cucarii: (singular: cucarae) small, poisonous crustaceans found in the wastelands, usually nested in large groups; scavengers
Desert Peoples: (the Southerners) loosely organized nomadic tribes, native to the Southern Continent; renowned for their distilled liquors and merchant ventures
Diblum: a small Ramains’ village southeast of Khirla
dracoon: a governing marshal appointed by the Ramains’ King early moon: the first of the Twin Moons to rise on any given evening
eitteh: sentient feline, native to the Northern Continent (see winged-cats; men-cats)
Eldest Prepared: best of the shadow trainees at the Council’s Keep; preferred choice for next assignment and lifebonding; instructor of younger recruits
Fates, the: the male deities of evil mischief; mythical rulers of the dark underworld; primary figures refer to Malice and Ambition with numerous secondary figures such as War, Ire, Greed, and others
Fates’ Cellar: home of the Fates; the mythical world of a punishing afterlife; place of evil souls; hell
“Fates’ Jest”: a malicious turn of events attributed to deities, the Fates (an idiom)
Firecaps: intersecting mountain ranges that comprise the northeastern third of the Northern Continent; volcanic and uninhabited; Seer controlled to stabilize continental land masses
grubber: a generic term for ground rodents in the Northern Continent; smallish, nasty tempered mammals
harmon: a soul-spirit; self-image projected by a Blue Sight to another
honeywood: a deciduous hardwood with rough, red bark; yields a golden grain of decorative value; common to the southern Ramains
Jezebet: title given usually to a woman; resident of the Council’s Keep; person trained in the arts of lifebonding shadowmates
jumier: a fowl native to the Ramains’ northern districts
Khirla: Dracoon’s capital in the Ramains’ southeasterly district Khirlan
lexion: a domesticated fowl raised for its meat; common to farms of the Northern Continent
lifestone: an opal-like energy stone often found amidst limestone deposits in the Northern Continent; used by the Council in lifebonding shadowmates
mala´: a female slave or bond-servant of the Ramains whose duties are reserved for the household and bedroom
Maltar: the ruling family of the northern half of the Northern Continent; term may refer to both ruler and country of rule
men-cats: male eitteh; cat-like savages of impaired intelligence; isolated inhabitants of mountain ranges on the Northern Continent
mesta: an amber, thick skinned fruit with a tart, meaty pulp; a fruit pod cultivated by farmers in the Northern Continent
midnight moon: the second of the Twin Moons to rise on any given night
Min: a generic title for women in the Ramains; conceptually similar to “ma’am”
milkdeer: middle-sized, long necked mammal native to the Ramains; frequently domesticated for its milk
monarc: a standard division of four ten-days; conceptually equivalent to ‘a month’
mumut: a spice leaf grown chiefly in the lower districts of the Ramains
Mother, the: Goddess; omnipotent, nurturing Female Deity; Birthmother of the Universe
pack bond: empathic understanding of personal commitments; empathic bond of sandwolves used to define familial units (see sandwolf)
pripper: a small, tree-dwelling feline; known for its comical antics and bushy coat; frequently found domesticated in Ramains’ cities
Royal Marshall: special emissaries of the Ramains’ Royal Family; originally banded to protect travelers; duties expanded to provide districts with legal and military resolutions, to supply the Royal Court with information from outlying districts
sandwolf: sentient canine, originally native to the Southern Continent, which instinctively imprints at birth to one or more sentient others to provide an emotional, empathic bond in developing protective behaviors and communication skills (see pack bond)
schefea: a middle-sized, hooved mammal native to the northern mountains; a scavenger with protruding tusks and venomous saliva glands
Seers: those gifted with the Blue Sight who are bound to Aggar’s lifecycles and no longer capable of individual thoughts or actions; directed by the Council of Ten, crafters of Aggar’s landscapes; mystics
silverwood: (silverpine) a hardwood conifer with smooth, silver-green bark and grey-green needles; common to the Ramains foothills and mountain regions
single moon: synonymous with monarc; the close of each monarc is marked by a night in which only one of the Twin Moons is visible — this night is referred to as “the single moon”
Ramains: a liberal monarchy uniting most of the Northern Continent; borders the Council’s lands and the Clan’s territory
Tad: generic title for men in the Ramains; conceptually similar to “sir”
tinker-trade: a traveling merchant member of the Traders’ Guild
ten-day: standard division of days; conceptually equivalent to “a week”
tenmoon season: (a season or a tenmoon) a standard division of monarcs; roughly equivalent to two Terran years; name arises from the ten single-moon nights experienced within the planet’s completion of one orbit around its sun
torin: a broad leafed fern; an edible plant commonly found in the wooded ranges of the Northern Continent
Traders’ Guild, the: a merchant union supported by membership dues that promotes the fair exchange of market goods; endorsed by the Desert Peoples, Ramains, Council and Valley Bay the union may provide arbitrators, bonded transport agents, and travel lodging to supplement regional resources
Twin Moons: the two planetoids orbiting Aggar’s globe; associated with the Mother’s watchful care
Unseen Wall: an unidentified energy field controlled by the Seers; the border of the Terran Base Quadrant, ordered by the Council of Ten
Valley Bay: the settlement of the Sisterhood; located near the White Isles, isolated from the Northern Continent by the Firecaps; governed by the Ring of Valley Bay and bound to the home world through the Blue Sighted gifts of the Ring’s Binder.
