Aespen Ocean – The wide ocean to the west of Dormetia.
Anja Vaugen – See Vaugen, Anja.
Ansilsae, The Plain of – A barren plain on the east coast of Velsana. The site where the prophecy of the same name was issued, ending the Battle of Ansilsae. That prophecy – or divine promise – ended a civil war that would have otherwise seen the destruction of the Lae Velsanan race. The prophecy promises that plain as the site of the Eternal Capital of the Lae Velsanans’ Fifth and Final Dominion.
Ansilsae Prophecy, The – Issued by the five gods of the Kinreda. It promises their followers, the Lae Velsanans, total and final rule over the world if they can discover and overcome the four failings of their race.
Atalia Cerraro – See Cerraro, Atalia
Avida – Another face of the Horned God or Terura. A god of greed, decadence, gluttony, and more. This is the Heletian name for that aspect.
Baden, Kurt – Juvela and Pedro’s Flet coach driver.
Baimiopia – The Holy City, capital of Greater Baimiopia, and the centre of the Church of Baimiopia.
Ba-Mora – Inquisitor Anton’s Ship, the lone vessel dispatched with his small force from the Black Fleet to Ossard. It is named after the lost capital of the Ogres, a mountain city said to be a wonder, but sacked by Saint Baimio during the Heletian-Ogre wars. The Ogres were the fourth race of man and called the city Bar Mor.
Baruna Discotti – See Discotti, Baruna.
Benefice Gian Vassini – The most senior churchman of the Church of Baimiopia in Ossard. He is comfortable and somewhat corrupt, and now heading towards his more mature years.
Black Fleet, The – The fleet of ships maintained by the Inquisition and used as their main means of travel for their various missions and regular rounds of the Heletian League states, as they hunt out heresy and the enemies of the Church of Baimiopia.
Burnings, The – The uprising that saw the Inquisition and its Black Fleet forced out of Ossard following excessive purging and spiritual policing by the Inquisition over two decades ago.
Burvois – The middling people of Burvoy, also the name of their language.
Burvoy – A kingdom of sun, fields, orchards, and the dark Caspas Forest, found at the south-eastern borders of the Heletian League.
Cabal, The – An organisation that spans the world and touches all races. It governs the use of heart magic by its practitioners. Much of its workings are subject to secrecy. It’s also engaged in the hunt for renegades – those users of heart magic who refuse to join its ranks.
Cabalists – Members of the Cabal (see above).
Calbaro, The – The main order of holy scholars found within the Church of Baimiopia.
Cassaro River, The – The river that passes through the city of Ossard.
Celestial, The – The realm of gods, spirits, souls, and raw magic. This astral place is invisible to most, but able to be slipped between (from the real world) by those who handle one of the three branches of magic.
Cerraro, Atalia – The dead and much loved wife of Marco Cerraro.
Cerraro, Marco – A Heletian follower of Juvela, and recently widowed.
Church of Baimiopia – The only legal faith in the lands of the Heletian League. The faith of Krienta (the creator) and his chosen son, Saint Baimio. The faith is centred in the most powerful Heletian state, Greater Baimiopia, in the holy city of Baimiopia.
Chronicle, The – A position held by a Lae Velsanan who records the history of his or her age. Currently held by Forwao, who resides in Yamere at the Core of Lae Wair-Rae. The record is a detailed account of the rise and fall of the first four promised dominions of the Ansilsae Prophecy. In the Chronicle’s library (the Library of Truth) an almost continuous record of Lae Velsanan history exists. Only one volume is missing – that which deals with the final days of the second dominion. The Chronicle is divinely inspired in sourcing his or her information. He or she is mortal, but receives whispered truths from the celestial.
Ciero, Mauricio – The most senior member of the Cabal in Ossard. He’s a reclusive Heletian, and lives in the city’s elevated and wealthy northern district.
Colonies, The – The eleven official colonies of the Lae Velsanans’ Fifth and Final Dominion, Lae Wair-Rae, which are scattered about Dormetia and to its east.
Communed, Celestially – To communicate soul-to-soul through celestial means. Requires powerful magic, or a god, or cell-mind to facilitate.
