One of the Sollan Empire’s prison planets.
Patmos
A planet and grand duchy in the Orion provinces, famously the birthplace of Hadrian Marlowe’s friend, Lorian Aristedes.
Perfugium
A colonial distribution center in the Centaurine provinces, the home of billions of sleeping human colonists. The site of a major battle in the Cielcin Wars.
Perseus Arm
The outermost of the four settled arms of the galaxy, comprising most of the outer rim territories. Variously settled by the Sollan Empire, the Principalities of Jadd, the Durantine Republic, and various freeholder colonies and smaller states not annexed or allied with a greater power.
Pharos
A Norman freehold ruled for a time by Marius Whent, an ex-Imperial legate defeated by Hadrian Marlowe during his time as a mercenary.
Ramannu
An Imperial colony on the Centaurine frontier, right on the border with the Veil of Marinus.
Renaissance
One of the most populous worlds in the Empire, located in the Spur of Orion. A cultural center almost entirely covered by urban development. Formerly a Mericanii colony called Yellowstone, located in the Epsilon Eridani system.
Rubicon
An Imperial planet bearing the signs of an extinct xenobite civilization.
Rustam
An Imperial colony in the Norman Expanse, site of a minor engagement with the Cielcin that culminated in the destruction of its capital city.
Sadal Suud
A wild world in the Spur of Orion, kept mostly untrammeled. Home to the Cavaraad Giants, a huge species of xenobite, as well as to the Marching Towers, one of the Ninety-Nine Wonders of the Universe. Ruled by House Rodolfo.
Sagittarius Arm
The second arm of the galaxy colonized by humanity, north of Orion but south of Centaurus. Comprises the core of the Sollan Empire—along with Orion—but the Lothrian Commonwealth constitutes a large portion of its western frontier.
Senuessa
A Sagittarine world, site of the Battle of Senuessa, one of the bloodiest in the entirety of the Cielcin Wars.
Shakespeare
A planet and archduchy in the Orion provinces held by the Aventine House.
Sinara
Site of a battle during the Cielcin Wars.
Teukros
A desert world in the Imperium, notably the site of the scholiasts’ athenaeum at Nov Senber.
Thagura
Site of a major battle in the Cielcin Wars.
Utah
An ancient Mericanii colony.
Veil of Marinus
The region of space at the base of the Norma Arm of the galaxy where it joins the galactic core. Formerly a colonial expansion region dominated by the Sollan Empire and Norman Freeholders, it is also the site of most Cielcin incursions into human space.
Vorgossos
A mythical Extrasolarian world orbiting a brown dwarf, said to be a mecca for the black market genetics trade. Formerly a hideout for the Exalted, presided over now by a warlord known as the Undying.
LEXICON
HEREIN IS INCLUDED AN index of those terms appearing in this third volume of Lord Marlowe’s manuscript which are not easily translated into the Classical English or which bear a specific cultural or technical definition. For a more complete explanation of the methodology I employed in devising these coinages in translating from the Galstani in which the original was written, please refer to the appendices in volume one of this translation.
—Tor Paulos of Nov Belgaer
adamant
Any of the various long-chain carbon materials used for starship hulls and body armor.
adorator
A member of any antique religious cult maintained by the Empire and tolerated by the Chantry.
Aeta
A Cielcin prince-chieftain. Appears to have ownership rights over its subjects and their property.
Aeta Ba-Aetane
The Cielcin Prince of Princes. A rare title reserved for those Aeta who conquer and subordinate another Aeta without killing it.
akaranta
The dominant Cielcin sexual role.
androgyn
A homunculus exhibiting either neither or both male and female sex characteristics.
annuid
In the scholiast order, a practitioner who has sworn him or herself to the order for a standard year.
apatheia
The emotionless state pursued by the scholiasts to facilitate their computation function. Has roots in classical Stoicism.
aquilarius
A fighter pilot.
Arch-Builders
Extinct species of coloni xenobite native to the planet Ozymandias. So called for the massive structures built above the plains of their home.
Archprior
Within the Chantry clergy, a senior prior, usually one entrenched in the Chantry bureaucracy.
armsman
Any individual—usually patrician—sworn to serve the person of a palatine lord or his/her house in perpetuity.
auctor
An office appointed by the Emperor to serve as his proxy, to speak with his voice and authority in matters where the Emperor cannot be present.
auxilia
A soldier or unit of soldiers—usually volunteered—attached to the Legions without being a formal part of the Legion structure. Often, auxiliary units are non-citizens looking to obtain citizenship.
azhdarch
A xenobite predator common in the Colosso, like a lizard with a long neck open from top to bottom in a fanged mouth.
baetan
In Cielcin culture, a sort of priest-historian of the scianda.
bastille
Any Chantry judicial and penal center, usually attached to a temple sanctum.
bromos
A protein-rich strain of engineered hyper-oat that serves as the basis for ration bars and as protein base for artificial meat production.
castellan
The chief military officer on a nobile estate, tasked with the defense of the castle and holdings. Usually a knight.
cathar
A surgeon-torturer employed by the Holy Terran Chantry.
centennid
In scholiast life, any member of the order who has sworn him or herself to service for one hundred years. Often a monastic.
centurion
A rank in the Imperial Legions, commands a CENTURY.
century
In the Imperial Legions, a unit comprising ten decades (100 men).
