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Affinite: (compare to affinity) Any being with an affinity for magic, or the ability to draw upon Rhún, the divine source of all power between the Nine Realms. Beings with such affinities are called "affinites," and humans or elves of such may be called "mages."

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Aranor Elondris: The Divine Republic presently consisting of twenty realms.

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Bael: (see Realm Breaker) The greatest of all the ancient Realm-Breakers, the titan world-cleavers that broke three of the Realms, or worlds above Midgaard, the Realm of Men. They appear deceptively like dragons, but no dragon would call them kin. They are only ever burnished black in color; depending on the strike of light, their wings and scales flare like living embers. 

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The Bael were the mightiest known species in the universe, with wingspans as large as eight hundred paces across. They were extremely cruel and spiteful. Their ability to mind-control led them to toy with elves tempted to try to ride them. Emperor Baelaeryx, the greatest of them, trapped the minds of any would-be rider that approached him, torturing them for a number of days, before crushing them completely. 

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One thousand years ago, Baelaeryx led the Realm-Breakers to begin the most epochal divine war in history, the Breaking of the Realms. They broke the veilings of Atallgaard, their home world, and destroyed all the lower Realms to Midgaard, causing the surviving elves, dwarves, and dragons to fall out of their home worlds and into the Realm of Men. Vaeritas, the Prince of Light, and his seraphs narrowly defeated Baelaeryx, who would become known as the Great Scourge, and exterminated the Bael race... or so it appeared. (See "The Breaking of the Realms.")

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Betrayer, The: The instigator of the War of Treason, the bloodiest continental war fought in all Elondrian history. Little is known about the Betrayer other than that he was a rogue human mage with extraordinary elemental powers sufficient to kill dragons. During the war, he and his followers destroyed countless realms. Ultimately, he failed to conquer the elves, and was forced to retreat to Calendria, the southern continent, where he now rules as its emperor. Rumors have it he is planning a continental invasion, which necessitates the Realm-Building Enterprise (see “Realm-Building Enterprise).

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Binding: (also. Soul-Binding and v. Bind) This refers to the soul-connection a rider and his dragon has. Bindings typically form upon the touching of a dragon egg to its rider-called. Bindings fuse two souls and cannot be undone except by death or an intentional saer'ammath, a Severed Binding. This severing may be performed by the Lord Prince through the Níthrael’yr spell.

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Note that because man is a "lower being" as compared to a dragon (being that dragons came from the upper Realms), if his dragon dies, the human rider will soon succumb to madness and die within days. However, if a the human dies, the dragon has the natural strength and ability to heal from a Severed Binding. Similarly with elves, if their dragons die, they have the ability to heal, albeit their heart may remain broken as all those who lose their flights.

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Breaking of the Realms, The: (Also known as "The First Breaking") The most epochal event in the history of all races. This was a divine war fought one thousand years ago between the Realm-Breakers, as led by Baelaeryx, the Great Scourge, and Vaeritas, the Prince of Light. 

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The Baels destroyed all the home worlds of the elves, dwarves, and dragons, causing the few survivors to fall into Midgaard, the Realm of Men. The four races united against the Baels, but it was ultimately Vaeritas who defeated them before they could destroy Midgaard and exterminated their race. The cost was so great, however, that he fell out of Aethragaard, his divine world, and the highest of all Realms.

 

Many church texts and art in Aranor Elondris, the Divine Republic, depict this epochal event. Certainly, the dwarves, elves, and dragons will never forget... and certainly they were never prepared for The Second Breaking. (See "The Second Breaking.")

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Chapters: (see dragonscript) This is the Order’s artificial unit of measurement to determine a dragon’s strength. The more the chapters, the greater its strength.

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Chethem: An elvish word for a flight of the "Low Dragon" class. These dragons have three fingers on each wing. They are typically smaller in size and may have short "ears" in place of formidable horns. Some examples include picas, drosslings, and grymfyres. (Compare to "High Dragon" and Great Dragon.")

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Deep North, The: The free lands north of the Republic of Aranor Elondris.

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Dragon Wars, The: A set of wars that took place over 400 years ago between the Svenn Empire and wild dragons. It ultimately caused the fall of that empire, which today is romantically remembered by the remnant Svennish peoples as Old Svenn.

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Dragonpost: A post of any size that a rider starts and builds under the Realm-Building Enterprise.

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Dragonscript: This is another term for a dragon’s soul. Its soul is like its story; hence it is called a dragon’s script, or a “dragonscript,” and is measured by “chapters.” The more a dragon matures, the more “chapters” it unlocks in the greater story of its soul.

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Dragonsteel: See The Order.

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Eldari: A member of the Elenntarien, the Republic Ruling Council. An Eldari is a divine royal representative of a realm, and a Republic ruler of the highest order. It is possible for an Eldari to also be a king or queen; or he may simply be a member of a royal family. The High Eldari is the supreme ruler of the Republic and serves twelve years per term. Unlike the other Eldari, he cannot serve another throne, but must forgo his if he is elected by the Elenntarien to take the Republic’s scepter. A High Eldari has executive power over the Republic’s military, commands the Order, and may veto any decision made by the Elenntarien.

