Guide

Glossary

Terms that appear once in the sources and do not yet have an entry.

Things that appear in the sources but about which I could not find enough to fill a page. When a third statement turns up, the term moves to an entry of its own.

This page is also a map of what I do not know: every single-line item is the name of a gap.

Term The one thing I know Source
urf Each ledge on the Mountain of Being. Plural A’râf; the people’s name for the mountain comes from it Treatise, 12b
Adem Leave to enter the mountain is his to give. Those asked who he is do not answer Record 1
elif — lâm — mîm — sâd Four letters cut into the gate of the Mountain of Being. I could find no one to ask their meaning Record 1
the tree that shines like gold Stands at the summit of the Mountain of Being; at that height the only light. Its name appears in no source Record 1
crown Mark of rank among the fire nation; taken from the head of the defeated Treatise, 12b
guild The order of masters among the earth nation; a master’s word counts there as a bond Treatise, 12b
turban Mark of standing among the water nation; its folds are not given at birth but earned Treatise, 12b
İncikent The island where the records are kept. The document I hold was copied from there Treatise, colophon
Registers of Devran The water nation’s series of registers; my text comes from leaf 12b of the seventh Treatise, colophon
ney A reed instrument named in the parchment I found at the gate Deep Silence
the library inscription “no answer is given, it is written / no question is asked, it is read” — above the door of the water nation’s libraries Record 2