TEXT: The
  Ever-Glorious Empire
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Tékumel Netbook #2
  This is a netbook for the World of Tékumel, the creation of Professor 
  M.A.R. Barker.  Please support the Professor by purchasing your 
  netbooks at www.DriveThruRPG.com.
  The World of Tékumel
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  official Tekumel website at www.Tekumel.com - this website details the 
  World of Tékumel - steeped in history and tradition, with a complex 
  clan and social system, and myriad flora and fauna, awaiting adventure.
  The Tékumel Foundation
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  The
  Ever-Glorious Empire
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Tékumel Netbook #2
  This is a netbook for the World of Tékumel, the creation of Professor 
  M.A.R. Barker.  Please support the Professor by purchasing your 
  netbooks at www.DriveThruRPG.com.
  The World of Tékumel
  For further information about Tékumel, we suggest you visit the 
  official Tekumel website at www.Tekumel.com - this website details the 
  World of Tékumel - steeped in history and tradition, with a complex 
  clan and social system, and myriad flora and fauna, awaiting adventure.
  The Tékumel Foundation
  The Tekumel Foundation works to preserve and promote the 
  creative legacy of Prof. M.A.R. Barker, the World of Tekumel.  For 
  more information about the Foundation, visit our website at www.
  tekumelfoundation.org  
  The Tekumel Foundation
  2500 University Ave. W.
  St. Paul Minnesota 55114
  Revision: 6
  All material copyright 2004 by M.A.R. Barker
  
  Credits
  front layout and design
  Victor Raymond
  cover illustration
  Giovanna Fregni
  editorial help
  Chris Davis
  Index
  Krista Donnelly
  
  © M. A. R. Barker, 1996
  This document cannot be modified, added to, or changed in any manner for redistribution or any non personal
  purpose.
  The Ever-Glorious  Empire:
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  By
  Baréka hiShanyál
  Of the Clan of the High Pinnacle,
  Librarian, and Curator of the Museum of
  Our Lord Prince,
  Rereshqála Tlakotáni,
  At His Palace Near the Divine City
  of Jakálla, the Mighty, the Glorious
  