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Elenntarien: The Republic’s Ruling Council, which consists of one royal representative from every sanctioned realm. Also known as “the Holy Elenntarien.” This is the highest political power on the continent.

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Elondria: The northern continent that houses the Republic of Aranor Elondris and the wild Deep North. Elondria experiences only one solstice a year, which makes for warmer weathers and a milder change in seasons, especially in the south. Many a political and military leader has dreamed to rule the entire continent as it has plenty of lush land and resources, unlike the southern desert continent of Calendria.

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First Breaking, The: (also. "The Breaking of the Realms) See "The Breaking of the Realms." Compare to "The Second Breaking."

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Great Dragon: A class of flights that are known as the largest and most dreadful of all dragons. These are the dragons commonly remembered in Elondrian lore - wyrms with fire glands that could destroy entire cities in a day. They are commonly called "centennial hatchers" although Greats might go for several centuries never hatching, but always waiting for the next legendary rider. A Great Dragon's minimum wingspan begins at one hundred paces across. Some famous historical Greats are Vallyrath, the royal flight of Vhalaerys the Great; Xyransul, the flight of Aeogorath the Cruel; and presently, Lumaerrax the White Terror, which belongs to the Lord Prince of the Order.

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High Dragon: A class of dragons with at least four fingers on each wing. They are typically larger, horned dragons, with some examples including elds, cranewings, and all species of wyverns. (Compare to "chethem" and "Great Dragon.")

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Illuminator: A mage that specializes in the use of Lightspells, particularly for the use of torture and suffering. These mages serve the rogue militant organization of True Light, and are generally known to either be inquisitors who hunt rogue mages outside their faction, or wardens in feared prison, Kar'thuul-dur Keep.

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Kærdighaeder: The old Svennish word for "Realm-Breaker."

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Kar’thuul-dur Keep: The most infamous prison on the continent of Elondria, where the worst of criminals are sent to live a life sentence as passed by the Elenntarien. Illuminators are known to run these prisons, and they are certainly masters of torture. They pair the most creative physical torture with sessions of Illumination, which, according to Elondrian lore, is the second most painful thing for a man to experience, with the first being a Severed Binding. Crimes that could land you a life sentence in Kar'thuul-dur might include use of black magic, high profile blasphemy against the Lord of Light, or the murder of an Eldari.

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Lord Prince, The: The highest ranking rider that oversees the Dragonsteel Order. The current and only Lord Prince in all history is Vharyn Morghûl, Prince of Rhaennöria.

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Lúndalorin: An elven word for a rider's First Flight with his dragon. Vhylaeras Morghûl, the first known dragon rider in Midgaard, was said to have established the word, and inspired all the following High Elven ballads for it. This occured after his initial flight with Vallyrath, high king of the Elondrian dragons, about four hundred years ago. Many riders agree it is one of the nine wonders of life, for they have felt their Binding at its strongest during the Lúndalorin.

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Mhorgûls: The most powerful ruling family on the continent. They are High Elves descended from the line of Vhalaerys, who rode the first dragon and ended the ruinous Dragon Wars.

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Nhorssn: The original language of the Rhún, the source of all life and magic. It is also the Old Culture formed from the original races of the Nine Realms.

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Nine Realms, The: The original nine worlds as formed by Vaeritas, the creator of the universe. They consist of, from highest to lowest: Aethragaard, Realm of Divinity; Atallgaard, Realm of the Breakers; Mholnigaard, Realm of Elves; Vjolgaard, Realm of Dwarves and Giants; Draekgaard, Realm of Dragons; Midgaard, Realm of Men; Mordgaard, Realm of the Dead; Höggard, Realm of Deadfeeders; and Helgaard, Realm of Demons.

 

Unbreakable magic veilings separate these words; that is, unbreakable by all but Vaeritas and the Realm Breakers. Until the Breaking, the largest divine war in history, no race within each home world had known of each other's existence, nor was inter-Realm travel a possibility.

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Old Svenn: The remnants of the Svenn Empire, the greatest empire in Elondrian history, and which once spanned the entire northern half of the continent. The present Svennish peoples scattered across Elondria are descendants of Old Svenn.

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Order, The (also. Dragonsteel): An order of dragon riders as overseen by the Lord Prince and commanded by the Elenntarien Ruling Council. After the War of Treason, the Order was formed out of the Imperial Dragonguard, consisting only of High Elves duty-bound to defend only the Rhaennörian Empire.

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Realm-Breaker: An old race from the Eighth Realm with the power to break the veilings between the Nine Realms (see “Nine Realms”). Historically, the greatest of the Realm-Breakers were the Bael, dragon imitators that grew to thrice and more the size of a Great Dragon.

