recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Happy Water

A healing potion used in the Impworld and Otherworld games. In the Otherworld game, the healing effect is made possible by medical nanites. The bottle is labeled with a smiley face logo. Inebriation is a notorious side effect of happy water consumption and designedly so; not only does this dull an injured person’s pain, it keeps Players from abusing Happy Water to cheat at the Game. Essentially a Player trades improved health for impaired judgment.

## Appearances

Almost every player uses happy water. GameComm ret-conned Jarrod Seventhborn's game-death by having Rogar Thunderhammer give him happy water.
Respawn

The act of bringing a character back to life after official game-death. Typically this is accomplished by a magical artifact or another player bringing them back to life by magical means. The former is the most common method. A post-mortem is a spell or artifact that respawns a character automatically.
Bandersmack

An ogre who served in the Dreadknights of Outland during Guild Wars Finals. Bandersmack was the sole surviving member of the Edger Angels before he was recruited by the Dreads. He went on to play in Otherworld and managed to survive the Battle of Cabon Gabrielle. He was slain at the Crypt of Necrophoros by Magistera the Enchantress, but then raised from the dead as a necr'ogre.

## Appearances

Appears in Luckbane (unnamed), Dreadknights and Dreadknights 2.
Thunderhammer

A thunderhammer is a warhammer that also delivers a nasty electrical shock. Thunderhammers are made by the dwarven Dhagar clan. The first thunderhammer, Wyldefyr, was given to the Ard Ri [High King] Amos Longbeard by an ice giant to help him fight the Third Troll War.

Rogar Thunderhammer wields a thunderhammer, naturally enough.
Amos Longbeard

Amos Longbeard was the dwarven Ard Ri [High King] during the Second and Third Troll Wars. After surviving the massacre of the Ri at Thanitos, Ri Amos Longbeard of clan Valorian became the *de facto* Ard Ri. He held the troll forces at Corinth and drove them back to Thanitos, ending the Second Troll War. During the Third Troll War, he was presumed dead in the cave-in that ended the Battle of Thoringard. He survived and managed to discover the Dhagar dwarves of Frostbite Caverns as allies. After being given Wyldefyr, the first thunderhammer, he pushed the trolls back to Thanitos, where he helped slay their balrog benefactor, Master Goz, ending the Third Troll War.
Point of View

Located in the Highreach Mountains of Shakar, the Point of View is the highest point on Obsidius. From its peak, one can magically see the location of everything on the planet. To safeguard it from abuse, the Magus Council has safeguarded it with traps and challenges. The Point of View was moved to Tarak as a result of the Magewar. It was the only mountain inside the Blight to survive the blast of wyld magic that ended the Magewar.
Guild Wars

Guild Wars is a subsidiary game of the Impworld franchise. In Guild Wars, various guilds compete against each other for standing. For a lot of Players, it's a good way to build skills and levels before they set off on an adventure. In Guild Wars, the maximum number of players on a starting roster is 15 members.

In Dreadknights, Christine Johanssen is competing in the Guild Wars Finals to win the chance to play her character on Tarak.

## Types of matches

The most common types of matches are:

* **Deathmatch** - Also known as frag tag. Basically, teams just try to kill one another.
* **Capture the Flag** - Each team must protect their own flag while trying to capture the enemy's guild flag.
* **Gauntlet** - Each team runs through a course. Either the best individual or aggregate scores determine the winner, depending upon the match.
* **Grudge match** - A David and Goliath styled competition where two champions represent each guild.

## The Guild Wars Finals

Each year, Guild Wars pits the best of the best against each other. The Guild Wars Finals are arguably as popular as the Ogreball Championships games.

In the year leading up to Otherworld, it was announced that finalists from Guild Wars would get the chance to play their characters on GameComm's new terraformed alien gameworld. This resulted in a lot of cheating, controversy and scandal as each guild tried to fix the matches to win. Since the stakes were so high, it was not uncommon for guilds to hire ringers. Quite often, they found such ringers to be traitors in their midst in key matches against their former guilds. Almost everyone seemed to be for hire.

### Key Matches

The last three matches of note were all associated with the Dreadknights of Outland

#### **Dreadknights v. Golden Gears**

A game of Capture the Flag in the Castle Odious setting between Auric Lothario's Golden Gears and the Dreadknights of Outland ended in a win for the Gears, but only because there were traitors in the Dreads' camp. The Dreadknights' newly appointed Quartermaster, a destruktir named Rosco, handed over the Dread's flag to the Golden Gears for money.

#### **Dreadknights v. Neverdeath**

In a turn of events, the Golden Gears were disqualified because some of their players were using rezz during the match against the Dreadknights. The Dreads' return to the Finals on this technicality was disputed by Neverdeath, who felt their popularity points made them the clear choice. The matter was settled in a well-publicized grudge match between the Dreadknights' Ogress Bloodskull and a newly hired and necrotized guild member for neverdeath, Rosco. The Dreadknights emerged victorious at Vertigo Bridge.

#### **Dreadknights v. Doomsmack**

Though Master Havok Hurtlocker tried to get the Dreadknights disqualified again before the final match, charging Ogress Bloodskull with illegal leveljacking, he was finally coerced into a gauntlet match at the Tower of Perpetual Peril. The Dreadknights were defeated but during the match evidence was uncovered that implicated Doomsmack in sabotaging their opponents. In an unexpected move, the Gamelords ruled that both teams would be going to Tarak.
Series Timeline

Some of the material in my books overlaps, so a timeline may be helpful.

