The Archons of the Stars
Page 39
dragon: the oldest intelligent race in the known universe, the dragons or Loänan are giant saurians that do not in the least resemble the monsters of Western myth but are closer to the lung dragons of China: supremely wise, almost godlike beings, benevolent in nature (with a few exceptions). They are able to shape-shift, can exercise power over the elements, and may live for a thousand years or more. They come from the area of the galaxy known to Merans as the Constellation of the Dragon, and travel between the stars by entering a hyperspatial dimension known as the Ethereal Plane.
eidolon: on the Ethereal Plane, the illusory “body” of a spiritual being that enables it to interact with other such bodies; also anything on the Ethereal Plane that resembles something on the material plane.
Elementals: Elaia-spirits that are attracted to the material elements of water, earth, air, and fire, and to worlds that abound in these elements. In the Auria system the Elaia took on humanoid forms, and passed on those forms to their half-human offspring, who were named for their divine ancestors: the undines (or mer-folk) of Talandira, gnomes (or dwarfs) of Valdys, and sylphs of Iantha. On the planet Arkurion no human could live, and the Elementals there interbred with indigenous creatures known as salamanders.
Ether: a dimension of pure energy beyond or “above” the material plane.
glaumerie: an illusion cast by faerie beings on mortals. Some human sorcerers are also able to create illusions.
gnomes: see Elementals.
Mandrake: (man + drake) English equivalent for the Maurish name Jargath, “dragon-man.”
orc: a marine reptile of the world of Nemorah, with a streamlined, almost whalelike body, fins for swimming, and long jaws filled with serrated teeth.
ornithopter: literally “bird wing,” a term for any craft that flies through the air by mimicking the wing beats of a bird. In our world such craft are not practical on a large scale, but the flying ships of the Elei stay aloft in part through sorcery.
quintessence: the “fifth element” in old Meran cosmology, a substance superior to the four material elements of earth, fire, water, and air. Celestial objects and divine beings were believed to be composed of quintessence. It most likely derives from the old Elei concept of elothan, what we might call “pure energy.”
salamanders: creatures that dwell in Arkurion, the fire-world (not to be confused with our small and fragile amphibians of the same name). Their scales, and the silk and wool they produce, can resist the fiercest flame. See Elementals.
shamir: a small wormlike creature that secretes a powerful acid in its mouth, enabling it to bore through solid rock.
sibyls: prophetesses; holy women of the Elei faith who are believed to commune with the gods and received from them visions of the future.
sylphs: see Elementals.
Tree of Life: the ambrosia tree; also, the symbolic representation of the universe as a tree.
undines: see Elementals.
venudor: a gemstone that shines with its own inner radiance.
wyvern: a two-legged flying reptile of Nemorah. Though wyverns somewhat resemble dragons, they are smaller and are not intelligent. Wyverns are large enough for a human being to ride on, though they are difficult to tame.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alison Baird is the author of The Hidden World, The Wolves of Woden, The Dragon’s Egg, and White as the Waves. She was honored by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre Choice Award, a Silver Birch Award regional winner, and she was a finalist for the IODE Violet Downey Book Award. She lives in Ontario. Her Web site is: http://webhome.idirect.com/~dbaird.