[Image above – a postings board in the Solan Realm]
There are many invented terms in The Veridian Wars. This glossary will help you out if you get stuck. Let me know if you would like another term added by dropping a comment below or contacting me directly.
Acolyte: a novice in the Duasan Faith in training to be ordained as cleric.
Assembly: the governing body in which the province of Xandrasia is ruled, and in which the Realm was governed in the Time of Assemblies, before the Faith came to power. There are a number of assemblies, including the magnus assembly, the commons assembly and the Scholarium assembly. The magnus assembly has hereditary seats, while the commons and the Scholarium have elected seats. All positions of authority and offices are elected. A small assembly called the conclave assembly still operates in the Capital, but this is made up of hereditary seats and is largely a consultative group with limited powers. The ruling authority in the Realm is the High Regnum which includes the Pontas Maxus and Minus, the prelates and the High Censor who are also not elected.
Benediction: the ceremony in which an individual becomes a member of the Duasan Faith.
Casa: a family home.
Cassites: the original nomadic inhabitants of Xandrasia.
Catechism: the series of 88 lessons an individual must undertake in order to convert to Duas.
Censorial Guard: the military group led by the high censor.
Censor: a judge or magistrate-like official who makes judgements about legal disputes/infringements.
Chapterhouse: an order of holymen who lead followers of the Faith within a town, city or province. Similar to a monastery.
Closing of the Eight: a holy and prophetic event in the Duas religion in which it is believed the Solan Realm will be fortified once there are eight official prelatures and the spread of Duas will then extend far beyond the borders of the Realm to all corners of the known world.
Conjunction: a holy event in which the moon and the sun appear in the sky simultaneously.
Consul Maxus/Consul Minus: the two highest positions of governance in Xandrasia and all the Realm during the Time of Assemblies. The highest seats in the assembly.
Commons: a social caste of the third or fourth caste, includes the poor, working and middle classes.
Devotional: a Duasan religious service, similar to a church service.
Deus/Dei: the twin gods of the Duas religion. Virtus, the beneficent (good) god of order, and his twin brother, Malus the maleficent (evil) god of chaos.
Duas: the name of the dominant religion in the Solan Realm. Also known as the Faith.
Eightnight: similar to our ‘week’ but eight days rather than seven.
Falcata: steel swords made in Ballaria and used by the Ballarian Military.
Firmament: the afterlife according to Duas. Similar to Heaven.
Fiscator: an official position in charge of finances, similar to ‘treasurer’.
High Censor: the highest legal position in the realm. The highest authority of all courts within the Realm.
High Prelate: the ruler of a prelature province. High prelates are also members of the governing body of the Solan Realm, called the High Regnum. High prelates select a high-ranking cleric to represent them in the Capital and also attend the High Regnum in person on occasion.
High Regnum: the supreme governing body of the Realm; see 'Assembly' for more details.
Holy marvel: an extraordinary event that is considered to be the result of divine intervention. Similar to ‘miracle’. Those who are deemed to have performed holy marvels are given the status of ‘sanctus’.
Holy Writ: a sanctioned text of religious doctrines of Duas. Similar to a bible.
Inquisitor: a spy.
Larth: the world. Similar to Earth.
Lunath: a period of time, like ‘month. A period of eight eightnights (64 days).
Magnus: a social caste of the first or second ‘rank’. The elite.
Malefactori: those considered known agents of the Tempter or Malus.
Mallorium: an unofficial term describing the district of a city in which those claiming to practise magik and other ethereal arts converge.
Novitiate: A novice pupil in the scholarium. They wear white robes.
Octday: the eighth day of an eightnight.
Orators’ Corner: a public space in which speeches and debate occur.
Pedagogue: a teacher who has trained in the scholarium.
Physik: a medical practitioner or healer who has trained in the scholarium.
Populari: a political faction that leans toward more progressive values.
Postings Board: a board in which official notices are pinned throughout the Realm. Public officials are employed to read the postings every hour during daylight as most citizens are illiterate.
Prelature: a province officially sanctioned as a territory within the Duas-ruled Solan Realm. Each prelature is ruled by a high prelate who is also a member of the governing body
of the Realm, the High Regnum.
Prophets: the twin prophets within the Duas religion. Leos (the Deliverer) representative of the beneficent deus, Virtus, and his twin brother, Sarus (the Tempter) representative of the maleficent deus, Malus.
Regi: a political faction that leans to more traditional and conservative values.
Sanctus/Sancti: holy figures, similar to saints, who have performed holy marvels (similar to miracles).
Schola Femina: the experimental school for women in the Scholarium, led by Hera.
Scholarium: a university-type of institution of knowledge and learning in Ballaria.
Shade Quarters: districts within cities similar to red light districts.
Soothseer: fortune teller.
Tisa: a dried substance made from the leaves of the tisa plant, introduced to the Realm from Zyrria. The drinking of hot tisa is similar to the drinking of tea and coffee and has become a normalised practise within the Realm and beyond and has made Zyrria very wealthy as a result. Tisa is also blended with Tulusa to create paan which is smoked in a pipe. Tisa has some addictive qualities as well as other health effects.
Togate: a heavy stretch of wool or linen worn by magnus men. Those wearing a band of red indicate membership to the assembly.
Tower: the Tower of Sages is an ancient order made up of women, many of whom bear of mark of the gift which manifests as a physical deformity or imperfection. In ancient days, there were many Towers all over the realm, but they were mostly destroyed in various civil wars and during the rise of the Duas Faith. Now there are two Towers remaining – one in the Taramin Isles and one in Ballaria. The sages worship the ancient goddess Aethera who gives highly prophetic counsel to any who seek it.
Veridian: a highly mysterious and powerful substance, Veridian is a rock mined from mountains and volcanic regions. It is a dangerous substance that must be mined and cut with bone implements or it may explode into flames that will burn for many days. Thus it has been used as a weapon in warfare in the past. It is also a type of drug as consuming it causes euphoria as well a other heightened effects. Users of Veridian are known as eaters as it is traditionally consumed as a tonic, dissoved in a bone pot or cup of hot water. However, in recent times people have discovered that mixing veridian dust with paan and smoking it causes a more intense experience. Veridian has also been used for creating windows, decor and jewellery. Veridian comes in a variety of colours. The darker the colour, the older the rock and more powerful. The mining of Veridian was prohibited by the Faith who also introduced a veridian tax for the possession of veridian. Duas considers Veridian to be evil incarnate. They allow it to occupy some temples (where it has a stained glass effect) to represent the Deus, Malus.
Comments ()