Alphabetical Glossary of Terms in Scarterra | World Anvil

Alphabetical Glossary of Terms

Advocates: Informal designation for Children who act as middlemen between Greymoria's priestly Children and monstrous Children.   Aetherial Realm: The metaphysical realm of the sky, where the Nine dwell with the honored dead and their spirits minions.     alchemy: The scientific/spiritual discipline of transforming one type of substance into another. Used for many things including Alchemical Food Preservation and alchemical poison detection.     Animus: The metaphysical force that allows living, undead, and animated items such as golems to move.     arachpliza: Sorcery wielding shape changing spiderlike humanoids that usually worship Greymoria and usually are hostile towards other races, but cautious in manifesting their hostility.   Arachpliza were created by Greymoria during the the Second Age primarily to cause trouble for elves who did not worship Greymoria enough. They are one of Greymoria's oldest creations that have not largely turned against her.     Astalakians: Astalakians are industrious crustacean humanoids. They are one of the most numerous mortal races in Scaraqua They prefer to live in shallow waters close to the sea floor, so they rarely choose to leave the confines of the Inner Ocean.   Most Astalakians believe they were created by the gods Resona and Mangcha and most worship one or both of these beings as their primary deity.     Bacchites: Radical faction of Rovers who believe that their freedom does not need to respect the rights or well beings of others and are often connected to criminal grups.     bailiff: Job title for person hired to handle the day-to-day operations of a feudal fiefdom.     Bearers of the Book: Pro-wizard, mostly benign faction of Greymoria Children.     Bearers of the Ill Wind: Splinter group of the Testers that focuses on deliberately spreading disease.     Bellusk: An untethered Scaraquan goddess associated with predators, especially sharks. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scarterran god Maylar.     Beltaine, Spring Fertility Festival: Tween holiday marking the midway point of spring celebrating fertility and plenty and also celebrating children.     Blessed One heresy: Fringe group of Masks that is looking for a favored soul of Phidas known as the Blessed One to usher in a golden age for Phidas.     Blood Stone, the: A legendary artifact believed to have been used to create the first vampires.     bugbears: Term for goblins mutated by Cannibal Sickness.     burghers: Common born people who have attained a small degree of greater wealth and status through their attainment of specialized skills.     camazotz: Aggressive humanoid bats believed to be created by Maylar and/or Greymoria during the the Second Age in order to be a scourge on other races.   Most camazotz live underground or in remote tropical jungles in independent tribes. The Uskalan camazotz are the major exception serving as a brute squad for King Drosst.     Cannibal Sickness: Metaphysical condition where those who engage in eating the flesh of mortals become addicted to it and physically and spiritually mutate as a result.     chimera: Chimera are large three headed barely intelligent monsters with a dragon head, goat head, and a lion head. They are strong and tough and have functional wings and a dragon like breath weapon. While they are not especially intelligent their extra heads let them coordinate multiple attacks simultaneously.   It is widely believed that they were created by Greymoria to kill and harass dragons during the the First Age.   By the end of the First Age, most chimera had been converted from dragon foes to dragon thurekal though by the Third Age almost all chimera are independent. Chimera be found on every major landmass except Umera where they were driven to extinction by humans.     Children: Short for Children of the Dark Mother. Common nickname for the clergy and core followers of the goddess Greymoria.     Circuit Priests of Nami: Informal classification for Rover priests and priestesses who regularly travel to presided over the annual Nami festivals in many lands.     Common: The native language of most Scarterran humans. By an astonishing coincidence, Common is strikingly similar to American English.     Compact, the: The agreement that the the Nine made to dictate their roles in the the Divine Rebellion and what came after establishing boundaries and responsibilities such as the Dominions.     Cult of the Compact: Small Scarterran religious group that teaches that mortals should worship or even love the the Nine, equally nine ways.     Custodians of Kismet Heritage: Pro-sorcery faction of Greymoria's Children.     cyclopes: Large one-eyed humanoids created in the the Second Age by an unknown creator for an unknown reason. There are many conflicting stories. A common thread in their origin stories is that one god or goddess creates cyclopes, is disappointed in them for whatever reason and a second god or goddess adopts them afterwards.   