Dreamfall: Whisper of the Sister Moons: Shadowbinder, #1

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

IN THIS PRONUNCIATION guide, whenever you see the letter ‘J,’ it's pronounced with a throaty sound, similar to the ‘J’ in Spanish words like ‘Jorge’ or ‘Rojo.’ These pronunciations are marked with an asterisk (*).

Ai’kēff* : HEJ-KEFF

Aluä:  AH-LOO-AH

Anayä Ygun: AH-NA-YAH EE-GOON

Ari’star: AH-REH-STAR

Asha’hen: A-SHA-HEN

Ätay’â: AH-TAH-YAH

Ayûn: AI-OON

Bou’thā: BOW-THAH

Cassiopeia Xenzar: CASSIE-O-PAYEE-AH ZEN-ZAH

Çiriš: SHEE-REESH

Draōith: DRA-EETH

Ebön: EH-BAHN

Enerren: EH-NEH-REN

Engük: EHN-GOOK

Equ’uên: EH-COO-EHN

Exxon: ECK-SOHN

Fära’sha*: FAR-AH-JASHA

Gemysphere: GEM-IS-FEAR

Guh’Ahubnak*: GOO-AJOOB-NAK

Gunther Tuul: GOON-THER TOO-HOOL

Irgun Semmeth: EAR-GOON SEM-ETH

Jash’uan: JAH-SHOO-WAN

Kal’aín: KAL-AH-EEN

Kerel’ek: KER-EH-LEK

Löek: LUH-EK

Na’äala: NAH-AH-LAH

Nā’wā: NAH-WAH

Na’zûl: NAH-ZOOL

Ng’ventha Esmere: HUH-VENTHA ES-MEE-RA

Nü’maa: NOO-MAH

Oyûn: OH-YOON

Oyuri: OH-YOO-REE

Rej’na: REH-NAH

Rían: REE-AHN

S’gàil Osaoghail*: SAH’JAIL O-SAH-OH-JAIL

Sakh’batha: SAKH-BATH-AHT

Tírnnai’chte*: TEER-NEE-AJ-TEH

Tráilleach*: TRA-EE-LAHJ

Tu’an: TOO-AHN

Ultuka’kan: UL-TOO-KA-KAHN

Urukhai: OO-ROO-KHAI

Urukhan: OO-ROO-KAHN

Xahath: ZAH-HATH

Xë’than Xa'thän: ZEH-THAN ZAH-THAN

Xenphii: XEN-FEE

Xö’anth: ZO-ANTH

Ynês: EE-NES

Yu’van Ekotho: YOO-VAN EH-KOTHO

I. Extract from The Promised Land

Section 1, Paragraphs 1-27, A Holy Landing

Written by His Eminence Irgun Nemmeth

WE CRASH-LANDED IN a world of savages as was prophesied in the Book of Asha’hen[1].

I recall alighting from Enterprise Exxon, drawing my first breath of the pure Urukhan air and feeling an instant connection with this foreign realm.

Nay, not foreign.

Home.

Before us lay vast expanses of violet fields, stretching unto the horizon, known to us henceforth as Enerren[2]. It was a sight unparalleled, yet as foreseen by the Prophet Aluä[3].

In the distance, loomed a towering mass upon the landscape—a volcano, so lofty its peak seemed to caress the very skies.

Beauty intertwined with savagery therein.

And I felt my heart skip a beat.

My throat tighten.

Tears caress my cheeks.

This was home.

I turned to look at the carnage. Our vessels were largely destroyed. Their thick black smoke covered the crimson skies as the voices of the dying slowly faded into the ether.

They could not see the beauty amidst the chaos. They did not understand as I did.

Those who perished in the crash were not meant to see it. They were non-believers.

‘Asha’hen will bestow the ultimate gift to those true of word,’ said the scriptures.

They died because they did not believe as I did. They did not see as I did.

Even those who survived...their faith waned. I could hear it in their endless screams...

The air around me thrummed with echoes of the purest lament for the fallen.

A mournful tribute. One they should have been ashamed of.

Our destiny had been fulfilled. But they did not see as I did.

Upon bended knees, tears streaming, I beseeched Asha’hen to forsake them, for they knew not what I knew. 

We had been saved.

Sheltered from the unprecedented perils of the Deviation[4].

Here, persecution would assail us no longer.

As had been foretold.

With tears as my witness, I recited from memory a passage from the sacred tome, The Book of Asha’hen, which spoke thus:

And so, when darkness encroaches, shall a radiant beacon lead thee unto the celestial Fields of Lilac, thereafter known unto thee as Enerren, for this is thy genesis anew. Fear not, for thy faith shall serve as thy bulwark. Here shalt thou thrive, let it be proclaimed to thine adversaries, that thy faith is both shield and blade. Let it be known to those who spurn thee and the blessings bestowed upon thy kin, that thy faith is both shield and blade. Thy utterance shall be Salvation and Retribution. Let it be known to those who rebuke thee, that they shall face the fury of thy unyielding faith.

1: KAL’AÍN

THE VIOLET EXPANSE of Urukhan stretched out endlessly under thick brooding clouds, while the crimson skies above were intermittently illuminated by bursts of thunder and lightning, painting the world in electric fury. Rain burst forth, cascading over the Fields of Enerren. The rhythmic drumming drove the wildlife into retreat, creating a symphony of pattering against the drenched earth. One figure remained unmoved amidst the downpour. With closed eyes and barely perceptible breath, he lay still. Suddenly, his ash-grey eyes shot open as he sat up gasping for air amidst the storm.

