Glossary

This page lists commonly used terms in the world of Drow Tales.

# A

* **Arts** - The direct manipulation of mana by a person using their innate affinity or with foci stones. High arts is a combination of several arts.

# B

There are currently no terms at the present.

# C

* **Clan** - A social organization of usually closely related individuals, who band together for power and influence. See: Clans
* **Cycle** - A measurement of time. A cycle is one hour, a moon is one month, and there are 30 days per moon. 13 moons equals a year, and the first moon marks the beginning of spring.

# D

* **Dark Elf** - Ancestors of the drow, these dark-skinned elves once lived on the surface. See: Races
* **Demon** - A non-corporeal entity from the nether realms. See: Demons
* **De'vess** - House leader of a clan subhouse, second only to the Ilhar/Ilharess. See: Subhouse
* **Dokkalfar** - An ancient word for Dark Elf. See: Dark Elf
* **Drider** - Upper body of a drow, with the lower body and legs of a great spider, most driders are created, but some have been born naturally. Virtually all driders are sterile. See: Races, Ne'kalsaider, Streekaider, Waelinider
* **Drowhiir** - A specifically abusive and derogatory way of referring to the drowussu.
* **Drowolath** - the term for the dark-skinned drow, descendants of the dark elves. See:  Drow
* **Drowussu** - the term for the light-skinned drow, descendants of the light elves. See:  Drow

# E

* **Elendlar** - The traditional art of taking and storing a fae aura which can be called upon later for service. See: Summoning, traditional
* **Elendlari** - A practicioner of traditional summoning.
* **Emberi** - A human ethnic group. See: Goblins
* **Empathy** - An inherited power, enabling a person to sense what others are feeling, with training can lead to empathic healing or other powers; without training may lead to madness. See:  Mana Arts
* **Ether** - The energy that flows from fae, commonly known as mana. Used to power all underworld civilizations. See: Mana Arts

# F

* **Fae** - Any being with an aura.
* **Feral** - A cat-like humanoid of limited intelligence; can learn to speak if properly trained, but are much like regular cats in most other respects. See: Ferals
* **Foci** - A carved gemstone that manipulates mana and the surrounding elements to produce complex arts.

# G

* **Goblin** - A catchall term for humans and orcs. See: Races, Goblins
* **Golem** - An artificial automaton, capable of simple tasks, the more complex the golem, the more complex programming it can have. The Jaal'darya have created self-powered golems, but normally golems require mana stored within gemstones to function. See: Technology
* **Great Clan** - A Great Clan holds one of the nine seats in the Clans' Council, where Chel'el'Sussoloth policy is made. The Great Clans are signified by their Val or Vel prefix, which lesser clans are not allowed to use. See: Clans

# H

* **Haledri** - A muskox-like creature (albeit without the horns) used by the Nal'Sarkoth as mounts.
* **Halmes** - A human ethnic group. See: Goblins
* **Hermionne** - a beast-like human ethnic group. See: Goblins
* **High Art** - The practice of commanding mana and one or two elements and the combination thereof. See: Mana Arts
* **House** - A family unit that has grown large enough to warrant recognition, but not large enough to be a lesser clan. For example, a merchant family with more than one business, might constitute a House. Often absorbed by clans, or destroyed before they can gain enough power to claim clan status themselves. See: Subhouse

# I

* **Illhar** - The leader of a lesser clan. Always a female, the Illhar rules the clan, and its limited resources, as she sees fit. The Illhar of a lesser clan which once held Great Clan status, might be referred to as Ill'haress by the clan members still, although officially and to everyone else, she would just be an Ilhar. See: Lesser clan
* **Ill'haress** - The leader of a Great Clan. Always a female, the Ill'haress rules the clan, and commands its subhouses and resources as she wishes. The Ill'haresses of the Great Clans are the most powerful women in Chel'el'Sussoloth, not only by the power their clan holds, but by their own personal skills. An Ill'haress is often the glue which keeps the clan together. See: Great Clan

# J

* **Juice** - The common name for a Chelian street drug that acts as a stimulant, inducing euphoria and enhanced alertness. It's often created using a common sink.

# K

* **Kirisu** - A large, centipede-like underworld creature with acidic saliva.

# L

* **Lesser clan** - Any clan that does not hold Great Clan status. Also called "Minor clan". A lesser clan is lead by an Ilhar. See:  Clans
* **Light Elf** - A light-skinned surface dwelling elf, cousin to the Dark Elf. See: Races
* **Ligr** - A derogatory term referring to the blunders leading to the fall of the Dutan'vir clan.
* **Longview** - A drow term for a telescopic device. Frequently mounted upon crossbows.

# M

* **Moons Age** - The era of the Dark Elves and Light Elves, before they descended into the Underworld due to the Great Wars. Also the time when the surface world flourished with mana.
* **Moonless Age** - The current era that began when High Queen Sharess sacrificed herself.
* **Moon's End** - The new year festival celebrated in the Underworld.