They are strong and fierce and good at craftsmanship. Because they are highly resistant to taking damage from fire or extreme heat, most focus on metalworking.   The three surviving bloodlines of Scarterran cyclopes are the Lunatan cyclopes based on Cyclops Island, the West Colassian cyclopes living underneath the The World Seam Mountains and the Penarchian cyclopes roaming the untamed regions of Penarchia.     dabeshi, singular dabesh: Believed to be a join creation of Maylar and Greymoria, dabeshi were created to be a scourge on other races in the the Second Age.   Dabeshi are predatory hyena-like humanoids barely capable of mastering even simple crafts and with a cruel streak that puts them at odds with all other mortal races.   Originally spanning most of Scarterra, in the the Third Age dabeshi are almost exclusively found in the rugged interior of East Colassia having been driven to extinction nearly everywhere else.     Dalgari: One of the Sons of the Sky, a moderately important god in Scaraqua. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scarterran god Zarthus.     Dawn Order: Order within the Keepers dedicated to recruitment, training, and communication.     Day Order: Order within the Keepers dedicated to all tasks not assigned to one of the other four Orders, the day-to-day operations of the Keepers.     Decadents, the: Splinter group of Maylar's Testers primarily focused on rebellious rich and highborn youth participating in cruelties and debaucheries for thrills.     derro: Derro are a mentally twisted magically bred mutant hybrid of humans and dwarves created by Greymoria during the the Third Age to attack those who forsake Greymoria, especially dwarves.     Divine Rebellion, the: The historical event where the Nine conspired against Turoch and then slew him in battle.     Divine Trophies: After the the Divine Rebellion, each of the Nine fashioned a weapon or tool out of part of Turoch corpse.     Dominions: The major aspects of nature administered by the the Nine individually.     dragons: The dominant species during Scarterra's First Age. They still exist in the Third Age but in much smaller numbers.     dragon spiders: Near extinct species of giant sapient spiders from the First Age     Dragons' Path, the: The process of seeking out dangerous challenges in order to rapidly advance in skill and power.     druss elves: Relatively short-lived humanoid tree people from the Second Age. Originally bred as living weapons serving elves, now the remaining groves of them live free.     Dusk Order: The martial arm of the Keepers.     Draconic: The native language of dragons. Also the native of language of most other creatures dating back to the the First Age.     dragons: Intelligent fire breathing flying reptile like creatures that were the dominant race during the the First Age creating mighty nations and kingdoms. In the Third Age, most dragons are loners. Many can shape change into smaller creatures and live incognito near or among other mortal races.   Most believe the ancestors of the dragons fought side-by-side with the the Nine against Turoch allowing the survivors to gain a portion of Turoch's divine power which is why dragons are so much stronger than most other mortal creatures.   Dragons rarely gather with their own kind other than to mate and raise offspring (though many choose to let their offspring fend for themselves). While not especially numerous, individual dragons and small fmaily units can be found on every continent of Scarterra and within every sea of Scaraqua.     dwarves: Dwarves were created by Hallisan as a vanity race to embody Hallisan's values and strengths.   Most dwarves hail from the land of Meckelorn, the land of Stahlheim, and the Islands of Mondert each with a different government and culture though the three dwarf cultures are in contact with each other. They don't agree on everything but they have yet to war on each other.   Dwarves speak their own language of Dwarven. Stahlheim and Meckelorn have very slight regional dialects and Mondarians have a substantially different dialect but dwarves of different backgrounds rarely have trouble understanding each other.     Dwarven: The native tongue of most dwarves.     Elven: The language of the elves. Elven is the current if not original mother tongue of a great many mortals that debuted in the the Second Age.     elves: Elves were created by the Nine collectively in order to be the dominant race during the the Second Age. After a foolhardy elven king accidentally unleashed the Second Unmaking, the overwhelming majority of elves (and every other mortal) died. the Nine created humans to become the new dominant race.   The four elf cultures remaining in the Third Age are the descendants of elves who chose very different strategies to survive the Second Unmaking. The grey elves are the descendants of those who were most isolated from the Void Demon attacks. The wood elves are the descendants of elves who survived by making alliances with forest creatures. The dark elves are the descendants of elves who survived by making a pact with Greymoria. The sea elves (by far the smallest group) survived by allying with Merfolk and other Scaraquans.   