Tales of Midbar: Secret Priest

Some words are derived from the Semic language and can have the following number/gender suffixes:

None – usually masculine singular, e.g. Clindar is an anav.

“ah” - feminine singular, e.g. Egrindreth is an anavah.

“im” - masculine or mixed gender plural, e.g. Clindar and Mountain are anavim or Clindar and Egrindreth are anavim.

“ot” - feminine plural, e.g. Egrindreth and Vrenloa are anavot.

Words defined in this glossary are in italics.

AC (acronym for “After Cataclysm”) - a calendar starting from the official end of the Cataclysm.

Acolyte – a low ranking priest. In Trulism they’re usually former Temple Prostitutes. In Winemakerism, they’re more enthusiastic younger Winemakers.

Adenium – a genus of the Apocynaceae family.

Adria – a faharni hipsickah student at Yoho Temple Academy.

Aflingia – a faharni hipsickah with light brown hair who lives in Drintac. Daughter of Yoldasia by her first husband. Sister of Miandri and half-sister of Screld.

After Landing – see AL.

Aglistin – a faharni nibey Trulist priest who works in the Cave of Holdian.

Agrildrin – high priest of Rendamar temple. Father of Samino. Missing, having presumably been murdered by Nuharas.

Ahmaza – The only Nuhara god. Has been assimilated into Trulism as the god of asteroids and peace.

Ailathnar – people in the Kledris universe who were visited by Yoho’s avatar.

AL (acronym for “After Landing”) - a calendar starting at the first arrival of humans on Midbar.

Aleph (Semic) – a very common blood type or the red dwarf which Bet orbits and provides most of Midbar’s natural light.

Allele – a version of a gene.

Anav (Semic) – the rarest and most powerful psychic korbar. Have two copies of both recessive alleles, their abilities are a closely guarded secret but it’s dangerous for young anavim to experience strong emotions. Most anavim belong to Haprihagfen. Most people, particularly hipsickim, dislike anavim more than other korbarim.

Anden – a hipsickah Trulist faharni council bureaucrat in Laraget. Wife of Latchmir and mother of Clindar, Egrindreth and Attan.

Anti-korbarism Law – a strongly upheld Paxian law based on Trulist teaching. It prohibits people from identifying the Korbar and magic type of others, unless they were open about it.

Aramator – a Nuhara country that borders northern Pax, the border running near Rendamar.

Arts – a book of Yohoist and Winemaker scripture.

Arts Cafe – an unusual cafe in Laraget which specializes in having live performances.

Ascrin – a town in Hecrin.

Associate – a form of dark matter which can be bound to people or things composed of normal matter giving them magical properties.

Associate Magic – the commonest form of magic on Midbar (actually a branch of science) which involves manipulating associates and binding. Was discovered after humans left Earth so it isn’t forbidden by ancient religions.

Astrigis – Trulist god of horticulture and famine.

Attan – a hipsick Trulist faharni schoolboy from Laraget. Son of Anden and Latchmire and brother of Clindar and Egrindreth.

Aublelma – a bennis Trulist nibeyah. The avatar of Denadria, officially a Temple Prostitute but she magically dismembered her first client and therefore hasn’t been give any more.

Beauty – an anavah Haprihagfen from Midbar-Teradriel.

Bedri – Dwendra’s family name.

Bedri Dwendra – Dwendra’s full name.

Beginner School – school for children between about 5 and 10 years old.

Beit (Semic) – a house or group of buildings housing a clan. Some clans have more than one beitim.

Beit Asher (Semic) – a beit housed in boats on the Small Sea.

Beit Ha-Am (Semic) – the Paxian parliament building.

Beit Kerem (Semic) – the Haprihagfen clan who run Minris Vineyard.

Beit Melden – a beit in Sephir Credmin. It seems to play an important role in training young anavim.

Beit Muraten – a beit which trades with lardnin.

Benai Nibeyim (Semic) – a large organization with a membership that includes many rich and powerful people. It’s supposed to be charitable but is widely suspected of orchestrating conspiracies, particularly to mess up people’s lives for no apparent reason. However, few people take such conspiracy theories seriously. Has a complicated relationship with Haprihagfen.

