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boundaries. Many islands exist, and much of the Inland Sea is uncharted. Ruins
of ancient cities dot the shores, and much commerce, interrupted by piracy,
moves on the waters.
Kanda: The area of the ancient Dominion of Canada has kept its old name,
almost unchanged, though much of it is unknown in Hiero's day, save for the
central parts of the Metz Republic and the Otwah League, in west and east,
respectively.
Kandan Universal Church; The state religion of the Metz Republic and the Otwah
League. An amalgam of most current Christian beliefs, with a strong core of
traditional Roman Catholicism, though there has been no contact with Rome for
millennia. Celibacy is long gone, as are many other beliefs and attitudes held
by the ancient churches. A related sect, though much
322 HIERO'S JOURNEY
corrupted and debased, is the state religion of the east coast kingdoms and
states, such as D'alwah.
Kaw: A beast of burden used south of the Inland Sea, both for agriculture and
for raising, as is the Korean ox of today. A large bovine, probably an almost
unaltered member of some ancient stock of domestic cattle.
Killman; A highly trained warrior of the Metz Republic, who has taken
intensive training, much of it psychological, in warfare and the use of all
known weapons. Killmen are officers of the Frontier Guard automatically, but
also rangers of the forest and special agents of the Abbey hierarchy. Hiero is
unusual, though not exceptional, in also being a priest and exorcist. This
combination of talents is highly approved but rare.
Lantik Sea, the: The Atlantic Ocean, though with much-altered western
shoreline. No records exist of any trans-Atlantic contacts for over three
thousand years.
Leemute: A word meaning an animal, or other non-human creature of^human
intelligence, which serves the Unclean. Gorm, the bear, would never be
described as a Leemute, nor would the Dam People. The word is a corruption of
the phrase "lethal mutation," meaning an animal which cannot survive to
replicate under natural conditions, but its meaning is now altered to mean
"inimical to normal humanity," and even normal life of all kinds. New
varieties (such as the frog creatures Hiero found) are continually appearing
as discoveries spread. Not all such new finds are leemutes, however.
Lowan: A species of incredibly large, flightless water bird, fish eaters and
divers, which are found in remote areas of the Inland Sea. Though very shy,
Lowan have few enemies, since an aduli can reach eighty feet in length, with
weight in proportion. They are uncommon, and thought by many to be a legend.
Lucinoge: An Abbey drug, used to enhance the spiritual powers of its adepts
and priests, especially when they are seeking mind contact. Also a relaxant
and, in small amount, sleep-inducing.
GLOSSARY 323
Manoon (the Dead Isle): A rocky island in the north-central Inland Sea, the
place of Hiero's captivity. One of the main headquarters of the Dark
Brotherhood's Blue Circle.
Man-rats: Giant, man-sized rodents of high intelligence, a ferocious type of
Leemute, much used as warriors by the Unclean. Probably mutated Rattus
norvegicus, which they resemble in all but brains and bulk.
Metz: The dominant race of Kanda. A corruption of the ancient word Metis, a
term used for a racial stock of mixed Caucasian and Amerindian strains. The
Spanish word mestizo has the same root and means the same thing. The Metz
survived The Death in an undue proportion to other races, mainly due to rural
isolation and the fact that they existed in small, somewhat isolated groups in
more remote areas. Atomic and bacteriological blights thus slew relatively
few. The Otwah League Metz tend to be lighter in color, due to more Caucasian
genes.
Morse: The basic riding and plow animal (though only scrub stock is used for
the latter) of the Metz Republic, which first bred them, and, to a lesser
degree, the Otwah League. A very large and intelligent variety of the
present-day moose, the largest member of the deer family. (Moose have been
tamed for riding and carriage pulling in modem Scandinavia, though not often.)
Neeyana: The largest port in the southeastern area of the Inland Sea. Though
legitimate trade passes through it, the Unclean actually rule, through a
merchants' council dominated by their appointees. In fact, the main
headquarters of the Yellow Circle of the Dark Brotherhood is buried under the
town. No one untouched by evil lingers in Neeyana. (Possibly a corruption of
"Indiana.")
Otwah League: The eastern sister state of the Metz Republic. The League, which
takes its name from ancient Ottawa, is smaller than the Republic, from which
it is separated by a vast expanse of wild land and Taig, through which run few
roads. But close contact is maintained as well as possible, and the
p^ HIERO'S JOURNEY
Abbeys are a unified structure in both, serving the League government in the
same capacity as in the Republic.
Palood, the: Greatest of all the northern marshes, the Palood stretches for
hundreds of miles along the northern edge of the Inland Sea. It is avoided
even by the Unclean, and many strange forms of life not found elsewhere exist
in its trackless fastnesses. Terrible fevers often wrack those who venture in,
and its boundaries are largely uncharted.
Per: Corruption of "father." Title of respect for a priest of the Kandan
Universal Church.
Poros: Monstrous, four-tusked herbivore of the great southern forest, perhaps
twenty feet tall at the shoulder. Its ancestry is unknown.
Snakeheads: Giant, omnivorous reptiles, found in small herds in the depths of
the southern forests. Primarily eaters of soft herbage and fruit, they will
also devour carrion and anything else slow enough to be caught. Something very
like a bipedal dinosaur, though bred from some smaller reptile of the
pre-Death days.
Snapper: Seemingly the living snapping turtle, grown to the size of a small
car. A universal pest of any large body of water, being ferocious and almost
invulnerable.
Taig, the; The great coniferous forest of Kanda, not too unlike that of today,
but containing many more deciduous trees and even a few palms. The trees run
larger on the average than those of today, though nowhere near the size of
those in the far South.
Unclean, the: A general term meaning the Dark Brotherhood and all its servants
and allies, as well as other life forms which seek, through intelligent
direction, to destroy normal humanity and to subvert natural law for evil
purposes.
Were-bears: A little-known variety of Leemute. Not truly bears at all, but a
sort of grisly, night-prowling monsters, short-furred
GLOSSARY 325
and possessed of strange mental powers by which they lure victims to their
doom. The things have been glimpsed only once or twice. Though of the Unclean,
they seem to be allies rather than servants. Their origin is unknown.
Fortunately, they seem rare.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sterling E. Lanier, bom in 1927, graduated from Harvard in 1951. When he was
an editor at Chiiton in the 60s he published Frank Herbert's Dune, which went
on to become one of the great bestsellers of all time. Lanier was trained as
an anthropolegist -archeologist. He is also a well-known sculptor whose work [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]