Glossary

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Apollo	The first Divine, possibly also know as Lucifer (light bringer) So(u)l Invictus (Invincible Sun or soul), Helios. Most revered Divine of the human race.
Calendar	12 months of 28 days each. 4 "Quarter Weeks" of 7 days each to celebrate each solstice and equinox (7 day festival weeks which occur every three months with the actual equinox on the 4th/middle day). 364 day year. Each month is designated by normal phases of the large moon (Lune, like earth's). The smaller moon, Rosé orbits in such a way as to be centered in the middle of the sun on each of the 4 equinoxes and solstices and for some reason this event holds the large moon still opposite it for the seven days (so the lunar cycle for each individual month is not disturbed). The rings around the planet are at their highest and lowest points on the solstices. Dating goes something like this. X day of the x quarter/week of the x month of the x year so August 23rd of year 69 would actually be written 2.3.8.69 AF (2nd day of the 3rd week of the 8th month of the 69th year After the Fall of the King on the Lake). The days of the quarter weeks are set apart as the day + name of the solstice / equinox. Summer Solstice would be written 4.Someraj (4th day of the Summer week)
Continents	Nin (Esperanto: Us), the continent that "Misfits" and "Daddy Issues" take place on. Aliaj (Esperanto: Others), the name given to anyone form the other side of the world - rumored to be two continents.
Divine Realms	Regions of the Ring (or perhaps other planes of existence entered via portals in the Ring) belonging to a specific Divine. No beings other than Gaea can enter them without the permission of the Divine unless they are the offspring of the Divine (who have access to their parent's realm freely). Curiously, if a Divine is killed in their own realm, the Realm becomes the possession of the victor. and what happens to the spirit of a slayed divine is very much the subject of great debate and mythologizing but most agree, the Divine is returned to the infinite, a part of Omni to be used as the building blocks for more of Gaea's creations. Others have suggested that a Divine can prevent himself from being dissipated into Omni's Great Void by surviving something called a Soul Walk, but most consider this to simply be legend popularized by the Divines themselves in order to prop themselves up as truly immortal like Omni or Gaea.
Eau de Vie	a fruity moonshine with a slight psychedelic kick.
Ekvatora Mountains	The massive Equatorial Range across the continent of Nin which separates the Northlands from the Southlands. In the center of these mountains is a great lake and valley upon which the King on the Lake had his throne and managed a continent wide peace for many centuries until his fall some 79 years before the events in the Prologue. Due to the 42 degree axial tilt of Gaearth, the equatorial region is not as warm/tropical as ours, and in fact is quite termperate more like Southern France, Italy, Sicily.
Elfkin	Of elven and human heritage; "kin" to elves. Generally an elfkin is any individual with elven heritage (but not pure elf) who can name all their ancestors back to the elven father who sired a half-breed. (All elfkin come from an elven father and human mother. Eleven women can not be impregnated by humans, and in fact can only conceive with the approval of her clan - a special ritual is necessary to allow an elfmaid to conceive and the entire clan must approve of the parents involved as well as the timing. Given that elves are immortal, they must limit considerably their numbers and therefore bringing a new elf in the world is a social decision - this is why there are so few elven children and the elves' numbers are always small; it is also why there are so many elfkin; relationships with mortal women are short compared to the two-century long commitment an elven couple must make to raise a child together.
Elle	Divine/Elven woodland Goddess - a cross between Diana/Artemis and Ehlonna from 3.5ed ("She" in French/Draconian)
Gaea	It is she that gives birth to planets, suns and stars. She takes swaths of Omni's infinite unformed mass and brings order and life and opportunity for complexity and evolution.
Gaearth	The name of the world. Gaea's Earth, pronounced "Guy-earth" except in the Isle Kingdome where it's more like "Gay-Earth". Has a 42 degree Axial tilt meaning that its equator is not extremely hot, but the weather is more extreme at the tropics and further towards the poles. Half the size as Earth, 12,000 miles round at the equator.
Gaearth, Inner	Oh Hell.