  1. A WORD...
  Perhaps the greatest influence on modern
  Tékumel is that of Éngsvan hla Gánga, also
  named Engsvanyálu, the Golden Age, the
  Empire of the Priestkings. Gaze upon any
  city: those graceful spires and arched
  colonnades are Engsvanyáli. Listen to the
  languages of the Five Empires: they
  overflow with Engsvanyáli borrowings,
  grammatical categories, concepts, similes,
  idioms, and metaphors. Look upon any
  sculpture, 
  any 
  picture, 
  any 
  book-
  illumination: the influence of Engsvanyálu is
  there, from the Isles of Tsoléi in the west to
  the pastel domes of Ssórmu on the east coast
  of Salarvyá. Pick up any book: the voices of
  the ancient Engsvanyáli sages speak to you
  again from out of the past.
  I, Baréka hiShanyál, of the Clan of the High
  Pinnacle, Librarian, and Curator of the
  Museum of the gracious Prince, Rereshqála
  Tlakotáni, do set down this brief account in
  order to delight those who seek wisdom. My
  treatise cannot match the offerings of those
  who have gone before.: I do homage to the
  Priest Dumán Langshá, who composed the
  learned Shártokoi Guál Dáimi ("A Priest
  There Was"), and to the Committee of
  Prelates who created the encyclopaedic
  Éngsvan hla Gánga, Kolumébabàrdàlisa
  ("Éngsvan hla Gánga, the Mighty and
  Powerful Empire") in the reign of our noble
  God-Emperor Arshú'u, the Ever-Splendid, in
  days gone by. I must also praise the various
  editions of the Jurrúmul Pavártio ("The
  Scrolls of Pavár"), over which scholars have
  laboured all their lives, and I will
  furthermore speak highly of the records of
  the Chancery in Avanthár. I have also
  consulted other treatises without number and
  spent long nights sitting by my rush-light in
  the musty darkness of the Great Library of
  Tumíssa. My thanks, thus, to these, and to
  others who have aided me.
  The Immortal Gods have seen fit to gift me
  with the curiosity, the perseverance, and the
  talent to set pen to paper in this endeavour.
  May they grant me the life, strength, and
  health to complete it!
  [Baréka hiShanyál's text has been edited in
  order to make it intelligible to a non-
  Tsolyáni reader. Some data unknown to the
  author are also included, as are occasional
  comments. -- Translator.]
  2. Lord Enomé:
  The story of Éngsvan hla Gánga begins in
  the last millennium of the First Imperium.
  The Three States of the Triangle were
  already dust. The Dragon Warriors had come
  and gone, pillaging, ravishing, and ranging
  the land like the monsters they are said to
  have ridden. The Fishermen Kings ruled for
  a time, and were followed by the First
  Imperium, created by the ambitious and
  lustful Queen Nayári, named "She of the
  Silken Thighs." No one now knows the
  names of all of the deities these peoples
  worshipped, their customs, or their histories.
  As the adage says, "The world is different
  with every sunrise."
  One of the major deities of Nayári's realm
  was Lord Enomé, one of the Aspects of the
  deity we call Lord Ksárul today. He was not
  as bloodthirsty as hideous Jráka, that Aspect
  of Ksárul worshipped by the Bednálljans at
  Maryáhlu [Mrelú], or dazzling Chótl, the
  Blinding Sun, whose temples filled the skies
  of Ja'akáth [Jakálla] with the smoke of
  sacrifice. Among these, Lord Enomé was
  considered mild: he figured in many
  legends, 
  and 
  occupied 
  himself 
  with
  scholarship, magical research, and the arts.
  Yet he also accepted the blood of infants,
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    2
  whose corpses were then interred in pottery
  jars beneath the foundations of cities and
  temples to ward off such as the Wanderers
  Between the Worlds.
  Enomé's shrine on Gánga Isle in the
  Southern Sea was visited by pilgrims
  seeking remedies and miracles. The island
  was inconsequential of itself: "a haven for
  clam-diggers," as one Bednálljan writer puts
  it. Still, Ships crammed with devotees plied
  the waters from Jakálla, Vrá, Penóm, and
  even from Chame'él and Tsatsayágga in
  Salarvyá  to seek the Shrine of Lord Enomé.
  A fragmentary record preserved in the
  Bednálljan Chancery speaks of "85,700
  Rachár [Bednálljan silver coins, each worth
  about .4 modern Tsolyáni Káitars], paid as
  taxes upon a year's income from this
  temple." A later text speaks of "crowding
  throngs of worshippers, garbed in robes of a
  myriad hues, singing praises, and bearing
  gifts of incense and treasure to Lord
  Enomé." Alas, there is no trace of this
  temple today; it lies beneath the murky
  waters of Msúmtel Bay, drowned in the
  catastrophe that overtook Gánga.
  Pavár's temple was considered fairly large
  for its time: a sprawling complex of halls,
  shrines, offices, hostels, and courtyards,
  where priests and pilgrims jostled with
  administrators, guides, hawkers, pimps,
  seers, scribes, prostitutes, beggars, and
  gawkers. It included shops where visitors
  might purchase flowers, incense, amulets,
  talismans, 
  copies 
  of 
  Enomé's 
  texts,
  astrological readings, and religious artefacts.
  The redolence of smoke, Vrés-incense,
  spices, dust, and perfume vied with the
  stench of sweat, rotting fruit peels, and
  excrement. Hymns, chatter, laughter, braying
  horns and squealing flutes, dancers' bells and
  cymbals, and the droning thunder of
  processional drums constantly assailed the
  ears. This was a temple much like those
  found today throughout the Five Empires,
  familiar, yet different. In those far-off days
  the folk of Gánga Isle did not speak Tsolyáni
  but the harsh Salarvyáni of the Bednálljan
  overlords, the softer syllables of nascent
  Engsvanyáli, or a dozen, a hundred, other
  tongues from the lands bordering the
  southern ocean. Members of the nonhuman
  races, too, came to this shrine: the erudite Pé
  Chói, the Páchi Léi, the reptilian Shén, the
  Swamp Folk of what is now Mu'ugalavyá,
  and the gruff Ahoggyá of Salarvyá. Modern
  farmers tilling their fields have even
  exhumed the exoskeletons of Tinalíya and
  the bones of the sharp-fanged Pygmy Folk of
  Yán Kór, although these species must have
  been rare so far from their homes.
  3. A Priest There Was ...
  As with the forest that grows from the seed
  of a single Gapúl-tree, the Empire of the
  Priestkings arose from a single source: a
  priest named Pavár, who served in Enomé's
  shrine on Gánga Isle. It is not known
  whether he was born and raised on the
  island, or whether he travelled there as an
  adult, perhaps to escape the ugliness of the
  mainland where the lords of the First
  Imperium struggled and slew one another
  interminably. Nothing is known of his
  antecedents, his clan, or his childhood. We
  know only what has been preserved in later
  histories; this is all too often blurred by the
  fingers of the Weaver of Skeins, and so lost
  forever.
  Pavar's position in Enomé's shrine is also
  unknown. The earliest texts speak of him as
  a "ritual priest" [Tsolyáni: Shártokoi];
  others call him a "scholar priest" [Tsolyáni:
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    3
  Kusijáktokoi]. Did he officiate at one of the
  rites of his stern deity, or was he one of
  those who hunch over records and deeds and
  wills and scrolls? Did he kneel upon the dais
  behind the altars, chanting the praises of his
  deity? Did he collect prayer petitions from
  pilgrims and submit them to those who
  passed them on to the god? If he was lucky,
  he may have served as a teacher or even a
  researcher in the temple's Hall of Wisdom. It
  is certain that he was not a senior scholar or
  powerful prelate.
  There are no contemporary pictures or
  descriptions of Pavár, although there are
  hundreds, thousands, of later depictions.
  Most of these latter show Pavár as small,
  thin, stooped, middle-aged, and crippled.
  This may be a conventional and fictitious
  portrayal, of course: an insignificant little
  man who brought down a mighty empire.
  Yet Pavár has also been drawn as tall and
  heroic -- a concession to artistic conventions
  that require important persons to be shown
  large, while minor characters are small. In
  Fasíltum he has been given the hawk-beaked
  nose of the noble Vríddi clan; in Salarvyá he
  is dark, hairy, and a trifle over-plump. At
  least the nonhuman Pé Chói have not
  painted him as one of themselves! In fact,
  we know little of his personal life and
  physical form.
  4. The Gods of Pavár:
  At some time during his later life, Pavár
  began those studies that eventually led to the
  formulations contained in his greatest
  composition: 
  Jurrúmul 
  Pavártio 
  ("The
  Scrolls of Pavár"). He himself speaks of a
  "visitation" from the Gods of Stability: a
  vision, an actual meeting, a dream? He does
  not describe this, except to say that he was
  "contacted" first by gentle, grey Thám
  [Thúmis]; then came Nallál [Hnálla], the
  Lord of Light; then Lady Evuén [Avánthe],
  the Goddess of crops and fertility; then
  other-worldly  Ba'álk [Belkhánu,] the
  Master of the Paradises of Those Who Have
  Gone On; and finally imperious Kerék
  [Karakán], the War-God.  These are the
  Tlomitlányal, the Five Lords of Stability. To
  Pavár, these deities revealed their essences
  and attributes, their legends, their theology,
  and their commandments for humankind.
  Each of these Gods is accompanied by one
  "Cohort": a lesser deity who embodies some
  particular feature of his or her master's
  sphere of activity: Kátén [Keténgku], the
  Healer, Cohort of Thúmis, Dhré [Drá], the
  Uncaring, the Hymn-Singer, who stands in
  endless adoration of bright Hnálla, Dhalé
  [Dilinála], the Chaste, who serves Avánthe,
  Khúan [Qón], the Guardian of the Souls of
  the Hereafter, whose master is Belkhánu,
  and Chökhár [Chegárra], the Hero-King,
  who embodies statecraft and wise rule for
  the war-god, Karakán.
  The terrible deities of the First Imperium
  also appeared to Pavár, but differently than
  they had been pictured previously by the
  Bednálljans and the priesthoods of the First
  Imperium. They had been worshipped under
  many 
  names 
  and 
  guises 
  since 
  time
  immemorial: Khéri [Hrü'ü], the Master of
  Change and Chaos; Jráka [Ksárul], the
  Doomed Prince of the Blue Room, who
  loves knowledge for his own benefit alone;
  Vaomáhl [Vimúhla], the Principle of Fiery
  Destruction; Qúrgha [Sárku], the Lord of
  Worms and Tombs, whose province is the
  survival of the intellect, whatever may
  transpire with the body; and languorous
  Tyalméya [Dlamélish], the Emerald Lady of
  Fleshly Joys. These are the Tlokiriqáluyal,
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    4
  the Five Lords of Change; Pavár included
  them, too, in his pantheon.
  As with the Tlomitlányal, the Tlokiriqáluyal,
  have "Cohorts" too: Örú [Wurú], the Foe of
  Stability, 
  who 
  serves 
  Hrü'ü; 
  Göghün
  [Grugánu], the Knower of Spells, who aids
  Ksárul; Chanákh [Chiténg], the Drinker of
  Blood and Reaper of Cities, whose master is
  Vimúhla; Do'oróm [Durritlámish], He of
  the Rotted Face, the Opener of Catacombs,
  who is the Cohort of Sárku; and seductive
  Hráil [Hriháyal], the Dancing Maiden of
  Temptation and Mistress of the Thirty-Two
  Unspeakable Acts, who aids Dlamélish. All
  ten "Cohorts" together are called the
  Hlimékluyal.
  Pavár understood that these beings are
  interdimensional 
  entities, 
  rather 
  than
  theological "gods." They are immanent and
  act within history, as do creatures of flesh
  and blood. They communicate with their
  worshippers and have their own objectives,
  unintelligible as these may be to less-
  powerful, limited beings. On occasion, they
  work "miracles" and answer prayers. Proofs
  of their existence and actions abound. There
  are thus no atheists on Tékumel, for the
  Gods demonstrably exist! These "Gods"
  differ from the constructs of humankind's
  theologies and philosophies, however, in
  that they are not simple projections of our
  own anthropomorphic instincts.  As Pavár
  says:
  "We strive, and yet our imaginings bring
  forth nothing but glorified portraits of
  ourselves. We see naught but a mighty
  Father, the magnified image of our own
  fathers, or else a divine Mother, who will take
  us to her bosom and comfort our tears as did
  our own mothers. Everywhere we perceive
  the cosmos in terms of our own sexual organs
  and urges. When we tremble before the
  Unknown, we exalt the rain, the wind, the
  sun, and the darkness. Why? Because we are
  limited, and we do not understand. Yet think:
  why should the Gods -- the Creators and
  Maintainers of universes -- conform to these
  petty fancies? Can we even recognise the
  Divine when we encounter it? What can the
  lowly Shqá beetle comprehend of the nature
  of the man who casually brushes it from its
  twig in passing? Should the man turn to the
  humble insect and somehow address it in
  terms it could understand, what else could it
  do but kneel in awe and obey?" Scroll III,
  Stanza 90.
  In reference to what humanity can perceive
  of the "Gods." he says::
  "The Gods are like stones seen through
  rippling water. They are neither of the shape
  we see, nor are They quite where we see
  Them. We know Their reality. The seeker
  can plunge his hand into the current and
  touch the stones. Thus it is with the Gods.
  Yet, like the boulders of the riverbed, They
  are elusive, slippery, and distant from our
  ken. They are the Gods." Scroll XXXIX,
  Stanza 76.
  We are limited beings. The Many Planes
  contain other entities who are mightier and
  more puissant than we. Our bragging is:
  " ... The puffing and croaking of the Hórok-
  frog, who sits in his puddle and propounds
  his wisdom to an uncaring universe." Scroll
  XXIV, Stanza 43.
  And again:
  "... And if the Drí-ant is eaten by the Shqá-
  beetle, and if the Shqá-beetle is consumed
  by the Küni-bird, and if the Küni-bird falls
  prey to the beak of the Shánu'u [another
  large flying predator] -- what profits it to any
  of them to know that we are all composed of
  the same substance and essence? Each sees
  itself as the supreme pinnacle of being, and
  yet each is food for something mightier than
  itself.. To know that the Shqá-beetle is but a
  creature like the Drí, save mightier and more
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    5
  potent in its hunting, gains nothing for the
  poor Drí, whose Skein of Destiny is ripped
  violently from the Loom. That the Demons
  and Heroes are but larger and more puissant
  beings like ourselves may tickle the fancies
  of the philosophers and provide meat and
  drink for the debate in the temple
  dormitories once the lamps are out -- but the
  ultimate 
  truth 
  is 
  not 
  within 
  our
  circumscribed understanding. We can no
  more comprehend the Gods than the Drí can
  comprehend a man -- for this is the ratio
  between our intellects. Only if there be some
  Final Answerer at the very end of time will
  we know, and such a contingency appears
  most unlikely. In this world it is certain that
  there is no final answer, no "Truth" which
  we may come upon and cry with our tiny,
  piping voices, "Here it is! See, now I know it
  all!" Nay, the Drí must avoid the foot of man
  and dog alike, and he must hide from the
  Shqá-beetle 
  as 
  well, 
  without 
  ever
  comprehending the why of it all." Scroll
  XLII, Stanzas 33-42.
  Pavár sees no ultimate purpose, no final
  goal, no ability for humankind to transcend
  its limited nature and comprehend the
  Infinite. He also sees no innate "morality"
  that corresponds to human society: there is
  no "good" and no "evil." The Gods are
  beyond 
  such 
  petty, 
  anthropomorphic
  concepts. We must obey the Gods and serve
  them. It is for us to develop our own social
  norms, laws, and standards; such minor
  matters, says Pavár, are not the duty of a
  god.
  The pantheon of Pavár first attracted those
  who were poor and without hope: chattels,
  slaves, and labourers. Simple folk came to
  hear Pavár, sat at his feet, and stayed to offer
  service and fealty. They came to see him as
  their champion, although it is not clear that
  he perceived himself in that rôle.
  Why the poor and disadvantaged were
  drawn to Pavár's pantheon is a trifle
  puzzling. The Lords of Stability accept
  worship according to their stated natures. In
  many cases this means only sacrifices of
  flowers [Thám: Thúmis], or fruits and green
  boughs [Evuén: Avánthe]. The others
  sanction 
  human 
  sacrifice 
  on 
  certain
  occasions, however, and the war-god Kerék
  [Karakán] regularly approves offerings of
  war-captives, felons, and other unfortunates.
  Pavár's deities are thus not paragons of meek
  non-violence. Yet, compared with the
  ferocity of Bednálljan Chótl or Jráka, Pavár's
  Tlomitlányal were gentility itself.
  The Five Lords of Change maintained their
  traditional power. Offerings to them were as
  grim as ever. In the temples of Vaomáhl
  [Vimúhla], men and women were daily
  hurled into the flame pits as before. The
  catacombs beneath the shrines of Qúrgha
  [Sárku] echoed with the screams of those
  taken thither to be consumed by the Eternal
  Worm. Changes were occurring, however,
  but most people's lives were not greatly
  affected.
  Pavár himself favoured the gentler members
  of the Tlomitlányal, leaning towards Thám
  [Thúmis] 
  and 
  the 
  aloof, 
  coruscating
  splendour of Nallál [Hnálla].. He prospered,
  taught, gathered students, and wrote many
  treatises, of which only a few have survived.
  He seems to have left Enomé's service at this
  time, and his small house near his former
  temple became a shrine in itself, filled with
  discussion, disputation, and worship.
  His erstwhile colleagues, the hierophants of
  Enomé, treated him with disdainful patience.
  Reformers, heretics, and philosophers had
  come and gone before. What did one more
  matter? It is recorded that one Artúkko
  Alá'a, a particular foe of Pavár, wrote In his
  "The Inevitable of the Ineffable":
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    6
  "How is it that Pavár's 'gods' are far beyond
  human comprehension; yet each has a sphere
  of activity that neatly caters to some specific
  human need? The concerns of these 'deities'
  appear very human, indeed! Lady Evuén gives
  solace to barren clanswomen, to budding
  maidens, and to burghers who plant their
  crops. Lord Kerék favours soldiers and the
  military clans. Lord Thám is but a paler
  shadow of Lord Jráka: a seeker who collects
  knowledge for the general good, rather than
  for his own aggrandisement -- as proper self-
  interest ought to dictate!  The others are the
  same: his Tlomitlányal are naught but mirror-
  reflections of our gods, whom he names the
  Tlokiriqáluyal. These we have worshipped for
  generations! The only ones of our pantheon
  that Pavár ignores are those who have no easy
  counterpart in human affairs. For example, he
  omits one of the greatest of our deities, one to
  whom sacrifices are offered daily throughout
  the land, and to whom the Emperor himself
  bows.. I refer to fearsome Aíkh Amóm
  [literally, "The One Other" in Bednálljan].
  The Lord Aíkh Halóm ["The One (Who)
  Exists" in Bednálljan] is also snubbed. The
  most terrible of all, the Goddess Mshékh [The
  Goddess of the Pale Bone, named Kúù Tép in
  old Llyáni], is also ignored, left to twiddle her
  extremities in the antechambers of 'gods' less
  powerful than She! The theology of Pavár is
  trite, 
  jejune, 
  and 
  without 
  merit: 
  the
  formulation of a stuffy little schoolmaster!"
  Pavár's reply to this diatribe was typical:  "If
  wise Artúkko is not convinced by my
  revelation, then let him bring forth one of his
  own! Perhaps the gods will speak to him as
  they have done to me." Any further rejoinder
  by Artúkko is not recorded.
  The common folk had grown tired of war
  and slaughter. They had no part in the pomp
  and pageantry of the palaces. Their lives and
  property were not secure, and the threat of
  hideous sacrifice hung ever over their heads.
  They thus joined Pavár's religion in droves.
  5. First Flight.
  The histories record that Pavár died in his
  sleep, being then about ninety years of age.
  A few apocryphal texts claim that he did not
  die at all, however, but was taken up by the
  Gods and transported to some mysterious
  College at the End of Time, where he still
  studies, meditates and argues philosophy
  with all who will listen. Who can say?
  Pavár was not a king or general. He left no
  heir to succeed him, no armies to defend his
  new faith, no rich temples or well-planned
  organisation. The hierarchs of Lord Enomé
  expected his adherents to fall away, his
  house and library to decay, and his heresies
  to disappear as swiftly as they had come.
  They were wrong. Sometimes, for reasons
  historians do not understand, the logical and
  the expected do not happen. The Weaver of
  Skeins grows bored, rips his fabric from the
  Loom, and begins anew. Change occurs,
  even without any visible, compelling cause.
  Thus it was with Pavár's pantheon. A
  multitude took up the staff he laid down;
  students who had sat under his Gapúl-tree,
  now carried his words to far away cities and
  lectured to pupils of their own. The
  peasantry, always quick to see "truth" in
  superstition and legend, circulated tales of
  miracles, magical healings, and visitations of
  the Tlomitlányal. The Gods appeared in the
  skies; young girls were possessed by Evuén
  or Dhalé [Avánthe or Dilinála]; boys took
  up swords and trained as devotees of Kerék
  [Karakán]; joyous crowds proclaimed life
  everlasting in the Paradise of Ba'álk
  [Belkhánu], called the Engsvánal Cherténtio
  ("The Isles of Teretané"). The Gods of the
  First Imperium prospered as well: were they
  not the Tlokiriqáluyal, respected members of
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    7
  the 
  pantheon? 
  Folk 
  reported 
  spectral
  manifestations 
  of 
  Qúrgha 
  [Sárku],
  appearances 
  of 
  Vaomáhl's 
  [Vimúhla's]
  flaming hosts, mysterious indigo images of
  Jráka [Ksárul] in the labyrinths beneath the
  cities, and the sensuous music of Lady
  Tyalméya's [Dlamélish'] orgies heard at
  night emanating from deserted copses and
  forest dells. These things were taken as
  omens by the gullible. The masses were
  awake, and the movement could not be
  stopped without much bloodshed.
  Once the bird of change has tried its wings,
  it cannot remain in the nest.
  Pavár's followers erected a beautiful marble
  tomb for him in the garden of his house. A
  school and academy were built nearby, and
  the first temples of the Tlomitlányal were
  consecrated there. Students came from half
  the world away, and scholars wrote books
  and hymns and treatises on his pantheon. At
  last the prelates of the old religion realised
  their peril. They sent soldiers to burn Pavár's
  tomb, house, and academy, but these were
  turned back by a governor of Gánga who
  had taken a fancy to Lady Evuén's
  [Avánthe's] fecund loveliness, however. In
  some cities the faithful suffered death and
  torture for their beliefs: over a thousand
  adherents of kindly Thám [Thúmis] were
  slaughtered in the great square of Ja'akáth
  [Jakálla]; virgin girls devoted to Dhalé
  [Dilinála] were sacrificed in the main
  square of Thá'mis [Tumíssa]; missionaries of
  Nallál's [Hnálla's] sect were flayed alive
  and impaled before the gates of Béy Sü, with
  copies of Pavár's writings sewn to their
  bloody breasts. Still more gruesome things
  were done elsewhere.
  New converts came forward to take the
  places of these martyrs. What had been a
  trickle became a stream, then a torrent.
  Civil war erupted, and the stench of burning
  fields and villages overspread the land. The
  richest agricultural regions went over to
  Lady Evuén [Avánthe]: the basin of the
  Missúma River from Ja'akáth [Jakálla] north
  to the gates of the capital, Béy Sü [lit. "the
  Soul of the World" in Bednálljan]; then the
  "Breadbasket," 
  the 
  triangle 
  between
  Ramüsh, Chanatlál, and Shanásh [Úrmish,
  Katalál, and Usenánu]; then the south-
  eastern city of Tí Horúa [Thráya], which
  had always been a centre for mystical
  movements. Blood flowed, and commerce
  came to a halt; war and revolution bestrode
  the land, followed inevitably by famine and
  plague.
  The old religion dug in its heels. Vaomáhl's
  [Vimúhla's] fires burned high in Fa'ásal
  [Fasíltum] 
  in 
  the 
  north-east. 
  Qúrgha
  [Sárku] held sway in his own city: gloomy
  Sru'úm [the City of Sárku] in the north-west,
  in Fedhám [Penóm] on the southern coast,
  and in the forests of Dó Cháka. Lord Jráka's
  [Ksárul's] temples prospered in Jmái
  [Mekú?] and Maryáhlu [Mrelú], in the
  ancient ruins of Hmakuyál, and elsewhere.
  Lord Khéri [Hrü'ü] lost ground but still was
  paramount in Poróth [Púrdimal] and in
  distant Zhékkat [Sokátis]. Lady Tyalméya
  [Dlamélish] plied her arts in Ja'akáth
  [Jakálla] and other cities, as she had always
  done. In the capital, Béy Sü, the glittering
  courtiers and princes of the First Imperium
  could only watch with apprehension. It was
  in this period that work was begun to expand
  the 
  ancient 
  citadel 
  of 
  Evú Nithóru
  [Avanthár], a stronghold since before the
  Time of Darkness, into the fortress it is
  today.
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    8
  Engsvanyáli guard from the city of
  Hmakuyál.
  Courtesy of the Imperial Chancery,
  Avanthár
  The pantheon's spread was slower in foreign
  climes. 
  Mu'aghátl 
  [Mu'ugalavyá] 
  had
  always been a staunch follower of the
  Flame, and also of a local deity named
  Hrézhö [Hrsh], who was said to share
  attributes of Vaomáhl and Jráka [Vimúhla
  and Ksárul]. Pavár's gods were either
  rejected or else adapted to fit local tastes.
  Llurusé  [Livyánu] held to its indigenous
  Shadow Gods with only minor admixtures
  of Pavár's theology. In the east, the priests of
  Tsavrátl 
  [Salarvyá] 
  joyfully 
  accepted
  Pavár's Lady Evuén [Avánthe] -- but melded
  her with Lady Tyalméya [Dlamélish],
  making the two goddesses one, and named
  her Muruggéshcha [modern Shiringgáyi].
  The peoples of the minor nations modified
  Pavár's formulations similarly. In some
  cases, his pantheon was adopted in its
  entirety; in others it was rejected, or was
  muddled into local cults and distorted almost
  beyond recognition. The nonhumans, too,
  reacted: the Pé Chói decided that their
  "Father of Nests" was an amalgam of all five
  of Pavár's Tlomitlányal, and their "Black
  Old One" was equivalent to the five
  Tlokiriqáluyal. The Shén similarly decided
  their "One of Eggs" was a "Pavarian"
  opponent of "The One Who Rends."  The
  other races remained aloof. What the Ssú
  and the Hlüss, the "Enemies of Man,"
  thought is not recorded.
  Some say the turmoil raised by Pavár's
  heresies lasted as long as two hundred years,
  others more or less.  No record exists of the
  first decades of Pavár's revolution -- for such
  it was -- and its leaders, its opponents, its
  successes and failures, are all now forgotten.
  The converts' zeal  eventually subsided. By
  the end of the first century, the canonical
  text of the Jurrúmul  Pavártio ("The Scrolls
  of Pavár") was published, copied by scribes,
  stamped with the seal of the Temple of Lord
  Nallál [Hnálla], and dispatched to cities all
  across the continent. Each copy was borne
  by delegates attired in white and gold, the
  hues chosen by Pavár to symbolise his faith.
  These ambassadors carried no weapons but
  were accompanied by city dignitaries, clan
  leaders, priests, and hordes of common folk.
  It is said that people could almost feel a
  tangible change in the air, a sense of
  excitement and anticipation. The old was
  being swept away; the new would bring
  harmony and glory.
  In this atmosphere, the temples were
  compelled to come to an understanding:
  strife must cease, or else civil war would
  destroy all that had been accomplished
  during the centuries of the First Imperium. It
  is said that one Ghiyál Tranúo, High Priest
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    9
  of Nallál [Hnálla] on Gánga and anointed
  successor to Pavár, held council first with
  prelates of the other Tlomitlányal, then with
  those of the temples of the Lords of Change.
  Together, 
  these 
  hammered 
  out 
  the
  "Concordat": a treaty of peace between the
  competing sects. Under the terms of this
  pact, none might insult, plot, or connive
  against members of another faith. Any who
  attacked or slew a priest of another deity
  would be brought before a tribunal of the
  priesthoods, and if condemned, would be
  executed. The Concordat is the highest law,
  the priesthoods declare: not even kings and
  emperors can flout it with impunity. The
  only places where the Concordat does not
  run are the labyrinths and catacombs below
  the cities, in wildernesses, and other places
  where no eye can see. In these locales,
  indeed, the Concordat does not apply. A
  quick dagger, a silent spell, a whispered
  word of treachery: whatever is needed, is
  permissible and possible. In truth, these
  exceptions are no more than logical
  concessions to the inevitable.
  Only the followers of the three Pariah Gods
  (the One Other, the Goddess of the Pale
  Bone, and the One Who Is) refused to
  accede to the Concordat. These deities had
  always been an aberration. They had been
  worshipped during the long centuries of the
  Empire of Llyán of Tsámra, the Three States
  of the Triangle, the Dragon Warriors, the
  Fishermen Kings, and the First Imperium.
  Excluded from Pavár's pantheon, their clergy
  saw no need to abide by its rules. They
  retreated into their shrines and sulked,
  refusing even to recognise the existence of
  Pavár's tribunals.
  The problem is their intrinsic difference
  from the other gods: their objectives are so
  alien, so abhorrent to followers of Pavár's
  pantheon, that they cannot be reconciled.
  The Pariah Gods' goal is the consumption --
  the emptying -- of every Plane of Being, all
  across the Many Planes of the Multiverse --
  of all substance, of every material atom.
  Nothing is to be left after their passing. The
  Goddess of the Pale Bone is said to be the
  "hungriest," the most violent in her methods.
  The One Who Is displays more patience.
  The One Other occasionally takes part in the
  affairs of the other gods: according to the
  legend of Dayúkti Durúmnatio  [Dórmoron
  Plain], he, alone of the three, joined with the
  other deities in curbing the  ambitions of
  Lord Jráka [Ksárul] and imprisoning him in
  the Blue Room. The current recension of
  this story is Engsvanyáli, but there are older
  versions in which the gods have their
  Bednálljan names, and there is a partial
  manuscript of the myth in Llyáni as well.
  The goal of these mighty beings can hardly
  be expected to appeal to humankind. Yet
  they do attract followers, particularly the
  One Other and the Goddess. The One Who
  Is remains aloof; he has few worshippers
  and fewer temples. These beings are not
  "monsters"; they do not "raven"; they do not
  attack without reason, or exhibit emotion.
  Their purpose is fixed and icy clear. Why,
  then, would any choose to serve them?
  Quite simply, the attraction is greed: riches
  and power and whatever else their devotees
  may desire. These deities require co-
  operation from the inhabitants of a Plane in
  order to enter it and consume its substance.
  Yet this may not occur for millions of
  human years! They are, after all, Gods, and
  they possess divine patience. Worshippers
  may thus expect to live out their lives,
  receive their compensation, raise their
  children, and know that their descendants,
  too, will be safe and prosper, perhaps for
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    10
  millennia, before the Pariah Gods come to
  collect their due.
  The Concordat saved the nations of the
  continent from destruction. Folk returned to
  normal lives, had children, married, built
  homes and cities, and grew complaisant.
  Those who had been firebrands became
  plump bureaucrats. The flames of religious
  fervour burned low and guttered down.
  Distant lands accepted the idea of the
  Concordat: even far-off Llurusé [Livyánu],
  lost in its convoluted visions of its Shadow
  Gods, 
  accepted 
  the 
  inevitable. 
  The
  Mu'ugalavyáni allowed some of the more
  violent features of Vaomáhl [Vimúhla] and
  their Lord Hrézhö [Hrsh] to lapse, while the
  Salarvyáni erected ornate shrines to Lady
  Shiringgáyi on the islands of Lake Mrissútl.
  "All was as it had ever been," to quote the
  last line of the epic "Lament to the Wheel of
  Black."
  6. Looking to the Sky.
  In the year 253 A. P. ["After Pavár"], the
  Emperor, Meshkanúma Améssu III invited
  the High Priests of the Tlomitlányal to Béy
  Sü to advise him.
  [N. B. The first Engsvanyáli calendar dates
  from Pavár's birth. Various other notations
  were already in use: see below.]
  [N. B, Beginning with the Bednálljans, when
  a ruler is crowned, he or she chooses a
  "Throne Name" from one of the ancient lists
  of "Titles of Power." These are said to date
  from the Latter Times and before. Throne
  Names usually have no lexical meaning in
  any modern language. but do possess
  traditional connotations: e. g. bravery,
  wisdom, 
  magical 
  prowess, 
  etc.
  Unfortunately 
  for 
  historians, 
  different
  dynasties often used the same Throne
  Names: e.g Ssirandár, employed by the
  Bednálljans, the First Imperium, and the
  Engsvanyáli, resulting in some confusion.
  Compare the prevalence of "William" and
  "Henry" in Terran European history.  The
  Throne Name "Meshkanúma" connotes
  sophistication, eclectic taste, and sagacity.
  The second part of this name, "Améssu," is
  said to be a dynastic lineage-name, the
  significance of which is lost. The custom of
  adding a further meaningful Throne Title
  was adopted only during the Second
  Imperium: e.g. "The Stone upon Which the
  Universe Rests," "The Maiden of Beauty,"
  "Eternal Splendour," etc.  -- Translator]
  Meshkanúma was descended from Queen
  Nayári, the bloodthirsty founder of the First
  Imperium; yet he had little stomach for
  violence. It is written that he loved
  garments, gems, and fashions. His scholars
  strove to devise perfumes that could be
  infused into inks, so that one needed only
  touch a writing in order to smell the
  sweetness of flowers, the scent of a woman's
  hair, or the cool blue depths of a mountain
  lake. Meshkanúma had never shown much
  interest in religion: the gods of his ancestors
  held no fascination for him. He had almost
  abandoned Nayári's ancient capital of
  Purdánim for the elegance of Béy Sü, and
  Nayári's city thus fell into ruin and is now
  lost to history. When Pavár's followers
  appeared at his court, thus, he was quick to
  adopt Lady Evuén [Avánthe] as his patron.
  (It is said that he wished to choose Lady
  Dhalé [Dilinála], who is even more chaste
  and virginal, but she allows no males into
  her temples, and it would have been bad
  form to turn away an Emperor!)
  The priests laid their demands before the
  throne: a central council backed by Imperial
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    11
  power, advisors at court who must be
  consulted 
  in 
  religious 
  matters; 
  funds
  allocated to the building of new temples for
  the Tlomitlányal -- and, as a sop to the old
  Gods, for refurbishing the shrines of the
  Tlokiriqáluyal as well; more schools,
  academies, and libraries; Imperial posts and
  stipends for those clan leaders who chose to
  follow the new religion; and much else.
  They also added one further, secret clause:
  the Emperor must never worship the Pariah
  Gods or give any concession to their
  devotees again.
  Most of the cities of what is now Tsolyánu
  accepted, or at least were resigned, to
  Pavár's faith. His followers were encouraged
  to 
  donate 
  funds 
  and 
  lands 
  to 
  the
  establishments of his Gods. The third and
  fourth centuries after his passing were a
  period of consolidation, expansion, and
  stabilisation. There was still bitterness,
  however. To quote from a letter written by
  one Chorújja Ssánmirin, High Priest of
  Qúrgha [Sárku] in Ja'akáth [Jakálla], dated
  279 A. P.:
  "Not a blade of grass grows but some
  busybody priest of Evuén must be there to
  water it. The sun does not rise unless it is
  summoned up by one of Nallál's chanting
  hierophants. Even the dead are not buried
  until Ba'álk's officious embalmers have had
  their way! Is there aught left? Shall the rest
  of us take ship and seek our fortunes across
  the Deeps of Chanayága? Appeals go
  unheard, and the time-hallowed traditions of
  noble clans are ignored ..."
  Meshkanúma was followed by his eldest
  son, the Emperor Changgála, who hated the
  Tlomitlányal and sought to undo whatever
  Pavár's adherents had accomplished. His
  death in 310 A. P. was attributed to poison
  or perhaps to hostile magic. His nephew,
  Balakanúma I, then took the throne and
  devoted himself to Kerék [Karakán] and the
  army. He ruled for forty years, doubled the
  size of the realm, marched into Milumanayá
  and along the shores of the Northern Sea
  [what has now become the Desert of Sighs
  and the great plain of Yán Kór after the
  rising of the land]. His troops seized Hlekér
  [modern Ke'ér] from the remnants of the
  Dragon Warriors and the Lorún tribes, and
  went on to assault Saá Allaqí. They reached
  the shores of Lake Parunál somewhere near
  modern Káitlan, "where they halted to view
  the world ... "
  The priests of the Tlomitlányal had grown
  avaricious and hungry for power. The
  temples became landowners, repositories for
  gold and treasure, and storehouses for
  magical items from before the Time of
  Darkness and the Latter Times. The
  priesthoods added armies of scribes, who
  administered temple lands, animals, crops,
  crafts, businesses, and investments. As
  bureaucracy 
  flourished, 
  worship 
  and
  scholarship declined. Many priests became
  time-servers, 
  addicted 
  to 
  luxury 
  and
  privilege. "Become a priest," the adage says,
  "and know neither hunger nor calluses."
  And: "Pens are easier to wield than either
  swords or mattocks."
  By the year 600 A. P., priestly advisors at
  the Imperial court had become the real
  masters of the realm. The High Priest of
  Nallál [Hnálla] wielded more power than
  did the Emperor. The affairs of government
  and the police were the province of
  Chökhár's [Chegárra's] clergy. The High
  Adept of Kerék [Karakán] had charge of the
  army, and trade and economic affairs were
  managed jointly by the temples of Evuén
  and Thám [Avánthe and Thúmis]. The
  Tlokiriqáluyal played smaller parts in these
  affairs, and their membership and power
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    12
  decreased accordingly. They preferred to
  occupy specific regions instead, filling the
  highest posts there and governing like small
  states within the state. Thus, Vaomáhl
  [Vimúhla], the Lord of Flame, was served
  by the Verídh [Vríddi] clan in Fa'ásal
  [Fasíltum], and also by a coalition of "Red"
  clans in the south-western city of Thá'mis
  [Tumíssa]: Red Sun, Red Sword, Red
  Mountain, and Red Stone . The other Lords
  of Change "dug in" similarly. These regional
  principalities 
  could 
  have 
  become
  autonomous nation-states, but the tradition
  of a united empire was strong, and the
  armies of Béy Sü were too powerful. Fa'ásal
  did break away several times over the
  ensuing centuries, but always something
  occurred to return it to the fold.
  The Emperor was still venerated at Béy Sü:
  his ritual dignities were maintained, and lip-
  service was given to his glory, majesty, and
  power. Twelve Emperors, each named
  Tarishánde, came and went, surrounded by
  such luxury and decadence as had never
  been seen. The royal person was bathed by
  the delicate hands of princesses from a score
  of lands; he was fed from gem-encrusted
  platters by the scions of the noblest clans;
  his toilet was performed for him by jealous
  handmaidens. His every act -- even the most
  private, in bed with his concubines -- was
  observed by choruses of singers who
  immortalised each movement, each sigh of
  passion, in hymns and paeans of fulsome
  praise. His foot was never allowed to touch
  the ground but must always rest upon the
  bare back of a slave, and when -- if -- he
  travelled, his palanquin was like a veritable
  temple tower, borne by scores of chanting
  servitors, escorted by musicians, dancers,
  ceremonial guardsmen, and hundreds of
  chamberlains, each with an appointed rôle to
  play.
  The temples established their headquarters
  not in Béy Sü, where the intrigues of the old
  court and the ambitions of Imperial
  bureaucrats made matters difficult, but near
  Pavár's academy on Gánga Isle. Subordinate
  offices were set up in the major cities,
  backed by local clans and army Legions.
  [N. B. These have now been amalgamated
  into the "Palaces of the Realm" under the
  Second Imperium. -- Translator]
  The administration of the crumbling empire
  needed reform. In 800 A. P., one Tirisán
  Jakóna, a Patriarch [Tsolyáni: Tsémelkoi] of
  Ba'álk [Belkhánu] took the office of Temple
  Proctor in Tí Horúa [Thráya]. He set up
  councils that put forward far-reaching
  changes: simplified tax laws, issued new
  agricultural regulations, set up a tribunal to
  hear inter-clan disputes, organised a corps of
  market police and another of road guards,
  revised the criminal statutes, restructured the
  educational system, etc. To his colleagues'
  surprise, he married a Licentiate [a high-
  level 
  Scholar-Priestess: 
  Tsolyáni
  Jokáltorakoi] of Qúrgha [Sárku]; this
  woman, Milézha Tlalésu, did much to
  reorganise the temples of the Tlokiriqáluyal,
  bringing them into the government at every
  level. How this pair got on together in
  private life is not recorded, although a
  contemporary text does quote an adage that
  may be based on the couple: "Blood and
  blades give death and pain; brown [Sárku]
  and gold [Belkhánu] give twice again!"
  The armies of the Priestkings marched,
  fought, put down rebellions, and dispatched
  foreign foes. They made treaties without
  regard for the Emperor, established policies,
  and structured society as they saw fit. The
  Bird of Empire had risen.
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    13
  7. A King Departs.
  As Béy Sü decayed, Gánga throve. A new
  seaport was constructed at Pétris Layóda,
  and pottery kilns, wineries, fisheries, looms,
  and other crafts were encouraged with
  subsidies and concessions.
  The last Emperor, Tarishánde XIII, lived in
  the cavernous palace of his ancestors in Béy
  Sü. One by one his courtiers deserted him,
  his wives and concubines departed, and his
  guards abandoned their posts. He had grown
  old in gilded exile; his days were devoted to
  writing poetry and composing spring songs
  in the Haghákhte style [a musical tradition
  of the early Bednálljan court]. One day in
  848 A. P., a servant came to inform him that
  a group of priests from Gánga waited at the
  palace gates, and that these included one
  Ha'úlo Kirisáyu, the Chief Executioner. The
  ageing Emperor is said to have replied,
  "Now let us nobly end what ignobility
  began!"
  [N. B. This is a reference to the methods
  used by his ancestor, Queen Nayári, to
  establish the First Imperium long before. --
  Translator]
  His chamberlains refused to allow the
  Emperor to go down to meet his fate,
  however. They took him -- with force, it is
  said -- and bundled him out of the city
  through a secret way. Travelling by night,
  they worked their way north, stopping at
  villages known to be loyal to the old
  dynasty, 
  seeking 
  food 
  from 
  peasant
  clanhouses, and adopting one disguise after
  another. The soldiers of the priesthoods
  pursued.
  What follows is legend: the Emperor
  reached the shores of the Northern Sea. His
  followers numbered about two hundred,
  including three faithful wives, two dozen
  soldiers, several children, and a contingent
  of servants. He found a small vessel and
  travelled on until he reached the low peaks
  of the Outer Islands [where Ke'ér, Mákhis,
  Chudrák, and other cities stand today].
  The lord of the city of Mké'ath [Mákhis?]
  promised the Emperor a ship and a pilot
  familiar with the Pentrúrtra Deeps. This man
  also sent a message to the pursuing temple
  troops, 
  asking 
  one 
  Fshétra 
  [modern
  Tsolyáni Psé: 1.6534 lbs.] of gold for the
  monarch's head. His pursuers agreed, though
  they lacked the authority -- or the gold -- to
  make such a commitment.
  Plays, epic poems, and songs describe the
  mournful scene: the last Emperor, muffled in
  his ebon cloak, seated upon a boulder at the
  edge of the misty northern sea, surrounded
  by bales, bundles, family members, soldiers,
  and servitors. The Yán Koryáni ship did not
  appear. It had never been sent.
  Coincidence saved the Emperor. One of the
  tall, black ships belonging to the inhabitants
  of the unknown lands across the ocean
  beyond the North Pole happened to pass by.
  These aloof and rather unfriendly wanderers
  occasionally come to trade, even to this day.
  Thinking this was the vessel sent for his
  party, the Emperor and his officers haled it.
  Its captain seems to have been a man of
  noble -- or perhaps humorous? -- character.
  He did not explain the error but took the
  party aboard and put out to sea just as the
  enemy clambered over the headland and
  swept down onto the beach.
  What transpired thereafter is known from
  the tale of Nekkhúma Dhalásh, the Captain
  of the Emperor's bodyguard. This man
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    14
  managed to return to Béy Sü after many
  years, where the Priests of Thúmis took
  down 
  his 
  account 
  and 
  subsequently
  published it. [This book is lost, although an
  abridgement in Yán Koryáni survives.]
  According to this, the Emperor was taken to
  a dark, cold city situated on a deep fjord
  beneath frowning mountains, where he was
  treated with civility. The city was attacked,
  however, by local foes, and the Emperor and
  some of his people were carried off as
  prizes. They languished as prisoners for
  several years and were then offered as "gifts"
  to a race of beings with transparent, glassy
  carapaces [doubtless the Hokún], who
  paraded them as curiosities in golden cages.
  The Emperor's wives and daughters were
  forcibly "married" to human mercenaries
  who served these creatures. At length the
  Emperor offered to gamble for his freedom
  with his captors. He won the series of
  wagers and was set free, together with most
  of his party and much treasure. At this point
  Nekkhúma Dhalásh left his comrades and
  began to work his way back north towards
  home. It is said -- though there is no proof--
  that the Emperor elected to continue on
  southward, reaching the tropical ocean
  homeland of the nonhuman Chíma, where he
  endured further  vicissitudes. He is said to
  have travelled, then, along the Naqsái coasts,
  through Livyánu, and so back to the Empire.
  There is indeed a record of a tall, sun-
  blackened old man who appeared in Ja'akáth
  and surprised everyone by employing the
  "high" speech and manners of the old court,
  some thirty years before.
  8. The Bird Soars High.
  By the end of the first millennium after
  Pavár, the Priestkings had established their
  rule throughout what is now Tsolyánu.
  Mu'aghátl 
  [Mu'ugalavyá] 
  fell 
  to 
  the
  Engsvanyáli through the slowness of its
  rulers to perceive the threat. The priesthood
  of Vaomáhl [Vimúhla] in Khá Khekkár
  [Khéiris] opened the city gates, and
  Engsvanyáli troops swiftly secured the
  palace of the Cha'nálish Governors, then
  marched on to take Ssu'útakh [modern
  Ssa'átis, which was not the capital or even a
  large city in those days]. Greater resistance
  was overcome at Nálche [Chi'í Mu'úgha]
  and at Syethóru [probably Trahlú]. The
  Priestkings' forces could not capture the
  ancient metropolis of Shóshche [Ch'óchi]
  but besieged it for over twenty years. The
  place had been a powerful military base
  before the Time of Darkness, and the Lords
  of the Latter Times had stockpiled further
  weapons and magical devices there. The
  Dragon Warriors reduced it to ruin, and in
  Bednálljan times only the temples of the
  One Other and the Goddess of the Pale Bone
  continued to attract pilgrims. Shóshche
  [Ch'óchi] was still impregnable, however;
  its labyrinths and caverns were well
  defended, and sorcerous power -- energy
  from the Planes Beyond -- was so strong that
  it was said that a child could snap its fingers
  and cause magical sparks! The Priestkings
  perforce had to wait.
  Llurusé [Livyánu] was another fortress the
  Engsvanyáli could not breach. They did the
  next best thing: they sent teachers, scholars,
  merchants, and trade emissaries. Some of
  these prospered; others were slain or sent
  home in chains. One poor fellow who tried
  to enter the sealed city of Dhél Shé [Dlásh]
  was transformed by magic into a hairy ape-
  woman with a beetle's head. He could not
  speak and so lived for a number of years in
  the Governor's zoo in Ja'akáth before anyone
  thought to check for ensorcelment.
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    15
  The Livyáni believed they could maintain
  their independence, but in fact their culture,
  their language, and their society were
  undergoing unnoticeable yet radical changes.
  [N. B. The Duruób language that succeeded
  Llyáni became increasingly filled with
  Engsvanyáli phonological, lexical, and
  morphological borrowings.]
  The names of the first Priestkings are not
  recorded. They are referred to in the records
  only as "First Priest of Nallál," "Lord High
  Priest of Kerék," "Chief Priestess of Evuén,"
  etc. Their identities were vested in the
  temples. The histories record that there were
  some "thirty to forty" Ecclesiarchs of Gánga
  during this period.
  [N. B. The very name of the island came to
  signify "(the) Religion," and the modern
  Tsolyáni verb gadál "to worship" comes
  from gánga dléè  "Mighty Gánga." In later
  times a folk-etymology grew up to the effect
  that Éngsvan hla Gánga meant "Empire of
  the Gods"; this is linguistically incorrect,
  however.; it really signifies "Island of
  Gánga." -- Translator]
  The Priestkings continued the work of the
  Bednálljan Emperors, adding to the network
  of Sákbe-roads that criss-crosses the Five
  Empires today: monumental, three-tiered
  thoroughfares, the topmost level of which is
  reserved for Imperial messengers and
  officials, the 
  second 
  for 
  nobles 
  and
  important persons, and the lowest and
  broadest for cargo, slaves, and common
  traffic. Guard towers were constructed at
  intervals, and the approaches to each city 
  were heavily fortified. Roads had been built
  before but never on this scale. The
  Engsvanyáli also continued the Bednálljan
  custom 
  of 
  Pashátl 
  [modern 
  Tsolyáni
  Ditlána: the razing and rebuilding of
  decaying 
  cities 
  at 
  regular 
  intervals].
  Subterranean shrines were buried, too, but
  were left with access tunnels, while most
  surface buildings were torn down, filled in,
  and re-erected according to comprehensive
  city plans. Ditlána remains an important
  practice 
  during 
  the 
  current 
  Second
  Imperium.
  Still 
  another 
  feature 
  of 
  Engsvanyáli
  administration has survived into modern
  times: the network of telepaths, who
  transmit short, important messages across
  great distances -- not always successfully.
  The Priestkings needed to maintain contact
  between places thousands of Tsán apart; the
  aircars and underground tubeway vehicles of
  the Great Ancients from before the Time of
  Darkness 
  were 
  rare, 
  expensive, 
  and
  untrustworthy. Interplanar "nexus points," a
  method  developed during the Latter Times
  when technology had faltered, were also
  undependable: who knew whether a given
  Plane was really one's own, or whether it
  was a close look-alike? Not even a great
  scholar like Wába of Ká Kokóth [a city now
  unknown] could be entirely certain. His
  "Almanac," whose full title was "The
  Periplus of Farther Voyaging," was the best
  guide, but even it was fallible.
  [N. B. This invaluable treatise is now
  largely lost, although two or three leaves
  are known to exist. -- Translator]
  Portions of Tsavrátl [Salarvyá], large tracts
  of what is now Hekkhé [Yán Kór], Ssédh
  Eléq [Saá Allaqí], and even Vá Dhepéya
  [Háida Pakála], across the southern ocean,
  sent emissaries to offer submission and
  allegiance. These additions seem to have
  been motivated by greed, rather than by fear
  of Engsvanyáli military power. There was
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    16
  little likelihood of invasion by Engsvanyáli
  troops. At most, a "Prefect" might be sent,
  with orders to develop trade, discover useful
  local 
  products, 
  and 
  establish 
  friendly
  relations. 
  Trade 
  made 
  for 
  prosperity;
  happiness was a heap of golden Suór; and
  the goal of diplomacy was a stream of goods
  entering one's land. As the poet says:
  "Now the bird of gold and white has flown.
  Now it soars up unto the sun.
  But even the sun is not as bright as its proud
  beauty."
  Pantínu of Pecháno
  9. Faltering...
  History is a series of cycles, ups and downs,
  rises and falls, but few things ever really die.
  During the first century of the second
  millennium, heretics and rebels rose against
  the Priestkings. One after another, the
  temples of Sárku, Grugánu, and Vimúhla
  sounded the trumpets of revolt.
  [N. B. By this time, many of the modern
  names of the Gods, cities, etc. were coming
  into common usage. Pavár's language must
  have sounded archaic and stilted, and
  ordinary folk employed the "new dialects,"
  which were still Engsvanyáli but different
  from the old "High Tongue." -- Translator]
  Sárku's quarrel was with the Twenty-Second
  Priestking of Gánga, who seems to have
  been poorly advised of the intrigues
  obtaining between the temples of Change.
  On the advice of the temple of Vimúhla, this
  Emperor promulgated a decree commanding
  that an inventory of all ancient devices and
  weapons be made, checked by Imperial
  inspectors, and submitted to Gánga. The
  grim masters of Sru'úm [the City of Sárku]
  refused. Further envoys were sent, but came
  back empty-handed. Fearful of the rising
  power 
  of 
  localised 
  governments, 
  the
  Priestking then sent an army. When this did
  not return, he sent a larger force. This, too,
  disappeared. At length the High Adept of
  Sárku 
  appeared 
  in 
  Ja'akál 
  ["Middle
  Engsvanyáli" for old Ja'akáth -- modern
  Jakálla] where the Priestking had come to
  hold court.
  "Your soldiers," said the Adept, "fill the
  halls of grim Srükárum, the Lord of the
  Despairing Dead. No more can be sent
  without overcrowding that puissant Lord's
  facilities. I beg you to find some other
  assignment for your troops."
  "That cannot be," the Priestking replied.
  "Disobedience cannot be brooked."
  "Then I must speak to skull-visaged Lord
  Gereshmá'a and see if he can accommodate
  your folk."
  "This impudence also cannot be borne!"
  The Adept shrugged and replied, "As you
  will. Then do you join them!"
  The Priestking vanished, only to reappear a
  moment later, his hair white, his features
  wrinkled and sagging. His limbs trembled.
  "Alas, that you could only stay for lunch!"
  remarked the Adept gently.
  -- Jaruén the Historian
  A treaty was subsequently signed that gave
  the City of Sárku most of the autonomy it
  had demanded.
  Grugánu's clergy in Poróth [Púrdimal]
  complained of oppression by the priests of
  Qón. The latter felt it their duty to root out
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    17
  demons, restore tombs and sepulchres to
  their proper occupants, and combat Change
  wherever it might be  found. This ran
  counter to Grugánu's tenets, and the
  Concordat had no force in the Underworlds.
  Again, soldiers had to be sent -- this time to
  both temples -- and the Priestkings again
  managed to avoid open revolt.
  Fa'ásal [Fasíltum] was different. The Verídh
  [Vríddi] clan had long sought independence.
  The Bednálljans had sacked the city twice,
  and a few Verídh hostages still occupied
  "guestrooms" in the dismal Tólek Kána Pits
  south of Béy Sü. The Priestkings were able
  to work with the Vimúhla-worshipping clans
  of Thá'mis [Tumíssa] and elsewhere, but the
  proud Verídh were not to be persuaded by a
  little gold or a few concessions. In the year
  1,212 A. P. they closed their gates and
  refused to send taxes or troops to Gánga.
  One of the first named Priestkings, Ssirandár
  I [distinct, of course from the Bednálljan
  Ssirandár I, whose name and titles the
  Priestkings freely re-used], who ruled from
  1,254 to 1,309 A. P., crossed the Vales of
  Ninár [the Desert of Eyági, then apparently
  quite fertile] and laid siege to Fa'ásal,
  destroying the water supply and canals so
  that the city suffers from a shortage of water
  to this day. The Verídh capitulated, and the
  Priestkings had the good sense to pardon
