I ought to go ahead and do a short glossary for Hyperborean Mice. As I've recommended to other folks, it can say a lot about the setting.
Setting Glossary
The Alabaster Temple: this enormous white stone abbey (spread over a number of buildings and farms) is the center of the Church. Any priest of decent standing will have been trained here.
The Black Paw: a small and mysterious organization of elite assassins that operates in Haven. The Paw marks their kills with a black pawprint on the forehead, so that folks will know who really killed them. They sell their services to the wealthy, but they also eliminate individual gleaners who have offended the leadership of the thieves. Most people in Haven are terrified of the Paw and won't offer shelter or protection to someone that the Paw is hunting for.
The Church: the official religion of the Fallows is the worship of the First Ones as gods. The Church is a huge and sprawling organization that ministers to the populace but also acts as the empire's primary bureacracy and record keepers.
The Citadel of the Titans: an enormous wooden structure so tall that it seems to loom over the rocky ground of the forbidden lands despite being very distant. The Citadel is said to be the home of the ancient Titans. Legends claim that the First Ones bound three terrible serpents to guard it and that they still devour anyone who approaches unless they are of royal blood.
Clothing: intelligent mice wear clothes not to cover their bodies (except during bad weather) but to distinguish them from feral mice. As a result, most mice only wear couple of pieces of clothing at a time, preferably ones that show their occupation and status. The upper classes tend to wear more and more ornate garments, but most commoners can't afford to.
Crows: large, black birds that are surprisingly intelligent. Many of them can actually talk, albeit in a kind of heavily accented pidgin tongue. They have been known to trade with towns on the outskirts of the empire, but are considered very untrustworthy and are often blamed for mysterious thefts. They are mostly interested in shiny objects and food and will readily trade one for the other. Crows who travel into the inner regions of the Fallows are liable to be driven away or killed by the military.
The Empire: the government that rules the Fallows. The current Emperor is Luciel XXIV, a direct descendent of Luciel the Divine, leader of the First Ones. The government's reach used to extend to the edges of the Fallows and beyond, but these days it is in decline and only truly controls the inner lands.
The Fallows: the great field that the First Ones conquered and where they established their empire.
Feral: a common term for mindless mice, to distinguish them from the talking sort. Feral mice fear talking mice instinctively and avoid areas where they can be found, so they are extremely rare within the borders of the Fallows.
First Ones: the original White Lords, the white mice who conquered the Fallows and established the empire. According to popular belief, the First Ones eventually ascended to godhood and became the gods. Since the current White Lords are their descendants, it's common to refer to the First Ones as White Lords as well.
Fleaman's Day: one of the most popular festivals in the empire, Fleaman's Day is celebrated by lighting bonfires and dancing around them to music. It is a day of festivals, feasts and public entertainment in all of the larger towns. It is believed that the burning of the bonfires was originally intended to frighten away the demon Skzentic. By ancient tradition no one ever gets married on Fleaman's Day; it's seen as inviting Skzentic to destroy the newlyweds.
The Forbidden Lands: a large stretch of rocky land between the Fallows and the Citadel of the Titans. Unlike the wildlands, which are merely unpatrolled, entrance into the forbidden lands is illegal and has been since the early days of the empire. Military patrols still travel along the edge of this territory periodically, but it's mostly to guard against anything coming in to the empire, rather than to prevent folks from entering the forbidden areas. The forbidden lands are extremely dangerous and many mice who do cross the border never return.
Forsaken: mice who are only semi-sentient, with no magical ability and a tendency to act like mindless wild mice during stress. They used to be very rare, but they are becoming more and more common on the edges of the Fallows. The children of forsaken mice are sometimes forsaken and sometimes outright feral, but (almost) never fully intelligent. It's commonly believed that their parents were cursed by the gods for some hidden sin.
Gleaners: a common term for organized groups of thieves, especially around Haven. The gleaners of Haven are commonly thought of as a tightly disciplined guild of thieves and killers, but the gleaners are actually quite disorganized. Their leaders are called bosses and the common thieves fear to offend them, lest they encounter the Black Paw.
The Gods: the spirits of the First Ones who still watch over the empire. Only the name of Luciel the Divine, the ruler of the gods, is commonly known amongst the populace, and even the church records don't say what all of their names were, because some of them were purged during ancient power struggles in the early days of the empire. Traditionally it is assumed that there are 12 gods.
Haven: the largest city in the Fallows and her unofficial capitol. Haven is widely known as a city of great opportunity, but is rife with crime and has enormous slums. The young and naive are drawn here seeking their fortune but often fall prey to the city's disreputable elements. See also gleaners and the Black Paw.
Hoorooru: a great horned owl, Hoorooru was banished from the Fallows during the time of the First Ones, but his depredations are still feared. He is referred to as the Silent Death, and many mice believe that he is the father of all owls and their god. Some towns on the edges of the empire have offered sacrifices to placate him or even worshipped him outright, but this practice has been banned the cult suppressed. Many mice refer to any owl as Hoorooru, mistakenly believing that there is only one owl in the region.
The Imperial Palace: the huge stronghold of the White Lords. The original structure was built as a fortress of metal and stone to protect them from the Ka'ats, but later generations have expanded it into an ornate and barouque monstrosity. Each emperor has added at least one new room and often an entirely new wing. It extends for a great distance underground as well as on the surface.
Jumping Mouse: a species of intelligent mice who are not actually descended from the First Ones, but were granted intelligence by them. Jumping mice are somewhat rare and have not thrived like rats have, but they are still considered to be citizens of the empire.
