DICTIONARY OF ILAVANIAN TERMS AND CONCEPTS:
A.C.E.: After common era. (replaces AD in earth year nomenclature)
A.L.G.Y: After Landing Ilavani Years.
Age of Majority: Eight Ilayears old, or eighteen by Earth years.
Anamchara: (ah-naam-hhara..hard h sound) Soul friend, an empathic or telepathic bond blessed by the twin goddess/god of love, only a powerfully gifted telepath can form such a bond. It is a bond of the mind, those who share it can have differing levels of intertwining and differing levels of control of the bond depending on their gifts. See Nasc-Anam (bond-soul)
Anam-Bond: Soul-link. Nasc-Anam The name of the empathic or telepathic bond of the anamchara.
Ard-Righ: (Aerd-Rrree, rolled R) Literal translation is High King, refers to the AI program which policies eco-planetary issues, enforces genetic improvement of humanity, controls the amount of permissible technology, monitors satellites and acts as a planetary record keeping device and if requested, an impartial judge.
Astirewyre: (Ah-steer-wire)The Kingdom of Astirewyre, Li’s former home. Maya and Kanti’s home. Amaya is a Princess of Astirewyre. Kanti is a Dal’la of Astirewyre.
Ava Cloister: (ahva) Cloister dedicated to service. The best servants are Ava Cloister Guild Companions and are highly sought after. Onyx is a Guild Companion from Ava Cloister.
Beyond the walls: a term which means outside the laws and moors of the rest of the society. Although all areas of civilization are within physical walls to defend against the dangers of the unsettled lands, the term does not refer to physical walls so much as living beyond civilization.
Bond contract: An indentured service contract of varying length depending upon the circumstances of entrance into servitude. Colonists and criminals tend to have the longest length of bond contracts.
B-Rac: Bastion’s Royal Academy
Breeder: A position of respect within a house. Who one has children with is not a matter of love in most cases, but of best genetic match. A breeder is the equivalent of an honored mistress. They are accorded all forms of respect and care within a household.
Council of Thirteen: Made up of the thirteen righ/kings righ’ana/queens of Ilavani.
Crafters’ affidavit: Proof of which gene-crafter created a gen-con.
Circumvolution: The year of the planet (number of days) AKA Year
Circum: Short for circumvolution, alternative term for Year
Intimate Service house: A house where many untrained sex workers or those trained as odalisques work, providing pleasure and enjoyment, mostly in the realms of sexual service to paying customers.
Commander: Unit leader equivalent to modern field grade officer like a lieutenant colonel.
Companion: A highly trained, well-educated person who hires their services of companionship, conversation and sexual services for pay.
Coreform: Basic, un-enhanced unchanged human. Most of the population of old earth is still coreform.
Crea-ivory: Created Ivory
Crea-steel: Artificially created steel: as mining the earth is forbidden without strict guidance.
Crea-wood: Artificially created wood: real wood exists and is farmed but is still relatively rare for many uses.
Culling: The act of killing or sterilizing any person or psi-gen who does not cooperate or is not useful for a houses genetic breeding goals or one who is dangerous. Only used in extreme cases, but used often enough that the threat is real
Cyber hound: Genetically modified cybernetic tracking hounds. Used for tracking down escaped gen-con too valuable to cull.
Dál/Dál’la: (Daahl/Daahl’ah) Equivalent to Duke or Duchess
Dál’sa: (Daahhl’sah) Dukedom
Dállic Council: (Dah-lek) Internal Council to a Kingdom made up of the Dukes/Dál’s and Duchesses/Dál’la.
Elerimma: (Ehl-er-eeema)The Plains Kingdom to the southwest of Ereiria.
Expressive Aphrodisia: The gift of Mal and Cam’s family, the ability to cause lust in others.
F.I.D.: Fertility Inhibition Device: Implanted, reversible device which keeps fertility suppressed. 99% effective.
Ferine: (fair-een) Clan name
Ferinite: (Fair-een-ight) One belonging to Clan Ferine
Gen-con: (Jen-con) A creature genetically constructed and crafted for a specific purpose.
