Power: 1. vital energy produced by living things, i.e., prana, mana, orgone, etc. 2. sorcerous power accumulated by celibacy, bloodletting, fasting, pain, or meditation 3. ambient energy produced by ley lines and geocurrents, a field of energy surrounding the planet 4. the discipline of raising and channeling vital energy, sorcerous power, or ambient energy 5. any form of energy that fuels sorcerous or psionic ability 6. a paranormal community or paranormal individual who holds territory
Prime Power: 1. the highest-ranked paranormal Power in a city or territory, capable of negotiating treaties and enforcing order Note: usually Nichtvren in most cities and werecain in rural areas. 2. (Technical) The source from which all Power derives 3. (Archaic) any non-human paranormal being with more than two vassals in the feudal structure of pre-Awakening paranormal society
Psion: 1. an accredited, trained, or apprentice human with psionic abilities 2. a human with psionic abilities
Putchkin: 1. the official language of the Putchkin Alliance, though other dialects are rampant 2. a Putchkin Alliance citizen
Putchkin Alliance: one of the two world superpowers, comprising Russia, most of China (except Freetown Tibet and Singapore), some of Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East Note: After the Seventy Days War, the two superpowers settled into peace and are often said to be one world government with two divisions.
Republic of Gilead: theocratic Old Merican empire based on fundamentalist Novo Christer and Judic messianic principles, lasting from the latter half of the 21st century (after the Vatican Bank scandal) to the end of the Seventy Days War Note: In the early days, before Kochba bar Gilead's practical assumption of power in the Western Hemisphere, the Evangelicals of Gilead were defined as a cult, not the Republic. Political infighting in the Republic brought about both the War and the only tactical nuclear strike of the War (in the Vegas Waste).
Revised Matheson Score: the index for quantifying the level of psionic ability Note: Like the Richter scale, it is exponential; five is the lowest score necessary for a psionic child to receive Hegemony funding and schooling. Forty is the terminus of the scale; anything above forty is defined as "superlative " and the psion is tipped into special Hegemony secret-services training.
Runewitch: a psion whose secondary or primary talent includes the ability to handle the runes of the Nine Canons with more ease
Sedayeen: 1. an accredited psion whose talent is healing 2. (Archaic) An old Nichtvren word meaning "blue hand" Note: Sedayeen are incapable even of self-defense, being allergic to violence and prone to feeling the pain they inflict. This makes them incredible healers, but also incredibly vulnerable.
Sekhmet sa'es: Egyptianica term, often used as obscenity; translated: "Sekhmet stamp it," a request for the Egyptos goddess of destruction to strike some object or thing, much like the antique "God damn it."
Seventy Days War: the conflict that brought about the end of the Republic of Gilead and the rise of the Hegemony and Putchkin Alliance
Sexwitch: (Archaic: tantraiiken) an accredited psion who works with Power raised from the act of sex; pain also produces an endorphin and energy rush for sexwitches
Shaman: 1. the most common and catch-all term for a psion who has psionic ability but does not fall into any other specialty, ranging from vaudun Shamans (who traffic with loa) to generic psions 2. {Archaic) a normal human with borderline psionic ability
Skinlin: (Slang: dirtwitch) an accredited psion whose talent has to do with plants and plant DNA Note: Skinlin use their voices, holding sustained tones, wedded to Power to alter plant DNA and structure. Their training makes them susceptible to berserker rages.
Talent: 1. psionic ability 2. magickal ability
Werecain: (Slang: 'cain, furboy) Altered human capable of changing to a furred animal form at will Note: There are several different subsets, including Lupercal and magewolfen. Outsiders and normal humans are generally incapable of distinguishing between different subsets of 'cain.
About the Author
Lilith Saintcrow was born in New Mexico and started writing at the age of ten. She currently lives in Vancouver, Washington, with her husband, two children, two cats, and assorted other strays.
Dead Man Rising Page 32