Glossary

After World: Souls go to this Realm after death. The Gate of Twilight connects the Living World with the After World. Nobody truly knows what awaits them in the After World. There are beliefs about it though. However, we do know that the After World does exist. Fern Quickstream caused the Gate of Twilight to be shut. Souls returned to their bodies and the Demon Plague began. We know that souls must go to the After World to prevent demonic horrors here in the Living World.

The Weaverism belief is that our souls go to the After World to be judged by the Weaver and the Spinner. If they find that you lived well and were a good person, then you will be woven into the Tapestry of Heaven, freed from the cycle of rebirth. Within the Tapestry of Heaven, you will have your reward: your most ideal life where all things are perfect.

Animistic Property: A term from the practice of magic. It refers to the fact that everything has its own spirit, or energy.

Appledrake Usurpation: Queen Twilight Appledrake lost her throne during the civil war begun by her barons on 1752-05-13. She escaped with her life, but her reign was over.

Aspects of Worship: A Weaverism term for their gods. It refers to the entities that are to be worshiped: The Spinner, Weaver and their Children.

Bad Lucks: Spirits that cause bad luck. Appease them to keep their influence away. Placing a wreath on your door will prevent them from entering your house.

Bastion of Behavioral Authority: An office where a local branch of the Behavioral Authority works. The bureaucratic work happens here, along with officers and detectives that enforce the laws. There are prison cells inside as well.

Behavioral Authority: A branch of the Willowfen Government of Reform. They are tasked with ensuring that the populace adheres to the strict religious doctrine required by the theocrats ruling the country. After the World Woe and Undead Plague had ended, the BA’s mandate was extended to enforcing all of the laws, not just religious adherence.

Bloody Decade, The: A war that lasted from 1741-02-15 until 1751-09-28. All of the Icebrunt Clans warred for supremacy, seeking to rule all of Linomnount. The Second Bloody Decade took place during the Icebrunt civil war after the Appledrake Usurpation.

Caravans: Groups of wagons that travel together across Icebrunt during the Span of Ruin. The people of a caravan are a horde. Unlike other hordes, they do not have a permanent home.

Catacombs: Places carved into the ground to house the dead. It is very cold in the northern parts of Linomnount. Cremation is not a good option. Not a lot of trees grow there. Oil from fishing is not plentiful enough to be used in this way. Digging individual graves is also impractical due to the ground being frozen. The Elder People created catacombs to house their dead. Modern people continue to use them. They expand the catacombs as needed. This is possible since the ground is not frozen this deeply.

Charm: See Talisman

Circle of Constraint: A magical technique that constrains a spirit that has been summoned so that they cannot interact with the Living World.

Coastend Whiskey: Whiskey distilled in the village of Coastend. It is arguably the best whiskey made anywhere on Linomnount.

Commoners: A type of magic user. Their magic is Natural and/or Passive.

Confines: A barrier that separates all of the Realms.

Dark Winter Army: The Icebrunt army led by Queen Twilight Appledrake during the Bloody Decade.

Darkling Fomenter: Mysterious entities mentioned in the Hammer of Souls Tablet.

Darkling Knife: Weapons wielded by Darkling Fomenters. The souls of People slain with a Darkling Knife were absorbed into the knife. The Darklings would perform a ritual to feed the souls from their knives to the Lord of Terror. Souls lost this way were separated from the World Machinery. They would never be reborn or earn their rest in the Tapestry of Heaven.

Demon: A demon is a person that has died, but their soul has returned to their body, bringing them back to life. But they are not the same person. They have evil tendencies now.

Demon Plague: An event wherein the souls of the recently deceased returned to their bodies. They awoke from their deaths as demons. Demons would kill their friends and neighbors, who would then wake from their deaths and then attack anyone nearby. It was an uncontrollable cycle of death that increased on its own with each new victim. The Demon Plague was inadvertantly caused by Fern Quickstream. It was brought to an end by Billet Stormstone and Vilerend Skymarch.