Their native language is Elven as one would guess. All four elf subcultures developed independently of each other for well over a thousand years before they were even aware that their culture were not the last elves of Scarterrra so their cultures have a distinct dialect.     Enosha: One of the Seeyirah, the daughters/sisters of the Sea, a principle goddess of Scaraqua. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scarterran goddess Mera.     Eclipse Order: Order within the Keepers dedicated to assisting Khemra's favored souls.     Eclipse-touched: Common term for favored souls of Khemra. Due to their rarity, they are given special status and privileges.     elementals, common:  Vaguely humanoid, vaguely amorphous alien beings of fire, water, air or earth that occasionally manifest or are summoned into the material plane.     elementals, hybrid:  Variation of common elementals with two elemental inlfunces rather than one.     elementals, twisted:  Nicknamed "undead elementals", twisted elementals are normal elementals that have been tainted by Void energies.     excommunicated: A theurgist who has their divine magic partially throttled as a warning or punishment for sacrilegious acts.     Fae Home: The home plane of the Fae or Fair Folk.     Fair Folk: Free-willed very long lived sapient natives of the realm of Fae Home.     Fakhari, the: Now extinct ethnicity/nation of humans believed to have wielded legendary during the Red Era.     favored souls: Divine spell casters who are born with their mystic potential which usually manifests at puberty.     feudal bishopric: Feudal fiefdom administered by a priesthood rather than a hereditary lord.     feudal coven: An organized group of mages that runs a feudal fiefdom in place of a hereditary lord or lady, providing magical services to their liege instead of the usual military levies and taxes required of most other vassals.     feudalism: Tiered government system where different social classes and ranks of people are connected through reciprocal ties of obligations.     Firebringers: Loose association of Tenders who seek to promote Mera's ideals by either being an adventurer or supporting Mera-friendly adventurers.     Gentle Rain: Informal faction within the Rovers that actively encourages helping those in need and acts of benevolence.     Geu-Puppies: Popular child's toy in Scarterra. Like teddy bears but with dogs.     giants: Giants are humanoids that tend to range between nine and fifteen feet tall that were created by the Nine during the the First Age as thurekal to aid the dragons. They generally have no special abilities beyond those afforded to them by their great size.   During the First Age, there were many giant sub races but only two giant races survived into the Third Age are the hairy brute giants who formerly grunt labor for the dragons and the reptile-like scale giants who formerly served as cannon fodder soldiers for the dragons.     Gifts: The major innovations to civilization given by the the Nine to benefit mortals.     gnomes: Gnomes are short humanoids that generally have pleasant disposition and are skilled speakers. Their teachings say that Mera created them during the the Second Age to broker peace between all other mortal races and foster a great sense of community throughout all of Scarterra.   The gnomes have many villages and settlements but no true homeland, existing as minority group (usually around 5%) of nearly every human, elven, and dwarven nation on Scarterra. Gnomes retain their own culture (which tends to value family and peace) while also assimilating into the cultures of others.     Gnomish: The native language of gnomes.     goblins: Goblins are nimble but scrawny short humanoids with no real exceptional natural abilities beyond an ability to mature and breed very fast. Goblins were widely believed to be a the Second Age creation of Greymoria, perhaps with help from Phidas and/or Maylar, perhaps not.   Originally they were created to attack elves , but then some elves chose to enslave their attackers rather than kill them outright. By the onset of the Second Unmaking, the overwhelming majority of goblin-kind was in chains.   The few that survived the Second Unmaking mostly were able to win their freedom, but goblins still loath elves in the the Third Age though they rarely get along with any other mortal races. In some lands, goblins are still enslaved by other races, either dark elves or certain humans.     goblins, frog: Frog goblins are a recent transplant from Scarterran to Scaraqua. An aquatic variant of the more commonly known goblins, but most Scaraquans believe these are an entirely new creature, and a verminous one at that. The frog goblins themselves have made very little effort to assimilate into wider Scaraquan society beyond stealing from other races when the opportunity presents itself.     