Protean – Pneuma with shapeshifting abilities.
Sapien – normal human beings.
Sarrows – the hunter / gathering sect of Elves who live in the forest.
Sensitive – a sapien who has diluted Pneuma DNA, giving them limited access to extrasensory abilities.
Varmint – a subsection of Pneuma who use their abilities for their own, usually criminal, ends.
Warlock – a male witch.
Magical Abilities
Auric Flashbulb – the process of using energy from the aura (the unseen energy field generated by all living things) to create a ball of light around oneself.
Clairvoyant – a sensitive who sees visions and / or extrasensory information about the past and future.
Enthral – when a vampire uses magically enhanced suggestion to hypnotise others and modify / suppress memories, though they can’t erase memories completely.
Enchant – the witchy equivalent of Enthrallment.
Reverse Astral Projection – a Clemensen ability to leave their bodies at will and summon their bodies to the new location. Theo describes the process akin to ‘a cosmic Hoover turning my body into a sack of quantum soup, sucking me through the empty space between atoms’.
Ward — a magical barrier spell that is usually used to conceal places or objects, or repel intruders.
Realms and Places
Alfheim – realm of the Elves and Fae.
Asgard – one of the Nine Realms, the seat of Odin, and home of the Æsir gods.
Lífkelda – the Life Stream, or magical water from the Well of Urd that nourishes Yggdrasil and by extension, the Nine Realms. The Gatekeeper’s existence helps to control the flow of this energy between the realms, keeping life in balance.
Midgard – our universe, including Earth.
Nine Realms – the nine levels of being encompassed by the branches of Yggdrasil. These include our universe, the lower regions, and the spiritual dimensions, as mapped out by Norse myth.
Yggdrasil – the metaphorical tree that supports and nourishes the Nine Realms, allowing life and magic to flow through it.
Divinities
Aten – the sun disk, an Egyptian deity, originally an aspect of the god, Ra. Akhenaten created a monotheistic religion based on the worship of Aten.
Charon – the boatman responsible for transporting newly dead souls across the River Styx.
Diana / Freyja / Lady of the Lake – giver of the amulet / Excalibur. A goddess worshipped by the Streghe and Asatruars. Her roles include watching over women, animals, and children. She is often associated with the moon, and harvests. The Streghe label Diana as the Queen of the Witches.
Frey / Freyr – Freyja’s twin brother. Pronounced with a silent ‘r’ in English.
Hades / Lucifer – Lord of the Underworld.
Hag of Ironwood, / Angrboda – Loki’s first wife, mother of Hel and the first witches.
Hecate / Hel / Black Widow – goddess of the crossroads and the souls of the dead. She is Loki’s daughter and weaver of the fates of men.
Heimdall – A powerful god, with foresight, who guards the rainbow bridge between Midgard and Asgard.
Loki – the Norse god of trickery and mischief.
Norns – the spinners of fate, representing the past, present, and future.
Odin – Supreme ruler of all the gods. He possesses great wisdom and foresight.
Orlog – the primordial consciousness that formed the Nine Realms and Yggdrasil.
Persephone – Hades’s half-mad wife.
Surt – the ruler of the fire giants who is destined to kill Freyr at Ragnarök.
Thor, the man – once a King of Norway, this man was one of the first Gatekeepers. His escapades earned him a mythic status after his death. The Clemensens are his direct descendants.
Wyrd / Urd – personal fate or destiny that forms the basis for the modern word, ‘weird’.
Institutions and Titles
Auxiliary – employees of the Praetoriani involved in general administrative duties and minor roles.
Golden Knives – the Praefecti’s elite force of warriors, who wear distinct golden capes into battle.
Guardian – a man or woman who is assigned to watch over and guide a member of the Pneuma community. They are a combination of police officer and social worker, and they’re the first point of contact between Pneuma and the Praetoriani.
Imperi Ducis – the official title for the first in command of the Praefecti.
Lictors – guards assigned to the praetors and other important officials.
Overseer – a man or women responsible for the general operations conducted by the Praetoriani and assessing of the Guardians under his or her supervision.
Praefecti – the Pneuma government, the head office of which is in Cairo, Egypt. They are responsible for overseeing the needs of the Pneuma community across the world, and control their own army, known as the ‘Golden Knives’, and mercenary teams known as the ‘Silver Knives’.
Praetoriani – an offshoot of the Praefecti, the Praetoriani are responsible for policing and dispensing justice, and keeping the existence of Pneuma a secret from sapiens. The Head Office is in Hellingstead, Somerset.
Praetor – a magistrate who works for the Praetoriani.
Solum Umbra – ’The Sun’s Shadow’. An underground Pneuma resistance aiming to protect themselves from Akhen and eventually end his tyranny. Their name hints to Akhen’s self-identification with the sun-god, Aten.
Religion and Beliefs
Asatru – otherwise known as the Northern Tradition, this is the belief in and worship of the Norse gods.
Stregoneria / Stregheria – often referred to as The Old Religion, this is a form of Italian witchcraft or folk magic, often supposed to have malevolent roots, a branch of which evolved in medieval Tuscany, linked to the goddess Diana.
Texts, Objects, and Traditions
The amulet – an ancient trinket, similar to a coin, from Freyja’s necklace, designed to protect the Gatekeeper from a premature death.
Blots – rituals performed for the Norse gods by worshippers, involving libation and symbolic sacrifice, often coinciding with major festivals throughout the calendar year.
Book of Gatekeepers – a manuscript passed from Clemensen to Clemensen, detailing their personal histories and information about the role of the Gatekeeper.
Brann – A sword that channels the destructive force of the Orlog, owned by the fire-giant, Surt. Literal meaning, ‘Fire’.
Codex Regius – a medieval, vellum manuscript containing Old Norse poems that informed the Poetic Edda. Some pages are missing. Clemensen lore states that these pages hold intel about the Gatekeepers’ origin.
Cyranides – an ancient encyclopaedia of amulets.
Istapp -- Freyr’s sword, made from quartz and ice and Vanir magic. It draws on the nurturing waters of the Lífkelda to fuel its power and counteract Surt’s fire-sword. Literal meaning, ‘Icicle’.
Libros Carminum – the Hag’s spell book, inspired after the Hag tipped poison into the Well of Urd.
Mjölnir – Thor’s legendary hammer.
Naglfar – The Ship of the Dead, commanded by Loki.
Poetic Edda – a collection of Old Norse poems detailing the trials and tribulations of the Norse gods.
Tarantella – an Italian folk dance that tells the story of a woman poisoned by a spider bite. Penny’s coven connects this dance to the Black Widow, AKA Hel / Hecate.
Copyright © 2018 by S. A. Ashdown
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