Core, The – The heartland of Lae Wair-Rae, the region found on the south-eastern part of the island of Wairanir. This is a land well developed and overcrowded, thus the need for colonies to both feed the Core, but also export its excess people to.
Counter Prayer – Magic that works to counter that previously cast, usually of equal power and the opposite effect.
Covenant, The – The divine agreement that sees the elevated gods of the celestial not meddle directly in mortal affairs. They may send blessings to their followers, or via their priests, but may not directly intervene in the mortal world. The Covenant hasn’t been breached for centuries. Such breaches are punished by massed actions agreed to by the remaining elevated gods.
Council of Merchant Princes – The grouping that governs Ossard through discussion and vote, and is drawn from the wealthiest families of the city-state. It is headed by the Lord of Ossard, Lord Liberigo.
Cycle of Life – The cycle the soul follows through birth and death, and on to rebirth (see appendix).
Death – An immortal figure, and original adversary to the goddess, Life, also her estranged lover.
Def Turtung – Also know as the Killing (to the Flets), or New Moons Night – Lae Lunis Pors – (to the Lae Velsanans).
The night that marked the beginning of the Fall of the Fourth Dominion of (Old) Wair-Rae. The Flets had spent centuries as an enslaved race in the Fourth Dominion, and eventually began to win (and buy) their freedom. Nonetheless, the dominion was still very much dependent on Flet labour (particularly in the fields of agriculture).
Def Turtung began in Yamere, a series of riots by the common people of the dominion against the Flets who’d gained their freedom through hard work and success. The disturbances spread and were openly encouraged by the forces of law. Eventually, what began as a spontaneous and popular expression of anger (and more than anything, jealousy and bigotry) became a sanctioned war against the Flets, forcing them to flee by sea.
Discotti, Baruna – The Heletian woman who comes to befriend Juvela, attracted by her sense of justice, compassion and hope.
Divine Focus – A place where the real world and the next world (the celestial) almost join, drawn together by bridges hosted by celestially aware individuals, or those anchored to artifacts or rituals.
Divine Mark – A brand that marks a soul, denoting the marking god’s interest in it. It is a sign to their followers to take some kind of action: Some marks are a sign for followers to challenge or kill the bearer, or for more complex marks, to offer aid. Marks can also be bestowed by gods upon their own followers to mark them for penance and shame.
Dominions, The – Of the Ansilsae Prophecy. There will be five. They are as follows: Quo Ungria, Kalraith, Jhae Dalin Cor, Old Wair-Rae, and Lae Wair-Rae.
Dorloth – The awakened god of the gargoyle nation. She is now mature and ready for elevation to the celestial, at which point she will leave her physical form behind.
Dormetia – The region controlled in a large part by the rising Fifth and Final Dominion. The only other major power, though not of equal strength, is the Heletian League.
EK – See Encarnigo Krienta.
Elemental World, The – The third world. The real world is the first, the second is the celestial (home of gods, spirits, souls and magic), and the third is the elemental. It is a place of raw power filled with the primal energy of fire, water, air, and soil.
Encarnigo Krienta – Part of the Heletian calendar, the zero year, the year of Saint Baimio’s (the mortal son of Krienta) elevation to the celestial after his defeat of the Ogres and the sacking of their mountain capital of Bar Mor, known to the Heletians as Ba-Mora.
Evora – A former runt Heletian kingdom (and member of the Heletian League) that was all but sold off to the middling Prabesk traders from far off Prabeq (found far to the east). The deal was done as the last Evoran king succumbed to his debts. Evora is no longer a Heletian League member, and is now used as a trading base by the Prabesk, and largely populated by their own kind. Militant factions in the League and the Church of Baimiopia (and Inquisition) refer to it as woeful lost Evora and dream of retaking the territory.
Expeditia Puritanica, The – The arm of the Church of Baimiopia’s Inquisition that actively undertakes the organisation’s many cleansing missions. All field Inquisitors and the Black Fleet come under its governance.
Feeders, The – The lost spirits, shades, and carrion of the celestial. The ruins of souls.
Felmaradis Jenn – See Jenn, Felmaradis.
Fifth and Final Dominion, The – Lae Wair-Rae was declared the Fifth and Final Dominion by High King Caemarou after the riots of New Moon’s Night. He claimed that the freeing of the Fourth Dominion from its dependence on slavery spelt the end of that realm and the beginning of the next, it being cured of the fourth failing; sloth.