Drawing Magic: A type of magic used by witches and wizards. Glyphs are drawn in the Realm of Power. Sigils are drawn in the Living World. This causes a spell effect.

Eaglebeard Warband: A mercenary group operating in Willowfen in the Span of Undoing. During the mass unemployment of the Undead Plague, they recruited numerous people to fight the undead for payment from local governments. They were good at training their recruits and quickly grew into a small army. They contract out small groups from the Warband to take care of small jobs.

Elder People: A term used by the Learned Scholars of Icebrunt that refers to any people that lived prior to the Span of Ruin.

Faints: Spirits that can be bribed to bring good fortune.

Fate: The commonly held belief that the gods assign tasks to all people. Everyone is born to achieve the completion of these tasks. People have free will. They can do what they want. They can do good and be rewarded in the After World. They can do wrong and be reborn to the Living World. Regardless of their choices in life, their Fate will be accomplished. Fate is outside of free will.

Final Rite: A Weaverism ritual performed when a person’s body is interred in a catacomb or tomb.

Finders: People employed to travel the land and explore. Their job is to locate items for their employers. Potion makers employ finders to gather ingredients from perilous places. The Learned Scholars of Icebrunt employ finders to locate artifacts left from the Elder People.

First Meal: The first meal eaten by humans, served by the Children immediately after their creation. It is a holiday celebrated throughout the history of Weaverism.

Fleagrass Tablets, The: Two tablets found by Grub Cloudburst near Fleagrass in 1914. They tell of the Lich Typhoon Mistridge’s crimes and why he was imprisoned.

Forts: Several buildings enclosed within a stone wall or palisade. A fort is tasked with housing soldiers that guard and patrol a certain region.

Gate of Twilight: A metaphysical gate separating the Living World from the After World.

Ghost Bells: An Icebrunt custom where a bell is used to send ghosts to the After World. It is believed that after death, a person’s ghost is free to wander the world. Eventually, they will be ready to move on to the After World. Some ghosts come back to their bodies and linger nearby. They are possibly confused about what is happening. People are employed to visit catacombs every day and ring a bell near every decedent. This sends ghosts away from the bodies so that they can seek the Gate of Twilight that will lead them to the After World.

Glyph: An aspect of drawing magic.

Hammer of Souls: A magic item that can free Soul Slicer from the magic chains binding him.

Hammer of Souls Tablet: Found by Vilerend and Billet in Wailing Village. It is an ancient clay tablet that describes how to make a Hammer of Souls.

Hearkening is a traditional, celebratory gesture that people perform to commemorate an event or person. It is performed on holidays, or the anniversary of the person/event that they are hearkening. The ritual is simple. You fill a cup with your drink of choice. Raise the glass, say, “Hearken the NAME OF EVENT!” and take a sip of your drink. As the feasting and celebrations continue throughout the day, people often yell out the same phrase. Everyone in earshot then repeats it and takes a sip. Hearkenings are included in The Weaver's Codex. They include a brief tale explaining the situation, followed by the phrase to be said.

Hexes: Curses are assigned to people by the gods as part of their Fates. Hexes are arcane problems that get attached to people, evil items that hurt them, but they can’t get rid of. Bad luck. Unnatural health issues.

Holy Embroidery: A spiritual regimen that helps you to live properly. A practice of Weaverism.

Hordes of Icebrunt: Groups of people living together in a village or nomadic caravan. They work and raid together in peace and war.

Humans: Humans are the most industrious creatures alive. They are not necessarily the smartest, but they have the means to form societies, build, innovate and create agriculture. Humans are the only creatures that have harnessed the powers of magic. The most significant thing that separates them from every other creature is the fact that they are assigned Fates by the gods.

Key Sphere: An object taken from the After World by Fern Quickstream to seal the Gate of Twilight and end death.

Keygrams: A Keygram is a spell that consists of several Keys for more power, or to cover more uses.

Keys: Poetry or text that is used for spellcasting. They can be combined into Keygrams.

