Colin Tabor - The Fall of Ossard

The departed souls of our loved ones’ journey to his dark and cold realm, but only to stay for a while. For again, in time, they are reborn into mortal forms.

Life and Death, though, have since become estranged.

Now Death seeks advantage. He works to win influence amongst their divine children, the gods, and their mortal children, the races of man. He wants to control the flow of souls, not just in his dark and chill realm of the dead, but also in the worlds of the living.

For souls are power.

Aespen Ocean – The wide ocean to the west of Dormetia.

Anja Vaugen – See Vaugen, Anja.

Ansilsae, The Plain of – A barren plain on the east coast of Velsana. The site where the prophecy of the same name was issued, ending the Battle of Ansilsae. That prophecy – or divine promise – ended a civil war that would have otherwise seen the destruction of the Lae Velsanan race. The prophecy promises that plain as the site of the Eternal Capital of the Lae Velsanans’ Fifth and Final Dominion.

Ansilsae Prophecy, The – Issued by the five gods of the Kinreda. It promises their followers, the Lae Velsanans, total and final rule over the world if they can discover and overcome the four failings of their race.

Atalia Cerraro – See Cerraro, Atalia

Avida – Another face of the Horned God or Terura. A god of greed, decadence, gluttony, and more. This is the Heletian name for that aspect.

Baden, Kurt – Juvela and Pedro’s Flet coach driver.

Baimiopia – The Holy City, capital of Greater Baimiopia, and the centre of the Church of Baimiopia.

Ba-Mora – Inquisitor Anton’s Ship, the lone vessel dispatched with his small force from the Black Fleet to Ossard. It is named after the lost capital of the Ogres, a mountain city said to be a wonder, but sacked by Saint Baimio during the Heletian-Ogre wars. The Ogres were the fourth race of man and called the city Bar Mor.

Baruna Discotti – See Discotti, Baruna.

Benefice Gian Vassini – The most senior churchman of the Church of Baimiopia in Ossard. He is comfortable and somewhat corrupt, and now heading towards his more mature years.

Black Fleet, The – The fleet of ships maintained by the Inquisition and used as their main means of travel for their various missions and regular rounds of the Heletian League states, as they hunt out heresy and the enemies of the Church of Baimiopia.

Burnings, The – The uprising that saw the Inquisition and its Black Fleet forced out of Ossard following excessive purging and spiritual policing by the Inquisition over two decades ago.

Burvois – The middling people of Burvoy, also the name of their language.

Burvoy – A kingdom of sun, fields, orchards, and the dark Caspas Forest, found at the south-eastern borders of the Heletian League.

Cabal, The – An organisation that spans the world and touches all races. It governs the use of heart magic by its practitioners. Much of its workings are subject to secrecy. It’s also engaged in the hunt for renegades – those users of heart magic who refuse to join its ranks.

Cabalists – Members of the Cabal (see above).

Calbaro, The – The main order of holy scholars found within the Church of Baimiopia.

Cassaro River, The – The river that passes through the city of Ossard.

Celestial, The – The realm of gods, spirits, souls, and raw magic. This astral place is invisible to most, but able to be slipped between (from the real world) by those who handle one of the three branches of magic.

Cerraro, Atalia – The dead and much loved wife of Marco Cerraro.

Cerraro, Marco – A Heletian follower of Juvela, and recently widowed.

Church of Baimiopia – The only legal faith in the lands of the Heletian League. The faith of Krienta (the creator) and his chosen son, Saint Baimio. The faith is centred in the most powerful Heletian state, Greater Baimiopia, in the holy city of Baimiopia.

Chronicle, The – A position held by a Lae Velsanan who records the history of his or her age. Currently held by Forwao, who resides in Yamere at the Core of Lae Wair-Rae. The record is a detailed account of the rise and fall of the first four promised dominions of the Ansilsae Prophecy. In the Chronicle’s library (the Library of Truth) an almost continuous record of Lae Velsanan history exists. Only one volume is missing – that which deals with the final days of the second dominion. The Chronicle is divinely inspired in sourcing his or her information. He or she is mortal, but receives whispered truths from the celestial.

Ciero, Mauricio – The most senior member of the Cabal in Ossard. He’s a reclusive Heletian, and lives in the city’s elevated and wealthy northern district.

Colonies, The – The eleven official colonies of the Lae Velsanans’ Fifth and Final Dominion, Lae Wair-Rae, which are scattered about Dormetia and to its east.

Communed, Celestially – To communicate soul-to-soul through celestial means. Requires powerful magic, or a god, or cell-mind to facilitate.

Core, The – The heartland of Lae Wair-Rae, the region found on the south-eastern part of the island of Wairanir. This is a land well developed and overcrowded, thus the need for colonies to both feed the Core, but also export its excess people to.

Counter Prayer – Magic that works to counter that previously cast, usually of equal power and the opposite effect.

Covenant, The – The divine agreement that sees the elevated gods of the celestial not meddle directly in mortal affairs. They may send blessings to their followers, or via their priests, but may not directly intervene in the mortal world. The Covenant hasn’t been breached for centuries. Such breaches are punished by massed actions agreed to by the remaining elevated gods.

Council of Merchant Princes – The grouping that governs Ossard through discussion and vote, and is drawn from the wealthiest families of the city-state. It is headed by the Lord of Ossard, Lord Liberigo.

Cycle of Life – The cycle the soul follows through birth and death, and on to rebirth (see appendix).

Death – An immortal figure, and original adversary to the goddess, Life, also her estranged lover.

Def Turtung – Also know as the Killing (to the Flets), or New Moons Night – Lae Lunis Pors – (to the Lae Velsanans).

The night that marked the beginning of the Fall of the Fourth Dominion of (Old) Wair-Rae. The Flets had spent centuries as an enslaved race in the Fourth Dominion, and eventually began to win (and buy) their freedom. Nonetheless, the dominion was still very much dependent on Flet labour (particularly in the fields of agriculture).

Def Turtung began in Yamere, a series of riots by the common people of the dominion against the Flets who’d gained their freedom through hard work and success. The disturbances spread and were openly encouraged by the forces of law. Eventually, what began as a spontaneous and popular expression of anger (and more than anything, jealousy and bigotry) became a sanctioned war against the Flets, forcing them to flee by sea.

Discotti, Baruna – The Heletian woman who comes to befriend Juvela, attracted by her sense of justice, compassion and hope.

Divine Focus – A place where the real world and the next world (the celestial) almost join, drawn together by bridges hosted by celestially aware individuals, or those anchored to artifacts or rituals.

Divine Mark – A brand that marks a soul, denoting the marking god’s interest in it. It is a sign to their followers to take some kind of action: Some marks are a sign for followers to challenge or kill the bearer, or for more complex marks, to offer aid. Marks can also be bestowed by gods upon their own followers to mark them for penance and shame.

Dominions, The – Of the Ansilsae Prophecy. There will be five. They are as follows: Quo Ungria, Kalraith, Jhae Dalin Cor, Old Wair-Rae, and Lae Wair-Rae.