## Legend

D = Dreadknights | L = Luckbane | S = Soulbright | G = Garden of Stone

The number after the colon indicates the chapter number.

## Before Otherworld

Dates on the timeline prior to the time the players chosen for the Impworld Finals left for Tarak on the *Tesseract* are given in a T- style.

* T -15: Guild Wars. Dreadknights v. Neverdeath duel: Ogress Bloodskull vs. Rosco [D:14]]
* T -14: Marcus’ press conference at the end of Copper’s Garden of Stone adventure [S:1]
	+ Christine tours Drackenwold [D:15]
	+ Goldenboy controversy begins that night. [D:16 | S:3]
* T -13 – Return of Jarrod Seventhborn announced early morning [D:16 | S:3]
	+ Ogress Bloodskull interviewed on Level Up in segment before Rogar’s [D:17 | G]
	+ Rogar Thunderhammer unveils dragonslaying gambit on Eddie Mondo’s Level Up! [D:18]
	+ Moog’s Arcadium interview [G]
	+ Stanley’s Arcadium interview [G]
* T -6: Copper’s interview on Arcadium [S:4 | G]
* T -5: Rogar’s Arcadium interview [G]
* T -4: Guild Wars final match: Dreadknights v. Doomsmack [D:25-27]
	+ Jarrod’s Gargath adventure/game-death [L:1-6 | S:5]
* T -3: Day of Otherworld invitations [L:7 | S:5]
	+ Marcus on lockdown [S:6]
	+ Jarrod captured by Jones at the Luis Montalvo shopping center [L:10 |S:7]
* T -2 - Jarrod’s interrogation [L:11-14]
	+ Marcus in Maidenhead [S:8]
* T -0: Voyage to Tarak [L:15 | S:13]

## Journey to Tarak

The journey to Tarak takes a few months. It then took several days for the chosen Players to recover from stasis sickness on Lunabase.

Afterwards, the Players experience the Inaugural presentation of Otherworld in Lunabase's holotheater, a run-through of the Game's protocols in the Lunabase Command Center, and a send-off party on Lunabase's Arboretum level, all on the same day.

* Ø -3: Inaugural presentation
	+ Champions and Wildcards announced
	+ Send-off Party in Lunabase Arboretum

The next day, the Players undergo whatever surgical modifications are required by their contracts. Two days later, they are shuttled to the Shakar Landing Field. There, they boarded a subway bullet train. A few hours later, they arrived in the fantasy city of Acropolis on the Barbos Sea.

* Ø -2: Surgery/modifications
* Ø -1: Recovery
* Day 1: Shuttle to Tarak
	+ Bullet train from Shakar Landing Field to Acropolis
	+ Champions and Jarrod embark for Wanjur in two separate Impworld ships

## To Cabon Gabrielle

From Acropolis, the Players split into two teams. Team Copper consisted of Copernicus Gallows, Harper Angelos, Magistera the Enchantress, Moog and Fleas. Team Jarrod consisted of Jarrod Seventhborn, Sir Stanley Dragonslayer and Tolkien Brightbow.
AFK

Away from keyboard. An anachronistic term for being disconnected from one's nodal uplink while in a realtime gaming environment. In such an environment, a character goes into zombie mode, where he or she continues walking, standing, shooting or basically anything else they were doing at the point the uplink was severed until the Player jacks back in. Obviously, the character is very vulnerable during this time; game-death during AFK is referred to as "auto-frag," as in "He auto-fragged himself."
Cetalia

Cetalia is a technical member of the Kingdoms of the Dragon's Tail in that they technically reside in the depths of the Gabriel Sea. The Dragon Isle near the center of the sea is considered their territory. No one leaves or enters the island without an invitation from the merfolk of Cetalia. Folks who are shipwrecked on its shores are sometimes granted freedom to roam it. Once upon a time, all merfolk could access the entire globe by swimming through Obsidius' Inter Sea near its core. Cetalia was cut off from the Inter Sea and other merfolk when the Magewar transported sections of the planet Obsidius to Tarak, including the continent of Wanjur and the inland Sea of Gabriel. Relations with the world above the waves has been strained ever since. A coral tower exists near Cabon Gabriel in the kingdom of Olden that acts as the merfolk's primary trading post and point of contact with the rest of the world.
Dragonrail

A dragonrail is a semi-magical version of a steam locomotive. Dragonrail engines are temperamental and stylized to look like dragons. A dragonrail system runs the length of the Kingdoms of the Dragon's Tail in Wanjur.

The dragonrail that transported Team Jarrod from Halcyon Bay in Corsair to Cabon Gabrielle in Olden reared up to get a better look at Boadicea's Shield when it crashed, nearly destroying the train in the process.
Saggitary

A saggitary is a demi-human with the upper torso of a human and the body and legs of a lion. They are basically the lion variant of a centaur, which is why they are also referred to as lion-centaurs, leo centaurs and leotaurs. D&D fans occasionally refer to them as wemics, but GameComm tends to censor that term for proprietory reasons.

Saggitaries can read minds, which tends to make them rather arrogant and condescending, but useful. Saggitaries who are born without the ability to read minds are known as urmahlullu, a term which implies they are the guardians of lavatories. They are barely tolerated in saggitarian society.