  their leaders, increase investment, establish
  temples to other deities besides the Flame
  Lord (e.g. the architect Pirundáyu was
  dispatched to build the great shrine to
  Belkhánu in Fasíltum), and offer high posts
  in the government to those who would co-
  operate. This did not entirely succeed --
  those who still rebelled were quietly killed
  or sent into exile -- but it did pacify some of
  the hotheads and give the Priestkings
  breathing space. The problem was to return
  again, of course, and even today it remains a
  thorn in the side of the Seal Emperor of
  Tsolyánu.
  10. And Rising Again...
  The trend toward stagnation and rebellion
  slowly reversed itself, and decay was
  transformed 
  into 
  political 
  expansion,
  construction, 
  literary 
  and 
  artistic
  achievement, and the stabilisation of social
  mores. This is called the First Epoch. The
  list of its Emperors is as follows:
  Ssirandár I: 1,254 - 1,309; founder of the
  first hereditary dynasty; a strong and
  intelligent ruler.
  Báshdis Mssá I: 1,315 (?) - 1,376. "A
  wonderful and kind man" (?).
  Ssirandár II: 1,376 - 1,413; "the Fool.."
  Feleshka'án: 1,413, - 1,444; a nephew
  descended from a collateral line; known
  as "the Glutton."
  Ssirandár III: 1,445 - 1,447; nothing is
  known of him.
  Báshdis Mssá II: 1,448 - 1,501; ordered the
  keeping of records in "The Great Book
  of the Priestkings" at Gánga.
  Dhárumesh Mssá I: 1,501 - 1,543; founded
  the great Library at Tumíssa. Also
  ordered an academy of devices and
  sciences to be erected there as well;
  there is no trace of this today.
  Ssirandár IV: 1,543 - 1,609; called a "ninny"
  by his contemporaries.
  Ssirandár V: 1,609 - 1,666; titled "The
  Victorious 
  over 
  the 
  Foes 
  of
  Humankind"; conquered Pecháno and
  the east.
  Ssirandár VI: 1,666 - 1,669: built the "City
  of the Nine Walls," now lost.
  Báshdis Mssá III: 1,669 - 1,712; "The
  Great": established the "Circles" [the
  system of ranked levels] 
  of 
  the
  priesthoods; he also restored ancient
  Bednálljan titles and fiefs.
  Dharumésh Mssá II: 1,712 - 1,723; poisoned
  by his own chamberlains after the
  discovery of "ignobilities."
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    18
  Choléyn Mssá I: 1,723 - 1,735; First
  Engsvanyáli 
  Queen; 
  worshipped
  Avánthe and patronised agriculture.
  Choléyn Mssá II: 1,735 - 1,800; daughter of
  the above; worshipped Dilinála; had
  "237 female lovers."
  Nemándu I: 1,800 - 1,829; cousin of the
  foregoing; founder of a new line.
  Báshdis Mssá IV: 1,825 - 1,838; co-ruled
  with the preceding; in his reign the
  Plague of the White Hand decimated
  Urmish, which lay desolate and empty
  for nearly a century afterward.
  Arkhúan Mssá: 1,838 - 1,838; died of the
  horrible plague named after him;
  fortunately, this disease does not occur
  often.
  [Gap. No cause is known.]
  Báshdis Mssá V: 1,851 - 1,905; restored
  government, built roads and fortresses.
  Nemándu II: 1,905 - 1,941; old when he
  took the throne; ruled through advisors.
  Lived on nothing but bread and Hmélu-
  milk.
  Nemándu III: 1,941 - 1,979; weak and venal;
  sold the temple of Sárku in Jakálla to an
  enterprising merchant who tore it down
  and traded the stone for Chlén-hides and
  a shipment of wine! He subsequently
  vanished.
  Ssirandár VI: 1,979; died within a month
  after accession.
  Dhárumesh Mssá III: 1,979 - 2,010;
  excellent administrator; reformed the
  currency; developed the use of "writs"
  that could be cashed in distant cities.
  Báshdis Mssá VI: 2,010 - 2,017; "crushed by
  a demon" (?).
  Dhárumesh Mssá IV: 2,017 - 2,026; "the
  Singer of Gentle Songs" (?). Devised
  the "picture books," in which Other-
  Planar sorcery is used 
  to 
  cause
  miniature pictures to move and act out
  portions of the text when one touches
  them; a few are said to "draw in" the
  reader, letting him experience certain
  scenes of the story!
  Mísa Tanío: 2,019 - 2,027; Saá Allaqiyáni
  Queen and co-ruler with the above;
  executed as a "traitoress" when the next
  Emperor seized power.
  Ssirandár VII: 2,027 - 2,071; "He Who
  Lived Too Long" (?). "Nothing more is
  known of him. It is better that way."
  Báshdis Mssá VII: 2,071 - 2,096; violent
  revolution, civil war, the destruction of
  temples, and the rise of Arkhúan
  Milénde, "He Who Hates the Gods"; the
  Legion of the Seekers of Indelible
  Victory" was sent east, through Mihállu,
  into the barren Plains of Glass, where it
  disappeared.
  [Gap. ???]
  Nemándu IV: 2,099 - 2,111; general from
  another lineage 
  who 
  restored 
  the
  empire, ousted greedy priests, and
  favoured the army.
  Dhárumesh Mssá V: 2,111 - 2,161; "ruled in
  darkness." He may have been blind.
  Kakkónen Chré: 2,161 - 2,173; usurper from
  Jakálla who seized Gánga with a fleet of
  pirate ships.
  Ssirandár VIII: 2,173 - 2,190; cousin of
  Báshdis Mssá VII; returned from a
  "voyage around the world" to retake
  Gánga and slay the usurper.
  Báshdis Mssá VIII: 2,190 - 2,232; the
  "Builder of Tombs" and "Restorer of
  Catacombs"; worshipped Belkhánu.
  Dhárumesh Mssá VI: 2,232 - 2,341; loved
  fashion and etiquette; devised the
  "Twenty-Four Forms" of formal dress
  worn at affairs of state.
  Ssirandár 
  IX: 
  2,341 
  - 
  2,364; 
  mild,
  vacillating, and pleasant; too weak to
  maintain his grip upon the Empire.
  Tettukánu Dléè I: 2,364 - 2,370; the
  "Slaughterer of Children"; a cruel and
  ambitious usurper who seized power but
  could not hold it.
  Báshdis Mssá IX: 2,364 - 2,369; ruled only
  in Béy Sü; died in battle against the
  preceding.
  Báshdis Mssá X: 2,369 - ?; a twelve-year-
  old child; disappeared from Béy Sü;
  thought to have been abducted by
  priests of the One Other, who wished to
  use him against Tettukánu Dléè.
  [Civil war, and the end of the Age.]
  The First Epoch was indeed a time of
  burgeoning artistry, crafts, music, and much
  more. Márya, the greatest Engsvanyáli
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    19
  sculptor, lived during the reign of Báshdis
  Mssá I (1,315 - 1,376 A. P.). He employed
  one Nía Alél, a Livyáni serving maid, as the
  model for his renowned work: "Woman of
  Tsámra." Nía is now considered the paragon
  of female beauty throughout the Five
  empires. Another of Márya's masterpieces,
  "Thúmis Ascending to the Sun," is one of
  the prized possessions of the Governor of
  Tumíssa.
  The story of Ksárul's battle with his fellow
  Gods is told in several epics. One of the
  oldest is the "Lament [or: 'Song'] of the
  Reaper of Sighs," which consists of nearly
  3,700 verses. It speaks of the legendary hero,
  Hrúgga, who battled the servitors of the
  Demon Origób and sought the treasure of
  the Black Pit of Nekkuthané beneath the city
  of Lù-Ishátur. This poem is probably
  Bednálljan 
  in 
  origin, 
  although 
  its
  Engsvanyáli recension is more popular.
  Another major epic poem of this period is
  "The Lament to the Wheel of Black," which
  dates to the reign of Ssirandár IV (1,543 -
  1,609 A. P.). The longest versions of this
  poem include about 250,000 verses! It is
  probably a translation from Bednálljan or
  still older texts of the Fishermen Kings and
  the Empire of Llyán of Tsámra. No
  Engsvanyáli author or translator is attested,
  and 
  there 
  are 
  several 
  recensions 
  in
  Engsvanyáli from various parts of the
  Priestkings' Empire.. The poem narrates the
  story of the Battle of Dórmoron Plain, and
  the subsequent imprisonment of Ksárul in
  the Blue Room. Pavár, too, gives a version
  of this legend in his "Scrolls." This is
  summarised below:
  Mighty Lord Ksárul, the youngest of the
  Gods, gazed about him and saw none who
  were his match for knowledge, cleverness,
  and power. Then did he speak to Lord
  Hnálla:
  "Lord of Light, know that I grow weary of
  Stability and the peaceful cycles of time:
  transition from dawn to dusk, and dusk back
  to dawn. Verily, I yearn for Change."
  "Your desire is your own glory," responded
  great Hnálla, dazzling of countenance.
  "Naught but your own aggrandisement."
  Ksárul became wroth. He summoned the
  Demons of the Dark, the Dwellers in
  Shadow, the Spirits of the Aerial Realm of
  Tu'unkélmu, and many of the little races,
  including the Mihálli, the Ragáth, and those
  humans who loved him. He then marched
  forth against the Lords of Stability: Hnálla,
  Thúmis, Avánthe, Karakán, and Belkhánu,
  together with their Cohorts and their allies.
  Battle was joined, and the struggle continued
  on from age to age, world to world, and
  Plane to Plane, from the pinnacle of Thénu
  Thendráya Peak to the Pylons that loom at
  the Farthest Limits of Time, those Gates that
  guard the Barriers of the Many Planes from
  the Incursion of the Null.
  Lord Ksárul's creatures warred mightily, as
  did his foes. The other Lords of Change
  joined on Lord Ksárul's side, and conflict
  flared all across the Worlds. At length, the
  four Tlokiriqáluyal perceived that Ksárul's
  arrogance and impatience were not to be
  borne, and they left him. Vimúhla and
  Dlamélish withdrew and became neutral
  first, while Hrü'ü and Sárku continued to
  support him. Aeons passed in bitter warfare,
  so it is said, but in the end Ksárul's last allies
  abandoned him, making a compact with
  Lord Hnálla: Ksárul was to be contained and
  kept from further activity, but he was not to
  be destroyed, humiliated, or even greatly
  weakened since this would overset the
  balance.
  The Deities then marshalled their forces on
  Dórmoron Plain: "The Armageddon of the
  Gods." Where or what this is, is not known
  [it is not the place of this name located in
  Mu'ugalavyá today.] Ksárul's forces were
  eventually defeated and driven from this
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    20
  Plane, and he himself was taken prisoner. He
  was then imprisoned in the "Blue Room," a
  secret, pocket dimension hidden among the
  greater Planes. There, the Doomed Prince
  sleeps, lit by sconces of indigo flame, attired
  in a robe of black velvet, with an ebon staff
  tipped with a gleaming azure gem shaped
  like a great beetle in his hands.
  The nine Gods erected walls all around the
  Blue Room to prevent their prisoner from
  escaping and to keep his followers from
  rescuing him. Each wall has a gate, to which
  there is a Key. Each Key in turn has two
  Wards, which must first be used to pass the
  Guardians and activate the Key. By
  agreement, each Plane must have a complete
  set of the Keys and Wards.
  [N. B. It is said that at least three of
  Tékumel's Keys are known; if so, they are
  among the most secret and carefully
  protected of all treasures. -- Translator]
  The walls which hold Lord Ksárul in his
  prison were erected, in order, by Hnálla,
  Hrü'ü, Karakán, Vimúhla, Thúmis, Sárku,
  Avánthe, Dlamélish, and Belkhánu. It is
  said, moreover, that there are actually TEN
  walls, the tenth and outermost being the
  work of the One Other, who co-operated
  with the nine Gods, fearing the overweening
  ambition of the Blue Lord. The One Who Is
  and the Goddess of the Pale Bone alone took
  no part.
  So mighty is Lord Ksárul that even asleep
  and in bondage, he controls great powers
  throughout the many universes. Were he to
  be freed and awake, he would once more
  challenge the Gods for suzerainty. This time,
  his servants claim, he would be victorious.
  Scroll IX, Stanzas 17-54.
  The "Paean of Psankothóth of Nirukkái,"
  various recensions of the "Epic of Hrúgga,"
  and many other epics were also composed
  during this period.
  The romantic poet, Yetíl of Gánga, is also a
  product of this age. Some sources claim he
  was Bednálljan, and that his "Odes" are no
  more than a translation into Engsvanyáli.
  Others assert the opposite. It is also possible
  that there were two -- or more -- poets who
  used the pen-name "Yetíl." The clear, lyric
  beauty of the odes of his "Second Bouquet"
  identifies his work, however, as surely as
  Pavár's simple prose stands above that of his
  many imitators. Yetíl's "Odes" have been
  translated into all of the major languages of
  the Five Empires today.
  The armies of the Priestkings were large and
  complex. Legion titles, standards, and
  strengths were entered into "The Book of the
  Priestkings" on Gánga. The First Legion,
  which goes back to the Bednálljan "Legion
  of the Foremost," is frequently mentioned in
  Engsvanyáli sources. Another great Legion,
  "The Heroes of the Lord of Wisdom," served
  as sentinels for Pavár's tomb on Gánga.
  These troops wore steel-grey armour and
  collars set with grey-blue star sapphires.
  When Gánga sank, centuries later, this same
  Legion still stood guard over the shrine and
  elected to go down with the island. At the
  Empire's height, the Engsvanyáli armies
  consisted of 111 numbered Legions, plus
  quartermaster 
  units, 
  light 
  infantry,
  skirmishers, slingers, and archers [who were
  not 
  considered 
  as 
  "legions" 
  by 
  the
  Engsvanyáli]. These were not all active at
  any one time, of course.
  Many clans came to prominence during the
  First Epoch: the Might of Gánga, Golden
  Bough (whose members often served as
  Governors of the South), Golden Sunburst,
  etc. The high clans of the Bednálljans were
  at first eclipsed but were later returned to
  power: the Clan of Sea Blue, the Cloak of
  Azure Gems, the High Clan of Ke'ér, the
  Sweet Singers of Nakomé, the Sword of
  Fire, and countless others.
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    21
  The concept of a priestly council that elected
  its leaders was abandoned in the reign of
  Ssirandár V (1,609 - 1,666 A. P.) Succession
  to the throne of Gánga was then made
  hereditary, as were the posts of High Priest
  and Adept in many of the temples.
  Membership on the subsequent "advisory"
  council was based upon ancestry, prestige,
  favours, and money.
  The Empire strengthened its grasp upon
  what are now Yán Kór, Mu'ugalavyá, and
  Milumanayá. Saá Allaqí took the strange
  step of deposing its indigenous ruler and
  putting an Engsvanyáli governor in his
  place. The armies of the Empire pushed east,
  through what is now Mihállu. Along the
  southern coast, the Priestkings' generals
  encountered 
  little 
  resistance 
  from 
  the
  inhabitants of eastern Salarvyá. Indeed, the
  priestesses of the goddess Shiringgáyi
  helped, using powerful weapons of the great
  Ancients, to subdue the worshippers of
  Hichéggeth Qúrgha [modern Black Qárqa]
  in the City of Líü-Sánmü [Tsa'avtúlgu?].
  The kidnapping of the boy-king, Báshdis
  Mssá X, had unforeseen consequences: the
  clergy of several temples warred against the
  temples of the Pariah Gods, and then rose up
  against Gánga herself. Religious strife added
  a new dimension to the ongoing secular civil
  war. 
  The 
  Vríddi 
  declared 
  Fasíltum
  independent; Teshéngtu Tlekólmü, "the
  Hammer of the West," did likewise in
  Tumíssa; the northern regions of what is
  now Yán Kór slipped away, led by a clever,
  venal Governor named Arumél; he, in turn,
  was followed by a man of even less
  amicable disposition: Kriyór "the Unraveller
  of Skeins." Salarvyá, Mihállu, and the east
  also left the empire. All that remained were
  the western province of Mu'ugalavyá. The
  only conquests recorded during this long
  period of dissolution were the Tsoléi
  Archipelago and the southern regions of
  cold, northern N'lüss.
  11. A Plethora of Birds...
  The Second Epoch of Engsvanyáli history is
  muddled and complex. There are dozens of
  competing "dynasties," some of which
  preceded other, later dynasties, while others
  must have been contemporary, ruling
  simultaneously in different locales, with
  different capitals. Scholars do not agree on
  which of these "dynasties" succeeded one
  another, and which were contemporary,
  however. Depending upon the historian,
  Engsvanyáli history may thus be a thousand
  years longer or a thousand years shorter! All
  of these semi-autonomous states are called
  "Engsvanyáli," 
  however, 
  because 
  they
  employed the Engsvanyáli language, all
  professed the same pantheon, and all traced
  their origins and right to rule to the
  Priestkings of the First Epoch. Some
  scholars believe the Second Epoch lasted as
  long as 4,000 years; others think it endured
  for no more than 2,500, and a few argue that
  was shorter still.
  Some of the smaller dynasties were
  interesting and colourful: e.g. the Blue
  Faience Dynasty of Kharigár [Khirgár] was
  ruled by Norómbe Sékha, a woman of "such
  surpassing ugliness that even the Ghár-
  beasts of the river and the Chlén-beasts of
  the fields shut their eyes when she passed."
  The Priestking Shekkéndu Ssá of Zhekkát
  [Sokátis] so loved his dogs and cats that he
  deified them, causing his people to revolt
  and throw him into a pit to be eaten by his
  own animals, who had been starved for the
  purpose. It is recorded that the beasts loyally
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    22
  refused, and eventually he was freed and
  restored to his throne in triumph! Nashkólen
  Mssá of the Dynasty of Eternal Victory, who
  dwelt in Chrél [Thri'íl?], sold his lands,
  people, and all his goods to pay the fee of a
  street prostitute with whom he had become
  enamoured. Pantínu the Poet, who lived at
  the court of "King" Homunéndu, the Satrap
  of Pecháno, left volumes of legends, poetry,
  and love songs. Fortunately, he also left his
  master's court just before the King failed in
  casting a powerful spell; the entire city and
  its environs were "eaten," it is said, by the
  Demon Ge'én. Pantínu fled to Gánga, where
  he married the great-granddaughter of
  Báshdis Mssá VIII [or possibly IX -- the
  sources are not clear].
  Gánga itself continued as a major centre.
  Repeated demands upon other "Imperial
  capitals" sometimes brought submission and
  tribute; just as often, an upstart state might
  haughtily return the messenger with his
  message sewed into his mouth!
  The Second Epoch was a period of great
  artistic, military, and scientific production.
  The Munificent Municipality of Zru'ó, the
  Singing Tower of Cháimu, the Pale Jade
  Pavilion in Tsatsayágga, the Fortress of Ten
  Thousand Gleaming Spears, and many other
  edifices, 
  monuments, 
  and 
  cities 
  were
  constructed, and some are still considered
  wonders of the world.
  The calligrapher Aruchúè's work on "The
  Book of the Priestkings" was the envy of the
  Gods themselves. A dozen schools of
  painting 
  arose, 
  including 
  the 
  delicate
  Hrunusántle style. Books with magical
  "moving" pictures were produced; these
  contained stories, poems, legends, and
  history.
  Lady Nettukirés Ssönmarán composed her
  "Sixty-three Treatises on the Exquisite
  Nuances of Music," as well as her "Musical
  Modes," in certain of which are written
  hymns and odes to the Gods and the Races
  Beyond.
  Khuoláz of Laigás "the Strategist," Liyuráin
  of Tsámra, and Hirkkulméshru the Dwarf,
  the founders of modern military science,
  date from this period, as does Mshurúish,
  "the Killer of Akhó," the greatest authority
  on naval tactics.
  The priestesses of Avánthe at Tumíssa
  produced thirty volumes of "The Scroll of
  Knowing Those Things Which Rejoice in
  the Soil"; Pa'akhán of Khéiris compiled
  "The Book of Presences," now mostly lost,
  which described every known demon and
  interplanar 
  race; 
  "The 
  Book 
  of 
  the
  Fourteenth Gate," by Chiyuváz of Náth Sùnù
  [perhaps a city in Livyánu?], a copy of
  which exists in the Oval Palace at Tsámra,
  also deals with other-planar travel and the
  geography of the Many Planes. In "The
  Redaction of the Orange-Red Flame,"
  Chúvan 
  Khalúmis 
  Vríddi 
  discussed
  Vimúhla's eighty-seven Aspects. He was the
  leading expert on the Aspects of the Gods
  generally, and dozens of students came to
  study under him in Fasíltum. "The Scrolls of
  the Paths of Burning," kept in the secret
  temple of Vimúhla in Dó Cháka, are also
  attributed to this author. The demons of
  Hrü'ü, Sárku, and their Cohorts were
  detailed by Vu'é of Nofér [Nuférsh in
  Livyánu?], but this tome disappeared when
  the wizard himself vanished. The dramatist,
  Ressúma Tlángtu, also dates from this
  period, as does the mime, Nénu Bashántla,
  and Cholu'é Vindétha, the virtuoso of the
  Ténturen, the favoured stringed instrument
  of the classical courts. Many genres of both
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    23
  prose and poetry were created, including the
  Zhurúllan Odes, the Style of Hakosénde, the
  Lyric of the Singing Bird, the Standard of
  Mi'iltesh Khéssa of Khéiris, etc.
  [N. B. The fragmentation of the empire was
  also responsible for the emergence of local
  dialects of the Engsvanyáli language. The
  Engsvanyáli 
  of 
  western 
  Mu'ugalavyá
  developed two series of aspirated and
  glottalised consonants, masculine-feminine
  gender 
  distinctions, 
  post-verbal 
  clitics
  denoting tenses and aspects, and other
  features. The dialects of Yán Kór dropped
  medial vowels in favour of tongue-twisting
  consonant 
  clusters, 
  and 
  borrowed
  morphological distinctions and lexemes
  from the underlying Lorún tongues. The
  speech 
  of 
  Salarvyá 
  retained 
  more
  Bednálljan phonology and grammar than
  other dialects. In time, many of these speech
  forms 
  became 
  mutually 
  unintelligible,
  developing into the languages of modern
  Tékumel. Scripts, too, grew out of local
  calligraphic styles. One can still perceive
  resemblances, but it is no longer possible for
  a 
  Mu'ugalavyáni 
  to 
  read 
  Salarvyáni,
  Tsolyáni, or Livyáni without special study.
  The Yán Koryáni used ancient Llyáni as a
  model for their angular script, and their
  language, too, is very different from the
  other descendants of Pavár's language. --
  Translator]
  A further important phenomenon is the
  "Hero of the Age." According to texts dating
  back to the Llyáni Age, in each epoch the
  Gods select five (sometimes six) persons to
  make up a composite "Hero," whose duty it
  is to defend the Plane against the incursion
  of the Pariah Deities, particularly the
  Goddess of the Pale Bone. Using sorcery,
  physical combat, knowledge, guile, and
  whatever else, the Hero must combat her
  minions and drive them back into the Outer
  Darkness.  In the Second Epoch, it is said,
  this task fell to one Kaijumá Vürüdhamé, a
  soldier, skilled archer, and nobleman of
  Purdánim [which was little more than a
  ruined shell by this time]. He found four
  others: the Wise Maiden Melénde, the
  Trickster Erjúon of Thá'mis, the Dealer in
  Magics Khorkhónu of Te'érö [Trú, in Saá
  Allaqí?], and "Thick" Chóggu, nicknamed
  "He Who Crushes Sró," a truly monolithic
  warrior. Together, the Hero defeated the
  Goddess' servants and sent them scrambling
  away, out of Tékumel's Plane until they
  could regain their strength and try again.
  When this happened, millennia later, it was
  the end of Éngsvan hla Gánga, as shall be
  related below.
  The Second Epoch was not a period of
  barbarism or stagnation, as some have
  alleged. Much was accomplished, but not
  under the aegis of a single, unified
  government.
  12. The Bird Flies Again.
  In the year 336 of "The Ever-Reliable
  Calendar of Jnathár Véra" -- which cannot
  be reconciled with other calendars before or
  after it -- the much shrunken Empire of
  Gánga was ruled by one Hemánche
  Farkhénu. This monarch overcame local
  foes, won battles against enemies on the
  mainland, built diplomatic alliances, and
  streamlined the hoary bureaucracy. "I shall
  provide you with boats," he is quoted as
  announcing to his assembled ministers.
  "From every hundred of your chamberlains,
  scribes, and stewards, keep ten and send the
  rest out to fish. Those who disobey will
  themselves join the fish."
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    24
  When Hemánche Farkhénu died in 357, his
  son, Girándu Farkhénu, came to the throne.
  This man became known as Girándu I. His
  reign opens the Third Epoch of the history of
  Éngsvan hla Gánga.
  Girándu's armies first engaged the "traitors"
  of the splinter-dynasties. "The Book of the
  Priestkings" records that the forerunner of
  the Legion of the Lord of Red Devastation
  [most of whose troops were devotees of
  Vimúhla] was sent against the powerful
  citadel of Harkóntio Thá'mis [a place near
  modern Tumíssa], whose major clans also
  served the Flame.  The Priestking risked
  much by this step, but he eventually won
  out. Another Legion devoted to Vimúhla and
  Chiténg, that of the Searing Flame, won the
  Battle of the Seven-Pointed Star near Jekáral
  [Jaikalór, in south-eastern Tsolyánu] and
  drove the nonhuman Hlutrgú back into the
  jungles of Layódu and the Shikél Swamps.
  Another, later victory was won by the
  slingers of the Legion of the Joyful Clan of
  the Noble Vrayáni; the Emperor rewarded
  each soldier with slingstones of rubies and
  diamonds.
  Girándu I was followed by twenty-nine more
  kings named Girándu, interspersed with a
  few other names, who ruled for a total of
  about a thousand years. The reigns of these
  rulers are repetitious and so can be passed
  over. The last Girándu is said to have had no
  issue or relatives close enough to claim the
  throne. The ancient priestly Council was
  then summoned into session, and Chalánesh
  Váikash, the High Priest of Hrü'ü [the
  ranking member], called seven candidates to
  the dais. Each of the three men, three
  women, and one Pé Chói spoke briefly, and
  then the High Priest asked for a vote, a
  procedure that had not been used since the
  earliest days of the Empire.
  Murudlánte Vürözhéka of Béy Sü is said to
  have won, but his election was challenged.
  Chalánesh Váikash then commanded that the
  two candidates who agreed to support
  Murudlánte should stand on his left, while
  the four who did not accept him should
  stand on his right hand. Murudlánte had
  crossbowmen concealed high up in the hall,
  and when he raised his right hand, they fired.
  Three of his rivals fell dead, including the
  Pé Chói. One of the shots missed, however,
  and a priestess of Ksárul named Chayetlésa
  Tlalésu escaped, perhaps forewarned or
  protected by sorcery. Chalánesh Váikash
  himself was slain by one of Chayetlésa's
  partisans, and only thirty-five of the two
  hundred in the hall survived the ensuing
  battle.
  This, at least, is the story enshrined in
  Darákka Manggél's long narrative poem.,
  Me'etlárati 
  ("The 
  Goddess"). 
  Another
  school of historians tells it differently: the
  Council did hold an election; those voting
  for 
  Chalánesh 
  Váikash' 
  candidate,
  Murudlánte, were to raise their right hands;
  dissenters were to remain motionless. The
  right hand is considered "clean" in many
  Tekumeláni societies: one eats, greets
  people, offers food or gifts, etc. with the
  right hand, reserving the left for less
  pleasant, personal  tasks. Hence, by
  connotation, a vote for Murudlánte was a
  vote for one who was pure and beneficial.
  His  opponents objected, but Chalánesh
  Váikash held firm. Those who favoured
  other candidates then all simultaneously
  raised their right hands and stalked out of
  the chamber. The dissenting party was led
  by the Priestess Chayetlésa Tlalésu.
  Whatever the truth of this incident, it
  sparked the empire-wide civil war known as
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    25
  "The Rebellion of the Right Hand." Armies
  marched, battles were fought, and the land
  was given over to savagery for more than
  five years. When the conflict finally
  subsided, 
  Chayetlésa 
  stood 
  alone 
  as
  Empress, ruling from 1,386 to 1,395. With
  her began "The Long Peace": a period of
  expansion 
  and 
  consolidation 
  that
  imperceptibly turned into one of slow decay.
  Chayetlésa Tlalésu was succeeded by
  twenty-seven Priestkings. The first eleven of
  these are:
  Ménkoru I, son of Chayetlésa: 1,395 - 1,417
  [according to "The Calendar of Jnathár
  Véra"]; 
  reconquered 
  Salarvyá 
  and
  Saá Allaqí, which had seceded; built the
  Dome of Eminent Delight in Jakálla,
  established trade with the Naqsái of the
  Southern Continent, and sent emissaries
  into Mihállu and the eastern regions of
  Salarvyá.
  Girándu XV: 1,417 - 1,486; excellent
  administrator; 
  studied 
  prices 
  and
  commodities, and wrote a treatise on
  economics; had 117 children by a busy
  harem of over 50 wives and concubines.
  Ménkoru II: 1,466 - 1,502; built the Great
  Hall of the Priestkings on Gánga Isle,
  filled it with treasures, and surrounded
  himself with the most glittering court in
  history; had 35 children -- including two
  who are listed as "of the Pé Chói" -- a
  genetic improbability!
  Ménkoru III: 1,502 - 1,799 (!); said to have
  prolonged his life by sorcery, a practice
  immediately declared illegal; laid down
  laws, 
  build 
  more 
  Sákbe-roads,
  strengthened the mighty fortress of
  Ngála near modern Jakálla, set up
  monuments, stelae, and inscriptions at
  the 
  boundaries 
  of 
  the 
  empire;
  constructed ports and harbours around
  the Sea of Milumanayá [now the Desert
  of Sighs and the central plain of
  Yán Kór].
  Atlkólum I: 1,800 - 1,809; "The Mediator";
  fought the Shén but eventually made a
  treaty of peace with them; destroyed the
  Temple of the Goddess of the Pale Bone
  near what is now Pelesár [a low island
  at that time]; restored the Shrines of the
  Gods on Gánga, which had fallen into
  decay; much beloved by his people.
  Ménkoru IV: 1,809 - 1,850; increased the
  formal etiquette of the court, introduced
  new bureaucratic titles, pageantry, and
  innovations in costume and manners.
  Chayetlésa II: 1,855 (?) - 1,879; "She Who
  Rules Gently"; a priestess of Avánthe
  who rejected her ancestors' affiliation
  with Ksárul; had 17 children, of whom
  one became "The Monster of Burrú
  Isle": a psychotic who murdered over
  360 persons, ate portions of their
  bodies, and ordered the torture of
  dozens of victims; his mother exiled
  him to a tower on Burrú Isle, where he
  died. Legend has it that his ghost -- and
  those of his captives -- still haunt the
  place.
  Atlkólum 
  II: 
  1,879 
  - 
  1,999; 
  "The
  Omniscient"; 
  developed 
  the 
  secret
  police and a system of informants that
  were the forerunners of the Omnipotent
  Azure Legion, the Yán Koryáni Surgéth,
  the Mu'ugalavyáni Mourners in Sable,
  and 
  the 
  Livyáni 
  Vrú'uneb 
  today;
  refurbished the Tólek Kána Pits and
  built prisons all across the land; "stern
  but fair," his subjects said.
  Girándu XVI: 1,999 - 2,035; "The One Who
  Is Tired"; famous for his boredom and
  fatigue, from which neither medicine
  nor magic could rouse him for long; his
  last words were, "It is a relief that now I
  die."
  Chayetlésa IV: 2,035 - 2,071; devoted
  herself to Dilinála, women's causes,
  building orphanages, and establishing
  schools and academies within the
  temples. Her Chief Minister, Numinátlu
  Veshkúma, was a priest of Keténgku,
  who set up hospitals and facilities for
  the mentally ill.
  Alinéya I: 2,071 - 2,081; beautiful niece of
  the preceding; formed liaisons with
  officers of her guard; eventually lost her
  beauty and was reduced to bringing
  beggars, peasants, and foreigners into
  the palace, where she forced them into
  unnatural acts, then had them slain; died
  from a dose of the deadly drug, Zu'úr.
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    26
  Sixteen more rulers are listed for this period,
  but these did little more than occupy the
  throne, ruling for about 250 years. Their
  reigns are detailed in Tlékku Beshyéne's
  "Chikèkkólumelyal 
  hiYagáishan 
  ("Inept
  Emperors of Antiquity"),  a copy of which is
  preserved in Prince Rereshqála's Library.
  13. And Higher Still.
  The Empire seemed to pause for breath
  before making its final dizzying ascent.
  After Mettukánatl VIII, the last of the
  sixteen "Inept" Emperors mentioned above,
  nearly a thousand years were to pass before
  the scholar, Mézhmü Odhón Bezhmöllü of
  Ramüsh [Úrmish] took up the thread again.
  He was not interested in dynastic history per
  se, but rather in events of the period of the
  Flower Wars in which the Third Epoch
  culminated. He begins in the year 3,119 of
  the Ever-Reliable Calendar of Jnathár Véra,
  with the first member of the Chalchái
  Dynasty: Meluénde Ssá, who brought in
  troops of the Legion of Sérqu, Sword of the
  Empire, and seized the Halls of Eternal
  Glory 
  from 
  Ntés 
  Ktík, 
  the 
  Pé Chói
  Chamberlain who had become de facto
  Emperor. The list of Chalchái Priestkings is
  given below:
  Meluénde Ssá: 3,119 - 3,127; "The Perfect";
  served 
  by 
  efficient 
  officers: 
  e.g.
  Rekmílish I of Jakálla (3,127 - 3,162);
  Arudlákha Mnál "the General" of
  Koylúga 
  (3,105 
  - 
  3,142); 
  Saléya
  Dlékku, High Priestess of Avánthe
  (3,110 - 3,137), and many others.
  Ssesmúga I: 3,127 - 3,160; Rekmílish II
  governed Jakálla, following in his
  father's footsteps. This reign is called
  "The Smiting of Little Epéng-worms": i.
  e. the suppression of many small revolts
  and intrigues.; erected the Stela of
  Scarlet Glory at Navái Village near
  Tumíssa, recording the deeds of the
  Legion of the Givers of Sorrow.
  Ssesmúga II: 3,160 - 3,162; died of a kidney
  ailment, but possibly poisoned.
  Wiyúl Básü: 3,162 - 3,169; concubine from
  Nmartúsha, who seized the throne with
  the aid of her five lovers; attempted to
  introduce a state religion based on the
  Pariah Gods; killed by an angry mob.
  Neshkólu I: 3,169 - 3,203; son of the above;
  mentally ill: hid in a secret room most
  of his life and never emerged in
  daylight; 
  was 
  fortunate 
  to 
  have
  Rekmílish III as his governor of the
  southern provinces.
  [Interregnum: 3,203 - 3,222; the Empire was
  ruled by a coalition of High Priests from
  the temples of Vimúhla, Karakán, and
  Hrsh; war with the followers of the One
  Other; great earthquake of 3,212 in
  Úrmish and Katalál: the "Harbinger of
  Worse to Come"]
  Tratikánte I: 3,222 - 3,269 and then 3,269 -
  3,356 (!); "the Greatest Empress";
  founded the "Many-Hued Garden" at
  the palace on Gánga; she herself
  enjoyed cooking and produced excellent
  pastries; kind and generous; so beloved
  that when she died, her courtiers
  demanded that she be revivified in spite
  of the ancient prohibition against this;
  she then ruled for another 87 years;
  eventually she declared herself "too
  tired" and demanded death.
  Tratikánte II: 3,356 - 3,557; a sickly girl;
  married her own brother, who became
  Ssesmúga III; the empire prospered
  under the Viceroys of the South, who
  were descendants of Rekmílish III..
  Tratikánte III: 3,357 - 3,357; infant daughter
  crowned as Empress but died soon after
  birth; Viceroys began a long internecine
  quarrel.
  Ssesmúga III: 3,357 - 3,402; brilliant
  scholar; sent out expeditions to find the
  Unstraightened City, to the Isle of Eyes,
  and to the Southern Continent. Some of
  these returned, and many items were
  added to the museum of curios in the
  High Chancery in Avanthár.
  Ssesmúga IV: 3,402 - 3,460; excellent ruler;
  Gánga reached its height of glory; an
  invasion of Livyánu failed, however,
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    27
  due 
  to 
  powerful 
  sorcery; 
  "Great
  Compendium 
  of 
  All 
  Knowledge"
  compiled by a committee of scholars at
  Gánga; a priest of Grugánu, Furtlánte
  Qolámu of Béy Sü, completed the
  "Tome of Unoccupied Darkness," also
  called "The Book of Tenebrous Places,"
  an important text on demonology and
  the Planes Beyond; "The Singer of
  Epics Beyond Compare," Misuénde
  Fe'é, became chief court entertainer;
  composition 
  of 
  the 
  epics 
  "The
  Windsong Canticle," "The Hymn to the
  Scarlet Moon," in honour of Vimúhla,
  "The Tortured Melody," devoted to
  Hrü'ü, and many more.
  Tratikánte IV: 3,460 - 3,465; rivalries
  between the powerful Viceroys of the
  provinces and the start of the "Flower
  Wars" in 3,464; this Empress was
  assassinated by the troops of the Archon
  of the Red (see below).
  Ssesmúga V: 3,465 - ?; arrested and slain by
  persons unknown.
  [The Flower Wars: lasted from 3,464
  through 3,490.]
  Engsvanyáli Officer of the Reign of
  Ssesmúga IV
  From a vase painting in the Museum of
  Prince Rereshqála
  14. The Flower Wars.
  The conflicts called "The Flower Wars"
  were a series of struggles for power between
  the Viceroys of the Empire. Empress
  Tratikánte I had ordered the construction of
  "The Many-Hued Garden" at the palace on
  Gánga. Each area of this garden contained
  flowers of only one colour: there were thus
  seven separate sectors, devoted to red,
  yellow, blue, white, green, lavender, and
  orange blooms, respectively. When the
  Empress walked in one of these walled
  bowers, she and all those with her wore
  garments of only that colour. She appointed
  each of her chief ministers a Kelém
  ["Archon" or "Ruler"] of one segment of
  this Garden. After her death these titles were
  continued, and political parties grew up
  around them.
  The Archons eventually came to open
  warfare. Almost immediately, the Archon of
  the White lost the city of Sokátis to the
  Archon of the Green; the former committed
  suicide, but his impaled corpse was
  displayed anyway. The Archon of the
  Yellow, who ruled Khirgár and the north-
  west, married the Lady Tirisánte Melél, the
  lovely Archon of the Blue and Viceroy of
  Vrá. The couple retired from the fray and
  gave all of their forces over to the Archon of
  the Orange, Lord Vikkumékyar of Chame'él
  in Salarvyá. The Archon of the Lavender
  fled to his own region in Yán Kór and was
  not seen again. It is said that he sought
  refuge in Nuru'ún in the far north-east. The
  Archons of the Green and the White (the son
  of the original Archon) fought a vast,
  confused, bloody battle near Fasíltum
  against the Archon of the Red, where the
  latter had his major strongholds; Red won,
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    28
  White perished on the field, and Green was
  imprisoned and exhibited in a cage for years
  thereafter. The last act of this mad civil war
  was the battle and siege of Mmélökh
  [Mmilláka, in western Salarvyá] between
  the Archons of the Red and the Orange. The
  Vimúhla-worshipping soldiers of the Vríddi
  won out after months of fighting; Koylúga
  and other cities were sacked, and the Archon
  of the Red, Lord Amukánatl Vríddi,
  assumed the throne. The last act of the war
  was the unnecessary exile of the Archons of
  Yellow and Blue to the Southern Continent,
  where nothing more was heard of them.
  The Flower Wars were destructive not only
  to life and property but also to the concept of
  Imperial unity. Several regions declared
  local autonomy: Yán Kór and the Lorún
  lands of the north were lost first, followed
  by N'lüss [which had never been happy
  under Engsvanyáli rule in any case].
  Mu'ugalavyá never wavered from its fealty
  to Éngsvan hla Gánga, however. Salarvyá
  was divided into a conquered zone adjacent
  to Tsolyánu, and a jumble of independent
  eastern states beginning at the city of Chgáth
  [modern Jéggeth] and running all the way to
  the eastern ocean. The western region soon
  fell away and became independent as well.
  Outlying 
  areas, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  Tsoléi
  Archipelago, 
  Ghatón, 
  Chayákku, 
  and
  Saá Allaqí, were also lost, but Mihállu
  remained loyal -- and, it is said, still
  regularly sends tribute to vanished Gánga
  and expects a new Viceroy to arrive daily!
  Lord Amukánatl took up residence in the
  Palace of the Priestkings on Gánga. He does
  not seem to have enjoyed the south, and
  several poems and compilations of his letters
  survive in which he bitterly criticises his
  surroundings.
  [N. B. The Engsvanyáli language underwent
  considerable changes: the names of cities,
  provinces, clans, deities, etc. assumed near-
  modern forms; older grammatical structures
  were replaced by others more like the
  modern tongues; "Classical" Tsolyáni and
  "Classical" Mu'ugalavyáni became separate
  linguistic 
  forms, 
  as 
  did 
  "Ancient
  Yán Koryáni," called Tsáqw. In Livyánu, the
  Duruób 
  tongue 
  underwent 
  many
  permutations before becoming the Livyáni of
  today. Various minor languages either
  became extinct or else developed into argots
  used by secret temple societies; this was the
  fate of Thu'úsa, a language once spoken in
  the Kúrt Hills of Tsolyánu. Another case is
  the Tongue of the Lord of Worms, used by
  the temples of Sárku and Durritlámish for
  ritual purposes. The Secret Tongue of the
  Priests of Ksárul does not date from this
  period but is much earlier, having been
  devised (it is hypothesised) in the Age of the
  Fishermen Kings. -- Translator]
  Pavár's ancient religion was given new life:
  the Priestess Teshkorúsa Boródlya of Jakálla
  wrote a treatise describing the ninety-three
  Aspects of Avánthe. The division of the
  human self (i.e. the soul) into five parts was
  the subject of three volumes by Nethándu
  Ssanyússa 
  of 
  Tumíssa. 
  Lord 
  Virudái
  Vrázhimü of Katalál wrote on the inner
  doctrines of the temple of Ksárul [this tome
  is still kept secret by the clergy of the
  Doomed 
  Prince.], 
  and 
  numberless
  commentaries on commentaries were added
  to the libraries of the temples.
  Secret societies sprang up soon after the
  Flower Wars: e.g. the Scarlet Brotherhood,
  which served Vimúhla and Chiténg, the
  Brethren of the Scarlet Nail (which, oddly
  enough, was devoted to Sárku), the
  Incandescent Blaze Society (again, Vimúhla
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    29
  and Chiténg), the Ndálu Clan (Ksárul), etc.
  Keshkúru Gama'án founded the Scroll of the
  Blaze Revealed, another sect of zealots who
  served the Flame Lord. Some of these
  societies are extinct, while others survive
  into modern society.
  The theology of Pavár did not deal with
  human ethics. It was left to a priest of
  Thúmis, Yahéshu Sarél of Tsurú 
  in
  Tsolyánu, to compile an encyclopaedia of
  ethical beliefs and customs of the many
  nations. In 3,470, he then produced a second
  work on the concept of "nobility and
  ignobility" as basic ethical principles. These
  are still standard today.
  15. The Last Fluttering.
  The Priestking Amukánatl Vríddi strove to
  restore the Empire to its former grandeur but
  was only partially successful. As soon as he
  turned his attention to one trouble spot,
  others sprang up. He spent most of his years
  on the throne marching from one battle to
  another, usually winning, but never really
  eliminating any one foe or solving any one
  problem. The Priestkings listed for this last
  Epoch of Engsvanyáli history include the
  following:
  Amukánatl Vríddi I: 
  3,490 
  - 
  3,517;
  described above.
  Amukánatl Vríddi II: 3,517 - 3,550;
  regained western Salarvyá but spent
  much of his time marching and
  countermarching in what are now
  Milumanayá and Saá Allaqí; married
  Sáima Dlakotánte, an heiress of the
  house of the Archon of the Green; the
  Empress later went mad. It is said she
  was devoted to demons.
  Kazhilo'ób I: 3,550 - 3,598; sophisticated in
  music, art, literature, science, and
  philosophy; devised the Calendar which
  bears his name; see below. The wizard,
  Mriyántla Chomúa, served at his court;
  this man is said to have foreseen the
  dreadful cataclysm that would overtake
  Gánga but was kept from warning
  anyone of it by the Demons of the
  Pariah Deities. All that he could manage
  was a permanently mournful expression.
  His awful death is the subject of a long
  poem by Géleth Mriyudlákte of Mrelú.
  Mesunénde: 3,598 - 3,612; architect and
  renewer; ordered twelve cities to
  undergo Ditlána; had ancient Imperial
  records burned and new files started (to
  the dismay of historians); revised the tax
  laws and criminal procedures.
  Kazhilo'ób II: 3,612 - 3,669; "Ruler of All";
  collected more tribute from more places
  than any other ruler in history, even, it is
  said, 
  from 
  Lost 
  Bayársha, 
  from
  Rannálu, from M'mórcha (3 cages of
  puff-spiders!), and the Nyémesel Isles;
  held pageants that cost many thousands
  of Suór and lasted for days or even
  weeks; units from thirty-three Legions
  marched in one military parade in
  Jakálla, including 8,000 black and white
  Pé Chói, 3,000 Páchi Léi, and 2,000
  Ahoggyá -- the city reeked of rank fur
  for days! He attracted great scholars,
  poets, artists, and musicians to his court
  on Gánga.
  Horusánde Ngá I: 3,670 - 3,683; continued
  his father's practices; forcibly married
  off the priestesses of Dilinála in Mekú
  to members of his court because "they
  did not produce offspring to serve the
  Empire." Died of an Epéng-bite.
  Amukánatl  Vríddi III: 3,683 - 3,700 (or
  3,705?); said to have "smelled bad"
  even after repeated baths (?).
  Niluén Dhiyá: 3,700 - 3,782; stout, powerful
  woman; said to have beaten many male
  champions in wrestling, duelling, and
  loud shouting (?); turned the court into
  an athletic arena; ordered a pogrom of
  Pé Chói because she suspected they
  were "traitors"; died of over-eating.
  Kazhilo'ób III: 3,782 - 3,833; nephew of the
  preceding; no interest in government;
  devoted himself to his books; held
  public debates on theology with priests
  of various temples, including the One
  Other and the One Who Is.
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    30
  Horusánde Ngá II: 3,830 - 3,859; co-ruler
  with the preceding for the first three
  years of his reign; said to have
  "descended into the Darkness" and
  become a servitor of the One Other.
  Kazhilo'ób IV: 3,860 - 3,897; excellent
  general 
  and 
  strategist; 
  defeated
  Hagháktish 
  Lélo, 
  a 
  Mu'ugalavyáni
  renegade, at Tu'unkét in 3,885; married
  his foe's widow, who then later had
  Kazhilo'ób assassinated.
  [Gap: about 1,500 years by some accounts,
  during which records were destroyed,
  the Empire became fragmented, and
  wars and rebellions raged. The actual
  length of this period may be as much as
  a thousand years shorter, depending
  upon which historian one prefers.]
  Amukánatl Vríddi IV: 5,400 - 5,459; his
  dates are doubtful; restored the unity of
  the central Empire, but without Salarvyá
  or Mu'ugalavyá; Páchi Léi revolt in
  which many perished; epidemic of the
  Mottled 
  Plague 
  in 
  south-western
  Tsolyánu and Pán Cháka; the Emperor
  himself made a pilgrimage to Pavár's
  shrine on Gánga to plead for his people;
  he perished, however, and the plague
  lasted six more years.
  Shejjánekh I: 5,459 - 5,468; Yán Koryáni
  Viceroy and distant cousin of the
  foregoing; inherited the throne, though
  he did not want it; ruled well.
  [Gap: further civil wars; further minor
  Priestkings who managed to hold Gánga
  but little else; several dynastic changes;
  duration unknown.]
  Balamasén  I: 6,988 - 7,007; dates uncertain;
  restored central unity and the crumbling
  shrines and palaces of Gánga Isle; held
  a great fête to celebrate "the Coming of
  Pavár" at which he choked on a piece of
  meat and died.
  Balamasén II: 7,007 - 7,008; retarded boy-
  king; his ministers handled all of the
  Empire's affairs; loss of Tumíssa to the
  Mu'ugalavyáni and independence of
  port cities in Milumanayá.
  Tlimastlikén: 7,008 - 7,039; the last
  Priestking of Gánga.
  N. B. The great Calendar of Kazhilo'ób I is
  somewhat of a puzzle. It is thought that this
  ruler used a starting date of 3,590 according
  to the calendar of Jnathár Véra,. It is now
  10,047 A. K. -- 2,366 in the Tsolyáni era --
  but the Salarvyáni add 3,250 years to the
  "Time of No Kings," the period after the
  sinking of Gánga. According to their "Era of
  Tsatsayágga," it is thus 13,297 A. E. T. This
  chronology is rather dubious, due to the
  length of  "gaps" and the uncertainty of the
  regnal 
  years 
  of 
  several 
  Priestkings.
  Kazhilo'ób's calendar is still employed in
  Livyánu and Mu'ugalavyá, but the Tsolyáni
  begin the Second Imperium from the
  accession of the first Tlakotáni Seal
  Emperor. A few places, notably old Mihállu,
  still prefer the "old" Engsvanyáli calendar,
  devised, it is said, by the priests of the
  Pariah Gods and written in the Sunúz
  language.. By this, the present year is
  21,784. There is no historical justification
  for this calculation, however. -- Translator]
  16. The Fall of Gánga.
  The ancient palaces and shrines on Gánga
  Isle dreamed on, slowly crumbling away in
  the hot, southern sun. The Emperor still held
  lavish functions, so encrusted with hoary
  decorum that several servants were required
  to support and move a person attired in
  formal costume. The Priestking Tlimastlikén
  seems to have been a pleasant, vacuous man,
  dominated by his wife, Tlèkumasén, and his
  eldest daughter, Misumiyén. (He had four
  other, younger children.) His interests lay in
  collecting statuary, listening to music (not
  the great epics, it is written, but the simple
  folksongs of the southern Empire), and
  playing at Dén-den, which his courtiers
  always contrived for him to win.
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    31
  It was at this juncture that the Gods saw fit
  to call for another "Hero of the Age." An
  Imperial General, Lord Kokún Vriyón of
  Khirgár, who worshipped Karakán and was
  a member of the Golden Sunburst clan, was
  to be the "head," while four other persons,
  whose names are variously given by the
  historians, were to form the rest of the
  composite identity.
  [N. B. The Mu'ugalavyáni historian Sanílish
  Chitéyu of Ssa'átis states that the other four
  were: Harmúnish Dlekkúra, a scholar and
  sorcerer of Khéiris; Dísib Murúshu, High
  Priestess of Kírrineb at Hráis in Livyánu;
  Mettukén Fershéna, Priest of the Inner
  Doctrines of Ksárul at Hmakuyál; and Pték
  Ktík, a Pé Chói warrior from Kúrdis in
  Mu'ugalavyá. Sanílish Chitéyu accuses the
  Tsolyáni historians of concealing these
  persons' identities because three of the four
  are non-Tsolyáni. -- Translator]
  Years of struggle against the minions of the
  dread Goddess seemed about to culminate in
  victory for the Hero when Kokún was
  betrayed by the woman he loved, Niyunéth
  Tlatoyél of Gánga. [Neither the name
  "Niyunéth" nor the Tlatoyél lineage are ever
  used today.] A jealous rival, Murettén
  Nüminú, an officer in Kokún's legion, used
  Niyunéth to get at him. As Kokún walked in
  a wooded garden on his estate, he was
  warned by "a voice from the Gods" not to
  leave the path, but when he saw Niyunéth
  lying on the ground, apparently injured, he
  rushed to her side. He was then set upon by
  the Demons of the Planes Beyond and so
  was slain.
  [N. B. The historian, Messíliu Badárian has
  doubts about the "demons," theorising
  instead that Kokún's rival might have
  employed either mercenaries or common
  thugs. As it stands, however, this legend is
  part of every schoolchild's upbringing,
  however, and few would dare to change it. --
  Translator]
  The immediate result of Kokún's death was
  the dissolution of the "Hero" and a partial
  victory for the Goddess. She could not enter
  Tékumel's Plane completely because of the
  remaining four parts of the "Hero," but her
  efforts triggered the horrendous earthquake
  that caused the Isle of Gánga to sink beneath
  the waves.
  "On an afternoon in the summer of the year,
  the earth rumbled and shook itself once,
  twice, thrice, like a mighty Sró-beast rising
  from its lair." -- Ashmúnu Dné.
  The seas roiled, and the waters poured over
  Gánga's riven flanks, tilting the western half
  of the island up and the eastern half down
  beneath the waves. The entire coast of what
  is now southern Tsolyánu sank, while the
  great Inland Sea of the North -- where the
  Desert of Sighs is today -- rose, frothing
  with dying fish and sea-life. The beautiful
  Lake of Lord Aridzó became the Dry Bay of
  Ssu'úm, where nothing now grows. Walls of
  water rushed out into the Pentrúrtra Deeps,
  carrying all before them. Lesser subsidences
  occurred in Mu'ugalavyá, in Salarvyá, and
  along the coasts. None can calculate the
  losses occasioned by the calamity. Tidal
  waves swept inland into Livyánu, and up the
  Missúma River as far as Usenánu. Great
  Akhó-beasts lay beached and gasping in the
  fields near Pála Jakálla; hulls of ships were
  found interred upside down in alluvial mud
  in the swampy Flats of Tsechehélnu north of
  Penóm; and tangled tree trunks and branches
  obstructed shipping as far south-east as the
  Sharúna Lowlands of Salarvyá. The sky was
  filled with clouds of dust for years, and the
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    32
  sun shone through like the maleficent red
  Eye of Lord Vimúhla.
  The Spouting Mountains of the Shén lands
  erupted, spewing lava, ash, and clouds of
  poisonous gas across the region. Many of the
  great reptiles fled into Mmátugual, where
  they dwell today. Only the Sealed City of
  Dlásh in southern Livyánu was spared, it is
  said, by a "Shield of the Great Ancients" that
  rose to cover it. Dríchte Peak, "The Hag of
  Flame," erupted in the Plains of Glass, as
  recorded by the priestly caretakers of the
  Temple of the Eye of the World, who then
  had the good sense to flee. A new continent
  rose up from the ocean south of Ssórmu in
  eastern Salarvyá, only to sink back again a
  hundred years later with much shrieking and
  groaning, leaving only the shallows of the
  White Water Shoals to mark its passing.
  [The catastrophe spread, as the tectonic
  plates of the planet readjusted themselves. It
  is thought that the gravity engines of the
  Great Ancients finally managed to re-
  establish a balance. -- Translator]
  The tragedy brought down political and
  economic structures as easily as it destroyed
  Gánga. Breaches in the Sákbe-roads kept
  shipments of food from reaching their
  destinations; the telepathic networks ceased
  to operate, as their members perished or
  fled; crops failed; dead fish and rotting
  ocean vegetation filled the air with the
  stench of death. Famine and pestilence
  bestrode the land.
  Of all the damage done by the Goddess'
  Demons from Beyond, perhaps the worst
  was the loss of Gánga herself. Her proud
  towers lay tumbled and broken; her libraries
  and museums were homes to fish; her
  palaces lay stricken beneath the turgid
  brown waters; her people, her soldiers, her
  courtiers and chattering officials  were
  silent. Today green seaweed drifts through
  the empty eye-sockets of her nobles and her
  poor alike. The Shrine of Pavár is lost. The
  Priestkings themselves are gone.
  The wings of the Dark covered the eyes of
  Light;
  The Gods turn away Their countenances
  And seek solace only in memory...
  -- Malué of Púrdimal
  It took less than two centuries for the
  sprawling Empire to dissolve beyond repair.
  As 
  communication 
  ceased, 
  commerce
  faltered. Local quarrels erupted; Change
  fought Stability, and both battled against the
  minions of the Goddess and the One Other.
  Those who had perceived themselves as one
  nation now saw each other as foreigners and
  foes. Creatures of the Underworlds, brought
  to the surface by flooding and continued
  seismic temblors, prowled the littered streets
  of Tléku, Vrá, and Pétris Layóda. Ferocious
  Zrné-beasts were reported in the suburbs of
  Jakálla, and packs of wild dogs brought
  down the weak and the elderly in Katalál
  and Úrmish. The "Enemies of Man," the
  Hlüss and the Ssú, made joyous inroads into
  what had been human territory for millennia.
  The bestial  Hlutrgú swarmed over the
  shores of Msúmtel Bay and parts of Káija.
  The Pé Chói, the Páchi Léi, the Ahoggyá,
  and even the Swamp Folk along the
  Putuhénu River in Mu'ugalavyá expanded
  their domains. There were no Priestkings
  and no human armies to oppose them.
  The brave statues of the Lords of Old,
  The Heroes of the Gods,
  The tomes of their heroic deeds,
  once vaunted across all the worlds,
  are awash today in the cold, black water;
  Gánga is gone, O Gods,
  Gánga is gone!
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    33
  -- Malué of Púrdimal
  17. Thereafter ...
  A later poet has written a fictional account
  of the last moments of Gánga. The
  Priestking Tlimastlikén elected to die with
  his island, his wife and children around him.
  "The marble throne room grew cold,
  shuddered, 
  and 
  trembled. 
  Thunderous
  cracking sounds filled the air. A wind rose
  from nowhere, moaned, and caressed the
  pallid lips of the God-Emperor and his
  brood. The guardsmen of the Legion of the
  Heroes of the Lord of Wisdom stared, stony-
  eyed, as flames from the lamps blew this
  way and that. Outside, there was a rising,
  moaning, roar. Then a carved block fell
  thunderously from the ceiling, then another.
  The Empress embraced her daughters,
  touched her husband's wrist, and would have
  spoken, but the noise swept her words away.
  The mighty columns of lapis and silver and
  gold swayed and toppled drunkenly.
  Oh, the night, the wild night!
  The rising of the Demon Lords!
  Eyes that now see
  The gloomy majesty of
  Lord Srükarúm,
  The Master of the Mournful Dead."
   
