Decided to put together a little Glossary for miscellaneous terms that our characters might be familiar with. Will add more to this as the story progresses.

GLOSSARY:

LW: Lanostran War.

Virrika: A cheap liquor distilled from virrigo, one of the few plants that can grow in Varya.

Volska: A style of traditional Varyan folk music. Mostly rhythmic and bereft of melody. It is encouraged to yell along to the lyrics, which typically take the form of patriotic retellings of old Varyan war victories.

ISA/SA: Shorthand for Imperial Secular Army, or just Secular Army. It acts as the standing military of the Varyan empire. Comprisedd of non-Church soldiers who've received training in combat and ether manipulation. Mostly made up of conscripts.

The Faith: A term used by T'saraen science corps officers to refer to the Varyan church.

Clerics: Term used for non-military priests, those who wield considerable sway over scripture and government.

Gant: A mysterious plant that began circulating within the Magnagrad slums in recent years. It has potent healing properties, but when infused with other chemicals, it can be alchemized into a potent drug that can illicit psychological altering effects.

Gunlance: Traditional weapon wielded by Lanostran soldiers. Can fire a powerful concussive blast that can be damaging from medium-range.

Knight: Secular Lanostran soldiers who through lifelong training and extreme conditioning wield strength rivaling that of a Varyan inquisitor. Are typically equipped with magically-enchanted weapons and armor.

Divine Lance: An elite order of Lanostran Knights who were once the premier fighting force in all of Lanostre. Now serve Varya as one of the strongest fighting units in all the empire.

Veshi'maru, Vashi'mara: One of the few surviving phrases of the ancient Omestrian language. It translates to "Come in Darkness, Proceed in Light". In modern times the phrase has been adopted by Omestrian slaves as a signal, its runic form used to denote safe havens and places of safe passage. This phrase is taught by Omestrian slave parents to their young so that they might recognize its meaning if they ever attempted to escape.

Mar: The Omestrian word for "home".

Ashe'ran: The Omestrian word for "grandfather."

Varya vese, Varya enoth, Varya t'saris: A common adage in Varyan society, warning of the Ravenous Lord's omnipotence. Translates to "Varya sees. Varya hears. Varya knows."

@Scout

@Lovejoy Why is this not in one of the 0th posts where it will be useful? =P It's good, though. Interesting that only one letter changes coming to going and darkness to light.

Was T'sarae depicted as a male or a female?

Might wanna put the nature of Muradan wolves up there, too? Also the Rising, and Culmination. Perhaps the ...uh. T'saraen institute place...*forgot its name already*

@shylarahAdded this to the first post.

Yeah, it was supposed to be Veshi'maru, vashi'mara. Was a typo. I corrected it. :p

T'sarae is male.

As for the wolves, I think discussing the origin of the particular wolves that we encountered here would be a bit spoilery. They, or at least one of them, is special, since it appeared in Astraea's vision.

MUSE? I still need to figure what it is exactly. :p

@Lovejoy Orange eyes? dare I wonder if it's somehow got Omestrian-like ether? =P

I should post soon

@The Angry Goat YES. ALL THE POSTS. ALL THE SOON.

@ScoutOf course we are! It hasn't exactly ended and we can't just leave the scene like that :p

I'm still working on the response but, honestly, it's taking me a bit of time to narrow down exactly what Indira is going to say. I'll try to have it done by this weekend at the earliest.

It's all good, I see I missed a lot again... I was moving all weekend and getting internet set up, and just incredibly busy. Gotta play catch up. Apart from the visions (read), did I miss anything?

@The Angry Goat This is gonna be good.

@lovejoy hey, are Varyan nuns sworn to celibacy?

Alright! I'll finish writing up my post tomorrow now that I've got all that stuff handled. Sorry for dragging my feet!

@shylarahNo. There isn't any vow of celibacy in the Church. I think Varyan society being what it is, having kids would actually be encouraged.

@Lovejoy makes sense to me.

No point in denying them the hunger of desire

So... I'm all moved in but my internet won't be activated for nine fucking days. Obviously I'm pretty heated about it, sorry I won't have computer access until then. >:/

@Scout Can't you go to a public library or something?

I internet gremlined in my friend’s houses when i was waiting for my internet box to come, which is also an option

I would go to a library but it's far enough out of my way and I work a lot as is, hence the laptop, but I'll be mooching too, don't worry. Just not 24/7

((DEFINITELY DID NOT ALMOST FORGET))

Edit: 2+ hours later, and my masterwork* is complete!

*Not really masterwork, but I'm still fairly proud of it.

Also, I made a new slang term: pipeworks. It refers to the Omestrian slave facilities, but decidedly avoids mentioning people or having them hooked up to machines and tormented.

@Draken hmm~ Oren was from a ghetto, but from the sound of it, not an ether factory. Viveca was a nomad, but caught, and she /did/ end up in a factory, at least briefly. Wgich is the one mentioned in your post, I wonder..?