Belledon

The largest and most influential kingdom in the middle of the continent. Also the name of the capital city of the kingdom. Founded on the Verras River, it is an economic powerhouse of agriculture and trade. Although friendly with most of the other kingdoms, it is in a cold war with Caribrass.

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Blackback

Small badger-like creature that lives in burrows. Eats insects, reptile eggs and the
mouse-like cloris.

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Blackwood

So named for its black color. Due to the Dullard Effect, fires cannot be made hot enough to smelt, forge or shape iron. The first settlers found a type of wood which contained a natural polymer that became durable and flexible when heated. Even better, it would hold an edge. Blackwood is used to make swords, knives and durable tools normally made of metal.  

 

Business half – Salty Tongue

Lower half of the human body, most especially the reproductive organs.

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Caribrass

Shares its southern border with Belledon. Historically a trader of weapons and conscripted warriors. Caribrass has fallen on hard times as the other kingdoms enjoy a long-lasting peace. The first settlement of The First, Landing Site, was originally within the borders of Caribrass until the Wizards’ War. 

 

Corpse hauler – Salty Tongue

Deathtaker or undertaker.

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Cowl hawk 

Larger cousins of the lizbirds that hunt small rodent-like creatures.

 

Crystal snail or snail

Large vegetarian land mollusks. Used as beasts of burden and for their meat. Their decorative shells can be carved to accommodate a saddle for riding. Expensive to raise as the crystal snails take many years to mature. They move by vibrating their large stomach foot. This vibration gives them a humming sound as they move.

 

Deathtaker 

Professionals who collect the dead and prepare them for burial or cremation. They also transport the dead to graveyards and act as witnesses for the final interment. The highest rank of deathtaker is known as deathmaster.

 

Deathtaker’s Curse or Killing Curse

A superstitious belief that deathtakers carry a curse with them that can rub off on other people. Many believe if someone touches a deathtaker they might die from the curse or “Catch Death” much like a disease. Deathtakers and gravediggers are apparently immune to the curse.

 

Dragon 

Large-winged fire-breathing carnivorous reptile discovered by The First. Used as a food source to the point of extinction by the early settlers. Some believe there may still be dragons in the unexplored areas of Smithland or on the other continents.

 

Daniel Dullard 

One of the more famous of The First. Scientist and friend to John Masterson. Sometimes known as the “Second of The First.” 

 

Dullard

A stupid person. Can’t figure things out.

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Dullard Effect

Named after the discoverer of the effect, Daniel Dullard, who never found a way to counteract it. An energy draining field that encompasses the entire world. It limits the amount of energy that may be achieved through any reaction. It prevents the use of explosives, high temperatures and many chemical reactions. Fires cannot be created hot enough to smelt iron. Society depends on lower melting metals and blackwood for their durable goods.

 

The First

The 350 original surviving colonists from the space ark Manifest Destiny. All the people living on the planet are descendants of these few survivors.

 

Geller

Large, lumbering vegetarian reptile. Used for its meat and its durable hide. 

 

Grand Wizard 

Leader of the modern Wizards and master of the Wizards’ Keep.

 

Keepers or Stone Giants

Eight-foot-tall, roughly man-shaped, sentient machines created by the long dead race called the Tezen. Not affected by the Dullard Effect. They were controlled by the Gray Wizards during the Wizards’ War. Just before the end of the war, most of the Keepers wandered off into the wilderness and are seldom seen.

 

Gray Wizards – Wizards’ War 

Scholars and scientists studying the Tezen thought that since they were more intelligent than most of the population, they should rule all of the kingdoms. With the help of the Stone Giants and the Kingdom of Caribrass, the Gray Wizards used Tezen technology in an attempt to subjugate all of the kingdoms. The war ended after they were defeated at the Battle of the Keep. Most of the Gray Wizards were executed afterward. 

 

Green Wizard – Wizards’ War

A wizard who uses his intelligence and the spirits of nature to help mankind. Progenitors of the modern wizards who use a combination of natural forces and technology. Many believe that the wizards use magic, but it is actually just their influence over the spirits. 

 

The Histories 

The record of history since The First landed on the planet. Each kingdom has its own politically distinct version of the Histories.

 

John Masterson 

The first of The First. Masterson was the first elected leader of the survivors from the Manifest Destiny. He is considered the father of human society on the planet. Three years after humans arrived on the planet, he was found dead with his back slashed open. The cause of his death was never solved. To preserve his DNA, a finger was put in the only remaining functional stasis unit. It was hoped that someday future generations would be able to clone Masterson and add his genes back to the gene pool. Later, he was considered the saint of a religious sect called the Church of John Masterson. Legends say the church was responsible for the desecration of Masterson’s original grave at Landing Site. Masterson’s body was stolen and hidden somewhere else in Belledon. The last supposed resting place for his remains was in the town of Plymouth, but his body was stolen from
there as well. 

 

Kingdoms or The Five Kingdoms 

There are five kingdoms on the planet Terra on two of the northern continents: Caribrass (North), Belledon (West), Northland on a small island-continent (Northwest), Scarsdale (East) and Smithland (South). Each kingdom has its own unique form of government.

 

King Spallimar or Spallimar the Great

King of Belledon during the Wizards’ War and considered one of history’s most significant individuals besides John Masterson. He led the combined armies of the allied kingdoms and the Green Wizards to triumph over the Gray Wizards. 

 

Krell

Aged alcoholic beverage made from hybrid sweet potatoes that can be grown anywhere on the continent. It is amber in color and is known for its sweet, peppery flavor. The alcohol content of krell depends on the production process and local tastes. Black Krell, a by-product of krell distillation, is the dark syrup remaining at the bottom of distillation tanks and has an additional narcotic and sometimes hallucinogenic effect.

