Bones of the Past (Arhel) Read online

  Keyu (Wen) Sropt—1. God. 2. Tree.

  Keyunu (Wen) Sropt—Literally “tree/god-people.”

  Kranjakken (Huong Hoos) Exclamatory (Warning—literal meaning pejorative in most languages or cultures.) One of one hundred sixty-nine specific Hoos words relating to the physical act of human copulation.

  Kyadda (Huong Hoos) A sort of useful linguistic noise, the specific meaning of which is difficult to pin down. Can mean “yes,” “thanks,” “everyone is still breathing,” “everything will be all right,” or even “this isn’t perfect, but it will certainly serve for the time being.” Has spread from Huong Hoos to other languages which lacked such a broad verbal burp, and retained its same meaning—or lack thereof.

  Peknu (Wen) Sropt—Literally “things-that-look-like-people.”

  Prembullin Sajerie (Arissonese) More progressive of the two saje schools of thought. Following the Second Mage/Saje War, the Prembullin Sajerie opened the doors of Faulea University to women, in positions both as scholars and as instructors, and permitted the sajes within its membership to enter public bonds with women. Slightly the larger of the two schools of thought, and with fractionally more power at the time of this writing.

  Prodictan Era (Arissonese) Period of severe censorship between the First and Second Purges, when all historical records were subject to extreme revisionism by whichever fanatics were in power at the time. The result is that all historical records written during the Prodictan Era are subject to wild inaccuracy. Unfortunately, because the First Purges destroyed all available historical records, and the Second Purges destroyed all records that didn’t suit the tastes of the parties in power, Prodictan History is the best available for many time periods.

  Puffing-krull (Wen) Small green six-limbed jungle saurid that has bright red bladders behind each of its legs. When posturing to attract mates, it inflates each of these bladders to such huge proportions that it can then only waddle with difficulty until the bladders deflate. Male puffing-krulls tend to congregate on fallen logs and large rocks during the mating season, where they are entertaining to watch.

  Ramet See Baofar.

  Raouda (Wen) 1. Small, pulpy succulent with attractive flowers that grows as a parasite on rain forest trees. 2. Deadly neurotoxin made from the pressed leaves of that plant.

  Schkavak (Huong Hoos) Pejorative. 1. Thief, specifically, a thief who is not a member of the Hoos association of thieves, the Dludergaadar. 2. Any thief who steals from oneself.

  Sharsha (Wen) Sropt—Literally “a sacrifice.”

  Sheshrud (Huong Hoos) 1. The small slimy soft-bodied white grub that feeds on the dung of large mammals throughout Arhel. 2. Pejorative term for an outlander.

  Skeruekkeu (Wen) Pejorative verb. Biologically impossible. Skeru are little smelly insects.

  Stekkonks (Huong Hoos) Another specific pejorative phrase of extreme (and unfortunately unprintable) rudeness.

  Tagnu (Wen) Sropt—Literally “not-people.”

  Temrish (Arissonese) Archaic. Term for a form of contractual bondage, the specifics of which are no longer known. Term originates from at least the Prodictan Era, and probably before.

  Tethjan Sajerie (Arissonese) The reactionary “old guard” school of thought in Faulea University. Still proscribes any meaningful contact with women, still abhors the presence of women on the Faulea campus, and refuses to recognize the contributions of women in general or the Magerie in specific to the practice of magic.

  Thiena (Huong Hoos) Goddess of war. Consort of Etyt.

  Transport (Arissonese) Proprietary saje form of magical transportation. No saje may reveal the art of teleport to anyone not a saje and a sworn member of either Prembullin or Tethjan Sajeries. No saje may reveal the art of teleport to any mage especially. Even after the opening of the Mage and Saje Universities to members of the opposite genders, this rule remains firm.

  Tree-Naming (Wen) The ceremony that serves to mark the coming of age of Wen children of both sexes. Generally occurs between the ages of ten and twelve, and always near the onset of puberty.

  Afterword

  After reading this story, you might come to the conclusion that I don’t like trees.

  In truth, I like most of them a lot. In fact, some of my fondest memories are of curling up high in the branches of tall trees, looking out over the world, enjoying the silence and the wind and rustling of leaves and branches, far from younger brother and sister, cousins, and other people who did not have my finely-honed appreciation for not being pestered, teased, annoyed, and bothered.

  Ohio has some fine and lovely trees, and I spent a great deal of time admiring and hanging out with them from the time I was about six until the time I was eighteen.

  But I did have one disruptive interlude in my lifelong friendship with trees. We lived for a while in Costa Rica, and for a while in Guatemala when I was between thirteen and fifteen, and I discovered there are trees in the world you don’t climb because they’re harbors for poisonous spiders and snakes and frogs, and trees you don’t wander around beneath because they’re so huge and close together they block out the sun, hide trails and paths, make everything start looking the same…and if you wander into the jungle, which is where trees gang up on you, outnumber you, and bully you, you can get turned around and lost very quickly. Worse yet, hungry buggers live in the jungle that will happily eat you for lunch, should you be small, tasty, unarmed, slow, and dumb enough to put yourself within their reach. Big cats. Big ants. Big snakes.

  My darkest memory of trees was in Belize, when we were visiting another American family, and they decided to take us for a walk in their “back yard.”

  I laugh. Darkly.

