Glossary

The decree of succession the Church issues when the kingship stands vacant: the new king must complete his accession within seven days. Most Extraordinary Synods of the last four hundred years have opened with it.

The highest council the Church convenes at extraordinary times. In four hundred years it has met 17 times: 14 over a succession, 3 over doctrinal deviation. Of the 14 successions, the Church named the new king itself on 9 occasions.

A God-Era character that keeps recurring. It is on the shard from the old king's bones, on the back of an old bronze clasp, on the empty stone plinths in the Tomb Gallery, on the underside of a silver seal — the same character, and those who have seen it say: heard somewhere, and still not known.