"The Witchcraft of Ulua" by Clark Ashton Smith

1 year ago
43

ossuary: a container or room in which the bones of dead people are placed

gymnosophist: any of a sect of ascetics in ancient India who went naked and practiced meditation

migniard: dainty; delicate

obliquitous: exhibiting or characterized by obliquity, i.e. deviation from moral rectitude or sound thinking

sybaritic: fond of sensuous luxury or pleasure; self-indulgent

Lunalia sounds very Hawaiian to me. Nothing else to say about the name, just its Hawaiian flavor to my ear. Although I can't recall if I pronounced it the same way in the last story, I may not have and it may not have sounded so Hawaiian as a result, but this time that thought clicked with me, so now it gets this pronunciation regardless of whatever I used last time. Even Ulua could potentially be Hawaiian... Famorgh, however, cannot be a Hawaiian name.

elk folk: the text linked to below uses "elf folk", but my text definitely says "elk folk". While elf folk does seem more obvious, none the less it is entirely possible there may be some remote nomadic tribe of pymgies in Zothique that go by the name elk folk, we really can't say. It's one of those occasions where what seems like an obvious enough error in the text I am reading from I am going to let stand as printed.

thurible: a censer. What's a censer? A container in which incense is burned.

euphrasy: an eyebright, i.e. any of a genus (Euphrasia) of plants of the figwort family, formerly used in treating eye disorders.

empusae: a shape-shifting female being in Greek mythology, said to possess a single leg of copper, commanded by Hecate, whose precise nature is obscure. In Late Antiquity, the empousai have been described as a category of phantoms or spectres, equated with the lamiai and mormolykeia, thought to seduce and feed on young men.

emmets: ants

palfrey: a riding horse. Typically lighter in weight, with a smoother gait and friendly demeanor, well suited for riding long distances.

in a trice: very quickly

The picture used is "Take the Fair Face of Woman, and Gently Suspending, With Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending, Thus Your Fairy is Made of Most Beautiful Things" by Sophie Gengembre Anderson

To follow along: http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/short-stories/248/the-witchcraft-of-ulua

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