Abbot: the highest-ranked member of a community of religious contemplatives. In nine cases out of ten, an abbot will have passed through the stages of the regular priesthood rather than having been a contemplative all along.

Adaniri: naturalized foreign-born citizens of the Empire. Their children, if born after the naturalization, are classed as Adantri.

Adantri: the race name of the main people of the Empire of Lirith Kai (usually divided into Northern and Southern Adantri), and the name of their language. See Handbook. It is also the name commonly given to all full citizens of the Empire regardless of their race.

Agent of Torhol: the official title of the High Priest of Torhol.

Ahdal Gourin: a river which flows from the World's Edge or Wall of the East Scarp to the An-Kiu River (if you happen to be an Adantri geographer or the stream formed by the joining of the Ahdou' Zindra and the Ahdou' Amounhar, if you take a more cosmopolitan view--when considering it as the Ahdal Gourin from its source, the branch known in Mazgourrah as the Ahdou' Zindra is said to be the primary channel). It is a live stream for most of the year in its upper course--until it reaches the Gourrah--and for about half the year in its lower course where it joins the An-Kiu at Zur Danath. For the rest of its course and for most of the time it is dry, but there is a strong subsurface flow and numerous springs in its sandy bed which make irrigated farming possible along most of its length. Measuring from the junction of the Zindra and Amounhar at the upstream end of the Gourrin Canyon, the Ahdal Gourin is about 500 miles long.

Ahdal Zoar: an intermittent stream about 200 miles long which flows from the Ratani Scarp at Nitana to the An-Kiu River through Danath Province. There is a moderate subsurface flow and several springs in the dry bed of the river which make irrigation farming possible.

Ahdou' Amounhar: a stream flowing from the Wall of the East near Onour Amoun to the Gourrah Valley, where it joins with the Ahdou' Zindra to form the Ahdal Gourrin. It is about 300 miles long.

Ahdou Harin: the upper and intermittent reaches of the river called Kinsang in its lower course in Minho Province. It flows from springs at the foot of the Ratani Scarp near Izmin and has occasional springs in its bed which form the only reliable water sources.

Ahdou' Zindra: a mostly-flowing stream which descends the Wall of the East at Zindra Falls and runs a total of some 400 miles to join with the Ahdou' Amonhar to form the Ahdou' or Ahdal Gourin.

Alodri Cloth: a striped wool, in various weights, made without the use of dyes--it is found in stripes of off-white, gray, beige, and natural brownish-black and is produced in the Emirate of Alhodhri.

Alunzar: emirate in northeastern Ratan.

Amuris: a minor god or demigod, probably of Drahnoran origin. His area of interest is now uncertain; he may have been a patron of merchants and traders.

Angsin: a province in northeastern Lirith Kai.

Angsin Horses: see Kingsblood Horses.

Angsin Road: a provincial highway, grade D for calculating traveling speed. It runs from Niming on the Great West Road to Angsin Bo and on through Angsin Province to Firepoint in Tirian. It is suitable for wagons, but the general quality of the road deteriorates the farther north you go.

An-Kiu River: main river in the Empire. It runs the length of the Empire of Lirith Kai from north to south, a distance of more than 2000 miles and carries an enormous quantity of water and sediment. The An-Kiu is considered navigable to Lyn Tirian where the Whitewater and the River of Fires come together to form it. It is considered normal for the surface of the An-Kiu to freeze in the winter as far south as Daiyla Kiv and sometimes farther and the ice be sturdy enough to support mounted men and even wagons (based on the behavior of the Mississippi at like latitudes). For the lower half or more of its length (below Kai Virang), it is too broad to be bridged.

Aryai: a province in south central Lirith Kai.

Arinya Ti Lan: a ruined city about two miles southwest of present Aryai Ling in Aryai Province, and an equal distance from the An-Kiu River. Traces of old wharves indicate that this city was once on the river, but that the channel has shifted away from it. The age of Arinya is not known, since even minor excavations have disclosed older and yet older ruins beneath it. At one time Arinya Ti Lan was a capital of the Yen Zar Kingdom, and at other periods it has served briefly as a capital of Lirith Kai. A notable feature of the site is the old necropolis, which is crowded with many of the very elaborate public tombs which characterized the Minhalang era; there has been surprisingly little visible vandalism, which may be due to the widespread belief that the lords of the Minhalang were not actually buried in the necropolis--they (and their treasures) are supposed to have been interred in secret tomb sites scattered along the Asti Lio Valley. The ruins are briefly characterized under the description of Aryai Ling in Aryai Province.

Aspirant: a rank in the priestly hierarchy of established religions in Lirith Kai above that of novice but below the lowest rank of practicing priests.

Asti Lio River: a southern tributary of the An-Kiu, entering from the west at Aryai Ling. It is about 350 miles long, deep and with a swift current; over most of its length it is fairly muddy. The Asti Lio is not much given to seasonal variation in its flow, the melting snows of its mountain headwaters being balanced by the late summer and early fall rains on its middle and lower reaches. The river is considered navigable to Sal Yonin.

Astilon Road: a provincial highway (class D) running up the valley of the Asti Lio River from Aryai Ling to Yondaran, then turning away from the river and crossing some low hills to reach the Silk Road at Nalzin. The part from Yondaran to Nalzin might be considered class E; it was either never as good as the rest or is in much greater need of repair. During the period of decline following the Civil War, the hill districts in the southern part of the Empire were much neglected, and many good roads fell into disuse and consequent disrepair. It is thought probable that the poor section was not a part of the original Astilon Road, and that an exploration of the hills might disclose the traces of a better route that has been forgotten.