♦ courser = (not to be confused with corsers) commissioned with the sole task of hunting down and sinking or capturing pirates.
♦ register-ship = responsible for carrying currency, precious metals and other goods valuable to state or Empire.
Universally calling themselves the Senior Service, the navies of the states are always looking for new recruits. They put up posters promising great rewards, fete famous or valorous captains to keep their popularity high, press vagrants, foundlings and merchant vinegars (men serving on merchant vessels) into service, offer convicted criminals a berth in place of serving in the notoriously foul prisons, pinch or entice the crew from the rams of other states; in short, do whatever it takes to keep their ships fully manned. Life in the navy is tough, and vinegaroons often die younger than landlubbers (or just “lubbers,” as vinegaroons will say), affected by the caustic sprays that wash over their rams and pit and scar their skin.Yet the pay is higher for equivalent work on land and the chance of prize money very real. Though vinegaroons do not wear uniforms, their rams have distinct collections of flags, unique for each state or realm, called bunting. The biggest piece of bunting is the enormous rectangular flag known as the spandarion, showing the mottle and sigil of the state to which the ram belongs. A fleet decked out in full bunting flapping proudly in the breeze is a most beautiful sight. There are also cypher flags or burges—used to communicate from vessel to vessel—run up on lines between the masts. By these a commodore or admiral can give orders to his squadron or fleet, and vessels can relay simple information. A typical navy consists of twenty to thirty capital rams including three to five main-sovereigns, sixty odd cruisers (see Appendix 6) and many schooners and other small sailers for observation and running messages (advice boats). It is usual for a city-state to support more rams than it could ever shelter in its harbors. This is because about two thirds of any navy is at sea at any one time. Maintaining even a half-decent navy costs mind-bogglingly immense amounts of money, money that a state may not always have in its coffers. Consequently, navies will be involved in their own private enterprises, or invest in companies and seek investors from among those who benefit most from their labors. Naval agents are responsible for all this wheeling and dealing, and great clouds of them bustle about the Half-Continent in pursuit of funding for their masters. See rams and vinegaroons.
nicker(s) general name for all monsters that live on land (sea-monsters generally being called nadderers), and also used more specifically of those monsters who are the size of a person or larger. See monsters.
nimbleschrewd(s) type of blightling (the worst sort of glamgorn) who runs about in gangs. As with many other glamgorns, they like to dress in human clothes and adore making mischief wherever and however they can. A nimbleschrewd’s idea of mischief goes far beyond just simple pranks (these they will do); what they like best is making everymen miserable and wretched and even killing them. See glamgorns.
nostrum scripts that are not part of the common lexicon (popular and well-known scripts). Instead they are the unique or rare concoctions of a specific skold or school of skolds.
nuglung(s) small but very powerful kind of bogle, often having a head like a twisted version of an animal’s. It is said that nuglungs serve the urchins, the lords of the monsters, as messengers and spies, and are often found sneaking and prying into the deeds of men. They are notoriously tough to kill, although most potives work just as well on them as on any other monster. The worst, most violent and cruel of the nuglungs are called pernixis. See monsters.
nullodour a collection of potives designed to hide or confuse or fake certain smells. Their most common use is to mask the distinctive odor of a person so that he or she remains unnoticed by monsters. Used in conjunction with john-tallow, it offers you an excellent chance to throw off pursuit and escape with your life.
O
old salt one of the many names for a sailor of the high seas. See vinegaroon.
olfactologue “smell-machine”; a biologue (biological device) used to make smells profoundly more noticeable while also increasing the wearer’s ability to discern subtle differences in odors otherwise impossible to sense. Made of a simple wooden box strapped over the nose and mouth but leaving the eyes unobstructed. See sthenicon for a detailed description of the parts that make up an olfactologue. As with a sthenicon, if you wear an olfactologue for too long, the organs inside will start to grow up your nose and into your face. After about a week, the box could still be taken off, though you would find tendrils up your nose that would tear out painfully. After a month of wearing an olfactologue (or a sthenicon), it could not be removed without surgery and the loss of the front of your face. Used most by leers, who swallow special drafts beforehand to help make their senses sharper and sniff exotic powders to retard the invasion of the biologue’s organs.
