Countess Margarethe held her eyes a long time. “Keep those beasts under control,” said the countess at last, gesturing at the quigutl (and possibly Jacomo) with her chin. “Can’t have them popping out unexpectedly and scaring people.”
“Thank you,” said Tess, noticing the sway of the ship beneath her feet for the first time. It made her a little light-headed.
She was here. She was going. It was real.
“Don’t make me regret this,” said Margarethe. She turned on her heel and barked orders to the crew.
Tess turned her face to the wind with an irrepressible grin as the world set itself in motion around her.
The four points of my compass, this time: Karen New, Arwen Brenneman, E. K. Johnston, and Max Gladstone.
My intrepid beta-reading, boot-wearing, butt-kicking work crew: Rebecca Hartman-Baker, Laura Hartman, Susin Nielsen, Phoebe North, Arushi Raina, Pavel Curtis, and Els Kushner. Extra thanks to Becca and Els for accompanying me on one extra side quest full of peril.
Rainbow Rowell, whose novel Fangirl got me out the door.
Justina Ireland, whose essay “Windows, Mirrors, and the Spaces in Between” kept me going when the road was rockiest.
Mishell Baker, Amal El-Mohtar, Rebecca Sherman, and my mother, who gave my weary head a place to rest.
Cam Larios, who gave Kikiu her bite enhancer.
The birds in my trees: the QuasiModals, Spock’s Beard, Dream Theater, YES, and always, always Iarla Ó Lionáird.
Mallory Loehr, Jenna Lettice, Michelle Nagler, and all my quigutl friends at Random House.
Dan Lazar, amazing agent, always ready to spring into superheroic action.
Jim Thomas, peripatetic editor, who had his hands full with this one and acquitted himself admirably.
And finally, Scott, Byron, and Úna, who are always waiting at the end of my road.
Tess Dombegh—the one most likely to get spanked
Jeanne—her twin sister, the pretty one
Seraphina—her older half sister, the smart one, sometimes called Phina
Claude—her father, a disgraced lawyer
Anne-Marie—her mother, long-suffering
Paul and Nedward—Tess’s younger brothers, aspiring bullies
Kenneth—Anne-Marie’s brother; an honorary cousin and aspiring astronomer
Mistress Edwina—a dowager baroness who resorts to teaching
Faffy—short for “Fast Taffy,” a noble snaphound
Count Julian, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Malagrigio, Great-Aunt Elise—just a few of the many possible Belgiosos, Anne-Marie’s side of the family
Grandma Therese—Claude’s aged mother
Jean-Philippe, Baronet Dombegh—Claude’s older brother, a bully and a cad
Chessey—a midwife, like one of the family
The Pfanzligs of Cragmarog Castle
Duke Lionel—the leonine patriarch
Duchess Elga—his pious wife
Lord Richard—the handsome one
Lord Heinrigh—the smarmy one
Lord Jacomo—the priggish one, at seminary
Royals, Nobles, and the Like
Queen Glisselda—the young Queen of Goredd
Prince Consort Lucian Kiggs—married to Glisselda; it’s complicated
An infant princess—to be named as soon as all her parents can agree
Regent of Samsam—the regent of Samsam
Count Pesavolta—the ruler of Ninys
Lady Farquist—an old darling, auntie to all the eligible bachelors
Lady Eglantine, Lady Morena, Lord Thorsten—a chorus of courtiers
Lord Chauncerat—a closeted Daanite, willing to play along
Countess Margarethe of Mardou—a famous and fashionable explorer
Lord Morney—he of the mysterious contraption, coming to a sequel near you
Ardmagar Comonot—leader of dragons (the big winged ones anyway)
At St. Bert’s Collegium
Professor the dragon Ondir—crankily oversees the doctoral candidates
William of Affle—a handsome cad, long gone
Harald and Roger—Will’s best mates, aspiring cads
Scholar Spira—a pedantic dragon graduate student
Rynald, Baronet Averbath—a beautiful astronomer
In Legend and in Faith
Dozerius the Pirate—a swashbuckling Porphyrian storybook hero
Julissima Rossa—his ladylove, deceased
St. Vitt—always ready to let you know how badly you’ve sinned
Pau-Henoa—trickster rabbit of pagan provenance
Anathuthia—the first of seven World Serpents
