The Throne of Crowns (The FirstLord Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  Chennet was also a close friend of Leenesh. The two hugged each other like sisters and launched into an animated woman-to-woman conversation, while Jaddra moved on down the line.

  When all the formalities had been completed, the crew and the colonists boarded the Mettra, buzzing with excitement and apprehension in equal measure. Hexxna Lisstra led Jaddra and his entourage to the Station’s observation lounge, from where they would have a clear view of the launch.

  A ten-minute countdown began, announced by a computer-generated voice over the Station’s public-address system. At zero, the ship’s Z-Field engines sprang to life and she pulled away from her moorings.

  In the total silence of space, she moved slowly and majestically at first. It looked effortless, but in reality she was fighting strenuously against the powerful grip of Isska’s gravity. Second by second she gained speed, while the observers on the Station watched with rapt attention.

  After ten minutes, the enormous ship had become two bright blobs shining amidst the deep darkness of space, her thin spine scarcely visible. Her nuclear engines then fired up – a dazzling blaze of blue-white hydrogen plasma. Another ten minutes later, she was just a tiny speck of light, scarcely bigger than a star.

  She had commenced her half-year-long voyage to a distant deep-frozen alien world. Living on Haxxa would be a formidable challenge, even for such highly trained colonists.

  Jaddra fully understood this, but still he found himself almost envying them. He would sooner face the perils of Haxxa than the enmity of the WarMaker.

  The story continues in Lanndra’s War,

  Part 2 of The FirstLord Chronicles

  Available from the Kindle store

  The main characters

  Jaddra Vallmar (aka Jaddra I) (age 25): Heir to the Throne of Crowns; subsequently FirstLord of the Xunnland

  Leenesh Vallmar (age 24): wife of Jaddra Vallmar

  Jaddra’s friends

  Parrja Dassan (57): Overseer of the Civil Command

  Torrlin Sheenor (25): officer in the Xunnish Third Army

  Hannsto Vallmar (25): officer in the Xunnish Eighth Army; subsequently commander of the FirstLord’s Bodyguard

  Vonnsha & Chennet Lisstra (24 and 23): colonists aboard the Mettra Honnthar

  Jaddra’s enemies

  Yasstan Lanndra (53): Supreme WarMaker of the Xunnland; High Priest of Zarrva; Overlord of the Lanndra Family

  Hexxna Lisstra (49): Overseer of the Scientific Command

  Sannka Hennat (52): Overseer of the Slave Territory Command

  Thrannaz Sheenor (50): High Priest of Karrda

  Zennev Hennat (35): High Priestess of Tezzett

  Other characters

  Lazall Yentheen (54): a Varrdish Fayshonn

  Sherrafenn Yentheen (22): eldest daughter of Lazall Yentheen

  Vorrsin Zullhar (58): Governor of Kralla; Overlord of the Zullhar Family

  Roshka Vellz (48): clerical worker in the Zarr City Government

  Background information

  Annsh. One of the Free Territories of the Xunnland.

  The Anthall. The deity worshipped by Varrdans and Xunnish Followers. Literal meaning: “The One Who Is”.

  The Brallshar gun. A weaponry system based on a tightly focused energy beam.

  BX. Abbreviation for “Before the Xunnland”. E.g. “100 BX” means 100 years before the foundation of the Xunnland.

  Choth. One of the three Slave Territories of the Xunnland, populated entirely by enslaved Quemms.

  CivCom. Abbreviation for “Civil Command”.

  The Civil Command. One of the four branches of the Supreme Government of the Xunnland, the CivCom was responsible for all centralized civilian administration.

  The Continent. The principal landmass of the planet Isska.

  The East. The eastern portions of the Xunnland (i.e. Shann and Choth).

  The Elite Police (part of the CivCom) were a Xunnland-wide law enforcement agency.

  The Far South. The four independent states in the southernmost portion of the Continent: Pravell, Shalidd, Moshemm and R’Hoy.

  Far Southerners. Inhabitants of the Far South.

  Fayshonn. A Varrdish spiritual leader.

  The FirstLord. The emperor of the Xunnland.

  The FirstLord’s Bodyguard. The 100-man military force created by Jaddra I for his personal protection.

  Followers. Worshippers of the Anthall.

  The Free Territories. All those Territories of the Xunnland that were not under SlaveCom administration. The Free Territories were populated entirely by Xunns.

  The Great Families. The eight aristocratic clans which dominated the Xunnland: the Vallmars (the Supreme Family), the Lanndras, the Dassans, the Sheenors, the Hennats, the Lisstras, the Azzvars and the Zullhars.

  The Heartland. An alternative name for Xunna.

  Heartlanders. The inhabitants of the Heartland or Xunna.

  The Heretics. A contemptuous nickname for Xunnish Followers of the Anthall.

  Honns. One of Isska’s three racial groups (the other two were the Xunns and the Quemms). Honnish physical characteristics: white-grey-yellow freckled skin; white straight hair; large grey eyes; short stocky stature.

  Hunter-bomb. A computer-guided bomb mounted on a compact Z-Field generator.

  The Invincible Corps. The bodyguard of the FirstLords prior to the reign of Jaddra I.

  Isska (a Xunnish name meaning “home”). The homeworld of the Isskan species. Isska had one major landmass (the Continent) and several archipelagos (the Outlands).

  Isskans. The humanoid inhabitants of Isska. Within the species were three distinct genetic groups: the Xunns, the Honns and the Quemms.

  Jaddra I. Jaddra Vallmar, son of Ammzal III, became FirstLord of the Xunnland in 902 XE.