  Mikúnu Feyár of Vrá
  The central lynch-pin of the Empire was
  broken and gone. What followed was more
  chaos than had been experienced for
  millennia, more confusion, more conflict
  and collapse. The period after the sinking of
  Gánga is called "The Time of No Kings."
  Some say this interregnum lasted for six
  thousand years; others say ten, using as
  evidence the fragmentary archives of the
  Priests of Khirgár. Most cities can produce
  no records at all, although statues, coins, and
  pottery attest to the existence of petty little
  kings and potentates. Most of these are no
  more than shadows.
  What is now Tsolyánu was divided among
  over twenty principalities. There were as
  many again in neighbouring Mu'ugalavyá,
  Salarvyá, and Yán Kór. Some of these
  places continued to use the Engsvanyáli
  language, while others chose Classical
  Tsolyáni, Classical Mu'ugalavyáni, Old
  Salarvyáni, and Tsáqw. Other languages
  seem to have become extinct: e.g. Aí Chè,
  one of the tongues of the far north-east. The
  Sunúz language was preserved as a ritual
  vehicle for the rites of the Pariah Gods, but,
  aside from manuscripts in the Temple of
  Shiringgáyi in Jgrésh, it is mainly found in
  the Naqsái lands south-west of Livyánu.
  Thu'úsa was taken over by the temples of the
  Lords of Stability as a secret argot for their
  texts.
  The Time of No Kings produced many of
  the rich legends that are still cherished by
  the folk of Tékumel. These are the Undying
  Wizards: mighty Thomár, whose mysterious
  towers appear here and there across the
  Many Planes; Metállja of Salarvyá, who
  went to dwell in the Unstraightened City and
  founded the Blasphemous Accelerators; the
  wanderer, Hagárr of Paránta; Súbadim the
  Sorcerer, who sought the Egg of the World;
  Qiyór the Many-Tongued, fierce Pendárte of
  Khéiris -- and a dozen more. These are the
  stuff of legend, the fabric of poetry, the glory
  of the later epics. There is little that is
  theological or philosophical in these tales;
  they tell of the bravery and wisdom of
  human beings like oneself. They are
  individual 
  and 
  personal. 
  They 
  are
  intelligible. They attract not our awe but our
  admiration and our sympathy.
  
