Kemet — Although Greece and Rome’s term for the Two Lands has become widespread, ‘Egypt’ is known as Kemet by its native people.
Lamhythe — In our world, Lambeth, London.
Lutèce — The city which in our world became Paris. Capital of France, and base of the Cour d’lune.
Parana — South America.
Retwold School — A boarding school south of Caerlleon.
River Tamesas — Means “Dark River”.[3]
Rutherford University — Premier University located in London.
Salinae — Site of a plaza with a famous mosaic of the Wind’s Dog.[4]
Sheerside House — The Nomal House belonging to the Southern Nomarch.
Sonning — Area west of London. Location of Tangleways School and (Windsor) Forest.[5]
Stomruria — North America. So-named by Norse traders after an early encounter with animikii (Thunderbird)—one of Stomruria’s Great Alliance gods.
Tangleways School — Located in Sonning, west of London.
Thebes — Thebes is the capital of Egypt, and is located on both the east and west bank of the Nile. Our area known as the Valley of the Kings is the temple district of Thebes.
Towers of the Moon — Crossing the Seine in Lutèce, there is a tower for each of the Houses of the Cour d’lune. The give Great Towers, and numerous smaller towers, are one of the architectural wonders of the world, and not possible through human construction.
Wabanaki — A sprawling nation of north-east Stomruria, with allegiance to Gitche Manitou.
White Hill — Site of one of the city’s major groves.[6]
White Pyramid — One of London’s three major pyramids.
Yue — One of the kingdoms of Huaxia. Known as the Veiled Kingdom, it is surrounded by an impassable barrier of pearly light, and is ruled by dragons. They are said to control the rain and rivers not only in Yue, but for much of the region. No-one can cross the barrier, and the people of Yue maintain a city outside their borders for trade.
Zanzar — A kingdom on the eastern coast of Africa (centres around Tanzania).
IN WORLD MYTHOS
Ah-ah — An elder triskelion. All black.[7]
Akh — The third life of an Egyptian. After life ends in the physical world, the Egyptian soul becomes a ba, dwelling in their preserved body to gather strength (ka) enough to journey onward. When the ba has sufficient ka (or is ‘reunited’ with their ka) they travel onward as akh.
Allegiance — Allegiance is a link between a god and a human, usually a claim on a human soul in exchange for godly favours.
There are four common types of allegiance: born, territorial, bestowed, taken.
Amasen — Ram-horned snakes sacred to Cernunnos.
Amon-Re — Egyptian god of the Air and the Sun.
Annwn — The Prytennian Otherworld is a series of islands in a vast underground sea. The first of these islands, Annwn, is ruled by Arawn. Prytennian souls seek out wells, pools and rivers to travel here after they’ve freed themselves from their bodies. It is possible to get lost on the way, but Arawn himself will seek out stragglers.
Answered — When a god responds to a human, they Answer. There are many debates as to whether gods Answered through all of human history, but only sporadically, or if something triggered the waves of Answering that began with the First Wave (the Egyptians, the Yue Dragons, and Bison), the Second Wave (numerous, including Roman Jupiter, the Aesir, Thunderbird) and the Third Wave (the majority of other Answered gods, occurring within a few centuries of the Second Wave).
Arawn — King of Annwn, where Prytennia’s newly dead go. Although they may stay in Annwn for many years, most eventually move on to seek other islands of the afterlife.
Arawn’s Tears — Water blessed by the priests of Arawn. It becomes a liquid that melts only dead flesh, and leaves clean bones. The liquid is used on crops. The bones are separated and interred in barrows.
Athian — The Dragon of the South.
Ba — The soul of an Egyptian after death takes on the form of a bird with a human face. Ba live within their preserved bodies, and gather strength to either travel on to the Egyptian Otherworld (the Field of Rushes), or attempt to reach the heavens and become a star. When the ba has gathered enough strength (ka), it becomes an akh, and travels onward.
Bestowed allegiance — Bestowed allegiance is a direct link between a god and a human. This can be achieved through certain observances, trials, or increasing affinity (personal links to the god’s area of duty). If bestowed allegiance is achieved, then after death that person’s soul will belong to that god, and if it is possible to reach it from the location of death, will travel to that god’s Otherworld no matter what the territorial allegiance they might be subject to. Particularly favoured humans will be ‘god-touched’ by a bestowed allegiance, taking on some of the powers and aspects of the god.
Bison — One of the oldest gods who answered. One of Stomruria’s Great Alliance gods.[8]
Born allegiance — Born allegiance is usually a result of having a god (or, more usually, a demi-god) as a parent. Examples of born allegiance are the cour d’lune, where a child of a member of the court will develop wings on puberty, and will be unable to remained in the human world during the daytime. Children of the court cannot form allegiances with other gods.
Cernunnos — The horned god of the forest and fertility, of the hunt and the hunted. Attended by ram-horned snakes known as amasen, he can take the form of a stag or a man with antlers. The antlers are hung with the torcs of royalty.
Cour d’lune — The Court of the Moon. France was not so much ‘Answered’ by one of their gods as invaded by Faerie. The Court can only exist in the human world at night, and so France’s government is divided into the Court of the Sun and the Court of the Moon, with the Court of the Moon holding primacy.
The Cour d’lune is divided into four major competing Houses, a number of smaller Houses, and one House of Balance. Membership in a House is dependent on the colour of the wings. The attitude of the Cour d’lune toward humans depends very much on which House is currently ascendant.
Cŵn Annwn — The Hounds of Annwn seek out souls in Arawn’s territory that have not made their way to Annwn.
8
Bison is a god of many names, covering the myriad regions where he has influence. ‘Bison’ is the name commonly used by non-Stomrurians.