On the Road
Pathka—a quigutl, Tess’s oldest friend
Kikiu—Pathka’s challenging offspring
Karpeth—Kikiu’s other parent, unsettlingly
Florian—a grist lout
Blodwen and Gwenda—a pair of shepherdesses, lively and shrewd
Mumpinello—their mysterious friend, definitely not made up
Reg and Rowan—a pair of villains, plain and simple
Griss—their aged victim, probably not a nobleman
Boss Gen—imperatrix of the road crew
Felix, Aster, and Mico—the aforementioned crew, uniformly useless
Big Arnando—the foreman
Nicolas—a geologist
Darling Dulsia—a traveling minister of mercy
Those Who Pray
Mother Philomela—a traveling minister of mercy
Sister Mishell—rings the bell
Frai Moldi—a debauched monk
Frai Lorenzi—the head archivist of Santi Prudia Monastery
Pater Livian—the abbot of Santi Prudia
Father Erique—bad apple in a small barrel
Angelica—a wonderful cook
In Segosh
Mother Gaida—a diminutive embroiderer
Josquin—her lovely son, now a writer, formerly a herald
Rebecca—his former girlfriend, still a midwife, gone back to the islands
Master Pashfloria—preeminent natural philosopher of the Ninysh Academy
Master Emmanuele—somewhat less eminent, anxious to make his name
Dr. Belestros—a dragon physician, no bedside manner
St. Blanche—the mechanic, also good with plumbing
Allsaints—all the Saints in Heaven. Not a deity, exactly; more like a collective
Archipelagos—islands south of Ninys, extending to the Antarctic
ard—order, correctness (Mootya); may also denote a battalion of dragons
Ardmagar—title held by the leader of dragonkind; translates roughly to “supreme general”
aurochs—large, wild cattlebeast, extinct in our world; existed in Europe until the Renaissance
Bitter Branca—Ninysh drink with ale and pine brandy
Blystane—capital of Samsam
bollos—balls (Ninysh)
castameri—eunuchs (Ninysh)
Castle Orison—Goreddi seat of government, in Lavondaville
coracle—light boat made of hides stretched over a wooden frame
Cragmarog Castle—home of the Pfanzligs
Daanite—homosexual, a follower of St. Daan
damaelle—small, dear lady; a courtesan (Ninysh)
doublet—short, fitted man’s jacket, often padded
dracomachia—martial art for fighting dragons, invented by St. Ogdo
Ducana province—Duke Lionel’s duchy
fatluketh—coming-of-age rite, wherein quigutl hatchlings fight their mothers and
try to bite them, thereby ending the parental phase of the relationship (Quootla)
fthep—to deliver a stinging rebuke with your tail (Quootla)
fthootl—quigutl toy intended to build up ocular dexterity (Quootla)
furze—also called gorse; a tough, prickly shrub
Goredd—Tess’s homeland, one of the Southlands (adjective form: Goreddi)
Heaven—Southlanders’ afterlife, as outlined by the Saints in scripture
houppelande—robe of rich material with voluminous sleeves, usually worn belted; women’s are floor-length; a man’s might be cut at the knee
Infernum—Hell; not all Saints believe in it
ityasaari—half-dragon; the Saints of old were revealed to have been half-dragons, and so half-dragons are now considered living Saints (Porphyrian)
kemthikemthlutl—ritual to connect one’s dreams with a World Serpent’s (Quootla)
kikiu—death (Quootla)
ko—ungendered pronoun that quigutl use for each other (Quootla)
Lavondaville—Tess’s hometown and the largest city in Goredd, named for Queen Lavonda, who made peace with dragonkind
lunessa—it’s hard to find much concrete information on medieval feminine hygiene, so I invented my own
marchpane—marzipan, a confection of almond paste and sugar
megafauna—large animals, such as aurochs and dragons
mercer—textile dealer
Mootya—language of dragons, rendered in sounds a human mouth can make
Most Alone—epithet for the World Serpent Anathuthia
naphtha—flammable liquid hydrocarbon, sometimes eaten by dragons
Ninys—country southeast of Goredd (adjective form: Ninysh)
nupa—opal; euphemism for clitoris (Ninysh)
ogham—ancient alphabet of carved hatch marks
oubliette—claustrophobic pit used as a dungeon
oud—lutelike instrument, often played with a pick, or plectrum
