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 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 dragons indexed as the most legendary of them all (compare to "chethem" and "High Dragon" classes). 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. The current known species that fall into the Great Dragon Class are: Great-Horns, Auraliths, and Dreadfell.

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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. They serve the rogue militant organization of True Light, often deployed by Inquisitors to assist with torture. Depending on their skills, they might also be deployed on the field as battle mages. (Compare to "Inquisitor," who may or may not be a Lightmage and regularly travels the country hunting for rogue mages and affinites. Unlike Inquisitors, Illuminators have no staff under their command.)

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ILLUMINATOR EXARCH: The High Mage of True Light and warden of Kar'thuul-dur Keep. The present Exarch is known as a despicable man named Jaccorias Vikarie.

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INQUISITOR: An administrative-military official that serves the rogue organization of True Light. They may or may not be a Lightmage (mage who specializes in spells of light) and regularly travels the country hunting for rogue mages and affinites. Unlike Illuminators, Inquisitors usually have staff under their command.

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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 as 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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LIGHTCLOAK: A human non-affinite (non-magical) militant and religious radical in service to True Light. (Compare to "Illuminator" and "Inquisitor.")

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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. Most historians place its birth in the early fourth century, with its fall occurring in 781 AC (After Convergence) when the last emperor, Eveillan Astorvalden, fell in the Dragon Wars. 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: Founded in 1128 AC (After the Convergence), this is 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. It was founded by Vhylaeras Morghûl, rider of the legendary Vallyrath, in the late eighth century after the Svenn Empire's fall. Many elven ballads credit Vhylaeras as being the "first dragon rider," but this is not historically accurate. Scattered accounts tell of obscure men and elves that occasionally bonded a dragon, but the romantic and now popularized concept of "dragon riding" and "the Soul-Binding" began with the legends of Vhylaeras and Vallyrath the Great.

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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” among others), 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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TRAUST, ORDER OF (Also, Mhir il'feannor): An ancient organization of underground rogues known as "Brother Mages." They are said to practice a completely different branch of magic called the "Nhorssn spells" or "runic spells." Little is known about these spells or the unseen mages that cast them. It is also unknown who leads them.

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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.

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True Light has been granted the official authority to arrest human affinites (humans with an affinity for magic but are unskilled or unaware of their affinity) and rogue human mages (skilled affinites). Under Republic law, human affinites are to be executed with the exception of it they swear to serve True Light as Illuminators (Lightmages) or eventually, trained Inquisitors.

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Their original founding can be traced back to the year 183 BC (Before the Convergence), during the height of the Pharseian Empire, which spanned what is today known as the Cridam and New Seregal kingdoms; along with portions of the surrounding southern realms. The Pharsei emperors are credited with building many of the waygates as we know them today.

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During this time, 1300 years before the present, the Pharseians departed the Vaeritian faith, instead opting to become a polytheistic society. Lirion Rhaegos, a warrior-mage. secretly founded True Light, an order that meant to bring people back to the one true faith. In his commitment to cleave to the path of light, he vowed only to cast Lightspells from then onward.

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Under Lirion's leadership, True Light grew rapidly. His way of battling with Light magic grew popular among fellow human mages. In time, the order became a threat to Pharsei's way of life. Its emperors began hunting True Light's members in a race to crush the order from its society.

 

Forced into hiding, Lirion then founded the City of Liriona, spending the next twenty years running True Light's operations. He disguised himself as a city "advisor" and revitalized the surrounding country into what rapidly became a wealthy trading region.

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Unfortunately, in 159 BC, the Pharsei authorities found Lirion and beheaded him. This only surged True Light's membership, especially among free human mages. In the years that followed, countless more of Lirion's disciples were executed as martyrs. Many today are still remembered and paid homage to by orthodox Vaeritians and True Light members alike, including St. Callador and St. Geoffrey. 

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Eventually, after the Breaking of the Realms. Pharsei ceased to be the continent's unchallenged power. The dwarves that fell into Midgaard sacked the Pharseian Empire until its collapse in the early third century AC (After the Convergence). Without the afore stable trade of lapis lazrith (the base stone needed to create waystones) passing through Liriona City, True Light's influence in the region likewise collapsed.

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During the long elvish migration east, the elves that passed through Liriona renamed the city Aelin Dor, which means "the gateway into the west" in the old elvish tongue. This was thought to have occurred ca. 301 AC. The region continued to suffer regular raids until the Haldrim (High Dwarves) consolidated their own empire in the Deep North, which today is called the Lands of Addan. The old Pharseian Empire split into numerous small kingdoms. Some, like Cridam and New Seregal - the oldest and most historical regions of Pharsei - still survive today.

 

True Light faded into romantic folklore for many centuries after that, until a new unnamed leader took charge and resurrected life into the city...

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Forty years prior to the present, in 1110 AD, the War of Treason left both Cridam and Seregal in ruins. Absent strong leadership, True Light, a forgotten faction teeming underground, proved themselves a new power to contend with. An influential Ebrennian warlord, Lucias Gaius Servaine, crossed the border and conquered most of Cridam. In its ruins, he installed the Child-Queen and the present regime.

 

During those years, an obscure Cridamean moneylender, Jaccorias Vikarie, gained even more influence through trickery. The worst of his pre-True Light deeds were betraying the old Cridamean royal family and orchestrating their permanent bankruptcy.

 

After Vikarie married the daughter of the late Cridamean king, the Lord of True Light soon promoted him, a malleable and rabidly devoted follower, to Illuminator Exarch - the High Mage of the order. While Lucias Servaine kept an iron grip on the fledgling Cridamean government, Vikarie played a major role establishing New Seregal, the realm that succeeded Old Seregal after the Betrayer's War of Treason. He renovated the ruins of Kar'thuul-dur, an infamous ancient Pharseian prison, and reopened it for private use in 1114 AC.

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The first public proclamation and deifying of the mysterious "Lord of True Light" is traced back to Vikarie's early days of power. He often claims he saw this lord, a seraph in service to Vaeritas, the One God, in the ruins of Kar'thuul-dur Keep. In 1114 AC, the Lord of True Light supposedly appeared to name Vikarie his trusted Prophet, which would then legitimize his new title as Illuminator Exarch over all of True Light's warlords. While Vikarie's followers will insist this absolutely happened, no one can claim to have witnessed this event. Among True Light's enemies, it served as more proof of Jaccorias Vikarie's fanatic madness, and the conjecture that the Lord of True Light - the unnamed man who rules the order - might not exist at all.

 

Today, the Lightmages, contemporarily known as Illuminators, are skilled and many in number. Their order's rapid rise to power during the post-war era frightened the remaining executive leaders of the Republic's Elenntarien. In order to prevent a continental coup, or another war, the Elenntarien conceded and offered True Light allowances as an official organization in the Republic: their inquisitors would become the legal power that would arrest any rogue human mage. The Elenntarien would also pay them to open Kar'thuul-dur Keep for Republic use. It would go on to become the notorious prison where the worst of the Republic's criminals servef a life sentence.

 

In return, True Light agreed not to interfere with anymore of the Republic's realms, nor attempt any military coups outside their puppet kingdoms of Cridam and New Seregal.

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Their non-magic followers are colloquially called "Lightcloaks" since they wear mantles of white. Under their leader's growing influence, the order continues to become wealthier and ever more equipped with arms, arsenals, and depots. True Light has changed very much since Lirion Rhaegos's founding 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 1108-1109. 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.