## Appearances

A saggitary named Eratosthenes operates the front desk of the Great Library of Cabon Gabrielle. He appears in Soulbright.
Obed Anvilspark

A dwarven Ri [king] of the Castille clan who fled the Battle of Rottimar during the Third Troll War. Obed Anvilspark was pursued by the troll captain Constantine Bloodtusk, who feared Anvilspark might try to gather reinforcements. Anvilspark and his entire company were slain within sight of the dwarven fortress of Khazak at the Great Tarn of Damocles, but his death resulted in the Noble Alliance sending the very reinforcements his death was meant to prevent.
Kryptos the Pretty Good

Kryptos the Pretty Good is a Non-Player Character who is believed to be a foil for the Gamelords. He generally shows up whenever a Player stumbles onto a major plot point. He came to prominence during the Third Age and is considered to be the most powerful wizard in all Obsidius.

Kryptos is a master of transfiguration, but his preferred transmogrification is that of a cardinal. In addition to a wand, Kryptos in known to employs a collapsible Staff of Power and a Sword of Extraordinary Service.

His home is the fortress tower of Singon. The tower's location changes from time to time, so that sometimes not even Kryptos can find it. Of course, Kryptos is a member of the Magus Council. He is also one of the few magus allowed into the royal courts of kingdoms that traditionally ban all forms of magic, mostly because n one can stop him and partly because it doesn't do well to ignore him.

## Appearances

Kryptos appears in Dreadknights, where he moderates the final Guild Wars match between the Dreadknights of Outland and Doomsmack.

Kryptos appears twice in Luckbane. In Halcyon Bay, he saves Team Jarrod from a gargoyle attack. In Cabon Gabrielle, he shows up at Seneschal Tower in the aftermath of the Battle of Cabon Gabrielle to initiate the quest for Godspell.
Ronin

One of the Five Kingdoms of the Green Lands of Damocles. Prior to the Warmonger Conquest, Ronin was bordered by the kingdom of Thor-Barak to the northwest and Arturel to the northeast. It's southern border is bound by the Arturan Ocean. At the end of the Warmonger Conquest, Ronin was incorporated into the new kingdom of Utherland.
Elemental

An elemental is a type of magical creature made of fire, earth, wind, water or electricity. Some elementals are sentient while others are bestial. While sentient types often have a preferred humanoid form, elementals can change form to suit their mood or needs. For example, fire elementals tend to transform themselves into giant snakes made of fire. Both bestial and sentient elementals can also choose a "formless" form, meaning they can appear to be benign natural phenomenon like a dust devil, a pool of water, fire in a fireplace, mound of earth or ball lightning. Only an elemental wyrd can change both form and element.

## Appearances

* A female wind elemental named Bellatrix Spice appears in Soulbright.
* In Luckbane, one of the barmaids at the Happy Harpy in Fallen Oaks is a female wind elemental named Zephyr.
* An elemental wyrd appears in Dreadknights as one of the challenges of the Tower of Perpetual Peril.
Mars Colonies

Megacorporation formed after mutants and human slaves revolted against their extraterrestrial megacorporational masters. The pre-independent colonies are generally referred to as the Martian Colonies, a term that is considered an insult to Mars natives. The Martian Colonies were critical to Sol megacorporations for their levitanium mines. The revolt became known as the War of Martian Independence. **Mars Colonies** is divided into four territories based on past megacorporational holdings. Their independence was the starting point of the Mutant Wars who saw Martian independence as a victory for mutant rights. Control of the only levitanium source in the Sol system solidified Mars Colonies claim to independence. No Champions or Wildcards were selected from this megacorporation.
Ogre O'Greg

An ogre who was recruited by the Dreadknights of Outland during Guild Wars Finals. Though he never played in the finals, he went on to play in Otherworld. During the Battle of Cabon Gabrielle, he was turned to stone by Razor Hawkins and then inadvertently smashed into rubble by Captain Belch Hammerhands.

His character's name was a mistake; as with Ogress Bloodskull, O'Greg experienced a glitch when entering his name and got stuck with the extra "Ogre" in his name.

## Appearances

Appears in Luckbane (unnamed), Dreadknights and Dreadknights 2.
Thanitos

Established at the end of the Forge War of the First Age as the capitol of the dwarven Forge Kingdom by Gerard Steelhelm, the subterranean city of Thanitos was shattered and abandoned in the Second Age during the Second Troll War. Afterward Thanitos became known as the Broken City and the capitol was moved to Corinth. The troll armies used Thanitos as a beachhead during the Third Troll War as well.
Level Jacking

Level jacking is the act of hacking a character in order to artificially boost its levels beyond what that character's game experience allows for. It is a form of cheating. Level jacking requires the finesse of a hackerjacker to get past GameComm's security.

Both Ogress Bloodskull and Auric Lothario were implicated in separate level jacking scandals during Guild Wars.
Bitters

As a result of the First Troll War, a no man’s land called the Bitters was formed in a system of caverns which connected Thunderdeep and the Ceárta Riocht [Forge Kingdom] of the dwarves in the High Lands of Damocles. The Bitters became littered with the corpses of the slain. In some places, the bones are said to be waist deep.
Houses

Houses are branches of the human ruling lineage of Tarak's history.

