ALEAB: Sporting festival of the AUSTERI.
AUSTERI: The great culture of SARDAN, far to the east of IBR. The Austeri are pantheistic, and their cities are ruled by the FATHERS. The Austeri are technologically advanced compared to the WIDDITH people.
BACKFUR: In infancy, the dominant human species has a layer of fur covering their back. This is gradually shed as the child matures.
BOOK OF ZARAT: Holy book of the WIDDITH people, written by the prophet ZARAT.
BOXING: A punishment used in WIDDITH communities of IBR for the most serious of crimes, which are deemed to be deleterious to the vitality of the people. The victim is starved in a small room until he either dies or enters TORPOR. If the latter, he is drowned.
BRIDGE, THE: [See YFIR]
BRIDGELIGHT: The reflected light of YFIR.
BRIDGEWARDEN: The leader of a WIDDITH community in IBR, always male. He is responsible for the overall wellbeing of the community, and is accountable to the OVERDRENGR. The role is generally hereditary but the warden may nominate a successor if he wishes.
BRYGGN: The government controlling IBR.
BRYGGNMARK: The currency of IBR.
BROHIR: Brother; a term adopted by the ineffective revolutionary, anti-BRYGGN movement in IBR.
CALPI: A quadrupedal humanoid species, domesticated by the ELPI.
CROSSING THE BRIDGE [SEE STEP ON THE BRIDGE].
DECENT MEN: A jury, nominated by the BRIDGEWARDEN to rule on serious crimes.
DREGVA: In WIDDITH mythology, a transcendent being who embodies the forces of ruin and decay.
DRENGR: a soldier/guard. They are trained in their role after being selected during REGISTRATION.
ELPI: A semi-arboreal humanoid species of EYRA. They have domesticated the CALPI humanoid species.
EYRA: The great unexplored continent far to the south of IBR.
FATHERS: The ruling hereditary class in Austeri cities.
FIRST HAND: A naval rank, overseeing the HANDS.
FIRST SPEAKER: One of the OVERDRENGR’S ceremonial titles, derived from a historical, more democratic system of government in IBR.
FREI: A formal title for an adult female.
G’RIBS: A shortened form of GOD’S RIBS.
GAULDR: A WIDDITH priest.
GAULDRHAVEN: Orphanages overseen by GAULDRS.
GAROR: A game, using slate, chalk and dice, popular with sailors.
GOD HONE YOUR BLADE: A goodwill term, derived from funeral rites, entreating God to hone the person’s blade for the final battle with DREGVA in the afterlife.
GODO’LADE: A goodwill term of greeting or farewell; an informal version of GOD HONE YOUR BLADE.
GOD’S RIBS: A general term of exclamation, referring to SVANGUR’S jutting ribs resulting from his starvation at the hands of DREGVA.
GREAT FAMINE: A famine which devastated IBR.
GREAT BRIDGE: [see YFIR].
HAMMERBALL: A violent team sport, popular in IBR.
HAND: The lowest naval rank; an ordinary sailor.
HANG-FACED: [See THWARTISM].
HEIDRN: A mid-sized domesticated grazing animal, bred for milk and meat.
HEIMVER: The inner sanctum of a WARDENHOUSE, where important business is discussed and decided.
HIER: Formal title for an adult male.
HIRDRENGR: A military rank; overseeing a number of DRENGRS.
HOKR: A black, semi-flightless, domesticated black bird, bred for eggs and meat.
IBR: The large peninsula on which the WIDDITH people and NOROR live.
INTENTION OF SVANGUR: God’s will; his desire to recruit worthy souls to help win a final battle with DREGVA, thus defeating the forces of ruin and decay.
INSIDE OUT BIRD: A large, flightless and predatory bird of the Northern forests of IBR.
JAMWEED: A brown, sticky, chewable leaf derived from the Jamais plant. It has stimulant and addictive effects.
KARIDTH: AUSTERI City in the LANGBAR region of SARDAN.
KRET: A small, carrion-feeding mammal, with sleek fur and dextrous front paws.
KYR: A large, domesticated grazing animal, bred for milk, meat and leather.
LAKNIR: An Ibrian doctor.
LANGBAR: A region of SARDAN, home to the AUSTERI.
LUNGWORT: [See MULLEIN].
MAGNATE: A warlord-ruler of the extinct southern Ibrian tribes.
MAIR: A large, graceful mammal used by the AUSTERI for transport.
MOANER: A mid-sized predatory mammal, which roam in packs in the Ibrian forests.
MULLEIN: A plant, the oil of which can be used for medicinal purposes.