  Éngsvan hla Gánga
  Page    34
  The Time of No Kings passed, as all things
  do. By the time scholars had begun to write
  again, four "Seal Emperors" of Tsolyánu had
  come and gone: the "First Tlakotáni," a
  second whose name is unknown, then
  Hórukel N'lén, and a fourth whose name is
  only partially recorded as "To... Miúna."
  The first Seal Emperor whose records have
  largely survived is Trákonel I "The Blazing
  Light," who ruled from 139 to 195 A. S. The
  Tlakotáni Dynasty based its power upon a
  great Seal -- actually, it is said, a carved
  metal disc of the Great Ancients. The
  founders of the dynasty also had procured a
  magnificent "throne" -- really a screen of
  jade-like 
  substance 
  carved 
  in 
  tiny
  arabesques, behind which there was indeed
  an elaborate seat of the same material. This,
  the Petal Throne, is a major symbol of
  imperial Tsolyáni power. The Seal and the
  Petal Throne together ARE Tsolyánu.
  [N. B. Lexicographers believe that the name
  "Tlakotáni" is a Late Engsvanyáli term
  denoting "brethren (of a secret society -- not
  blood relations)." -- Translator]
  It has now been over 2,366 years since the
  founding of our glorious Second Imperium,
  the Tlakotáni Dynasty. The lessons learned -
  - and not learned -- from great Gánga are
  still fresh in the hearts and minds of our folk
  today. It is not my intention to speak of
  Tsolyánu, however, or of the states that
  currently surround it; that I leave for others
  who will come after me, as I have followed
  in the footsteps of the historians of Gánga.
  I have completed my task in health and
  glory. Now I lay down my pen ...
  -- Baréka hiShanyál
  
