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Blessed Pass: The primary passage into the Protectorate from the Imperium. The Tenth House is perched in the mountains overlooking it. Creatures called hummerlets may have returned here when the skrill attacked.

Blessed Plane: Home of the Divhs.

Caleb: Formerly a squire for the Second House, now a banded soldier. His Divh is Marsh.

Court of Talons: An honorary designation for warriors who have won the Tournament of Gold.

Crown of Wings (Winged Crown): Artifact(s) believed to pre-date the Protectorate and the Tournament of Gold pageantry.

It is associated with Mirador and the ability to rule darkness or command an army.

At the opening of the story, it is considered an honorary award given to winners of the Tournament of Gold.

Daggar (Lord Daggar): The lord of the Eighth House.

Darkwing: Talia's mount.

Divh: Mighty creatures bonded to warriors, summoned from the Blessed Plane to assist most their warriors, usually in battle.

Eighth House: One of the twelve great houses, located on the western border of the Protectorate. Lord Daggar is its master. Books and talonstones from this house are important for understanding the threat from the Western Realms. Its color is orange.

Ehlyn: A warrior of the Imperial army who stood with Mirador during the Great Conflict. She is credited with successfully summoning the Divhs.

Eleventh House: One of the twelve great houses, located in the east of the Protectorate. Bertrand of the Eleventh House is named among those killed. Its color is midnight blue.

Exalted Imperium (see Imperium):

Fifth House: One of the twelve great houses, located in the north of the Protectorate. Its color is charcoal gray.

First House: One of the twelve great houses, located in the center of the Protectorate. It’s the house of the Lord Protector. Lord Rihad was its master, followed by Fortiss. Its colors are gold and black.

Fortiss: Warrior of the First House who becomes the new Lord Protector after Rihad's defeat.

Fourth House: One of the twelve great houses, located in the northwest of the Protectorate. Its color is sky blue.

Gent: Talia's Divh, a great green-and-silver goliath.

Gamon (Lord Gamon of the Third): Lord of the Third House.

Great Conflict: A major event that occurred at the western border and devastated the land. The Eighth House is said to have been the first to rise after it.

Great Houses: The twelve ruling families of the Protectorate. Their firstborn sons command the mightiest Divhs.

Grounding stones: Stones mentioned in a deluded state by Tennet.

They are small, colorful, curved stones buried in the cornerstone of structures, believed to be a beacon for skrill.

They are the same as talonstones, with "from talonstone to grounding stone" indicating a path between them.

They already exist in the great houses and likely villages.

Hakkir: The capital city in the heart of the Imperium.

Hummerlets: Small Divhs that are offshoots of the hummerbill Divh.

Imperium (also Exalted Imperium): A nation that borders and also rules the Protectorate. The Blessed Pass is the primary passage from the Imperium into the Protectorate.

Kot'lok: The name Imperial soldiers called "evil" creatures from the Western Realms.

Lanark: A warrior from the Imperial party, gifted in diplomacy, who became the first lord protector after the Great Conflict. Mirador gave him the winged crown.

Light (The Light): A guiding force or principle for members of the Imperium and the Protectorate, also called the Way of the Light. Nazar is a priest of the Light.

Lemille (Lord Lemille): Lord of the Tenth House, father of Merritt and Talia. Nazar tutored his son Merritt.

Meridians: Jewel-like mountains that serve as the entryway to the Western Realms.

Merritt (Lord Merritt of the Tenth House): Talia's younger brother, the supposed firstborn of the Tenth House. Originally bonded to Gent.

Mirador: The leader of the Imperial party that came to the Protectorate before the Great Conflict. Mirador is credited with successfully summoning the Divhs. Warrior Ehlyn stood with him.

Miriam (Councilor Miriam): A councilor of the First House. Her Divh is Kreya.

Nazar: A priest of the Light who serves as Talia's closest advisor. He came from the Imperium and was welcomed by Lord Lemille to tutor Merritt. Once and now again a banded warrior, his Divh is Wrath.

Ninth House: One of the twelve great houses, located in the south of the Protectorate. Its color is umber.

Orlof (Lord Orlof): The lord of the Twelfth House. Talia was betrothed to his heir.

Protectorate: The land ruled by the twelve great houses under a Lord Protector. It is bordered by the Imperium to the east and the Western Realms to the west. Divhs are found within the Protectorate.

Rihad (Lord Protector Rihad): The lord of the First House and governor of the Protectorate before Fortiss.

Sahktar: Powerful creatures as tall as Divhs who lead the skrill, made up of snakes and smoke.

Savasci: A group of warrior women who live and hunt with Syril, their leader, and are based near the Eighth House.

Second House: One of the twelve great houses, located to the west of the First House. It’s known for its libraries of books about Divhs and warriors. Caleb was formerly a squire for this house. Its colors are red and white.

Seventh House: One of the twelve great houses, located to the south of the Protectorate and known for its riches. Its color is yellow.

Sixth House: One of the twelve great houses, located to the northwest of the Protectorate. Its color is deep purple.

Skrill: Flying snake-like creatures from beyond the western borders linked to the Sahktar. Also known as the Kot’lok.

Syril: The leader of the Savasci, a group of warrior women from the western borders.

Szonja: Toma’s and then Fortiss’s Divh, a sapphire-blue dragon.

Talia (Lady Talia): The true firstborn and first-blooded warrior of the Tenth House, whose birth is considered a heresy.

She was betrothed to the heir of the Twelfth House, but instead became champion of the Tournament of Gold and winner of the winged crown, making her the head of the Thirteenth House.

Talonstones: Stones carried by warriors and also buried in the bedrock of the great houses and likely villages. They were originally used as homing points for Divhs, separate from their warriors. They are blessed with the Light and limned with darkness.

Tennet (Lord Tennet): The lord of the Twelfth House. His Divh is the dragon Ayne.

Tenth House: One of the twelve great houses; its lord is Lemille, father of Merritt and Talia.

It is one of the smallest houses in the Protectorate, located on the eastern border of the Protecorate, in the mountains overlooking the Blessed Pass.

Nazar was the priest of the Tenth House. Its color is green.

Third House: One of the twelve great houses, located in the southwest of the Protectorate. Kheris is a warrior of this house. Its color is sand.

Thirteenth House: A new house established with Talia as its head after she wins the winged crown. The Savasci are considered its people. Its colors are dark charcoal and silver, though Talia also sometimes wears dark green in deference to her original house.

Toma: The father of Fortiss, considered the greatest warrior in the land. He was called "dragon" in honor of his Divh, Szonja. Bardic tales were written about him and his Divh. His books contained records of battles in the Western Realms.

Tournament of Gold: An extraordinary proving ground for warrior knights and their Divhs, established by the First House.

Held yearly, the event includes rank and file competition and warrior/Divh exhibitions.

The two-day competition for high-level warriors is at the end.

Winners can receive Divhs and banded soldiers.

Trilion: A robust village near the great coliseum of the Tournament of Gold and the First House.

Twelfth House: One of the twelve great houses. It is described as the weakest of the Protectorate's houses and is located in the mountains. Lord Orlof was its lord, and then Lord Tennet. Its color is deep crimson.

Way of the Light: The religious system of the Imperium and Protectorate, associated with priests of the Light like Nazar.

Western Realms: An area located beyond the western borders of the Protectorate.

It is associated with dark powers, the Kot'lok, also known as the skrill.

Books detailing its history and battles are important, although some were seemingly lost or controlled by Lord Rihad.

Its landscape is described harshly in some texts. The Meridians serve as its entryway.