NAGRELL: A region of Northern EYRA
NEHEB: The AUSTERI god of vengeance.
NOROR: The people of Northern IBR. They follow an offshoot of the WIDDITH religion.
OSTARNIGHT: Celebration of the equinox in IBR.
OVERCOMING: A set task, which all adolescents must complete in order to gain their VITAL NAME. Historically, the overcoming would be a major undertaking, but is now commonly a minor task such as writing a poem or learning a new skill.
WHIP SAILOR: A small, primitive marine mollusc with a curved shell and ten tentacles.
OVERDRENGR: The absolute ruler of the BRYGGN and IBR.
PEOPLE OF THE BODY: An extinct religious sect in IBR and northern EYRA.
PERRIT: A small, burrowing mammal of IBR.
PIERCING: A severe AUSTERI punishment. The victims are tied to a large platform. Another platform, suspended above, features long, downward-pointing spikes. The upper platform is very gradually lowered so that the victims’ bodies are slowly pierced. The victims may die quickly or very slowly depending on where they are pierced.
PRECET: A small, predatory mammal of IBR.
QIL A JHIRA: An Austeri tradition, by which respected elders gift to their families short, poetic treatises, setting out the wisdom they have learned through life.
RED HARPAL: A period during the GREAT FAMINE, in which many people died or suffered TORPOR. The OVERDRENGR reacted by ordering the torpid, and those recovering from TORPOR, to be massacred.
RED WANDERER: The planet Mars.
REGISTRATION: The process by which promising young people in Ibrian communities are selected by BRYGGN agents to be taken to SILVES, to learn specialised trades.
RENUNCIATION: The process by which those who have experienced TORPOR are shunned from WIDDITH society.
RUIN: in WIDDERNITY, the force by which DREGVA’s influence pulls all things towards chaos and decay. Often used as a curse.
SARDAN: The peninsula on which the AUSTERI live.
SEIDHR: A theological scientist of the BRYGGN.
SILVES: The largest town in IBR, seat of the BRYGGN.
SPLIPSKIN: A cave-dwelling humanoid, which navigates by sound. They grow a special fungus on which they depend.
STEP ON THE BRIDGE: A euphemism for death, referring to the WIDDITH belief that souls cross YFIR to the afterlife.
SVANGUR: The god of the WIDDITH people.
TAGELHARP: A handheld, stringed musical instrument.
THWARTISM: A medical disorder characterised by developmental delay, slack musculature and distinct facial features.
TORPOR: For the dominant human species, a temporary physiological response to starvation, injury or illness. Characterised by a greatly reduced awareness and metabolism. While recoverable, torpor can result in brain damage or other physical impairments.
UNBINDING: In WIDDITH theology, SVANGUR’S escape from DREGVA.
UNNAMED: A predatory humanoid species, which appear human but require fresh meat to live. Their features include sheathable bony spikes in their wrists, the ability to open their mouths extremely wide, and ability to spit a caustic, blinding fluid. The males appear human, and remain among humans all their lives, but the females undergo a substantial transformation as they reach maturity, and leave human society to fend for themselves.
VETTR: In WIDDITH theology, a malformed horned creature, sent by DREGVA to hunt SVANGUR.
VIT: A midsized mammal, kept as pets in IBR. They have large incisors, sleek fur and a whip-like, scaly tail.
VITALITY: One of the prime virtues of the WIDDITH religion.
VITAL NAME: The secondary name achieved once a young person has achieved their OVECOMING. The name often relates to the nature of the OVERCOMING.
WARDEN: [See BRIDGEWARDEN].
WARDENHOUSE: The home of the BRIDGEWARDEN, where he lives and conducts his business.
WARDENWIFE: The wife of the BRIDGEWARDEN. Where the warden oversees the business of a community, the Wardenwife often takes responsibility for the community’s pastoral care.
WIDDERNITY: The religion of the people of IBR.
WIDDITH: [See WIDDERNITY].
WINCEFRUIT: A yellow fruit with a sour taste.
WINCEBALM: A medicinal balm derived from the WINCEFRUIT.
YEKEL: The AUSTERI currency.
YELLOWBELLY: A very common flower in IBR.
YFIR: The planetary ring surrounding Earth. In WIDDITH theology, it is a great bridge from Earth to the afterlife. In AUSTERI culture, it is the home of the many gods.
ZAHIR: An AUSTERI philosopher.
ZARAT: The major prophet of WIDDERNITY.
