Glossary & Pronunciation Guide
Races
Nicatlain [knee-caught-lain]: Humanoids.
Nicatlein [knee-caught-lean]: Plants. However, this term is only used when referring to plants as sentient beings. When plants are discussed as objects or items, they are simply called plants. (Example: someone communicates with a Nicatlein; clothing is made of plants. Think pets versus animals, although a higher degree of respect, autonomy, and sentience is assigned to Nicatlein than Earthly pets.)
Places
Agani [ah-gone-ee]: The unsettled areas of Naicatl. Agani is marked by steep mountain ranges and deep, cavernous valleys, with a hostile climate in which no flora can thrive. Mostly unexplored, but with a few small pockets of civilization. Mystery traditions state Nicatlains originated here.
Ehwe [eh-way]: A central region defined by a history of medicine making and practitioners of an early Mystery religion, with numerous shamans trained in the Mysteries.
Ehzani [eh-sani]: A small region near the southwest corner of Naicatl. It is a commonly traveled area as a quick shortcut between eastern Zisana and southern Okun.
Illi-Zisana [ee-yee-zee-sauna]: A region near the southwestern tip of Ehwe. People who lived in Zisana during the efforts to establish Zisana as a historic region moved to Illi-Zisana. Illi-Zisana is now most known for being a hub of intellectualism and creativity. Most settlers who remained in Zisana and have moved to Illi-Zisana practice Early Zisanac.
Itdo [ee-dough]: A region slightly east of Odi. Itdo is Naicatl's textile production hub; creatives move to Itdo for the plethora of fabric-making options and create clothing, jewelry, and adornments for trade.
Naicatl [neigh-coddle]: The world. Generally refers to the landmass and water which comprise the planet, excluding the sky around it.
Odi [oh-dee]: The northwestern-most habitable region of Naicatl. It is Naicatl's hub of education, training, and arts, and most long-term settlers in Odi practice Zisanac.
Okun [oh-kun]: The eastern-most habitable region of Naicatl. It is an agricultural hub where plants are grown at large scales for harvesting and consumption.
Sotdo [so-dough]: A large near-island on the southern borders of Odi and Itdo. It is characterized by its unique jungle-like biome, which boasts the highest biodiversity in all of Naicatl, although up to 80% of it is untameable. Sotdo is famous for its plethora of psychoactive plants, and a common vacation spot for that reason.
Zisana [zee-sauna]: A region boarded by Okun separated by a watermass from Ehwe near the southern coast of the landmass. Zisanacs and Early Zisanacs believe the Nicatlains originated here. It has been preserved as a historical landmass, mostly intact, and operates as a region-sized museum, administrated by Odi.
Plants
Daiwek [dye-wek]: plants which lack martdo and ossif and float in water; also used to refer to the flowering and aerial parts of other plants, which are similar to Earthly petals and leaves.
Ehwek [eh-wek]: medicinal plants.
Einatl [ay-noddle]: mobile plants, similar to Earthly insects.
Gaije [guy-jeh]: similar to Earthly trees.
Ilremade [ee-reh-made]: plants which lack martdo but have ossif and float through air; can be domesticated as messengers.
Kuije [coo-eedge]: decorative shrubs and hedges, ehwek with no medicinal properties.
Martdo [mar-dough]: similar to Earthly root systems.
Ossif [awe-siph]: similar to Earthly stems.
Land features
Ein [een]: bodies of water which have no discernible borders; similar to Earthly oceans.
Kekein [kay-keen]: bodies of water which have no connection to ein; similar to Earthly lakes or ponds.
Lenaicatl [leh-knee-coddle]: landmasses; similar to the Earthly concept of continents.
Ohein [oh-heen]: bodies of water which cut through leinaicatl; similar to Earthly rivers. There is no concept analogous to the Earthly concept of tributaries versus rivers; ohein refers to both.
Biomes
Call them climates, biomes, or ecosystems, these are the broad classifications for varying environments on Naicatl, named by the Nicatlains for their similarity to varying types of plant parts and plants.
Daiweken [dye-wek-en]: A wet, cooler biome found mainly nearer the cold frigidity of the ein, but not directly bordering it, and the cold ohein which cuts through Okun and Zisana. It is not entirely conducive to growing plants, but it is possible. It rains cool water often.
