Dowager Empress: Leitha, Empress of the Dark Earth; killed and usurped by Talquist
Dranth: guild scion of the Raven’s Guild, an organization of assassins in Yarim
Esten: guildmistress of the Raven’s Guild, deceased
Faron: the titan of Sorbold; a Faorina spirit, the denatured, bastard child of a F’dor demon and a Seren woman; now in a Living Stone body with the appearance of a titanic statue of a soldier, sharing it with Hrarfa
Fhremus Alo’hari: supreme commander of Sorbold’s land force; uncle of Kymel
Hjorst: the Diviner of the Hintervold, a sophisticated and educated man in a primitive role; the religious and political leader of the Icemen in the north, who divines the future chiefly through animal sacrifice and other animist practices
Hrarfa: the F’dor spirit in the Living Stone body of Faron; of the Older Pantheon; one of the few remaining of the Unspoken, a demon that escaped the Vault
Kymel: a young soldier; Fhremus’s sister’s son; an idealist, fifth-generation soldier
Michael, the Wind of Death: soldier from the Lost Island, known occasionally as the Waste of Breath, a voluntary host to a F’dor demon; the seneschal; the Baron of Argaut, deceased
Stephanus: a second lieutenant and subcommander under Titactyk, army of Sorbold
Talquist Rev-Penthor: the Merchant Emperor of Sorbold, in possession of one of the oldest of scales from Sharra’s Stolen Deck, who rigged the Scales to usurp the throne
Titactyk: a regimental commander in the army of Sorbold
Yabrith: second-rate member of the Raven’s Guild of assassins
ADDITIONAL PERSONS AND MYTHIC BEINGS
Earthchild, the: a conjured being made of Living Stone and brought into life by a willing sacrifice of part of a dragon’s soul, in eternal slumber in the Bolglands. The rib from such a child could be used as a key to open the Vault of the Underworld.
Evrit: slave in a Sorbold ore mine, shipwrecked with his fellow religious pilgrims and family only to fall into Talquist’s hands
Grandmother, the: ancient Dhracian guardian of the Earthchild/Sleeping Child; deceased
Halphasion, Father: Achmed’s mentor from Serendair, named him the Brother
Jacinth Specter: sailor on the Flying Sails; witness to the attack on Avonderre Harbor
Jarzben: the elder of Evrit’s sons, enslaved in the same ore mine as he is
Lady Rowan, the: the Keeper of Dreams, the Guardian of Sleep; Yl Breudiwyr; a manifestation of Time in the world beyond Death but before the Afterlife
Lord Rowan, the: the Hand of Mortality; the Peaceful Death; Yl Angaulor; a manifestation of Time in the world beyond Death but before the Afterlife
Miraz of Winter: a lesser Diviner in the Hintervold
Portia: a chambermaid, also a First Generation Cymrian possessed by a demon in the employ of Tristan Steward, who brings her to the household of Rhapsody and Ashe
Selac: the younger of Evrit’s sons, enslaved with his family, location unknown
Sharra: the ancient Seren Seer who read fortunes on the Island of Serendair from a deck of dragon scales (see Given Deck and Stolen Deck); believed to be deceased
Syrus Turley: captain of the Flying Sails; witness to the attack on Avonderre Harbor
Talthea: also known as the Gracious One or the Widow; the daughter-in-law of MacQuieth Monodiere Nagall; a First Generation Cymrian; deceased
Weaver, the: the manifestation of Time in history, found behind the Veil of Hoen on the doorstep of the Afterlife. She sits behind an enormous loom, weaving the tapestry of history. It is said that no one can remember what her face looks like after it is seen.
