ambiglaukos* |
The shade each side of grey. The tint of the Censors.
|
Aerarch |
The captain of an airship; or by courtesy a member of
the Guild that manages the Airships. ALso known as Aviators.
|
Andrew Eddings* |
The name of the protagonist of THE NIGHT
LAND in his incarnation in C18 England.
|
Andros* |
The name of the protagonist of THE NIGHT LAND in his
incarnation in the Redoubt.
|
Bright Cities* |
The upper cities of the Redoubt, where the Law holds
sway.
|
Censors* |
The guild responsible for the Redoubt's ideological,
cultural and memetic health. At need, murderous inquisitors.
|
Chaperone* |
An older woman whose company is used to ensure a young
woman's chastity when her parents think it advisable and can afford it.
Also a matchmaker.
|
Clan* |
or Family. An extended family. Family bonds are
strong and permanant. Families tend to live in one shared home with
apartments for each married couple. A family will occupy the same house
until it ceases to exist for some reason.
|
Current Cannon* |
or Cannon. The large energy weapons used to fire
upon the Night Land from the lower
regions of the Redoubt.
|
Darling-vine* |
A vine grown within the private compound of a Family.
Offering its fruits to a suitor is part of betrothal ritual.
|
Darling-tree* |
One of the cherished ornamental trees planted in the
public spaces of the Redoubt, typically patronised by a girl-band.
Its
blossoms are symbols of their virginity, adulthood, and much else
beside.
|
Days of Measures* |
The Redoubt's internal calendar is based on the
pheromone-synchronised menstruation of its female populace. Between the
days of Measures are a series of days named after the odors released
broadcast by the Windmasters; saltday, jasmineday, roseday, and
so
forth
|
Dead Cities* |
Also Called Dark Cities*. The
lower Cities of the Redoubt, in the bottom half mile, the ones whose
windows have all been sealed.
Over time these have become populated with criminals and social rejects
of various kinds.
|
Eater* |
One of the Dark Forces in the Night Land, an immateral
being that may
consume the human soul. A pneumavore.
|
Fight* |
Ritualised non-lethal combat between Redoubt males. A
frequent, indeed usual, means of resolving conflict.
|
Girl-band* |
An association for unmarried girls below and nearing the
age of puberty. Membership of the bands is terminated
by betrothal or by joining a Guild.
|
Gossil of Geddon* |
The legendary name of the Founder of the Redoubt.
|
Great, The* |
The highest levels of Redoubt society.
|
Guild |
The major social structure of the Redoubt not associated
with Families. People
join a Guild upon adulthood and remain in it for life. The heads of the
Guilds form one arm of the Redoubt's government.
|
Hearth Lamp* |
The main Lamp that illumines the central open
space of a Clan's home.
|
Final Child* |
The (legendary? Prophecied?) last human to be born in
the Redoubt, a girl.
|
Jale* |
The fifth primary color percieved by the pentachromat
eyes of humanity in the era of the Redoubt. Near ultra-violet. The term
is derived from David Lindsay's A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS
|
Lamp* |
A large ceremonial light source used to
illuminate some part of the interior of the Redoubt. The term as so
used implies the
Lamp has more than merely functional utility: it may have a name
and attributed personality.
|
Mansonyagger* |
An autonymous man-hunting fighting machine. Some have
escaped the control of the Redoubt and inhabit the Night land, where
some clades of Abhumans use
them as mounts or domesticates.
|
Master-Word |
A telepathic shibboleth or genocide-filter used to
identify true humans. Inability to project this code marks one as abhuman or
(if ones parentage is conclusively known to be human) mentally
deficient and not fit for adult responsibility or reproduction. It may
alternatively or additionally be spoken verbally.
*Children in the womb instinctively
project the Master-Word from the third month.
|
Matross* |
The Guild that manages the Current Cannons
|
Mother Redoubt* |
The Redoubt personalised as a mother-goddess. A legend,
that from time to time may be real. A legend has it that in one of Her
incarnations she was named Meyr.
|
Night-hearing |
Receptive telepathy: a talent of a small number of the
inhabitants of the
Redoubt. A low-level receptivity is quite common but very few are Sensitive.
|
Night-speech |
Projective telepathy: a talent of some of the
inhabitants of the
Redoubt. Almost all have the basic talent
of projecting the Master-Word but only a few can use the
Night-Speech
to communicate freely and consciously in words.
|
Pneuma* |
The immaterial component of the human being in which
resides the consciousness and fundamental character: the soul
, the spirit. Immortal and successively reincarnated. Its composition
is fundamentally similar to that of the Eaters
|
Pneumatechne* |
The technology of manipulating, shielding and detecting
the Pneuma, and of amplifying and detecting the Night-Speech. The study
of the Eaters.
|
Pneumavore* |
An Eater. A carnivorourous
psychic entity. *
According to one legend the Pneumavores
were
encountered between the stars by the first starships and followed them
back to Earth. According to other legends
they originated in the Van Allen belts. Possibly both sets of legends
are true. It is also believed that one clade of Eaters has
consumed the
sun and the other
nearby stars, and may be spreading through the galaxy.
|
Seer* |
A telepath able to scan the Night Land in conjunction
with the telepathic amplifiers in the Tower of Observation. Seers are
usually adolescent children. The talent burns out fast.
|
Ulfire* |
The first primary color percieved by the pentachromat
eyes of humanity in the era of the Redoubt. Near infra-red. Most of the
light in the Night Land is ulfire. The term is derived from David
Lindsay's A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS
|
Whitecap* |
Humans in the era of the Redount have white skin and
head and face hair and black irises. However the children are dark
haired until
puberty.
The growth of the white hair or whitecap
is the biological marker of adulthood.
|
Windmasters* |
The guild responsible for the internal ventilation of
the Redoubt.
|