goblins, jumping: A variant of the common goblins native to the World Seam Mountains renown for their supernaturally potent jumping abilities.     goblins, red: Red goblins are a variant of the common goblins found in Scarnoctis that are noteworthy in that they can breathe fire.     godless ones: Somewhat heretical movement in Scarterra that states that the Nine do not deserve worship or praise. Some worship Turoch as a form of ironic protest.     gravroks: Gravroks are stony giants that can secrete acid from their skin to aid them in burrowing through earth and stone. They eat minerals and are especially found of metals and gem stones. To them iron and led tastes just as good as gold and silver so they can be bought off fairly cheaply.   They were originally created as a thurekal race during the the First Age.     Grauen: The native language of most mortal races created by Greymoria though many of Greymoria's older races end up creating a unique dialect for themselves or abandoning Grauen for something more widely applicable.     Greymoria: One of the Nine. Neutral evil goddess of arcane magic, undeath, poison, darkness, and monsters among other things. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scaraquan goddess Taedi. Her priests, priestesses and core followers are commonly called "the Children of the Dark Mother", or simply "the Children", for short.     golems: Inanimate simulacra of living creatures magically animated, essentially magical robots.     Guardians: Short for "Guardians of Valor". Common nickname for the priests, priestesses, and core followers of the god Hallisan.     Hallisan: One of the Nine. Lawful good god of earth, stone, metalwork, chivalry, and honor among other things. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scaraquan god Mangcha. His priests, priestesses and core followers are commonly called "Guardians of Valor" or simply "Guardians" for short.     Hearth Day: Family centric winter holiday in Mera's honor.     Heart's Fire: The metaphysical force that separates the living from the dead. Some predatory undead can steal this energy temporalily to fuel their powers and/or heal.     Heekma: One of the Sons of the Sky, a moderately important god in Scaraqua. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scarterran goddess Khemra.     Herders of Men: A splinter group of the Testers that wants to spread Maylar's precepts without inflicting harmful tests on people.     Home Seekers: Loose faction of gnomes that wants to establish a gnome nation somewhere.     Homesteaders: Informal group within the Lanterns that favors creating small autonomous or semi-autonomous communities of people centered around Zarthus' principles.     honored dead, the Catch all term for any mortal soul with an afterlife in Aetherial Realm.     hospitals: A place that offers food and shelter to almost everyone free of charge. Hospitals often accrue many sick people and they might have charitable healers visit periodically but this is never guaranteed.     humans: Humans were created by the Nine collectively to become the new dominant race for the the Third Age and indeed their nations and tribes dominate nearly every landmass on Scarterra.     Imbolc, the Herald of Spring](ritual:6db2df4a-9601-4932-bd80-d9d5a631cbf2): Tween holiday that marks the midway point of winter with rituals to welcome the coming spring.     Infernalists: Heretics who conspire with Void Demons for power or thrills.     Igundans: Rat-like humanoids created by Korus in the the Third Age, primarily dwelling in Scarnoctis.     jormangers: Term for dwarves mutated by Cannibal Sickness.     Kahdisterian Children: Faction of Greymoria's Children tightly enmeshed with the nation of Kahdisteria.     Kalazotz: Kalazotz are the descendants of a tribe of camazotz that chose to forsake their violent ways to turn to the worship of Mera either shortly before or shortly after the Second Unmaking.   They are much smaller and physically than camazotz but they are not harmed by sunlight (though they still prefer darkness) and the kalazotz are very industrious with handicrafts.   Kalazotz strive to remain at peace with their neighbors but they usually keep to themselves. Some have allied themselves with other races notably the dwarf influenced kalazotz and the Codenya kalazotz.     Karakhai: Karakhai are humanoid shark men that usually but not always live and swim in nomadic tribal units. They can be found everywhere in Scaraqua, but they are disproportionately represented in the Outer Ocean. They believe they were created by the goddess Bellusk, Mother of Sharks and most Karakhai are devout Bellusk worshipers.   Karakhai subspecies/ethnicities are all based on different types of real world sharks. Isuran Karakhai resemble mako sharks, Somnios Karakhai resemble greenland sharks, and Sphyrnian Karakhai (by far the msot common) resemble hammerhead sharks.     Khemra: One of the Nine. Lawful Neutral goddess of the sun, history, literacy, tradition, and law among other things. