In Conquest Born, page 59
Because of the power inherent in the True Name it is rarely shared with anyone, and when it is it serves as a powerful bonding mechanism between two individuals. Suzath’s epic Tales of War, scripted in the 6th century B.C., makes reference to an exchange of True Names taking place between warriors who had faced death together, or in circumstances where one had saved the other’s life. In the civilized calm of modern Braxaná society such situations rarely arise, but the True Name remains an active dynamic in male-female relationships, and the giving of Names between man and woman is regarded as an exchange of power with almost religious significance.
Tsank’ar: A virus native to Braxi, which has spread through the interstellar community to every known human planet. Though the effects of the tsank’ar are usually mild, the virus is subject to episodes of mutation which occasionally produce more virulent and damaging strains. Attempts to monitor the virus and provide preventative treatments have proven successful among the human population at large, and lesser mutations of the tsank’ar have been rated by Montesekua’s Virology Center as a class IV, and are rarely lethal.
Major mutations of the tsank’ar are cause for greater concern, and Montesekua keeps close watch upon potentially threatening strains. These mutations appear approximately once a century and are known to be particularly damaging to the Braxaná, many of whom will isolate themselves during epidemics. The disruption of normal political processes during such a so-called Plague provides a rare opportunity for Azean military aggression, and it is said that virologists within the Star Empire watch the tsank’ar as closely as do their counterparts in the Holding, seeking to anticipate the next period of Braxin vulnerability
Viton the Ruthless: Braxaná servitor to Harkur the Great, and the first Braxaná Kaim’era of the B’Saloan Holding.
Little is known of Viton’s early life save that he was raised in the Braxaná tribal reaches, isolated from greater Braxin culture and technology. In his youth he made several forays into “civilized” territory, and while numerous romanticized tales have been written of his adventures there, the only acts that can be ascribed to him with certainty are the theft of the Zaldovi tribal relics in 4 B.C. and the assassination of a Brentasi prince in 2 A.C. Viton came to the attention of Harkur’s agents in 5 A.C. and was invited to the new international capital to meet him. His ruthless Braxaná spirit impressed the monarch and he served Harkur as companion and advisor through the duration of his reign. Their discussions of political and social philosophy were recorded by both parties, and have served as inspiration for warriors and politicians ever since. (See Dialogues)
Viton claimed the throne after Harkur’s death in 86 A.C. Harkur’s belief that the planet would take issue with Braxaná rule proved prophetic, and at least fifteen separate assassination attempts were known to take place during Viton’s lifetime. He remained Kaim’era for nearly five decades despite such opposition, during which time he established the Braxaná so solidly as the power behind the Braxin throne that no man could hope to dislodge them.
Void: Braxin term for “outer space,” more specifically the space between star systems. The Void refers not to lack of matter or energy but lack of consciousness, and hearkens back to the belief of many tribes that the universe was originally a vast pool of awareness. Each god born during the Creation drew his life from that pool, until at last there was nothing left but unfeeling darkness.
Periodically cults arise in the Holding which purport to have located or even “spoken to” some surviving fragment of the original Awareness. Although the Braxaná are loathe to act against any such movement for fear of creating martyrs, it is known they keep a close eye upon such groups, and will act if necessary to keep such religious cults from gaining a foothold in Braxin society.
Whim Death: The right of a Kaim’era to kill any commoner at any time, without the need to provide a reason. The definition of “commoner” is somewhat hazy, and several unpleasant political incidents have been caused by the use of Whim Death to remove a rival’s servants or lower-class contacts. Though there are no laws outlawing such a political application, it is generally accepted that this could incite whole bloodlines to a death-feud, for which reason most Kaim’eri restrict their killings to commoners who offend them personally.
Wilding: An aggressive mating custom of the early Braxaná, common in their isolationist period, in which a male or female of fertile age would leave the tribe’s territory to seek a mate from among surrounding peoples. While exogamy was common among Braxin tribes in order to sustain the genetic health of small populations, the Braxaná practice of mate-abduction, and the fact that they recognized no legal or cultural restrictions upon whom they might claim, made them less than popular with their immediate neighbors.
The practice was supposedly abandoned in the third century B.C, when the developing technology of surrounding nations forced the Braxaná to become more circumspect, but some historians believe that the custom was simply practiced more discretely after that point, and Braxaná females were known to aggressively seek impregnation by outsiders as late as the reign of Harkur the Great. The Shlesor put an end to all such customs, and is credited with turning Braxaná mating practices from an inclusive to an exclusive focus.
Y.E.: Year of the Exodus. The current Azean calendrical system begins its year count with the Founding of Azea.
Zeymour: Formerly the third planet in the Azean star system, it is estimated Zeymour is the source for 87% of the material in the Daylish asteroid belt. While Azean tradition blames the planet’s inhabitants for its destruction, scientists now believe that the passage of an alien body through the system was responsible for the planet’s breakup, either by direct impact or by combination with local gravitic stressors.
