The slang used by some clairvoyants in The Song Rising is loosely based on words used in the criminal underworld of London in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with some amendments to meaning or usage. Other words have been invented by the author or taken from modern English or transliterated Hebrew or Greek.
Æther: [noun] The spirit realm, accessible by clairvoyants.
Amaranth: [noun] A flower that grows in the Netherworld. Its essence helps to heal spiritual injuries. Used as the symbol of the Ranthen.
Amaurotic: [noun or adjective] Non-clairvoyant. Also rotties.
Archon: [noun] The Westminster Archon, the seat of power in the Republic of Scion. It is the workplace of most of Scion’s key officials, including the Grand Inquisitor, and sometimes houses members of the Sargas family and their allies.
Binder: [noun] [a] A kind of human clairvoyant from the fifth order of clairvoyance. Binders can control a spirit (see boundling) by marking its name on their body, either permanently or temporarily, or attach a spirit to a particular location using a small amount of their own blood. [b] A name used for a Rephaite with similar abilities, though Rephaite “binders” are also able to make use of the clairvoyant gift the spirit had in life.
Blood-consort: [noun] The mate of a blood-sovereign of the Rephaim. A title previously held by Arcturus Mesarthim when he was betrothed to Nashira Sargas.
Boundling: [noun] A spirit that obeys a binder.
Buck cab: [noun] A cab that accepts voyant clients. Many buck cabbies are employed by the syndicate.
Costermonger: [noun] A street vendor.
Dream-form: [noun] The form a spirit takes within the confines of a dreamscape.
Dreamscape: [noun] The interior of the mind, where memories are stored. Split into five zones or “rings” of sanity: sunlight, twilight, midnight, lower midnight, and hadal. Clairvoyants can consciously access their own dreamscapes, while amaurotics may catch glimpses when they sleep.
Ectoplasm: [noun] Also ecto. Rephaite blood. Chartreuse yellow, luminous, and slightly gelatinous.
Emite, the: [noun] [singular Emite] Also Buzzers. The purported enemies of the Rephaim; “the dreaded ones.” They are known to feed on human flesh. Their blood can be used to mask the nature of a clairvoyant’s gift.
Fell tongue: [noun] A Rephaite term for any language spoken by humans.
Floxy: [noun] Scented oxygen, inhaled through a cannula. Scion’s alternative to alcohol. Served in the vast majority of entertainment venues, including oxygen bars.
Flux: [noun] Short for fluxion. A psychotic drug causing pain, hallucinations and disorientation in clairvoyants.
Glossolalia: [noun] Also Gloss. The language of spirits and Rephaim.
Golden cord: [noun] A link between two spirits. Can be used to call for aid and transmit emotions. Little else is known about it.
Gutterling: [noun] [a] A homeless person; [b] someone who lives with, and works for, a kidsman. Like buskers and beggars, they are not considered fully fledged members of the syndicate, but may go on to become hirelings when their kidsman releases them from service.
Kidsman: [noun] A class of syndicate voyant. They specialize in training young gutterlings in the arts of the syndicate.
Krig: [noun] A slang term for a ScionIDE soldier. From the Swedish word for war, krig.
Meatspace: [noun] The corporeal world; Earth.
Mime-lord or mime-queen: [noun] A gang leader in the clairvoyant syndicate. Under Paige Mahoney’s rule, they have become commanders of small “cells” of clairvoyants.
Mime Order, the: [noun] An alliance between London’s clairvoyant syndicate and some members of the Ranthen, led by Paige Mahoney and Terebellum Sheratan. Its long-term aim is to overthrow the Sargas family and bring down the Republic of Scion.
Mollisher: [noun] A clairvoyant associated with a mime-lord or mime-queen. Usually presumed to be [a] the mime-lord’s or mime-queen’s lover, and [b] heir to his or her section, though the former may not always be the case. The Underlord’s or Underqueen’s heir is known as mollisher supreme and is the only mollisher permitted to be a member of the Unnatural Assembly. Paige Mahoney is the first syndicate leader in many years to take two mollishers.
Mudlarks and toshers: [noun] Amaurotic outcasts. Mudlarks scavenge for valuables on the banks of the Thames, while toshers forage in the sewers of London. The two communities, while distinct, are closely intertwined and share a leader, who almost always takes the name Styx upon election.
Muse: [noun] The spirit of a deceased writer or artist.