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scaraquan god Heekma. Her priests, priestesses, and core followers are commonly called "Keepers of the Compact", or more commonly "Keepers" for short.     khnumar: Extinct mortal species of Khemra worshipping goat people in the Second Age that left behind a lot of writings as their legacy.     Kobolds: Small vaguely dragon-like humans whose origin was in the the First Age. They are not especially numerous but they are widespread existing on every major Scarterran landmass and also underground in Scarnoctis.   Nearly all kobolds belong to one of the three major ethnicities: Gilgren kobolds, Laershin kobolds or Tiamalan kobolds. All three have a very different origin story for how their race came to be and what they did during the First Age. All three have a very different outlook on what a life properly lived looks like and how kobolds should interact with non-kobolds.     Kontona: An untethered goddess of Scaraqua associated with chaos and storms. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scarterran goddess Nami.     Korakthropy:  A rare variant of lycanthropy that occasionally afflicts tengku.     Korus: One of the Nine. True neutral god of nature, agriculture, trees, and horses among other things. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scaraquan goddess Mubete. His priests, priestesses and core followers are commonly nicknamed Stewards.     Lanterns: Common nickname for the core followers of the Scarterran god Zarthus. So named because they use lanterns in many of their rituals and decoration.     Legendary Divine Talismans: Term for a class of unique magical items crafted by the Nine and bestowed upon the Nine's favored heroes and champions after undergoing tests of worthiness.     leyacorpla: Term for a young dragon's wild time, when they make idiotic mistakes in youth.     lifesight: Alternate system of vision available to Void Demons and some undead. Mortals can temporary access lifesight with a relatively simple Necromancy spell.     life stones:  Supernatural stones which enables the rapid growth of fungi and growth of thauminvourous plants.     lineage of wisdom: A lineage determined not by blood but by mentorships, often keeping track of a mentor's mentor's mentor to many levels. Scholars, priests and wizards like to brag about famous mentors in their academic line the way others boast about famous ancestors in their bloodlines.     little gods: Nickname for spirts that become localized in a specific area of the mortal plane and establishes a relationship with the locals.     lycanthropy:  Supernatural disease that can afflict humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes which bestows shape changing powers and a murderous disposition.      Mage: Generic unisex term for any arcane spell casters. This encompasses wizards, sorcerers (and sorceresses), warlocks (and witches), and bardic mages.     Mangcha: One of the Sons of the Sea Floor, a relatively minor god in Scaraqua. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scarterran god Hallisan.     Maleficium: Magic use that is prohibited by law. See Laws Regulating Magic for details.     Maylar: One of the Nine. Chaotic evil god of hunting, disease, decay, herding, and social Darwinism among other things. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scaraquan goddess Bellusk. His priests, priestesses and core followers are commonly called the Testers.     "Maylar's Raiders": Informal nickname for Testers who regular align themselves with brigands, pirates, thieves guilds or other groups who pillage and steal for a living.     Mera : One of the Nine. The Neutral good goddess of water, the sea, hearth fires, family, community and among other things. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scaraquan goddess Enosha. Mera's priests, priestesses and core followers are commonly called "Tenders of the Sacred Hearth" or "Tenders" for short.     Merfolk: Like most fantasy worlds, merfolk have human-like torsos and fish tails in place of feet. They are plurality mortal race in Scaraqua and are especially prevalent in the Inner Ocean.     Man Eater's Madness: Term referring to dragons who are overly fond of eating mortal flesh. Some think it is part of Cannibal Sickness others do not.     Metamorphs: Metamorphs are believed to have been a new race created in the the Second Age, not by a god or goddess, but by wizards, elves seeking ideal spies.   Metamorphs are shape changers par excellence that can mimic almost any other humanoid of roughly the same size and can maintain deep cover for very long periods of time.   Metamorphs have always been the subject of distrust and prejudice as their penchant for disguises raises suspicions among the "mono forms." Also a number of metamorphs became Infernalists though in the Third Age modern Metamorphs have claimed that they purged all the Infernalists from their race long ago.     mortals: Generic term for all Scarterrans and Scaraquan who have complete mortal souls.     Mask Breakers: Fringe group of Lanterns that focuses on opposing tyrants and their puppets, especially those affiliated with the Masks.     