element of prom-isory threat.

  slij'hah! (Vlech.) "Understood!"; standard response to the interrogative imperative.

  taidyo. (Alb.) "Staffsword"; a wooden practice foil, usually of oak or a similar hardwood.

  taiken. (Alb.) "Longsword"; the kailin's classic weapon, a straight, double-edged cut-and-thrust blade in a hilt long enough for both hands but sufficiently balanced for only one. When in these trained hands, a properly forged and polished taiken (the word "sharpened," with its suggestion of prior bluntness, is not encouraged) delivering a focused strike can shear through most forms of composite armor. The body of the armor's wearer has never been considered an obstacle.

  taiken-ulleth. (Alb.) Generic name for all schools and styles of taiken-play.

  taipan. (Alb.) "Shortsword"; a short, sometimes curved, often richly mounted weapon which is usually restricted to wear with the formal elyu-dlas (q.v.)

  tarann'ach. (Alb.) "Striking thunderbolt"; a cut in taiken-ulleth in which the blade follows a diagonal downward path to strike a target directly in front.

  tarannin-kai. (Alb.) "Twin thunderbolts"; a cut in taiken'ulleth (q.v.) in which the blade follows a horizontal figure-eight to strike two targets at right and left.

  tau-kortagor. (Drus,) "Under-lieutenant"; the lowest Imperial military rank.

  taulath. (Alb.) "Shadowthief"; secretive mercenaries, available for hire through devious routes for the purpose of spying, sabotage, blackmail and assassination; they perform all those politically necessary duties forbidden to kailinin by their codes of Honor.

  telek. (Alb.) "Thrower"; a personal-defense sidearm which projects lead-weighted darts with considerable force (over short distances) from either a box or rotary magazine by means of powerful springs.

  tlakh-woydan. (Vlech.) "Lord's-Protectors"; the Grand Warlord's Bodyguard Regiment, stationed in the Drakkesborg Barracks.

  tsalaer. (Alb.) "Harness"; the lamellar cuirass worn without armored sleeves or leggings, often under clothing as a concealed defense. (All parts of an moyya tsalaer (q.v.) may be worn separately, as need dictates.)

  tsepan. (Alb.) "Small-blade"; the Honor dirk of Alba was originally a weapon carried into battle by its owner as a mercy knife, for others or himself. (It was and still is considered dishonorable and vulgar to finish off a fallen kailin with a taiken, for all that he may be killed outright with one while still on his feet.) As the requirements of honor, duty and obligation came to be observed with e.ver-increasing stringency, the tsepan became instead a means whereby a warrior could recover lost honor (or at least evade the consequences of its loss) by killing himself. This was an acceptable form of self-punishment, and meant that other penalties, notably forfeiture of lands or titles, were withheld. With a few notable exception, the practice has fallen into disuse.

  tsepanak'ulleth. (Alb.) The act of ritual suicide.

  vosjhaien, vosjh'. (Vlech.) Father, "papa."

  Woydach. (Drus.) "Grand Warlord"; while the title appears exclusively military, it also carries political connotations. The Grand Warlord of the Drusalan Empire was originally responsible for foreign affairs, frontier security and the overseeing of any policies of expansion put forward by the Emperor. More recently the post has been that of military dictator, with the Emperor as no more than a figurehead.

  woydachul. (Drus.) The Warlord's faction in the Empire.

  woydek-hlautan. (Drus.) "The Warlord's Domain"; all those provinces of the Empire which through policy or conquest regard the Woydach rather than the Emperor as true head of state.

  ymeth. (Drus.) "Dreamsmoke"; a common recreational narcotic, used also as a soporific before surgery and as an adjunct to certain forms of sorcery.