Bound by Magic (21 page)

B
aine
, Sunaya:
a half-panther shifter, half-mage who hates mages and has a passion for justice. Because magic is forbidden to all but the mage families, Sunaya was forced to keep her abilities a secret until she accidentally used them to defend herself in front of witnesses. Rather than condemn her to death, the Chief Mage, Iannis ar’Sannin, chose to take her on as his apprentice, and now she struggles to balance her shifter and mage heritage.

Baine, Melantha:
Sunaya’s cousin, and daughter to the Jaguar Clan’s Chieftain.

Baine, Mafiela:
Chieftain of the Jaguar Clan and Sunaya’s aunt.

Baine, Rylan:
one of Chieftain Baine’s least favored children, and Sunaya’s cousin. He is an active member of the Resistance.

Benefactor:
the name the Resistance call their anonymous, principal source of financial support. According to Sunaya’s investigations, this mysterious criminal has many different irons in the fire.

Canalo:
one of the fifty states making up the Northia Federation, located on the West Coast of the Northia Continent.

Chen, Lalia:
the current Director of the Canalo Mages Guild in Solantha. She serves as deputy to Iannis ar’Sannin, the Chief Mage.

Chartis, Argon:
former Director of the Canalo Mages Guild, dismissed by the Chief Mage for insubordination and attempts to undermine the Chief Mage’s authority.

Chieftain:
a title used to distinguish the head of a shifter clan.

Canter:
an elderly mage often manning the reception at Solantha Palace.

The Cat’s Meow:
a diner in Shiftertown, owned by the Tiger Clan.

Comenius Genhard:
a hedgewitch from Pernia, owner of the shop Over the Hedge at Witches’ End.

Creator
: the ultimate deity, worshipped by all three races under different names.

Danrian, Warin:
regional manager of the Sandin Federal Bank for Canalo.

Dara:
capital of the Northia Federation, located on the east coast of the Northia Continent.

Enforcer:
a bounty hunter employed by the government to seek out and capture wanted criminals. They operate under strict rules and are paid bounties for each head. While the majority of them are human, there is a strong minority of shifters, and even the occasional mage.

Enforcers’ Guild:
the administrative organization in charge of the Enforcers. Also, the building from which the various Enforcer crews work under their respective foremen.

Fenris
: a clanless wolf shifter as well as good friend and confidant of Chief Mage Iannis ar’Sannin. No known last name.

Firegate Bridge
: Solantha’s best-known structure, a large red bridge spanning the length of Solantha Bay. It is accessible via Firegate Road.

Captain Galling:
the human captain of the Enforcer’s Guild in Solantha City, appointed by the former Chief Mage and Council.

Garai:
the largest and most populated country on the Eastern Continent. Their people are known for their slanted eyes and ivory skin as well as their complicated, rune-like alphabet.

Garidano
,
Cirin
: Finance Secretary of the State of Canalo.

Great Accord:
a treaty struck by the ruling mages centuries ago which brought an end to a devastating war known as the Conflict. It is still the basis upon which mages rule their countries and territories. All new laws passed must be in accordance with the provisions of the Great Accord.

Herald, The:
the
main newspaper in Solantha City, geared towards the human majority population.

Iannis ar’Sannin:
Chief Mage of Canalo. He resides in the capital city of Solantha, from which he runs Canalo as well as the Mages Guild with the help of his deputy. Originally a native of Manuc, a country located across the Eastern Sea.

Incidium:
a powerful illegal drug that produces euphoria.

Kalois:
a rare foreign plant which masks the smell of silver so well that shifters can be drugged or poisoned despite their sensitive noses.

Kan Zao:
a mental and physical martial art tradition from Garai.

Lakin, Boon:
a jaguar shifter from Parabas, recently appointed as Solantha’s new Shiftertown Inspector following Roanas’s death.

Loranian:
the difficult, secret language of magic that all mages are required to master.

Mages Guild:
the governmental organization that rules the mages in Canalo, and supervises the other races. The headquarters are in Solantha Palace. They are subordinate to the Chief Mage.

Main Crew:
the largest group of Enforcers in the Guild. They are generally favored over the other crews and get the most lucrative dockets.

Manuc:
an island country off the west coast of the Central Continent.

Magorah:
the god of the shifters, associated with the moon.

