Ethera Grave Glossary

Spoiler-Free Glossary

(WILL contain spoilers for Azura Ghost)

Ethera Grave

** Pronunciation notes are my best approximations

Abriss Cetre — The Prime of the Dynast faction of Unity. She and her brother Threi Cetre are the last direct descendants on the Dynast family line. Abriss possesses the highest rank of Graven genetics in any current living being. Due to the harmonious “gravitas” created by her genes, her presence imposes goodwill, affection, and loyalty in all species to various degrees. Through advanced astrology, she is able to read the motion of celestial bodies and divine information about events, individuals, and the past and future. Abriss governs Unity peacefully with the help of various councils and bodies, largely ignoring the multiverse outside of Unity. Her focus has been on scientific, anthropological, and philosophical research about the Graven and their ideal reality. Abriss believes the Graven aimed to correct the multiplicity of the multiverse—caused by an ancient catastrophe—and unite it back into central Unity to make space and time one continuum of known physical laws. With the Aurasever technology she developed from studying the Azura, Abriss finally has the power to collapse universes and join their space to Unity to expand it. She aims to collapse the multiverse and make Unity the sole universe once again by subsuming the others, thereby restoring the perfectly equilibrated world the Graven had inhabited. (she/her pronouns)

** Pronunciation: Abriss like “abyss” with an R. Cetre like ket-rah.

Andalvian (endaal) — A humanoid species whose chromatophoric skin cells act like colored pixels, reflecting their brain activity in changing patterns and colors. Andalvian emotions are expressed involuntarily on their skin, but their culture is stoic and dispassionate, valuing composure. They are sharply intelligent, straightforward, and honest, most often involved in the sciences, and heavily involved in Cartographer affairs. Their native language is rich with multiple meanings and contextual nuance, able to condense multiple phrases into one. All Andalvians are from Andalvia and of the endaal species, but not all endaal are accepted by Andalvia. Some raciations have variations in chromatophore structure and expression, and additional physical attributes.

Aohm One — One of the seven Graves. As a yraga, they are immensely grounded, with a rich internal life; reticent, meditative, slow and deep in their thinking, immune to anxiety, soothing of all those around them. Aohm’s Proxy body was wrecked from the impact of breaking Abriss’s fall off a building in the Casthen Harvest, saving her life in the process. Their consciousness returned to their real body in the Dynast Hold, survival unknown. (they/them pronouns)

** Pronunciation: ahh-ohm

atmoseal — A membrane of energy and particulates commonly found in place of an airlock, sealing in pressure and gases without the need for physical doors. The atmoseal stretches over the opening of a passageway or ship aperture. Closely related to cloudsuit technology.

Aurasever — A device of bands, threads, and crystalline nodes worn around the upper body against the skin. It was crafted by Abriss Cetre utilizing the crystalline remains of the shattered spine in the Azura starship, and approximating the luminiferous enharmonic force that allows Azura to control the physics of reality. This device is capable of popping the rind of a universe bubble, collapsing that space into the neighboring universes and adjusting the rind borders. Threi stole Abriss’s original Aurasever and reverse-engineered it into a ship-borne version that requires a fleet working in synchrony surrounding a universe, but can collapse a universe just the same. Abriss designed a second, updated Aurasever after the original was stolen.

Azura — Once a half-buried starship found by Caiden in the desert on RM28, the Azura had the ability to generate a new universe of unique physical parameters around it. The ship was destroyed and the lightseep-gloss chrysalis inside it shattered, releasing Azura as a swarm of semi-coherent Graven spirit fragments. Still attached to Caiden, and intelligent but with questionable sentience, she follows him and is able to alter physical parameters in reality with her own physics, and inhabit physical systems such as facilities and ships. (she/her pronouns)

** Pronunciation: az-rah, like the English “azure” spoken quickly with “ah” on the end

C — Caiden’s nophek pet that he kept from among the small pups rescued from the Casthen. Caiden named the nophek “C” after the first letter of everything he had hated, symbolizing his growth and his triumph over his fears, able to love the creatures that had taken everything from him and began his trauma. C is extremely loyal, intelligent, and protective. He understands much of Caiden’s language. As he nears adulthood, his is gloss maturing and giving him additional luminiferous senses.