Gennsu: (Jen-sue) Genetically Successful/superior result of a breeding match. A title indicating that the person had succeeded in the roulette wheel of genetic recombination.
Gen-type: (Jen-type)Type of genetic alteration
Gen: (Jen) Short for gen-type
Guild of Companions: Elite ruling group of companions, only Guild Companions are allowed to practice their craft off of Ilavani.
Human-Seeming: A person or gen-con who looks human. See Unadu and Malga
Ilacat: (Eel-ah-cat) The original, intelligent being on Ilavani. Around the size of an earth tiger, they are blue with silver cloud spots and silver eyes. They are as intelligent as humans but live in colonies, not cities. They sometimes bond with humans and though relatively rare in comparison to human numbers are looked upon favorably as apex hunters.
Ilacade: (Eel-ah-cade) Ilavanian decade. Twenty Two and a half earth years.
Ilamonth: (Eel-ah-month) Forty-two thirty-six hour days, equivalent to sixty-three earth days. There are usually three thirteen day weeks within an ilamonth.
Ilaweek: (Eel-ah-week) Thirteen thirty-six hour days equivalent to nineteen and a half Earth days
Ilayear: (Eel-ah-year)Five-hundred-forty-eight, thirty-six hour days equivalent to two and a quarter Earth years
Imminent Heir Apparent: The heir by blood and station to a title who has not yet passed the Trials of Ascension. See Tànaiste
Intergalactic Standard Units: The form of currency used in the intergalactic community.
Unadu, Malga, Metamo: Different levels of genetically modified physical expression. Most human-seeming people on Ilavani are modified by science and breeding and rank as Unadu or Malga.
Unadu: (Ooh-na-doo) A person who seems almost purely human in looks, no visible physical expression of genetic modification.
Malga: (Mahl-gah) A person with the minimal acceptable visual expression of alteration. Acceptable levels to qualify as Malga vs. Metamo are changed eyes, teeth, nails and one percent or less of fur, bark or scaling on the body.
Metamo: (May-tahm-oh)Visual animal or plant genetic expression. Fur, scales or bark over more than one percent of the body. A tail, wings, changed facial features or primary feeding needs.
Specifically, this is often used as a social stratification device, especially for the ruling classes. As long as the person looks Unadu or Malga they’re considered acceptable by the ruling classes and high society. Anything animalistic beyond teeth and eyes denigrates them into Metamo status. Metamo are often treated as second-class citizens.
Naked Match: A term meaning that onus is waived for death of participants in a martial arts competition or fight. Bared, deadly weapons, bared intent, no ones family can take vengeance upon the surviving party. Not automatically to the death, but death often occurs in a naked match.
Knowing: The knowledge a psychically gifted person can attain from another.
Lavanya: (Lah-vahn-ya) Lavanya means grace and beauty in old Sanskrit
Lavanya Cloister: Training house dedicated to the pursuit of beauty, grace, lust, sensuality, pleasure and the arts surrounding these.
Laws of Consent and Indenture: Laws regulating how Indentured servants can be used.
Lightscreen: Think Iron Man. A computer/television screen or keyboard made of light.
Made their mark: Means the tattoo an indentured servant wears is complete, it means they are free.
Make his/her/their Ink: meaning an indentured servant has finished their training,
Making Ink: Refers to the act of adding more to the tattoo an indentured servant wears. When it is complete, they’ve Made their mark.
Malga: (Mahl-gah) A human-seeming person, they look human in almost all ways but are genetically improved. Most human-seeming on Ilavani are of Malga status. Small deviations from standard coreform are acceptable for Malga status. Visually changed eyes and fingernails are still considered Malga.
Mark: The physical representation of earned freedom a highly individualized tattoo joining four predicated points on the body (tip of left ring finger, over the left nipple, the left outer ball of the shoulder and the next to last toe on the left.) It indicates that the indentured servant who wears it has purchased their freedom. The mark runs from the tip of the left ring finger, spirals up around the left arm, over the ball of the shoulder where it splits, one line goes to the middle of the collar bone and down to the edge of the aureola. It goes up over the shoulder, up the side of the shoulder to the tailor bone and from there spirals the body in an elaborate, individual design. At all predicated points the contract holders heraldry is displayed. Full heraldry on the shoulder, iconic heraldry on chest, finger, and toe. The amount of Ink a person wears in their mark is proportionate to the amount of time or money they owe on their contract. Those who are extremely expensive, long practicing in their art form or who are criminals tend to be the most tattooed.