Some historians have suggested that Lae Wair-Rae is merely a continuation of Old Wair-Rae, but such discussions are not popular at the royal court. Such voices claim their position due to the lack of calamity at the end of the Fourth Dominion. Advocates of Lae Wair-Rae being the Fifth and Final Dominion (including High King Caemarou) point to the famines and upheavals suffered by the Lae Velsanans after the bloody events of New Moon’s Night, and the subsequent war against the Flets (their former enslaved workforce). Despite the stifled debate, something limited largely to a handful of academic circles, it is widely believed that Lae Wair-Rae is indeed the Fifth and Final Dominion.
First Faith, The – The faith of the Goddess of Life. She is also known by the divine names of Schoperde, Pordanamae, Bru Moar, Tergaia, and the Green Way amongst others. This is the most basic of faiths, the worship of our natural world and the life that it gives. It is about balance and the ways of nature.
Five Faiths of the Kinreda, The – See The Kinreda.
Flet/Fletlander – Of Fletland. The Flets are of the middle race of men and have been a wandering people for over a thousand years. They most recently suffered at the hands of the Lae Velsanans in a genocidal campaign waged by High King Caemarou to chase them out of the borders of his newly decreed Fifth and Final Dominion. They can be found in the harsh and wild lands of Fletland and in Ossard.
Fletland – The current Flet homeland, found on the south-eastern corner of the island of Kalraith (to the west of Ossard). It is a place of plains, bogs, deep forests, and inland lakes and rivers.
Florin – The currency of the Heletian League states, and minted by each member.
Forbidden, The – The name given by the Lae Velsanans to their cultist kin found in the icy northern wastes of Wairanir, well north of the Core.
Forwao – The current Chronicle (see The Chronicle).
Gods – There are many gods, but originally there were only two: the god of life, and the god of death. Life birthed many more, and after such labour left them to govern the worlds and races she created before entering a deep sleep to recover from her efforts. After an age, Life reawakened to find that many of this second generation of gods had been seduced by the promise of easy power from their father, Death. They have since become addicted to feeding on souls and the surge of elation that such a thing delivers, instead of the constant succour delivered by living souls that offer devotion through faith.
There are three stages of godhood:
The Avatar – the seed of a god within a mortal shell.
The Awakened – the sprouting seed of a god within a mortal form. If they gather enough strength they will eventually become elevated. Such a process can take as little as years or as long as millenia.
The Elevated – a mature god who has come into its final form in the celestial, and abandoned its mortal or physical representation in our world. Elevated gods have to abide by the rules of the Covenant.
Goldston Bridge – The bridge across the Cassaro well outside of Ossard’s walls, and a good ride up the valley to the small trading town of the same name.
Grenbanden, Iris – The last priest of Schoperde to serve Ossard. She fled during the Inquisition campaign that led to the Burnings. She was forced to flee after her identity became known to the Church of Baimiopia, and thus the Inquisition. It is rumoured that someone in the tight-knit Flet community divulged her name and true calling.
Heinz Kurgar – See Kurgar, Heinz.
Heletian – The middling race of man who populate the Heletian League, and after the Lae Velsanans, the most widespread of peoples in Dormetia.
Heletian League, The – The grouping of eight Heletian nations, with all sharing a common language, culture, ancestry, and faith (the Church of Baimiopia).
Heletite – A monk of the order of missionaries from within the Church of Baimiopia.
High King Caemarou Quor Budasa – Ruler of the Fifth and Final Dominion of Lae Wair-Rae. He is married to High Queen Caree and has eleven sons – including the youngest, Prince Jusbudere.
High Queen Caree Quor Budasa (nee Jenn) – Wife to the ruler of the Fifth and Final Dominion. She is mother to eleven princes, and also the aunt of Felmaradis Jenn (through her brother, Rajis Jenn, current head of House Jenn).
Horned God, The – The term the middle race of men use for the many faces of the dark powers that try and corrupt man. The Lae Velsanans know the same power as Terura of the Terura Kala.
Inger Van Leuwin (nee Van Blomstein) – See Van Leuwin, Inger.