Caiden Winn — Once a mechanic boy knowing nothing of the multiverse, Caiden toppled the Casthen organization that had enslaved his people, then left Threi Cetre at its helm and went on the run with the Azura. The revealed survival of his childhood friend Leta lured him back into the conflict between the Dynast siblings, Abriss and Threi. He ultimately reconciled with Leta and forged an alliance with Threi in order to stop Abriss from collapsing the multiverse. “Winn” is Caiden’s official passager name. (he/him pronouns)

** Pronunciation: Caiden like kay-din. Winn like the word “win.”

Cartographer — The Cartographers are a long-standing and diversely membered organization dedicated to mapping the expanding multiverse, understanding its content through study, and making it safe for travelers. They facilitate first contact with newfound cultures and organize ambassadorial trips to invite worlds into the wider multiversal culture. They maintain a free, public database of information, and charge for specific chartings, while paying passagers for data on newly charted territory and related work. The Cartographers’ efforts in cultural exchange, education, and mediation has prevented or alleviated galactic wars throughout centuries, though they are not a governing force nor do they operate a military. When Threi Cetre took up the role of Casthen Prime, he allied the Casthen organization with the Cartographers to combine their vast resources and operations for the betterment of the multiverse, while also opening up more revenue potential for passagers. As the multiverse itself is under threat from the Dynast, the Casthen-Cartographer alliance has taken a more involved stance in multiversal affairs.

Cartographer Den — Resource hubs on space stations or planets, scattered throughout the multiverse. There is at least one Den per universe of habitable size, located near a stellar egress when possible. They provide Cartographer services, including sales and purchases, medical, and mechanics. Neutral ground is strictly enforced in the “bar” section of every Den. Within Unity, the only Cartographer Den is located in Emporia.

Casthen — A private organization governed by their Prime, Threi Cetre, after the death of the previous leader Çydanza at the hands of Caiden and Threi. Having previously monopolized economy, trade, and mercenary services for centuries, the Casthen regime was overhauled to better moral standing and allied with the Cartographers to contribute their considerable resources to multiversal betterment. The Casthen ranks are still populated primarily by hybrids from interbreeding and genetic engineering projects, resistant to multiversal variances. Their hidden headquarters, the Casthen Harvest, was exposed during Threi and Caiden’s coup and remains open to regular multiversal business.

** Pronunciation: cass-then

chketin — A humanoid species common in the multiverse. Though muscular, powerful, and never shorter than two meters tall, they are a shrewd and intelligent species integrated deeply into Cartographer function. Chketin are slow to deliberate but stubborn in their final stance, leading others to nickname them “walls.”

** Pronunciation: cha-ket-in

cloudsuit — A body harness netting that emits a membrane across the user’s body, like a second skin. The membrane’s material puffs apart into a vaporous field of protective particles that regulate personal atmosphere and protect from external factors. It was designed to be an accessible standard for most species. There are variations of this style of suit for use underwater and in other inimical environments.

crossover — The process of crossing through a rind from one universe to another. This involves physiological adjustment to changes in physics on the other side, and exposure to unique energy fluctuations within the rind. Depending on the nature of the individual rind, crossover can impair, destroy, or alter biology and technology. Some things can exist within a universe safely but cannot cross over without detriment. The Cartographers maintain an ongoing database of such universal parameters and rind risks.

CWN82 — A medium-size universe that had previously hidden Casthen operations, including the unnamed agrarian planet of Caiden and Leta’s homeworld, and RM28, a nophek habitat planet onto which Caiden’s population was shipped as fodder. Threi, after reverse-engineering the Aurasever device into a ship-based version, collapsed CWN82 entirely, causing a rind flux to pass through it as the space recalibrated to the physics of surrounding universes. All of the objects within were transformed, including RM28, which became the City of Vigil.

Çydanza — The former Casthen Prime, a vishkant who controlled her subjects through blackmail and emotional manipulation. As a long-lived species, she had remained the head of the Casthen for as long as anyone could remember. Caiden and Threi together managed to murder her, with Threi taking over Casthen operations afterward. (she/her pronouns)

** Pronunciation: sigh-dan-zah

Dian Six — One of the seven Graves. A muscular human with dark, scarred skin and long black hair. He has a brusque, impatient, violent demeanor, but is fiercely loyal and protective with those he loves. His doubts surrounding Abriss’s means and the treatment of his family of Graves escalated during the journey to the Casthen Harvest and peaked during Abriss’s debate with Threi, ultimately causing Dian to defect and join Threi’s attempt to murder Abriss. Dian’s Proxy was destroyed by Leta in the Harvest, sending him back to his real body in the Dynast Hold. (he/him pronouns)