Opera, Madam ~ third daughter of middling gentry. In her twenties, Madam Opera Gelderwine found true love with a daring equiteer officer of superior breeding and charm only to have a scandal (so serious that few still know anything about it and Madam Opera will never tell) dissolve the engagement and leave the young agonized Opera forever unwilling to try at love again. Taking on the title “madam” anyway, to put off any more suitors, of which there were several, she set off on the Grand Tour and traveled the known world for several years seeking solace in glamorous cities. Running out of money, she finally returned to Boschenberg, the city of her birth, to find all that remained to her was an old mansion in a run-down part of the city. With no income and no prospects she took up one of many navy contracts being offered at the time to run a marine society, the first unmarried woman to have ever done so. Hiring pensioned vinegaroons as her staff (who received their pay from the navy rather than from the madam, and included Fransitart and a year later Craumpalin), she began her Estimable Marine Society for Foundling Boys and Girls. She is a lonely, middle-aged lady who spends most of her days stalking about the marine society seeing who she might catch at “knavery and misdeeds!” as she calls it, or sitting in her private rooms receiving guests and dictating letters for Verline to take down. To the children Madam Opera seems grand, calculating and sour.To any of the young men who act as agents for the various services seeking to hire marine society children, she seems an obvious flirt.
operasigis pain-marks or grief-signs, said “oh-por-ah-sij-jiss”; another name for spoors.
Ormond one of the Signal Stars; the fourth-brightest light in the night sky, preceded by the white planet Penelopë and followed by purple Hadës. Ormond rises even later than Maudlin, and its appearance shows that the night is old and dawn approaching.
oscadril also oscar or owl; the largest coin of the Empire, made partly with gold and worth 1½ sous. On one side is a relief of the Sagacious Owl (the symbol of Clementine’s mint) and on the other a Pillar or two Pillars entwined with a sash (a symbol of the Empire itself). If you were to toss a coin for a test of luck, you would say, “We’ll flip for it! You tell me—the Pillar or the Owl?” Various Emperors have tried over the centuries to make the oscar the standard currency throughout their domain.Yet somehow it has never worked and the sou remains the merchant, and therefore most common, coin.
P
Padderbeck, the ~ one of the many quays in Boschenberg, situated along the banks of the Humour; small quay built along a narrow canal called the Stoorn, coming off the main flow of the river to increase the access of trade. Other similar canals include the Humrig, Glastornis and Glachtig.
Padderbeck Stair, the ~ walkway about and steps leading down to the Padderbeck itself, though the two names are often used interchangeably.
pamphlets large many-paged periodicals, a cross between what we would call “newspaper” and “magazine,” often filled with scandalous and fabulous stories of current politics and past events. The pamphlets that Verline kindly buys for the marine society are paid for by her sister the Lady Praeline, who has the money to afford them.
panniers baskets or boxes with fastenable lid
s that are borne by animals or fixed to carriages for carrying stores and goods.
parlor maid usually a maid-servant who waits at the meal table. In Verline’s case, however, though she is called a parlor maid, her responsibilities and chores involve much more than just serving Madam Opera meals.
Parts, the ~ or just lowercase: parts; all the Elements, Sub-Elements, chemicals and minerals and other ingredients that are used to make scripts.
patchouli water water in which the petals of the patchouli flower have been soaked. The water is then strained to leave a pleasantly scented liquid for dabbing about oneself or dripped into a kerchief to be wafted about the room.
pediteer said “ped-it-ear”; the common name for a foot soldier, as opposed to an equiteer or cavalryman. Musketeers, haubardiers and troubardiers are the three most common pediteers. Along with them are the ambuscadiers, frankarms and other light infantry.