Littermates: a common term for fraternal twins, siblings given birth to at the same time who aren't genetically identical. It's very common for children in the lower classes to have littermates (forsaken mothers have even been known to give birth to five or six children at a time) but it's rare among the upper classes. White mice generally only have one child at a time, with the occasional twins. The royal family hasn't had more than one child live from a single birth in generations.
Ka'at: huge and terrible monsters who once warred against the First Ones, Ka'ats are now believed to be extinct and none have been seen inside the Fallows for many generations. According to ancient texts, they were gigantic four-legged monsters that fought with tooth and claw and considered mice a more tasty meal than any other. Some of them are said to have possessed magical powers and been capable of speech, but the ancient texts vary on this point. The imperial throne is made from the skull of a Ka'at slain by the first emperor.
Mage: any mouse who has been trained to use magic, especially if they pursue it as a career.
Magic: all intelligent mice have some level of magical power inside of them. With sufficient training, they can learn to produce magical effects in their vicinity by exerting those energies externally.
Mouse: the term mouse is most correctly used to refer to actual mice, but since they dominate the Fallows in both numbers and political power, it is also commonly used as a general term for all of the intelligent rodents.
Priest: any mouse who is a member of the Church, instead of just a follower of it. Priests are no longer considered members of their own family, but are now part of the Church. They cannot inherit from their relatives, making the priesthood a good spot to send "unneeded" children from noble families. It keeps them from making trouble. Most priests are white mice.
Rat: the talking rats of the Fallows are not descendants of the First Ones, but were granted intelligence by them so that they could be used as slaves. They have a lot more freedom these days, but they are still generally an underclass in the Fallows.
Riding Beetles: any of several breeds of strong and oversized beetles that are bred as beasts of burden and mounts. They are raised in special farms from eggs and grubs and require several years to reach adulthood. The males have large and ornate horns and are favored as mounts by the upper classes, while the females are smaller, unornamented, and generally used as beasts of burden. Riding beetles are quite strong and almost tireless, but very stupid.
Scurrying: the act of dropping to all fours and running like a mindless feral mouse is known as scurrying. It's regarded as a disgraceful and shameful act, much like soiling oneself in public, but even highly ranked mice have been known to scurry when in mortal danger. Scurrying is much faster than running upright, but it's impossible to carry anything in your paws when you do so and wearing restrictive garments (especially armor) may make it impossible.
Shaping: magic can be used to sculpt metal, wood, stone or even living flesh into new forms. This process is known as Shaping. Lacking proper forges or any extensive knowledge of metallurgy, the mice of the Fallows depend on Shaping to mold raw or scrap metal into useful implements.
Shrew: a predator similar in appearance to a small mouse, shrews are known for their voracious appetites and their horrifying habit of making their lairs in the homes of mice that they have eaten. They vary in intelligence from mindless animals that run on all fours to intelligent but bestial savages who can walk upright and wield weapons. The mindless shrews are generally found alone, but the more intelligent variety often group themselves into gangs led by whichever shrew proves best at providing food for the entire group. Failed leaders are often cannibalized by their followers; shrews are always hungry. Some shrews actually have a poisonous bite.
Skzentic: the demonic lord of pests and parasites. Many ancient rituals (particularly Fleaman's Day) were originally intended to placate or ward off Skzentic and his children. Some particularly depraved cults have sprung up around the worship of this entity, but they have all been banned by the empire. There is a great deal of disagreement about Skzentic's appearance, with popular depictions being a great bloated toad, a huge, half-rotten fly and a huge, bloated tick with a hairless mouse's head.
Sssa: the Keeper of Secrets. Sssa is rumored to be a huge and highly intelligent serpent with magical powers. Banished from the Fallows by the First Ones, Sssa still lurks around its borders. Sssa likes to talk with travellers from hiding and often promises them magical aid if they will perform small, nonsensical tasks for him. He has a reputation for slowly and gradually leading his followers to commit greater and greater crimes on his behalf. His motivations for this are obscure and having voluntary dealings with the serpent is forbidden by law.
The Titans: a mysterious race of giants as tall as trees. They are mentioned only in the most ancient of surviving texts in the Church archives. The First Ones apparently considered themselves the children and slaves of the Titans. It's believed that they declared the forbidden lands to be such in order to make sure that no one disturbed these sleeping giants. The enormous structure visible beyond the forbidden lands is referred to as their Citadel.
Tzarchul: an extinct species that lived in the Fallows before the time of the First Ones. Little is known about them, but their ruins dot the countryside. Physically, it's believed that they resembled fat and tailless rats. Important Tzarchul had a habit of burying their wealth with themselves in hidden tombs protected by cunning traps.
Weasel: common term for any mustelid-like predator. These monsters have been responsible for the destruction of entire villages, but thankfully are quite rare. They are regarded as being so dangerous that whenever one is sighted, the imperial army is dispatched to kill it.
White Lord: any of the white mice who form the nobility of the Fallows. The White Lords are all descendants of the First Ones. The royals are particularly noted for their pink eyes and tendency towards albinism. All White Lords are believed to possess strong magical potential, even if they never learn to use it. The term can also be used to refer to the gods themselves, since they were the original White Lords.
White Mice: white fur is considered the mark of noble blood amongst mice and the upper classes are almost entirely white mice. Mice of other colors are generally considered commoners, although those with patches of white in their fur can at least claim to have some noble blood.
Wildland: a general term for the wild and lawless areas where the empire's control is negligible. Outlaws and bandits often hide in wildlands. Many small towns and villages that used to be considered part of the empire proper have gradually found themselves forced into independence as the empire's influence wanes and its size contracts.
Posted by Kiz at August 2, 2005 07:24 AMCommentsPost a comment