Ehweken [eh-wek-en]: A biome seen in Itdo, Ehwe, and the part of Agani nearest those regions. Characterized by warm, wet weather; rich, crumbling soil; and an excellent balance of dryness and rain for cultivating medicinal plants.
Gaijen [guy-jen]: A biome exclusively found in Sotdo and the southernmost coast of Odi and Itdo. Comparable to an Earthly jungle, gaije thrive here in biodiverse soil and grow immeasurably tall with thick, tangled canopies of daiwek at the top. The undersoil is rich and lively with einatl which promotes growth of all types of plants. Swamps and wetlands abound with beautiful daiwek.
Martdoen [mar-dough-en]: A biome spanning across the lenaicatl in which plants that thrive in warm, dry conditions, like kuije and ilremade, abound.
Ossifaen [awe-siph-ay-en]: A biome characterized by inhabitability. The soil is rocky and iced, and the temperature is generally close to 2-3 degree Fahrenheit. Most of Agani, and all that borders ein, is marked by the Ossifaen temperature. Although some daiwek, and rarely ilremade, can be spotted, no plants which rely on martdo can grow in this climate.
Time
Time is measured differently on Naicatl; Earthly times are provided for convenience, and a full comparison in varying ways is available at the end of this section.
Aiwe [eye-weigh]: Roughly equivalent to three hours on Earth. As someone on Earth might state "that took me an hour," a Nicatlain might state, "I spent an aiwe on that." This is, however, the smallest measurement of time, and anything below an aiwe is measured in fractions of an aiwe.
Kuaik [coo-ike]: One kuaik is nine nike. However, this is the closest equivalent to an Earthly month in use. Infants are typically measured in kuaik until a kutdaik has passed since their birth, and romantic anniversaries are measured in kuaik.
Kutdaik [coo-dike]: A kutdaik is nine kuaik. This is the closest equivalent to an Earthly year. Once a kutdaik has passed since a birth, ages are measured in kutdaik.
Naik [nike]: A nike is composed of nine traiwe; the measurement is used similar to an Earthly week.
Traiutdaik [tray-oo-dike]: A traiutdaik is nine kutdaik. This is the closest equivalent to an Earthly decade. Significant rites of passage, for instance into adolescence or adulthood, are measured in fractions of traiutdaik. Once a traiutdaik has passed, it may be used in places of kutdaik to measure age, although both are acceptable.
Traiwe [try-weigh]: Similar to an Earthly day. A traiwe is marked by three distinct periods, similar to a morning, evening, and night, which is also how Nicatlains refer to these periods. Each period is three aiwe; essentially, on Naicatl, a morning, an evening, and a night are all three hours. Rather than starting a day at midnight and ending at 11:59pm in the middle of darkness, Nicatlains consider a day to start at sunrise and end at the next.
Comparisons
Earthly time: One decade is ten years; one year is twelve months; one month is (roughly) thirty days; one day is twenty-four hours; a day starts at midnight, in the middle of darkness, and ends at 11:59pm, in the middle of darkness. Depending on date of the year and location, the sun rises (again, roughly) between 5am and 8am, and sets between 5pm and 8pm.
Naicatly time: One traiutdaik is nine kutdaik; one kutdaik is nine kuaik; one kuaik is nine nike; one nike is nine traiwe; one traiwe is nine aiwe; one aiwe is (back to Earthly comparisons) three hours; a day starts at sunrise, and ends at the next sunrise.
Direct translation: One traiwe, the closest equivalent to a day, is twenty-seven hours. One nike is nine Naicatl days, but that is equivalent to 243 hours rather than 216 hours as nine days on Earth would be. That means that while one kuaik is eighty-one Naicatl days, it is closer to ninety-one Earth days, nearly three months. One kutdaik is 729 days, or 820 Earth days, roughly equivalent to two and a quarter years. One traiutdaik is 6,561 days, or 7,381 Earth days, which is roughly equivalent to 246 months or twenty years.
Directly applied: I am twenty-six years old on Earth. I would be roughly eleven and a half kutdaik, and one and a quarter traiutdaik on Naicatl. On Earth, adolescence begins around thirteen, young adulthood around twenty, adulthood around twenty-five. On Naicatl, their analogous concepts to adolescence begins around one-third traiutdaik, young adulthood around two-thirds traiutdaik, and adulthood around one traiutdaik.
Nicatlain [knee-caught-lain]: Humanoids.
