In the first page of the novel Shika no Ou by Uehashi Nahoko, this proper
noun/kanji is used with some unusual furigana: <光る葉っぱ> read as ピカ・パル. Since
it's a fantasy novel and I know that the author uses non-Japanese derived
names in her work, I figured it may be the case here. But, it's my first time
reading one of her books and I'm generally confused if this is a given name, a
plant name, or something else. How would a Japanese reader interpret this?

[![shikanooupg1](https://i.stack.imgur.com/y8h2U.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/y8h2U.png)
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readings katakana creative-furigana
Could someone explain this katakana reading of ＜光る葉っぱ＞ from 鹿の王?
Something like this is very common in novels and lyrics, and similar questions
have been asked many times:

  * [Why is 未来 read as あした?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/29431/5010)
  * [Why are some lyrics' words written in kanji whose usual reading is not how it is sung?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/198/5010)
  * [Why do some kanji have furigana that are not valid readings?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/5565/5010)
  * [Are these furigana wrong?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/66762/5010)
  * [Reading 男 or 女 as ひと](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/1448/5010)

In your case, the author want you to read this word as ピカ・バル, but also want
you to know the meaning of ピカ・バル is "shining leaf".
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answer