The Inheritance Trilogy Omnibus(431)

Those mortals who worshipped the Goddess of Earth claimed ownership of the corpse of the World Tree. By the time of Shahar’s death, they had excavated and preserved enough of its trunk to house a small city, which began to call itself World. They lived in the Tree and on it, said their prayers at the skeleton of its roots, dedicated their sons and daughters to its broken branches. Fires, and fire-godlings, were not allowed in this city. They lit their chambers at night with pieces of Sky.

The Aeternat… well. It was not eternal. But that, too, is a matter for other tales.

So many tales, really. They are sure to be exciting. A shame that I will get to hear none of them.

I? Oh, yes.

When Shahar exhaled her last breath I awakened, midwifed into existence by her mortality. My first act was to turn in space and time and kiss Deka awake, beside me. Then I called to my En, and it shot across realities and blazed into joyous, welcoming life somewhere far, far beyond the realms of the Three. It would be the seed-star of a new realm. Our realm. It sent out great arcing plumes of fire, silly little ball of gas, and I petted it silent and promised it worlds to warm just as soon as I’d taken care of other business.

Then we found Shahar, and gathered her up, and took her with us. She was, to say the least, surprised. But not displeased. We are together now, the three of us, for the rest of forever. I will never be alone again.

My name is not Sieh, and I am no longer a trickster. I will think of a new name and calling, eventually—or some one of you, my children, will name me. Make of me, of us, whatever you wish. We are yours until time ends, and perhaps a little beyond.

And we will all create such wonderful new things, you and we, out here beyond the many skies.





the east of the islands; site of the first Arameri palace. Destroyed by Nahadoth.

Mnasat: The third ranking of godlings; godlings born of godlings. Generally weaker than godlings born of the Three.

Mortal realm: The universe, created by the Three.

Nahadoth: One of the Three. The Nightlord.

Nemmer: A niwwah godling who lives in Shadow. The Lady of Secrets.

Nimaro Reservation: A protectorate of the Arameri, estabslished after the Maroland’s destruction.

Niwwah: The first ranking of godlings, born of the Three; the Balancers. More stable but sometimes less powerful than the elontid.

Nobles’ Consortium: Ruling political body of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.

Nsana: A niwwah godling; the Dreammaster.

Order of Itempas: The priesthood dedicated to Bright Itempas. In addition to spiritual guidance, also responsible for law and order, education, public health, and welfare. Also known as the Itempan Order.

Order-Keepers: Acolytes (priests-in-training) of the Order of Itempas, responsible for maintenance of public order.

Pilgrim: Worshippers of the Gray Lady who journey to Shadow to pray at the World Tree.

Previt: One of the higher rankings for priests in the Order of Itempas.

Promenade, the: Northernmost edge of Gateway Park in East Shadow.

Pymexe: (masculine;feminine is pymoxe) Heir to one of the three ruling positions in the Teman Triadice. Not hereditary; Triadic heirs are chosen at an early age, after a rigorous selection process involving official examinations and interviews.

Ramina Arameri: A fullblood; half brother of Remath Arameri.

Remath Arameri: Current head of the Arameri family; mother of Shahar and Dekarta.

Salon: Headquarters for the Nobles’ Consortium.

Script: A series of sigils, used by scriveners to produce complex or sequential magical effects.

Scrivener: A scholar of the gods’ written language.

Semisigil: A modern version of the Arameri blood sigil, modified to remove anachronistic scripts.

Senm: Southernmost and largest continent of the world.

Senmite: The Amn language, used as a common tongue for all the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.

Shadow: The city beneath Sky.

Shahar Arameri: Current heir of the Arameri Family. Also high priestess of Itempas at the time of the Gods’ War. Matriarch of the Arameri family.

Sieh: A godling, also called the Trickster. Eldest of all the godlings.

Sigil: An ideograph of the gods’ language, used by scriveners to imitate the magic of the gods.

Sky: The palace of the Arameri family.

Sky-in-Shadow: Official name for the palace of the Arameri and the city beneath it.

Teman Protectorate, the: A Senmite kingdom.

Time of the Three: Before the Gods’ War.

True sigil: An Arameri blood sigil in the traditional style.

T’vril Arameri: A former head of the Arameri family.

Usein Darr: A Darren warrior; heir to the Baron Darr.

Wesha: West Shadow.

White Hall: The Order of Itempas’s houses of worship, education, and justice.

World Tree, the: An evergreen tree estimated to be 125,000 feet in height, created by the Gray Lady. Sacred to worshippers of the Lady.