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Realm-Builder: A rider of the Order, and a legal builder of dragonposts, which may be grown and developed into settlements of all sizes.

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Realm-Building Enterprise: A set of laws and regulations as set by the Dragonsteel Order. Under the Enterprise, inducted riders of the Order may build towns, cities, and even realms on the continent of Elondria.

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Rhaennöria: (also. Rhaennörian Empire and Morghûl Empire) The oldest of all the nations on Elondria, and a united empire of eight elven kingdoms ruled by the Morghûls.

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Rhún: The divine, single source of all magical power between the Nine Realms. Being able to draw upon the Rhún makes one an "affinite," or a being with the affinity to use magic.

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Second Breaking of the Realms, The: (also. The Second Breaking. See "The First Breaking") A continental war of divine proportions taking place one thousand years after The First Breaking. Historical texts say it was caused by the last Bael and its rider. Unlike The First Breaking, which saw the breaking of worlds, The Second Breaking saw the ceaseless breaking of entire realms on a world scale.

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Svennish: (also. the Svenning) Svennish are a race of people descended from Old Svenn (see "Old Svenn") and, as folktales have it, the original Nhorssn races of Midgaard, the World of Men. Their ancestral language is known as "the Svenning." These are a northern people with a long history of rich lore and culture.

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Thomdrim: Present day giants that are engineers of the earth. They are said to dwell in rare weldin, verdant retreats in the continent’s deepest woodlands. They are said to be a cousin race of the dwarves (“Haldrim” and “Ghomdrim”), for all were originally birthed in Vjolgaard, the Sixth Realm, and the home world of the drim races.

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Thorgest Vigarda: Born eight hundred years ago, this demi-wolf warrior was said to be closer to a god than man, and the first Vigardian to walk the continent. This is all according to old Svennish folklore.

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True Light, Order of: A rogue militant organization that festered out of the ashes of the War of Treason. Most Elondrians would call their followers religious fanatics that profess to worship Vaeritas, the Lord of Light. Their original founding can be traced back to the year 79, when an outbreak of darkthings plagued the northern continent in the form of Kru'ul, varghs, and other dark creatures that emerged out of tears in Mordgaard, the Realm below. At that time, it was known as the Hands of the Sun. Their original founder, Lirion Rhaegos, gathered mages to put them down with Lightspells. Subsequently, after he passed, they founded in his memory the old city of Liriona, which to this day remains the capital of New Seregal, a young realm officiated after the end of the Treasonous War.

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When the War ended, Old Seregal, like the rest of the continent, was in a state of disarray and lawlessness. In the absence of strong leadership, the faction rose from their underground keeps beneath the wastes of Fel Tirion and proved themselves a new power to be recognized with. Their mages, contemporarily known as Illuminators, are very skilled and many in number. They were vehemently opposed to the regime in Old Seregal, and to the alarm of the Elenntarien, overthrew the king, murdered much of the royal family, and installed a puppet of their own who was sworn to love Vaeritas, the Lord of Light.

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This frightened the remaining leaders of the Elenntarien. In order to prevent a continental coup, or another war, the Elenntarien conceded with True Light and offered them a few allowances as an official organization in the Republic: their inquisitors would become the legal power that would hunt any rogue human mage, converting them as a sworn follower of True Light, or executing them if they refused to serve the order, and by extension, the Republic; and they would run Kar'thuul-dur Keep, the most notorious prison on the continent where the worst of criminals serve a life sentence. In return, True Light agreed not to interfere with anymore Elenntarien politics, nor attempt any military coups.

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This has been lightly adhered to, as New Seregal is, without question, a True Light kingdom. There have also been covert incursions into Aelin Dor, the northern region of Cridam, the bordering realm. It's no secret True Light's inquisitors have taken over Aelin City, though they claim to merely "serve" the high lord as holy advisors. The Elenntarien dares not take any legal action against them, so long as they remain contained.

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Their followers are colloquially called "Lightcloaks" since they wear mantles of white. Their Illuminators, mages of light, typically serve as their order's inquisitors. The order has changed very much since Lirion Rhaegos's days, and no one can say who their leader is now, or what it is he wants...

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Vigardians: Mythical warriors of the fallen Svenn Empire. It was said they could best any man in combat; the only thing that could take them down was dragons—and indeed, four hundred years ago, the dragons supposedly did during the Dragon Wars.

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War of Treason, The: A devastating war led by the Betrayer, a rogue human mage, that took place 40 years ago, in the year 1113. It decimated the continent, ended countless royal bloodlines, and almost caused the fall of the Republic. The War of Treason left the continent in ashes and is the entire reason why the Realm-Building Enterprise was conceived. Historians also agree this was the foundation of the present elven hatred of humankind.

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Wyvern: This dragon class has only two legs, with larger wings that comprise of most of their body's surface area. Together with their slender build, they are swifter than most four-legged dragons. It's also commonly known that wyverns are extremely aggressive and difficult to tame. For this reason, the Order has many restrictions around who can Bind with a wyvern.