Iris Grenbanden – See Grenbanden, Iris
Isabella Van Leuwin – See Van Leuwin, Isabella.
Jenn, Felmaradis – First General of Prince Jusbudere. He is a nephew of the High Queen, and son of Rajis Jenn. His mother is unknown.
Jenn, Rajis – Father of Felmaradis, elder brother to the High Queen, and a powerful cabalist. He is reclusive, long ago widowed, and lives in Milcama. He has seventeen children, sixteen to his deceased wife, and the youngest, Felmaradis, to a mystery lover rumoured to live on his estates. All his children now govern their own estates in the colonies (many on the west coast of Kalraith), adding to their House’s wealth. His heir, Jae Banadis, is governor of the Kalraith colonies.
Jenn, Una – The Flet woman who raised Felmaradis on the family estates in Milcama.
Jericho – The trusted personal attendant of the Lord and Lady Liberigo.
Jusbudere, Prince – See Prince Jusbudere Quor Budasa.
Juvela Van Leuwin – See Van Leuwin, Juvela.
Kalraith Island – The large island between the island of Wairanir and the mainland of Dormetia. It is the site of the old core of the Second Dominion, and now split between Lae Velsanan colonies, the Flets of Fletland, and the gargoyle nation at its wild heart. For more information regarding the gargoyles, see also; Dorloth, Kalraith Ruins, Quersic Quor, and Troiths.
Kalraith Ruins, The – The ruined cities at the heart of the fallen Second Dominion. The area is now overgrown, lost to thick forests, and home to the mysterious gargoyle nation of Dorloth.
Kaumhurst – Sef Vaugen’s home village in Fletland, now destroyed.
Kave, The God of Battle – An ambiguous thing. Seen by some as a cult of honour in combat, while others see it as merely another face of the dark power of Terura or the Horned God.
Kinreda, The Five Faiths of – Five separate gods make up the Kinreda. They have a long history of fighting each other and have only been brought together through the Divine Promise of the Ansilsae. It is not unknown for them to still have disputes. Indeed, their own infighting has been instrumental in the first three dominions’ downfalls. All faiths are now head-quartered at Lae Bareth, the holy island (see Lae Bareth).
Krienta – The god and Creator of the middling or common Heletian people. This god of the Covenant is what the Church of Baimiopia is built around.
Kurgar, Heinz – The head of the Flet Guild.
Kurt Baden – See Baden, Kurt.
Lady Death – The head of the cult of Mortigi, the god of murder, in Ossard.
Lae – Velsanan word for new.
Lae Bareth – The holy city of the Five Faiths of the Kinreda. It’s found on a small island at the centre of a long gulf that runs along the south eastern coast of Wairanir. It’s named after Old Bareth, an ancient holy city that disappeared beneath the waves during the calamities that changed the face of the world during the fall of Jhae Dalin Cor, the Third Dominion.
Lae Corster – The head of the Lae Wair-Rae branch of the Cabal, and a close ally to the High King.
Lae Velsanan – The higher race of man. They are on average taller, leaner, and more fine in bone and features. Aside from a crown of rich hair on their heads, they are hairless, and often alluringly perfect. They are also long lived with intense minds and a slight point to their ears and noses. Amongst the other races, they are known for their arrogance, melodrama, and self-absorption.
Lae Wair-Rae – The Fifth and Final Dominion. Young and now rising, destined according to the Ansilsae Prophecy to be eternal. A sprawling nation of Lae Velsanans who follow the Five Faiths of the Kinreda and are now embarking upon a wide campaign of colonisation.
Library of Truth, The – The library of the Chronicle, currently based in Yamere.
Liberigo, Lady Angela – The First Lady of Ossard, wife of Lord Liberigo, and a middle-aged Heletian woman.
Liberigo, Lord Silva – The Lord of Ossard, and head of its most prosperous merchant house. Middle-aged, he is an astute Heletian man.
Liberigo, Pedro – The youngest son of three to the Lord and Lady of Ossard, and a troublesome playboy. Married to Juvela, and father to Maria.
Liberigo, Juvela (nee Van Leuwin) – See Van Leuwin, Juvela.
Loyalists – The name taken by the traditionalist followers of the Church of Baimiopia in Ossard, adversaries to the Reformers.