peer(s) the nobility, those considered or considering themselves to be of highborn blood: ancient kings and queens, dukes, duchesses and the rest. All of the regents of the states of the Empire are peers; indeed, you can never be a regent unless you are a peer.There are certain bloodlines within the peerage that are considered superior to others, such as the Corvinius Arbours of Boschenberg or the Saakrahennemus of Brandenbrass. Probably the most superior is a broadly scattered bloodline: those of a group called the Didodumese (said “dy-dod-dyoo-meez”), a lineage not reckoned in the person’s name but by their birth and nativity patent. The Didodumese are all those descended from Dido, the founding Queen of the Empire who ruled 1,600 years ago. There are even some without a peerage who belong to this illustrious set, scattered and squabbling across the whole Half-Continent and beyond. The current Haacobin Emperor is not one of the Didodumese, who hold that the supreme leader of Dido’s realm must be one of her descendants. He often contends with their political arm in the Imperial Parliament and their spies and assassins in the palaces.
peregrinat almanac made hardwearing and even waterproof for use by wayfarers and other travelers.
Phoebë the most common name for the moon, the governing orb of the night sky.
physic, physician well liked and well respected, physicians train for four to six years at physacteries, spending a further year or two in a sanatorium (hospital) before being granted their full degree. With this they are allowed to be called “Doctor” and are free to practice their trade in the wide world. There they tend to all the aches and sprains of the ailing public, bleeding, balancing the humours, diagnosing and recommending drafts to be sought from dispensurists or procedures needed from surgeons. Physicians will even attempt a little surgery, which they are qualified to do, and folks are much happier to be under a physic’s knife than those butchers the surgeons. Physicians charge for each attendance and can earn about three hundred sous a year.
physics the study and practice of caring for the sick and injured; what we would call “medicine.”
Pike, Mister ~ boatswain of the Hogshead; a very quiet and obedient man who yet manages to control the crew set under him.
Pinsum, Master ~ the most bookishly learned of Madam Opera’s employees and master of matter, habilistics and generalities at the foundlingery . He has never been a sailor nor even seen the vinegar seas, but rather was a small-time actor before serious lumbago (chronic muscular pain in the legs) made it impossible for him to continue in a job that required so much standing up. Answering a petition of employment put out by Madam Opera, he began work at the foundlingery while Rossamünd was still a baby. He also teaches letters.
piped to bed one of the many signals given by the masters of the foundlingery upon the bosun’s whistle to tell the children to go to bed. Once it is blown, the foundlings have fifteen minutes to be beneath their blankets. See bosun’s whistle.
Pirate-kings of the Brigandine, the ~ pirate-kings associated with the Brigandine Coast, northeast of the Half-Continent, beyond the Liquor. There are other pirate-kings sitting in their strongholds in other lands, but those of the Brigandine are the most infamous.
pith also pluck or constitution; what we would call “metabolism.” It also means intestinal fortitude or “guts.” plaudamentum see Cathar’s Treacle.
Poéme once-fashionable suburb in Boschenberg, now given over to factories and warehouses; where Madam Opera’s Estimable Marine Society for Foundling Boys and Girls is also found; now famous for not much at all.
pokeweed or pockweed; a reedy plant that grows in swamps, and best in threwdish swamps, from whose stems is made a tough, durable fiber of the same name. It takes well to gauld and is prized as padding in proofing.
Pontoon Wigh, the ~ a main street in High Vesting that runs parallel to the coast. Clean and possessing a glorious square, it is an address much sought after by the best corporations and mercantiles.