Immortal / Divine / Creators / Deities / Gods /Demi Gods	When characters use the term "immortal" they don't always mean a being that can never die, only one, that if not killed, never dies on the material plane (not unlike some species of trees on earth). Elves are assumed to be this way, but no one is 100% sure. Elfkin seem to die of old age, but some, who remain in the forests with their forest family live so long as to forget exactly how old they are (and they do age more considerably than their pureblood relatives). Dragons may also be immortal in this aspect, but again such creatures killed on the material plane are dead. Their bodies begin to decompose and their spirit moves to other planes unless powerful magics are used to revive the body and call back the spirit. Divine beings include the 42 judges that Gaea put in place after several races on Gaearth developed magic so powerful they risked destroying the world (and may have once). The first of these great wizard-priests was Apollo (Several other names), a human who learned how to harness the energy of the sun. Although not evil in the typical sense, he was very dangerous to himself and to everyone else on the Gaearth and so he was made the first divine being by Gaea and Omni, taken from Gaearth and placed in a special realm of his own in the Ring. Over time, Apollo and Gaea noted other powerful beings of various alignments and removed them from the planet. The divine ones (or the "42 judges") can return to the material plane/Gaearth, as the powerful mortal beings they once were (their mortal avatars). If killed in this form they only lose a temporary access to the material world (they need to "recharge" so to speak) and are unaffected in their Outer Realm/Ring. The divine ones are akin to Gods in the Greco-Roman or Egyptian or Celtic Pantheons. They are immortal in the sense that they will never "die" unless overwhelmed with an even greater power than they possess (Divines have killed each other so the 42 judges number is flexible in that some take each other out and others are added by Gaea and/or a plurality of the current judges). Some entities on the planet have developed great powers and removed themselves from the material plane and/or communicated with the Divines and received the gift of immortality, but they are beholden to the Divines that elevated them, or must forever develop their magic to maintain this position (particularly if there are Divines who resent their self-elevation). Most often characters will call these secondary divines "Demons", "Devils", "Angels", "Heroes", etc. Demi-Gods are the offspring of genuine divines and mortal beings. Half-gods. They are immortal in the same way elves are but also capable of leaving the material realm and visiting the realm of their parents - and possibly other divine realms. Many Demi-Gods establish themselves as demons, devils, angels, heroes etc. Some are in constant tension with their parents; others are favored daughters and sons. The divines, having all been mortal at one point, are often as fickle and shallow as mortals.
Language Analogs	English: Common (There are dialects, and accents. 3 Main accents (with some dialects) are Northlan, Southlan and Isle. French: Draconian; Arcane & Magical texts Esperanto: Ancient Common Greek & Latin: Ancient religious (mostly human) texts and names Elven : Elven (yep, using Tolkien for this and there are online translators of course)
Lilith	Most Revered deity of the Drow. Not one of the 42 judges but a self-raised Divine. Was Raguel's lover dozens of Millennia ago. They're falling out (among several other factors) lead to a split between Mountain and Forest Elves, with the Mountain Elves retreating into and allying with the races of the Suterrain (Underground).
Lune	Larger moon much like Earth's but for oddities in its orbit whenever Rosé is directly in between Gaearth and Soul
Money	1 Platinum Piece = 8 Gold Piece = 128 Silver pieces = 8192 copper pieces Platinum is almost never used. Gold pieces are akin to $50 today, Silver pieces $2-3, Coppers $0.01-0.05 Platinum is Rare and was only minted during the Years of Unity (YU as opposed to AF, after the Fall). Under the King, coins were minted exclusively with the precious metal stated. Since the fall, many princelings have minted coins with alloys containing far less precious metal. Many people who do business and trade in the North carry metallic acid and true-weights. The acids dissolve all but the metal they are intended to detect so alloyed coins can be reduced to just their precious metal and compared against the true-weight. Coins from before the fall still exist in large quantities and are traded widely. They are marked with the K on the Obverse (and other high detailed illumination and heraldry) and the land of the mint on the reverse (akin to Euros) and are difficult but not impossible to counterfeit. Generally when a K coin is presented, if the reeding/ridges are intact and the coin appears in no other way to be shady, it is accepted. The ratio between coins is based on pieces of eight. That is, it was not unusual in the Years of Unity to cut larger denomination coins in fourths and fourths again to arrive at smaller fractions if the proper coins were not available; given the consistency of coinage at the time few worried about being short-changed. The coin-weight differs between the denominations to reflect the ratio of precious metals common on the continent. With these number in mind, a full set of plate armor would run the equivalent of $75,000 (according to 3.5ed rules). If this seems extreme consider that such armor was only worn by the wealthiest and most elite/experienced and was custom built to the wearer's size. Today's average infantry soldier in the Middle East wears about $30,000 of gear, and specialists, far far more. Combat is expensive. Copper = Kopins Gold = Sols Silver = Lunes Platinum = ???
Monsters	(Capitalization matters): dragon (unless type is specified: Red Dragon, but, "Holy shit a dragon!"), owl or bear but Owlbear
Old Ones (The)	Gaea & Omni (There may be one more). The makers of the worlds and stars and moons and every big thing in the universe
Olferb	Slang: (the) 'fherb; very similar to Cannabis Sativa in its psychoactive effects but it is a strain of psychoactive flower that has been selected and modified by elven botanists. When properly planted and harvested according to strict rituals, and calendars, it can impart certain magical abilities which differ from person to person. Considered a scared plant among the elves (the earth need be fertilized with elven blood in order for it magical effects to thrive), it is sought after for recreational, medicinal and mischievous purposes by non-elves. It suppresses the Rage that plagues Rocco.