# N

* **Naga** - Half snake, half elf. Currently two variants are known, one is a natural born Naga, the other is a Vloz'ress creation called the Corrupted. See:  Vloz'ress Corrupted
* **Ne'kalsaider** - A born drider, as opposed to the created drider. See: Races, Drider
* **Nether realms** - A generic term describing all other planes of existence, inhabited by non-corporeal entities known to the drow as 'demons'.
* **Nether summoner** - A practicing Velnari, also a rank within the Vel'Vloz'ress. See: Mana Arts
* **Nidavellir** - A gigantic sea of mists surrounding most of the inner continent, and is the entrance to the Underworld. See: Locations
* **Nine Glories** - The old religion of the drow ancestors, consisting of worshiping the 9 moons--the nine goddesses of the old world. Few still follow it, but the cultural impact lives on.

# O

* **Old World** - Refers to the Overworld or the surface; the ancient homeland of the drow ancestors. See: Locations
* **Overseer** - A senior rank among the women of the Vel'Sharen clan, granting a great deal of administrative authority and responsibility. It is also used within the Imperial Guard.

# P

* **Protector Twin** - A Sharen practice whereby a commoner is adopted into the clan to serve as the twin sister and guardian of a young Val.

# Q

There are currently no terms at the present.

# R

* **Rift Halmes** - A human ethnic group derived from regular Halmes, paler than their Halmes cousins due to their living in the Rift below Chel'el'Sussoloth. See: Goblins

# S

* **Sera** - A respectful term of address used to military superiors, roughly equivalent to the real-world "Sir" or "Ma'am".
* **Sharess** - Once a dark elf, Sharess detached her aura from her body and attacked the demons on their own turf, closing nether gates from the inside. She became a goddess, and was worshipped for many centuries before the religion started to crumble. Today mainly worshipped by the Kyorl'solenurn.
* **Sorcery** - An innate affinity with a particular element, carriers may learn simple tricks without tutoring. See: Mana Arts, Sorcery
* **Streekaider** - Wild driders, waelinider who have gone mad and turned savage; a threat to travellers and outlying farms. See: Races, Waelinider, Drider
* **Subhouse** - A technical term for a House which is part of a larger clan. A subhouse is rarely ever related to the clan's main bloodline, except in cases where the main bloodline has branched severely. Subhouses fill valued positions in the lower and middle echelons of a clan's structure, and their members are generally nobles or lesser nobles, but rarely vals. The subhouse is lead by a De'vess. See: House, De'vess
* **Summoning, demonic** - A ritual tehcnique usually reserved for women, this form of summoning calls a stored demon into the physical world, where it needs to possess the body of a fae to do its summoner's bidding. Also includes knowledge and ability to open and close gates to the nether realms. The demonic summoner is referred to as a Velnari. See:  Mana Arts
* **Summoning, traditional** - A ritual technique usually reserved for women, summoning calls a stored aura into the physical world, which takes on a shape built from a nearby element and fights for its summoner. The traditional summoner is referred to as an Elendlari. See:  Mana Arts
* **Sky World** - Refers to the floating islands that follow the cycles of the nine moons. See: Locations

# T

* **Tainted** - Originally a derogatory term for those whose aura has been seeded by a demon, it seems the tainted themselves take some depraved pleasure in this explanation of their state, wearing it as a badge of honor instead of the mark of shame it was meant to be.
* **Taint Sickness** - A period of the taint where the infested fae has physical debilities associated with the demon seed feeding off their aura. The fae shows signs of extreme exhaustion and lack of feeling. At this point, they are on the verge of dying and becoming a demon.
* **Templar** - Templars represent the main force of the Kyorl'solenurn, most commonly paired with a Warden. See: Kyorl'solenurn Orders

# U

* **Underworld** - The vast network of caverns and tunnels around the sea of mists where the drow made their home after the descent. It was created from a cataclysm eons ago. See: Locations

# V

* **Val** - A term originally meaning "Holy", it is used as a prefix for the nine Great Clans, and is also used as a term denoting bloodline status. A val is a noble in the Great Clan's main bloodline.
* **Val'Sharess** - The Queen of Chel'el'Sussoloth, head of the council.
* **Vel** - The Vel prefix signifies two things; status as a Great Clan, and that the clan's members are Ver'drowendar. Some refer to the Vel clans as corrupted, as demon-worshippers or worse. The Vel'Sharen are currently the only clan bearing the Vel title.
* **Vel'akar** - The intelligent demons, some benevolent, others malevolent. See:  Demons
* **Velnar** - The art of summoning creatures from the nether realms. See: Summoning, demonic
* **Velnari** - A practicioner of demonic summoning.
* **Ver'aku** - Demons with no intelligence, mere beasts hungry for mana. See:  Demons
* **Ver'drowendar** - "the Evolved", the grand title the tainted chose for themselves. See:  Drow

# W

* **Waelinider** - A created drider, once a drow, now merged with a mana-infused spider which makes up the drider's spider half. Their new condition and the spider-mind's influence often make them mad, turning them into Streekaider. See, Races, Streekaider, Drider
* **Warden** - The representatives of the Kyorl'solenurn clan; judges of what is evil and in need of cleansing. Usually teamed up with at least one Templar. See: Kyorl'solenurn Orders

# X

* **Xuile'solen** - "the Sightless", referring to descendants of dark elves who found no place in society, and devolved, their eyes being useless in the darkness. See:  Drow

# Y

There are currently no terms at the present.

# Z

There are currently no terms at the present.