Chalcenterite
A fraternal order of the scholiasts, noted for their asceticism.
Chantry
The Holy Terran Chantry, state religion of the Empire. Functions as the judicial arm of the state, especially where the use of forbidden technology is involved.
chiliad
In the Imperial Legions, a unit comprising ten centuries (1000 men).
chiliarch
A rank in the Imperial Legions, commands a CHILIAD.
chimera
Any genetically altered or artificially created animal, usually by blending the genetic code of two or more animals.
Choir
The CHANTRY’s clandestine research and intelligence division.
Cielcin
Spacefaring alien species. Humanoid and carnivorous.
cohort
In the Imperial Legions, a unit comprising six chiliads (6000 men).
Colosso
A series of sporting events held in a coliseum involving professional gladiators, slave myrmidons, animals, races, and more.
colossus
Any huge mobile artillery unit, especially those designed to walk on legs. May be several hundred feet tall.
consortation
One of the TWELVE ABOMINATIONS. Conversing with or having similar contact with artificial intelligence, even unknowingly.
Consortium
The Wong-Hopper Consortium. The largest of the Mandari interstellar corporations, specializing in terraforming technologies.
constellation
Among the palatine, a super-group of interrelated families, usually possessed of certain signifying features and traits.
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.
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.
datanet
The loose association of all planetary dataspheres connected by quantum telegraphs and inter-space satellite relays.
datasphere
Any planetary data network. In the Empire, access is strictly restricted to the patrician and palatine caste.
decade
In the Imperial Legions, a unit of ten soldiers comprising three groups of three and their decurion.
decurion
A rank in the Imperial Legions, commands a DECADE.
Demarchy of Tavros
A small interstellar polity found in the Wisp. Radically open to technology, the people vote on all measures using neural lace implants.
demoniac
A person who has incorporated machines into their body, particularly with the intent of altering their cognitive processes.
dispholide
A rare hemotoxic poison, likely of Chantry design and manufacture, that disables the coagulation process and dissolves collagen and even bone at an astonishing rate, effectively liquefying the victim.
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.
duplication
One of the TWELVE ABOMINATIONS. The copying of an individual’s genetics, likeness, personality, or memories through cloning or related practices.
Durantine Republic
An interstellar republic of some three thousand worlds. Pays tribute to the Empire.
Eali
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.
energy-lance
A bladed spear with a high-energy laser built into the shaft. Used as formal weapons by guards, especially in the Imperium.
entoptics
Augmented reality device where images are projected directly onto the retina.
eolderman
The elected head of a plebeian community. Typically seen in more rural regions on Imperial planets.
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.
Excubitor
The innermost circle of the Emperor’s guard, comprising 108 of the finest knights and fighters in the Empire.
Exodus
The expansionist period following the environmental collapse of Earth. The Peregrinations from Old Earth System before the Foundation War.
Expeditionary Corps
Branch of the Imperial Legions tasked with exploring the galaxy and with laying the groundwork for colonization.
Extrasolarian
Any of the barbarians living outside Imperial control, often possessing illegal praxis.
extraterranic
In terraforming and ecology, refers to any organism not of Old Earth extraction. Extraterrestrial.
Foundation War
The war between the early Empire and the Mericanii, in which the Mericanii were destroyed and the Sollan Empire founded.
Galstani
The common language of the Sollan Empire, descended from Classical English, with heavy Hindi and Franco-Germanic influences.
glowsphere
A spherical, bright light source floating on Royse repulsors, battery- or chemically powered.
God Emperor
The first Sollan Emperor, William I, who defeated the Mericanii. It is believed his return will usher in a new Golden Age for the Empire.
golem
A mechanical being fashioned in the shape of a man, containing no organic parts.
High College
highmatter
A form of exotic matter produced by alchemists. Used to make the swords of Imperial knights, which can cut almost anything.
hightower
An elevator designed to lift cargo from the surface of a planet to orbit and vice versa.
homunculus
Any artificial human or near-human, especially those grown for a task, or for aesthetic purposes.
hoplite
A shielded foot soldier. Heavy infantry.
hoplon
An antique-style round shield, used in the Colosso.
hurasam
Gilded coin used among the Imperial peasant classes, worth their mark-weight in gold. Print notes for various denominations exist.
Demon in White Page 93