** Pronunciation: fast and softly dee-an

Dejin Eight — One of the seven Graves and Leta’s closest companion among the seven. The big, lanky, dark-skinned ursgen is powerful, lumbering, deeply caring and comforting, taking up a guardianship role. His trust is hard to earn, but unwavering. He sided with Abriss during the ordeal in the Harvest, and was the last of the Graves to exit their Proxy, due to incur the most damage from the long time away. He returned to his real body in the Dynast Hold, survival unknown. (he/him pronouns)

** Pronunciation: dehj-in

Dominant — Once thought to be the anomaly kept deep in the Casthen Harvest, and the name falsely given to the origin of the Graven genes Caiden was engineered from, it became apparent that the actual Graven Dominant was in fact a different thing: it was revealed in the core of the planet RM28 after a universe conversion revealed the true Graven structure within. The Dominant is a complex energetic, luminiferous knot in spacetime. Its force is able to mediate between the two otherwise opposing energetic Graven strains of the Dynast genetic line and nonphysical Azura, merging spiritual power with physical embodiment in a trinity approximating the way the Graven existed in ancient times. What existed in the Casthen Harvest and was formerly thought to be this Dominant strain in physical form was in fact the biological remains of a perfect Graven being, containing some Dominant signatures but truly a stable balance of all three Graven strains. It was this “perfect” source from which Caiden’s genome was based and scaffolded around.

Dynast — The governing endarchy of Unity. The Dynast are dedicated to the harmonious functioning of all planetary systems within Unity, and the search for knowledge about the ancient Graven. The Dynast’s centralized government is led by an assembly under control of an appointed Prime descended from the Dynast family. The Dynast believes that the fall of the Graven civilization happened at the same time that Unity was divided into the new, expanding worlds of the multiverse, and that these outer worlds are corrupt and untenable. As Unity now expands through the collapse of bordering universes, the civilizations and societies within become more united both practically and spiritually, beginning to dissolve the need for the Dynast’s leadership and mediation.

Dynast Hold — A sprawling city-palace at one of the poles of Solthar, the planet at the center of Unity and therefore the multiverse as a whole. The Hold is the heart of Dynast operations and the home of Abriss Cetre. It is constructed primarily of lightseep obsidian filled out with materials more amenable to habitation.

Emporia — A large space station of colonized lightseep obsidian that is a hub for various factions in Unity. It is said that anything can be bought, sold, or sourced in Emporia. The station is located close to the border of Unity.

En (Endirion Day) — A notorious rogue across the multiverse, and known by various names, En is a proficient fighter, gambler, lover, and negotiator. They are the muscle of Laythan’s crew and fills various other roles, including sales and purchases. En is a completely augmented human, sporting a hybrid organic-machine body with a small percentage of original biological matter. Within material limitations, they can alter their physique and features to whatever they want, with entirely fluid gender expression. In the first large universe shatter that Abriss Cetre performed to expand Unity, En was caught in the passing rind flux, which destroyed a large percentage of body materials and shorted out brain function, leaving them in a critical, comatose state. (any pronouns)

** Pronunciation: Like the letter “N.” In full, en-deer-ee-on, Day like the word “day.”

Feran — Their full name in Andalvian is Feran of Vitrika Endaal or Ferañae Vitrika. Feran is an endaal genetic metamorphicist and exotic plant cultivator, ex-Cartographer, employed by the Casthen over a decade ago. They were put to the task of attempting to revive the dead cells of the Graven flesh recovered long ago and kept secret deep in the Casthen Harvest. Feran began to succeed at this by designing an aquatic garden life support system. After Threi’s imprisonment in Çydanza’s unique universe, Feran was also locked in, as Threi’s Dynast genetics were the only key to the doors of Feran’s facility. With a voice link between them, they fought and bonded during the decade imprisoned, until Threi was released and Caiden’s search for his Graven origins brought him to Feran. (they/them pronouns)

** Pronunciation: fair-ahn

Glasliq — A rare type of material  and also the term for starships that use it in their construction: a crystalline matter that can morph between liquid and solid, reconfiguring shape on a metallic frame, making it supremely agile and resilient against universal conditions. One Glasliq vessel belonged to Threi until Caiden repurposed the Glasliq onto the stripped fuselage of the Azura before it later shattered apart. Glasliq also has small-scale applications outside of ship construction.