  Index 
   
  63 Treatises on the Exquisite Nuances of Music.................22 
  A Priest There Was................................................................... 1 
  Aerial Realm of Tu'unkélmu (Other Planar) ....................... 19 
  Ahoggyá (Non-human)....................................................2,29,32 
  Aíkh Amóm (Deity)...................................................................6 
  Aíkh Halóm (Deity) .................................................................. 6 
  Akhó (Fauna)...................................................................... 22,31 
  Amukánatl Vríddi (Person)................................................27,28 
  Archon (Government)............................................................ 27 
  Archon of the Blue (Person)..............................................27,28 
  Archon of the Green (Person) ........................................ 27-29 
  Archon of the Lavender (Person)......................................... 27 
  Archon of the Orange (Person) ........................................27,28 
  Archon of the Red (Person).............................................. 27,28 
  Archon of the White (Person)................................................27 
  Archon of the Yellow (Person) .........................................27,28 
  Arkhúan Milénde (Person)......................................................18 
  Armageddon of the Gods (Event).........................................19 
  Artúkko Alá'a (Person).......................................................... 5,6 
  Aruchúè (Person) .....................................................................22 
  Arudlákha Mnál (Person) ....................................................... 26 
  Arumél (Person) ...................................................................... 21 
  Ashmúnu Dné (Person) ..........................................................31 
  Avanthár (City) ........................................................................7,8 
  Avánthe (Deity) ................................................... 3,5-7,19,20,28 
   
  People .................................................................. 8,10,18,26 
   
  Temple..........................................................11,15,22,25,26 
  Ba'álk (Deity)........................................................................... 3,6 
  Baréka hiShanyál (Person)................................................... 1,34 
  Barriers of the Many Planes (Other Planar)..........................19 
  Battles 
   
  Battle of Dórmoron Plain...............................................19 
   
  Battle of Fasíltum (Flower Wars, 3490 J.V.)............27,28 
   
  Battle of the Seven-pointed Star 
   
    (Vs. the Hlutrgu 385-? J.V.)..........................................24 
   
  Sack of Koylugá (Flower Wars, 3490 J.V.) ...................28 
   
  Siege of Fasíltum (1254-1309 A.P.) ...............................17 
   
  Siege of Mmilláka (Flower Wars, 3490 J.V.).................28 
  Bednálljan Empire (Nation)............... 1,3,5-10,13-15,17,19,20 
  Bednálljan Chancery (Government) ....................................... 2 
  Belkhánu (Deity)..........................................................  3,6,19,20 
   
  People ................................................................................18 
   
  Temple.................................................................... 11,12,17 
  Béy Sü (City) .........................................  7,10,12,13,14,17,18,27 
  Black Old One (Deity)...............................................................8 
  Black Pit of Nekkuthané (Place) ........................................... 19 
  Black Qárqa (Deity) ................................................................ 21 
  Blasphemous Accelerators (Group).......................................33 
  Blue Faience Dynasty (Government) ................................... 21 
  Blue Room (Other Planar)............................................  9,19,20 
  Book of Priestkings.................................................. 17,20,22,24 
  Burrú Isle (Geographic Feature) ........................................... 25 
  Calendar 
   