Notable Houses

* **Arturan** - A dominant house, noted for producing scholars, artisans, kings and noble warriors. House Arturan was entrusted with the Evangel, one of the Cruces of the Condemned. This House originally hailed from Arturel, one of the Five Kingdoms of the Green Lands. The Arturan knights and the Arturan Ocean are named for this House, as well.
* **Draconis** - A dominant house, noted for producing dark magus, warriors and merchants. House Draconis was entrusted with a compass crux, one of the Cruces of the Condemned, which fell into the hands of the Firelord before he stole the Map of Midian.
* **Dunwich** - A lesser house, noted for producing merchants, artisans and miners. The poor kingdom of Dunwich on Wanjur is named for this House.
* **Gabril** - A dominant house, noted for producing magus and merchants. House Gabril was entrusted with a compass crux, one of the Cruces of the Condemned. Cabon Gabrielle and the Sea of Gabriel are supposed to be named after House Gabril. [In reality, they and the House itself are named after Kenneth Gabriel, Vice President of GameComm's Tarak Operations.]
* **Gunther** - A lesser house, noted for producing warriors and merchants.
* **Joliet** - A rising house, noted for producing artisans and musicians
* **Maiyar** - A lesser house, noted for producing magus, artisans and scholars.
* **Man** - A dominant house, noted for producing scholars, warriors, artisans, musicians and merchants. The House of Man was given an identity crux, one of the Cruces of the Condemned, which fell into the hands of the Firelord before he stole the Map of Midian.
* **Michal** - A dominant house, noted for producing merchants and warriors. House Michael was entrusted with a compass crux, one of the Cruces of the Condemned.
* **Rathgar** - A dying house, noted for producing treacherous warriors and miners.
* **Sindel** - A rising house, noted for producing warriors, scolars, merchants and musicians. House Sindel is a fierce rival of House Tenæbril. Sindel Half-Dwarven hails from this House.
* **Teleios** - A fallen house, once noted for producing scholars and musicians. House Teleios was entrusted with an identity crux, one of the Cruces of the Condemned. The House of Teleios was massacred as part of Dominus' efforts to get the crux' bearer, Caine Teleios, to yield it or use it to help him find Godspell at the beginning of the Third Age. When all else failed, Dominus killed Caine, in hopes that he could remove the crux after death. Instead, the crux was destroyed in the process.
* **Tenæbril** - A rising house, noted for producing magus, tradesmen and warriors. House Tenæbril is a fierce rival of House Sindel.
* **Usher** - A lesser house, noted for producing magus and warriors.
Holograph

Three-dimensional pictures made by bending and/or projecting light around or across a surface. Holograph technology is used for mirrors, television/billboard/movie screens, privacy screens/walls, or to project dynamic characters. For example, holoscreens project a 3-dimensional feed rather than a 2-dimensional monitor view.
Crystal spider

A crystal spider is an arachnid made of crystal. They are found in subterranean caverns in isolated communities. They range in size from dog-sized to ogre-sized. Their abdomens glow with pale light of various colors. The Arachnus tame them with their telepathic abilities and use them as living, mobile light sources. The Crystal Caverns of Wanjur contain several populations of crystal spiders. When slain, a crystal spider reduces to a fine sand called spider sand.
Stormdancer's Gift

A pair of daggers created by a, Icarii warrior-monk named Fidelis Stormdancer. Anyone who wields both daggers into battle – and only those daggers – gains the abilities of a storm monk: increased speed, dexterity, fighting skills and agility, along with the ability to walk on walls, ceilings and even the air for brief spurts. If separated from each other or used with other weapons, they're simply boomerang daggers.

Harper Angelos' quest to discover whether she is the long-lost heir to the Icarii throne requires that she take a test of combat skills. In order to be considered worthy to take the test, she must find Stormdancer's Gift. Jarrod Seventhborn stole Stormdancer's Gift from a warrior named Gregor during his quest to slay Gargath the Merciless. Unaware of their value, he allowed a pickpocket named Dak to keep one as a reward in Halcyon Bay.
Colonist

A Colonist lies somewhere between a Non-Player and an NPC. They are required to accommodate the game in whatever way the Gamelords deem fit and are bound by their Terms of Use not to use language or technology that is inconsistent with the gaming environment.

Tarak Colonists are essentially indentured servants who are bound to their GameComm contracts for the rest of their lives. They were initially recruited by headhunters representing GameComm, but now they are mostly culled from contestants who play the Colonial Trials

## Freeborn

One of the signing bonuses, especially for Colonists from overpopulated sections of the Sol system, is that their children will be free of corporate control. The St. Christopher's clause allows those who turn eighteen just prior to arriving in Tarak to serve a limited tour or service rather than a lifetime, so long as their parents signed a GameComm contract or they or their parents participated in the Colonial Trials prior to their eighteenth birthday.

Freeborns typically find that GameComm tries to saddle them with a corporate contract when they become legal adults. A planetside Mafioso, sponsored by GameComm, is used as leverage to get Freeborns to sign away their rights. If this fails, Freeborns are either unknowingly matched with a sim so GameComm can keep tabs on them or, if they’re particularly troublesome, deposited beyond the Barriers.

Freeborn Murphy “Razor” Hawkins managed to insert himself into the Otherworld game and remains in play until such time as his ratings fail him.
Tauvek Wraithfell

An minotaur who was one of the auxiliary members of the Dreadknights of Outland. Tauvek fought bravely in the Guild Wars Finals against the Golden Gears at Castle Odious. He managed to take out their quartermaster, a magus named Pod, before he was vanquished by a vulcanopede.

