Kowon
Alenke
A tree symbiont; conegotiator in the Lower Land of Flowering Silas.
Lower Land of Flowering Silas
Land where the river Russ runs into the river Silas; the land between the rivers bears this name.
Malei
Erejhen
The name of the true language developed by the old Erejhen priests and spoken by the main body of the Prin. Malei is the easiest to learn of the known true languages.
Malei-Prin
Erejhen
The body of the Prin who speak and chant in the true language named Malei.
Malin
Erejhen
Mage of Senal, niece of Jessex/Great Irion.
Marmigon
Alenke
The entertainment complex lost to Fineas Figg in the Common Fund Reforms, including his penthouse, his main residence as the former prince of the chief Orminy factor.
Milkly the Blossoms
coined word
Country north of Lower Land of Flowering Silas.
Nerva
Erejhen
Keely File’s nanny.
Oregal
Erejhen
Aggregate of all Prin, including Malei-Prin and Drune-Prin and all other speakers and cantors, controlled by Jessex/Great Irion and kept working toward the same end by his efforts; Malin shares in this control.
pekoe
Name of a tea from beyond the Gate, Senal.
Pel Orthen
Erejhen
River pilot on Aramen familiar with the Silas and tributaries.
Pel Pelatheyn
Erejhen
Hero from the older tales of the Erejhen, a companion of Jessex/Great Irion and the King during the Long War, and the center of many old hunting stories in the land of Irion.
Pivotnet
coined word
Satellite news center serving Aramen.
Plaza of Two Worlds
The plaza at the foot of Skygard Aramen in Feidreh.
Plump
Name of one of God’s three Sisters.
Prin
Erejhen
Priestly cantors who form the Oregal under the direction of Irion; the backbone of the power exercised by the Mage and Irion; their true language is Malei.
Pulleypod
coined word
Cars that ride up and down the carbon cables from Skygard facilities.
Rao
symbiont dialect of Alenke
Name of the Prime who comes to Aramen as an ally of the Dirijhi. He is also referred to as the God Rao.
Russ
Tributary river that flows into the Silas in northern Greenwood. At the place where the two rivers merge, the land between the rivers is called Lower Land of Flowering Silas.
Rui Fal
Alenke
Enforcement commander on Aramen.
scuppling
Anin
Name of a variety of southern tea in Irion.
Senal
Alenke
The Home World of the Hormling, colonized by humans from the starship Merced in the year 10,001.
Seris Annoy
Erejhen
Prin member of pononter couple assigned to Cueredon Tower; see Faltha Menonomy.
Sherry File
Alenke
Short form legal name of Cherry Ann File, Keely File’s sister.
Shoren
Anin
Prin who is aide to Vekant, fifth rank cantor, training to sing pivot in a choir of a hundred.
Shu Shylar
Erejhen
Park adjacent to Citadel on the island Avatrayn in the river Trennt.
Silas Ford
composite
Ford across the Silas River just south of Dirijhi country, where Dembut was founded; the ford was later dredged and replaced by a bridge. Site of the treaty negotiations between the Hormling, the Erejhen, and the Dirijhi.
Silas River
Aramenian dialect of Alenke
River that runs through the north continent of Aramen; one of the main rivers into and out of Greenwood.
Skygard
The lift system that serves as primary transport for cargo and passengers from space to the surface of a world; Skygard facilities are owned and operated by the Hormling Ministries. Each Skygard is named for the world it serves. There are two Skygards for Senal.
stipple-ball
coined word
Name of a sport played on Senal and likely on other Hormling worlds; teams of eight, sticks, and an energy ball.
Svyssn
Erejhen
The territory of one of the so-called Uncreated Races, the Svyssn, who maintain a very basic hunter-gatherer society, minimal agriculture, ruled over by the Great Wife; also the name of the people who live there.
Svyssn Husband
Erejhen
Svyssn Wife
Erejhen
The Great of the Wife Svyssn, the immortal female being who rules the Svyssn, one of the so-called Uncreated Races of Iraen.
Thin
Name of one of God’s three Sisters.
thuenyn
Erejhen
Leaf used to make a poultice to promote healing in most wounds; also used in certain kinds of Prin medicine.
Tosh Unrotide
Aramenian dialect of Alenke
Spokesman for rebel forces.
Treaty of Silas Ford
Treaty signed at the Silas river ford near the edge of Greenwood along the river; treaty governs the relationship between the Dirijhi and the Mage.
Trennt River
Alenke
River that flows through Feidreh-Avatrayn.
Truss
Alenke
Pack-bird used in Greenwood.
Twelfth Fleet
Fleet based in Red Star system for defense of Aramen and the Anilyn Gate.
Twil Gate
Alenke
The gate that links the country Iraen with the Hormling home world Senal; in Erejhen it is called the Eseveren Gate.
uduvarii
Erejhen
The Great Cantor of a Prin choir of ten thousand.
Unyurthrupen
Orloc
City near Chulion in the mountains; also called Middle of the Mountain.
Urtuthenel
Alenke
Minor Orminy family whose exodus from Senal is part of Fineas Figg’s daily news cycle.
Vad
Aramenian dialect of Alenke
The ocean between Jharvan and Ajhevan.
Vekant Anevarim ad Kiram
Erejhen
Great Cantor (uduvarii) of the Prin Choir of Ten Thousand on Aramen.
Wider Ocean
The northern ocean in the part of the northern hemisphere not occupied by Ajhevan.
Young
Name of one of God’s three Sisters.
Yron
Erejhen
Honorary second name given to Jessex by the Sisters. Yron is the root for the name Irion and the later name Iraen; his later name, Great Irion, thus derives from this honorary name.
YY
Erejhen
The name of God.
Author’s Note
Many of the characters here have their antecedents in short stories; Kitra first vowed to free Binam in “Into Greenwood,” which also involved a journey through Dembut and told the tale of her conference with the Dirijhi; Fineas Figg’s three hundredth birthday party is the central event of “The 120 Hours of Sodom,” and Figg adopts Keely at the end of that story; some of the tale of Hanson is told in “Perfect Pilgrim”; and other connections are here but not yet ready to be discussed. The stories cited were all published in Asimov’s Science Fiction. A number of characters have their origin in earlier novels Kirith Kirin or The Ordinary and I will not list those.
The glossary is not intended to be all-inclusive;
I have excluded some minor names and definitions. I have attempted to avoid giving plot-related information. For some names there is considerable history attached. Character names specific to the present book are listed in the glossary though only their opening roles in the story are defined; again, the list is not intended to be complete, since minor characters are not noted. Important locations are cited here, although at times without reference as to their importance in the story.
Thanks to Paul Stevens, Tom Doherty, Peter Hagan, Sheila Williams, Gardner Dozois, Madeleine St. Romain, Donato, Frances Foster, Despina Crassa, Paula Vitaris, Joseph Skibell, Kevin Yony, Natasha Trethewey, Bruce Covey, and Lynna Williams for various kinds of help during the writing or for helping to publish the stories drawn from this world.
Also by Jim Grimsley
Winter Birds
Dream Boy
My Drowning
Mr. Universe and Other Plays
Comfort & Joy
Boulevard
Kirith Kirin
The Ordinary
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this novel are either fictitious or are used fictitiously.
THE LAST GREEN TREE
Copyright © 2006 by Jim Grimsley
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Grimsley, Jim, 1955–
The last green tree / Jim Grimsley.—1st ed.
p. cm.
“A Tom Doherty Associates Book.”
ISBN: 978-1-4668-0021-2
1. Life on other planets—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3557.R4949L37 2006
813'.54—dc22
2006007390