Acinaces – a straight, double-edged short sword having bi-lobiform (shape of two leaves) crossguards and ornate hilt and scabbard.

 

Aisnellach Fuil, The – a great unifying ruler of the realm who will end suffering and oppression, and allow magic to flow freely throughout Taleth; foretold by an ancient elven prophecy; direct translation: “the blood sovereign.” Also refers to the prophecy itself.

 

Akili’ele – A Doshen elf’s “sixth sense” that relates to that Doshen’s chosen discipline: e.g. a scribe’s ability to locate conflict or historic events to observe and record.

 

Akveda stone – a runestone with the ability to manipulate time and space, allowing the user to transport between magically charged places at conversion points, where ley lines intersect, with little to no passage of time; also called a timestone.

 

Alchemy – any magical power or process of transmuting a common substance, usually of little value, into a substance of great value or use.

 

Athame – a ceremonial knife used by magic practitioners when performing certain spells and rituals.

 

Balinger – a type of small, sea-going vessel known for being swift and performing well under both sail and oars; originally developed for hunting whales.

 

Barber-surgeon – one of the most common medieval medical practitioners, generally charged with caring for soldiers during and after battle. In this era, surgery was seldom conducted by physicians, but instead by barbers, who, possessing razors and coordination indispensable to their trade, were called upon for numerous tasks ranging from cutting hair to amputating limbs.

 

Barbican – an outer defensive work; e.g. a tower at a gate or bridge.

 

Blood fury – a fugue state of lowered awareness and heightened power a berserker enters when threatened; also called blood rage or berserker rage.

 

Blood magic – a notorious type of magic that involves the use of blood; it is outlawed in most territories of Taleth.

 

Claíomhdorch – an archaic Toivonian word meaning mercenary; often derogatory.

 

Cog – a tinker-built seafaring ship, with a single mast, a single square-rigged sail, and a rear-mounted rudder; primarily used for seagoing trade.

 

Convergence points – magically charged places atop points where ley lines intersect; magic performed at these locations is much stronger; often used for magical travel.

 

Deathmarch – the most prolific and notorious mercenary guild in existence; consists primarily of assassins for hire.

 

Demonurgy – the conjuration, invocation, or summoning of demons, usually for the purpose of nefarious practices of dark magic; typically does not end well.

 

Diavollic runes – an ancient form of writing among the majikkah, likely originated from the elves of Aeyrith, primarily used for documentation as related to the practice of magic; different runes exist for different languages and different forms of magic.

 

Doshen Order, The – a sect of elven shapeshifters within the R’homish people of the Isle of Rowarch. Students of the Doshen teachings become scribes or assassins, trained to either record history or shape it.

 

Elderfolk, The – the old gods of the elves of Aeyrith; the earliest known accounts predate gods of mainland Taleth by centuries.

 

Eldertongue – the most commonly spoken language among elves, primarily the Caíasídhe; the native language of Aeyrith, often called Vallasan.

 

Elemental magic­ – a type of magical practice that harnesses a force of nature and controls natural powers derived from its particular element (e.g. earth, air, fire, water, space, time).

 

Empath – a person or creature with the ability to apprehend the mental or emotional state of another individual.

 

Euphoric – a class of psychedelic and/or hallucinogenic drugs.

 

Everburn – magically created fire that never burns out unless extinguished by magic, and does not burn unless the wielder wills it.

 

Falne Ridder – a Yesenian term for mercenary or sellsword, often derogatory; direct translation “fallen knight”; similar terms from other regions of Taleth as follows: zvaard tilleje and reiclaidheamh (northern territories), vendeur (mid-eastern region), and gairgweth (mid-western region).

 

Fen – a swamp or marshy wetland.

 

Fey – a broad term for supernatural beings that possess inherent magic, even when unstudied. [See Bestiary and Fey Species List]

 

Fífskinga – the Málfar word for idiot.

 

Fjöldur – the Málfar word for a majikkah’s etheric energy core; known as quintessence in the common tongue.

 

Fractal grid – a tool for spellcasting that consists of an arrangement or array of crystals, minerals, and/or metals, charged with intention and laid in a geometric pattern.

 

Hawker – a trainer and handler of hawks primarily for the purpose of message bearing, though some hawkers also employ their birds for tracking, combat, and espionage.

 

High fey, higher fey – “civilized” fey races, meaning fey creatures, typically humanoid, who walk upright and possess intelligence equal or greater to that of humans.

 

Keep – a fortress or castle; specifically, the strongest and securest part of a medieval castle.

 

Kingmaker – a colloquial term for someone who engages  in the illegal practice of wizardry, derived from the fact that wizards are rumored to be hired by rulers to use their magic for political influence.

 

King’s Guard, Royal Guard – a king’s inner circle of trusted knights and ranking officers; often occurs in a feudal levy system when the majority of a kingdom’s forces are conscripted into service under vassals of the king.