Learned Giant: A metal statue in Twigstar created during the Span of Might. It had been used to Rend the Confines. A piece of metal from the statue was needed to create the Hammer of Souls.

Learned Scholars of Icebrunt: A group that studies the Elder People.

Lich: A wielder of magic that has lost their soul. They are not alive, but still have full use of their minds. Liches can do no good. Since they no longer have souls, their actions are not guided by Fate. Any good deed inevitably brings about evil.

Life Thread: The spiritual representation of your life.

Living Tomes: Since the beginning of time, people have kept records. They have recorded the lives and deaths of their friends and families. These records were first kept on clay tablets. Later, the records were written on paper and collected into books. Temples have been the repositories for these Tomes for as long as there have been temples. Even the nomads of Icebrunt have kept their Tomes. People report their deeds every year, unless they have accomplished something special. This tradition is ingrained in every inhabitant of Linomnount.

Living World: The Realm within which all people, plants and animals live.

Long Halls of Willowfen: Each village is governed from a building called a Long Hall. The name hearkens back to older times where the leaders of villages built themselves long buildings to govern from. Contemporary long halls are whatever size and shape is needed at the time of construction.

Lore Crow Order: A group founded to maintain shared knowledge after an Apocalypse.

Mage: A person that practices Magery.

Magery: The magical art of summoning spirits.

Magic: The art and science of manipulating phenomena to cause change in noumenal Realms that bring about results in the Living World.

Magic Mirror: ​​A tool used in the summoning of spirits.

Magic Weapons: The wand and dagger used in drawing magic. The dagger is used to draw a glyph. The blade pierces through the Confines and into the Realm of Power. The wand is used to draw the sigil in the Living World.

Marriage in Icebrunt: Marriage between two partners binds them together in the eyes of the Children and the eyes of the law. Marriage is predominantly a symbolic ritual of devotion. The most important legal use of marriage is to assign ownership of property to both spouses. Should one spouse die, the other spouse retains ownership of their property. The marriage ceremony is handled by a record keeper. Hordes usually have a person responsible for maintaining various records, including deeds, laws, Living Tomes, marriages, etc. This person may do it professionally or recreationally (some people are history buffs, after all). The record keeper is the officiant. However, a different person may be the one to say the words and conduct the ritual. This person is often the ruler of the horde, or a person very special to the couple.

Memorial Garden: Every major settlement in Brighthawk has a memorial garden. There are statues of Billet Stormstone, Vilerend Skymarch, Timber Treekiller, Isle Brightwing and Copper Icehawk. There are also plaques telling of their deeds.

Natural Magic: There are magical processes built into the World Machinery that can be activated by anyone with the knowledge of how to do it.

Noble Endeavor: Prior to the Apocalypse that ended the Span of Ruin, giants appeared in Icebrunt. They walked around, destroying anything in their path. Whole villages were destroyed with a single footstep. The giants eventually spread out of Icebrunt. The other nations thought that they were an Icebrunt weapon. So they gathered their armies together and invaded Icebrunt from Latewich. They called this army the Noble Endeavor. They conquered the southern area first. As they moved to the northeast, they fought the Stormcraft Cult. These wizards utterly decimated the army. At that moment, the Lord of Terror appeared in the Living World and the Apocalypse began. Any survivors were then lost.

Noble Endeavor Memorial: Every city in Willowfen has a memorial park dedicated to the soldiers that lost their lives serving in the Noble Endeavor. In 1929, all countries of Linomnount mobilized in a misguided effort to invade Icebrunt. They wrongly thought that Icebrunt had conjured giants and sent them to destroy their neighbors. Sadly, Icebrunt was merely the first casualty of the giants. The army that invaded was utterly wiped out by the Stormcraft Cult. The modern villages and other settlements do not have a memorial. These places were founded after the Noble Endeavor and as such, none of their citizens served in the Endeavor.

Nomads: Homeless hordes of Icebrunt that wandered the land with their wagon caravans.

Offerings: Items that are sacrificed to the gods, Bad Lucks or Faints.