Zeymour is regarded as a possible Source World for humankind, mostly due to Azea’s advanced placement in the Schedule of Progress. Given the current state of Zeymour’s archaeological record it is unlikely that sufficient evidence will be uncovered to either prove or disprove this theory.
Zeymophobia: A syndrome unique to starfaring cultures, zeymophobia encompasses several disorders associated with fear of being planetbound. First noted among interstellar scouts on extended missions, Type I zeymophobia most often manifests as a fear of being unable to leave a planet’s surface at will; in the most extreme cases this will produce crippling anxiety at the failure of any transportation device or system. Type II zeymophobia entails fear of natural ecosystems, and by extension all environments which are not strictly controlled by human technology. Though the symptoms of both types can be treated, the underlying causes are not fully understood, and sufferers are encouraged to develop a lifestyle independent of planetary habitation.
It has been long noted that zeymophobia is a purely human phenomenon, and several non-human scientists have speculated that this is the natural result of the human species “spreading itself too thin” among the stars. Other theorists postulate that it is a vestigial memory of species trauma from the time of the Seeding, and that if the other Scattered Species were of sufficiently advanced sentience similar symptoms would be observed in their populations.
Zhaor: The traditional weapon of the Braxaná, worn by members of the first class as a sign of rank, used in dueling challenges between them. The Zhaor blade has a triangular cross-section for two thirds of its length, with the final third being sharpened along both edges. Many styles of guard and quillons exist, the most common being a variety of openwork fashionable in the time of Viton the Ruthless. Early Zhaori were quite opulent, and while later models were fashioned to suit the understated image of the Braxaná, surviving relics from earlier eras still surface at high dress occasions among the older bloodlines, strangely at odds with the stark, colorless clothing that is their backdrop.
The Edict of 1,916 forbade the carrying of any bladed weapon by Braxins of “lesser blood”, making the wearing of Zhaor one of the most visible and recognizable signs of a Braxaná inheritance. Although Braxaná women of fertile age are forbidden to duel they are permitted to wear the Zhaor, as a reminder to all that in ancient times they served as warriors beside their men, and were revered for their fierceness as well as their fertility.
Zhene: The single moon of Braxi, orbiting its mother planet in seventeen-plus Braxin days, and keeping one face towards the planet at all times. Zhene was explored in the second century B.C. and a government base was established there soon after, to be used for scientific experimentation and galactic observation. With the refinement of gravitic science it became possible to colonize the satellite on a greater scale, and in 474 A.C. Zhene was claimed by the Braxaná as a haven for their Race. Zhene is now restricted to members of the first class and their households, and shines in the night sky of Braxi as a visible reminder of the separatist policies of the Pale Ones.
Zhent: The passage of Braxi’s moon through all its phases, or seventeen-plus Braxin days.
Zherat: Derived from forcefield technology, the Kudomi field was discovered by the Lugastines to disrupt the life processes of carbon-based species. While the full destructive capacity of the field was something the Lugastine government would not employ in warfare, Kudomi-derived science promised benefit to human medicine, and so experimentation continued under strict government supervision for several centuries
The defection of a Lugastine agent to the Holding in 1,172 A.C. brought Kudomi technology into Braxin hands, where it has since been developed into the most feared weapon of mass destruction currently in existence. The so-called Zherat field is more rightly named the Zherat Process, as it entails a rapid succession of assaults designed to disrupt surface-to-space communications, incapacitate planetary defense systems, and finally destroy all life upon a chosen planet.
Despite its certain destructive power, the Zherat is rarely used. Some historians would argue that even Braxin ruthlessness is thus shown to have its limits, but most agree that the motivation is more practical. Braxi would rather make sure its secret weapon remains secret, than risk it in frequent public display. Certainly the threat of the Zherat has been a tool of Braxin dominance for millennia, both as a real threat of planetary destruction and as a greater symbol of the Holding’s willingness to destroy anyone and anything that stands in its way.
While it is believed that Lugast still has records of Kudomi technology, and most assume that Azea has obtained them as well, the ethical foundation of those nations does not permit its use or dissemination of its technology, and so it remains a weapon associated with Braxi, and is used by many detractors as the ultimate example of the Holding’s inhumanity.
Read on for a preview of
The Wilding,
C.S. Friedman’s
exciting sequel to
In Conquest Born
Coming soon in hardcover from
DAW Books
The Citadel chamber was large and sterile, and they put him right in the middle of it. Like a bug pinned down for inspection. About him sat nearly a hundred men, all of them Braxaná. The ones nearest him wore the medallion of the Kaim’eri, while those seated behind them wore similar seals as clasps on shortcloaks, tunics, scabbards. It had meant real power once, that sign, when the Kaim’eri had ruled the Holding in a political free-for-all. Now things were different. Now the true power lay elsewhere.