White Isles of Fire, the: the archipelagos; a group of volcanic islands extending off the eastern Firecaps of the Northern Continent; origin of the Council and Seers
Wine of Decisions: a spiced wine containing a natural drug known to prompt the visions of the Blue Sight
winged-cats: female eitteh; highly intelligent, cat-like flyers; advocates of Ramains’ rule, the Council, and Valley Bay cultures
Dictionary of Sororian Terms
Amazon: a Sister choosing to work/settle outside of the Sisterhood’s jurisdiction
ann: Take note!; to emphasis thoughts or ideas; a verbal exclamation point
be: far, distant
beasties: a large, wooly mammal with horns, usually copper-orange in color, descended from stock brought to Aggar for Valley Bay’s original settlement
bin: between, to (from)
Cee: customs, the ways of a people
cheroan: to make safe, to protect
coraen: to treasure, to find precious
Coramee: daughter
crone: a wise elder among healers n’Shea
dey: article or pronoun inferring respect; “we,” “our” or “the”
duen: to do kindly; to act with concern
Dumauz: (plural: — en) a kind-hearted individual; a concerned friend
Feast of Helen: the anniversary celebration of the Sisterhood’s first born child; celebration of unity and independence
felan: using, doing, creating (with)
Founding, the: the original planetary colonization of dey Sorormin under the Galactic Terran Empire; settlement of the home world
Helen: red star of dey Sorormin’s home solar system; firstborn of the Founding on the home world, leader of n’Sappho during early negotiations to retain independence (see Founding, the)
Houses of dey Sorormin: surnames of Sisters, designating family and/or skills; six
of Seven Houses recall ancient goddesses of Terran lore (n’Athena: guardians (Greek), n’Awehai: crafters (Iroquois), n’Hina: agricultural providers (Polynesian), n’Huitaca: artists (Chibcha), n’Minona: historians/teachers (Dahomey), n’Shea: healers (Irish); First House of dey Sorormin (n’Sappho: legislative leaders) recalls a Terran stateswoman of Greece)
Kahmee: little daughter; a very young girl
Kahn: dawn, sunrise
kamak: is made, is finished, brought to completion
Kau: you (singular)
ki: yours (possessive)
kumin: to join together
m’ : as, of, springing from
m’Sormee: birth mother; (literally) from the woman’s life
mae: dear, precious
Maez: dear one, precious loved one
“mae n’Pour”: ‘give me strength’ (an idiom); used in angry cursing or frustrated prayer to the Holy Goddess
Mau: (plural: — en) heart
Mee: life
Minmee: birth; carries a sacred connotation of creating or lifegiving
n’ : of (possessive)
n’Sormee: parenting mother or guardian; (literally) of the woman’s life
Niachero: Daughter of the Stars; descriptive of Sisters who genetically resemble those n’Athena who negotiated the settlement of Valley Bay; Amazons who led the space protectors to save Aggar during the fall of the Galactic Terran Empire
nehna: so-then; then-it-happened-that; a prompt for more information
nor: past; did happen
Pour: strength, stability; virtuous
Quinn: peace, tranquility; absence of violence
quitan: to nurture; to tend with compassion
ret: cruelty, cruelness; harm
sae: please; request
Sak: intelligence; cleverness
shea: a healer of the House n’Shea; a witch, frequently one closely bound to Nature; a mistress of love potions; possessor of the evil eye;
Sheaz: earth, world; components of a nurturing Earthmother Creator
Shekhina: the moon of Helen’s second planet; a hi-tech moonbase which once hosted the diplomatic contacts between dey Sorormin and the now dissolved Galactic Empire; recalls a Terran goddess of ancient Judaic lore, a divine image of woman
Sor: woman
Soroe: friend, dear companion
Soroi: loved one; lover; beloved
Sororian: native tongue of dey Sorormin
Sorormin, dey: proper name of The Sisterhood; colonizers of Aggar’s Valley Bay; an off-worlder culture of women (see Helen)
suehn: to lose; to misplace
Tau: me
ti: my (possessive)
tizmar: to remain, to settle; to unite or join together
vara: adamant denial, no; refusal; expression of protest
vu: very little, few; a small number
z’ : for; with
“Z’ ki Sak, Diana!”: ‘by your wits, goddess!’ (an idiom); expression of regret or disbelief
Fires of Aggar Page 45