adamant

Any of the various long-chain carbon materials used for starship hulls and body armor.

adorator

A member of any antique religious cult maintained by the Empire and tolerated by the Chantry.

Aeta

A Cielcin prince-chieftain. Appears to have ownership rights over its subjects and their property.

Aeta Ba-Aetane

The Cielcin Prince of Princes. A rare title reserved for those Aeta who conquer and subordinate another Aeta without killing it.

akaranta

The dominant Cielcin sexual role.

androgyn

A homunculus exhibiting either neither or both male and female sex characteristics.

annuid

In the scholiast order, a practitioner who has sworn him or herself to the order for a standard year.

apatheia

The emotionless state pursued by the scholiasts to facilitate their computation function. Has roots in classical Stoicism.

aquilarius

A fighter pilot.

Arch-Builders

Extinct species of coloni xenobite native to the planet Ozymandias. So called for the massive structures built above the plains of their home.

Archprior

Within the Chantry clergy, a senior prior, usually one entrenched in the Chantry bureaucracy.

armsman

Any individual—usually patrician—sworn to serve the person of a palatine lord or his/her house in perpetuity.

auctor

An office appointed by the Emperor to serve as his proxy, to speak with his voice and authority in matters where the Emperor cannot be present.

auxilia

A soldier or unit of soldiers—usually volunteered—attached to the Legions without being a formal part of the Legion structure. Often, auxiliary units are non-citizens looking to obtain citizenship.

azhdarch

A xenobite predator common in the Colosso, like a lizard with a long neck open from top to bottom in a fanged mouth.

baetan

In Cielcin culture, a sort of priest-historian of the scianda.

bastille

Any Chantry judicial and penal center, usually attached to a temple sanctum.

bromos

A protein-rich strain of engineered hyper-oat that serves as the basis for ration bars and as protein base for artificial meat production.

castellan

The chief military officer on a nobile estate, tasked with the defense of the castle and holdings. Usually a knight.

cathar

A surgeon-torturer employed by the Holy Terran Chantry.

centennid

In scholiast life, any member of the order who has sworn him or herself to service for one hundred years. Often a monastic.

centurion

A rank in the Imperial Legions, commands a CENTURY.

century

In the Imperial Legions, a unit comprising ten decades (100 men).

Chalcenterite

A fraternal order of the scholiasts, noted for their asceticism.

Chantry

The Holy Terran Chantry, state religion of the Empire. Functions as the judicial arm of the state, especially where the use of forbidden technology is involved.

chiliad

In the Imperial Legions, a unit comprising ten centuries (1000 men).

chiliarch

A rank in the Imperial Legions, commands a CHILIAD.

chimera

Any genetically altered or artificially created animal, usually by blending the genetic code of two or more animals.

Choir

The CHANTRY’s clandestine research and intelligence division.

Cielcin

Spacefaring alien species. Humanoid and carnivorous.

cohort

In the Imperial Legions, a unit comprising six chiliads (6000 men).

Colosso

A series of sporting events held in a coliseum involving professional gladiators, slave myrmidons, animals, races, and more.

colossus

Any huge mobile artillery unit, especially those designed to walk on legs. May be several hundred feet tall.

consortation

One of the TWELVE ABOMINATIONS. Conversing with or having similar contact with artificial intelligence, even unknowingly.

Consortium

The Wong-Hopper Consortium. The largest of the Mandari interstellar corporations, specializing in terraforming technologies.

constellation

Among the palatine, a super-group of interrelated families, usually possessed of certain signifying features and traits.

cornicen

In the Legions, a soldier tasked with playing the horn or trumpet at parades.

coteliho

In Cielcin culture, roughly equivalent to a Lord’s herald or majordomo.

cryoburn

Burns incurred as a side effect of improper cryonic freezing.

cubiculum

A chamber where persons are kept in cryonic fugue, usually aboard a starship.

daimon

An artificial intelligence. Sometimes erroneously applied to non-intelligent computer systems.

datanet

The loose association of all planetary dataspheres connected by quantum telegraphs and inter-space satellite relays.

datasphere

Any planetary data network. In the Empire, access is strictly restricted to the patrician and palatine caste.

decade

In the Imperial Legions, a unit of ten soldiers comprising three groups of three and their decurion.

decurion

A rank in the Imperial Legions, commands a DECADE.