Oil of Hellsight: An oil that, when applied to the forehead, allows one to see invisible Darkling Fomenters.

Operations: The name given to feats of magic performed by Wizards.

Passive Magic: Magic that operates with no actions required by the user. Usually talismans or charms.

Peace of the Clans: A treaty signed by all of the Icebrunt Clans on 1751-09-28. The treaty ended the Bloody Decade and solidified national borders on Linomnount.

People, The: The collective name, given by the Children, for all humankind.

Primordial Mandate: The rite of worship taught to the First People. They were instructed to perform the ritual daily in order to receive the blessings of The Children. Failure to perform the rite would bring ill fortune upon you and your household.

Prophecy: A prophecy is an object or text that the gods have inserted into the world. Usually, it is someone’s Fate to create the item. A prophecy is created so that someday it will be found and used by the person that needs it.

Raiding: A tradition in Icebrunt where resources are stolen from villages and caravans. An unwritten rule is to only kill combatants and never destroy property. Only take what you need, though this taking is still violent.

Realm: Different planes of reality, including the Living World, After World, Realm of Spirits and more.

Realm of Power: A plane of reality that supplies power to magical operations and spells.

Realm of Spirit: A plane of reality wherein spiritual intelligences reside.

Realm of Terrors: A plane of reality wherein Bad Lucks reside.

Realm of Time: A plane of reality that provides the passage of time in the Living World.

Rebirth: The dead souls not suitable for the Tapestry of Heaven are reborn into the Living World.

Rite of Mandate: A set of prayers, offerings and supplications performed as part of Weaverism.

Sacral Edge: A sacred knife used in the performance of the Rite of Mandate.

Second Bloody Decade, The: See Bloody Decade, The

Shrine: A holy place in one’s home to perform the Rite of Mandate.

Sigil: An aspect of drawing magic.

Sorcerer: Mentioned in the Lore Crow Introduction to Magic.

Soul: It is the infinite part of you that lives on after death.

Soul Hammer: See Hammer of Souls.

Soul Hammer Tablet: See Hammer of Souls.

Spells: The name given to feats of magic performed by Witches.

Stormcraft Cult: A group of wizards led by Fern Quickstream, hailing from Stormcraft Village. They aided Fern in her quest to end death. They are fighting against those seeking to restore death.

Stronghold: A single, large stone structure, tasked with housing soldiers that guard and patrol a certain region.

Supernal Realm: The plane of existence wherein the gods reside.

Talisman: An object enchanted with Natural Magic. Carry it with you to receive its effect.

Tapestry of Heaven: When you have lived your life in such a way that your thread of life is unsnarled at the time of death, the Weaver adds your thread to the Tapestry of Heaven. Here you have eternal life where all things are perfect.

Terrors: Monsters from the Realm of Terrors.

Threads of Life: See Life Thread.

Vertices of Perception: Parts of the World Machinery that allow objects/people to be seen. Darkling Fomenters are able to glide between these Vertices to effectively become invisible.

Warlords of Icebrunt: See the Appledrake Usurpation.

Weaverism: The predominant religion on Linomnount.

Weaver's Codex, The: A part of the Spinner’s Writ holy book that contains prayers.

Witch: Practitioner of drawing magic. Their magic is very individual and has evolved over time from teacher to student.

Wizard: Practitioner of drawing magic. Their magic is sourced from time tested, historical records. Adherence to tradition is paramount.

Wolves of the Children: These wolves are larger than natural wolves. They come from the Supernal Realm at the behest of the Children of the Gods. The Children summon them to punish and murder the People that displease them.

World Machinery: Hidden arcane parts of the Living World that can be activated with certain actions to cause prescribed effects.

World Woe: A name given to the Apocalypse that ended the Span of Ruin by those that survived it.

Worldknot: The name of the world, according to practitioners of Weaverism. The people that have not worked to unsnarl their Life Threads have caused the world to become knotted.

Wreaths: Branches formed into circles and hung on doors to keep Bad Lucks out of the house.