Mina Cloister: (Mean-ah) Erierian Sarayan cloister dedicated to algolagnia, or pain.
Murder of Drakons: A group of five or more dragons
Na: born of
Naegas: (Nay-gahs) A Dal’sa/Dukedom within Erieria. Former home of Bahija.
Nasc-Anam: (Naask-ah-nahm) Literally Link-Soul, name of the soul-link between anamchara, can be telepathic or empathic in origin.
Ner: (Nair) Former, used at the beginning of a title such as Ner-Righ’saya
Niveralay: (Nih-vair-ah-lay) Righ’sea to the south of Erieria.
Odalisque: A person trained or in training to the profession of companion that either has not passed the tests to be accepted into the guild or has not tried to become a guild member. There are five ranks of any profession; the following are requirements for the Odalisque.
Novice Odalisque: One who has completed basic training. They will have learned how to please and accept pleasure in a two Ilamonth long training session that includes both theory and practical training. Novice Odalisque training is paid for by most Kingdoms for their people. Most people have at least Novice Odalisque level training. One must serve as a Novice for two ilayears before being eligible to take apprentice level classes.
Apprentice Odalisque: One step up from Novice, three Ilamonth long set of classes, both theory and practice. One must serve as an Apprentice for one ilayear before being eligible to take Journeyman level classes.
Journeyman Odalisque: One step up from Apprentice, four Ilamonths of classes, both theory and practice. One must serve as Journeyman for three ilayears before being eligible to take Master level classes.
Master Odalisque: One step up from Journeyman, five Ilamonths of classes, both theory and practice. One must serve as a Master for four ilayears before being eligible to take Luminary level classes.
Luminary Odalisque: One step up from Master, five Ilamonths of classes, both theory and practice. One must serve as a Luminary for five ilayears before being eligible to apply to be a Companion. Once a person reaches companion status, they start at a Novice Companion. Only once they’ve served the prescribed time through to Luminary Companion may they apply for Guild status.
Perfumed Gardens: Seraglio, Saray, Harem
Plasteel: Artificially created plastic infused with steel, incredibly strong, can be reclaimed and remelted/reused.
Psi-gen: (Si-jen) A creature scientifically engineered, genetically altered for a specific purpose who possesses metaphysical powers.
Raiu: (Ray-yu) A gender-neutral honorarium like Lord/Lady used for anyone regardless of their outer physical expression.
Righ: (Rrr-eee Rolled R) King
Righ’ana: (Rrr-eee-ah-na) Queen
Righ’u: (Rrr-eee-you) Non-binary and/or trans title for a monarch
Righ’sa: (Rrr-eee-sah) Prince
Righ’sadamhna: (Rrr-eee-sah-dahm-nha) those worthy of potential rule, having passed a minimum of eight Trials of Ascension.
Righ’saya: (Rrr-eee-sah-ya) Princess
Righ’su: (Rrr-eee-ss-ooo) Non-binary title for the child of a monarch
Righ’sea: (Rrr-eee-see) Kingdom
Reactagel: (Ree-act-ah-jel) gel-like filling for furniture that heats up to body temp and conforms to body shape
Right of blood, silver, steel, and word: One who has passed all of their fifteen Silver Trials/Trials of Ascension.
Seeming: what one looks like or seems to be
Septir/Septir’ala/Septir’u: (Seh-p-tear/ahla) Viscount, Viscountess
Silver Change: The process by which an average humanoid becomes an extension of the Ard Righ.
Silver Warden: A select group of impartial judges, gifted with various metaphysical gifts that is bound forever to the Ard Righ. Gifts they may have can include but are not limited to fore and past sight, telemetry, telepathy, etc. They are bound to not use their powers wrongly, and the binding makes the whole of their eye metallic silver. Colloquially called ‘blind’ judges, although they can see perfectly.