  Calendar of Kazhilo'ób.............................................. 29,30 
   
  Engsvanyáli Calendar (After Pavár)...............................10 
   
  Era of Tsatsayágga............................................................30 
   
  Ever-Reliable Calendar of Jnathár Véra ....... 23,25,26,30 
   
  Old Engsvanyáli Calendar...............................................30 
  Cat (Fauna)............................................................................... 21 
  Ch'óchi (City) ............................................................................14 
  Cha'nálish Governors (Government) ................................... 14 
  Chalánesh Váikash (Person)....................................................24 
  Chalchái Dynasty (Government)........................................... 26 
  Chame'él (City).....................................................................  2,27 
  Chanákh (Deity)..........................................................................4 
  Chanatlál (City) ...........................................................7,26,28,32 
  Chancery (Government)..................................................  1,8,26 
  Change (Deity)...................................................................3-8,19 
   
  Hatred of ..................................................................... 17,32 
   
  Temple.................................................................9,10,12,16 
  Chayákku (Nation) .................................................................. 28 
  Chegárra (Deity).....................................................................3,11 
  Chgáth (City)............................................................................ 28 
  Chi'í Mu'úgha (City) .................................................................14 
  Chíma (Non-human)............................................................... 14 
  Chiténg (Deity)............................................................................4 
   
  Legion ................................................................................24 
   
  People.................................................................................. 8 
  Chiyuváz (Person).................................................................... 22 
  Chlén beast (Fauna)............................................................ 18,21 
  Chóggu (Person)...................................................................... 23 
  Chökhár (Deity)..........................................................................3 
  Cholu'é Vindétha (Person) ..................................................... 22 
  Chorújja Ssánmirin (Person) .................................................. 11 
  Chótl (Deity) ............................................................................1,5 
  Chrél (City)................................................................................22 
  Chudrák (City)...........................................................................13 
  Chúvan Khalúmis Vríddi (Person)........................................ 22 
  Circles of the Priesthoods (Rank).......................................... 17 
  Citadel of Harkóntio Thá'mis (Place) ....................................24 
  City of Sárku (City)................................................................7,16 
  City of the Nine Walls (City).................................................. 17 
  Clan 
   
  Cloak of Azure Gems..................................................... 20 
   
  Golden Bough...................................................................20 
   
  Golden Sunburst ........................................................ 20,31 
   
  High Clan of Ke'ér...........................................................20 
   
  High Pinnacle......................................................................1 
   
  Might of Gánga.................................................................20 
   
  Red Mountain ...................................................................12 
   
  Red Stone ......................................................................... 12 
   
  Red Sun............................................................................. 12 
   
  Red Sword........................................................................ 12 
   
  Sea Blue..............................................................................20 
   
  Sweet Singers of Nakomé............................................... 20 
   
  Sword of Fire ................................................................... 20 
   
  Vríddi ............................................................. 3,12,17,21,28 
  Cohorts (Deity)...........................................................................4 
  35 
  
  36 
  College at the End of Time (Other Planar) ............................6 
  Coming of Pavár (Event)....................................................... 30 
  Committee of Prelates (Group)................................................1 
  Concordat (Government)..............................................  9,10,17 
  Dancing Maiden of Temptation (Hriháyal) ............................4 
  Darákka Manggél (Person)......................................................24 
  Deeps of Chanayága (Geographic Feature)......................... 11 
  Demon....................................................................5,18,22,27,31 
   
  Demons of the Dark........................................................19 
   
  Demons of the Pariah Deities.................................. 29,32 
   
  Dwellers in Shadow .........................................................19 
   
  Ge'én................................................................................. 22 
   
  Gereshmá'a........................................................................16 
   
  Origób................................................................................19 
   
  Spirits of the Aerial Realm of Tu'unkélmu.................. 19 
   
  Srükárum..................................................................... 16,33 
  Dén-den (Game) ......................................................................30 
  Desert of Eyági (Geographic Feature) ..................................17 
  Desert of Sighs (Geographic Feature)........................ 11,25,31 
  Dhalé (Deity) ........................................................................3,6,7 
  Dhél Shé (City) ....................................................................14,32 
  Dhré (Deity)............................................................................... 3 
  Dilinála (Deity) .................................................................... 3,6,7 
   
  Hatred of....................................................................... 7,29 
   
  People ..................................................................... 10,18,25 
   
  Temple......................................................................... 10,29 
  Dísib Murúshu (Person)..........................................................31 
  Ditlána (Event)....................................................................15,29 
  Dlamélish (Deity) ................................................... 3,4,7,8,19,20 
  Dlásh (City)......................................................................... 14,32 
  Dó Cháka (Province).............................................................. 22 
  Do'oróm (Deity).........................................................................4 
  Dog (Fauna)............................................................................. 21 
  Dome of Eminent Delight (Place)........................................ 25 
  Doomed Prince of the Blue Room (Ksárul).................3,20,28 
  Dórmoron Plain (Other Planar)......................................... 9,19 
  Drá (Deity)..................................................................................3 
  Dragon Warriors (Nation) .........................................  1,9,11,14 
  Drí-ant (Fauna)........................................................................4,5 
  Dríchte Peak (Geographic Feature)...................................... 32 
  Drinker of Blood and Reaper of Cities (Chiténg)..................4 
  Dry Bay of Ssu'úm (Geographic Feature).............................31 
  Dumán Langshá (Person) ........................................................ 1 
  Durritlámish (Deity).......................................................  4,22,28 
  Dynasty of Eternal Victory (Government).......................... 22 
  Ecclesiarchs of Gánga (Government)...................................15 
  Egg of the World......................................................................33 
  Emerald Lady of Fleshly Joys (Dlamélish)............................. 3 
  Emperor 
   
  22nd Priestking of Gánga ...............................................16 
   
  Alinéya I ........................................................................... 25 
   
  Arkhúan Mssá...................................................................18 
   
  Atlkólum I, the Mediator ................................................25 
   
  Amukánatl Vríddi I..........................................................29 
   
  Amukánatl Vríddi II ....................................................... 29 
   
  Amukánatl Vríddi III.......................................................29 
   
  Amukánatl Vríddi IV...................................................... 30 
   
  Arshú'u, Ever-Splendid .................................................... 1 
   
  Atlkólum II, the Omniscient ......................................... 25 
   
  Balakanúma I.....................................................................11 
   
  Balamasén I...................................................................... 30 
   
  Balamasén II......................................................................30 
   
  Báshdis Mssá I ..................................................................17 
   
  Báshdis Mssá II................................................................ 17 
   
  Báshdis Mssá III, the Great ........................................... 17 
   
  Bashdis Mssa IV .............................................................. 18 
   
  Báshdis Mssá V.................................................................18 
   
  Báshdis Mssá VI .............................................................. 18 
   
  Báshdis Mssá VII..............................................................18 
   
  Báshdis Mssá VIII, Builder of Tombs 
   
    & Restorer of Catacombs........................................ 18,22 
   
  Báshdis Mssá IX......................................................... 18,22 
   
  Báshdis Mssá X..........................................................  18,21 
   
  Changgála ......................................................................... 11 
   
  Chayetlésa Tlalésu......................................................  24,25 
   
  Chayetlésa II, She Who Rules Gently........................... 25 
   
  Chayetlésa IV ................................................................... 25 
   
  Chief Priestess of Evuén .................................................15 
   
  Choléyn Mssá I.................................................................18 
   
  Choléyn Mssá II............................................................... 18 
   
  Dhárumesh Mssá I.......................................................... 17 
   
  Dhárumesh Mssá II..........................................................17 
   
  Dhárumesh Mssá III....................................................... 18 
   
  Dhárumesh Mssá IV, the Singer of Gentle Songs...... 18 
   
  Dhárumesh Mssá V, Ruled in Darkness .......................18 
   
  Dhárumesh Mssá VI....................................................... 18 
   
  Feleshka'án, the Glutton..................................................17 
   
  First Priest of Nallál.........................................................15 
   
  First Tlakotáni, Glorious First Emperor................. 30,34 
   
  Girándu I.......................................................................... 24 
   
  Girándu II..........................................................................24 
   
  Girándu III....................................................................... 24 
   
  Girándu IV........................................................................24 
   
  Girándu V......................................................................... 24 
   
  Girándu VI........................................................................24 
   
  Girándu VII...................................................................... 24 
   
  Girándu VIII.....................................................................24 
   
  Girándu IX........................................................................24 
   
  Girándu X......................................................................... 24 
   
  Girándu XI........................................................................24 
   
  Girándu XII ..................................................................... 24 
   
  Girándu XIII.....................................................................24 
   
  Girándu XIV.................................................................... 24 
   
  Girándu XV.......................................................................24 
   
  Girándu XV.......................................................................25 
   
  Girándu XVI.................................................................... 24 
   
  Girándu XVI, the One Who Is Tired........................... 25 
   
  Girándu XVII ...................................................................24 
   
  Girándu XVIII................................................................. 24 
   
  Girándu XIX.................................................................... 24 
   
  Girándu XX ......................................................................24 
   
  Girándu XXI.................................................................... 24 
   
  Girándu XXII ...................................................................24 
   
  Girándu XXIII................................................................. 24 
   
  Girándu XXIV..................................................................24 
   
  Girándu XXV .................................................................. 24 
   
  Girándu XXVI..................................................................24 
   
  Girándu XXVII ............................................................... 24 
  
  37 
   
  Girándu XXVIII ..............................................................24 
   
  Girándu XXIX .................................................................24 
   
  Girándu XXX.................................................................. 24 
   
  Hemánche Farkhénu ...................................................... 23 
   
  Hórukel N'lén.................................................................. 34 
   
  Horusánde Ngá I............................................................. 29 
   
  Horusánde Ngá II............................................................30 
   
  Kakkónen Chré ............................................................... 18 
   
  Kazhilo'ób I ......................................................................29 
   
  Kazhilo'ób II, Ruler of All............................................. 29 
   
  Kazhilo'ób III...................................................................29 
   
  Kazhilo'ób IV .................................................................. 30 
   
  Lord High Priest of Kerék............................................. 15 
   
  Meluénde Ssá ....................................................................26 
   
  Ménkoru I ........................................................................ 25 
   
  Ménkoru II........................................................................25 
   
  Ménkoru III ..................................................................... 25 
   
  Ménkoru IV ......................................................................25 
   
  Meshkanúma Améssu III...........................................10,11 
   
  Mesunénde....................................................................... 29 
   
  Mettukánatl VIII, Inept Emperor................................. 26 
   
  Mísa Tanío, Saá Allaqiyáni Queen .................................18 
   
  Nayári, Of the Silken Thighs................................  1,10,13 
   
  Nemándu I....................................................................... 18 
   
  Nemándu II ......................................................................18 
   
  Nemándu III.................................................................... 18 
   
  Nemándu IV.....................................................................18 
   
  Neshkólu I.........................................................................26 
   
  Niluén Dhiyá.....................................................................29 
   
  Second Tlakotáni..............................................................34 
   
  Shejjánekh I.......................................................................30 
   
  Ssesmúga I.........................................................................26 
   
  Ssesmúga II...................................................................... 26 
   
  Ssesmúga III .....................................................................26 
   
  Ssesmúga IV.................................................................26,27 
   
  Ssesmúga V.......................................................................27 
   
  Ssirandár I ........................................................................ 17 
   
  Ssirandár II, the Fool.......................................................17 
   
  Ssirandár III ..................................................................... 17 
   
  Ssirandár IV, the Ninny..............................................17,19 
   
  Ssirandár V, the Victorious over the 
   
    Foes of Humankind................................................. 17,21 
   
  Ssirandár VI ......................................................................17 
   
  Ssirandár VI ......................................................................18 
   
  Ssirandár VII, He Who Lived Too Long......................18 
   
  Ssirandár VIII...................................................................18 
   
  Ssirandár IX ......................................................................18 
   
  Tarishánde I......................................................................12 
   
  Tarishánde II.................................................................... 12 
   
  Tarishánde III...................................................................12 
   
  Tarishánde IV.................................................................. 12 
   
  Tarishánde V.....................................................................12 
   
  Tarishánde VI.................................................................. 12 
   
  Tarishánde VII .................................................................12 
   
  Tarishánde VIII............................................................... 12 
   
  Tarishánde IX.................................................................. 12 
   
  Tarishánde X.....................................................................12 
   
  Tarishánde XI.................................................................. 12 
   
  Tarishánde XII .................................................................12 
   
  Tarishánde XIII.......................................................... 13,14 
   
  Tettukánu Dléè I, Slaughterer of Children................... 18 
   
  Tlimastlikén, Last Priestking of Gánga...................  30,33 
   
  To... Miúna....................................................................... 34 
   
  Trákonel I, Blazing Light................................................ 34 
   
  Tratikánte I, the Greatest Empress.........................  26,27 
   
  Tratikánte II ..................................................................... 26 
   
  Tratikánte III.....................................................................26 
   
  Tratikánte IV.................................................................... 27 
   
  Wiyúl Básü.........................................................................26 
  Enemies of Man (Non-human) ...........................................8,32 
  Éngsvan hla Gánga (Nation)......1,9,10,14-16, 18-21,23,27-29 
  Éngsvan hla Gánga, 
   
  the Mighty and Powerful Empire (Book)....................... 1 
  Enomé (Deity) .................................................................. 1,2,5,6 
  Epéng-worm (Fauna)........................................................  26,29 
  Epic of Hrúgga .........................................................................20 
  Erjúon (Person) ....................................................................... 23 
  Eternal Worm (Deity)............................................................... 5 
  Evú Nithóru (City)................................................................. 7,8 
  Evuén (Deity).................................................................... 3,5,6,7 
  Eye of Lord Vimúhla.............................................................. 32 
  Fa'ásal (City) ....................................................... 3,7,12,17,21,22 
  Farthest Limits of Time (Other Planar).................................19 
  Fasíltum (City).....................................................3,7,12,17,21,22 
  Father of Nests (Deity)..............................................................8 
  Fedhám (City) ...................................................................  2,7,31 
  First Epoch (Event) .................................................17,18,20,21 
  Fishermen Kings (Nation)................................................ 1,9,19 
  Flats of Tsechehélnu (Geographic Feature)......................... 31 
  Foe of Stability (Wurú) ..............................................................4 
  Fortress of 10,000 Gleaming Spears (Place).........................23 
  Fourth Epoch (Event) .............................................................29 
  Fshétra (Measure of weight)................................................... 13 
  Furtlánte Qolámu (Person) .................................................... 27 
  Gánga (Province)...............................2,7,13,15-18,20-22,25-34 
  Gapúl-tree (Flora)................................................................... 2,6 
  Géleth Mriyudlákte (Person).................................................. 29 
  Ghár-beast (Fauna)...................................................................21 
  Ghatón (Nation)...................................................................... 28 
  Ghiyál Tranúo (Person)......................................................... 8,9 
  Goddess of the Pale Bone (Deity).........................6,9,20,23,31 
   
  Hatred of ............................................................... 25,31,32 
   
  People..............................................................................9,14 
   
  Temple........................................................................  14,25 
  Göghün (Deity).......................................................................... 4 
  Golden Age (Event).................................................................. 1 
  Governor's Zoo (Place)...........................................................14 
  Great Ancients......................................................... 15,21,32,34 
  Great Compendium of All Knowledge................................ 27 
  Great Hall of the Priestkings (Place)..................................... 25 
  Great Library (Place)...........................................................  1,17 
  Grugánu (Deity)..........................................................................4 
   
  Temple.................................................................... 16,17,27 
  Guardian of the Souls of the Hereafter (Qón)...................... 3 
  Guardians of the Keys (Other Planar)...................................20 
  Ha'úlo Kirisáyu (Person)..........................................................13 
  Hagárr (Person)........................................................................ 33 
  Haghákhte style........................................................................ 13 
  
  38 
  Hagháktish Lélo (Person)........................................................30 
  Háida Pakála (Nation)........................................... 39,54,98-100 
  Hall of Wisdom (Place) ............................................................ 3 
  Halls of Eternal Glory (Place) ................................................26 
  Harbinger of Worse to Come (Event)...................................26 
  Harmúnish Dlekkúra (Person) .............................................. 31 
  He of the Rotted Face (Durritlámish).................................... 4 
  Hero of the Age............................................................  23,31,32 
  Heroes (Other Planar) ...............................................................5 
  Hichéggeth Qúrgha (Deity) ................................................... 21 
  High Adept.......................................................................... 16,21 
  High Priest................................................................................ 21 
  Hirkkulméshru (Person)..........................................................22 
  Hlekér (City)..................................................................  11,13,20 
  Hlüss (Non-human)............................................................. 8,32 
  Hlutrgú (Non-human) ........................................................24,32 
  Hmakuyál (City)................................................................. 7,8,31 
  Hmélu (Fauna)......................................................................... 18 
  Hnálla (Deity)............................................................  3,5,7,19,20 
   
  Temple.....................................................................  8,11,15 
  Hokún (Non-human).............................................................. 14 
  Homunéndu (Person)..............................................................22 
  Hórok-frog (Fauna)................................................................... 4 
  Hráil (Deity)................................................................................4 
  Hráis (City)................................................................................31 
  Hrézhö (Deity).......................................................................8,10 
  Hriháyal (Deity)......................................................................... 4 
  Hrsh (Deity)....................................................................  8,10,26 
  Hrü'ü (Deity)........................................................ 3,4,7,19,20,22 
   
  People .............................................................................7,27 
   
  Temple...............................................................................24 
  Hrúgga (Person) ...................................................................... 19 
  Hrunusántle (School of painting)...........................................22 
  Hymn to the Scarlet Moon .....................................................27 
  Incursion of the Null (Other Planar).....................................19 
  Inept Emperors of Antiquity................................................. 26 
  Inland Sea of the North (Geographic Feature)......... 11,13,31 
  Interregnum (Event)................................................................26 
  Isle of Eyes (Geographic Feature) ........................................ 26 
  Isles of Teretané (Other Planar).............................................. 6 
  Ja'akáth (City)........................ 1,2,7,11,14,16,18,25,26,28,29,32 
  Jaikalór (City) ........................................................................... 24 
  Jakálla (City) ...........................1,2,7,11,14,16,18,25,26,28,29,32 
  Jaruén (Person)........................................................................ 16 
  Jéggeth (City).............................................................................28 
  Jekáral (City)..............................................................................24 
  Jgrésh (City).............................................................................. 33 
  Jmái (City).............................................................................. 7,29 
  Jnathár Véra (Person) ............................................................. 23 
  Jráka (Deity)....................................................................1,3,5,6,7 
  Jráka (Deity)....................................................................1,3,5,6,7 
  Ká Kokóth (City)......................................................................15 
  Káija (Province)........................................................................32 
  Kaijumá Vürüdhamé (Person)................................................23 
  Káitar (Currency)........................................................................2 
  Káitlan (City).............................................................................11 
  Karakán (Deity) ......................................................... 3,5,6,19,20 
   
  People .......................................................................... 11,31 
   
  Temple.................................................................... 11,15,26 
  Katalál (City)................................................................7,26,28,32 
  Kátén (Deity)...............................................................................3 
  Ke'ér (City) ..................................................................... 11,13,20 
  Kerék (Deity).........................................................................3,5,6 
  Keshkúru Gama'án (Person).................................................. 29 
  Keténgku (Deity) ...................................................................3,25 
  Keys (Other Planar) ................................................................ 20 
  Khá Khekkár (City)................................................. 14,23,31,33 
  Kharigár (City) ..........................................................21,27,31,33 
  Khéiris (City)............................................................ 14,23,31,33 
  Khéri (Deity) .........................................................................3,4,7 
  Khirgár (City) ........................................................... 21,27,31,33 
  Khorkhónu (Person)................................................................23 
  Khúan (Deity) .............................................................................3 
  Khuoláz (Person)......................................................................22 
  Kírrineb......................................................................................31 
  Knower of Spells (Grugánu).................................................... 4 
  Kokún Vriyón (Person) .......................................................... 31 
  Koylúga (City)....................................................................  26,28 
  Kriyór (Person)........................................................................ 21 
  Ksárul (Deity)............................................................ 1,8,9,19,20 
   
  People.................................................................................. 7 
   
  Temple.................................................................... 24,28,31 
  Küni-bird (Fauna).......................................................................4 
  Kúrdis (City)............................................................................. 31 
  Kúrt Hills (Province)............................................................... 28 
  Kúù Tép (Deity) .........................................................................6 
  Laigás (City).............................................................................. 22 
  Lake Mrissútl (Geographic Feature) ......................................10 
  Lake of Lord Aridzó (Geographic Feature)..........................31 
  Lake Parunál (Geographic Feature) ...................................... 11 
  Lament to the Reaper of Sighs .............................................. 19 
  Lament to the Wheel of Black.........................................  10,19 
  Language 
   
  Aí Chè ................................................................................33 
   
  Bednálljan.......................................................................6,23 
   