Pontus Nubia the “black sea,” whose acrid waters are quite literally black like ink.
poop or poop deck; rearmost section of the upper deck of a ram, between the aft mast and the stern. Given that the decks of a ram are flush (that is, flat), the correct term for this part of the vessel is the aft deck. In the vernacular of the vinegaroon, however, the old term remains.
portable soup flat, unappetizing-looking oblong slats of black material about the size of a man’s hand. They are made from a brothlike soup of beans that is strained, mixed with powdered bone and dried till it is hard. It is then etched with the manufacturer’s mark, wrapped in greased paper and shipped off to sell. Soaking one slat in hot water for about half an hour (or three hours for cold water) will cause it to dissolve into the black goop it was to begin with. Not very tasty, but light, nutritious and it takes up little room, making it an ideal wayfood. It can even be eaten as it is, though you would have to bite and chew very carefully or risk cutting up your mouth and tongue.
potive(s) any concoction meant to have an effect externally, that is, not by swallowing or some other introduction into the body, as opposed to drafts, which need to be swallowed to work. Some potives still have to touch exposed skin to have an effect. See scripts.
Poundinch, Rivermaster ~ master of the Hogshead; he has served on many vessels on the vinegar seas and gained a lot of experience on the behavior and temperaments of both people and ships.
Praeline or properly the Lady Praeline, said “pray-leen”; younger sister of Verline. Her locally famed beauty allowed her to marry well above her station, much to the shame of both families. His parents see her as a grasping upstart; her parents (now passed away) saw her as getting “hoity” and too big for her own boots. Her sister is just happy her husband treats her fairly.
prattling hackmillion person who talks big but cannot back it up with action; “hackmillion” is a term used of someone who makes many swings and showy stabs at an opponent with a sword or other weapon but to little or no effect: all show and no results.
precincts of man, the ~ see marches.
prize(s), prize money typically they are the capture of another ram or a cargo, or even a seaside town or city; the taking of some significant person worth ransoming; or the proven slaying of a sea-monster (the bigger it is, the better the reward). Prize money is paid as an incentive for heroic endeavors and is distributed to the whole crew of a ram by their government in amounts deemed appropriate for the deed accomplished. This distribution, however, is very uneven, with the captain of the vessel getting far and away the largest share, the rest trickling down till the lowest yonker (cabin boy) or grummet might receive barely more than an extra day’s pay. It really does depend on the quality of the prize taken. There have been occasions where the capture has been such a haul, like a fleet of treasure ships bound for Turkmantine, that the prize money earned by the entire crew is enough to set each one up for life. The smaller rams—the frigates and drag-maulers (see Appendix 6)—are more active, and on average their crews can expect to double their year’s pay with prize money. The vinegaroons of the larger rams—iron-doughts, main-rams and main-sovereigns (see Appendix 6)
—will normally earn prize money equal to about half their annual pay. For a fee, naval or prize agents will take care of the tiresome and punctilious work involved in securing a crew’s prize money, and naval offices are bustling with them all year round. Prize money is also offered to landed folk for the killing of monsters or capture of criminals.
proofed treated with gauld to turn into proofing. See gauld, gaulder.
proofing any garment proofed, or treated with gauld, so that it has become sturdy cloth armor as good as, if not better than, any ancient metal suit. See gauld, gaulder.
Proud Sulking also called Schmollenstolz; the major city of the farming region known as Sulk, situated on the east banks of the river Humour. A quiet rival of Boschenberg, it offers access to its ports and cheap land transport so that barges might discharge their cargoes and avoid the high tolls of the Axles. It is also becoming the preferred river-port for the taking in of produce from Sulk—grains, vegetables, cotton, flax, limestone—for export to the rest of the world. This was once Boschenberg’s monopoly.
prow front, pointed part of a vessel forming part of the bow. On a ram the prow curves down and forward into a beak called a ram, from which these vessels take their name.
pugnator said “pug-nay-tor”; a common, some consider vulgar, term for monster-hunter. See teratologist.
“Pullets and cockerels!” exclamation of disgust or surprise or astonishment; it means, quite literally, “hens and roosters!”
Q
quabard said “kwe-bard” or “kay-bard”; a shorter version of a haubard; like a weskit only lined with gaulded-leather plates and fitting more tightly, fastened with buckles at the side or back rather than buttons. See harness .
quarto also quarter; any body of soldiers significantly smaller than a platoon, which is roughly thirty men. Typically a quarto is around ten souls.
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