## Appearances

Tauvek Wraithfell appears in Dreadknights.
Hover tech

Antigravity is made possible in the future by the discovery of levitanium in the mines of Mars. Control of this critical export led to the grudging recognition of the independence of the Mars Colonies after the Martian War of Independence. Recently, levitanium has also been discovered on Tarak. Hover tech is utilized in vehicles [hoverbikes, hovercabs, hoverbuses (aka crates), etc], commercially (hoverbots, hoverkiosks, antigravity belts, antigravity billboards, etc], and for military applications [hovertanks, mechs, etc]. To date, no process for making synthetic levitanium has been discovered. In *Luckbane*, Jarrod Adam used both an antigravity belt and a hoverboard during one of his realworld adventures.
Megacorporation

One of several controlling corporations who saved the world from the brink of disaster after nationalist governments failed. AmeriCo represents the interests of the western hemisphere. Only Israel and Switzerland had retained their national identities. The European Union controlled Europe and northern Asia. The Islamic Confederacy ruled Afrika, the Middle East, and India. Imperial AsiaCorp, termed the East by most, owned Australia and the remainder of Asia. Each controlled various interests in Antarctica and on the lunar colonies, both points of constant friction. Each blamed the other for the fact that the Mars Colonies had successfully declared their independence. Everyone works for the megacorporations, though it is possible to be fired from one of the various smaller companies they control. GameComm is technically an AmeriCo company but it well on its way to being declared its own megacorporational status.
Mr. Jones

Mr. Jones is an Agent for AmeriCo charged with the security of the Co-op President's daughter. Jones is ruthless and cunning. He often employs mind hacking techniques by accessing a persons memories via their nodal implants, very much against their will.

In anticipation of Raelia Thurmond going to Tarak to participate in the Otherworld game, Mr. Jones began assessing possible security threats. After receiving a tip that mutant arms dealer Lothar Gund was sneaking his way into Tarak, Mr. Jones began an investigation into Gund's associates. The trail led him to Oscar Diggs, a hackerjacker murdered in the wake of a Guild Wars match between the Golden Gears and the Dreadknights of Outland. The murder was allegedly over gambling debts, but Mr. Jones discovered that Digg's death was actually orchestrated to cover up Digg's part in Gund's robbery of the World Bank of Switzerland to fund his trip to Tarak.

## Appearances

Mr. Jones appears in Dreadknights and Luckbane.
Cloudgiant War

## Wyrmthrall

The Cloudgiant War was a costly war for both dwarves and elves, no one suffered more greatly than the giants. This war was so costly that by the Second and Third Ages, giants were a primitive, degenerate species, nothing like the proud races of the First Age. For example, the Anakim Empire of the lesser giant race called the Summa extended over much of the continent of Wanjur during the First Age.

Though giants were much maligned by elvish historians, it was the creation of Wyrmthrall that caused the giants to attack. Displeased with the terms of the Bloodstone Accord, a group of solari magi created a sword that allowed its wielder to control dragons and their kin. They first unleashed Wyrmthrall against Chateau Talevista, a shadus stronghold in the High Lands of the continent of Damocles. Three green dragons ravaged the castle and the town of Gillespur at its base. When released from Wyrmthrall’s influence, the dragons lashed out at the surrounding countryside. Several villages were razed. The dragon attacks attracted the attention of a tribe of storm giants. At first, the reclusive giants merely observed. Several more towns were attacked using Wyrmthrall, and a vengeful backlash of uncontrolled dragon attacks followed every attack.

## Koll the Weapon

Things changed after a young giant named Koll was attacked by two red dragons in the wake of an assault on Chateau de Ravin. Koll killed one of the brutes and managed to drive the other off, but was severely wounded in the process and unable to hide himself. News of his presence soon reached the ears of both the solari and the shadus-dwarven alliance that had formed to defend against the dragon menace. The shadus-dwarve alliance reached Koll first. Upon discovering the giant in his enemies’ hands, solari Marshall Gaeseric Talon decided to finish off the giant rather than let his foes have a potential “weapon.”

The Cloudgiant War began in earnest when the storm giant clan came to rescue young Koll. Upon discovering his execution, they swore vengeance upon the small peoples of Obsidius, making no distinction between humans, dwarves and elves, much less solari and shadus. In return, the solari began using Wyrmthrall against giants, which caused the giants to seek out other giants for support, escalating the conflict.

The war did not end well for the giants, who were rare indeed by the time Wyrmthrall was broken.

## Taking to the Skies

This war revolutionized warfare.

The shadus elves discovered the usefulness of large pterosaurs as war-mounts to defend against both giants and dragons. Pterosaurs are immune to Wyrmthrall as they are not actually dragon kin.

For their part, the solari elves began using pegasi as their aerial cavalry.

One clan of dwarves, the Balthor, tamed black rocs as mounts. The Balthor went on to become known as sky dwarves, who had a fondness for building floating cities and flying machines.
Megalopolis

Also called a megacity.

A large urban sprawl made up of several cities which have expanded until no non-urban space remains. Examples include the New York Megalopolis and Afrika’s Egyptian Megalopolis. AmeriCo razed megacities in areas that were once the old United States’ breadbasket and similar areas in South America. Other megacorporations have done likewise in their territories.
Kaiju

A sea monster with any combination of reptile, fish, crustacean and/or octupus features. Typically, they are the size of a horse at birth and several stories tall or larger at maturity. Lord Ich Garong is seeking vengeance against Jarrod Seventhborn and his friends for the death of a kaiju the orc magus kept as a pet.
Volo

A monster whose death grants the slayer a single wish.

Technically over-sized imps, volos take several different forms, depending upon their mood. When they expire, their souls rise from their bodies and concentrate into a baseball-sized orb. When broken, the orb grants the user's wish. The orb dissipates if not used within an hour.
Series Order

There is a bit of discrepancy [to put it lightly] between the publication dates of the books in the series and the series order.

This page is simply meant to clear things up a bit, so you can have a proper reading order.