  Classical Engsvanyáli....................................................... 16 
   
  Classical Mu'ugalavyáni.............................................. 28,33 
   
  Classical Tsolyáni.......................................................  28,33 
   
  Duruób .......................................................................  15,28 
   
  Engsvanyáli.......................................... 2,15,16,19,20,21,33 
   
  Livyáni.......................................................................... 23,28 
   
  Llyáni..................................................................... 6,9,15,23 
   
  Lorún................................................................................. 23 
   
  Middle Engsvanyáli..........................................................16 
   
  Mu'ugalavyáni dialect of Engsvanyáli ............................23 
   
  Old Salarvyáni...................................................................33 
   
  Old Yán Koryáni............................................................. 23 
   
  Salarvyáni........................................................................2,23 
   
  Salarvyáni dialect of Engsvanyáli................................... 23 
   
  Secret Tongue of the Priests of Ksárul..........................28 
   
  Sunúz............................................................................ 30,33 
   
  Thu'úsa......................................................................... 28,33 
   
  Tongue of the Lord of Worms...................................... 28 
   
  Tsáqw (Ancient Yán Koryáni).................................. 28,33 
   
  Tsolyáni...........................................................................2,23 
   
  Yán Koryáni..................................................................... 14 
   
  Yán Koryáni dialect of Engsvanyáli...............................23 
  Latter Times (Event)............................................... 10,11,14,15 
  
  39 
  Layódu Jungle (Geographic Feature).....................................24 
  Legions 
   
  First Legion of Ever-Present Glory (Tsolyánu).......... 20 
   
  Legion of Sérqu, Sword of the Empire (Tsolyánu) .... 26 
   
  Legion of the Foremost (Bednálljan)............................ 20 
   
  Legion of the Givers of Sorrow (Tsolyánu) ................ 26 
   
  Legion of the Heroes of the Lord of Wisdom  
   
    (Engsvanyálu) ........................................................... 20,33 
   
  Legion of the Joyful Clan of the Noble Vrayáni 
   
    (Tsolyánu) ...................................................................... 24 
   
  Legion of the Lord of Red Devastation (Tsolyánu)....24 
   
  Legion of the Searing Flame (Tsolyánu) .......................24 
   
  Legion of the Seekers of Indelible Victory 
   
    (Engsvanyálu) .................................................................18 
   
  Omnipotent Azure Legion (Tsolyánu)..........................25 
  Library of Prince Rereshqála (Place)......................................26 
  Licentiate (Rank) ..................................................................... 12 
  Líü-Sánmü (City) ......................................................................21 
  Livyánu (Nation) .........................8,10,14,15,19,25,26,28,30,31 
  Liyuráin (Person)..................................................................... 22 
  Llyán, Empire of (Nation)...............................................9,19,23 
  Long Peace (Event)..................................................................25 
  Lord of Flame (Vimúhla) ....................................................... 12 
  Lord of Light (Hnálla) ..........................................................3,19 
  Lord of Worms and Tombs (Sárku)........................................3 
  Lords of the Latter Times (Government).............................14 
  Lorún (Nation) ................................................................... 11,28 
  Lost Bayársha (City).................................................................29 
  Lù-Ishátur (City)...................................................................... 19 
  Lyric of the Singing Bird ........................................................ 23 
  M'mórcha (Nation) ................................................................. 29 
  Mákhis (City)............................................................................ 13 
  Malué (Person).................................................................... 32,33 
  Many-Hued Garden (Place).............................................. 26,27 
  Márya (Person).................................................................... 18,19 
  Maryáhlu (City).................................................................. 1,7,29 
  Master of Change and Chaos (Hrü'ü)..................................... 3 
  Master of the Paradise of Those Who Have Gone On 
  (Belkhánu) ...................................................................................3 
  Mekú (City)............................................................................ 7,29 
  Melénde (Person) .....................................................................23 
  Messíliu Badárian (Person)......................................................31 
  Metállja (Person)...................................................................... 33 
  Mettukén Fershéna (Person)...................................................31 
  Mézhmü Odhón Bezhmöllü (Person).................................. 26 
  Mi'iltesh Khéssa (Person)....................................................... 23 
  Mighty Planes of the Multiverse (Other Planar) ................ 4,9 
  Mihálli (Non-human).............................................................. 19 
  Mihállu (Nation)..................................................18,21,25,28,30 
  Mikúnu Feyár (Person)........................................................... 33 
  Milézha Tlalésu (Person).........................................................12 
  Milumanayá (Nation)............................................... 11,21,29,30 
  Missúma River (Geographic Feature).................................7,31 
  Mistress of the Thirty-Two Unspeakable Acts (Hriháyal)... 4 
  Misuénde Fe'é (Person) ...........................................................27 
  Misumiyén (Person) .................................................................30 
  Mké'ath (City) ...........................................................................13 
  Mmátugual (Nation).................................................................32 
  Mmélökh (City).........................................................................28 
  Mmilláka (City)......................................................................... 28 
  Monster of Burrú Isle ............................................................. 25 
  Mottled Plague (Disease).........................................................30 
  Mourners in Sable (Government) ..........................................25 
  Mrelú (City) ........................................................................ 1,7,29 
  Mriyántla Chomúa (Person)................................................... 29 
  Mshékh (Deity) .......................................................................... 6 
  Mshurúish (Person)..................................................................22 
  Msúmtel Bay (Geographic Feature)....................................2,32 
  Mu'ugalavyá (Nation)...............2,8,10,14,19,21,23,25,28,30,33 
  Munificent Municipality of Zru'ó (Place)..............................22 
  Murettén Nüminú (Person).....................................................31 
  Murudlánte Vürözhéka (Person)........................................... 24 
  Muruggéshcha (Deity)............................................................... 8 
  Museum of Curios (Place).......................................................26 
  Museum of Prince Rereshqála (Place) ..............................  1,27 
  Musical Modes ......................................................................... 22 
  N'lüss (Nation).................................................................... 21,28 
  Nálche (City) ............................................................................ 14 
  Nallál (Deity).......................................................................  3,5,7 
  Naqsái Coast (Nation) ................................................. 14,25,33 
  Nashkólen Mssá (Person)....................................................... 22 
  Náth Sùnù (City).......................................................................22 
  Navái (City) ...............................................................................26 
  Nekkhúma Dhalásh (Person)............................................ 13,14 
  Nekkuthane (Person) .............................................................. 19 
  Nénu Bashántla (Person)........................................................ 22 
  Nethándu Ssanyússa (Person)................................................ 28 
  Nettukiré Ssönmarán (Person)................................................22 
  Nexus Point (Other Planar) ....................................................15 
  Ngála Fortress (Place)..............................................................25 
  Nía Alél (Person) ..................................................................... 19 
  Nirukkái (City) ......................................................................... 20 
  Niyunéth Tlatoyél (Person).....................................................31 
  Nmartúsha (Nation).................................................................26 
  Nofér (City)...............................................................................22 
  Norómbe Sékha (Person)........................................................21 
  North Pole (Geographic Feature) ......................................... 13 
  Ntés Ktík (Person) ...................................................................26 
  Nuférsh (City) ...........................................................................22 
  Numinátlu Veshkúma (Person)............................................. 25 
  Nuru'ún (Nation)......................................................................27 
  Nyémesel Isles (Nation).......................................................... 29 
  Odes ...........................................................................................20 
  Opener of Catacombs (Durritlámish)..................................... 4 
  Orú (Deity)..................................................................................4 
  Other Planar travel............................................................. 15,22 
  Outer Darkness (Other Planar) ............................................. 23 
  Outer Islands (Geographic Feature) ......................................13 
  Outer Precincts of the Shrine of Pavár (Place).....................32 
  Oval Palace (Place).................................................................. 22 
  Pa'akhán (Person).................................................................... 22 
  Páchi Léi (Non-human)............................................ 2,29,30,32 
  Paean of Psandothóth of Nirukkái.........................................20 
  Pála Jakálla (City) ..................................................................... 31 
  Palace of the Priestkings (Government)................................28 
  Palace of the Realm (Government)........................................12 
  Pale Jade Pavilion (Place).........................................................22 
  Pán Cháka (Province)...............................................................30 
  
  40 
  Pantínu (Person)................................................................. 16,22 
  Pariah Gods (Deity).....................................................  10,23,29 
   
  Hatred of............................................................  6,11,21,26 
   
  People .............................................................................9,26 
   
  Temple........................................................... 9,21,26,30,33 
  Pavár (Person).................................  2-12,14,19,20,23,28-30,32 
  Pé Chói (Non-human).............................  2,3,8,24-26,29,31,32 
  Pecháno (Nation) .......................................................... 16,17,22 
  Pelesár (City).............................................................................25 
  Pendárte (Person).................................................................... 33 
  Penóm (City).......................................................................2,7,31 
  Pentrúrtra Deeps (Geographic Feature)...........................13,31 
  Petal Throne..............................................................................34 
  Pétris Layóda (City)............................................................ 13,32 
  Picture Book (Other Planar)..............................................18,22 
  Pirundáyu (Person)...................................................................17 
  Plague of Arkhúan Mssá (Disease) ........................................18 
  Plague of the White Hand (Disease)......................................18 
  Plains of Glass (Geographic Feature).............................. 18,32 
  Plane of Being (Other Planar) ..................................................9 
  Planes of the Beyond (Other Planar).........................  14,20,27 
  Poróth (City) .....................................................................7,16,32 
  Prefect (Government)..............................................................16 
  Priestkings (Government)......... 1,12,14-17,19-21,25,29,30,32 
  Principle of Fiery Destruction (Vimúhla) .............................. 3 
  Psankothóth (Person)..............................................................20 
  Psé (Measure of weight) ......................................................... 13 
  Pték Ktík (Person)....................................................................31 
  Puff-spiders (Fauna).................................................................29 
  Purdánim (City) ...................................................................10,23 
  Púrdimal (City)..................................................................7,16,32 
  Putuhénu River (Geographic Feature) ................................. 32 
  Pygmy Folk (Non-human)....................................................... 2 
  Pylons (Other Planar)............................................................. 19 
  Qiyór (Person) ..........................................................................33 
  Qón (Deity).......................................................................3,16,17 
  Qúrgha (Deity).................................................................. 3,4,5,7 
  Rachár (Currency) ......................................................................2 
  Ragáth (Non-human)...............................................................19 
  Ramüsh (City)............................................................  7,18,26,32 
  Rannálu (Nation)......................................................................29 
  Rekmílish I (Person) ................................................................26 
  Rekmílish II (Person).............................................................. 26 
  Rekmílish III (Person).............................................................26 
  Rereshqála Tlakotáni (Person)............................................ 1,26 
  Ressúma Tlángtu (Person) ......................................................22 
  Ritual Priest.................................................................................2 
  Saá Allaqí (Nation).............................. 11,15,18,21,23,25,28,29 
  Sáima Dlakotánte (Person)..................................................... 29 
  Sákbe-roads...................................................................  15,25,32 
  Salarvyá (Nation)..................................2,3,8,15,21,25,27-31,33 
  Salèya Dlékku (Person)............................................................26 
  Sanílish Chitéyu (Person) ....................................................... 31 
  Sárku (Deity)........................................................ 3-5,7,19,20,22 
   
  Temple..........................................................11,12,16,18,28 
  Saying 
   
  Become a priest and 
   
    know neither hunger nor calluses............................... 11 
   
   
   
  Blood and blade give death and pain;  
   
    brown and gold give twice again. (Engsvanyáli) ........12 
   
  Once the bird of change has tried its wings,  
   
    it cannot remain in the nest. (Tsolyáni)........................ 7 
   
  Pens are easier to wield than 
   
    either sword or mattocks.............................................. 11 
   
  The world is different with every sunrise. (Tsolyáni) ....1 
  Scholar Priest........................................................................... 2,3 
  Sea of Milumanayá (Geographic Feature).............................25 
  Seal of the Imperium................................................................34 
  Second Banquet........................................................................20 
  Second Epoch (Event)...................................................... 21-23 
  Secret Society 
   
  Brethern of the Scarlet Nail (Sárku)...............................28 
   
  Incandescent Blaze Society (Vimúhla)...........................28 
   
  Ndálu Clan (Ksárul) .........................................................29 
   
  Scarlet Brotherhood (Vimúhla) ..................................... 28 
   
  Scroll of the Blaze Revealed (Vimúhla).........................29 
  Shadow Gods.......................................................................  8,10 
  Shanásh (City) ........................................................................7,31 
  Shánu'u (Fauna) ..........................................................................4 
  Sharúna Lowlands (Geographic Feature)............................. 31 
  Shekkéndu Ssá (Person)...........................................................21 
  Shén (Non-human)............................................................ 2,8,25 
  Shényu (Nation)....................................................................... 32 
  Shield of the Great Ancients...................................................32 
  Shikél Swamps (Geographic Feature)....................................24 
  Shiringgáyi (Deity)..................................................... 8,10,21,33 
  Shóshche (City)........................................................................ 14 
  Shqá beetle (Fauna) .................................................................4,5 
  Shrine of Lord Enomé (Place)................................................. 2 
  Shrines of the Gods (Place).................................................... 25 
  Singing Tower of Cháimu (Place).......................................... 22 
  Smiting of Little Epéng-worms (Event)............................... 26 
  Sokátis (City) ...................................................................  7,21,27 
  Southern Continent (Geographic Feature) ............... 26,26,28 
  Southern Sea (Geographic Feature).........................................2 
  Spouting Mountains (Geographic Feature).......................... 32 
  Sró (Fauna).......................................................................... 23,31 
  Sru'úm (City) ........................................................................  7,16 
  Ssa'átis (City) ................................................................. 26,57,96 
  Ssórmu (City) .......................................................................  1,32 
  Ssú (Non-human) ................................................................  8,32 
  Ssu'útakh (City)..............................................................26,57,96 
  Stability (Deity) .......................................................................3-8 
   
  Hatred of ............................................................ 7,11,19,32 
   
  People.............................................................................. 6-8 
   
  Temple..................................................................... 9-11,33 
  Standard of Mi'iltesh Khéssa of Khéiris............................... 23 
  Stelea of Scarlet Glory............................................................. 26 
  Style of Hakosénde...................................................................23 
  Súbadim (Person) .....................................................................33 
  Suór (Currency)................................................................... 16,29 
  Surgéth (Government).............................................................25 
  Swamp Folk (Non-human) ..................................................2,32 
  Syethóru (City) ......................................................................... 14 
  Te'érö (City).............................................................................. 23 
  Tékumel...................................................................... 4,23,31,33 
  Temple of the Eye of the World (Place) ...............................32 
  
  41 
  Temple Proctor.........................................................................12 
  Ténturen (Instrument)............................................................ 22 
  Teshéngtu Tlekólmü (Person)............................................... 21 
  Teshkorúsa Boródlya (Person) ...............................................28 
  Thá'mis (City)............................1,7,12,17,19,21,22,23,26,38,30 
  Thám (Deity)..................................................................... 3,5,6,7 
  The Blue Lord (Ksárul) ...........................................................20 
  The Book of Presences........................................................... 22 
  The Book of Tenebrous Places..............................................27 
  The Book of the Fourteenth Gate........................................ 22 
  The Chaste (Dilinála).................................................................3 
  The Ever-Glorious Empire: Éngsvan hla Gánga (Book) .... 1 
  The Goddess............................................................................ 24 
  The Healer (Keténgku)..............................................................3 
  The Hero-King (Chegárra)....................................................... 3 
  The Hymn-Singer (Drá) ............................................................3 
  The Inevitable of the Ineffable..............................................5,6 
  The One of Eggs (Deity)...........................................................8 
  The One Other (Deity)..................................................... 6,9,20 
   
  Hatred of......................................................................26,32 
   
  People ......................................................................  9,14,30 
   
  Temple.................................................................... 14,18,29 
  The One Who Is (Deity)............................................  6,9,20,29 
  The One Who Rends (Deity) ...................................................8 
  The Periplus of Farther Voyaging..........................................15 
  The Redaction of the Orange-Red Flame............................ 22 
  The Scroll of Knowing Those 
   
  Things Which Rejoice in the Soil...................................22 
  The Scrolls of Pavar........................................... 1,3,4,5,8,19,20 
  The Scrolls of the Paths of Burning ..................................... 22 
  The Tortured Melody ............................................................. 27 
  The Uncaring (Drá)................................................................... 3 
  The Windsong Canticle.......................................................... 25 
  Thénu Thendráya Peak (Geographic Feature).................... 19 
  Third Epoch (Event) ..........................................................24,26 
  Thomar (Person) ..................................................................... 33 
  Thráya (City) ............................................................................ 12 
  Three States of the Triangle (Nation)...................................1,9 
  Thri'íl (City)...............................................................................22 
  Throne Name (Government).................................................10 
  Throne Title (Government)................................................... 10 
  Thúmis (Deity)............................................................. 3-7,19,20 
   
  Temple.................................................................... 11,14,29 
  Tí Horúa (City) ........................................................................ 12 
  Time of Darkness (Event) ........................................ 7,11,14,15 
  Time of No Kings (Event)........................................... 30,33,34 
  Tinalíya (Non-human) .............................................................. 2 
  Tirisán Jakóna (Person) .......................................................... 12 
  Tirisánte Melél (Person) .................................................... 27,28 
  Titles of Power (Government)...............................................10 
  Tlakotáni Dynasty (Government)..........................................34 
  Tlékku Beshyéne (Person).......................................................26 
  Tléku (City) ...............................................................................32 
  Tlèkumasén (Person) .............................................................. 30 
  Tólek Kána Pits (Place) ......................................................17,25 
  Tome of Unoccupied Darkness............................................ 27 
  Trahlú (City)............................................................................. 14 
  Trú (City)...................................................................................23 
  Tsa'avtúlgu (City)......................................................................21 
  Tsámra (City).................................................................... 9,19,22 
  Tsán (Measure of distance) .....................................................15 
  Tsatsayágga (City)..................................................................2,22 
  Tsémelkoi (Office) ...................................................................12 
  Tsoléi Archipelago (Nation)........................................... 1,21,28 
  Tsolyánu (Nation).........................  10-12,14,17,28,30,31,33,34 
  Tu'unkét (City)......................................................................... 30 
  Tubeway.................................................................................... 15 
  Tumíssa (City)...........................1,7,12,17,19,21,22,23,26,38,30 
  Twenty-Four Forms of Dress.................................................18 
  Tyalméya (Deity).................................................................  3,4,7 
  Underworld (Geographic Feature)................................... 17,32 
  Undying Wizards ..................................................................... 33 
  Unstraightened City (City)................................................  26,33 
  Úrmish (City).............................................................. 7,18,26,32 
  Usenánu (City) .......................................................................7,31 
  Vales of Ninár (Geographic Feature) ................................... 17 
  Vaomáhl (Deity) ...................................................... 3,4,5,7,8,10 
  Viceroys of the provinces (Government)................... 27,28,30 
  Viceroys of the South (Government) ....................................26 
  Vikkumékyar (Person) ......................................................  27,28 
  Vimúhla (Deity) ........................................... 3-5,7,8,10,19,20,22 
   
  Legion ................................................................................24 
   
  People......................................................7,8,12,17,24,27,28 
   
  Temple.............................................................. 14,16,22,26 
  Virudái Vrázhimü (Person) .................................................... 28 
  Vrá (Province).................................................................  2,27,33 
  Vrá (City) ...................................................................................32 
  Vrés-incense (Flora) .................................................................. 2 
  Vrú'uneb (Government)......................................................... 25 
  Vu'é (Person)............................................................................ 22 
  Wába (Person).......................................................................... 15 
  Wanderers Between the Worlds (Other Planar).....................2 
  War 
   
  Conquest of Pecháno (1609-1666 J.V.).........................17 
   
  Flower Wars (3464-3490 J.V.) ................................. 26-28 
   
  Invasion of Livyánu (3402-3460 J.V.)............................26 
   
  Rebellion of the Right Hand (3rd Epoch) .............. 24,25 
  Wards of the Keys (Other Planar)..........................................20 
  White Water Shoals (Geographic Feature)........................... 32 
  Wurú (Deity) ..........................................................................4,22 
  Yahéshu Sarél (Person)............................................................29 
  Yán Kór (Nation) ............................... 13,15,21,25,27,28,30,33 
  Yetíl (Person) ............................................................................20 
  Zhékkat (City) .................................................................  7,21,27 
  Zhurúllan Odes.........................................................................23 
  Zrné (Fauna) .............................................................................32 
  Zu'úr (Drug)..............................................................................25 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Empire of the Petal Throne/Tékumel Supplemental/Tékumel Netbook #2 The Ever-Glorious Empire Éngsvan hla Gánga.pdf