** Pronunciation: glass-lick

glave — General term for a personally equipped defensive or offensive weaponry. Glave technology varies in type and effect, and is sourced from a variety of cultures.

gloss — The most valuable substance in the multiverse, gloss is an extremely rare energetic material, developed inside the maturing brains of nophek creatures. It can take both solid and liquid form, and is utilized to power Graven technology and generate starship fuel. Some believe that gloss is produced by the parasitization of nophek brains and crystallization of the pineal gland and surrounding tissues.

Graven — An ancient species and civilization about which much is still unknown and debated. A mass extinction event wiped out most traces of the Graven—both genetics and technology—leaving behind architectural ruins and remnants across the multiverse. There are various theories as to whether the Graven participated in or even created the multiverse, or if they were indeed wiped out in the same event that divided Unity into expanding daughter universes, and debates over whether their erasure was a single event or a gradual extinction. Graven genetics remain in the human descendants of the Dynast family, presumed to be the last holdout of the Graven’s participation in physical life. The Casthen long ago recovered the corpse remnants of a complete Graven being, which scientists toiled to try to understand, revive, and clone: the Graven Paraborn project of which Caiden is the last survivor.

** Pronunciation: Like the word “graven,” that is “grave” with an N.

Graven trinity — The Graven energetic forces in the current era are divided into three types or strains: harmonic, enharmonic, and stabilizer. One is the Dynast type, which is physically embodied in the genes of the Dynast family, and represents harmony and affinity, a structuring force that is the root of the “gravitas” effect. Another type has been identified as that emitted by Azura, a spiritual or luminiferous energy, expansive and entropic. The third type is a stabilizing and balancing factor toward the union of the other two types, and is exuded by the Graven Dominant anomaly. The three are sometimes conceptualized as body and spirit balanced by a cohesive force, or as order and chaos controlled by neutrality.

Graves — Abriss’s research sought to approximate the physical nature, consciousness, sensory extension, and luminiferous existence of the Graven species. She found success by conditioning a group of individuals of various species through a complex biological process of radiation and gene transfection. The Graves are able to consciously access the luminiferity, a spiritual domain of collective consciousness and idea-form freed from space and time, where accumulative knowledge is available nonlocally. The loyalty of the remaining seven Graves split down the middle during the ordeal between Abriss and Threi in the Casthen Harvest, resulting in Leta reunited with Caiden, and the other six returned to the Dynast Hold and an unknown fate.

gravitas — The Dynast’s term for the loyalty-inducing effect generated by biological beings with Graven genetics. It is conceptualized as a proximity field around the individual, affecting the various senses to degrees dependent on species and physical mitigations. As there are multiple types of Graven energy, the effect of gravitas is assumed to be different for each type. Individuals with gravitas can learn to suppress or concentrate it to only very small degrees—it cannot be suppressed entirely. Feran’s study of the Graven tissues in their care allowed them to develop gravitas “enhancers” that temporarily—or in Caiden’s case only, permanently—boost gravitas.

holosplay — A detailed holographic display. Light organizes along a three-dimensional gridded field of tensor points in the air.

Isme Two — One of the seven Graves. Though human, the Graven treatments had aside effect on his particular raciation, which caused his body to become diaphonized: translucent and colorless or strangely colored throughout various tissues. Touch and movements are painful, yet Isme is the most steady, kind, and empathic of the Graves, and one of the strongest fighters in-Proxy. Intelligent, elegant, and scholarly, he kept up with Abriss’s philosophical goals and chose to side with her during the conflict in the Casthen Harvest. He abandoned his Proxy in order to return to the Dynast Hold and check on the others who had already returned, to a fate unknown. (he/him pronouns)

** Pronunciation: iz-mee

Ksiñe (Kasiñae) — A medical biologist, surgeon, gastronomer, and animal expert. He was formerly embroiled in a crime syndicate as their medic and torturer. After capture during a rival faction’s takeover, Ksiñe escaped by slaughtering the entire group. He sold their organs to gain funds to flee the planet, then became a reclusive but renown figure in the medical crime arena until Laythan eventually adopted him into the crew. Having formerly owned many animals for companionship and security, he now has only a rare whipkin pet that Panca gifted him in egg form. Like many endaal, Ksiñe is nonbinary. In the first large universe shatter that Abriss Cetre performed to expand Unity, Ksiñe was caught in the passing rind flux and nearly died. Abriss took him from his crew to try to treat him with Unity’s advanced medical science. (he/they pronouns)