1. Dreadknights [published December 2015]
2. Luckbane [published September 2013]
	* Dreadknights 2 - Takes place at the same time as Luckbane [published September 2013/currently being revised]
3. Garden of Stone [published September 2014]
4. Soulbright [unpublished]

Keep posted to this page as additional titles are added. You may also want to check out the Series Timeline.
Agrafel

Agrafel was a Shield wizard of Cabon Gabrielle who betrayed his fellow war wizards in order to allow the Firelord to attack the city. He successfully assassinated four war wizards in the days leading up to the Firelord's attack.

Pressed for time, he opted for a direct attack on the evening of the Battle of Cabon Gabrielle. By pretending to be injured, he lured two of the Shield wizards in close. He managed to destroy two Shields (one being his own) by crashing them together, killing Handsio. He then uttered Throm of Dykstra's truename, rendering the latter powerless, and then destroyed him along with his Shield using wyld magic. The blast of wyld magic also caused one of the Shields being piloted by an apprentice war wizard replacing Rathmutin to crash land in the Everwylde River.

Agrafel was dispatched by Morgana Tenaebril, the city's chief war wizardess, but the damage was done. With only two Shields active, the Firelord was able to attack the city and steal the Map of Midian.
Staff of Power

A magical staff that augments a magus' spells, like a smaller, less powerful version of the Shields of Cabon Gabrielle.

Kryptos the Pretty Good owns a Staff of Power that is magically collapsible, meaning it can be folded down into a three inch cylinder that fits in his pocket. It has little use when collapsed.
Platform 161

Platform 161 is where Christine Johannsen lives during the events of Dreadknights . The 161 is a typical fish and kelp farm owned by PanGen Aquafarms. Offshore factories like this one farm and process sea life into all sorts of products, including a form of coffee made from seaweed. Most PanGen stations are almost fully automated, with one technician and his family on site. Thanks to the efforts of Glinda Johanssen and AmeriCo’s Human Workers of the Americas union, the 161 was officially designated as a PanGen control station, which basically means it is one of the few stations that run with as few mutants or robots as possible.
Gauntlet of Heroes

Gauntlet of Heroes is a subsidiary game of the Impworld franchise. Players compete against each other to defeat gauntlets filled with traps, monsters and other hazards. Levels vary depending on the environment with players taking turns or entering *en masse* in battle royale type multiplayer scenarios.

Tolkien Brightbow defeated the Gauntlet of Heroes for seven years straight, earning the title of Gauntlet Legend and being awarded gauntlets of ogrish strength as his prize.
Metahumans

A human [or occasionally a mutant, though this is technically a metamutant] who goes undergoes surgeries and body modifications such as cybernetic enhancements to transform themselves into animalistic humans. Metahumans tend to stick together by tribes based on their mods [e.g., snake mods, cat mods, dog mods, vampire mods, mutant mods, etc]. Players who play non-human characters in the Otherworld game [e.g., dwarves, ophidians, elves, etc.] are technically metahumans.
Sim

or more properly a simulacrum.

A biological robot with a wetdrive CPU. Looks like a living organism. Human sims are commonly referred to as androids, but they can appear in other forms, such as sim-cats. Androids are not typically realistic; robots that appear too human tend to freak humanity out. GameComm uses a lot of sims, including realistic androids, for the live Otherworld game. These sims are produced by Earth Robotics Limited [[[ERL]]] which is owned by GameComm. Game sims tend to be either semi-independently operating NPCs or avatars remotely operated from gaming rigs.
Sirin

A rare harpy species with the head and winged upper torso of a human female and the body of an owl. It is uncertain whether there is one Sirin or many identical Sirin. They speak, act and dress alike. Each looks like an old woman in tattered robes. They are only ever called Sirin. Only rarely have two been seen together, but since the Sirin is a chronomancer, it is impossible to rule out the possibility that these were merely the same Sirin from two different times.

Like all harpies, the Sirin sneezes on its prey to make them weightless and helpless in order to carry them off. The sneeze sounds remarkably like the magical word "Pfetherphflufph!"

## Appearances

Copper Gallows encounters the Sirin in the Great Library of Cabon Gabrielle in Soulbright.
Fleas

### Affiliations

Briar Ring and the Questing Beast guild. Honorary member of the Cursed KIndred guild. His father was a mercenary of House Rathgar. His mother's House is unknown, but it is suspected that she came from a rival House

### Weapons and Artifacts

A magical doggie collar that says "Vampyres Suck"

## Realworld Information

### Family

Rolla McCormick (grandfather)

Fleas is a human werewolf chosen to be one of the Champions of Otherworld. He and his best pal Moog are equal halves of a very exclusive thieves ring called Briar Ring. In his human form, he is a slightly pudgy red-haired man.

## History

Moog and Fleas have been inseparable ever since Moog discovered Fleas as an orphan on the mean streets of Illwood. His on-going quest is to cure himself of lycanthropy, discover his true lineage and become a knight. He's been only partially successful in his quests. While he is no closer to being rid of his lycanthropy than he first started, he did manage to acquire a magical doggie collar that prevents vampyres from taking control of him.

## Player

Flynn is from EuroCorp's Old UK. At 13 years old, he is the youngest person to be chosen as a Champion of Otherworld. Flynn is escorted to Tarak by his grandfather, Rolla.
Bjorn Hollowind

Bjorn Hollowind is one of the Shield wizards of Cabon Gabrielle. He was only supposed to fill in for Muriel of Hemlocke temporarily after she was poisoned to death, but the death of Rathmutin and Bjorn's obvious affinity for Muriel's Shield made his position more permanent. Bjorn attempted to stop the Firelord from stealing the Map of Midian from the Great Library during the Battle of Cabon Gabrielle, but was severely injured in the process.
Drackenwold

Drackenwold is a village in Uzzial on the continent of Wanjur. It is used as a site for the Colonial Trials. Drackenwold is surrounded by cornfield forests that are still called fields despite the fairy tale dimensions of the crops involved.

