Howling Dark

by Christopher Ruocchio

Any genetically altered or artificially created animal, usually by blending the genetic code of two or more animals.

  chiromancer

  See BONECUTTER.

  Choir

  An elite research and intelligence body operating under the command of the Chantry.

  choregus

  The leader of a chorus, as in a song.

  Cielcin

  Spacefaring alien species. Humanoid and carnivorous. The principle enemy of humankind during the CRUSADE.

  Classical English

  The ancient language of both the Mericanii and the early Imperial settlers on Avalon, still used by the scholiasts.

  coloni

  Any intelligent, pre-industrial race of xenobites on a human-occupied world, particularly in the Sollan Empire.

  Colosso

  A series of sporting events held in a coliseum involving professional gladiators, slave myrmidons, animals, races, and more.

  commandant

  The leader of a private mercenary company.

  commodore

  In the Legions, an officer above captain but below strategos, usually in command of a fleet.

  cornicen

  In the Legions, a soldier tasked with playing the horn or trumpet at parades.

  coteliho

  In Cielcin culture, roughly equivalent to a Lord’s herald or majordomo.

  crèche

  A cryonic storage pod for transporting people on long interstellar journeys.

  cryoburn

  Burns incurred as a side-effect of improper cryonic freezing.

  cubiculum

  A chamber where persons are kept in cryonic fugue, usually aboard a starship.

  daimon

  An artificial intelligence. Sometimes erroneously applied to non-intelligent computer systems.

  Dark

  Space. In the Chantry religion, a place of desolation and torment.

  Deep

  A species of possibly artificial and intelligent microorganisms found on several worlds, capable of digesting and altering other living creatures.

  denwa

  A highly addictive pseudoamphetamine of extraterrestrial origin and a popular drug. Made from fungal resin.

  douleter

  A slave overseer or trader.

  druaja

  A board game, sometimes called labyrinth chess.

  dryad

  Any of a species of green-skinned homunculi capable of photosynthesis, designed for work in outer space.

  Durantine Republic

  An interstellar republic of some three thousand worlds. Pays tribute to the Empire.

  Eali al’aqran

  The Jaddian ruling caste, product of intense eugenic development. Practically superhuman.

  Emperor

  The supreme ruler of the Sollan Empire, considered a god and the reincarnation of his/her predecessor. Holds absolute power.

  Eudoran

  Any of the spacefaring bands claiming descent from the failed colony on Europa in Old Earth’s system. An ethnic group known for their interstellar wanderings.

  Exalted

  A faction among the Extrasolarians noted for their extreme cybernetic augmentations.

  exsul

  Any palatine lord not based on a habitable world. Can refer also to his/her entire household.

  Extrasolarian

  Any of the barbarians living outside Imperial control, often possessing illegal praxis.

  factionarius

  The chief officer of a trade guild.

  foederatus

  A mercenary.

  Foundation War

  The war between the early Empire and the Mericanii, in which the Mericanii were destroyed and the Sollan Empire founded.

  fravashi

  In the Jaddian religion, the part of one’s spirit that remains in the spirit world when a person’s soul enters the material universe.

  Free Traders Union

  A coalition of smaller trading companies and independent merchanter vessels that lobbies for shipping privileges and dock space on planets.

  freehold

  Any planet or moon that rules itself, not subject to an interstellar polity.

  fugue

  The state of cryonic suspension induced to ensure that humans and other living creatures survive the long journey between suns.

  Galstani

  The common language of the Sollan Empire, descended from Classical English, with heavy Hindi and Franco-Germanic influences.

  gene tonic

  A medicament designed to alter the genetic code of an organism to fit a desired plan. Used to raise plebeians to the patrician class.

  glowsphere

  A spherical, bright light source floating on Royse repulsors, battery- or chemically powered.

  God of Fire

  In the Jaddian religion, the principle creator deity, known sometimes by his ancient name Ahura Mazda.

  golem

  A mechanical being fashioned in the shape of a man, containing no organic parts.

  Great Charters

  Ancient collection of legal codes imposed on the Empire by a coalition of the houses palatine. Maintains the balance between the houses and between the houses and the Emperor.

  groundcar

  An automobile, usually powered by solar or by internal combustion.

  High College

  Imperial political office tasked with reviewing palatine requests for children and with overseeing the pregnancies of same. Prevents mutations.

  highmatter

  A form of exotic matter produced by alchemists. Used to make the swords of Imperial knights, which can cut almost anything.

  hilatar

  A popular non-addictive hallucinogen made from the leaves of an alien plant. The leaves are dried and steeped like tea.

  homunculus

  Any artificial human or near-human, especially those grown for a task, or for aesthetic purposes.

  hoplite

  A shielded foot soldier. Heavy infantry.

  hurasam

  Gilded coin used amongst the Imperial peasant classes, worth their mark-weight in gold. Print notes for various denominations exist.

  huratimn

 
A prey animal native to the Cielcin homeworld.

  ichakta

  A Cielcin title, referring to the captain of a ship.

  ietumna

  The submissive Cielcin sexual role.

  imaginifer

  In the Legions, a herald tasked with carrying a holograph image of the Emperor upon a staff.

  immunis

  In the Legions, a soldier exempt from usual duties.

  inmane

  An offensive slur meaning that someone is less than human. Literally impure.

  intus

  A palatine born outside the oversight of the High College, usually possessing several physical or psychological defects; a bastard.

  itani

  Pl. Itanimn. A Cielcin family unit.

