Glossary

The shade each side of grey. The tint of the Censors.

The captain of an airship; or by courtesy a member of the Guild that manages the Airships. ALso known as Aviators.

The name of the protagonist of THE NIGHT LAND in his incarnation in C18 England.

The name of the protagonist of THE NIGHT LAND in his incarnation in the Redoubt.

The upper cities of the Redoubt, where the Law holds sway.

The guild responsible for the Redoubt's ideological, cultural and memetic health. At need, murderous inquisitors.

An older woman whose company is used to ensure a young woman's chastity when her parents think it advisable and can afford it. Also a matchmaker.

or Family. An extended family. Family bonds are strong and permanant. Families tend to live in one shared home with apartments for each married couple. A family will occupy the same house until it ceases to exist for some reason.

or Cannon. The large energy weapons used to fire upon the Night Land from the lower regions of the Redoubt.

A vine grown within the private compound of a Family. Offering its fruits to a suitor is part of betrothal ritual.

One of the cherished ornamental trees planted in the public spaces of the Redoubt, typically patronised by a girl-band. Its blossoms are symbols of their virginity, adulthood, and much else beside.

The Redoubt's internal calendar is based on the pheromone-synchronised menstruation of its female populace. Between the days of Measures are a series of days named after the odors released broadcast by the Windmasters; saltday, jasmineday, roseday, and so forth

Also Called Dark Cities*. The lower Cities of the Redoubt, in the bottom half mile, the ones whose windows have all been sealed. Over time these have become populated with criminals and social rejects of various kinds.

One of the Dark Forces in the Night Land, an immateral being that may consume the human soul. A pneumavore.

Ritualised non-lethal combat between Redoubt males. A frequent, indeed usual, means of resolving conflict.

An association for unmarried girls below and nearing the age of puberty. Membership of the bands is terminated by betrothal or by joining a Guild.

The legendary name of the Founder of the Redoubt.

The highest levels of Redoubt society.

The major social structure of the Redoubt not associated with Families. People join a Guild upon adulthood and remain in it for life. The heads of the Guilds form one arm of the Redoubt's government.

The main Lamp that illumines the central open space of a Clan's home.

The (legendary? Prophecied?) last human to be born in the Redoubt, a girl.

The fifth primary color percieved by the pentachromat eyes of humanity in the era of the Redoubt. Near ultra-violet. The term is derived from David Lindsay's A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS

A large ceremonial light source used to illuminate some part of the interior of the Redoubt. The term as so used implies the Lamp has more than merely functional utility: it may have a name and attributed personality.

An autonymous man-hunting fighting machine. Some have escaped the control of the Redoubt and inhabit the Night land, where some clades of Abhumans use them as mounts or domesticates.

A telepathic shibboleth or genocide-filter used to identify true humans. Inability to project this code marks one as abhuman or (if ones parentage is conclusively known to be human) mentally deficient and not fit for adult responsibility or reproduction. It may alternatively or additionally be spoken verbally.

*Children in the womb instinctively project the Master-Word from the third month.

The Guild that manages the Current Cannons

The Redoubt personalised as a mother-goddess. A legend, that from time to time may be real. A legend has it that in one of Her incarnations she was named Meyr.

Receptive telepathy: a talent of a small number of the inhabitants of the Redoubt. A low-level receptivity is quite common but very few are Sensitive.

Projective telepathy: a talent of some of the inhabitants of the Redoubt. Almost all have the basic talent of projecting the Master-Word but only a few can use the Night-Speech to communicate freely and consciously in words.

The immaterial component of the human being in which resides the consciousness and fundamental character: the soul , the spirit. Immortal and successively reincarnated. Its composition is fundamentally similar to that of the Eaters

The technology of manipulating, shielding and detecting the Pneuma, and of amplifying and detecting the Night-Speech.   The study of the Eaters.

An Eater. A carnivorourous psychic entity. * According to one legend the Pneumavores were encountered between the stars by the first starships and followed them back to Earth. According to other legends they originated in the Van Allen belts. Possibly both sets of legends are true.  It is also believed that one clade of Eaters has consumed the sun and the other nearby stars, and may be spreading through the galaxy.

A telepath able to scan the Night Land in conjunction with the telepathic amplifiers in the Tower of Observation. Seers are usually adolescent children. The talent burns out fast.

The first primary color percieved by the pentachromat eyes of humanity in the era of the Redoubt. Near infra-red. Most of the light in the Night Land is ulfire. The term is derived from David Lindsay's A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS

Humans in the era of the Redount have white skin and head and face hair and black irises. However the children are dark haired until puberty. The growth of the white hair or whitecap is the biological marker of adulthood.

The guild responsible for the internal ventilation of the Redoubt.