Nicatlein [knee-caught-lean]: Plants. However, this term is only used when referring to plants as sentient beings. When plants are discussed as objects or items, they are simply called plants. (Example: someone communicates with a Nicatlein; clothing is made of plants. Think pets versus animals, although a higher degree of respect, autonomy, and sentience is assigned to Nicatlein than Earthly pets.)
Places
Agani [ah-gone-ee]: The unsettled areas of Naicatl. Agani is marked by steep mountain ranges and deep, cavernous valleys, with a hostile climate in which no flora can thrive. Mostly unexplored, but with a few small pockets of civilization. Mystery traditions state Nicatlains originated here.
Ehwe [eh-way]: A central region defined by a history of medicine making and practitioners of an early Mystery religion, with numerous shamans trained in the Mysteries.
Ehzani [eh-sani]: A small region near the southwest corner of Naicatl. It is a commonly traveled area as a quick shortcut between eastern Zisana and southern Okun.
Illi-Zisana [ee-yee-zee-sauna]: A region near the southwestern tip of Ehwe. People who lived in Zisana during the efforts to establish Zisana as a historic region moved to Illi-Zisana. Illi-Zisana is now most known for being a hub of intellectualism and creativity. Most settlers who remained in Zisana and have moved to Illi-Zisana practice Early Zisanac.
Itdo [ee-dough]: A region slightly east of Odi. Itdo is Naicatl's textile production hub; creatives move to Itdo for the plethora of fabric-making options and create clothing, jewelry, and adornments for trade.
Naicatl [neigh-coddle]: The world. Generally refers to the landmass and water which comprise the planet, excluding the sky around it.
Odi [oh-dee]: The northwestern-most habitable region of Naicatl. It is Naicatl's hub of education, training, and arts, and most long-term settlers in Odi practice Zisanac.
Okun [oh-kun]: The eastern-most habitable region of Naicatl. It is an agricultural hub where plants are grown at large scales for harvesting and consumption.
Sotdo [so-dough]: A large near-island on the southern borders of Odi and Itdo. It is characterized by its unique jungle-like biome, which boasts the highest biodiversity in all of Naicatl, although up to 80% of it is untameable. Sotdo is famous for its plethora of psychoactive plants, and a common vacation spot for that reason.
Zisana [zee-sauna]: A region boarded by Okun separated by a watermass from Ehwe near the southern coast of the landmass. Zisanacs and Early Zisanacs believe the Nicatlains originated here. It has been preserved as a historical landmass, mostly intact, and operates as a region-sized museum, administrated by Odi.
Plants
Daiwek [dye-wek]: plants which lack martdo and ossif and float in water; also used to refer to the flowering and aerial parts of other plants, which are similar to Earthly petals and leaves.
Ehwek [eh-wek]: medicinal plants.
Einatl [ay-noddle]: mobile plants, similar to Earthly insects.
Gaije [guy-jeh]: similar to Earthly trees.
Ilremade [ee-reh-made]: plants which lack martdo but have ossif and float through air; can be domesticated as messengers.
Kuije [coo-eedge]: decorative shrubs and hedges, ehwek with no medicinal properties.
Martdo [mar-dough]: similar to Earthly root systems.
Ossif [awe-siph]: similar to Earthly stems.
Land features
Ein [een]: bodies of water which have no discernible borders; similar to Earthly oceans.
Kekein [kay-keen]: bodies of water which have no connection to ein; similar to Earthly lakes or ponds.
Lenaicatl [leh-knee-coddle]: landmasses; similar to the Earthly concept of continents.
Ohein [oh-heen]: bodies of water which cut through leinaicatl; similar to Earthly rivers. There is no concept analogous to the Earthly concept of tributaries versus rivers; ohein refers to both.
Biomes
Call them climates, biomes, or ecosystems, these are the broad classifications for varying environments on Naicatl, named by the Nicatlains for their similarity to varying types of plant parts and plants.
Daiweken [dye-wek-en]: A wet, cooler biome found mainly nearer the cold frigidity of the ein, but not directly bordering it, and the cold ohein which cuts through Okun and Zisana. It is not entirely conducive to growing plants, but it is possible. It rains cool water often.
Ehweken [eh-wek-en]: A biome seen in Itdo, Ehwe, and the part of Agani nearest those regions. Characterized by warm, wet weather; rich, crumbling soil; and an excellent balance of dryness and rain for cultivating medicinal plants.