Omni	The Universe or Creator of the Universe as they are understood to be one and the same. Everything personified. Its consort is Gaea. It has no comprehensible form in that it is made of everything yet to be formed; that which has form eventually will lose form and return to it. It is void and all that fills the void. (Omni and marduk bear similarities to the Titans and marduk and Tiamat of enuma elish legends. But there is a "Tiamat" in this world, Queen of all Dragons.
Planetary Rings	Some of the "Gods" live here. But it also may be a portal to other planes/dimensions rather than the actual physical place where they reside.
Races	(Capitalization matters): Elf, Dwarf, Men (but wo//hu/man), Halfling, Orc, Goblin, giant (unless type is specified: Hill Giant but, "Holy shit a giant!" Quasi/Human Races: Bi-pedal sentient races with written language and preserved culture-history that don't consider humans to be a potential food source (barring occasional rituals). Each Race is followed by that race's most powerful/most revered Divine. - Humans (Apollo/Sol Invitus) - Elves (Forest: Raguel / Mountain/Drow: Lilith (not a Divine, but indeed an immortal who raised herself up) - Halflings - Dwarves - Gnomes - Giants Inhuman Races: Bi-pedal (mostly) sentient races with written language and preserved culture-history that DO consider humans to be a potential food source especially during rituals). - Orcs - Goblins - Trolls - Kobolds - Dragons (maybe; Tiamat)
Raguel/le	Divine and most revered Deity of Forest Elves. Namesake of the clan from which Ar-Raguel and Raguelle come from (Raguelle is the feminine form - s/he might be a dualistic-God/dess, still playing with this). NOTE: I just recently became aware that Neil Gaiman has a reoccurring character in his works called Araguel, and indeed he is drawing from non-canonical Judaic/Hebrew myth in which Araguel is one of the 7 archangels. I can honestly claim that neither Gaiman, nor Jewish myth played any conscious role in the name. The character was originally named "Aragel" when I was 10 or 11 years old and was a corruption of Aragorn, hero of LOTR and probably influenced by the mythology that I and my friend Bill Curtis read at the time. When I decided to resurrect the characters for this novel, I created a backstory that involved Aragel having a twin sister who is convinced he's not actually dead (Aragel, the D&D character died in the first adventure I played). I also decided that French would play the role of the Arcane language in this realm and so decided to change the spelling of the name and add masculine/feminine endings to the name depending on the gender of the character and so were born Ar-Raguel (with luck having it that "Ar(a)" means Lord/Noble/High in Sindarin, one of Tolkien's elvish dialects, and "el" meaning, well, elf. Also turns out that "g" in Sindarin is simply an augmentative prefix, like "uber"; So Ar-Raguel could be loosely translated as The highest of high noble elves, not unlike Latin Americans naming their children "Jesus") and Eartha-Raguelle, meaning almost exactly the same but with the human/common tongue addition of earth, referencing fertility and the feminine divine.
Rosé	The Smaller moon that orbits Gaearth 4 times each year coming directly in between Gaearth and Soul 4 times each year exactly on the Solstices and Equinoxes. As Rosé reaches this point, Lune's orbit is affected and it slows and ultimately halts its orbit opposite Rosé (on the dark side of Gaearth) and moving on again as Rosé continues in its orbit. Lune's orbit is essentially halted for 7 days, allowing its phases to remain in sing with their respective weeks in each month (see Calendar). When Rose comes to this point, the rays of the sun directly behind her change her from her usual pink hue to fiery red. There are a variety of symbolic fertility myths and parables, phrases and saying revolving around "Letting the pink bleed red" as the moon's change in color is often described.
Saleos (The Elder & The younger, aka Saleoson)	Self-Raised Divine (not one of the 42 judges) who plays a major role in the other novel that takes place in this realm, "Daddy Issues." The anti-cupid (he makes people fall in lust with one another). A demon of fecundity according to the 17th century compendium of medieval grimoire(s) The Lesser Key of Solomon/Ars Goetia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_Key_of_Solomon The current Saleos (The Elder/Divine) is actually the son of the original individual who raised himself up and slew his father to claim the Divine realm. His son (a demi-god) is expected to do the same but has no interest in becoming a Divine and rather likes his immortal life on earth. One or the other may make a cameo in this novel.
Soul	The name of their sun
Süterrain	The name given to the realm under the mountains and hills where dwell many of the Inhuman Races and the Drow.
Tiamat	Divine Goddess of Dragon-kind. Not necessarily "evil" as portrayed in D&D but more like the Sea Monster derivative that Enuma elish's Tiamat became in other Mediterranean retellings. The greatest Dragon in the history of History had to be removed from Gaearth by Gaea because seriously, who could stop her if she wasn't taken form the mortal world and given her own divine realm?
Urundil	The name of Ar-Raguel's sword. It means "copper-lover" in Quenya
Vejovis	Divine/God of healing (who's symbol is an arrow) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vejovis Very popular with Rangers and elven clerics.