Masks: Common nickname for the core followers of the Scarterran god Phidas. So nicknamed because they wear masks often as part of their ecclesiastical garb.     Midsummer's Night: Tween holiday marking the midway point of Summer. A fertility festival dedicated primarily to young lovers.     morlocks: A group of jormangers that evolved into a separate species and culture from the dwarves they once were.     Mortis: The divine aspect of a soul that separates mortals from non-mortals.     Mubete: One of the Seeyirah, the daughters/sisters of the Sea, a principle goddess of Scaraqua. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scarterran god Korus.     Nami: One of the the Nine. Chaotic neutral goddess of weather, freedom, prophecy, madness, travel, and alcohol among other things. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scaraquan goddess Kontona. Her priests, priestesses, and core followers are commonly nicknamed Rovers.     Night Order: Rumored to either be a group of heretics or a secret group that is actually sanctioned but denied in public, the Night Order is a splinter group of the Keepers that tries to furthers Khemra's goals through clandestine and often unsavory methods for the "greater good".     Nine, the: The collective term for the five gods and four goddess of Scarterra.     nine finger cursing gesture: The equivalent of giving someone the middle finger, but with religious cursing overtones.     Nonagons: A group of shrines or temples to each of the Nine located in the same location arranged together with a paved plaza or grassy field between them.     ollums: Term for gnomes mutated by Cannibal Sickness.     oracles: Mortals with a limited ability to commune directly with one or more of the Nine.     ocumati: Giant floating orbs of yet more eyes with a wide array of supernatural powers. They originated in the the First Age and there are many conflicting stories of who created them and why. The ocumati themselves claim they rose out of Turoch's dead eye sockets. Druing the First Age they sometimes served dragons and sometimes fought them. In the Third Age they are very territorial and rarely cooperate with other mortals who they call the "half-blind" but they rarely go out of their way to start fights with the half blind either.     Orcish: The native language of orcs.     orcs: Orcs are humanoids of great strength and with pronounced aggressive tendencies. Orcs were created in the the Third Age as a joint effort between Maylar and Nami.   Orcs have begun efforts to spread elsewhere though the vast majority of them live in the rugged northern region of West Colassia.     ojiongo: Ojiongo are cephalopod-like humanoids. They are one of the most numerous Scaraquan races and can be found anywhere but they are disproportionately common in deeper waters.   They are highly intelligent and manipulative. They are disproportionately likely to have magical abilities which they credit to the goddess Taedi who supposedly created them. Many Ojiongo are not very pious but those that are tend to worship Taedi above all others.     Order of Phidas' Dagger: Group within the Masks that focuses on espionage and clandestine actions.     Order of Phidas' Mask: Group within the Masks that focuses on public relations.     Order of Phidas' Shield: Group within the Masks that focuses on martial concerns.     Order of Phidas' Stewardship: Group within the Masks that focuses on day-to-day operations.     Order of the Lantern: A militant group sponsored by the Keepers that tries to keep malicious or destructive mages in check.     ogres: Nickname for humans afflicted with Cannibal Sickness.     Paladins: Splinter group of the Walchese faction of the Tenders that chooses to promote communities and protection Mera espouses with very heavy handed theocratic government control.     Patrons: Informal group within the Lanterns that prioritizes the spread of all forms of art and music and the best way to honor Zarthus.     Peacebreakers, the: Splinter group of the Testers that attempts to provoke nations and tribes into going to war with each other.     peasants: A commoner who is above a serf but below a burgher. Peasants have full legal rights as free citizens but few economic opportunities.     Phidas: One of the Nine. Lawful evil god of the Barrier, commerce, oaths, and punishment among other things. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scaraquan god Resona. Phidas' priests, priestesses and core followers are commonly nicknamed Masks.     Phidas' Bankers: Informal title for Masks who focus on moneylending and vault security.     Pure Ones: A splinter group of the Walchese faction of the Tenders that express that veganism and complete pacifism is the purest expression of Mera's ideals.     Psyches: Metaphysical piece of the soul that separates sentient beings from non-sentient beings. Undead and restless dead can and often do still have a Pysche.     reagents: Generic term for plants, minerals, or animal products used in creating magical items, especially potions.     