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MENTRA: Largest planetoid of Benzee. It also has the farthest orbit.
MÉTKIP: Position or title of a meeting keeper and note taker. Similar to a secretary.
NABUTIMABA: Tallest tree on Benzee, can grow to heights of 200 meters. Most grow between 90 and 120 meters tall. Has a nutty scent.
NAYUS: The Nentraee spirit or soul
NA-TRAEE: The title for the Dentraee spirit finder or talker. This is the priestess the Dentraee use in the event that the body cannot be found or entombed properly.
NENTRAEE: The race of people from the planet called Benzee. There are seven clans or races, each with different physical features. Shared physical features include: Noses that continue past the brow line joining their forehead ridges, which vanish into their hairline. Pointed ears. No body hair except for the hair on the tops of their heads, which both males and females will keep long. Males will wear it tied back and females will create elaborate hair sculptures.
RÁDO: Name of the Kĩ-class battle cruiser that is the flagship of the Nentraee fleet. It is also home to the General Command offices where military command in maintained—the command center for the fleet and the most heavily protected.
SAGVARWA: An Ultween dish. A sausage filled with meat and various spices and dried fruit. Often served with kumnas for dipping.
SALRA-KÉ: Nentraee dish—meat wrapped in either a leafy vegetable or thin bread with a thick sauce. A common midday meal for the Dentraee.
SEYAS: A baby cádo
TA-OOLEE: Offering for the dead.
TÉ: A large spoon-type device with one very sharp edge used in conjunction with the Lagu—normally used in the right hand.
TIEBACK: A piece of cloth or leather used by Nentraee males as a hair tie to keep their long hair in a ponytail and out of their faces.
TUMA: Nentraee coffee; this drink is traditionally served cold and has a sweet spicy flavor. The scent is similar to chocolate-covered chili peppers.
U’XTRA: Second moon, smallest, oval shape.
WÁ: Largest water mammal, similar to an Earth dolphin but larger and lacking the long snout. The Wá look like a combination of a shark and a dolphin.
YARUS: Tree, similar in size and color to a Japanese Maple tree, but with purple leaves and bare bark.
YÉP: A term used to describe troublesome children.
VAK YÉP: Slang. A little bastard or a weak little male.
XĨMÉ (XEES-MÉ): Small blue-feathered raven-type bird that flies in groups of five or seven.
Glossary of Clans
ALTRAEE: Benzee clan, race of people whose features are very similar to that of the Martween, but their stature is closer to the U’Ztraee. They have a skin tone this is tan-red. They have dark hair: blacks and deep browns. Their eyes range in the family of greens. They have high cheekbones.
Some males wear a modified tieback (a Láoo) that braids around their ponytail keeping the hair tight and neat. Normally finished in a tight knot.
CALEEN: Benzee clan, race of people who are one of the most powerful and influential clans on Benzee; much of Nentraee culture is based on the Caleen. Their features, including their hair, tend to be some of the fairest of the clans. The clan typically has blue and green eyes.
DENTRAEE: Benzee clan, race of people who are very religious and conservative. Their features are the closest to the Caleen, sharing many of the same features. Only their skin color and hair color differ, having aqua eyes and skin tones similar to the Utlween.
Can be very traditional and religious.
Started the Clan War with the Za’entra. Clans that supported them at the start of the war were the Martween and U’Ztraee.
MARTWEEN: Benzee clan, race of people, most populous clan on Benzee prior to the evacuation of the planet. The shortest of the clans and they tend to have features that are more delicate than the other clans with midrange coloring. Eyes tend to be darker like the Za’entra as is their hair color.
One of the clans to start the Clan War.
ULTWEEN: Benzee clan, a race of people whose features are much darker than most of the clans with the exception of the U’Ztraee. Their eyes tend to be in shades of aqua and they have mostly brown hair. Their race has the most subtle forehead ridges of all the Nentraee.
U’XTRAEE: Benzee clan, a race of people whose features are the darkest of the clans and their eye color is the lightest. Their hair tends to also be the darkest. They also tend to be the tallest of the clans and have the hardest forehead ridges of the clans.
One of the clans to start the Clan War.
ZA’ENTRA: Benzee clan, race of people whose hair is an auburn or darker in color and their features are darker. They also have the darkest-colored eyes. Dark-brown eyes are the rarest. They tend to be an exotic-looking clan. Because of their mixed blood, some of the ridges on their foreheads will be more pronounced than others.
Some males and females wear a silver-laced ear cuff (karoo) in their left ear. It started as a way to remember those lost in the Clan War, and now it’s a fashion accessory. Some were passed down over the years, but most are new with new designs. There is no one single design; they can vary.
They are a newly recognized clan. Prior to recognition, they were listed as half-breeds. Neither of their clans wanted to include them. They were outcasts until the Clan War, where they were recognized as their own clan.
Acknowledgements
This book would not have been possible without the support of several people including my amazing writing group and beta readers. The time and dedication you put into me and this story is appreciated and will not be forgotten.
A special thank you to fellow author Barbara Russell—you have been there since day one and you continue to support my writing and me.
Thank you to the real-life Dan. Your military expertise was a great help and I couldn’t have done this without you.
About the Author
M.D. Neu is a LGBTQA fiction writer with a love for writing and travel. Living in the heart of Silicon Valley (San Jose, California) and growing up around technology, he’s always been fascinated with what could be. Specifically drawn to sci-fi and paranormal television and novels, M.D. Neu was inspired by the great Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, Stephen King, Alice Walker, Alfred Hitchcock, Harvey Fierstein, Anne Rice, and Kim Stanley Robinson. An odd combination, but one that has influenced his writing.
Growing up in an accepting family as a gay man, he always wondered why there were never stories reflecting who he was. Constantly surrounded by characters that only reflected heterosexual society, M.D. Neu decided he wanted to change that. So, he took to writing, wanting to tell good stories that reflected our diverse world.
When M.D. Neu isn’t writing, he works for a nonprofit and travels with his biggest supporter and his harshest critic, Eric, his husband of nineteen plus years.
Email: info@mdneu.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mdneuauthor
Twitter: @Writer_MDNeu
Website: www.mdneu.com
Blog: www.mdneu.com/blog
Other books by this author
The Calling
The Reunion
A Dragon for Christmas
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