Demarchy of Tavros

A small interstellar polity found in the Wisp. Radically open to technology, the people vote on all measures using neural lace implants.

demoniac

A person who has incorporated machines into their body, particularly with the intent of altering their cognitive processes.

dispholide

A rare hemotoxic poison, likely of Chantry design and manufacture, that disables the coagulation process and dissolves collagen and even bone at an astonishing rate, effectively liquefying the victim.

Druaja

A board game, sometimes called labyrinth chess.

dryad

Any of a species of green-skinned homunculi capable of photosynthesis, designed for work in outer space.

duplication

One of the TWELVE ABOMINATIONS. The copying of an individual’s genetics, likeness, personality, or memories through cloning or related practices.

Durantine Republic

An interstellar republic of some three thousand worlds. Pays tribute to the Empire.

Eali

The Jaddian ruling caste, product of intense eugenic development. Practically superhuman.

Emperor

The supreme ruler of the Sollan Empire, considered a god and the reincarnation of his/her predecessor. Holds absolute power.

energy-lance

A bladed spear with a high-energy laser built into the shaft. Used as formal weapons by guards, especially in the Imperium.

entoptics

Augmented reality device where images are projected directly onto the retina.

eolderman

The elected head of a plebeian community. Typically seen in more rural regions on Imperial planets.

Eudoran

Any of the spacefaring bands claiming descent from the failed colony on Europa in Old Earth’s system. An ethnic group known for their interstellar wanderings.

Exalted

A faction among the Extrasolarians noted for their extreme cybernetic augmentations.

Excubitor

The innermost circle of the Emperor’s guard, comprising 108 of the finest knights and fighters in the Empire.

Exodus

The expansionist period following the environmental collapse of Earth. The Peregrinations from Old Earth System before the Foundation War.

Expeditionary Corps

Branch of the Imperial Legions tasked with exploring the galaxy and with laying the groundwork for colonization.

Extrasolarian

Any of the barbarians living outside Imperial control, often possessing illegal praxis.

extraterranic

In terraforming and ecology, refers to any organism not of Old Earth extraction. Extraterrestrial.

Foundation War

The war between the early Empire and the Mericanii, in which the Mericanii were destroyed and the Sollan Empire founded.

Galstani

The common language of the Sollan Empire, descended from Classical English, with heavy Hindi and Franco-Germanic influences.

glowsphere

A spherical, bright light source floating on Royse repulsors, battery- or chemically powered.

God Emperor

The first Sollan Emperor, William I, who defeated the Mericanii. It is believed his return will usher in a new Golden Age for the Empire.

golem

A mechanical being fashioned in the shape of a man, containing no organic parts.

High College

Imperial political office tasked with reviewing palatine requests for children and with overseeing the pregnancies of same. Prevents mutations.

highmatter

A form of exotic matter produced by alchemists. Used to make the swords of Imperial knights, which can cut almost anything.

hightower

An elevator designed to lift cargo from the surface of a planet to orbit and vice versa.

homunculus

Any artificial human or near-human, especially those grown for a task, or for aesthetic purposes.

hoplite

A shielded foot soldier. Heavy infantry.

hoplon

An antique-style round shield, used in the Colosso.

hurasam

Gilded coin used among the Imperial peasant classes, worth their mark-weight in gold. Print notes for various denominations exist.

hypogeum

The underground maintenance complex beneath a coliseum. More generally, any underground complex.

ice

In computing, software designed to monitor traffic in and out of a system and to prevent access based on perceived threat.

ichakta

A Cielcin title, referring to the captain of a ship.

Iedyr Yemani

The six vayadan-generals sworn in fanatic servitude to Syriani Dorayaica. The so-called White Hand.

ietumna

The submissive Cielcin sexual role.

Imperium

See SOLLAN EMPIRE.

indoctrination

The process by which a person is treated with specially tailored RNA packets to learn and absorb new information and skills quickly.

infestation

In Chantry religious law, the state in which a computer system may contain elements of artificial intelligence or the precursors to same, often leading to POSSESSION.

inmane

An offensive slur meaning that someone is less than human. Literally impure.

Inquisition

The judicial branch of the Imperial Chantry, primarily concerned with the use of illegal technologies.

Inquisitor

A Chantry official tasked with conducting judicial investigations and overseeing the torture of criminals.

intus

A palatine born outside the oversight of the High College, usually possessing several physical or psychological defects; a bastard.