Silver Warden Adroit: The most human of the wardens, minimal cyborging
Silver Warden Sentinel: The most changed cyborged of the wardens, interchangeable cyborgs, what one knows, they all know.
Silver Warden Sentient: an incredibly gifted psychic; metaphysics gifted who has chosen to enter the bond with the Ard Righ, minimal brain changes, full physical changes.
Silver Wardship: Lifelong probation of a criminal who would otherwise be culled by the Ard Righ.
Sport: A psi-gen or gen-con that has attributes that were unintended
Tagging chip: Identification implant used with those who have a mark to make/contract to pay off.
Tànaiste: (Tawh-nish-tah) Gaelic: Heir Apparent. Second-in-Command.
Téigh ar do ghlúine: (Taig-airjj-dough-gloon) Decorative position taught to all Odalisques and Companions. The literal translation in Gaelic is go on your knees. The position is kneeling, usually on a pillow, with a straight yet supple spine. Hands folded in lap, head erect, eyes cast down.
Training Certificate: Proof of where an individual trained.
Trials of Ascension: The fifteen Silver Trials which must be passed before the Ard Righ will accept a candidate for rule of lands.
Unadu: (Ooh-na-doo) A term used for an unadulterated human seeming, one without visible genetic tampering or improvement.
Untamed Lands: Lands that are not settled or are minimally settled.
Va: living in or from
View-glass: a technological item that straps to the head, obscuring sight, and hearing to impart information.
Wardhold: One who holds another’s Silver Wardship
Wergild: Based on ancient Frankish, Germanic and Saxon law: a value placed on every being and piece of property. Damage, theft or death of property or persons requires a restitution payment to the victim’s family or the owner of the property in lieu of blood-revenge
Yiasa: (Eee-yah-sah) Capital City of the Righ’sea/Kingdom of Erieria, center of the events in Ilavani.
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Who’s Who and pronunciation guide:
Alexander: Righ, King of Erieria, father to Cam and Maël
Amaya: Princess of Astyrewyre, Carnelian’s third cousin twice removed. First Royal Breeder signed by Cameron.
Aurélie: Maël’s assistant
Los/Astrophilos: Guild Companion, Maël’s former student and the man who holds Maël’s heart. In love with Maël, patiently waiting for him to wise up.
Bal/Baladeva: (baahl-ah-day-vah) Son of Lionel, Septir of Kedowyth,
Bahija: Daughter of the Dál of Neagas, first signed Royal Breeder to Maëlcolm
Ben/Benedykt: Kat’s brother in all but genes. Raised together in the lab.
Bieito: (bee-AY-taw) King Alexander’s best friend, Dál and Dállic councilor.
Cam/Cameron: 12th child of Alexander Righ, future King of Erieria. Maël’s elder brother by a few months. Wardhold to Carnelian.
Li/Carnelian/Salinas: Deposed Astirewyran princess. Beloved Royal Companion and Ward of Cameron. Lover of Cameron and Maëlcolm.
Kanti: Dálla of Astyrewyre, lover of Amaya, 2nd signed Royal Breeder to Cameron.
Kat/Kataniya: (Kah-tahn-ee-yah) Lab Created psi-gen, related by DNA to the Erierian royal house, beloved of Maël.
Mai/Maaike: (May-key) Woman from beyond the wall who contracts with Cam after coming to him for justice. A seer of unknown origins.
Maël/Maëlcolm: (Mal-colm) 13th child of Alexander Righ, Master trainer at the Erierian Sarayan Cloisters, Prince of Erieria, next in line to be Tànaiste. Cam’s younger brother by a few months.
Simon: Commander of the Prince’s guards, 2nd in command to B-Rac. Cam and Maël’s first cousin. Their fathers, sister’s child.
Thanh and Jia: Kat’s identical sisters.
Min/Ji-Min: Beloved of Alexander, Maëlcolm’s mother, a felid psi-gen gifted by Bieito to Alexander.