DUKES OF ROLAND/NOBILITY OF CYMRIAN ALLIANCE
Baldasarre, Dunstin: younger brother of Quentin Baldasarre; duke of Bethe Corbair
Baldasarre, Quentin: duke of Bethe Corbair
Canderre, Cedric: duke of Canderre; the Baldasarres’ uncle; Madeleine’s father
Karsric, Ihrman: duke of Yarim
Ivenstrand, Martin: duke of Avonderre
Navarne, Gwydion: seventeen-year-old duke of Navarne
Navarne, Stephen: late duke of Navarne; Gwydion and Melisande’s father; Ashe’s best friend
Steward, Lady Madeleine Canderre: Cedric’s daughter; the Lord Roland’s wife; known among the nobility and the populace as the Beast of Canderre
Steward, Tristan: Lord Roland and Prince of Bethany
ARCHONS
Archon: a Firbolg child chosen from one of the clans by Achmed and Rhapsody, selected for special skill and intelligence and trained to be a leader in the society
Dreekak: the Archon known as the Master of Tunnels
Greel: the Archon known as the Face of the Mountain/Mining
Harran: the Loremistress
Krinsel: the Archon of the Midwives
Kubila: the Archon of trade and diplomacy
Ralbux: the Archon in charge of Education
Trug: the Archon of communications known as the Voice
Yen: the broadsmith; the Archon in charge of weaponry
RATH’S LIST OF F’DOR DEMONS AND OTHER PREY
Ficken: the greedy Glutton, preying on unsuspecting small folk, both of stature and spirit
Fraax: F’dor, loose in the upworld, unknown of character
Hnaf: the Outcast of Outcasts, mistrusted by his own kind, possessed of cheap malice
Hrarfa: the Liar of Liars, more scent than fire, beckoning with false promises
Sistha: F’dor, loose in the upworld, unknown of character
Ysk: the name the Firbolg gave Achmed upon birth, meaning spittle or vomit
DRAGONS
Dyancynos, Elynsynos, Marisynos (deceased), Talasynos, Valecynos: the Five Daughters, the firstborn children of the Progenitor Wyrm. Each guarded one of the five World Trees, the gigantic trees that grew in each of the places where Time began, as measured by the first appearance of one of the five elements on the Earth. Dyancynos (Frothta, Water); Elynsynos (Great White Tree, Earth); Marisynos (Sagia, Ether); Talasynos (Eucos, Air); Valecynos (Ashra, Fire). Their lost sibling, the sixth egg of the original clutch, is the Sleeping Child, the dragon within the earth comprising one-sixth of its mass. The F’dor seek to awaken the Sleeping Child so that it can consume the Earth.
Chao: a sparkling, evanescent creature from the bright lands of the rising sun
Mikanic: from the Great Overward, his hide like the sand of the desert in which he lives
Mylinmacr: a dragon lore-singer and historian; Witheragh’s grandmother; deceased
Salinus: lives in great salt beds, his white hide streaked with yellow and gray
Sidus: a coal dragon from the lands of darkness beyond the sea
Sinjaf: the vaporous steward of poisonous swamps and everglades
Witheragh: the dragon who guards the Molten River of Fire in the Nain kingdom
ELEMENTAL BASILICAS
Abbat Mythlinis: the basilica of Water in Avonderre (name actually means Father of the Ocean-born, but is believed to mean Master of the Sea)
Lianta’ar: the basilica of the Ether, the Patriarch’s basilica in Sepulvarta (name actually means Bearer of Light, but is believed to mean Light of the World)
Ryles Cedelian: the basilica of Air dedicated to the wind in Bethe Corbair (name actually means Breath of Life, but is believed to mean Spirit of the Air)
Terreanfor: the basilica of Earth/Living Stone at Night Mountain in Sorbold (name actually means King of the Earth, and is correctly translated from Old Cymrian)
Vrackna: the ringed temple of elemental Fire in Bethany (name is actually the name of a demon from the old world, but is believed to mean Fire of the Universe)
THE LIGHTCATCHER
Primordial lore, words of deep magic from the Dawn of Time, reveal the power of vibrational color and the properties that each wavelength of light possesses. Each note except the last in the scale has both a sharp and a flat property, usually the opposite of one another. The Lightcatcher was an enormous instru