Irchtani

Species of coloni xenobite native to the planet Judecca. Bird-like with massive wings. Considered an exemplar of coloni assimilation.

kaspum

Silver-plated coin used among the Imperial peasant classes. Twelve kaspums make one gold hurasam. Print notes for various denominations exist.

kithuun

In Irchtani culture, a tribal chieftain or military commander.

knife-missile

A kind of drone, little more than a remote-controlled flying knife. A favorite of assassins.

knight

Sollan military honor conferred by the nobility for services rendered; usually includes a small fief. May carry highmatter weapons.

legate

A rank in the Imperial Legions, commands an entire Legion.

Legions

The military branch of the Sollan Empire, loyal directly to the Emperor and Imperial house, comprising naval and ground forces.

Legion Intelligence Office

The Empire’s military intelligence, espionage, and foreign intervention agency.

legionnaire

Any soldier in the Imperial Legions, especially the common foot soldier.

lictor

A bodyguard for a nobile or other dignitary. Usually a knight.

light-probe

Any of a class of very small, ultralight reconnaissance devices propelled by shipboard laser to nearly the speed of light.

lighter

Any starship small enough to make landfall on a planet.

Lions

An unofficial political party in the Sollan Empire, comprising the more conservative royalist houses.

logothete

A minister in any of the governmental agencies of any palatine house, used colloquially of any civil servant.

Lothrian Commonwealth

The second largest human polity in the galaxy, a totalitarian collectivist state. Longtime antagonist of the Empire.

Maeskolos

One of the legendary Swordmasters of Jadd, drawn exclusively from the eali caste. Credited with superhuman speed and skill.

Magnarch

The chief Imperial Viceroy in each arm of the galaxy: Orion, Sagittarius, Perseus, and Centaurus. Essentially co-Emperors.

Makers

A pantheon of gods worshiped by the Cielcin, possibly the same as the WATCHERS.

mamluk

Any homunculus slave-soldier of the Jaddian Principalities.

Mandari

An ethnic group semi-detached from Imperial society, most commonly found staffing the massive interstellar trading corporations.

mandyas

Traditional garment of the Maeskoloi. Half a robe with one flowing sleeve worn over the left shoulder, cinched at the waist.

Martian Guard

The Emperor’s palace guard, an elite corp of soldiers raised from the population on Earth’s nearest neighbor, Mars.

medica

A hospital, typically aboard a starship.

megathere

A massive, three-eyed amphibious predator native to the planet Epidamnus.

Mericanii

The ancient first interstellar colonists. A hyper-advanced technologic civilization run by artificial intelligences. Destroyed by the Empire.

Messer/Madam

Polite address in the Empire, used of anyone without formal title.

Museum Catholic Church

An adorator cult centered on the planet Caritas, believed to have existed since the Golden Age of Earth and protected on reservations by Imperial decree.

myrmidon

In the Colosso, any contract or slave fighter not a professionally trained gladiator.

nahute

A Cielcin weapon. Resembles a flying metal snake. Seeks out targets and drills into them.

natalist

A specialist practiced in the art of growing and gene-crafting living organisms, human or otherwise.

nobile

Blanket term referring to any member of the palatine and patrician castes in the Sollan Empire.

Nordei

The principle language of the Demarchy. A patois of Nordic and Thai with some Slavic influences.

Norman Expanse

The frontier of human settlement in the Norma Arm of the Milky Way, near to the galactic core.

novice

A student initiated into the rites and curricula of the scholiasts with the intention of becoming one.

nuncius

In Imperial society, an announcer or herald.

Orbital Defense Force

The fleet maintained by any palatine lord for the defense of his or her planet or system.

outcaste

In Imperial society, any former member of the palatine or patrician castes stripped of their station. May also refer to similar persons in Jadd.

palatine

The Imperial aristocracy, descended from those free humans who opposed the Mericanii. Genetically enhanced, they may live for several centuries.

Pale

The Cielcin. Slang, considered offensive by xenophiles.

panegyrist

A Chantry priest tasked with performing the call to prayer at sundown.

Panthai

A Tavrosi language descended from the Thai, Lao, and Khmer-speaking peoples who settled the Wisp alongside the Nordei.

patrician

Any plebeian or plutocrat awarded with genetic augmentations at the behest of the palatine caste as a reward for services rendered.

