GALABIYYA: A traditional Egyptian garment, essentially a floor-length tunic.
GHUTRA: A male headdress.
HAMMAM: A bathhouse.
ISHA: The late evening hour/evening prayer.
MAGHRIB: The sunset hour/sunset prayer.
MIDAN: A plaza/city square.
MIHRAB: A wall niche indicating the direction of prayer.
MUEZZIN: The person who gives the call to prayer.
MUHTASIB: A market inspector.
NAVASATEM: A holiday held once a century to celebrate another generation of freedom from Suleiman’s servitude. Originally a Daeva festival, Navasatem is a beloved tradition in Daevabad, attracting djinn from all over the world to take part in weeks of festivals, parades, and competitions.
QAID: The head of the Royal Guard, essentially the top military official in the djinn army.
RAKAT: A unit of prayer.
SHAFIT: People with mixed djinn and human blood.
SHAYLA: A type of women’s headscarf.
SHEIKH: A religious educator/leader.
SULEIMAN’S SEAL: The seal ring Suleiman once used to control the djinn, given to the Nahids and later stolen by the Qahtanis. The bearer of Suleiman’s ring can nullify any magic.
TALWAR: An Agnivanshi sword.
TANZEEM: A grassroots fundamentalist group in Daevabad dedicated to fighting for shafit rights and religious reform.
UKHTI: “My sister.”
ULEMA: A legal body of religious scholars.
WAZIR: A government minister.
ZAR: A traditional ceremony meant to deal with djinn possession.
ZUHR: The noon hour/noon prayer.
ZULFIQAR: The forked copper blades of the Geziri tribe; when inflamed, their poisonous edges destroy even Nahid flesh, making them among the deadliest weapons in this world.
THE SIX TRIBES OF THE DJINN
THE GEZIRI
Surrounded by water and caught behind the thick band of humanity in the Fertile Crescent, the djinn of Am Gezira awoke from Suleiman’s curse to a far different world from their fire-blooded cousins. Retreating to the depths of the Empty Quarter, to the dying cities of the Nabateans, and to the forbidding mountains of southern Arabia, the Geziri eventually learned to share the hardships of the land with their human neighbors, becoming fierce protectors of the shafit in the process. From this country of wandering poets and zulfiqar-wielding warriors came Zaydi al Qahtani, the rebel-turned-king who would seize Daevabad and Suleiman’s seal from the Nahid family in a war that remade the magical world.
THE AYAANLE
Nestled between the rushing headwaters of the Nile River and the salty coast of Bet il Tiamat lies Ta Ntry, the fabled homeland of the mighty Ayaanle tribe. Rich in gold and salt—and far enough from Daevabad that its deadly politics are more game than risk—the Ayaanle are a people to envy. But behind their gleaming coral mansions and sophisticated salons lurks a history they’ve begun to forget … one that binds them in blood to their Geziri neighbors.
THE DAEVAS
Stretching from the Sea of Pearls across the plains of Persia and the mountains of gold-rich Bactria is mighty Daevastana—and just past its Gozan River lies Daevabad, the hidden city of brass. The ancient seat of the Nahid Council—the famed family of healers who once ruled the magical world—Daevastana is a coveted land, its civilization drawn from the ancient cities of Ur and Susa and the nomadic horsemen of the Saka. A proud people, the Daevas claimed the original name of the djinn race as their own … a slight that the other tribes never forget.
THE SAHRAYN
Sprawling from the shores of the Maghreb across the vast depths of the Sahara Desert is Qart Sahar—a land of fables and adventure even to the djinn. An enterprising people not particularly enamored of being ruled by foreigners, the Sahrayn know the mysteries of their country better than any others—the still lush rivers that flow in caves deep below the sand dunes and the ancient citadels of human civilizations lost to time and touched by forgotten magic. Skilled sailors, the Sahrayn travel upon ships of conjured smoke and sewn cord over sand and sea alike.
THE AGNIVANSHI
Stretching from the brick bones of old Harappa through the rich plains of the Deccan and misty marshes of the Sundarbans lies Agnivansha. Blessedly lush in every resource that could be dreamed of—and separated from their far more volatile neighbors by wide rivers and soaring mountains—Agnivansha is a peaceful land famed for its artisans and jewels … and its savvy in staying out of Daevabad’s tumultuous politics.
THE TUKHARISTANIS
East of Daevabad, twisting through the peaks of the Karakorum Mountains and the vast sands of the Gobi, is Tukharistan. Trade is its lifeblood, and in the ruins of forgotten Silk Road kingdoms, the Tukharistanis make their homes. They travel unseen in caravans of smoke and silk along corridors marked by humans millennia ago, carrying with them things of myth: golden apples that cure any disease, jade keys that open worlds unseen, and perfumes that smell of paradise.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Well. This has been a trip.
If you have made it this far, I would like to first thank you, dear reader. We are living in a glory age of fantasy fiction, and I know most of us have a towering pile of books we’d love to read. So thank you for picking up mine and taking a chance on a new author, a new world, and three increasingly large books. I hope you enjoyed your trip to Daevabad.
Enormous gratitude is owed as well to the book community. To the reviewers, the bloggers, the Instagrammers, the Discord, the Twitterati, the librarians, and everyone who passed the word, shared their fan art, their theories, and their love of the series. This was very much a “word of mouth” trilogy, and I am extremely grateful and honored to all the fans who kept it going. You’re incredible, and I hope I didn’t just completely break all your hearts. Thanks as well to all the wonderful writers I’ve befriended over the past few years, for your support and your advice, especially those who were kind enough to read my books, spread the word, and help out a newer colleague. You’ve given me an example to follow. To Cam, John, Cynthia, Fran, Roshani, Peter, and Shveta—I owe you all so very many baked goods.
Jen and Ben at ALA, thank you for guiding me through a very interesting few years!