palasho—palace (Ninysh)
parthenogenesis—asexual reproduction
Pelaguese—from the Archipelagos
penoio—penis (Ninysh)
Pentrach’s Dun—hill fort ruin
pessary—form of early birth control; inserted vaginally; not as effective as modern kinds, but better than nothing
Pinabra—vast pine forest in southeast Ninys
Porphyry—small city-state northwest of the Southlands
psalter—book of devotional poetry, usually illustrated; in Goreddi psalters, there’s a poem for each of the major Saints
Quighole—dragon and quigutl ghetto in Lavondaville
quigutl—small, flightless subspecies of dragon with a set of dexterous arms in place of wings and a tube-shaped tongue that can produce a flame
Quootla—language of the quigutl; sometimes inaccurately described as “Mootya with a bad lisp,” as the two languages are mostly mutually intelligible
saar—dragon (Porphyrian)
saarantras—dragon in human form; plural: saarantrai (Porphyrian)
St. Abaster—staunch defender of the faith, loves smiting sinners
St. Agnyesta—patron of cheesemakers
St. Bert (Jobertus)—patron of natural philosophy; collegium named for him
St. Clare—patroness of the perceptive
St. Daan—patron of romantic love (along with his partner, St. Masha)
St. Fredricka—a living Saint and muralist who now lives in the Archipelagos
St. Gobnait—patroness of the persistent; Lavondaville cathedral named for her
St. Ida—patroness of musicians; music conservatory named for her
St. Jannoula—a living Saint, helped instigate the recent war named for her
St. Loola—patroness of children, the sick and indigent; hospices named for her
St. Munn—patron of merchants, popular in Ninys
St. Nedouard—the physician, recently deceased
St. Ogdo—founder of dracomachia; patron of knights and of all of Goredd
St. Pandowdy—a giant Saint who rose from the swamps near Lavondaville at the end of St. Jannoula’s War
St. Prue (Prudia)—patron of history; monastery named for her
St. Seraphina—what Seraphina is sometimes called, to her chagrin
St. Siucre—patron of sweet memories; helps find what is lost
St. Willibald (Wilibaio)—patron of markets and news; cathedral named for him
Samsam—country southwest of Goredd (adjective form: Samsamese)
Santi merdi!—holy shit (Ninysh)
sarabande—slow, stately dance in three
Segosh—capital of Ninys, center of art and culture
snaphound—rather like a whippet
Southlands—Goredd, Ninys, and Samsam together
Tanamoot—dragons’ vast country north of the Southlands
Tathlann’s Syndrome—serious medical condition afflicting dragons who received no maternal memories, usually due to the untimely death of the mother
tes’puco—stupid-head, also a euphemism for penis (Ninysh)
thmepitlkikiu—something so transcendent there are no words for it (Quootla)
thnik—quigutl device that allows the transmission of voices over long distances
thnimi—thnik that also transmits images
thuthmeptha—when a quigutl metamorphoses from one sex to another, which happens several times across their lifespans (Quootla)
Treaty Eve—annual commemoration of the treaty between Goredd and dragons
Trowebridge—largest town in Ducana province
tutlkikiu—splitting death, an affliction of quigutl (Quootla)
-utl—Quootla suffix indicating contradictory case, wherein a word also means its opposite
World Serpents—vast creatures out of quigutl mythology, believed to have created the world and to hold it together
Yawning Nancy—pagan sculpture similar to an Irish Sheela-na-gig
RACHEL HARTMAN is the author of the acclaimed and New York Times bestselling YA fantasy novel Seraphina, which won the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, and the New York Times bestselling sequel Shadow Scale. Rachel lives with her family in Vancouver, Canada. In her free time, she sings madrigals, walks her whippet in the rain, and is learning to fence.
rachelhartmanbooks.com
@_rachelhartman
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Rachel Hartman, Tess of the Road
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