  Jaddian

  The official language of the Principalities of Jadd, a patois of ancient Romance and Semitic languages with some Greek influences.

  jubala

  A powerful and popular offworld narcotic. Can be inhaled or ingested in a kind of tea.

  kaspum

  Silver-plated coin used among the Imperial peasant classes. Twelve kaspums make one gold hurasam. Print notes for various denominations exist.

  Knights Excubitor

  The innermost circle of the Emperor’s guard, comprising 108 of the finest knights and fighters in the Empire.

  Legions

  The military branch of the Sollan Empire, loyal directly to the Emperor and Imperial house, comprising naval and ground forces.

  lictor

  A bodyguard for a nobile or other dignitary. Usually a knight.

  logothete

  A minister in any of the governmental agencies of any palatine house, used colloquially of any civil servant.

  magus

  An intellectual, most especially a scientist or natural philosopher.

  Mandari

  An ethnic group semi-detached from Imperial society, most commonly found staffing the massive interstellar trading corporations.

  mark

  The primary trade currency of the Sollan Empire, not backed by specie.

  Martian Guard

  The Emperor’s palace guard, an elite corp of soldiers raised from the population on Earth’s nearest neighbor, Mars.

  medica

  A hospital, typically aboard a starship.

  megathere

  A massive, three-eyed amphibious predator native to the planet Epidamnus.

  Mericanii

  The ancient first interstellar colonists. A hyper-advanced technologic civilization run by artificial intelligences. Destroyed by the Empire.

  mnunatari

  In Cielcin culture, the merchant caste. Considered pariahs.

  myrmidon

  In the Colosso, any contract or slave fighter not a professionally trained gladiator.

  myste

  An intellectual.

  nahute

  A Cielcin weapon. Resembles a flying metal snake. Seeks out targets and drills into them.

  natalist

  A specialist practiced in the art of growing and gene-crafting living organisms, human or otherwise.

  neural lace

  A semi-organic computer implanted in a host’s brain. Very illegal in the Empire.

  Nipponese

  The descendants of the Japanese colonists who fled Old Earth system in the Third Peregrination.

  nobile

  Blanket term referring to any member of the palatine and patrician castes in the Sollan Empire.

  Nordei

  The principal language of the Demarchy. A patois of Nordic and Thai with some Slavic influences.

  Norman Expanse

  The frontier of human settlement in the Norma Arm of the Milky Way.

  nuncius

  An announcer, town crier, or herald.

  Old Solstice

  A traditional holiday commemorating the Winter Solstice of Old Earth.

  optio

  The second-in-command of a century in the Imperial Legions after the Centurion.

  Order of Merit

  The highest honor an Imperial soldier may be given for service to the Empire.

  Outer Perseus

  The expansion region out along the end of the Perseus Arm; a colonial frontier.

  palatine

  The Imperial aristocracy, descended from those free humans who opposed the Mericanii. Genetically enhanced, they may live for several centuries.

  Pale

  The Cielcin. Slang, considered offensive by xenophiles.

  pankration

  A martial art harking all the way back to ancient Greece and Macedonia.

  Panthai

  A Tavrosi language descended from the Thai, Lao, and Khmer-speaking peoples who settled the Wisp alongside the Nordei.

  patrician

  Any plebeian or plutocrat awarded with genetic augmentations at the behest of the palatine caste as a reward for services rendered.

  peltast

  An unshielded foot soldier. Light infantry.

  Peregrination

  Any of the historical evacuations from Earth’s system for the extrasolar colonies.

  Petersonian

  A fraternal order of the scholiasts.

  phase disruptor

  A sort of firearm that attacks the nervous system. Can stun on lower settings.

  plagiarius

  A smuggler, fence, or other black market salesman.

  plasma burner

  A firearm which uses a strong loop of magnetic force to project an arc of super-heated plasma across short to moderate distances.

  plebeian

  The Imperial peasantry, descended from unaltered human stock seeded on the oldest colony ships. Forbidden to use high technology.

  plutocrat

  Any plebeian who has earned enough money to buy expensive genetic augmentations. Effectively patrician.

  Principalities of Jadd

  Nation of eighty former Imperial provinces in Perseus that revolted over palatine reproductive rights. Heavily militaristic and caste-driven.

  qiati

  In Cielcin culture, an individual’s usefulness or wort
h to its owner.

  Quiet

  The hypothetical first civilization in the galaxy, allegedly responsible for several ancient sites, including those on Emesh, Judecca, Sadal Suud, and Ozymandias.

  Rothsbank

  An ancient, privately owned banking house tracing its roots back to the Golden Age of Earth.

  Royal Victorian Knights

  A fraternal order of knights owing allegiance to the Imperial House Avent.

  satrap

  A planetary governor in the Principalities of Jadd, subordinate to one of the regional princes.

  scahari

  In Cielcin culture, the warrior caste.

  scholiast

  Any member of the monastic order of researchers, academics, and theoreticians tracing their origins to the Mericanii scientists captured at the end of the Foundation War.