thism— faint racial telepathic link from the Mage-Imperator to the Ildiran people.

Thor’h — eldest noble-born son of Mage-Imperator Jora’h; former Prime Designate who joined Rusa’h’s rebellion; he died on Dobro.

torch trees — worldtrees possessed by faeros, filled with living fire but not consumed.

transgate — hydrogue/faeros point-to-point transportation system.

transportal — Klikiss instantaneous transportation system.

treedancers — acrobatic performers in the Theron forests.

treeling — a small worldtree sapling, often transported in an ornate pot and used by green priests for telink.

Troop Carrier — personnel transport ship in the Ildiran Solar Navy.

Twitcher — EDF stun weapon.

Tylar, Crim — Roamer detainee on Llaro, father of Nikko, rescued by Tasia Tamblyn and Robb Brindle.

Tylar, Nikko Chan — young Roamer pilot, son of Crim and Marla; Nikko was one of Jess Tamblyn’s first water bearers to deliver wental water; his ship is theAquarius.

Unison — standardized government-sponsored religion for official activities on Earth, whose spokesman is the Archfather, a paid actor.

UR — Governess-model Roamer compy, formerly held at Llaro with other Roamer detainees; she lost one of her arms protecting several children during an attack by a Klikiss scout.

Usk — breakaway Hansa colony, populated mainly by farmers, site of a horrific pogrom led by General Lanyan and the Archfather of Unison.

Vao’sh — Ildiran rememberer, patron and friend of Anton Colicos, survivor of the robot attacks on Maratha; one of the only Ildirans ever to survive the isolation madness caused by separation from other Ildirans.

Verdani — organic-based sentience, manifested as the Theron worldforest.

Voracious Curiosity— Rlinda Kett’s merchant ship.

warglobe — hydrogue spherical attack vessel.

warliner — largest class of Ildiran battleship.

Wenceslas, Basil — Chairman of the Terran Hanseatic League.

wentals — sentient water-based creatures.

Whisper Palace — magnificent seat of the Hansa government.

Willis, Admiral Sheila — one of only four remaining grid admirals to survive the battle of Earth; she defected to the Confederation after refusing to slaughter colonists on Rhejak.

worldforest — the interconnected, semi-sentient forest based on Theroc.

worldtree — a separate tree in the interconnected, semi-sentient forest based on Theroc.

Yarrod — green priest, younger brother of Mother Alexa, a devotee of Kolker’s telink/thismphilosophy. He was killed by the faeros on Theroc.

Yazra’h — oldest daughter of Jora’h; his official guard.

Zan’nh — Adar of the Ildiran Solar Navy; eldest son of Mage-Imperator Jora’h.

Acknowledgments

I’ve worked on the Saga of Seven Suns for nearly eight years, and even though I originally envisioned a vast epic spanning many volumes, the story has still grown and changed, thanks to the advice and expertise of many people. Among those who have helped me enormously over the course of these novels are Jaime Levine, Louis Moesta, Diane Jones, Catherine Sidor, Tim Holman, Kate Lyall-Grant, John Silbersack, and Robert Gottlieb.