GLOSSARY OF ESOTERICA

A Loose Scale on a Wyvern: (idiom, Corel) An utterly small insignificance next to the greater issue at hand.

Alabaster Tower: The fortress dwelling of the gods and demi-gods.

Artificer's Guild: An association of talented techno artisan princes who are both literally and figuratively responsible for keeping the steam-powered Iron Empire running. They are the hands that grease the gears.

Black Guards: The province level, state administered police force of the Iron Empire. Trained at the Imperial Academy. Responsible for quelling domestic enemies. The magistrate's men.

By the Gods' _____: Misappropriating the gods' holy body parts and excretions to manufacture crude epithets is the delight of the uncouth and lower classes everywhere. The bodies and bodily functions of the five major deities are sacrosanct and should not be used for verbal profanity.

Calamity of '95: (slang, Empire) The Wizard Rebellion, Year 195.

Catastrophe: A group of dragons / wyverns.

City Council: The appointed local administrators at the base of the bureaucratic pyramid who serve at the emperor’s pleasure, yet wield considerable power within the confines of their narrow responsibilities. A thorn in the magistrate's side when state and local interests collide.

Dragons: Ferocious, wild beasts with furnace breath, diamond scales, and razor claws. Tend to see large, armored forces as a territorial threat. Juveniles and adults exhibit different preferences for both dietary and habitat selections.

Drake: A male dragon / wyvern.

Fed the Wyrm's Morsel: (idiom, Corel) To be given the smallest, most tantalizing hint of information.

Golden Diplomats: The diplomatic corps of the Iron Empire. Trained at the Imperial Academy. Responsible for quelling foreign allies.

High Guards: The national level, state administered police force of the Iron Empire. Trained at the Imperial Academy as an elite division of Black Guards. Responsible for quelling domestic enemies. The emperor's fist.

Lobsters: (derogatory, Empire) An epithet for the Red Army, who have largely been shunted to political irrelevance, debased their once noble traditions, and precipitously lowered their recruitment standards.

Mage: A wizard, a sorcerer, someone with the ability to manipulate and store ethereal energies. They enjoy a revered social standing in the Kingdom of Corel, but are largely feared and reviled within the Iron Empire.

Magic: Ethereal energies governed by their own set of parallel unnatural laws which exist outside the bounds, yet mirror, the strictures of natural philosophy. The ultimate source, possible religious significance, and responsible application of these energies are points of contention among noted mage scholars, who divide themselves into two camps: either magic is derived from an ancient nature spirit and is a resource to be safeguarded or magic is a gift from the five gods and should be exploited to serve mankind.

Maven: A female dragon / wyvern.

Poke the Wyvern: (idiom, Corel) To aggravate an already tense situation.

Quill Jockey: (derogatory, Empire) Someone whom through the whimsy of the five gods has been chained to a desk and had a nib glued to their fingers.

Red Army: The military arm of the Iron Empire. Trained at the Imperial Academy. Responsible for quelling foreign enemies.

Sign of the White Tower: The act of clasping one's hands and raising the index fingers to form an approximation of the Alabaster Tower while praying to the five gods. Otherwise known as steepling.

The Five: An abbreviated appellation for the collective five major deities.

The Dark Cabal: A group analogous to a guild, but acting outside the bounds of government regulations and sponsorship, who hunt wyrms and wyverns and supply the thriving market for products made from the flesh and organs of the pesky beasts. Headquartered in Corel. Enemies of the Wyvern Preservation Society.

The Wizard Rebellion: The violent uprising in the Iron Empire, Year 195, when the disenfranchised mage population sought to overthrow their emperor and smash his bureaucracy. This rebellion resulted in a draconian backlash as mages are not only still suppressed, but hunted and executed as traitors to the state 300 years later.

The Wyvern Preservation Society: A collective of individuals within Corel who champion the rights of those misunderstood, magnificent beasts of the fire breathing persuasion. They seek to promote safe wyvern-related activities and act as a check and balance on the flourishing illicit trade of wyrm and wyvern harvested products. Enemies of the Dark Cabal.

The Wyvern's Wingtip: (idiom, Corel) A hint or beginning which will unfold and reveal larger, greater things.

Turn a Wyrm Hole into a Wyvern Pit: (idiom, Corel) To needlessly expand a minor problem into a travesty.

White Tower: (slang, Empire) The Alabaster Tower.

Wyrm: (slang, Corel) A juvenile dragon.

Wyvern: (slang, Corel) An adult dragon.