Willes Cooper – Beka's twelve-year-old brother, good rider, training to be a messenger
THE COOPERS 200 YEARS LATER –
Eleni Cooper – former priestess, single mother of George Cooper
George Cooper – Eleni's only son, six when she writes in her journal in 406 H.E.
OTHER PERSONS AND BEINGS OF INTEREST
Aveefa – dust spinner
Hasfush – dust spinner, found at the corner of Charry Orchard and Stormwing Streets
Shiaa – dust spinner
Deirdry Noll – prosperous baker, former neighbor and friend of Beka's
Gemma Noll – Deirdry's youngest daughter, unmarried, helps with baking
Yates Noll – Deirdry's youngest son
Gunnar Espeksra – rusher, or thug, runs with Yates Noll
Jungen Berryman – gem mage, fascinated by Dogs, friend of Goodwin and Tunstall
Jack Ashmiller – Orva's husband, father of three children
Orva Ashmiller – drunkard, hotblood wine addict, Jack's wife, mother of three children
Amaya Painter – mage, mother of a Shadow Snake victim
Calum Painter – five-year-old, kidnapped and killed by the Shadow Snake
Vonti Painter – Amaya's husband, lost at sea
Esseny – murdered dancer
Inknose – street denizen
Mother Cantwell – mumper (beggar) and thief
Paistoi – Carthaki slave merchant
Parkes – surname of a pair of brawling brothers
Wildberry – pretty woman with sisters
GLOSSARY
Barzun: country to the south of Tortall, on the north shore of the Great Inland Sea
Birdie: informant
Black God: the hooded and robed God of Death, recognized as such throughout the Eastern and Southern Lands
Black God's Option: suicide
bugnob: person of little brain
cages: holding cells for kennel prisoners
canoodling: sexual activity
Carthak: ancient and powerful slaveholding empire that includes all of the Southern Lands, a storehouse of learning, sophistication, and culture
Chaos, Realms of: one of the four Realms (Mortal, Divine, Peaceful, Chaos); the one where everything is unending change, destruction, and remaking
cityman: any respectable person who is not noble; knight's usage means peaceable, sheeplike person
Copper Isles: slaveholding nation south and west of Tortall, originally named the Kyprish Isles. The lowlands are hot, wet jungles; the highlands are cold and rocky. Traditionally their tie is to Carthak rather than Tortall.
Corus: capital city of Tortall, on the banks of the River Olorun cracknob: madman
cuddy: slob
Dog: member of Provost's Guard
douse: murder
doxie: female prostitute
ducknob: person of low intelligence
dust spinner: a being of air and spirit, a continuous whirlwind that gathers breezes, conversations, emotions, and other bits from its surroundings
elsewise: otherwise
filcher: small-time criminal
foist: master pickpocket
Galla: country to the north and east of Tortall, famous for its mountains and forests, with an ancient royal line
gauds: bright, costly things
get in the way of: become; learn
Gift: human, academic magic, the use of which must be taught
gillyflower: carnation
gixie: girl
glims: eyes
gorget: mail plate cover for the neck, like a collar
Happy Bag: the collection of weekly bribes for Provost's office – jewels, coins, art, magical objects – anything of value that can be sold for cash
hedgewitch: worker of small magics, not powerful enough to be called a mage, with little formal education
hobble: tie up or arrest
hobbles: rawhide restraints used on prisoners
hotblood wine: wine spiked with an amphetamine-like substance
hunkerbones: haunches
immortals: creatures that, unless killed, live forever, including Stormwings, giants, spidrens, winged horses
jack: tankard, often leather
jinglenob: empty-headed person
kennel: Provost's guardhouse; police station
Ladymoon: symbol of the Goddess
liar's fanfare: overstuffed codpiece
loaner: mocking term for nobles' sale of heirlooms they buy back when they get more money; also a scornful term for a noble
Lord Provost: nobleman in command of the Provost's Guard throughout the realm; most take a personal interest in the Guard in the capital, Corus, as well as in the running of the Guard throughout the realm.
