Yet another thing I noticed: On the page: http://world.std.com/~mam/Cracks-and-Shards/languages.html#Fenarian you mention Noish-pa's use of the word "elvtarsok", and wonder if perhaps Brust is 'doing something with the first syllable's resemblance to "elves"' Well, I am nearly certain that the word is the plural of "elvtárs", which according to two different online Hungarian-English dictionaries, means "comrade". http://dict.sztaki.hu/dict_search.php?O=ENG&L=HUN:ENG:EngHunDict&W=elvt%E1rs http://consulting.medios.fi/dictionary/?language=hu&search=elvtars&allow=true According to an online Hungarian grammar: The category number is realised as singular and plural. There are two plural suffixes. The suffix -k is preceded by an epenthetic vowel after a consonant final stem (Olsson, 1992). SINGULAR PLURAL university egyetem egyetemek student diák diákok Which indicates that the plural would be "elvtársok". And of course, it also accords with Vlad's approximations of "Friends? Associates?" So, anyway, I nearly think he was trying to tie in to Kelly being a specifically Marxist-type revolutionary, rather than just a rebel. The coincidence of sounds in "elf" and "elvtar" is probably nothing more than that. Noish-pa might not know the Dragaeran because it's not a common word or concept.