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Leviathan 

Various large aquatic creatures the size of islands that are known to eat seafaring ships whole. Not much is known about them because everyone who has tried to study them has been eaten. The existence of the leviathans has prevented the exploration of the three other continents because the leviathans often skim the surface while hunting. Trade between Northland and the other kingdoms is done by sailing ships between the shallows around the needle islands or close to shore where the water is too shallow for the leviathans to swim.

 

Lizbird 

Small bird-like reptiles that live in most climates. They are mostly egg-laying insectivores, but there are a few fruit- and nut-eating species.

 

Left-handed jig – Salty Tongue 

An insult.

 

Manifest Destiny

The huge space ark that brought mankind to the planet Terra. Although the ark had many thousands of people on board, only 350 escaped before the ship sank into the ocean. All attempts at finding the ship have failed. It is believed that the ship might someday be found at the bottom of the ocean and the people revived from their stasis sleep.

 

Master or Craftmaster 

Highest-ranking members of each guild. The term “master” may appear before or after the named profession. Examples: silvermaster, weavermaster, deathmaster, mastercarpenter.

 

Mestinal

Green liquid disinfectant and painkiller made from the weed-like mestin plant. Can be used topically or ingested but has an unpleasant taste. Mestinal can be dried and made into tablets.

 

Northland

Northwest of Belledon across the ocean following the uninhabited needle islands near Terra’s polar region. During the winter, Northland is nearly inaccessible. During warmer weather, the kingdom engages in its chief export of ice to the lower kingdoms. Other exports include leathers and furs. Northland’s government consists of five ruling families spread through the continent and has a tribe-like culture. People from Northland often have darker skin and are often referred to being bark-skinned ruffians. 

 

Oracle or seer

An individual who can see possible futures.

 

Peeler – Salty Tongue

A mate on a ship who is forced to work in the kitchen as punishment.

 

Peg-legged Whistler – Salty Tongue

An optimist.

 

Salty Tongue

A dialect spoken mostly by sailors that depends heavily on simile and metaphor. Speakers of the dialect are often thought of as poorly educated. The origins of the dialect supposedly come from seafaring adventure novels from earth that featured pirates.

 

Scale Lions

Large long-legged reptilian carnivores. 

 

Scarsdale

Scarsdale is the kingdom the farthest to the East on the continent. 

 

Squeeze

Type of nutritious juice squeezed from various fruits and berries that have inedible flesh. Exception: Orange squeeze and apple squeeze. It is often fermented and made into an alcoholic beverage known as hard squeeze.

 

Sliver-assed – Salty Tongue

Lazy. Sitting on a wooden bench collecting slivers in your hind quarters.

 

Smithland 

Smithland is the kingdom farthest south on the continent and crosses the planet’s equator in its most southern regions. Of all the kingdoms, it is the one least explored. It has both jungles and deserts, so most the interior is uninhabited. Most of the inhabited areas are around the shores of the continent. Founded by Prometheus Jacarian Smith and his relations 300 years after the founding of Landing Site. Most of the inhabitants have a direct genetic link to the founder, so it is well known that Smithland is full of Smiths. Within Smithland, many Smiths go by their secondary names, while only the few Smiths in the royal family retain the true last name of Smith. Blacksmiths in Smithland are known as metalists or metalmasters so as to avoid confusion. Smithland is one of the few places on the planet where oranges can grow. 

 

Spirits 

Spirits of nature. Intelligent but mysterious. There are spirits of wind (wisps, clouds) fire (sprites) water and ice (nymphs). There are various other spirits of health, ones that collect particles and spirits of time. The Green Wizards speak to the spirits, and they act on
their behalf.

 

Stevenson– Salty Tongue 

A man good with words. As in Robert Louis Stevenson. Eloquently able to speak
Salty Tongue.

 

Terra

The name of the planet. It has five continents but only two of the northern continents have been explored and inhabited. The rest of the planet is covered by deep waters where leviathans hunt.

 

Tezen

An alien race that lived on the planet before The First arrived. They created the technology and the Keepers (Stone Giants) who were used later by the Gray Wizards in their plans of conquest. Why the Tezen did not survive on the planet is unknown. There is only one remaining intact Tezen building, which the wizards use to house their archive. They left no written language but did leave a large number of artifacts and tools, which show them as a more technologically advanced race than humans. It is unknown what the Tezen may have looked like but since the Keepers are roughly human shaped, it is thought that the Tezen were also roughly the same four-limbed, bipedal configurations as humans.

 

Wax King

A wax construct created by the Green Wizards to impersonate Good King Spallimar during the Wizards’ War. The plot failed and the Histories say he was melted down to make candles for the King’s Library in Belledon. Country folk believe that the spirit of the Wax King still wanders the lands in search of naughty children. Supposedly, he kidnaps these children and renders them down in a big black kettle to make tallow candles for his dinner.

 

Wind Snuffer – Salty Tongue

Someone who is always butting into other people’s private affairs. 

 

Wizards’ Keep

The home of the wizards located in western Belledon. Previously both the home of the former race called the Tezen and the stronghold used by the Gray Wizards to attack the rest of the kingdoms. 

 

Wizards’ War

Period where the Gray Wizards took control of the Stone Giants (Keepers) and Tezen technology. With the help of the Kingdom of Caribrass, they tried to subjugate all the other kingdoms. They were thwarted by the combined efforts of allied kingdoms and the Green Wizards under the leadership of King Spallimar. The war ended after the Gray Wizards were defeated at the Battle of the Keep. Afterward, there was a general mistrust of the technology and many of the technological devices were destroyed and most of the Gray Wizards executed. Because of Caribrass’ support of the Gray Wizards, the lands between Belledon and the sea were annexed into Belledon. This included Landing Site, the first settlement of The First.