Lucera – A small island kingdom, and member of the Heletian League well to the south. It is plagued by pirates, and during the course of The Fall of Ossard is uneasily hosting the bulk of the Black Fleet of the Inquisition.
Magic – The power drawn from the next world or celestial into our own. There are three main branches of magic; heart, mind and soul.
Magic, Blood – This kind of magic takes its energy from the life force of blood, and any practitioner of magic can utilise it. In its most common form, it means that a caster offers their own blood by cutting themselves to augment their power in an effort to increase the chances of a casting’s success or its potency. This process delivers strong and raw power (drawn from the blood-linked soul) but can be fatal. It is not stable magic.
Its most reviled form is that practised by many renegades of the Cabal, the Sanjo Drajo. They gain their power by using the blood of others to cast. Such a practice is illegal in the Cabal, as it is immoral, and gives individuals access to great power.
Magic, Soul – The magic delivered through the soul and faith, given in the form of blessings or graces from the gods to their priests or followers.
Magic, Heart – The magic of the Cabal, derived through those naturally attuned to the celestial and strong enough to not need the patronage of a god (soul magic) or others (mind magic). They work very hard through learning, experimentation, and practise to expand their powers.
Magic, Mind – The magic of the Sisterhood. Some women are gifted with a sixth sense that enables them to network with others of similar talent to create a power well akin to that of a single cabalist. These cells can be connected so that they can further pool their power.
Malnobla, The – The seat of government in Ossard, and the lord of the city’s residence. It’s a grand building set on one side of the city’s main square (Market Square).
Malsano – The dark face of the Horned God that watches over poverty and pestilence. Often invoked to curse others. Also known by the names of Malssarcht and Tykarcht.
Man, The Three Branches of – High, middle (or common), and low. The distinction has been classed by the Lae Velsanans who consider themselves alone to be high (see Lae Velsanan). They are taller, leaner, and more long-lived.
There are many different nations of middling men (the Pagar, Flets, Heletians, Evorans, etc.) who are shorter, stouter, shorter-lived, and in Lae Velsanans eyes’, thought to be crude. The race of lower men is made up solely of the Saldaens, a short people who are the last of their kind. The three branches of man cannot successfully interbreed; while conception can occur, the babes born are always stillborn as they are soulless.
Manheim, Seig – The most senior priest of Kave in Ossard. The Flet warrior who has seen many campaigns in Fletland against raiders and other cultists.
Maran Sea – The sea spreading to the south west of the Maroklaran.
Marco Cerraro – See Cerraro, Marco.
Market Square – The main square of Ossard, large and able to hold well over fifteen thousand people. It is used as a market, and also for civil ceremonies.
Maro Fever – A seasonal malady that is common in Ossard. It weakens its victims, is viral, leaving them open to other illnesses through the summer. Most of its victims die from pneumonia.
Maroklaran Sea – The sea that winds through the heart of the Dormetian region.
Matriarch, The – The head of the forbidden organisation, the Sisterhood.
Mauricio Ciero – see Ciero, Mauricio.
Mind Voice – Heard only in the mind between people using celestial talents to commune.
Moonroot – A herbal that interferes with the use of celestial talents.
Mortigi – The dark face of the Horned God who celebrates murder. The followers of Mortigi revel in the hunt for victims and are both skilled assassins and fiends.
Naskae – The soul pearl is a physical embodiment of a Lae Velsanan’s soul. It is where two worlds – the real and the celestial – meet. It sits in the abdomen of every Lae Velsanan. About as big as a coin, these small blue glowing spheres are literally a chunk of magic that can be mined to power spell castings. Removing a naskae from a living Lae Velsanan will kill the owner. If the naskae is not harvested from a corpse, it will eventually deteriorate. When it has finally dissipated, the soul (now completely free, and no longer anchored to a physical form) is able to be reborn into our world.
Using a naskae to power magic castings draws on the energy of the linked soul in the celestial. To use all that power, to drain the soul completely, destroys it. That individual, in every sense of the word, is no more and will never be reborn. Oblivion.
New Moon’s Night – The night of rioting against the Flet slaves in the Core that marked the fall of the Fourth Dominion over two hundred years ago (see Def Turtung). Known to the Lae Velsanans as Lae Lunis Pors.