  The roots of the massive trees rose up out of the ground in knobs and twists, the trees themselves were wide as houses and jammed together like Manhattan skyscrapers, and the still air beneath them smelled like decay, and sounded like a predator hunting. When I looked at the vertical cracks in their trunks, their folded bark, the vines that draped down from them like fat boa constrictors, they felt alive, watchful, hungry. Vertical mouths, I thought, trudging after my parents and their friend. Big enough to eat me and a dozen more like me.

  And then we got out into the sunlight and back to what passed for civilization in 1975 in the unoccupied spaces of Central America, and the people-eating trees dropped from my conscious mind. I was fourteen or fifteen at the time, and resilient, and like most kids, at that point still figured I was immortal.

  My subconscious mind squirreled that moment of sheer animal terror away, though, and during the writing of this book, brought it back to me in the form of vivid nightmares. Inescapable nightmares.

  And the nightmares morphed into fiction.

  And rereading this book for the first time in about fifteen years, I found myself back in that jungle again. And realized I got the trees right.

  Life is full of little gifts like this, if you’re paying attention. Most of them, you’ll discover when you recognize what amazing gifts they were, will not have been the cheery, bright moments when you were golden and everyone was happy.

  No.

  They’ll have been the moments when you were utterly certain that something horrifying was about to happen, and it was going to feature you. Probably buttered and on toast.

  So here’s to the moments you dreaded, locked away in the back of your mind, waiting for you to turn them into your own magic. May you get something wonderful from them.

  Cheerfully,

  Holly Lisle

  Monday, October 24, 2011

  About the Author

  HOLLY LISLE has been writing novels professionally since 1991, when she sold Fire in the Mist to Baen Books. The novel went on to win the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel in 1993, sold remarkably well, and stayed in print for about ten years, giving Holly a seriously skewed view of the ease of publishing…

  …Which publishing promptly clobbered out of her with later books. In spite of which, she has, at the time of this writing, sold 3
2 novels commercially, and is both re-releasing many of her novels via self-publishing, and self-publishing her newest novels.

  Look for the re-release of Cadence Drake: Hunting the Corrigan’s Blood, to kick off the long-delayed but finally in-progress ten-book Cadence Drake series.

  Get her latest book announcements here:

  http://hollylisle.com/the-fun-with-teeth-sign-up-page

  Lisle also wrote and has been teaching two of the most challenging fiction-writing courses in existence: How To Think Sideways: Career Survival School for Writers, and How To Revise Your Novel: Get the Book You WANT From the One You WROTE.

  Get a year of free weekly writing tips and updates on her courses here:

  http://hollylisle.com/writer-updates-newsletter

  More by Holly Lisle

  FICTION

  Cadence Drake: Warpaint (coming soon)

  Cadence Drake: Hunting the Corrigan’s Blood

  The Ruby Key: Moon & Sun

  The Silver Door: Moon & Sun

  Hawkspar: A Novel of Korre

  Talyn: A Novel of Korre

  Night Echoes

  I See You

  Last Girl Dancing

  Midnight Rain

  Memory of Fire: World Gates

  The Wreck of Heaven: World Gates

  Gods Old and Dark: World Gates

  Diplomacy of Wolves: Secret Texts

  Vengeance of Dragons: Secret Texts

  Courage of Falcons: Secret Texts

  Vincalis the Agitator: Secret Texts

  Fire in the Mist: Arhel

  Bones of the Past: Arhel

  Mind of the Magic: Arhel

  Glenraven; (w/ Marion Zimmer Bradley)

  In The Rift (w/ Marion Zimmer Bradley)

  Sympathy for the Devil: Devil’s Point

  The Devil and Dan Cooley (w/ Walter Spence): Devil’s Point

  Hell on High (w/ Ted Nolan): Devil’s Point

  Minerva Wakes

  When the Bough Breaks (w/ Mercedes Lackey)

  Mall, Mayhem and Magic; (w/ Chris Guin)

  The Rose Sea; (with S.M.Stirling)

  Curse of the Black Heron

  Thunder of the Captains (w/ Aaron Allston)

  Wrath of the Princes (w/ Aaron Allston)

  WRITING COURSES

  How To Think Sideways: Career Survival School for Writers

  How To Revise Your Novel: Get the Book You WANT from the Wreck You WROTE

  Holly Lisle’s How To Write A Series

  Holly Lisle’s Create A Character Clinic

  Holly Lisle’s Create A Plot Clinic

  Holly Lisle’s Create A Language Clinic

  Holly Lisle’s Create A Culture Clinic

  Holly Lisle’s Create A World Clinic (coming soon)

  How to Write Page-Turning Scenes

  How to Find Your Writing Discipline

  How to Beat Writer’s Block

  21 Ways to Get Yourself Writing When Your Life Has Just Exploded

  How to Write Dialogue with Subtext

  How to Motivate Yourself

  Mugging the Muse: Writing Fiction for Love AND Money

  Published by Holly Lisle

  Kindle Version

  ISBN-10 1937533158

  ISBN-13 9781937533151

  Epub Version

  ISBN-10 1937533166

  ISBN-13 9781937533168

  Print Version

  ISBN-10: 1466472987

  ISBN-13: 9781466472983

  Cover Design: Holly Lisle

  Cover Images:

  Tetiana / BigStock.com

  Vukasin Ilic / Bigstock.com

  eBook edition by eBooks by Barb for booknook.biz

  Copyright © 1993, 2011 by Holly Lisle. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  First publication: Baen Books, 1993

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places, and incidents in this novel are either the products of the imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real people, either living or dead, to events, businesses, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  http://HollyLisle.com