Glossary

abstraction: The process by which members of the Exalted remove themselves from humanity through technological modification.

adorator: A member of any antique religious cult maintained by the Empire and tolerated by the Chantry.

Advent: The destruction of Old Earth by humanity at the end of the Foundation War.

Aeta: A Cielcin prince-chieftain. Appears to have ownership rights over its subjects and their property.

akaranta: The dominant Cielcin sexual role.

aljanhi: A human Jaddian soldier, distinguished from the clone mamluks.

anagnost: An initiate in the Chantry clergy.

androgyn: A homunculus exhibiting neither or both male and female sex characteristics.

aquilarii: In the Legions, the pilot of a lighter craft.

azhdarch: A xenobite predator common in the Colosso, like a lizard with a long neck open from top to bottom in a fanged mouth.

backspace: Territory within Imperial space not formally colonized by the Empire. Often a refuge for the Extrasolarians.

baetan: In Cielcin culture, a sort of priest-historian of the scianda.

baron/baroness: Lowest rank of the Imperial palatine nobility. Rules a planetary demesne. Title may be passed on through inheritance.

bastille: Any Chantry judicial and penal center, usually attached to a temple sanctum.

biofacture: The manufacture of living beings, organs, or tissues.

bonecutter: A black market genetics surgeon, not sanctioned by the High College.

Book of the Mind: An anthology of several texts compiled or composed by the scholiast Imore. Forms the basis of their philosophy.

centurion: A rank in the Imperial Legions, commands a CENTURY.

Chalcenterite: A fraternal order of the scholiasts, noted for their asceticism.

Chantry: See HOLY TERRAN CHANTRY.

chimera: Any genetically altered or artificially created animal, usually by blending the genetic code of two or more animals.

chiromancer: See BONECUTTER.

Choir: An elite research and intelligence body operating under the command of the Chantry.

choregus: The leader of a chorus, as in a song.

Cielcin: Spacefaring alien species. Humanoid and carnivorous. The principle enemy of humankind during the CRUSADE.

Classical English: The ancient language of both the Mericanii and the early Imperial settlers on Avalon, still used by the scholiasts.

coloni: Any intelligent, pre-industrial race of xenobites on a human-occupied world, particularly in the Sollan Empire.

Colosso: A series of sporting events held in a coliseum involving professional gladiators, slave myrmidons, animals, races, and more.

commandant: The leader of a private mercenary company.

commodore: In the Legions, an officer above captain but below strategos, usually in command of a fleet.

cornicen: In the Legions, a soldier tasked with playing the horn or trumpet at parades.

coteliho: In Cielcin culture, roughly equivalent to a Lord’s herald or majordomo.

crèche: A cryonic storage pod for transporting people on long interstellar journeys.

cryoburn: Burns incurred as a side-effect of improper cryonic freezing.

cubiculum: A chamber where persons are kept in cryonic fugue, usually aboard a starship.

daimon: An artificial intelligence. Sometimes erroneously applied to non-intelligent computer systems.

Dark Space: In the Chantry religion, a place of desolation and torment.

Deep: A species of possibly artificial and intelligent microorganisms found on several worlds, capable of digesting and altering other living creatures.

denwa: A highly addictive pseudoamphetamine of extraterrestrial origin and a popular drug. Made from fungal resin.

douleter: A slave overseer or trader.

druaja: A board game, sometimes called labyrinth chess.

dryad: Any of a species of green-skinned homunculi capable of photosynthesis, designed for work in outer space.

Durantine Republic: An interstellar republic of some three thousand worlds. Pays tribute to the Empire.

Eali al’aqran: The Jaddian ruling caste, product of intense eugenic development. Practically superhuman.

Emperor: The supreme ruler of the Sollan Empire, considered a god and the reincarnation of his/her predecessor. Holds absolute power.

Eudoran: Any of the spacefaring bands claiming descent from the failed colony on Europa in Old Earth’s system. An ethnic group known for their interstellar wanderings.

Exalted: A faction among the Extrasolarians noted for their extreme cybernetic augmentations.

exsul: Any palatine lord not based on a habitable world. Can refer also to his/her entire household.

Extrasolarian: Any of the barbarians living outside Imperial control, often possessing illegal praxis.

factionarius: The chief officer of a trade guild.

foederatus: A mercenary.

Foundation War: The war between the early Empire and the Mericanii, in which the Mericanii were destroyed and the Sollan Empire founded.

fravashi: In the Jaddian religion, the part of one’s spirit that remains in the spirit world when a person’s soul enters the material universe.

Free Traders Union: A coalition of smaller trading companies and independent merchanter vessels that lobbies for shipping privileges and dock space on planets.

freehold: Any planet or moon that rules itself, not subject to an interstellar polity.

fugue: The state of cryonic suspension induced to ensure that humans and other living creatures survive the long journey between suns.

Galstani: The common language of the Sollan Empire, descended from Classical English, with heavy Hindi and Franco-Germanic influences.

gene tonic: A medicament designed to alter the genetic code of an organism to fit a desired plan. Used to raise plebeians to the patrician class.

glowsphere: A spherical, bright light source floating on Royse repulsors, battery- or chemically powered.