Some of the action in Dreadknights takes place in the town of Drackenwold, where Christine Johannsen, the player behind Ogress Bloodskull of the Dreadknights, is participating in the Colonial Trials. Silas Hawking, the father of Freeborn Razor Hawkins, works Drackenwold's Eastern Fields.
Wyrd elf

Wyrd elves are solari who think that elves should get along with other races and that they should live more in tune with nature. They were banished from the River Lands during the Lesser Elven Civil War and now reside on the Isle of Refuge on the coastal border between the Wyldes and the Broken Lands. Wyrd elves that decided to remain in the Wyldes became known as wylder elves.
Axel the Alchemist

Axel the Alchemist is a dwarven merchant who runs a shop by the same in Arcanum Alley in the city of Cabon Gabrielle. The surly black bearded dwarf is Rogar Thunderhammer's cousin. Until his character's demise at the hands of Baldur Splintershield, he was one of Melborp's chief competitors and Jarrod Seventhborn's chief supplier of alchemical phials. Prior to burning his shop to the ground, Baldur stole Axel's Phial Gun.

## Player

Axel the alchemist was played by Earl Johnson. Mr. Johnson's business license with GameComm was tied to his role as Axel.
Fallen Oaks

The idyllic village of Fallen Oaks is located in the kingdom of Olden. It is perched on the edge of a wide chasm that is impossibly deep and deadly. As many as thirty fallen trees lay across the pit, forming natural bridges of different sizes. Some of the trees were as big around as two men standing end to end. The village itself is built high above the forest floor in the branches of the giant oak trees of the Everwylde Woods. Long stairwells wind up the tree trunks, though most levels are accessible by magical elevator hoverdiscs. From a distance, its skydocks are the most distinguishable feature of the tree house village, evident from its prominent watchtower and the various zeppelins, airships and hot air balloons moored to it.

Jarrod Seventhborn defeated Necrophoros at Fallen Oaks. Afterward, they spent the night at the Happy Harpy and, when Helgard was spotted in the distance the next morning, continued on to Mot Hadrall on their quest to recover Faustilus the Condemned. Ogress Bloodskull tricked Havok Hurtlocker into falling over the edge of the cliff near Fallen Oaks.
Bone golem

A bone golem is an undead creature made of bones. It can assimilate any bones in the area into its matrix on contact, even the bones of undead skeletons, growing bigger with each piece. Necrodragons are immune to its power, but the remaining bones of a slain necrodragon may be assimilated into the bone golem. A bone golem can take many forms (man-shaped, centaur, spider, amorphous blob, etc).

Havok Hurtlocker used a magical amulet to become a bone golem at the Crypt of Necrophoros. He hopes one day to became the new Lord of Bones.
Neverdeath

Neverdeath is a guild of undead creatures led by the vampyre Heinriech der Hexenhammer. If they aren't already undead when they sign on to the Deaths, new members are necrotized into the ranks in their guild hall, the Unholy Henge.

They were Guild Wars Finalists. Neverdeath narrowly lost its match against the Edger Angels, but when the Golden Gears were disqualified under the cloud of a rezz scandal, Hexenhammer challenged the Dreadknights' take their place by merit of popularity points. The Dreadknights counter-challenged with their right to trial by combat. Unwilling to risk his roster, which was mostly intact due to the fact that undead members could almost always regenerate for the next match, Hexenhammer hired the traitor Rosco to be their champion in a grudge match at Vertigo Bridge. Unfortunately, Rosco lost.

Nevertheless, the Gamelords decided in the end that the top three guilds from Guild Wars would get the chance to play their characters on the planet Tarak, so the Deaths moved on. While the Dreads and the Dooms were incorporated into the Firelord's armies, Neverdeath was given the task of adding danger to the Necrosanctum in Gilgaral.
Everwylde Woods

The Everwyldes are a vast forest in the kingdom of Olden that stretches from just east of Ogrefell Keep to the Dragon Mountains. The trees of the Everywylde Woods are giant oaks that rival the California redwoods. The Woods are named for the Everwylde River that runs through it. The river runs from Mot Hadrall to Cabon Gabrielle, emptying over the Edgeview Falls into the Gabriel Sea. At the perimeter of Mot Hadrall, the Everwylde Woods becomes the Forest of Night.

Cities and villages within the Everwyldes are few and far between. Within Everwylde Woods, the Champions journey through the Crypt of Necrophoros [an ancient henge], Fallen Oaks and Mot Hadrall [a city abandoned since the First Age].
Magewar

The Magewar was a semi-secret war between the Magus Council and renegade wyldermancers at the end of the Third Age. The conflict culminated in a massive explosion of wyld magic that obliterated a huge portion of the Highreach Mountains and formed the unholy Blight on the continent of Shakar.

As the blast's luminescent shockwave passed over land and sea, it brought changes to all it touched. Some were very slight, but others were more dramatic. Corn began to grow until the stalks were as tall as trees and the ears were as tall as a man. Other plants and vegetables experienced a similar gigantism. Furthermore, plants appeared that no man had ever seen before, most notably the twelve-story tall, flowering drubulbs. Wogs and dru species made their first appearance as well. Entire races changed appearances in an instant.

