fall.'
'You and Dah'mir,' said Batul. The druid's face was somber. 'What did you do to him?'
'I hit him.' Geth started to lift the Dhakaani sword again, but the strength seemed to have gone from his arm-from all of his limbs. A vague memory stirred inside him of plunging beneath the surface of the river, then splashing back to the surface and holding tight to a floating log as the river currents bore him through the night. 'The sword… Gatekeeper magic and Dhakaani weapons. The sword wounded him.'
Batul looked startled. 'You brought Dah'mir down with one blow? That's more than Gatekeeper magic.'
'There was a dragonshard in his chest-a weak spot in his scales.'
'But one blow?' Batul stared at the sword in Geth's hand.
'We saw him disappear,' said Singe. 'How badly was he wounded?'
The last glimpse of madness and hatred in Dah'mir's eyes returned to Geth. A chill sank deep into his belly. 'Not badly enough,' he said.
Banging on his cabin door and Karth's shouts dragged Vennet out of sleep. 'Captain! Captain!'
It took a moment before Vennet realized that the big man's voice was tight with fear. Though they'd accepted Vennet's explanation of events in Zarash'ak, most of the crew had been on edge since leaving the City of Stilts. Vennet had even switched Lightning on Water over to a Sharn-Trolanport run, hoping that some time well away from the Shadow Marches would ease their tensions. Through it all, though, Karth had been one of the few solid, sensible members of the crew. If he was frightened of something…
Vennet sat up sharply in his bed. 'What is it, Karth?'
'Birds, captain! Dozens of them!'
'What?' Vennet threw aside the bedclothes-and froze.
Dawn's pale glow glimmered through the shutters over the cabin's window. Thin lines of light fell across a tall black heron with shining, acid-green eyes that stood in the shadows of the cabin. Something black and wet dripped from its narrow chest to puddle on the floor directly over his hidden strong box and the two precious dragonshards it contained.
Vennet felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead.
'Captain d'Lyrandar,' said the heron. 'I have need of you now.'
APPENDIX 1
Adar: A small nation on the continent of Sarlona. Homeland of the kalashtar.
Adar! Adar! Bhintava adarani!: An Adaran battlecry that translates to 'Adar! Adar! Defend those who seek aid!'
Adolan: A druid of the Gatekeeper sect, protector of Bull Hollow and guardian of the Bull Hole.
Ashi: A hunter of the Bonetree clan, one of the clan's most capable trackers and fighters. ashi: A dark gold reed. The inhabitants of the Shadow Marches use its starchy pith to make a type of bread.
Aundair: One of the original Five Nations of Galifar, Aundair houses the seat of the Arcane Congress and the University of Wyrnarn. Currently under the rule of Queen Aurala ir'Wyrnarn.
Azhani: The language shared by the human clans of the Shadow Marches.
Batul: An elder orc druid of the Gatekeeper sect and the spiritual leader of the Fat Tusk tribe. He is blind in one eye, but gifted with prophetic dreams.
Bear: A cultural hero figure among shifters based on one of the animal forms of their lycanthrope ancestors. Usually referred to as 'Cousin,' Bear embodies the attributes of strength and caution.
Blademarks: The mercenary's guild of House Deneith.
Boar: A cultural hero figure among shifters based on one of the animal forms of their lycanthrope ancestors. Usually referred to as 'Cousin,' Boar represents tremendous endurance, but also unrestrained and reckless enthusiasm.
Bonetree clan: A human barbarian clan of the Shadow Marches, worshipers of the Dragon Below. The heart of their territory is an enormous earthen mound built over generations. The Azhani term is Drumasaz.
Breek: An eagle, companion to Adolan.
Breff: A hunter of the Bonetree clan.
Bull Hollow: A hamlet on the far western edge of the Eldeen Reaches, just below the Shadowcrags. byeshk: A rare metal, hard and dense with a purple sheen. Weapons made of byeshk are capable of inflicting great injuries on daelkyr and their creations. chuul: Monstrous creatures larger than a man, resembling huge crayfish with four powerful legs and enormous claws. The tentacles surrounding a chuul's mouth are capable of paralyzing its prey. crysteel: An alloy created from iron and a rare crystalline substance. Crysteel is used to make weapons favored by those skilled in psionics. d'Deneith, Robrand: A dragonmarked heir of House Deneith, once leader of the Frostbrand company of the Blademarks, disgraced after the Massacre at Narath. d'Deneith, Toller: A dragonmarked heir of House Deneith, nephew to Robrand d'Deneith, in training to become a commander of the Blademarks. d'Lyrandar, Vennet: A dragonmarked half-elf of House Lyrandar, captain of Lightning on Water. daelkyr: Powerful lords of Xoriat, the daelkyr are madness and corruption personified. After the Daelkyr War, surviving daelkyr on Eberron were bound in the depths of Khyber by Gatekeeper druids.
Daelkyr War: An invasion of Eberron by creatures from Xoriat, led by the daelkyr, approximately nine thousand years before the present. Centered around the Shadow Marches, it ended with the defeat of the daelkyr by the united forces of the orcs of the Shadow Marches and the hobgoblins of the Empire of Dhakaan, but left both races decimated. dagga: An orc expression of affirmation commonly used by folk of Zarash'ak. A more intense version, 'Kuv dagga!' is akin to swearing a minor oath.
Dah'mir: A priest of the Dragon Below and leader of the Bonetree clan, he has a strange power over kalashtar. dahr: An Adaran expression for something or someone vile; pl. 'dahri.'
Dal: A hunter of the Bonetree clan
Dandra: A kalashtar, hunted by the Bonetree clan after being captured by Dah'mir. She wears a yellow-green psicrystal, wields a spear forged from crysteel, and specializes in whitefire, augmented by her skill with vayhatana.
Deneith, House: A dragonmark house bearing the Mark of Sentinel. House Deneith operates services offering various forms of protection, including the mercenary companies of the Blademarks and the law enforcement services of the Sentinel Marshals.
Dhakaani Empire: see Empire of Dhakaan. dolgaunt: Horrid creatures created by the daelkyr from hobgoblins during the Daelkyr War, dolgaunts have long, powerful tentacles springing from their shoulders. They have no eyes but perceive their surroundings through sensitive cilia that cover their skin. dolgrim: Foot soldiers in the armies of the daelkyr, dolgrims were created by the daelkyr from goblins. A dolgrim has four arms and two mouths and resembles two goblins crushed together.
Dragon Below, the: see Khyber dragonmark: 1) A mark that appears on the surface of the skin and grants mystical powers to its bearer. 2) A slang term for the bearer of a dragonmark. dragonshard: A form of mineral with mystical properties, said to be a shard of one of the great progenitor dragons. There are three different types of shard, each with different properties. A shard has no abilities in and of itself, but an artificer or wizard can use a shard to create an object with useful effects. Siberys shards fall from the sky and have the potential to enhance the power of dragonmarks. Eberron shards are found in the soil and enhance traditional magic. Khyber shards are found deep below the surface of the world and are used as a focus binding mystical energy.
Eberron: 1) The world. 2) A mythical dragon said to have formed the world from her body in primordial times and to have given birth to natural life. Also known as 'The Dragon Between.' See Khyber, Siberys.
Eldeen Reaches: Once this term was used to describe the vast stretches of woodland found on the west coast of Khorvaire, inhabited mostly by nomadic shifter tribes and druidic sects. In 958 YK the people of western Aundair broke ties with the Audairian crown and joined their lands to the Eldeen Reaches, vastly increasing the population of the nation and bringing it into the public eye. Inhabitants are known as Reachers. Among themselves,