God of Fire: In the Jaddian religion, the principle creator deity, known sometimes by his ancient name Ahura Mazda.

golem: A mechanical being fashioned in the shape of a man, containing no organic parts.

Great Charters: Ancient collection of legal codes imposed on the Empire by a coalition of the houses palatine. Maintains the balance between the houses and between the houses and the Emperor.

groundcar: An automobile, usually powered by solar or by internal combustion.

High College Imperial: political office tasked with reviewing palatine requests for children and with overseeing the pregnancies of same. Prevents mutations.

highmatter: A form of exotic matter produced by alchemists. Used to make the swords of Imperial knights, which can cut almost anything.

hilatar: A popular non-addictive hallucinogen made from the leaves of an alien plant. The leaves are dried and steeped like tea.

homunculus: Any artificial human or near-human, especially those grown for a task, or for aesthetic purposes.

hoplite: A shielded foot soldier. Heavy infantry.

hurasam: Gilded coin used amongst the Imperial peasant classes, worth their mark-weight in gold. Print notes for various denominations exist.

huratimn: A prey animal native to the Cielcin homeworld.

ichakta: A Cielcin title, referring to the captain of a ship.

ietumna: The submissive Cielcin sexual role.

imaginifer: In the Legions, a herald tasked with carrying a holograph image of the Emperor upon a staff.

immunis: In the Legions, a soldier exempt from usual duties.

inmane: An offensive slur meaning that someone is less than human. Literally impure.

intus: A palatine born outside the oversight of the High College, usually possessing several physical or psychological defects; a bastard.

itani: Pl. Itanimn. A Cielcin family unit.

Jaddian: The official language of the Principalities of Jadd, a patois of ancient Romance and Semitic languages with some Greek influences.

jubala: A powerful and popular offworld narcotic. Can be inhaled or ingested in a kind of tea.

kaspum: Silver-plated coin used among the Imperial peasant classes. Twelve kaspums make one gold hurasam. Print notes for various denominations exist.

Knights Excubitor: The innermost circle of the Emperor’s guard, comprising 108 of the finest knights and fighters in the Empire.

Legions: The military branch of the Sollan Empire, loyal directly to the Emperor and Imperial house, comprising naval and ground forces.

lictor: A bodyguard for a nobile or other dignitary. Usually a knight.

logothete: A minister in any of the governmental agencies of any palatine house, used colloquially of any civil servant.

magus: An intellectual, most especially a scientist or natural philosopher.

Mandari: An ethnic group semi-detached from Imperial society, most commonly found staffing the massive interstellar trading corporations.

mark: The primary trade currency of the Sollan Empire, not backed by specie.

Martian Guard: The Emperor’s palace guard, an elite corp of soldiers raised from the population on Earth’s nearest neighbor, Mars.

medica: A hospital, typically aboard a starship.

megathere: A massive, three-eyed amphibious predator native to the planet Epidamnus.

Mericanii: The ancient first interstellar colonists. A hyper-advanced technologic civilization run by artificial intelligences. Destroyed by the Empire.

mnunatari: In Cielcin culture, the merchant caste. Considered pariahs.

myrmidon: In the Colosso, any contract or slave fighter not a professionally trained gladiator.

myste: An intellectual.

nahute: A Cielcin weapon. Resembles a flying metal snake. Seeks out targets and drills into them.

natalist: A specialist practiced in the art of growing and gene-crafting living organisms, human or otherwise.

neural lace: A semi-organic computer implanted in a host’s brain. Very illegal in the Empire.

Nipponese: The descendants of the Japanese colonists who fled Old Earth system in the Third Peregrination.

nobile: Blanket term referring to any member of the palatine and patrician castes in the Sollan Empire.

Nordei: The principal language of the Demarchy. A patois of Nordic and Thai with some Slavic influences.

Norman Expanse: The frontier of human settlement in the Norma Arm of the Milky Way.

nuncius: An announcer, town crier, or herald.

Old Solstice: A traditional holiday commemorating the Winter Solstice of Old Earth.

optio: The second-in-command of a century in the Imperial Legions after the Centurion.

Order of Merit: The highest honor an Imperial soldier may be given for service to the Empire.

Outer Perseus: The expansion region out along the end of the Perseus Arm; a colonial frontier.
palatine The Imperial aristocracy, descended from those free humans who opposed the Mericanii. Genetically enhanced, they may live for several centuries.

Pale: The Cielcin. Slang, considered offensive by xenophiles.

pankration: A martial art harking all the way back to ancient Greece and Macedonia.

Panthai: A Tavrosi language descended from the Thai, Lao, and Khmer-speaking peoples who settled the Wisp alongside the Nordei.

patrician: Any plebeian or plutocrat awarded with genetic augmentations at the behest of the palatine caste as a reward for services rendered.

peltast: An unshielded foot soldier. Light infantry.

Peregrination: Any of the historical evacuations from Earth’s system for the extrasolar colonies.