Kal’aín winced as warm raindrops pelted his face, each one feeling like a blade against his skin. Instinctively, he raised his hands to shield himself from the relentless barrage. His vision blurred as he struggled to catch his breath. Through the watery haze, he attempted to survey his surroundings, struggling to make sense of the chaotic scene. Shadows and shapes shifted like spectres, their forms obscured by the downpour. The unceasing rain shattered his sense of time and place, leaving him disoriented and overwhelmed.

And then, he caught it—the familiar scent of çiriš [5] lingering at the edge, a precursor of the petrichor soon to follow in the wake of the downpour. Amidst the torrent, a sense of saudade enveloped Kal’aín, momentarily clouding his vision. Flashes of faces he recognised but couldn’t place flickered in his mind...

There was a woman in a long golden dress that flowed around her slim frame like liquid light; her long obsidian-coloured hair and ebony skin highlighted her elegance. Her angular, almost feline features bore down on him with the warmth of a mother’s gaze, her hand outstretched in a gesture of comfort. Her delicate crown, crafted from mother-of-pearl, gleamed softly in the moonlight. Behind her stood a proud man, his hands clasped behind his back, a thick moustache concealing a smile that contrasted with the hint of shame in his golden caramel eyes. Who were they? The question echoed in his mind, stirring a whirlwind of emotions as his heart pounded violently, trying, or so it seemed, to break free from his chest. Their faces were so familiar...and yet elusive as if part of another life. The sight of them left him breathless, overwhelmed by a deluge of questions he did not have the answers to.

The air shimmered, transforming the surrounding fields into a mosaic garden where he was certain echoes of laughter once danced—his laughter...

As he stepped forward in his mind’s eye, he felt the earth beneath his feet groan and grumble. Cracks began to appear in the ground, and with a burst of force, towering pillars erupted from the earth. The structures rose with majestic speed, followed by the sudden emergence of a grand palace, its grandeur crafted from the finest black marble. The palace seemed to materialise fully formed, its intricate details and opulent structure revealing themselves as if summoned by a divine hand.

Kal walked through the palace’s imposing doors, glistening in different shades of blue and violet, crafted from unbreakable steel of some sort and stepped into hallowed halls. His eyes fell on a figure shrouded in shadow, their form indistinct but imbued with a sense of authority. He recognised the confidence in the stranger’s stride. It mirrored his own...could it be him?

Kal’aín allowed his imagination to wander through the corridors of the palace, following the cloaked figure closely. With each step forward, the surroundings unfolded like a living tapestry, revealing themselves in vivid detail as if born from his thoughts. Walls rose on either side, radiant and resplendent, their surfaces gleaming as though sculpted from the purest gold. It was as if his movement through the space was coaxing the palace into existence. As he advanced, the grandeur of the structure became more apparent: row upon row of statues emerged, not as mere sentinels but as regal figures—kings.

At the terminus of this seemingly endless hallway, a magnificent door of polished purplewood stood sentinel, flanked by two guards cloaked in robes of black and purple. Their hips bore sleek firearms with elongated barrels that tapered to finely wrought muzzles. Intricate filigree embellished the weapons, accented by clusters of pink rubies, radiating both grace and menace.

The two sentinels bowed in reverence as Kal and the stranger approached the grand doors which began to creak open slowly. Yet, before he could glimpse what lay beyond, a searing bolt of pain tore through his being. It was an unyielding force that briefly plunged him into a void of blindness and agony. Every thought twisted and contorted within him under the relentless assault, mingling with visions of a cataclysmic burst of incandescent light. The palace corridor was cast in fiery crimson and blinding white as if Asha’hen himself had unleashed his wrath upon the world. But as swiftly as the torment arrived, it vanished, leaving Kal gasping and hacking for breath. The sweet scent of çiriš clawed at his lungs, threatening to suffocate him as the palace shimmered back into the fields of Enerren...

Kal’aín’s eyes fluttered open as he took a long, deep breath. The fragrance of moonsand[6] mingled with the faint scent of rain, permeated the air, evoking childhood memories under the Four Moons. Though the precise recollection eluded him, the scent tugged at something deep within him, a bittersweet reminder of a world he once knew.

A gentle morning mist, tinted with shades of green, had coalesced around him, veiling the sun’s slow ascent—a spectral apparition amidst the ethereal haze. With his eyes fixed on the heavens, he felt the first rays of sunlight gently warm his face. A smile began to form but it was quickly erased as a tremor suddenly disrupted the serene expanse.

‘Oh, Asha’hen!’ he cursed, his voice echoing against the unsettling tumult. 

The earth continued to tremble beneath his feet as the mist slowly dissipated, revealing a chaotic spectacle. Rich, dark purple soil erupted from the ground and suspended in the air along with clusters of small and medium-sized rocks as if defying gravity. The soil and rocks hovered momentarily before crashing back to earth. As the tremor subsided, the mist unveiled the forms of hundreds of quadruped creatures moving swiftly toward him. They towered at a formidable six feet, their skin mottled in rugged, slick shades of deep green and brown. Their angular eyes, sharply defined and slit-like, glinted with an unsettling intelligence, further magnifying their formidable presence. Curved tusks, reminiscent of seashells, jutted from the top of their heads, enhancing their imposing silhouette.

Stepping backwards, Kal’aín felt an unsettling shift within him—an unfamiliar weight and an unexpected agility. He glanced