 

Kyrtill – a knee-length belted tunic most often worn by the Noordfolke of the northern territories.

 

Laws of Men – political, governmental, and judicial structures created and maintained by non-magic-using humans, which presume the compliance of majikkah and fey while excluding them from input and subsequent protections.

 

Ley lines – lines that crisscross around the world and carry along with them rivers of magical energy. At the places where these lines intersect there are pockets of concentrated energy that can be harnessed by magic-users.

 

L’hra na Caía – refers to Aeyrith in the ancient Vallasan or Eldertongue; common translations: Land of the Fey, Land of Fairies.

 

Lillebráthair – a Málfar word meaning “little brother.”

 

Lillerítar – a Málfar term meaning “little knight.”

 

Lunarii – a general term for the native peoples of Lunaris.

 

Machrie, The – a flat, grassy moorland in central Arranmoor, bordered by hill-dwellings and containing a magically charged fairy ring; home to one of the Caíasídhe elf tribes.

 

Majikkah – a general term for practitioners of the magical arts, either natural or learned; the subsequent community formed by the aforementioned.

 

Málfar – the native language of the peoples of the Northern Territories, originating from Andrahar.

 

Miscegenation – interspecies propagation; marriage or sexual relations between two different species, producing half-blood offspring; typically derogatory; outlawed in certain areas of Taleth.

 

Monstrum Maledictus, The – an alternate prophecy diametrically opposed to the Aisnellach Fuil; foretells of the Aisnellach being forced mate with a great beast, bringing about the rise of a tyrant who will rule in darkness and blood, and all magic left will be under his control.

 

Mundanes, Munds – individuals with who possess no magical abilities, either natural or studied; often used in a derogatory manner; also: non-majikkah.

 

Necromancy – the magical practice of conjuring of the spirits of the dead for purposes of revealing the future or influencing a course of events.

 

Neuropath – an individual with the magical ability to see auras and/or sense feelings and intentions of others.

 

Nullification – the act of severing and extracting a majikkah’s quintessence so they are unable to manipulate magical energy. Used as punishment for illegal wizardry, nullification often leads to madness.

 

Orithari salve – a salve that aids a majikkah’s healing abilities by amplifying their magical energy and directing it to the most emergent injuries or illnesses.

 

Perception blocking – a magical ability that allows the wielder to manipulate what those around them see, hear, and smell, thus giving them the power to cloak themselves or others to avoid detection.

 

Portcullis – a grating of iron hung over the gateway of a fortified place and lowered between grooves to prevent passage.

 

Quintessence – a majikkah’s core of etheric energy; the source of one’s magical ability.

 

Red Road, The – a network of clandestine trade routes and safehouses operated by those who are outcast by society, by fair means or foul, used for everything from smuggling to freeing indentured servants.

 

Ríkönen – the Málfar word for king.

 

Sangolith – a sacred stone mentioned in the Monstrum Maledictus prophecy; according to lore, it is located within the Temple of Ashal on Aeyrith.

 

Scrying – divining information about events in the future using a reflective object or surface.

 

Sophick mercury – a combination of distilled mercury, gold, and heat; sometimes colloquially referred to as the philosopher’s stone.

 

Sovereigns – gold coins, the most widely used form of currency in Taleth; while the name is derived from the fact that the coins are often stamped with the face of the kingdom’s sovereign, the term can refer to anything from official sovereigns to crude gold pieces.

 

Spaulder – a piece of armor, typically a single plate of steel or iron covering the shoulder with bands joined by straps of leather or rivets.

 

Stava – a mild euphoric made from the root oil of the korkea tree. This principal trade crop of Lunaris is highly sought-after and as such, it is the primary reason Lunaris remains a free, unconquered nation.

 

Stíllein – a Málfar word meaning “be at ease” or “stay calm.”

 

Storesiúr – a Málfar word meaning “sister.”

 

Taika anatomia – an Eldertongue word meaning magic of the body, specifically magic with the ability to permanently alter physical and anatomical traits.

 

Taleth – the known realm in which our tale takes place.

 

Tarn – a small mountain lake or pool, often in a bowl-shaped, steep-walled mountain basin carved by glaciation.

 

Tether – a majikkah’s symbiotic companion--often romantic but not always--who acts as a grounding force, to keep the majikkah from becoming overwhelmed by their etheric energy. This tether tempers the majikkah’s power to ensure they do not burn out their core, while in turn extending the tether’s lifespan to match that of their majikkah partner.

 

Tiercel – a male raptor; often mentioned in reference to the profession of hawking.

 

Tjore – the Noordfolke name for a majikkah’s tether.

 

Vanligge – the Málfar term for a mundane or mund (a non-majikkah individual); considered less derogatory than its common-tongue counterpart.

 

Wizard – any majikkah who illegally practices dark magic, sometimes blood magic. Wizardry is outlawed across the realm.