Newbank – The main Flet district of Ossard, and found on the south east side of the Cassaro River. It is very poor, mostly unsewered, crime-ridden, and crowded.
Northern Sea – The chill and grey sea between Ossard and Fletland.
Northcountry – The rugged and steep valleys about Ossard that are farmed to feed the city, and through the rich city-state’s history have been mined for valuable metals to pay for its rise to power and influence.
Oblivion – The fourth world, a place of nothingness, and a place where souls that are drained or used send their shadows. There is no chance for rebirth or regeneration for any soul lost to oblivion.
Old Wair-Rae – The Fourth Dominion, which fell during the upheavals caused by the revolt of the Flet slaves triggered by the bloody riots in Yamere on New Moon’s Night (known to the Flets as Def Turtung – the Killing).
Oleander – A wild bush that grows to twice the height of a middling man, has toxic sap and leaves, and is extremely hardy. It grows out from its core, is roughly round, generally not thick in its greenery, with long and thin leaves. It has flowers of pink or white that appear in bunches, but wilt when cut. Its canes are now Ossard’s most commonly used timber.
Ossard – A city-state of just under a million people, and member of the Heletian League. A large minority of the population of Ossard (a wealthy city of merchant princes) are Flets, although they have largely missed out on their share of the city’s wealth. The wealth of the city is controlled by the Heletian majority. A third of the city-state’s population reside within the walls of the city, the rest across farming settlements in the Northcountry.
Pedro Liberigo – See Liberigo, Pedro.
Pillar-cities – The cities of the Lae Velsanans, named as such for their builders’ penchant for summoning pillar-towers to crown their cities. Notable pillar cities of Lae Wair-Rae are; Yamere, Lae Bareth, Akermanis, Rumaza, Milcama, Markae, Jor Jamilla, and Andrin Lae.
Pits, The – The name given to the hellish underworld that doomed spirits are sent to by unforgiving gods according to most middling folklore and theology.
Praagerdam, The – The lost land of the Flets, an autonomous district of Old Wair-Rae, the Fourth Dominion of the Lae Velsanans. It was overrun and razed during Def Turtung.
Prince Jusbudere – The eleventh son of High King Caemarou. Despite his youth, already famed as an exceptional warrior, commander and leader.
Quersic Quor – Centre of the gargoyle nation, and nesting place of Dorloth. Formerly the capital of the fallen Second Dominion, Kalraith.
Quorin – The common language used across Dormetia, particularly as a trading tongue. It has Lae Velsanan roots.
Quor – A colony of the Lae Velsanans’ Fifth and Final Dominion of Lae Wair-Rae. It is also the closest Dominion territory to Ossard
Rabisto – One of the many faces of the Horned God. He is the patron of the lucky, of the risk takers, and thieves and bandits. He is also known by the names of Tabiro and Ranndolf.
Rajis Jenn – See Jenn, Rajis.
Reformers – The followers of the new saints.
Renegade – A mage who uses heart magic and refuses to join the Cabal and follow its rules. Many renegades are necromancers or sanjo drajos (blood drinkers).
Rosa Sorrenta’s – The establishment visited for Juvela’s Mint Lady outing.
Rose Tree – The now extinct symbol of Ossard. This small tree used to cover much of the Northcounty, but was wiped out by blight and the need for timber by the booming mines and the growing city. It grew to three times the height of man, and each spring and autumn would come to flower with generous white rose-like blooms.
Saint Baimio – Son of Krienta, and leader of the Heletians in the Heletian-Ogre wars of five centuries ago. He was elevated into godhood and the celestial after defeating the Ogres at Ba-Mora and razing the mountain city.
Saint Marco – The patron saint of travellers in the Church of Baimiopia. He lived four hundred years ago in the Kramer Confederation to the south. St Marco’s church and square were built opposite Newbank to appeal to the recently arrived Flet refugees two hundred years ago.
Saldaens – The low race of man. These short and squat people live a longer life than that of the middling races, and one denoted by contentment. They have a close affinity for nature. They can only be found in numbers in New Saldae and Heletian Saldae.
Sanjana – Southern Heletian word for blood.