mentality built into the dome of Gurgus Peak, the tallest of the inner peaks of the Teeth, and through the use of colored light, the pitch associated with it, and a true name, the properties of the colors could be accessed. The specific properties and names of the parts of the light spectrum are:
Red: Lisele-ut; sharp: Blood Saver (healing); flat: Blood Letter (killing)
Orange: Frith-re; sharp: Fire Starter (ignition); flat: Fire Quencher (snuffing)
Yellow: Merte-mi; sharp: Light Bringer (illumination); flat: Light Queller (darkening)
Green: Kurh-fa; sharp: Glade Scryer (viewing within vegetation or terrain), flat: Grass Hider (hiding within vegetation or terrain)
Blue: Brige-sol; sharp: Cloud Chaser (making things clear); flat: Cloud Caller (obscurement)
Indigo: Luasa-ela; sharp: Night Stayer (holds off darkness); flat: Night Summoner (brings on darkness)
Violet: Grei-ti; the New Beginning (overturns reality in favor of a new version)
EXPLANATION OF THE SCALES OF THE STOLEN DECK
Nine dragon scales harvested from the sixth of the original clutch of dragon eggs, the infant wyrm taken by the F’dor and secreted in the cold depths of the Earth, eternally asleep, awaiting awakening. Each scale is one of the seven colors of light, with their powers noted earlier, plus black and white.
The white scale, one of the two most powerful and awful of the Stolen Deck, was said to have no image inscribed upon it at all. It symbolized Life or Creation, and was thought by many to be a picture of the very face of God. Its counterpart, the black scale, had inscribed upon it a picture of a key, a terrible harbinger of its power to open the Vault itself. It symbolized Void or destruction.
—Rath’s explanation, The Assassin King
EXPLANATION OF THE SCALES OF THE GIVEN DECK
A larger collection of scales sacrificed by younger dragons later in history when the Vault was ruptured by a star known as Melita, later also called the Sleeping Child, which fell to Earth and impacted it. Weaker because they are younger, each of the scales is color-specific and has a lesser power associated with it.
PLACES
Abbey of Nikkid’sar, the: a respite for lost or orphaned children and their caretakers
Argaut (continent of Northland): a seafaring city of dark intent and commerce
Avonderre Harbor: the largest harbor on the Middle Continent; on the central west coast
Axis Mundi: the centerline of power through the Earth, bisecting it
Bolglands, the: the former citadel called Canrif, carved into the mountains called the Teeth
Cauldron, the: part of the Bolglands that was Gwylliam’s seat of power, now Achmed’s
Cave of the Lost Sea: the lagoon of salt tears in the lair of the dragon Elynsynos
Circle, the: center of the Filidic religion, where the Great White Tree stands
Citadel of the Star (the City of Reason): Sepulvarta, the holy city of the Patrician faith
Cymrian museum, the: Lord Stephen Navarne’s historical collection of Cymrian artifacts
Deep Kingdom, the (Undervale): the kingdom of the Nain
Dovecote, the: the name by which Anborn calls Elysian, warning Rhapsody away from it
Easton: eastern port city in Serendair where Rhapsody lived when she met Achmed and Grunthor
Elysian: the underground grotto with a cottage in the center of a lake in the Bolglands
Gaematria, the Isle of the Sea Mages: where magic and the sea are studied as sciences
Golgarn: the southeastern port kingdom whose king surrendered his ships to Talquist
Grivven: the tallest peak of the Outer Teeth; a command center and observation post
Gurgus: in the Bolglands; the highest mountain past the steppes and before the canyon that separates the Cauldron from the Deeper Realms in which the Lightcatcher is housed
Gwynwood: northern part of the Great Forest of the western continent
Haguefort: keep belonging to the family of Stephen Navarne
Highmeadow: the new fortress home Ashe built for Rhapsody in the forests of Navarne near Bethany, which becomes the central command center of the war
Hintervold: northern part of the continent beyond the Tar’afel River, mostly tundra
Island of Serendair, the: the homeland of the Cymrian people before the exodus
Jierna Tal: the palace of the emperor of Sorbold