Bennis – a race found mostly on Central Island and the south eastern Great Basin. Have light coloring, round eyes and pointed ears. Mostly Trulists.

Bet – a rare blood type or the brown dwarf which Midbar orbits. Midbar is tidally locked so Bet always appears in the same place in the sky from any location on Midbar, and is only visible from one side. Bet orbits Aleph.

Binding – a form of dark matter, used to connect associates with normal matter.

Binah – a version (sephir) of Earth.

Black Night – part of the light cycle when Aleph is not in the sky and the sapphires are turned off.

Blue Day – part of the light cycle when Aleph is not in the sky and the sapphires are turned on.

Bombardment – a game that consists of teams trying to knock each others’ members off pedestals by throwing soft object at them.

Book Bearer – a high-ranking Nuhara leader. In early Nuhara history, there was only one who was the main leader but after the disappearance of Nuhar Zorg, Nuhara split into a number of sects, some with many book bearers.

Book of Scholars – a Yohoist book that isn’t part of the official scripture and includes a great deal of unscriptural teaching, including their objections to Winemakerism, which Yohoists took seriously in the last millennium before the Cataclysm.

Book of Walls – one of the older parts of Yohoist and Winemaker scriptures, supposedly transcribed from hieroglyphic writing on walls into a simple alphabet.

Bound (adjective) – when applied to an associate it means that it is connected to an object or person composed of normal matter by bindings.

Breeze – a faharni Haprihagfen anavah who lives in Minris Vineyard. Daughter of River and Kerdac, sister of Cloud (Productive) and Stone. The current Vineyard Magis but this hasn’t been officially announced.

Briad – Trulist goddess of discipline and disgust. Wife of Streculic. Very vicious and nasty and has very few worshipers.

Broldarin – a faharni convicted fraudster.

Brown Dwarf – and object composed mostly of hydrogen and helium which is intermediate in mass between a gas giant (planet similar to Jupiter) and a red dwarf.

Brulin – a bennis nibeyah mage who uses tattoos to treat difficult diseases.

Buldis – a faharni Trulist hipsick who attends Yoho Temple Academy.

Bullying By Exclusion – a form of bullying where the victim(s) is/are denied something desirable that all or most others are allowed to have.

Buxnir – a faharni nibey Winemaker descended from the Yohoist priesthood. Became acting high priest of Rendamar Temple after high priest Agrildrin disappeared. Also a high-ranking member of Benai Nibeyim. Husband of Holmiath.

Cascade Hotel – a medium sized, mid-market hotel located at the west end of Minris, opposite Minris Vineyard. Owned and managed by Eleprin’s parents.

Cataclism – a series of disasters which lasted about a century and reduced Midbar’s human habitable area to little more than the Great Basin as well as reducing the human population significantly.

Cave of Holdian – Trulist Holy Site in Rendamar. On the other side of the harbor from Rendamar Temple.

Central Island – a mountainous island located in the middle of the Sea. About half of it belongs to Pax and is the location of Pax’s capital, Targraph.

Ceralargan – where familiars come from, possibly with relatively easy access to space travel.

Chelas – somebody who has one or more associates bound to them but is not a mage.

Clamach (Semic masculine) – an anav who belongs to a clan (seldom used).

Clamet (Semic feminine) – an anavah who belongs to clan.

Clan – a group of anavim who normally live together. Typically consists of a number of related females, their young children and husbands.

Clarmiria - Trulist goddess of plants and harvest. Wife and Rholdaz.

Clathmior – a lawyer who works in Laraget and is employed by Ruashni.

Clian – a friend, perhaps relative, of Anden who lives in Laraget.

Clidrac – a small nation to the south west of the Great Basin.

Clindar – an anav Trulist faharni schoolboy from Laraget. Son of Anden and Latchmir and brother of Egrindreth and Attan.

Concussion Spell – a spell that erases the target’s short term memory, usually a few hours to a day. Usually leaves the target unconscious for a short time, allowing the caster to escape but sometimes just leaves the target confused. Colloquially known as a date rape spell.