The most dramatic change caused by explosion of wyld magic that ended the MageWar was a planar shift: The continent of Wanjur no longer existed on Obsidius. It had been transplanted, with portions of Astan and Shakar, to the planet Tarak, leaving anyone on the continent of Wanjur stranded on a largely alien planet.

It is speculated that the sudden arrival of demi-humans during the Second Age was a secondary retro-wave of the blast of wyld magic that ended both the Third Age and the Magewar itself. Unlike the blast that removed Wanjur from the planet Obsidius, this wave extended into Impworld's past in ripples, most of them concentrated at or near the beginning of the Second Age.
Gamelords

A Player term for GameComm itself. According to a Player’s Terms of Use, language inside the Game is to be kept consistent with the Game environment in order to make it easier to produce the livecasts.

In the Otherworld game, the Gamelords are elements of the gaming matrix that form a sort of pantheon. These elements are vast programs that control different aspects of the gameworld. This is a partial list of elements relevant to the plot:

ɡōd – element of conflict

Soteria – element of safety protocols

Moros – element of destiny which assures that plotlines are being served. Also known as Nostradamus.

CHA∅S – randomizer

D∅∅M – failsafe program

Law – element of rules/fair play

Prometheus – element of life

Hotei – element of luck

Hermes – element of rank/ratings

Interestingly, the Gamelords treat Libris like he's a legitimate part of the pantheon, even though GameComm considers Libris a virus.
Uzzial

**Uzzial** is nestled between the Barbos and Gabriel seas on the continent of Wanjur. Corsair borders it to the southwest. Olden borders it to the north.

Of all of the Kingdoms of the Dragon's Tail, only **Uzzial** could not be faithfully recreated for the game. In Impworld, it is a kingdom of rolling plains and proud horse warriors, mystical knights called the Magnus Centauri. Rather it became one of the major breadbaskets of Tarak with forest-sized fields of corn. These changes were attributed to the magical blast that ended the Magewar. As a result of these environmental changes, the Magnus Centauri have split into two factions: those who hold onto their old ways as horse warriors and those who have taken new mounts such as skyhoppers to more effectively guard Uzzial's new geographical challenges.

Some of the action in Dreadknights takes place in the town of Drackenwold, where Christine Johannsen, the player behind Ogress Bloodskull of the Dreadknights, is participating in the Colonial Trials. Silas Hawking, the father of Freeborn Razor Hawkins, works Drackenwold's Eastern Fields. There is also a a dragonrail station in Wayrest mentioned in Luckbane.
AsiaCorp

Commonly referred to as the East. Imperial AsiaCorp is the the Megacorporation that controls Australia and Southern Asia. Two of the Champions hail from AsiaCorp. Tolkien Brightbow is played by Jason Lohan who hails from AsiaCorp’s Chinese provinces. Sir Stanley Dragonslayer is played by Evan Michaels who hails from Australia. One of the Wildcards hails from AsiaCorp: Impunus is played by Aleister Lucard from Japan.
Arachnus

A demi-human race of spider-people who live in subterranean caverns beneath the High Lands and Broken Lands of Damocles.

Arachnus are human from the waist up and arachnid from the waist down. They are unkindly referred to as **deep centaurs** or **cave centaurs**.

The Arachnus have a toxic sting that can paralyze their victims. They regularly take prisoners and web them up in larder warrens for later consumption.

They are known to be pitiless and calculating. They love status, art and beauty more than life itself.

They have the ability to telepathically control other large/giant spider species, which is why they're sometimes called **spider shepherds**. They use these spiders as guard beasts, pets and to manufacture various specialized forms of webbing. For example, their cities are made of specialized webbing that can be crafted into solid forms that are quite complex and quite beautiful. Most of their cities are artfully lit with glowing fungus or **crystal spiders**.

Arachnus blade weapons are made from a special form of webbing that is strong yet light and pliable. **Arachnus blades** are also flammable but take a long time for the flames to consume them.

Long-lasting torches made of the same material are called **deep torches** and are much sought after by miners and dungeoneers. Contact with surface dwellers and Dwergo has given the Arachnus more conventional armor and weapons.

## Aztoth

The largest Arachnus kingdom is Aztoth, which lies deep beneath the earth under the Broken Lands. During the Second Age, the Arachnus of Aztoth fought against the dwarven Forge Kingdom of the High Lands in the Plague War.
Corsair

Corsair is a kingdom beset by buccaneers and brigands. Corsair is located at the southernmost peninsula of the Dragon's Tail on the continent of Wanjur. A strait connecting the Arturan Ocean and the inland Gabriel Sea runs between the kingdoms of Corsair and the minotaur nation of Mynos-Gaul, but reefs, known collectively as the Sharksteeth reefs, and a perpetual thick fog make it impassible. Within this reef, lies Stormpeak Isle. To access the Gabriel Sea by water, a canal was built at the border of Corsair and Uzzial. Halcyon Bay rests on the Corsair side of the canal. Some of the action in Luckbane takes place in the city of Halcyon Bay. Halcyon Bay's most famous tavern is the Dragon's Flagon.
Thor-Barak

One of the Five Kingdoms of the Green Lands of Damocles. Prior to the Warmonger Conquest, Thor-Barak was bordered by the kingdom of Ronin to the south and Balin to the north. It's western border is bound by the High Lands. The Great Gate of Xantham allows trade between the Five Kingdoms and the dwarven Forge Kingdom. At the end of the Warmonger Conquest, Thor-Barak was reclaimed by a dwarven-shadus alliance and became El-Barak.