** Pronunciation: kiss-in-yay or ks-in-yeh, the ñ serves as a “ny” sound.

Laureli Cetrin — The previous Dynast Prime and mother of Threi and Abriss. Her conceptualization of the multiverse, the calamity that created it, and Graven intention generally skewed away from the Dynast’s primary ethos. She was slowly beginning to sew these ideas into the order before her untimely death.

** Pronunciation: “laurel”+lee, or like lora-lee. Last name ket-rin.

Laythan Paraïa — Former pilot turned multiversal passager, he started with simple trade and salvage jobs while slowly picking up strays and assembling his misfit crew, which allowed for riskier operations. His ship, the Second Wind, is a more modest freighter than his previous vessels, an indication of his life finally winding down as the rest of the crew finds other work. He now does big impact low effort operations with his partner Sigew Rimoald, the leader of a large passager coalition. Laythan has a difficult history with the Dynast faction and served many years blind in a labor prison before escaping into the wider multiverse. Casthen torture further destroyed his eyes, and he now uses visual prosthetics. (he/him pronouns)

** Pronunciation: lay-thin, Paraïa like the word “pariah.”

Leta (Nine) — Caiden’s childhood friend who he thought was dead for ten years. They reunited as enemies when Leta, in-Proxy, lured him to the Dynast homeworld in order to try to steal the Azura. With time and care they managed to bridge the ten year gap and Leta’s memory loss versus Caiden’s traumatic obsession. Across the same events, Leta’s family of Graves in Abriss’s care was broken apart as their loyalties split. Leta failed to protect Abriss from Threi’s assault, failed to keep Abriss’s good heart from shattering, then failed to murder Abriss when she became a threat to the multiverse. Separated from her siblings, Leta stayed with Caiden. She is adept at leaving her body to navigate the luminiferous dimension with her consciousness, gathering information and manipulating spiritual things. Having lost her Proxy body, she has only her less capable real body now. (she/her pronouns)

** Pronunciation: A soft “e” between lee-tah and lay-tah.

lightseep obsidian — The physical condensation of energy structures previously existing in spiritual, immaterial dimensions un-phased with physical reality. After the fall of the Graven civilization and the rupture of the singular universe into many, the vibration of their lightseep slowed and materialized into visible matter, appearing crystalline and transparent. Lightseep is impossible to move, break, or tool, but many of the lightseep ruins throughout the multiverse have been colonized and repurposed using other materials inside. Abriss learned to create a fake lightseep matter, and now with the Aurasever and mental enhancements she can manipulate true lightseep to use in constructions like Proxy bodies.

luminiferity — A nonphysical dimension of energy and information from which physical reality manifests. It is conceptualized as a collective field of consciousness that exists outside of linear spacetime, and it is believed that individual consciousnesses are condensations of this field. After death, the consciousness re-expands into the luminiferity. Abriss aimed to access the accumulated knowledge and experience inhabiting this dimension through the Graves, who became able to detach their consciousnesses from the physical and inhabit the luminiferity as coherent entities. Leta is the most adept at navigating the luminiferity to view reality remotely and to manipulate spirit and consciousness.

Lyli — A Cartographer clinician and their foremost neurobiologist, she once was Caiden’s acceleration technician and therapist when he enhanced his age. As multiversal war with the Dynast escalates, she’s heading up the medical divisions assisting refugees and predicting risk. Lyli is Taitn’s partner and has a daughter, Aredis. A previous accident and the treatment needed to save her life caused diaphonization: translucent white flesh gradually growing more opaque with continued healing. (she/her pronouns)

** Pronunciation: lie-lee

mauya — A delicate, semi-humanoid species accustomed to low gravity. Mauya are highly intuitive, and physically remarkable for their fleshy wings and long, crystalline hair.

