The Lair of Bones (67 page)

Rofehavan:
a group of kingdoms in the northeast bound together by a common heritage and language.

Runelord:
any man or woman who has both been granted tracts of land to protect, and the endowments necessary to protect them.

runelore:
the accumulated knowledge of the making of runes (magical symbols). Note that there many types of runes other than those that are molded onto the heads of forcibles. There are Runes of Protection, runes to strengthen metal and stone, runes that give magical properties to implement. Indeed, according to the mages, all runes are but one part of a huge master rune that once bound the universe together.

Sum of All Men:
in myth, the Sum of All Men was Daylan Hammer, a lord who had taken so many endowments that he could not die. According to some, Daylan Hammer still lives.

Toth:
a race of Underworld creatures with obvious similarity to reavers. The toth were hunted to extinction by the legendary King Fallion, whose worldships crossed the sea so that he might hunt them in their lairs. The toth were smaller than reavers, and easier to kill. But they were also powerful magicians, and had domesticated reavers much as a man might domesticate a war dog.

Underworld:
a vast region beiowground that is inhabited by strange animals and plants—animals such as the great worms and the reavers. Caverns that connect the Underworld to the surface are rare, but those who dare enter find a world brimming with tunnels and warrens where strange creatures live.

vector:
a person who channels endowments to a lord. This is a person who has received endowments from others, and then has granted an endowment of the same kind to his lord. Thus, for example, a man who has given brawn to a lord might be called upon to take endowments of brawn from others, so that the endowments can all be funneled together to his lord. This way, a lord who
desires great strength, for example, might take a single endowment of brawn from a man and then ride out to war. As he rides, the facilitators can continue transferring endowments now to the Dedicate, so that the lord might receive hundreds or even thousands of endowments in this manner.

The only problem with this methodology is that if the vector is killed, then the lord loses all of the endowments that the vector channeled at once. Thus, slaying a vector can significantly weaken a lord.

warrior of unfortunate proportion:
a warrior who has taken endowments, but who is not well-balanced. For example, if a warrior takes several endowments of brawn, but none of grace, he will tend to become muscle-bound. If he does not take metabolism, then he will move slowly, and all of the strength in the world won't save him from a much faster opponent.

wight:
the spirit of a dead man or creature.

wizardborn:
a person who is born with magical powers.

Wolf Lord:
originally a Wolf Lord was a person who took endowments from dogs, a practice that somewhat changed the nature of the lord, particularly if he ventured to take endowments of wit from a dog. The wolf lord tended to become more feral, more vicious, and more voracious than common men—a trait much prized in war, but shunned in times of peace. Thus, most Wolf Lords throughout history have not been noblemen but are instead highwaymen and bandits.

Note, however, that though the practice is shunned, many lords have posed strong moral arguments for the practice throughout time, and many a lord has secretly preferred taking endowments, such as stamina, from a dog, rather than risking the health and safety of a human.

Figuratively, a Wolf Lord is anyone who forces others to give endowments by blackmail.