Peregrination

Any of the historical evacuations from Earth’s system for the extrasolar colonies.

phase disruptor

A sort of firearm that attacks the nervous system. Can stun on lower settings.

phylactery

A device for storing the genetic and epigenetic information of an individual for the purposes of artificial reproduction.

plasma burner

A firearm which uses a strong loop of magnetic force to project an arc of super-heated plasma across short to moderate distances.

plebeian

The Imperial peasantry, descended from unaltered human stock seeded on the oldest colony ships. Forbidden to use high technology.

poine

A structured, small-scale war carried out between imperial palatine houses. Subject to the scrutiny of the Inquisition.

possession

One of the TWELVE ABOMINATIONS. The state in which an individual or computer system is under the sway of an artificial intelligence.

praxis

High technology, usually of the sort forbidden by Chantry law.

primate

The highest administrative office of a scholiasts’ athenaeum, akin to a university chancellor.

profanation

One of the TWELVE ABOMINATIONS. The mingling of human flesh with machine implants or prostheses, especially in cases where such modifications transcend ordinary human function.

Protocols

The strict guidelines outlining the behaviors of the Chantry’s INQUISITION in carrying out an investigation.

Quiet

The hypothetical first civilization in the galaxy, allegedly responsible for several ancient sites, including those on Emesh, Judecca, Sadal Suud, and Ozymandias.

repulsor

A device which makes use of the Royse Effect to allow objects to float without disturbing the air or environment.

satrap

A planetary governor in the Principalities of Jadd, subordinate to one of the regional Princes.

scahari

In Cielcin culture, the warrior caste.

scholiast

Any member of the monastic order of researchers, academics, and theoreticians tracing their origins to the Mericanii scientists captured at the end of the Foundation War.

scianda

Pl. sciandane. A Cielcin migratory fleet, comprising several itanimn and presided over by a single Aeta.

sirrah

An honorific used to refer to one’s social inferiors, usually males.

Sojourner

Any of a class of massive Extrasolarian starship, often hundreds of miles long, especially those crewed by the EXALTED.

Sollan Empire

The largest and oldest single polity in human-controlled space, comprising some half a billion habitable planets

SOM

The lobotomized shell of a human being animated by machines, used for slave labor and as soldiers by the Extrasolarians.

strategos

An admiral in the Imperial Legions, responsible for the command of an entire fleet, comprising several legions.

Stricture

The formal rules governing the lifestyle and behavior of those members of the scholiast order as outlined in The Book of the Mind and the rest of Imore’s writings.

sulshawar

In Jaddian culture, a warrior who serves as bodyguard to a prince, satrap, or other important personage. May also represent that person in legal duels. Comparable to a lictor.

Summerfair

A common midsummer holiday celebrated throughout the Imperium. Its date varies from world to world, depending on the local calendar.

suppression field

A Royse Effect field designed to simulate gravity.

Synarch

The highest ecclesiastic office of the Imperial Chantry. Their most important function is the coronation of new Emperors.

Tavrosi

Any of the languages from the Demarchy of Tavros. Typically refers to Nordei.

terranic

In terraforming and ecology, refers to any organism of Old Earth extraction. Not extraterrestrial.

trias

A unit of three legionnaires, usually two peltasts and one hoplite.

triaster

The commander of a trias, usually a shielded hoplite.

Twelve Abominations

The twelve most grievous sins according to the Chantry. Legal privileges do not apply in such cases.

Udaritanu

A complex, non-linear writing system used by the Cielcin.

Umandh

A coloni species native to the planet Emesh. Amphibious and tripedal, they have an intelligence comparable to that of dolphins.

vayadan

In Cielcin culture, the bound mates and bodyguards of an Aeta.

verrox

A powerful pseudoamphetamine derived from the leaves of the verroca plant. It is taken by ingesting the leaves, which are usually candied.

Victorian Knights

An order of Imperial knights bound in service to the person of the Emperor and the Aventine House directly, not to the Imperial Office.

Watchers

According to this account, a species or collection of powerful xenobites, possibly worshiped as gods by the Cielcin and other alien races.

worldship

Any of the massive Cielcin vessels—some as large as moons—which make up the core of their fleets.

Writ of Nativity

A formal petition—or grant of said petition—enabling a palatine lord of the Sollan Empire to produce a child under the auspices of the High College.

xenobite

Any life form not originating in terranic or human stock, especially those life forms which are considered intelligent; an alien.

zitraa

The traditional weapon of an Irchtani warrior. A thin, curved cutlass approximately seven feet long.