Regent: Title given to trusted retainer who takes over temporarily for a hereditary ruler when he or she is underage, incapacitated, or temporarily absent from their own realm.     Remnants: The shape changed eldritch remains of a Fair Folk who has reached the end of his or her natural lifespan.     Resona: One of Sons of the Sea Floor, a relatively minor god in Scaraqua. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scarterran god Phidas.     Ritual of the Last Flight: When an aging dragon decides to peacefully end his or her life and pass out of the mortal plane.     Rovers: Short for "Rovers on the Wind". A common nickname for the core followers of the Scarterran goddess Nami. So nicknamed because they usually travel a lot and because winds are sacred to Nami.     Rumspringa: Wood elf practice of young adults leaving the forest of Codenya to explore the rest of Scarterra and take their experience back with them.     salt: Salt is arguably the same in Scarterra as it is on Earth, but it has some unique metaphsyical properties in some circumstances. Also Void demons turn into piles of salt when they die.     satyrs: Satyrs are an often hedonistic goat-legged elfin species that debuted in the Second Age. They commonly exist as a minority population in human and elven lands.     Samhain the Day of the Dead: Tween holiday marking the midway point of Autumn. Commonly dedicated towards celebrating and remembering the honored dead.     Scaraqua: (1) The oceans of Scarterra. (2) All nations, people and creatures living in the seas.     Scarnoctis: What other fantasy realms call the underdark. All the subterranean realms below the surface of Scarterra and the sea floor of Scaraqua.     Scarterra: (1) The world of my fantasy setting. (2) All nations, people, and creatures that live on the surface of the land.     Scarterran New Year's Observances: Five day ritual at the end of the year honoring the Nine's victory over Turoch during the the Divine Rebellion.     Scarterra Traveling Circus: Group of exotic animal trainers who trains exotic beasts for the highest but also run a circus to cover expenses and drum up new customers.     Sedentary Rovers: Oxymoronic tongue in cheek nickname for Rovers tied to a single temple.     serfs : A commoner who is above a slave but below a peasant. Serfs have some legal rights but are not allowed to leave their master's land without permission.     Shadows: The metaphysical equivalent of a soul or True Name's divine backup record.     Silverwood: Wood from a slow growing evergreen tree with silvery bark that's wood is solid to incorporeal creatures.     skin changer witches: Mages who indulge in ritualistic cannibalism to increase their mystic power and physical might.     skopenL Nickname for elves afflicted with Cannibal Sickness.     slaves: The lowest class of person in civilization. Slaves are legally property and have no privileges beyond what their masters bestow and these privileges can be removed at any time.     squib:  Somewhat derogatory term for a person who failed to inherit his or her parents' magical legacy.     sprites: The beasts that inhabit the realm of Fae Home.     sorcerer/sorceress: A mage who gains his or her ability to manipulate arcane magic from his or her bloodline, often but not always from the blood of a half-dragon ancestor.     spirit loas: A "horse" for spirits to ride. Individuals who have the capability of calling ghosts or the honored dead into their bodies to temporarily access their skills and lore.     Spirits: Extraplanar beings created by the Nine to be their eyes, ears, hands, and voices in the mortal plane.     Spirits, exemplar: Spirits created when one of the Nine pours additional power into one of the souls of the honored dead.     Spirits, exogenic: Spirits created directly out of the essence of one of the Nine.     Stellar Days: Seasonal days that mark the official start of the four seasons with the primacy of a seasonal star in the sky including the Spring Stellar Day, Summer Stellar Day, Autumn Stellar Day, and the Winter Stellar Day.     steward, feudal: Formal court position for the local lord or ladies manager of assets and funds.     Stewards: Common nickname for the core followers of the Scarterran god Korus, formerly split between the Stewards of the Gift who focus on agriculture and the Stewards of the Dominion who focus on the natural world.     Swynfaredian Children: Subgroup of the Children of the Dark Mother local to the land of Swynfaredia that favors sorcery over all other forms of arcane magic.     Talons of Korus:  Informal designation for especially militant and hardline Stewards of the Dominion.       Taedi: One of the Seeyirah, the daughters/sisters of the Sea, a principle goddess of Scaraqua. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scarterran goddess Greymoria.     Tenders: Short form of "Tenders of the Sacred Hearth". Common nickname for the core followers of the goddess Mera.     