Maren: one of the Eastern Lands, east of Tusaine and Tyra, rich and powerful land
midden hen: chicken that lives in dung; someone completely crazy
minnow: very small-time criminal, not worth the trouble to arrest
Mithros: the chief god of the Tortallan pantheon, God of War and the Law; his symbol is the sun.
mot: woman, common-born
mumper: beggar
murrain: plague
nob, noll: head
noble: large coin in copper or silver
Olorun River: river that flows east to west through the heart of Tortall
Outwalls: Outwalls Prison, jail for serving long-term sentences
patten: hard wooden shoe, keeps feet out of the mud
Peaceful Realms: home of the spirits of the dead; where the souls of the living go to heal from the pain of life
Players' jollity: professional performance, play, or musical entertainment
Puppy: trainee, Provost's Guard
puttock: low-level female prostitute
raston: bread loaf stuffed with buttery bread crumbs and light filling
Rat: criminal; prey; captive (to Dogs)
river dodgers: hard men and women who work on and around the river, on boats, in shipping and trade (and smuggling)
rushers: thugs
sap: handheld lead-filled cylinder, six inches long, with a loop for the wrist; a knockout or bone-breaking weapon
sarden: blasted; damned; detestable
scale: fence, or receiver of stolen goods
Scanra: country to the north of Tortall, wild, rocky, and cold, with very little land that can be farmed. Scanrans are masters of the sea and are feared anywhere there is a coastline. They also frequently raid over land.
scummer: animal dung
scut: idiot
seekings: investigations; hunts for criminals or missing persons
Shakith: one of the Carthaki gods of the underworld, she is the blind seer and the goddess who weighs things for their true value; thus, she is the goddess of justice, bankers, jewelers, and traders in gemstones.
sommat: something
spintry: male prostitute
Stormwings: immortal creatures, banished before the Human Era. They had steel birds' wings and claws and half-human heads and chests. They lived on fear and battle-killed dead; very nasty personalities.
sutler: thief who takes goods from shops or vendors' stalls
ticklers: fingers
tosspot: drunkard
treats: bribes
trollop: woman who is morally lax, usually sexually
trull: very low-class kind of woman; the dregs
Tusaine: small country tucked between Tortall and Maren
twilsey: drink made of raspberry or cider vinegar and water, most refreshing
Tyra: merchant republic on the Great Inland Sea between Tortall and Maren. Tyra is mostly swamp, and its people rely on trade and banking for income.
Tamora Pierce captured the imagination of readers more than twenty years ago with Alanna: The First Adventure. As of September 2006, she has
written twenty-four books, including three completed quartets – The Song of the Lioness, The Immortals, and Protector of the Small – and two Trickster books set in the fantasy realm of Tortall. She has also written the Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens quartets, as well as a stand-alone Circle title: The Will of the Empress. Her books have been translated into eleven different languages, and some are available on audio from Listening Library and Full Cast Audio. Tamora Pierce's fast-paced, suspenseful writing and strong, believable heroines have won her much praise: Emperor Mage was a 1996 ALA Best Book for Young Adults, The Realms of the Gods was listed as an "outstanding fantasy novel" by VOYA in 1996, Squire (Protector of the Small #3) was a 2002 ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and Lady Knight (Protector of the Small #4) debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list. Trickster's Choice spent a month on the New York Times bestseller list and was a 2003 ALA Best Book for Young Adults. The sequel, Trickster's Queen, was a New York Times bestseller, as was The Will of the Empress.
An avid reader herself, Ms. Pierce graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. She has worked at a variety of jobs and has written everything from novels to radio plays. Along with writer Meg Cabot (The Princess Diaries series), she cofounded SheroesCentral, a discussion board about female heroes; remarkable women in fact, fiction, and history; books; current events; and teen issues. Though she no longer sponsors Sheroes-Central and Sheroes Fans as she did for five years, she is still a devoted member of the sites.
Tammy lives in Syracuse, New York, with her husband, Tim, a writer, Web page designer, and Web administrator. They are currently cowriting a female superhero, White Tiger, for Marvel Comics. They share their home with five cats, two birds, and various freeloading wildlife.
For more information, visit www.tamorapierce.com.