Maxon, Brin:
Enforcer on the Main Crew. He is partnered with Nila Romana.

Melcott, Annia:
a human Enforcer. She is a close friend of Sunaya’s, and Noria’s older sister.

Melcott, Noria:
Annia Melcott’s younger sister. A gifted inventor, she regularly tinkers with mechanical devices in between her college classes and her part-time job at Comenius’s shop.

Northia Federation:
a federation
consisting of fifty states that cover the entire northern half and middle of the Western Continent. Canalo is part of this federation.

Over the Hedge:
a shop at Witches’ End selling magical charms and herbal remedies, belonging to Comenius Genhard.

Magi-tech:
devices that are powered by both magic and technology.

Parabas:
a city north of Solantha, outside the state of Canalo.

Pernia:
a country on the Central Continent.

Prison Isle:
an island in the middle of Solantha Bay that serves as a prison for Canalo’s criminals.

Privacy Guard:
a company leasing uniformed guards to governments and other institutions all over the Federation.

Ragga, Elnos
: Noria Melcott’s boyfriend. He is a student at Solantha academy and one of the few mages who believes in equality amongst the races. He and Noria can often be found working together, developing new magi-tech devices.

Resistance:
a movement of revolutionaries and malcontents planning to overthrow the mages and take control of the Northia Federation.

Romana, Nila:
a human Enforcer on the Main Crew and Brin Maxon’s partner. She’s known for relying on her looks first, her fighting skills second.

Rowanville:
the only neighborhood of Solantha where all three races mix.

Sandin Federal Bank:
a bank with branches in all fifty states of the Federation.

Shifter:
a human who can change into animal form and back by magic; they originally resulted from illegal experiments by mages on ordinary humans.

Shifter Courier:
a Solantha paper specifically geared towards the shifter population.

Shiftertown:
the part of Solantha where the official shifter clans live.

Shiftertown Inspector:
a shifter appointed by the Shiftertown Council to police shifter-related crime. He has deputies who assist him.

Sillara Tarenan
: a shifter Enforcer and early victim of the silver murders.

Solantha:
the capital of Canalo State.

Solantha Palace:
The seat of power in Canalo, where both the Chief Mage and the Mages Guild reside. It is located near the coast of Solantha Bay.

Tanzarite:
a rare semi-precious stone.

Talcon, Garius:
the former Deputy Captain of the Enforcer’s Guild. Sunaya discovered he was in league with Petros Yantz, the man behind the silver murders, and killed him in self-defense.

Tillmore, Roanas:
The former Shiftertown Inspector and father figure/mentor to Sunaya. He was poisoned while digging into the silver murders, prompting Sunaya to take over the investigation.

Traxtoline:
an explosive material, expensive and unstable.

The Twilight:
a bar in Rowanville where Sunaya used to bartend.

Ur-God:
the name the humans call the Creator by.

Vance:
Foreman of the Enforcer’s Guild’s Main Crew.

Witches’ End:
a pier in Solantha City, part of the Port, where immigrant magic users sell their wares and services.

Yantz, Petros:
the former Chief Editor of the Herald. He fled the city after Sunaya discovered he was behind the silver murders, and is still at large.

T
hank
you very much to the awesome volunteers who helped beta read and proofread this book. Your spot-on feedback and eagle eyes have saved my butt more times than I can count.

T
hank
you also to Mary Burnett, my writing partner and editor. Working with you has been great fun so far, and we’ve accomplished more than I could have imagined in such a short time.

A
nd of course
, thank you to my illustrator and the love of my life, Judah Dobin. You’re my biggest supporter in everything and I am ridiculously lucky to have you.

J
asmine Walt is obsessed
with books, chocolate and sharp objects. Somehow, those three things melded together in her head and transformed into a desire to write, usually fantastical stuff with a healthy dose of action and romance. Her characters are a little (okay, a lot) on the snarky side, and they swear, but they mean well. Even the villains sometimes.

W
hen Jasmine isn’t chained
to her keyboard, you can find her practicing her triangle choke on the jujitsu mat, spending time with her family, or binge-watching superhero shows on Netflix.

W
ant to connect with Jasmine
? You can find her on Twitter at @jasmine_writes, on
Facebook
, or at www.jasminewalt.com.