  Karrda. The Xunnish god of money/prosperity; one of the three deities of the State Religion.

  KIM. Abbreviation for “Krallish Independence Movement”.

  Kralla. One of the Free Territories of the Xunnland.

  The Krallish Independence Movement. An illegal political/paramilitary organization which fought to win independence for Kralla.

  Kralls. The inhabitants of Kralla. Racially, they were Xunns, but they saw themselves as a nation in their own right.

  MIC. Abbreviation for “Military Intelligence Corps”.

  MilCom. Abbreviation for “Military Command”.

  The Military Command. One of the four branches of the Supreme Government, the MilCom controlled the Xunnland’s armed forces.

  The Military Intelligence Corps gathered information about the Xunnland’s enemies and conducted covert operations against them.

  The Minor Families. The Xunnland’s middle class.

  Moshemm. A Honnish independent state.

  Onnz. One of the three Slave Territories of the Xunnland, populated entirely by enslaved Honns.

  The Orbital Division. The subdivision of the Xunnish Air Force responsible for military operations in orbital space.

  The Outlands. Accounting for about 20 per cent of Isska’s total land area, the Outlands were four groups of islands situated far beyond the shores of the Continent.

  Pops. Abbreviation for “the Populace”.

  The Populace. The Xunnland’s working class.

  Pravell. A Honnish independent state.

  Quemms. One of Isska’s three racial groups (the other two were the Xunns and the Honns). Quemmish physical characteristics: brown-green freckled skin; dark-green hair; green eyes; tall thin stature; prominent noses.

  R’Hoy. A Quemmish independent state.

  SciCom. Abbreviation for “Scientific Command”.

  The Scientific Command. One of the four branches of the Supreme Government, the SciCom conducted scientific research for the benefit of the Xunnland.

  Shalidd. A Honnish independent state.

  Shann. One of the Free Territories of the Xunnland.

  The Sharhemm. The Varrdish sacred book. Literal meaning: “the Revelation”.
r />   SkyScan. An aircraft/spacecraft detection system similar to Earth’s radar technology.

  Skyzone. Abbreviation for “skyship landing zone”.

  SlaveCom. Abbreviation for “Slave Territory Command”.

  The Slave Territories (Varrd, Choth and Onnz) were prison-provinces in which all the Honns and Quemms within the Xunnland were forcibly confined.

  The Slave Territory Command. One of the four branches of the Supreme Government, the SlaveCom ruled the Slave Territories.

  The South. The southern portions of the Xunnland (i.e. Varrd, Annsh, Zeema, Onnz and Kralla).

  The State Religion. The official religion of the Xunnland.

  Supersilica. A high-strength silica-based building material manufactured in silica-rich environments (e.g. deserts and planetoids).

  The Supreme Council. The body which advised the FirstLords on state policy.

  The Supreme Family. The Vallmars, the ruling family of the Xunnland.

  The Supreme Government. The central government of the Xunnland, including the Civil Command, the Military Command, the Scientific Command and the Slave Territory Command.

  The Supreme WarMaker. The commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the Xunnland.

  Tezzett. The Xunnish goddess of sex/fertility; one of the three deities of the State Religion.

  The Three Orders. The subdivisions of the Xunnish State Religion.

  The Throne of Crowns. The ancient throne of the FirstLords, made from the crowns of many conquered kings.

  Varrd. One of the three Slave Territories of the Xunnland, populated entirely by enslaved Honns. A Decree issued by Jaddra I in 902 XE granted the Varrdans a large measure of self-government.

  Vasska-wood. In Xunnish religious tradition, coffins were always made from Vasska-wood, which was taken from sacred trees grown in the Vasska Region of Xunna.

  The WarMaker. See “The Supreme WarMaker”.

  The Winthess (a Varrdish word meaning “The Protected Place”). The secret headquarters of the Varrdish spiritual leadership, located in the Sorra Mountains.

  XE. Abbreviation for “Xunnland Era”. E.g. “902 XE” means 902 years after the foundation of the Xunnland.

  Xunna (also called the Heartland). One of the Free Territories of the Xunnland; the ancient cradle of Xunnish civilization.

  The Xunnland. The dominant empire on the planet Isska.

  Xunns. One of Isska’s three racial groups (the other two were the Honns and the Quemms). Xunnish physical characteristics: red-brown-pink freckled skin; red-brown straight hair; red eyes; tall stature; broad faces.

  Yevv. See “The Yevvmur System”.

  The Yevvmur System. A personalized computer/ communications technology consisting of a control device (a “Yevv”) worn on the user’s wrist and an audio-visual interface implanted in the user’s brain.

  Zarrva. The Xunnish god of war/power; one of the three deities of the State Religion.

  Zeema. One of the Free Territories of the Xunnland.

  The Zemmka Field. An anti-gravitational propulsion system.

  Z-Field. Abbreviation for “Zemmka Field”.

  The FirstLord Chronicles

  by Simon Fox

  A cutting-edge series of hard-core science-fiction novels from the Kindle store

  Part 1: The Throne of Crowns

  Part 2: Lanndra’s War

  Part 3: Jaddra’s Peace

  Part 4: KrallZone

  Part 5: XunnSphere

  Part 6: IssCon

  Sequel 1: UnSpace

  Sequel 2: MindLine

  Sequel 3: NewIsska

  Sequel 4: Vlaheen

  Prequel 1: Xev

  Prequel 2: Zelvoon

  Prequel 3: Fayshonn

  Prequel 4: Hezzkal

  Simon Fox lives in Lincoln, England.

  Follow him on Twitter: @SimonFoxWriter