IBRIAN TIME / MONTHS OF THE YEAR
The Ibrian year is divided into twelve months:
1. Gormand (30 days)
2. Elleer (30)
3. Morshugr (30)
4. Poori (30)
5. Gowan (29)
6. Einmandr (29)
7. Harpal (30)
8. Skerpalr (30)
9. Solemand (30)
10. Heyennir (29)
11. Tevermandr (30)
12. Horstmandir (30)
In order for the solar calendar to remain synced with the seasons and lunar calendar (there is no leap year), the Seidhr council of Silves meet to determine when an extra month needs to be added to the year. This extra month is called Redress and has twenty-eight days.
There are five days of the week:
1. Zarday
2. Gallday
3. Minanday
4. Breeday
5. Scarday
The day is divided into fourteen hours.
IBRIAN NAMING CONVENTIONS
Names are binomial. The first name is the family name, and is passed from parents to children. Women take their husband’s family name at marriage and lose their original family name. When a child is born, they take the family name, followed by a child-name. When the child achieves their overcoming, the child-name is replaced by their vital name. This applies to both sexes. Both the father and child, if male, would be generally referred to by the family name. To avoid confusion, young males whose fathers are still alive will generally be known by their vital name. When the father dies, they are then generally known by the family name. This confusion is not as acute for females; adult males are generally referred to by their family name, whereas adult females are known by their vital name (unless the formal term Frei is being used). Adult males use the formal title Hier, females Frei. The full name is used to avoid confusion when talking about members of the same extended family.
Example:
Hier Calick Gren (m) marries Frei Jolla Valia (f).
At marriage, she becomes Frei Calick Valia.
He is generally known as Calick, she as Valia, or more formally, Hier Calick and Frei Calick.
They have a male child, who inherits the family name, Calick, followed by the given name, Spiller. He is generally referred to as Spiller.
When Spiller achieves his overcoming, he takes the vital name Splinter, so becomes Calick Splinter. He is generally referred to as Splinter while his father remains alive.
The couple also have a female child, whom they call Calick Burr. She is generally referred to as Burr.
Burr achieves her overcoming, and becomes Calick Heider. She will generally be referred to as Heider throughout her life, but her first name will change if she marries.
Spiller’s father dies, so Calick Spiller is now generally referred to as Calick.
THE WIDDITH RELIGION
The Widdith religion is called Widdernity. A member of the religion is Widdith, but can also be called a Widdith, so the term is both a noun and an adjective. The terms ‘The Widdith people’ or ‘The Widdith’ are used to describe the people as a whole. Widdith people worship a single god, Svangur. They do not pray to him, however, as he is not believed to intercede in the daily affairs of people. Dregva is the enemy of the Widdith people and of Svangur. He is the embodiment of, and responsible for the forces of ruin, sloth, and decay. Only humility, perseverance and vitality keep these forces at bay. Svangur created the world, Yfir, and all the plants and animals apart from bees and simple organisms such as moulds, which were created by Dregva. Plants and animals have vitality and perseverance, but no soul or humility.
The Book of Zarat is the holy text of Widdernity, and includes the religion’s creation myth. The prophet Zarat was a Nagrellian tribesman from northern Eyra.
The Widdith creation myth tells that Svangur was the slave of Dregva, and was starved and beaten by him until his ribs protruded. After Svangur escaped during his Unbinding, Dregva sent the creature Vettr to hunt him. Vettr failed, and sent the much wilier creature Liyo, but Liyo also failed. After his unbinding, Svangur tried to create a living world but failed: the Moon was his failure. He then successfully created the Earth and populated it with plants and animals. Some of the animals and plants were failures, however, and he cast these down into the rock to become fossils.
Svangur’s first attempt to create man also failed; this resulted in the slipskins. These were beautiful creatures but they had no soul, because Svangur had not learned how to imbue a creature with a soul. He cast the slipskins down to live under the Earth, where they changed over the aeons into the current hideous form. He then successfully created man, with a soul and humility, as well as vitality and perseverance. Svangur created the Great Bridge, Yfir, over which worthy souls may cross in the afterlife, to join Svangur in preparation for a final battle with Dregva, which will result in the defeat the forces of ruin and decay. Potentially any human is worthy to join this battle. This plan is called the Intention of Svangur.
For the orthodox Widdith, torpor is seen as a confirmation that the person’s soul is weak and unworthy to join Svangur in the final battle. Their soul will instead be consigned to nothingness. However, the Noror people, who also worship Svangur, see torpor as an enlightened state, in which the distractions of self-interest are stripped away, allowing commune with god. Unlike the orthodox Widdith, the Noror also indulge in prayer, asking Svangur to intercede in their affairs.