** Pronunciation: Like the “mou” part of “mouth” plus yah

morphcoat — A jacket made of a morphic material that changes qualities in response to mental state or mood. Useful when traversing frequently between environments and temperatures. Closely related to the morphfabric developed by the Dynast.

multiverse — The combined conglomerate of variously sized bubble-shaped universes embedded within one another or stuck together like a foam. Their shared surfaces are “rinds” of energy that separate differences in physics between universe interiors. At an unknown point in history, smaller universes began to bubble off of the outer border of Unity, the original singular universe and now the center of the inflating multiverse. On the fringes of the multiverse, new universes are constantly developing and expanding. Abriss is collapsing universes neighboring Unity, thereby expanding Unity’s border and slowly erasing the multiverse.

nophek — A rare quadruped mammal species from an unknown native planet. Their biology can exist only in specific universal parameters without medical intervention. Nophek are vicious and intelligent carnivorous pack animals. Reddish black in color, their muscular bodies range from one to two meters tall at the withers. They are covered in a mix of fur and rough scaly skin. As a nophek matures, highly valuable gloss crystallizes within its brain. The value of gloss led the Casthen—headed by Çydanza at the time—to farm nophek on a clandestine planet, RM28. Caiden’s homeworld population on a nearby planet was raising feed animals to be shipped to RM28 until a rogue disease wiped out these bovine and the slave population was sent instead. Caiden survived and healed from this trauma, ultimately taking a nophek pup, C, as a pet from among a litter he rescued. C is now juvenile headed into adulthood.

** Pronunciation: no-feck

Panca (Pan Carai) — The clone of a saisn high official, as is a common practice in the core saisn sects, she was grown in a stimulus-free environment as a “blank slate” for a complete nervous system transfer. A political scandal ended in the official’s death. Panca, a nonverbal witness and of no value as a replacement, had memories wrung out of her as testimony then was sold as a cheap “machine spirit,” a stand-in for a species designed to live within starship engine rooms and tune/attune with them. When the ship she was sold to ended up derelict after a fight—all the crew dead—Panca lived on inside it drifting in space until Laythan boarded for salvage. As his mechanic she found a safe space to rehabilitate. She is able to solve mechanical problems deftly, is an empath, and due to the saisn’s delicate nervous system and specialized organs, she exists in a “sense-sea” of broad spectrum sensory information. As Laythan’s crew started to separate, Panca remained with him on the Second Wind, cozy in the familiar. (she/her pronouns)

** Pronunciation: Between pan-ka and pahn-ka, full name pan-car-eye.

passager — A free individual registered with the Cartographers as a multiversal explorer, bound to a code of rights and allowed access to advanced Cartographer services.

Prime — The singular leader of a sufficiently large organization. Within the Dynast, Prime status is hereditary.

prinna — A semi-corporeal species that is a temporid, a category of xenid that experiences time differently, either sensorily or biologically. Prinna have delicate musculoskeletal systems and somewhat gaseous layered outer bodies. They vibrate temporally, with impressions of their being—mass, voice, and other sensory elements—extending in front of the current moment and lagging behind them. They are not humanoid but are able to produce common languages and are highly intelligent and curious beings.

Proxy — One of the hybrid organic-inorganic mechanical bodies designed by Abriss Cetre specifically for each of the seven Graves. The Proxies remotely contain and are driven by the Graves’ individual consciousnesses, allowing their real bodies to remain safe within the Dynast Hold. Four Proxies were wrecked during the conflict at the Casthen Harvest, and were collected by Threi. Three intact headed home to Unity with Abriss.

rind — An interstitial space between universes, like an energy membrane, dividing universes from one another. Rinds can be passed through without resistance, but not all physiologies or technology can cross over without damage. The alterations in physics that rinds impress on objects passing through is individual to each rind.

RM28 — Once a mostly desert planet with the right universal and environmental conditions to sustain nophek without medical intervention. The Casthen established nophek packs here, and sustained them with periodic feed shipments from a nearby agrarian planet, until the operation was discovered and a gloss raid decimated the nophek populations. When Threi used the ship-borne Aurasever to collapse the universe entirely, the passing rind flux and new physical laws transformed the planet and cracked an impenetrable inner shell, revealing it to be a Graven megastructure of lightseep obsidian and exotic matter, housing the Dominant within. Threi named this place the City of Vigil.

saavee —Roughly humanoid in shape, but with unusual skull structure and facial features. Saavee are common across the multiverse and take up a variety of jobs, especially prevalent in mechanical technology disciplines. From a curious and gregarious culture, they are generally considered friendly and helpful to all species.