Kraldurge (the Realm of Ghosts): canyon in Bolglands believed to be haunted
Krevensfield Plain, the: wide-open land running almost the width of the Middle Continent
Kurimah Milani: a mythic city of healing from before the Cymrian era, lost to Time
Loritorium, the: a cavern deep within the Bolglands where the Sleeping Child rests
Madame Parri’s Pleasure Palace: Grunthor’s favorite whorehouse in the old world
Manosse: major coastal realm on the eastern part of the continent across the Wide Central Sea where the Second Fleet landed; part of the Cymrian Alliance
Manteids, the: the Cymrian name for the Teeth, also the name of the three Seers
Marincaer: a neighboring nation to Manosse
Merryfield: Rhapsody’s birthplace, a farming village on the Island of Serendair
Middle Continent, the: common name for the part of the continent north of Sorbold and south of the Hintervold; Roland and the Lirin lands of Tyrian, as well as the Bolglands
Mirror Lake: a reflective body of water in the lands of Elynsynos the dragon
Molten River, the: the river of fire and melted rock that separates the lands of the dragon Witheragh from the kingdom of the Nain
Nonaligned States, the: a collection of small nations to the southwest of Sorbold
Quieth Keep: the royal college of Serendair
Roland: the provinces that comprise most of the mass of the Middle Continent
Sepulvarta, the City of Reason: the holy city-state of the Patrician religion north of Sorbold and south of Roland
Serendair (the Lost Island of Serendair): the homeland of the Cymrian people, destroyed in volcanic fire subsequent to the exodus when the star known as the Sleeping Child rose
Skeleton Coast, the (of Sorbold): the desolate and foggy western coast of Sorbold where the Third Cymrian Fleet landed, now a graveyard of the bones of their ships
Sorbold: the vast united empire of city-states in southern desert and mountains beyond the Middle Continent
Spire, the: the immensely tall tower in Sepulvarta crowned with a silver star in which an actual piece of ether from the star Seren has been housed
Tar’afel River: northern river that forms the boundary of the Middle Continent and the lands of the dragon Elynsynos
Teeth, the: the Bolg name for the mountains in which they live, also called the Manteids
Tomingorllo: the palace of the Lirin kingdom
Traeg: windy northernmost port on the western coast of the Middle Continent
trans-Orlandan thoroughfare, the: roadway built in the first Cymrian era bisecting the Middle Continent; considered the jewel of roadways
Tyrian: also called Realmalir; the Lirin forest realm
Undervale: the kingdom of the Nain, also known as the Deep Kingdom
Vault of the Underworld, the: vault of Living Stone where the F’dor are imprisoned
Veil of Hoen, the: the mystical realm between life and death; home of the Rowans
Verne Hys: a port on the western coast of the Hintervold
Vornessta, Sorbold: area housing one of Sorbold’s biggest iron ore mines
Wide Central Sea, the: the ocean that separates Manosse from the Middle Continent
Windswere: a southern coastal city southwest of Sorbold
Wyrmlands, the: the original name of the continent
Ylorc (was Canrif): the Bolglands
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ELIZABETH HAYDON is an accomplished herbalist, harpist, and madrigal singer. She also enjoys anthropology and folklore. She lives on the East Coast, where she is working on the ne
xt books in her epic Symphony of Ages series for adults and her Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme middle-grade series for young readers. You can sign up for email updates here.
The Symphony of Ages Books by Elizabeth Haydon
Rhapsody: Child of Blood
Prophecy: Child of Earth
Destiny: Child of the Sky
Requiem for the Sun
Elegy for a Lost Star
The Assassin King
The Merchant Emperor
The Hollow Queen
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Map
Epigraph
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
The Battles of the Citadels
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Return from Across the Sea
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46