Netherworld: [noun] Also known as She’ol or the half-realm, the Netherworld is the original domain of the Rephaim. It acts as a middle ground between Earth and the æther, but has not served its original purpose since the Waning of the Veils, during which it fell into decay.
Nightwalker: [noun] One who sells his or her clairvoyant knowledge as part of a sexual bargain.
Novembertide: [noun] The annual celebration of Scion London’s official foundation in November 1929.
Numen: [noun] [plural numa, originally numina] An object or material used by a soothsayer or augur to connect with the æther, e.g., fire, cards, blood.
Ranthen, the: [noun] Also known as the scarred ones. An alliance of Rephaim, led by Terebellum Sheratan, who oppose the rule of the Sargas family and believe in the eventual restoration of the Netherworld. Some of the Ranthen’s members are currently allied with the clairvoyant syndicate of London (see Mime Order).
Rephaite: [noun] [plural Rephaim] [a] A biologically immortal, humanoid inhabitant of the Netherworld. Rephaim feed on the auras of clairvoyant humans. [adjective] [b] The state of being a Rephaite; to be Rephaite.
Saloop: [noun] A hot, starchy drink made from orchid root, seasoned with rosewater or orange blossom.
Sarx: [noun] The incorruptible flesh of Rephaim and other creatures of the Netherworld (called sarx-beings or sarx-creatures). It has a slightly metallic sheen.
ScionIDE: [noun] Scion: International Defense Executive, the armed forces of the Republic of Scion. The First Inquisitorial Division is responsible for national security; the Second Inquisitorial Division is used for invasions; the Third Inquisitorial Division—the largest—is used to defend and keep control of Scion’s conquered territories.
SciORE: [noun] Scion: Organization for Robotics and Engineering.
Scrimmage: [noun] A battle for the position of Underlord or Underqueen. A scrimmage is usually triggered by the death of the Underlord or Underqueen in the absence of a mollisher supreme to take over. Paige Mahoney was the victor in the last scrimmage after the murders of her predecessor, Haymarket Hector, and his mollisher, Cutmouth.
Scrying: [noun] the art of seeing into and gaining insight from the æther through numa. A querent may be used.
Séance: [noun] [a] For voyants, a group communion with the æther; [b] for Rephaim, transmitting a message between members of a group.
Senshield: [noun] The brand name for Radiesthesic Detection Technology. At the beginning of The Song Rising, Senshield scanners can detect the first three of the Seven Orders of Clairvoyance.
Seven Orders of Clairvoyance: [noun] A system for categorizing clairvoyants, first proposed by Jaxon Hall in his pamphlet On the Merits of Unnaturalness. The seven orders are the soothsayers, the augurs, the mediums, the sensors, the guardians, the furies, and the jumpers. The system was controversial due to its assertion that the “higher” orders are superior to the “lower,” but was nonetheless adopted as the official form of categorization in the London underworld and elsewhere.
Seven Seals, the: [noun] Previously the dominant gang in I Cohort, Section 1-4, based in the district of Seven Dials. The gang was led by Jaxon Hall, with Paige Mahoney as his mollisher.
Silver cord: [noun] A permanent link between the body and the spirit. It allows a person to dwell for many years in one physical form. Particularly important to dreamwalkers, who use the cord to leave their bodies temporarily. The silver cord wears down over the years, and once broken cannot be repaired.
Spool: [noun] [a] A group of spirits. [verb] [b] To gather several spirits into a group.
Syndicate: [noun] A criminal organization of clairvoyants, based in the Scion Citadel of London. Active since the early 1960s. Governed by the Underlord and the Unnatural Assembly. Members specialize in mime-craft for financial profit.
Threnody: [noun] A series of words used to banish spirits to the outer darkness.
Underlord or Underqueen: [noun] Head of the Unnatural Assembly and mob boss of the clairvoyant syndicate in London. Equivalent terms in the voyant communities of Manchester and Edinburgh are Scuttling King or Queen and Spaewife respectively.
Unnatural Assembly: [noun] A collective term for all of the mime-lords and mime-queens in London’s clairvoyant syndicate.
Vigiles: [noun] Also Gillies. Scion’s police force, split into two main divisions: the clairvoyant Night Vigilance Division (NVD) and the amaurotic Sunlight Vigilance Division (SVD). NVD officers are guaranteed thirty years of immunity from justice before being executed for their unnaturalness.
Voyant: [noun] Clairvoyant.