LIRA—daughter of Cade and Almeda.
MAGDA—leader of the Hethrren barbarians.
MAGNIFICA—grandest temple in Serepol.
MAIRE—mother of Mandan and Adan, took her own life with milk of the blue poppy.
MAK DUR—voyagier of the Utauk trading ship Glissand.
MANDAN—new konag of the Commonwealth, son of Conndur, brother of Adan. Also called Mandan of the Colors.
MAREKA—wife of Utho of the Reef, murdered in an Isharan raid.
MELIK—Utauk caravan leader.
MIRRABAY—Commonwealth seaside town attacked by Priestlord Klovus and a godling.
MOR—frostwreth mage.
MOTHERTEAR—diamond used in ska collars to collect images.
NAURA—legacier from the Convera remembrance shrine.
NERÉ—priestlord in Tamburdin District.
NEREV—chamberlain to Empra Iluris.
NORTERRA—northernmost of the three kingdoms, ruled by King Kollanan.
OLAN—legendary leader of the doomed Brava colony at Valaera.
ONN—queen of the frostwreths, mother of Koru.
ONZU—Brava training master.
OONUKS—frostwreth wolf-steeds, synthesized from horses and wolves.
ORI—Glik’s former ska, lost in a storm.
OSSUS—the legendary dragon beneath the mountains who personifies all the evil and flaws of the god Kur.
OSTERRA—easternmost of the three kingdoms, ruled by the konag.
PENDA—wife of King Adan, queen of Suderra, daughter of Hale Orr.
PIRO—boy from Lake Bakal, killed along with Tomko.
PLAIN OF BLACK GLASS—ruins of ancient wreth battlefield, source of shadowglass.
POKLE—young man rescued from Lake Bakal village, does menial labor in Fellstaff Castle.
PRIESTLORD—leader of Isharan religion, able to commune with godlings.
PRIRARI—Isharan district, original home of Cemi.
QUO—sandwreth noble, brother of Queen Voo.
RAAN—ancient wreth, lover of Kur, ancestor of the sandwreths, poisoned her pregnant sister Suth out of jealousy.
RAMER—Brava weapon, a golden cuff that draws blood from the wrist and ignites into a fiery blade.
RAO—ancient frostwreth warrior who attacked and injured Ossus.
REMEMBRANCE SHRINE—archive of life histories.
RIVERMOUTH—main Commonwealth port, where the Joined River flows into the sea.
ROKK—frostwreth warrior, lover of Onn, killed at Lake Bakal.
RONDO—captain in the Commonwealth army, part of a contingent sent to escort King Kollanan back to Norterra.
SALTPEARLS—precious items harvested from the sea by Isharan slaves in Lord Cade’s holding.
SANDWRETHS—southern faction of the wreth race, currently ruled by Queen Voo.
SARRUM—Utauk crewman aboard the Glissand.
SEENAN—young Banner guard, brother of the squire Hom.
SEREPOL—capital city of Ishara.
SHADOWGLASS—obsidianlike substance found melted on ancient wreth battlefields, possesses strange magical properties.
SHADRI—scholar girl now serving at Fellstaff Castle.
SHELLA DIN ORR—matriarch of the Utauk tribes.
SKA—a reptile bird, often kept as a pet and heart-linked to Utauks.
STORM—King Kollanan’s warhorse.
SUDERRA—southernmost of the three kingdoms, ruled by King Adan.
SUTH—ancient wreth, lover of Kur, ancestor of the frostwreths, sister of Raan.
TAFIRA—queen of Norterra, Isharan wife of King Kollanan.
TAMBURDIN—Isharan district farthest from Serepol, frequently raided by Hethrren.
TEO—one of Kollanan’s vassal lords in Norterra.
THOOMA—legacier of the Fellstaff remembrance shrine.
ULLA—sandwreth mage.
URGAR—Suderran military advisor.
UROK—Brava, bonded to Lord Bahlen in Norterra.
UTAUKS—independent tribes that travel and trade throughout the Commonwealth and also occasionally Ishara.
UTHO—Brava, bonded to Konag Mandan, instigator of vengewar against Isharans, also called Utho of the Reef.
VADA—largest mountain in the Dragonspine range, which recently exploded and devastated a vast area.
VALAERA—original Brava colony wiped out by Isharans and their godling.
VENGEWAR—Bravas’ long-foretold war of vengeance against Isharans.
VICOLIA—chief legacier of the Convera remembrance shrine.
VITOR—one of Kollanan’s vassal lords in Norterra.
VOO—queen of the sandwreths, sister of Quo.
VOS—captani of the hawk guards protecting Empra Iluris.
VOYAGIER—title of an Utauk merchant captain.
WRETHS—ancient race that created humans as servants and soldiers. Warring factions of frostwreths and sandwreths drove themselves to near extinction.
XAR—green ska, pet of Penda.
XION—priestlord of harbor temple in Serepol.
YANTON—village near Lord Bahlen’s wreth ruins.
ZAHA—head of Black Eel assassins.
BY KEVIN J. ANDERSON FROM TOM DOHERTY ASSOCIATES
The Dark Between the Stars
Blood of the Cosmos
Eternity’s Mind
The Nebula Awards Showcase 2011
WITH A. E. VAN VOGT
Slan Hunter
WITH DOUG BEASON
Kill Zone
Ignition
Ill Wind
WITH BRIAN HERBERT
The Road to Dune
Dune: The Butlerian Jihad
Dune: The Machine Crusade
Dune: The Battle of Corrin
Hunters of Dune
Sandworms of Dune
Paul of Dune
The Winds of Dune
Sisterhood of Dune
Mentats of Dune
Navigators of Dune
Dune: The Duke of Caladan
Hellhole
Hellhole Awakening
Hellhole Inferno
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KEVIN J. ANDERSON is the #1 international bestselling author of more than one hundred and forty books, fifty-six of which have appeared on national or international bestseller lists. His novels have twenty-three million copies in print in thirty languages. He has won or been nominated for the Nebula Award, Hugo Award, Bram Stoker Award, and many others.
Visit him online at www.wordfire.com, or sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Maps
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
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
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter
35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Acknowledgments
Glossary
Also By Kevin J. Anderson from Tom Doherty Associates
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
VENGEWAR
Copyright © 2020 by WordFire, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Lars Grant-West
Maps by Bryan G. McWhirter
A Tor Book
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ISBN 978-1-250-30214-4 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250302144
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First Edition: 2021