Terminology

SPOILER WARNING

**Terminology** for understanding the *Legendborn* *Cycle* series.

## Magical Terminology

### Aether:

Aether is what the Legendborn call magic, but different practitioners of magic call it different things. Magic, or aether, is known as “root” to Rootcrafters. Indigenous people living in North Carolina that were practitioners referred to aether or root as “spirit.” They fought, and sometimes had children with, demons and other magical beings.

### Camlann:

Camlann is a massive reckoning. When the Shadowborn grow restless and powerful every few centuries, the Legendborn are made aware through the Awakening of their knights. The more danger there is, the more knights are Called, and the closer they are to Camlann. When Arthur is Awakened, then Camlann has come, and there is an epic battle against the Shadowborn on the horizon. The last Camlann took place during the American Revolutionary War.

### The Order:

The Order is short for the Order of the Round Table, from the tale of *The Legend of Arthur*. The Order has been around since the 6th century, since the time of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Their mission is to hunt and kill the Shadowborn and protect the Onceborn world.

### Sight:

The Sight, also called the True Sight, is what allows the Order to see Shadowborn and magic. Regular people, called Onceborns by the Order, cannot see, hear, touch, or interact with the Shadowborn in any way; at least not when the Shadowborn aren’t fully corporeal. The Sight allows the Order to perceive the Shadowborn so they can kill them before they are fully corporeal and can terrorize people.

### Legendborn:

A Legendborn is the highest-ranking member of the Order of the Round Table. They are either Scions or Squires, and are the only people in the Order allowed to recruit new members to the cause. The Legendborn and the Order exist to hunt and kill Shadowborn.

### Onceborn:

Onceborns are regular human people without the Sight. They go about their everyday lives without knowing that demons and magic exist. The Order also calls them *Unanedig*, which is Welsh for "Onceborn." Onceborn deaths by demons are extremely rare because they are what Merlins are trained to prevent. If Onceborns knew the truth about the existence of the Shadowborn, there'd be mass fear and chaos, which is exactly what the Shadowborn thrive on.

### Shadowborn:

Shadowborns are demons, and there are many subspecies. They cannot become fully corporeal easily, but the more aether they consume, the more corporeal and powerful they become. They can only access the human world through Gates made through magic from the human plane to their hell realm.

### Rootcraft:

Rootcraft is a balanced form of magic. It involves borrowing power from one’s ancestors through offerings to said ancestors. It is nowhere near as powerful as the magic used by the Legendborn, but is far less dangerous, and won’t take a toll on the caster in the same way. All magic demands a price. Rootcrafters pay it with offerings, which seems to allow them to live long, happy lives.

### Bloodcraft:

Bloodcrafters are considerably more powerful than Rootcrafters. Bloodcraft is a form of magic that involves taking aether/root/magic/etc. from the world and tying it to yourself and your bloodline, hence the term Bloodcraft, without a payment of equal weight. Magic always requires payment though, and it usually takes it by shortening a Bloodcrafter's lifespan considerably. For example, the Spell of Eternity that Merlin used to imbue the knights' abilities into their descendants cuts off their life spans to the point where they don't live past the age of thirty-five. This is called Abatement.

### Scions:

Scions are the descendants and oldest heirs of the original thirteen knights of the Round Table. A Scion can be Called by their bloodline's knight to be Awakened, which means they inherit their knight's aether abilities. A Scion can only be Awakened between the ages of sixteen and twenty-two. The Spell of Eternity that Merlin cast allows the Scions to inherit their knight's unique abilities. However, because this form of magic is a type of Bloodcraft, it comes at a cost: Abatement. When Scions and Squires age out of eligibility at twenty-two, their life expectancy is cut in half and they die by the age of thirty-five. The longer a Scion is Awakened, the shorter their life will be.

### Squires:

Every Scion has a chosen Squire. A Squire is essentially the Scion's partner in battle and protector. Scions and Squires are bonded by the Warrior's Oath, which allows them to know if the other is in danger and feel each other's emotions. Squires are only bonded to their Scion after they have been Called. The Warrior's Oath also allows the Squire to access the abilities of the knight their Scion is descended from. The Squire’s job is to protect their Scion forever, even after the eligibility period is over and the inheritance disappears. They share an intimate connection through their bond. Sometimes it’s romantic, but often it’s not. Because the Scion and Squire are bonded, Abatement will affect the Squire as well.

