Kaz's world: Map, glossary, etc

Feel free to skip this information or browse back and forth; it'll go in the books 

 

Glossary to Kaz’s world

 

Magic -  magic is common. Anyone can learn to perform magic, and many people do, even if only day-to-day cantrips.  The use of magic is dependent on the magical power of the caster, which can be exhausted, and requires rest to restore it. An average person might manage ten common spells a day before exhaustion; one or two deep spells is enough to bring most people to total exhaustion, which also expresses itself as physical exhaustion.

Types of Magic

Cantrips -  common, everyday magic such as is used for folding linen, or small cleansing spells, smell removal, banishment of small amounts of  rubbish, breath-freshening, digging out weeds.

Spells -  harder to learn, but still anyone may learn them. Some are secret or unique to a particular cult, some forbidden by some cults, and if progressing within a cult to initiation, will be wiped from the memory by the god involved. [Athelos will not permit spells with a bludgening effect; he is death, the sword, and a piece of two-by-four is beneath his notice as a weapon.]

Glyph/God magic -  these spells may be at the use of anyone who has been initiated into a cult or of Glyph rank, but as one-use spells to anyone below glyph-rank since they are cast using godly power, and to do so is beyond the use of  ordinary mortals, though those high in their cult’s favour can channel them.

 

Glyph,– mystical symbols which may be used to form writing or to hold a singular meaning, used to scribe spells and magical effects. Only the most powerful can use Glyphs, which are god-magic. To possess glyphs  is to possess real power, and is the beginning of the path to herodom or even to becoming a minor deity.  A glyph-lord holds personally the glyph of control, showing that he or she is at one with his or her body, and may meditate to perform above the level of  what is usually considered humanly possible [cf Miyamoto Musashi in our world whose body control was so great that he could balance a mat on rice straws, and then climb onto it without it collapsing.] A glyph-priest holds personally the rune of magic to facilitate channelling god magic. Holding both is the key to starting herodom.

 

Runes –  mystical symbols which may be used to form writing or to hold a singular meaning, used to scribe spells and magical effects.  May be used by anyone knowledgeable, though it is rare as even common writing is rare.

 

Sigils – A combination of mystical writings in a particular pattern to provide a particular effect. Can be learned by anyone like runes, but need someone of more than average magical power to activate.

 

Wards – sigils, runes, or glyphs or warding, to protect an area, which may send a warning, or release a guardian spirit to attack intruders, or merely prevent certain types of person from passing.

 

Races -  the most common race is humanity. Easterlings have pointed ears and flatter faces, but are still human.  The other major pre-chaos race are Toróg.  They are the children of Luna/Rogaz, the blue moon, and Tor, god of darkness, death, and berserkers. Originally, all every female was six-breasted and fertile, their silver hair shining like moonlight, and priestesses able to take a switch of hair to make into a light like the moon in the dark caverns, or weave it into ritual cloth, or lay into stone in patterns of glyphs. In those days, the glyph of the moon was a circle divided into two white curved drops of sacred water. Now, one is black to signify the coming of Entropy and Chaos into the world, when Luna was raped by the ravening wolf from Outside. Because it was not natural, she was diminished by the birth of her chaos-infested twins, Selen, the red moon, and Daze, the trickster, lord of illusions, mirages, and misdirection. With this weakness, lesser Toróg were born, the Darklings, who are now the most common, and whose females never have more than four breasts and their hair is dark blue, and whose males consider themselves equal to females. The ritual performed by the High Priestesses to try to rectify this was unsuccessful, bringing forth only the Greater Torog, all male, all stupid, slate grey rather than blue, but very strong. And the ritual was to take power back from Selen, and she and Daze conspired to put a curse on the Toróg, so that three in five births are now the diminished form of Trógling.

Hamae are a race of shy and secretive forest folk. They have associations with the trees, and some, the dryads, live entirely within the trees. They tend to keep themselves to themselves, but occasional forest communities are found to hold Hama blood, being a way the Hamae find to protect themselves, by making the locals kindred rather than killing them outright, as there is interfertility. If encountered, they tend to the mischievous and are fond of playing jokes. They hate Daze and all his works as tainted mischief.

Chaos races – formed when the birth-blood of Luna fell to earth giving birth to her chaotic godly twins.  Lycoids, or werewolves were formed when a goat-herd defended his goats from a wolf, which also gave rise to the Tragosti, or goat-men, who are neither strongly chaotic nor free of taint, and have no protector. Lycoids carry diseases including lycanthropy and hydrophobia and distemper.  Other odd fusions are ‘ducks’ or Marsh-Creepers, a synthesis of man, lizard, and bird, barely sentient, and malevolent; Androsaurs, lizard-men, secretive and convinced that they are the spawn of mythical dragons and destined to become such; and Blood-suckers, or vampires, not strictly a race, but definitely chaotic.

