EREBIS: (eh-ra-biss) noun, See “Daemon, the”. An H’ouando term for the ruler of the underworld, in actually a separate reality connected to our own via the energies.
ERRANT: (eh-runt) noun, Originally a slang term for a man or woman with congenital irregularities, physical or mental, including those with apparently preternatural abilities. The term has since become common usage.
FACTOTUM: (fak-toh-tuhm) noun, A person employed to undertake all kinds of work, from menial to mercenary.
GOYA: (goy-ah) noun, A rural city largely unaffected by the Conflict. It is known as the “party city” due to its regular festivals, which often feature musical performances and superb firework displays.
GOYLE: (goil) noun, Reactionary animals with poor visual/auditory senses, which locate their prey via heat traces. Groups of goyles have been known to attack humans and large domesticated animals. Although they primarily inhabit woodland areas, they have been known to roost in rural settlements. They are so named due to their similar appearance to stone gargoyles.
HERMETICIA: (huh-met-iss-eer) noun, Officially “Shianti”.
H’OUANDO: (hoo-an-doh) noun, A religion founded during the three decades prior to the Conflict. Beginning as a philosophical movement in the region of Central America, it was first recognized as a religion in the early 2050s by German citizen Christopher Wieght. Its origins are unknown, but surviving records reference a founder named C. P. Escuro.
ICONOIL: (eye-kun oyl) noun, A pre-Conflict combustible, non-soluble liquid derived from petroleum, which produces little detectible heat when ignited.
IILYANI: (ill-yah-nee) noun, A town in the South American mid-east, bordering what was once the Icamaqua river. The surrounding area is now semi-tropical woodland.
IRENIA: (ir-en-ee-ah) noun, The deity of the H’ouando faith. Some smaller sub-faiths of the H’ouando tenet practice polytheism, but even amongst these Irenia is viewed as the primary deity. She is said to have created the universe not through her will, but out of an unconscious impulse to manufacture beauty in the universe. Irenia is a deist god said to exist apart from her creation.
IRENIA’S SENTINEL: (ir-en-ee-ahs sen-tin-al) noun, A mythical catlike creation of the H’ouando faith, said to be the herald of the Goddess Irenia. It bears some similiarities to the Valkyries of the Norse pantheon.
LUAL: (lew-al) noun, also known as The Great Lake, A vast lake in the centre of the South American continent. During the Conflict the water levels of the Atlantic Ocean rose as a result of tectonic interference between the East Pacific Rise and the Argentine Plain. The banks of the Uruguay river network swelled to cover a surface area of over 400 square miles, approximately the size of the Dead Sea, suffocating a large part of the continent. There are reportedly islets and ridges of stone and coral toward the centre of the lake, as well as rumours of errant inhabitants or similarly strange fauna.
LUXERS, THE: (luhk-sawrs) noun, A supposed group of radicals, reputedly for hire, with tendencies toward violence and prejudice. Witnesses have issued unconfirmed reports of large gatherings on both American continents, with confirmed cabals operating in Puerto Rico and the outlying areas. The group has roots possibly going back as far as the first American Civil War, and some cabals have purportedly allied themselves with the Caballeros de la Muerte.
MAG-PROP: (mag-propp) noun, Magnetically-propelled, pertaining to pre-Conflict craft that became buoyant over certain roads that had been specially treated with dense flecks of reverse-polarity metal.
MAGUS: (mey-juhs) noun, A non-specific term for a man or woman, possibly errant, reputed to wield control over the “energies”. The word is of Persian or Mesopotamian origin.
MILACA DUOS: (mil-ak-uh doo-os) noun, A fishing town on the north-east coast of the Lual, noted for its organised harbours and regular charting services across the Great Lake.
MINISTRATI, THE: (min-uh-strah-tee) noun, plural, An elite strata of clergy within the more devout sects of the H’ouando faith.
MORO BAT: (mawr-ro bat) noun, A recently-discovered strain of bat of the Phyllostomidae family, native to South America with unconfirmed strains in North America. So named for their wolf-like appearance, although the original source of the word “Moro” is uncertain.
PIRENE: (pi-ren) noun, A small town to the mid-east of South America. Adherents of modern history have noted similarities with the city of Shianti, most significantly how the cultures of each settlement centre on their respective craters from the years of the Conflict.
PLAINS, THE: (pleyns) noun, A vast tract of desert wilderness between the cities of Iilyani and Ponta Pora and the jungle on northern edge of the South American continent.
PLASTIPLEX: (plast-ee plecks) noun, Originally a trade name for a particularly strong form of plastic compound made prior to the Conflict: highly durable, but prone to scratching. The phrase fell into common usage at the start of the 21st Century.