Petersonian: A fraternal order of the scholiasts.

phase disruptor: A sort of firearm that attacks the nervous system. Can stun on lower settings.

plagiarius: A smuggler, fence, or other black market salesman.

plasma burner: A firearm which uses a strong loop of magnetic force to project an arc of super-heated plasma across short to moderate distances.

plebeian: The Imperial peasantry, descended from unaltered human stock seeded on the oldest colony ships. Forbidden to use high technology.

plutocrat: Any plebeian who has earned enough money to buy expensive genetic augmentations. Effectively patrician.

Principalities of Jadd: Nation of eighty former Imperial provinces in Perseus that revolted over palatine reproductive rights. Heavily militaristic and caste-driven.

qiati: In Cielcin culture, an individual’s usefulness or worth to its owner.

Quiet: The hypothetical first civilization in the galaxy, allegedly responsible for several ancient sites, including those on Emesh, Judecca, Sadal Suud, and Ozymandias.

Rothsbank: An ancient, privately owned banking house tracing its roots back to the Golden Age of Earth.

Royal Victorian Knights: A fraternal order of knights owing allegiance to the Imperial House Avent.

satrap: A planetary governor in the Principalities of Jadd, subordinate to one of the regional princes.
scahari In Cielcin culture, the warrior caste.

scholiast: Any member of the monastic order of researchers, academics, and theoreticians tracing their origins to the Mericanii scientists captured at the end of the Foundation War.

scianda: Pl. Sciandane. A Cielcin migratory fleet, comprising several itanimn and presided over by a single Aeta.

sign of the sun disc: A gesture of benediction made by circling thumb and forefinger and touching forehead and lips before holding the hand up to the sky.

signifer: In the Legions, a soldier tasked with carrying the banner bearing the symbols of the individual legion or subgroup.

Solar Throne: The Imperial throne. Carved from a single piece of citrine quartz. Sometimes used as a synonym for the Imperial Presence or Office.

solifer: In the Legions, a soldier tasked with carrying the banner bearing the symbol of the Imperial sunburst on its flag.

Sollan Empire: The largest and oldest single polity in human-controlled space, comprising some half a billion habitable planets.

SOM: Surrogate Operating Medium. The lobotomized shell of a human being animated by machines, used for slave labor and as soldiers by the Extrasolarians.

Sparrowhawk: A lighter craft commonly used by the Legions, a one-manned rapid attack ship used in ship-to-ship fighting.

strategos: An admiral in the Imperial Legions, responsible for the command of an entire fleet, comprising several legions.

strojeva: A golem, specifically a golem of Durantine manufacture. Typically designed to closely mimic a human being in appearance.

sulan: An ancient predator native to the Cielcin homeworld.

suppression field: A Royse Effect field designed to simulate gravity.

Tanager: A lighter craft commonly used by the Legions, a heavier, two-man fighter.

Tavrosi: Any of the languages from the Demarchy of Tavros. Typically refers to Nordei.

telegraph/QET: A device which uses entangled quantum particles to communicate instantly over vast distances.

terranic: In terraforming and ecology, refers to any organism of Old Earth extraction. Not extraterrestrial.

theologi: A priest or theologian.

tiatari: In Cielcin culture, the worker caste.

tokolosh: A species of flesh-eating microorganism that, when swarming, appears as a mass of darkness.

Travatsk: A Tavrosi language named for the Travatskr ethnic group, recognizable by its lack of vowel reduction.

trias: A unit of three legionnaires, usually two peltasts and one hoplite.

triaster: The commander of a trias, usually a shielded hoplite.

tribune: A Legion officer in command of a cohort (four to a legion). Commands both ground forces and naval officers.

Twelve Abominations: The twelve most grievous sins according to the Chantry’s Index. Legal privileges do not apply in such cases.

TX9: A chemical compound pumped into the body when the blood is drained in preparation for cryonic fugue.

Udaritanu: A complex, non-linear writing system used by the Cielcin.

Umandh A coloni species native to the planet Emesh. Amphibious and tripedal, they have an intelligence comparable to that of dolphins.

uncreated gods: In philosophy, refers to the gods of ancient religions which emerged as byproducts of organic cultural evolution.

Upper Centaurus: Region of the Centaurus Arm of the galaxy nearer the core. Location of the Principalities of Jadd and many Imperial provinces.

vampyromorph: A species of winged, blood-drinking creatures commonly used in baiting shows during the Colosso.

Veil of Marinus: Territory contested between the Empire and Norman Freeholds. Comprises most of the front in the Crusade against the Cielcin.

viceroy/vicereine: The ruler of an Imperial Province appointed by the Emperor. The title is typically heritable, but is not always so.

White Sword: A ceramic greatsword used by Chantry cathars for formal executions, especially of the nobility. Writ The Chantry’s legal and moral code, enforced by the Inquisition and the Index.

xanarth: A massive land predator native to the planet Athyras.

xenobite: Any life form not originating in terranic or human stock, especially those life forms which are considered intelligent; an alien.

Zenoan: A fraternal order of the scholiasts with an emphasis on introspection and emotional regulation.