Other chaotic beings may be encountered, often one of a kind, as well as chaos animals.

 

 

Religion – Religion permeates everyday life as there are gods and goddesses covering most aspects of life, as well as minor deities who protect families, religious places, markets, and so on; much akin to the Kami of Japan, and often tied to a particular place.  Their power is usually limited, but may provide enough for warding, for example.

The principle god is Solos, the sun, and his wife, Zea, fertility. They have a number of children, principal of whom is Pollonis, the face of Solos, keeper of Justice, guarding, and inspiration. He has a son, Polos, god of Knowledge. Other children of Solos and Zea are the grain goddesses, principal of whom is Nevra, the goddess of rain, who is married to Anemois, God of Winds. Their children, Zephyra, Boros, Notos, and Yuros are the four directional winds, Ombros is god of storms, and Thyella, the Celestial Virgin, is goddess of lightning and wildfire. Solos has also fathered a selection of stars, some of whom have once-mortal lovers placed in the sky as constellations to be with them. Also his daughters are Eaxis and Dysis, dawn and sunset. Their children are Polaros, the northern star, and Hespa, the star of evening, children of Eaxis, and Astros, the dusk before moonrise, son of Dysis.

Other deities include Alethos, who represents both truth and death, a stern warrior’s god, and his sister Latrika, the healer. Phrodine is the goddess of love, in all its forms, and maintains sacred prostitutes, whose establishments are marked with green lamps, and are guaranteed free of disease. Many believe that Alethos, Latrika, and Phrodine are as ancient as Solos, and as powerful, as they represent primal powers. Their mother is Moraia, Fate.  They represent the Healing Trio, who quested to bring healing to the weather gods during their time of insanity after the collapse of the blue moon wrought such damage to the earth that civilisations fell, and refugees fled across the desert to start again at the new lakes made by the craters of falling rocks.  The weather gods, wracked by chaotic forces, roamed the desert in panic and wild outburst until the Trio forced them into one area of roiling maelstrom and drew them out, and brought them comfort, one by one.

The weather gods are therefore particular enemies of the Blood Moon and are collectively known, as are their followers, as Knights of the Clear Starlight. Alethos is contemptuous of them, as they have no idea how much light the Blue Moon used to bring to the world at night, making the stars pale before her brilliance, and hiding those behind her disk at any one time as she progressed regally through the heavens from the ending of sunset to the beginning of dawn. There are those things which, in their madness, they have forgotten.

Knights of the Clear Skies, aka Skyhealers are required by cult dogma to address chaos with poetry before attacking, as their challenge.

“Cursed by chaos, shunned by light

Whimper now at my despite!

Turn and flee from my demand

Or I will kill you where you stand!”

 

 

 

Merkedes is the trader’s god, and some say that a hero of his, Kleptos, is god of those who like to trade goods without giving any returns, and who work at night without their trading partner’s permission. Kyrios is the smith of the gods, and is an associated god of Alethos, though also venerated by other warrior cults and farming cults alike.

 

Gods of the plainsfolk

Though the plainsfolk venerate Solos, they give their main veneration to Father Sky and Mother Land. Theologists argue that Father Sky is synonymous with Solos, and their worship of the sun is that of Pollonis, giver of light. Their other gods are Father Horse, Father Bull, Mother Cow, and the Son of Rebirth, whose abilities and gifts change with the seasons. Sacrifices from the best of the season are made to him, and on the shortest day the prettiest girl in the village is led to a special hut to tempt him out of the underworld to bring back spring. She spends the night there, along with mead, cider, bread and salt. The girl is locked in the hut, and if she returns to the village pregnant it is considered the best of good luck, for the Son of Rebirth has visited her.

 

Toróg gods

Luna/Rogaz is the principal deity; Luna the spiritual and moon-face aspect, and Rogaz, the physical aspect and mother of the Toróg.  The two aspects were ripped apart by the rape of the Blue moon by the Wolf from Beyond, and they cannot now join to bless fertility as they used to. Tor is god of death, darkness, and berserker power. He revels in death and gore, and is happy to use the bodies of the slain as zombies and skeletons to guard places, something anathema to Alethos, the principal human god of death.  The two are great enemies and have fought battles, including one in which Tor wounded Alethos in the thigh.

Kazynn is the child of Rogaz, father unclear, who is known as midwife; she is also goddess of healing, and euthenasia of those Trógling babies too weak to live, and who separates the souls of trógling killed for the table, so that souled beings are not killed for food. Any already dead don’t count.