Tengku: Tengku are flightless avian humanoids with the feathers and faces of ravens or crows smaller than humans but bigger than gnomes. They are nimble and sharp eyed and with a natural knack for commerce and making money as well as an uncanny talent for mimicking all types of sounds. Their origins are unknown but many allegorical stories state that the tengku lost their ability to fly either as trade for their abilities in commerce or as punishment for their greed.   Tengku have no homeland and are widely dispersed through most civilized lands of Scarterra. Many tengku are nomadic but many are not. They tend to prefer urban areas for the financial opportunities these areas tend to bring them.     Terrawans: One of the two major schismatic factions of the Tenders. Terrawans favor informal practices.     Testers: Short for "Testers of Strength", a common nickname for the core followers of the Scarterran god Maylar.     Thaumaturge Covenant: Faction of Greymoria's Children that focuses on warlocks.   thurekal: Non-dragons who are supposedly loyal servants of dragons. Very common the First Age, the practice and term has not disappeared entirely.     theurgists: Divine spell casters who unlock their power through their focused piety and their strength of will.     Traitor, the: The tenth servant of Turoch who sided with Turoch during the the Divine Rebellion and attempted to betray the Nine.     Traitor Cults: Catch all term for the numerous small cults worshipping the The Traitor, usually with the intention of raising him/her from the dead.     Tribal Rovers: Informal term for Rovers tied to nomadic barbarian groups or civilized groups of nomads such as entertainer troupes.     Trophy Seekers: Heretical individuals who believe that a mortal can become a god or goddess on par with the Nine if they can find a piece of Turoch's body and fashion a weapon or tool from it emulating the Divine Trophies.     True Names: A complete name metaphysically represent a person or object's entire existance.     Turoch: The tyrannical deity who created Scarterra and the the Nine in order to feed on the souls of mortals. He was destroyed during the the Divine Rebellion and his death created the realm known as the Void.     Turoch emulator cults: Heretics who adopt Turoch based imagery mainly for the intimidation value or out of machismo.     Turoch resurrection cults: Heretics who want to bring Turoch back to life, either in hopes of being rewarded with power or out of sense of a nihilism.     Tween Days: Term for the four holidays that mark the midway points of the seasons: Imbolc, Beltaine, Midsummer, and Samhain.     Unstable Ground: A novellike about an incident in the great war between Colassian Confederacy and the dark elves.     Unificationists: Political movement within the Tenders that wants to eliminate all formal ecclesiastical divisions and unite Mera's worshipers under a single banner.     Urban Stewards:  Informal designation for Stewards of the Gift who spend most of their time in towns and cities.     Vindicators: Informal group within the Lanterns that prioritizes defending the innocent by violently destroying the agents of evil, especially evils entrenched in corrupt governments.     "Vultures": Nickname for tengku afflicted with Cannibal Sickness     Walchese: One of the two major schismatic factions of the Tenders. Walchese favor a high degree of formality.     Wardens of the Barrier, the: An organization dedicated to detecting and destroying Void demons that sneak into the mortal plane and the Infernalists who aid them.     Wayfarers: Organization within the Tenders dedicated to safeguarding travelers on waterways.     War Against the Darkness: Late year holiday in Zarthus' honor where the darkness and cold of winter is symbolically warded off with a ceremonial procession of lanterns and torchs.     warlocks/witches: Warlocks and witches are a type of mage that gain their magical ability by making a pact with an otherworldly being such as a spirits, Fair Folk or Void Demon. Types include Nami Warlocks, Greymoria Warlocks, Fae Warlocks, and to a lesser extent Void warlocks.     wendigo: Common term for orcs afflicted with Cannibal Sickness.     Winter's Eve: Holiday before winter related to hunting and animal husbandry in Maylar's honor.     wizards: Wizards are a type of mage that unlock their magical ability through advanced training. Types include aesthetic hermetic wizardry, body wizardry classical hermetic wizardry, folk magic wizardry, and rune casting wizardry     yeomen: Low born farmers who legally own their own land.     Zarthus: One of the Nine. Chaotic good god of the moon, revenge, liberation, art, investigation, and music among other things. Believed to be an alternate face of the Scaraquan god Dalgari. His priests, priestesses and core followers are commonly called Lanterns.   Zenith Order: Order within the Keepers dedicated to law enforcement and diplomacy.   Zocatec: The native language of kalazotz.


Cover image: Symbol of the Nine by Pendrake

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