Gaijen [guy-jen]: A biome exclusively found in Sotdo and the southernmost coast of Odi and Itdo. Comparable to an Earthly jungle, gaije thrive here in biodiverse soil and grow immeasurably tall with thick, tangled canopies of daiwek at the top. The undersoil is rich and lively with einatl which promotes growth of all types of plants. Swamps and wetlands abound with beautiful daiwek.
Martdoen [mar-dough-en]: A biome spanning across the lenaicatl in which plants that thrive in warm, dry conditions, like kuije and ilremade, abound.
Ossifaen [awe-siph-ay-en]: A biome characterized by inhabitability. The soil is rocky and iced, and the temperature is generally close to 2-3 degree Fahrenheit. Most of Agani, and all that borders ein, is marked by the Ossifaen temperature. Although some daiwek, and rarely ilremade, can be spotted, no plants which rely on martdo can grow in this climate.
Time
Time is measured differently on Naicatl; Earthly times are provided for convenience, and a full comparison in varying ways is available at the end of this section.
Aiwe [eye-weigh]: Roughly equivalent to three hours on Earth. As someone on Earth might state "that took me an hour," a Nicatlain might state, "I spent an aiwe on that." This is, however, the smallest measurement of time, and anything below an aiwe is measured in fractions of an aiwe.
Kuaik [coo-ike]: One kuaik is nine nike. However, this is the closest equivalent to an Earthly month in use. Infants are typically measured in kuaik until a kutdaik has passed since their birth, and romantic anniversaries are measured in kuaik.
Kutdaik [coo-dike]: A kutdaik is nine kuaik. This is the closest equivalent to an Earthly year. Once a kutdaik has passed since a birth, ages are measured in kutdaik.
Naik [nike]: A nike is composed of nine traiwe; the measurement is used similar to an Earthly week.
Traiutdaik [tray-oo-dike]: A traiutdaik is nine kutdaik. This is the closest equivalent to an Earthly decade. Significant rites of passage, for instance into adolescence or adulthood, are measured in fractions of traiutdaik. Once a traiutdaik has passed, it may be used in places of kutdaik to measure age, although both are acceptable.
Traiwe [try-weigh]: Similar to an Earthly day. A traiwe is marked by three distinct periods, similar to a morning, evening, and night, which is also how Nicatlains refer to these periods. Each period is three aiwe; essentially, on Naicatl, a morning, an evening, and a night are all three hours. Rather than starting a day at midnight and ending at 11:59pm in the middle of darkness, Nicatlains consider a day to start at sunrise and end at the next.
Comparisons
Earthly time: One decade is ten years; one year is twelve months; one month is (roughly) thirty days; one day is twenty-four hours; a day starts at midnight, in the middle of darkness, and ends at 11:59pm, in the middle of darkness. Depending on date of the year and location, the sun rises (again, roughly) between 5am and 8am, and sets between 5pm and 8pm.
Naicatly time: One traiutdaik is nine kutdaik; one kutdaik is nine kuaik; one kuaik is nine nike; one nike is nine traiwe; one traiwe is nine aiwe; one aiwe is (back to Earthly comparisons) three hours; a day starts at sunrise, and ends at the next sunrise.
Direct translation: One traiwe, the closest equivalent to a day, is twenty-seven hours. One nike is nine Naicatl days, but that is equivalent to 243 hours rather than 216 hours as nine days on Earth would be. That means that while one kuaik is eighty-one Naicatl days, it is closer to ninety-one Earth days, nearly three months. One kutdaik is 729 days, or 820 Earth days, roughly equivalent to two and a quarter years. One traiutdaik is 6,561 days, or 7,381 Earth days, which is roughly equivalent to 246 months or twenty years.
Directly applied: I am twenty-six years old on Earth. I would be roughly eleven and a half kutdaik, and one and a quarter traiutdaik on Naicatl. On Earth, adolescence begins around thirteen, young adulthood around twenty, adulthood around twenty-five. On Naicatl, their analogous concepts to adolescence begins around one-third traiutdaik, young adulthood around two-thirds traiutdaik, and adulthood around one traiutdaik.
Purpose
Various words in Naicatl.
Type
Guide, Generic
Medium
Oral Tradition / Word of Mouth
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