Mycota is a daughter of Solos, and consort, unwillingly, of Tor. Kidnapped by him, she was tricked into trying a snack which bound her to his hospitality. Heroes quested to rescue her, but the best that could be achieved was that she might return to earth for the Autumnal months, to make sure that fungi are renewed in the earthly realms, as well as growing them underground for the feasting of Tor’s warriors. They have two daughters, Toxia, or Zhargul, goddess of poisons, and Fthysia, or Ekzynn, goddess of decay.

 

 

Hamae gods

The Hamae worship spirits of the forest, notably Phusia, goddess of primal nature, and her daughters Naphaea, Dendra, and Agria. [They are fathered by Rhe, god of rivers, who has many offspring, usually worshipped locally by whichever race they interact with.]

Chaos gods

The two principle chaos gods are Daze, and his twin, Selen, the Blood Moon, whose monthly phases have usurped the natural breeding cycle of human women, and whose flux may give her power.  Selen is the face of the chaotic cults, and heroes of hers are the face of a mockery of the principal cults of pre-chaos. Thanus is her warrior champion, once named to celebrate an early name for Alethos, but apostate to his former god in his love for the red goddess. Selen herself covers love and fertility aspects of life, with Librax, her god of knowledge and learning, and Klerus, god of traders. Selen has no truck with weather magic, as most of the weather gods are her deadly enemies.

Daze is a god of illusion.  His followers try to draw others into traps by using riddles to make them look into the face of illusion. If too addicted to such enigmas, it would take a divine intervention to release anyone from his insidious use of their worship power, diverting it from their usual deity. He is also a god of thieves, though many thieves will not give him even lip service. What is unknown to most is that he also feeds on the agonies of enslaved Trógling, and snares their souls if they die without worship of any other god.

Daze and Selen are lovers as well as siblings, and have a son, Lycos, god of werewolves, and Aima, the Bleeding Daughter, who is goddess of the Blood-suckers or vampires. She seduces power-hungry humans into her worship with promise of eternal life, great strength, and much magical power. To be glyph-level in her cult, they must sacrifice their lives ritually and have their souls bound back into their bodies. 

 

Temple seniors

The senior member of a temple is typically both Glyph-Lord and Glyph-Priest, which one coming first tending to depend on which is considered more important for the cult. The leader of each cult’s temple usually has a special name to differentiate their leaders.

Solos – Lightfather

Pollonis – Ray

Polos – Librarian

Zea – Earthmother

Ombros – Thundermaster

Thyella – Fulminatrix

Alethos – Commandant.  Glyph-Lords may also be known as Hands of Alethos, Priests as Tongues of Alethos, and Initiates as Swords of Alethos, or informally, Swordbrothers/sisters.

Latrika – Healer-in-chief                       

Phrodine – Adoratrix

Merkedes – Guildmaster

 

 

 

Money

Different countries have different currencies but largely speaking the denominations are sufficiently similar to be honoured. I give the coinage of Limnesthos and some other coins to be found.

Solestos pl. Solesti – a golden coin. Vulgarly, Sol or Sols.  Five golden coins a year is about the usual pay of labourers and low class servants, who also either have some perquisites, or keep a small-holding, or have their keep paid; ten solesti is about the yearly living cost. A professional will garner some 30-90  solesti a year.

Pent, pl. Penti, five Hydri or ¼ Solestos.

Hemi-Pent, half a pent, two and a half Hydri, 25 chalcos                    

Hydra, pl. Hydri, a silver coin, 20 of which make up a solestos.

Hemi-hydra, half a hydra.

Chalco, a copper coin, ten to the hydra, or 200 to the solestos.

Hemo, half a chalco

Tetart, a quarter of a chalco

There are also two- and three- chalco pieces.

 

A Moon is the Selenite equivalent of a Solestos, minted from red-gold, and not accepted by many people. The Plainsfolk call the gold coin a Gilder.

An Imperial is a Selenite silver coin approximately equivalent to the Pent; the plainsfolk also have a similar coin they call the Calf, and the easterners have something similar called a ring, which has a hole through it, but is the same weight in silver. All easterner coins have holes in them, and are strung on strings to the value of higher amounts.

 

Toróg money -  Torog count money in bars, and use bronze not copper. A bronze bar is worth about the same as a Pent, and is moulded in divisions to break apart into ten. Each piece of bar is worth about five chalcos. They tend to use barter for smaller quantities.

 

Hamae – Hamae have no money and consider the whole concept ridiculous. If they pay in coin, it will be found to be an illusion. They literally do not understand that losing money can be a matter of life or death to humans, and despise their dependency on stupid tokens.

 

 

Days of the week

 

There are ten days of the week and three weeks to the month.

Sunsday

Moonsday

Fatesday

Windyday

Loveday

Earthday

RaindayMarketday

Lifeday

Deathday

 

Noble names in the city states

Chrysandos

Phaodorus

 

Noble names in the Selenite empire.

Kron

Lex

Dren