### Pages:

Pages are young teenagers that compete in trials for Squire positions. Each Page must have a Legendborn sponsor, as they are the only ones allowed to recruit new members. Through these trials, Pages are eliminated to narrow down the choice at the Selection Gala, where Scions in need of a Squire will Select a Page to be their Squire. Sometimes, the Page makes it known which Scion that are hoping to Squire for from the beginning of the competition. The Pages that fail the trials are still allowed to attend Order events, but they don’t have anywhere near the same privileges or power as Squires. Pages are almost always children of Vassals.

### Vassals:

A Vassal is someone outside the Order that knows of it, but not of the entire extent. Vassals do not have the Sight, so they can't see aether or the Shadowborn. However, they are sworn to the Code of Secrecy and pledged to the Order. They serve a certain Line, and their children can be sponsored by a member of the Line they serve. Vassals can be police officers, politicians, doctors, university deans, multi-million-dollar CEOs, and the like. They are people that the Order can benefit from being affiliated with. In return, Vassals gain more money and power. Vassals usually serve as an extended network to allow the Order to keep tabs on Shadowborn and any other otherworldly anomalies. They also help ensure that Onceborns don’t become aware of the Shadowborn and go into a panic.

### Lieges:

Lieges are former Scions and Squires. Due to this, they are adept in battle, and have more experience than the current Scions and Squires. They don’t have access to the powers of an Awakened knight, though. Some Lieges were Awakened during their time as Scions or Squire, and others were not.

### Merlins:

Merlin is a title, not a person. Merlins are sorcerers that serve as mages for the Order. They have a powerful affinity for aether, can mesmer people (mind control/memory manipulation) and can create constructs (physical objects, animals, etc.). Merlins are also far stronger, faster, more agile, have better senses, etc. than typical people or Scions that are not yet Awakened. Merlins also have an unnatural eye color; for example, Selwyn Kane, the current Kingsmage, has yellow eyes. There is one Merlin for every chapter of the Order. Kingsmages are also Merlins. Merlins are part-Shadowborn. Sometimes, a sub-species of Shadowborn (succubi) will have children with a human. The result is a Merlin. If a Merlin has a child with a human, their child would be as much a Merlin as they are. The bloodline isn’t diluted. In fact, a Merlin’s parentage doesn’t seem to affect how powerful a Merlin is or isn’t. Merlin children are essentially human at birth. When they turn seven, the changes (speed, strength, senses, etc.) start, and each year after that, Merlins become more powerful and have a stronger connection to aether. But each year, they also lose a bit more of their humanity. It is called "succumbing to the blood." When Merlin created the Spell of Eternity for Arthur and his knights, he created a similar one for himself. His descendants would inherit the unique mage abilities he had honed over time: mesmer, constructs, and an affinity for aether. However, Merlin knew that part-demons would never help the Order, so he added insurance to his spell; because the darkness of the underworld and the light of the living shouldn't exist in one body, a Merlin's blood fights itself every day. The older they get, the stronger the demon essence becomes, but their commitments to the Order and its members keep them from going over. The Oaths that a Merlin swears bind the two sides of them together, keeping them in control of their souls as long as they are in service. It is why Merlins are Oathed early, before their blood can gain a foothold. That is also why the worst punishment for any Merlin would be being cast out of the Order's service.

### Kingsmage:

**"**Only the most powerful Merlin child in a generation is Selected to take the Kingsmage Oath. The child is taken from their family and bound here, in a formal ceremony before the chapter, to a child Scion of Arthur. For the rest of that Merlin’s life, they are the Scion's sworn protector until death."

### Morgaines:

Morgaine is a title, not a person. The Line of Morgaine is a group of rogue Merlins, from before they were Oathed. Essentially, they are mages that abandoned the Order because they didn't agree with the Regents' way of doing things. Some stories say they started attacking Order members, and using mesmers on Lieges to influence the Lines and Vassals before they officially splintered off and renamed themselves. After the Shadowborn, the Morgaines are considered the Order's number one enemy. The Morgaines are the primary reason the Regents have a zero tolerance policy for anyone using aether outside their purview. From the little we know about dark magic, it seems to involve the Shadowborn. So far, it looks like the Line of Morgaine work with the Shadowborn. It’s also possible that the Shadowborn serve the Line of Morgaine. Morgaines are not nearly as powerful as Merlins because they lost access to the training and ancient texts Merlins use to develop their abilities.