** Pronunciation: sah-vee

saisn — Tall, lean humanoid xenids known for their fine muscular control and sensitive nervous systems. All saisn develop a specialized sensory organ in the brain that is visible as a transparent, faceted core in their forehead. They are immersed in a “sense-sea”—a broad frequency range of sensory detail. Saisn culture is philosophical and refined, politically complex, and quite secretive to outsiders. Within the Cartographers, saisn often serve on the culture council and as ambassadors to newly discovered worlds and first-contact missions.

** Pronunciation: say-sen

scalar gravity — Artificial gravity generated in a patterned matrix of nodes and antinodes within a short range. These scalar gravity fields pattern force in space to levitate objects or to anchor them against a surface such as a floor. This gravity system is used for starships, stations, and on a small scale for maneuvering objects or creating force fields.

scour — A tubular chamber that can cleanse and restore xenids of all biological type. It cleans skin and clothing, heals minor wounds, kills parasites, and eliminates internal waste. Scour technology is common throughout the multiverse.

Sisorro Seven — One of the seven Graves. As a prinna, a temporid species, Sisorro exists vibrating forward and backward across a small span of time, lagging behind and preceding themself. Their body is gauzy and vague with spindly, lightweight bones, and a somewhat birdlike face. Gregarious, bubbly, flippant, and with no filter, Sisorro is the cheer of the Graves, dangerously optimistic and opportunistic. Their Proxy took a fatal blow in the Casthen Harvest conflict as they vacillated between the two sides. This returned their consciousness to their real body in the Dynast Hold, survival unknown. (they/them pronouns)

** Pronunciation: sis-or-oh

Solthar — A planet at the center of Unity, which is also the center of the multiverse. Some speculate the core of the planet is liquid lightseep, or a special black hole, or a great machine generating the universe. Solthar is the Dynast’s homeworld, on which sits the Dynast Hold. An orbital field of lightseep obsidian shards is used to refract reality on the planet’s surface and blend real features with holographic ones for a variety of terrain, biomes, and weather.

stellar egress — Egresses are remnant Graven technology, instantaneous two-way spacetime shortcuts from one specific location in the multiverse to another specific location. They not only cut down on travel time but allow entrance into universes while bypassing the need to cross through a rind. This can open up exploration in universes otherwise too dangerous to cross over into.

Taitn Maray Artensi — A former child war hero with the Bielskan military, rescued by Laythan when he was discarded after victory. He’s still one of the best pilots in the multiverse, but broke off from Laythan’s crew to start a family with his partner, Lyli, while doing passager work with his modded Maltaean warship, the Wintra. (he/him pronouns)

** Pronunciation: Like the name “Titan” or the word “tighten.”

tal — With vaguely humanoid skeletal structure, these xenid have morphic flesh, a ruffled, smokelike solid matter that flows between shapes: solid and limblike, or fanned out like broad cloth. Tal are fairly uncommon in the multiverse.

Tayen Five — One of the seven Graves. A butch human woman, gruff and irreverent, blunt and vindictive, but like Dian, fiercely loyal to those she calls family. Her brain was infected by an alerid type parasite that nearly killed her. The Graves project saved her life and allowed a symbiosis with the parasite, but it detours her speech pattern and reorders her memories. During the Casthen Harvest conflict she sided with Threi, and her Proxy was destroyed, sending her consciousness back to the Dynast Hold, survival unknown. (she/her pronouns)

** Pronunciation: tay-ehn

Threi Cetre — The Casthen Prime and a descendant of the Dynast family line, possessing Graven genetics. His Graven rank and thereby his gravitas is less than his sister Abriss Cetre’s, thought to be a result of the line’s inbred nature and general Graven dilution. Threi—originally playing three political sides—conscripted Caiden to join him at the Casthen Harvest and ultimately to depose the former Casthen Prime, Çydanza. Threi afterward assumed the role of Casthen Prime despite being imprisoned in Çydanza’s universe by Caiden. It was Abriss’s Aurasever technology that burst him free as she came to reconcile…a meeting that ultimately ended up in Threi attempting to murder her once and for all and stop the multiverse-collapsing goal that her Aurasever makes her capable of enacting. Threi’s failure pushed him to form another unlikely alliance with Caiden and Leta, to unite the Casthen with the Cartographers, passagers, and other multiversal factions and stand up to the Dynast threat. (he/him pronouns)

** Pronunciation: thray. Family name is “ket-rah”

twitch drive — A ship flight-control system that uses the pilot’s muscular control, rather than conventional neural control. It is considered more reliable and comprehensive. Twitch drives usually consist of two or more pliable panels to encase fingers or comparable appendages, but may also involve—via the seat—the full musculoskeletal system of the body. The theory behind this flight method emerged from the technical riding of creatures, where the flow of energy and pressure links the two neural and musculoskeletal systems together in a feedback circuit.