Sanjo – Northern and standard Heletian word for blood.
Sanjo Drajo – Renegade sorcerers who almost exclusively base their power on blood magic, by harvesting it from others.
Sankto Glavos – The holy knights of the Inquisition.
Santana – One of the new saints, proclaimed by the Heletites as the saint of children. Also the Burvois word for blood.
Schoperde – The Flet name for the goddess, Life.
Sef Vaugen – See Vaugen, Sef.
Seig Manheim – See Manheim, Seig.
Serhaem – The most south-eastern colony of the Lae Velsanans’ Fifth and Final Dominion. It is a city-state positioned strategically between the two Heletian League states of the Kramer Confederation and Greater Baimiopia.
Sisterhood, The – A secretive and forbidden organisation that governs the exclusively female wielders of mind magic. Local cells or covens communicate through the celestial mind-to-mind, and are able to link their cell-minds with others to create networks that augment their power. They owe their allegiance to no body, nation, or god.
Because of their secretive and single-minded nature they are outlawed and distrusted.
Soul-Eater – A slang term for a powerful being (soul) that uses others for strength by feeding. This feeding can be done unconsciously in the way of receiving loyalty or faith, or by the outright consumption of the souls of the dying.
Soul Harvest – A time of soul gathering, when gods come to claim their followers back. Usually marked by catastrophe and calamity.
Spirit Guide – The prophesied mentor for the coming saviour of the Flet people.
Tampanna Sea – The sea to the east of the Ossard’s Northcountry.
Terura Kala – The term the highest race of man, the Lae Velsanans, uses for the cults of the dark powers that try and corrupt. The middling races of man know the same groups as the followers of the Horned God.
Troiths – The climbing towers that rise from the ruins of the Second Dominion’s cities in Kalraith. They’re said to be built from stone and bone, and stand as parodies of the Lae Velsanans’pillar-towers. They are the homes of the emerging gargoyle race.
True Name – The key to a soul.
Una Jenn – See Jenn, Una.
Unae – The name given to the mortal world.
Van Blomstein, Vilma – The sorceress burnt at the stake by the Inquisition, and who helped trigger the riots that saw the Black Fleet forced from Ossard (The Burnings). Mother to Inger Van Leuwin, and grandmother to Juvela Van Leuwin.
Van Leuwin, Inger – Daughter of the witch, Vilma Van Blomstein, and mother of Juvela Van Leuwin. Also wife to Josef Van Leuwin.
Van Leuwin, Isabella – Wife to Juvela’s second cousin, her chaperone for her Mint Lady Outing.
Van Leuwin, Juvela – Daughter of Inger and Josef Van Leuwin, wife to Pedro Liberigo, and mother to Maria Liberigo.
Vangre – The wealthiest city-state of the Heletian League member, the Kramer Confederation, far to the south.
Vaugen, Anja – Sef’s wife, now deceased.
Vaugen, Sef – Bodyguard to Juvela through her childhood, and widower to Anja Vaugen.
Vassini, Benefice Gian – The head of the Church of Baimiopia in Ossard, see Benefice Gian Vassini.
Velsana – The isolated ancestral homeland of the Lae Velsanans, and the site of Ansilsae, the barren coastal plain that hosted the apocalyptic battle that gave birth to the Ansilsae Prophecy.
The Lae Velsanans were forced from their home as part of that prophecy, and now the Kinreda priesthood preach that it remains hidden by the gods, waiting for the Fifth and Final Dominion to rise and rediscover it. Once reclaimed, it will host the eternal capital.
The island continent is thought to be situated to the west of Dormetia, abandoned and laying fallow. The most ancient texts of the Lae Velsanans show it to be an island continent divided into five regions.
Vilma Van Blomstein – See, Van Blomstein, Vilma.
Wairanir – The large island that holds the Core of Lae Wair-Rae, the Fifth and Final Dominion, in its south-eastern corner.
White Sea – The sea to the north of Ossard and the Northcountry, often laden with drifting ice and haunted by savage winter storms.
Witches’ Kiss – The casual term used by the Inquisition to denote someone who is succumbing to some kind of magical awakening.
Yamere – A great pillar-city of outstanding beauty, and current capital of the Fifth and Final Dominion.