Tathas pushed the filthy hair out of his face and faced them, trying to imbue his posture with a confidence he did not truly feel. It was hard to stand before these men and not be unnerved, for their mere physicality set them apart from everything that was normal and human. . . . On the whole they looked more like mannequins than men, and the fact that there was so little variation between them in facial structure or even expression added an especially eerie note to the illusion. That was the result of inbreeding, of course. Tathas had heard of it, but he had never before seen so many of the Pale Ones in one place together that he could observe it for himself.
No wonder they needed fresh genetic material. Their gene pool was clearly in its last gasps. No wonder they’d had to come up with some warped and complicated ritual to get that material . . . since the Master Race could hardly be expected to let the blood of commoners mix with its own, could it?
Gods, how he hated them! More in that instant than ever before. And it must have showed in his face, because one of them narrowed his gaze somewhat, and it seemed to Tathas that a spark of answering hatred gleamed in those black, inscrutable eyes. Strangely refreshing.
Then one man who wore the medallion of the Kaim’erate stood, and he used the voice mode of disdain as he said, “Tathas, son of Zheret. You stand before this Council accused of high treason against the Holding. Of encouraging tribal factionalism. Of participating in proscribed tribal rituals. Of illegal possession of arms and use of those arms in proscribed activities. Of intent to destabilize the united Braxin government.” For a moment he paused, and the dark eyes seemed to drill through Tathas. Cold eyes, cold hate; he could taste it. “Do you accept the charges or deny them?”
For a brief, mad instant he actually considered answering the question. After all, the worst of the charges—and the one most likely to lead to a death sentence—could hardly be proven. For a moment he even entertained the fantasy that evidence might matter here, and that justice might be brought to bear in this case.
Ah, that must have been his battered brain crying out for help, to think something like that. The Braxaná might be accused of many things, but “justice” had never been one of them.
With pride he drew himself up, muscles aching at the unaccustomed strain. He could see himself reflected in a hundred eyes, sweat-stained and battered, and knew with sudden certainty that they believed him beaten. Three zhents of neural torture would break anyone, wouldn’t it?
Anyone but a Kesseret. Anyone but the Viak’im . . . prince of the Kesseret tribe.
The knowledge put strength in his voice, and for the first time since his awakening the words came out clearly and easily. “I invoke the Wilding.”
For a moment there was only silence. His heart pounded inside his chest as he waited, deafeningly loud in the emptiness. Though their expressions were carefully controlled, it seemed to him that shadows of emotions flickered across them. Surprise, of course. Dismay? Anger? It seemed to him one or two were mildly amused, but it was hard to be sure of that. And Braxaná amusement wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
At last one of the Kaim’eri said, “That law is for the Braxaná.”
“The law doesn’t specify a tribe.”
Whispers flitted about the room. He kept his gaze focused on the first man, but from the corners of his eyes he could see the Pale Ones stirring. His words had not pleased them.
They can kill you if they want. Any one of them, on a whim, That’s one power they didn’t give up when the Pri’tiera took over.
“A minor omission,” said a man in the last row. Tathas wasn’t sure of the voice mode he used—that damned Braxaná dialect was so complicated it was hard to make out sometimes—but he was pretty sure it was part of the condemnation complex. Not a good sign.
“A legal omission,” he challenged.
He saw heads leaning towards one another, heard echoes of whispered conferences. There was a strange intensity in the room now, and not all of it was focused on him. Braxaná politics. A council chamber full of men with agendas of their own, public ones and secret ones, each one assessing how this moment played into his own private plans. He felt a sudden fury at these men who could play with human lives in such a trivial way, not even pretending that justice or legality had any meaning to them. What on Braxi were they doing running the Holding? It was time another tribe took over.
Don’t think that. Not here, not now. Too dangerous.
At last one man, an older man with streaks of silver in his beard, offered, “It is an interesting concept.”
“It is an offense to our Race,” another retorted.
“Did our ancestors use strangers to find mates for them?”
“They would have if it got them results,” one said curtly.
“It’s a dangerous precedent.”
“Yes, shall we have all the common folk crying ‘wilding’ to shrug off their debts?”
“Enough of our own blood are doing it now,” one of the older Kaim’eri muttered.
It seemed to him there was amusement at that. Grim and cold amusement, that barely cracked the porcelain masks. Whatever passed for emotion in this crowd, it was a different beast than he was used to.
The man who stood before him seemed about to speak again, and from his expression Tathas guessed it was not going to be good—but a sudden hush fell over the chamber, and one by one all of the Kaim’eri and their guests turned toward the chamber’s single entrance. Tathas followed suit. Even before he saw the man who stood there, even before the details of his black and gray formal costume sank in, he could feel his presence in the room. A tingling along his neck. A cold, clammy crawling sensation up his spine. As if something had entered besides a man, and that something had its hands all over him.
“Pri’tiera.” The Kaim’era before Tathas bowed to the new-comer. The others stood, that they might do the same.