Unity — Once the sole universe during the time of the Graven civilization, Unity is the largest universe and the most central to the entirety of the multiverse. It is slowly inflating and absorbing planets and other celestial bodies at its expanding border. Abriss Cetre, with her Aurasever capability, can now collapse border universes and expand Unity at an increased rate, translating everything within those subsumed universes into the physics of Unity. The Dynast faction governs Unity, and has immigration programs for affected border worlds. The physical and metaphysical laws within Unity are so well understood, nearly all disease and ailment is preventable, life-spans can be lengthened, war is ended, education is free, one language is common, technology has perfected resource generation and waste management, and citizens understand how to align with reality to manifest their desires and needs. For many, Unity is considered the paragon of safety and comfort, but its physical makeup is not hospitable to all species or materials.

ursgen — Humanoid xenids averaging two and a half meters tall, with a leanly muscular, lanky build, long thick tail, broad face and small eyes, long expressive ears, and a nearly hairless body. Their thick skin ranges through dark brown and grey shades. Their culture is nonviolent and reclusive, originally from outside Unity but long since adapted to it, drawn to Unity’s harmonious principles. Ursgen in Unity tend to intersperse a pidgin language into the Shihl common tongue, though their native language is based largely on touch and pulse. “Heartsync” is a core part of their biology and cultural connections.

Veren — Laurel Cetrin’s partner and the father of Threi and Abriss. He was a strict adherent to established interpretations of the Dynast ethos and Graven research. Abriss, too young to remember much of Laureli, grew up as Veren’s rapt pupil and enjoyed the bulk of his affection. Threi was argumentative with Veren, leading first to his exile from Unity and then, upon his return, a conflict that escalated and resulted in patricide. (he/him pronouns)

** Pronunciation: veh-ren emphasis on the R

Vigil — The City of Vigil was formerly the planet RM28, which was transformed when the surrounding universe, CWN82, was collapsed by Threi’s armada of Casthen ships equipped with Aurasever-type devices. The shift in physics revealed and cracked open a Graven megastructure of lightseep obsidian and other exotic matter, with the Graven Dominant at its heart. Since Azura was discovered cocooned in a starship on the surface of this planet, it’s presumed that she had some connection with the Dominant within Vigil.

vishkant —Rare, mostly incorporeal xenids with vaporous bodies that congeal into solid form in response to an observer’s consciousness—thoughts or memories—and assume the form of a familiar person. The vishkant’s appearance and solidity is partially real and partially observer hallucination elicited by pheromone. When the impression of external consciousness is removed, the vishkant’s molecules return to a neutral, vaporous state. Older vishkant can maintain a form of their choosing and resist exterior influence. Due to their shapeshifting ability, vishkant are often employed in espionage as manipulators, or in pleasure trades as manipulated.

** Pronunciation: Like “fish” but V instead of F, plus a soft “can’t” like the name Kant.

whipkin — A short-furred, egg-laying mammal around one-half meter long from nose to tail. They are omnivores adapted to a saline woodland environment, with long-fingered paws for climbing, and patagia between forelimbs and hind limbs for gliding and swimming. They are extremely intelligent, but shy and reclusive in the wild. Ksiñe owns a pet whipkin.

xenid — Generic term for an individual of an alien species, usually but not exclusively applied to nonhumans.

** Pronunciation: zee-nid

yraga — Tall, bulky, muscular xenids with fungal or floral features to their build: all white, silver-freckled skin with scarlet cilia frilled up inside bony and liliaceous folds. They have skulls but no distinct facial features, no mouth, internal light reception system. Their telepathic speech unfolds like a forest in fast motion, syntax budding and decomposing, many parts working to form a whole. They are a slow, meditative, intensely focused and—many consider—enlightened species.

** Pronunciation: ear-ogg-ah