As we inch closer to the magical month of May, I’m thrilled to announce the release of a short story set in the beloved world of the Serpentine Throne series, featured in the enchanting anthology Enchanted Skies: The Blue Dragon’s Quest.

Here is the description for Enchanted Skies:

High-flying adventure, magical mayhem, and new horizons are in the air.
Take to the stormy skies on the backs of dragons or the ancient thunderbirds. In this clean fantasy anthology, you’ll soar into fantastic realms and meet creatures drawn from myth and legend. A hippogriff, Pegasus, harpies, and so much more.
Inspired by tales from around the world, these short stories will propel you into adventures of murder, mystery, and vengeance. These award-winning, bestselling, and emerging authors will lift and inspire you and leave you wishing you had wings of your own.
Fans of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians series and Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology will adore this collection, where every encounter is a battle for survival and a test of wills.
All profits from this anthology will go to the Red Cross to support hurricane relief.

The Blue Dragon’s Quest follows one of the antagonists through her bonded dragon’s eyes. In preparation for the release of Enchanted Skies and this new adventure, I wanted to share the glossary for my series.

The Serpentine Throne Glossary

This is in alphabetical order, and you should be able to search this page for the word you need defined. I’ve tried very hard to make sure all the words in the short story are clear from context, but there are times when a reference is just the best.

Aari bugs: small bugs similar to ants

Aomori apple: the most favored apple in Nantai, from the orchards in Aomori.

Aardwolf: Small animal native to Ise

Bells of Selene: plants; Golden-tipped buds by the hundreds would open under Selene’s light and turn the air sweet, but for Otarr, they held their faces and scents inside closed petals. Bottomside district

Cavernal network: Where the Underhill Dwellers live. Caves beneath hills and mountains connected by tunnels.

Casteless: the people of Nantai who do not have magical abilities

Citadel: the place of worship in Arashi

Clanhold: underground (under-ice) caverns where the Frost Fighter clans hold up for a while when they stop.

Csárdás: name of a song played on the fiddle with an accompanying dance

Daijō-sai: part of ascension process

Daisai: medicine, to relieve menstrual cramping

Dea: Goddess of fertility of the Rundi tribespeople

Deep Demon: Asahi’s [sailor’s] curse word

Djecmas: Tsinti term for Mairynne’s people

Dragon flight

Dragonkind: similar to humankind

Dragonsight: similar to eyesight

Serpentine Throne

Eeyoza: Rundi word for soap or bath

Erasure: the term the Ryu use for the Ryu Wars

Eight-Span Mirror of Truth: a holy artifact; part of the ascension ceremony

Gensui: term for first leader of a guard in Nantai

Giant Folk: the name the Small Folk call the Nantai

Gnoble: the head of each caste. A leader, similar to a noble family, but of an entire race. Also used as an address/a title as in “Gnoble name” or “Gnoble Lady Svarta”

Golem: an artificial human being endowed with life to test for poison

Great Market: Southern Fork Market; at southernmost fork of the Betsu River

Hai: yes

Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds: Holy artifact; Sword Otarr gave to Atun;
Pending: whether ‘heavenly’ is an adjective or part of name as affects capitalization

High Cloud Court: place in the clouds where court of all castes is held on a regular basis. Place where new emperors and empresses ascend to the throne. Consists of a series of castles in the clouds, which move around over Nantai.

High Tower: place where prisoners are kept.

Holy Triad (formal) / Triad (casual): the core gods in Nantai

Hyrax: a bird in Ise

Islandgale: a people from the Vesterisles of Nantai (a clan of Storm Sorcerers)

Issō: term for Captain, used in Into the Evernight for Jun and Call of the Maelstrom for Phy Sovann.

Ketill pants: loose, bloused pants

Kōgō / kōgō: honorific for an empress

Mekoilieu: word to activate the spells on stones.

Minikin: term of endearment used by dragons for their companion.

Mon: coin in denominations of (from least to most valuable) iron, copper, bronze, strung iron, strung copper, and strung bronze.

Mon strings: 96 mon strung together to equal 100 pieces worth of each

Mynthe: An herb used by the Tsinti

Nantai:

1. Country: Nantai
2. People: a/the Nantai, and “Nantai” if “a/the” doesn’t fit in, e.g., “other bonded Nantai” or “a Nantai Storm Sorcerer”
3. Language: Nantai
4. Adjective: Nantai (similar to Thailand/a Thai person / the Thai people / Thai / Thai (adj)The language.

Nekodai: giant winter cats that live in the Iced Plains of Nantai, plural and singular = nekodai

O d’ives: Tsinti greeting, means several things: How goes the day? Good day. What are your worries this day?

O drom: Tsinti term meaning the road; has a lot of meaning for the Tsinti: “embodies one’s life and very existence. It encompasses everyone you have met and everyone you will ever meet.”

Obi: robe or belt

Ōdachi: great sword

Orb-light: light source

The Order: secret society where assassins are trained

Overlanders: a word used by the Underhill Dwellers for anyone who lives above ground, outside of the cavernal networks

Phial: vial, container

Primlock: grows on the Lower Peninsula of Yōtei. If consumed will cause vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, sores in the mouth, difficulty breathing, and convulsions often resulting in death

Reiki healer: Tsinti healer

Ringo: tree fruit, grows in Nadia’s gardens

Rundi Tribes: Khirundi, Zhorundi, Mhorundi

Ryū: the Fey race of dragons; typically in wyvern form.

Other types of dragons:

giant wyrms created the Northerly Barrows,

Wingless drakes roamed over the Nantai, Yotei, and Engaru sand dunes,

Tiny hummingdragons, not larger than my last knuckle but quick with their fire breath, populated the tree-covered and marshy regions,

Doragons, Six-limbed cousins (4 legs and 2 wings), departed into the west

Ryū bond: bond between a person and the bonded dragon;

Ryū breath

Ryū call: sound the dragon makes when calling out/screaming

Ryūling: a young Ryū dragon

Scimitynes: small curved swords. A mini version of a Scimitar

Seleucid: a place on Ise

Senpai: refers to the member of higher experience, hierarchy, level, or age in the organization. Must demonstrate gratitude, respect, and occasionally personal loyalty.

Small Folk: Nantai’s name of the race of small people

Soulbonded, soulbound: Dragon term for person bound to a dragon

Soul stone: the stones Mairynne held that were representative of her father and mother

Southern Fork Market: Great Market; at southernmost fork of the Betsu River

Speck: mule in Book 4, female

Star: horse in Book 4, female, has a white four-pointed marking between her eyes

Storm sorcery: Noun used in general sense of ability to perform certain magic

Syren: mythical creature rumored to apprehend ships on the sea. (a.k.a. Siren)

Tennō / tennō: honorific for an emperor.

Tsym: a curtain in time. Hides the Tsinti caravan from view.

Umeboshi: medicine, calms a turning stomach

Wilderbeasts: a herd animal that roams the plains in Nantai

Yarikhgüi yarikh: Stone Singer term, translates to “speak no speak” or in Nantai “talking stone”

Yisun (m. & pl.)/Yisu (f.): Ancient Nantai term, means nine which is a lucky number for the Stone Singer people.

Yubar: type of tree for which the Yubar Forest is named