PONTA PORA: (pon-tah powr-ah) noun, A large city north-east of the Lual, viewed by many as a counterpart of Goya. The city is best known for its vibrancy and acceptance of other cultures, faiths, sexualities and other personal choices. It openly accepts errants and, conversely, is also said to provide sanctuary for outcast Caballeros.
RESTING PLACE, THE: (res-ting pleys) noun, A large area of baked earth between Iilyani and the Plains. Beneath the solid topsoil is softer earth, which is why the area is used as a burial ground for resident settlements. It is often choked with suspended sand, or mist caused by evaporated moisture from the border of the neighbouring semi-tropical woodland.
RUSALKI: (ruhs-al-kee) noun, plural, Errant humans reportedly dwelling at the centre of the Great Lake Lual. Several versions of urban legends originating from the borders of the lake pertain to deformed women who may sometimes appear in spirit form to drown townspeople. There are probable connections with the rusalka of Slavic mythology.
SANGUILAC: (sang-gwi-lak) noun, singular; plural SANGUISUGA (Sang-gwi-soo-gah) Believed to be an errant breed of human or animal, corrupted by the methods of destruction used in the Conflict. Several faiths teach that the sanguisuga are demonic spirits in possession of deceased flesh. Sanguisuga must feed regularly on animal or human plasma to counter organic degeneration, and are reputed to be photosensitive. All breeds are nocturnal, and said to draw heat from the reflected light emanating from the moon, and therefore stronger during the fuller phases of the lunar cycle.
SÃO JANTUO: (sou han-too-oh) noun, A city, known for its large size and population and its use of archaic methods of transport, judiciary system and faux monarchy. It is built amidst the ruins of large pre-Conflict dwellings.
SCATHAC: (skath-ak) noun, A man or woman with mystic or Errant-based skills relating specifically to the arts of battle and assassination. The name is thought to be derived from Scáthach of Lethra, a Celtic warrior and teacher of pre-Conflict legend.
SCY-STAFF: (sahy-staf) noun, A weapon with a curved scythe-blade at one end of a long wooden or metal staff. The other end may have a similar curved blade, or a sharp metal point.
“SEA MONKEY”: (see muhng-kee) noun, Goyan term for a member of the simaniatri family.
SHIANTI: (shee-an-tee) noun, Also know as “Hermeticia” due to the xenophobic nature of its small populace. It was created inside a large impact crater from the Conflict, the walls of which protect it from foreigners. Its citizens are renowned for their proficiency in medicine as well as skilled individuals specialising in maintenance of pre-Conflict technology.
SHILI: (shil-lee) noun, A small animal found in large groups, of simian or rodent appearance, often placed in the Sciuridae family due to its furred, long-tailed body.
SIMANIATRI: (sim-an-ee-ahr-tree) noun, Diminutive multi-cellular organisms often found in the deeper waters of the Lual. They have gelatinous bodies and recognisable faces, but although they are frequently anthropomorphic in shape, they just as often appear in shell-, serpent- or “blob”-like form. The sometimes-human appearance of simaniatris leant them their name and
their nickname, “sea monkeys”.
THERIOPE: (th-air-ee-ope) noun, A man or woman who, through a highly transmutable virus, is forced in theriomorphic transmutation. This is often coupled with savagery and bloodlust. Although this transformation is said to follow the phases of the moon, observations suggest a regular, but not lunar-based, cycle. The virus itself may be transmitted only via bodily fluids in either blood, spittle, urine or sexual ejaculate. The physical characteristics of “weres” vary, but hosts may alter in both size and general shape during a transformation, and often sprout thick hair or spines.
TRANSITWAY: (tran-zit wey) noun, A high speed rail-based cargo transport from before the Conflict. Some Transitways extend up to 1,200 kilometres (760 miles) beneath the American and European continents.
“WERE”: (wee-er) noun, See “Theriope”.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Brookes is a writer and editor currently living in the UK, from where he runs his editing firm The St. Paul’s Literary Service.
He has stories published in many magazines including Electric Spec, Pantechnicon, Bewildering Stories, Whispering Spirits, Morpheus Tales, The Cynic and Aphelion.
His fiction has appeared in printed anthologies, most recently 'Skull & Crossbones' from Bedazzled Inc.
His first novel, 'Half Discovered Wings', was published internationally by Libros International in 2009, and was newly updated and re-released in e-book format in 2015.
Read more about his work at his website, STPediting.wordpress.com, or send an e-mail to sign up for updates and offers.
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