Acharya: Master, guru.
Alta: A red dye used to paint the edges of a woman’s feet during some religious ceremonies.
Angithi: A brazier made from a clay-lined container in which coals or other fuels are placed.
Antavasin: Pupil, student.
Arx Ciceronis: A large, walled fortress on Godtown’s west end. Home of the city’s more well-to-do Elysian expatriates.
Drug Doll: Slang, a disparaging term for a HYBRID.
Elysian Empire: A resurrected Roman Empire ruling approximately half the globe. The Elysian Empire formed out of the Holy League following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto, but did not attain worldwide significance until the late eighteenth century.
Heaven Seed: A potent entheogen produced in a gland attached to the visual cortex of a HYBRID.
Hybrid: One who is half human and half MARJARA. Hybrids are always female and have a maximum lifespan of approximately sixteen years. Frequently installed in temples as KUMARIS.
Kumari: Literally, “virgin.” A polite form of address for an unmarried girl or woman, equivalent to “Miss” in English. Alternatively, a HYBRID installed in a temple as a living goddess. Alternatively, a specific goddess, Kanya Kumari.
Lakh: A hundred thousand.
Marjara: Earth’s second sapient race besides the human. Unlike a human, who has an “invisible caste,” a marjara has distinct physical traits determined by his VARNA and JATI.
Paan: a stimulant created from a combination of betel leaf and areca nut. Produces a characteristic orange stain in the mouth.
Pishacha: A shapeshifting demon that haunts cremation grounds and feeds on the living.
Runearmor: An armor suit created with RUNETECH. Its operator must be temporarily dead in order to communicate with the unclean spirits trapped in the suit’s runes.
Sammohana: The power of a HYBRID to deliver mystical visions via her eyes.
Seed Sucker: Slang, a criminal who extracts HEAVEN SEED from HYBRIDS.
Skull-bit: A drill used to penetrate the back of a HYBRID’s skull to reach her HEAVEN SEED gland.
Tuaoi Stone: A magical crystal. Tuaoi Stones are found primarily in the Vindhya Mountains west of Godtown. They are vital in both YOGA and RUNETECH.
Varna: “Color.” The varnas are the four major caste groupings into which marjaras and humans traditionally fall: BRAHMIN, KSHATRIYA, VAISHYA, or SUDRA. The corresponding colors are white, red, yellow, and black, respectively.
