Glossary

hey so it's like 3:30am and some of these terms aren't fleshed out yet. thanks for noticing!

## Fate

Fate is very, very real. It is governed by the god Ti-Yo, who weaves all Fates together. However, Ti-Yo will not weave a person without their consent, and so when one reaches maturity (generally somewhere between the ages of ten and sixteen, it varies from person to person) they will experience The Vision and The Choice.

## Visions

When a person reaches “maturity” as determined by an inscrutable metric used by the Gods (generally between the ages of ten and sixteen, with twelve being the average), the Breath of the Gods will overcome them, and grant them a vision of their Fate.

The Vision includes vague details of their future. What their profession will be, whether or not they will marry (though not necessarily to whom), how long they will live, and how they will die. It will also include any major details about their future it considers important, which seem to be random to most people. It also has the potential to be manipulated by a God, as was the case with Aeron Seycilia.

## The Choice

After a person has seen their Vision, a voice in their mind will ask if they accept. This is The Choice - the point where a person decides on the rest of their life, and what path they will take.

If yes, their Fate is set in stone, and become one of the Fated. If no, they sever themselves from their Fate, and instead are deemed a Fateless.

## Fated

The Fated are those that have accepted the contents of their Vision. That is now the path their life will take. However, they can also be certain that their life will be relatively comfortable, and they will not experience long-term hardship, and they will not die until the appointed time in the appointed way (aside from very rare and very extreme circumstances).

Fated tend to be very accepting of their chosen lot in life, as well as the Fated around them. This means that stigmas against things such as babies born out of wedlock are not very common. If someone is Fated to have a child in this manner, it's the Gods' will and not to be questioned.

It's been demonstrated a few times that Fated are also capable of being controlled by the Gods.

## Fateless

As a Fateless, one's destiny is their own to create, but there is no guarantee of safety or security. A common way to identify a Fateless person is by any visible scars, as Fated do not come to harm.

Reactions to the Fateless vary depending on the location. Some execute them as a matter of course - too many Fateless, it is felt, can destabilize a country. Most people hold negative superstitions regarding the Fateless - that they are cursed, or evil, due to the fact that they generally make people uncomfortable.

For example, Trafarna requires five years of military service from them, to begin from age sixteen, after which they are free to do as they please. Many choose to remain in the Trafarnese Military after those five years are over, due to the cultural acceptance of the Fateless within that organization.

## Breath of the Gods

The Breath of the Gods is the main driving force that exerts the Gods' will over Fated and the world they live in. Identifiable by a slight shimmer, it provides Visions and the Choice to people, as well as protecting and healing Fated so they may fulfill their path in life. It can make anything, synthesizing it molecule by molecule from atoms in the air and surrounding environment

Though considered a mystical force outside of understanding by many, in truth it's a swarm of trillions of tiny machines called nanites, nearly invisible to the naked eye except when they reflect light. Think of them like a hive of bees, controlled by a 'queen': each is tiny with no individual intelligence, but when piloted together are capable of amazing feats.

Most people take the Breath of the Gods' functions at face value; however, Hendry has been shown analyzing the how and why and circumstance of how it functions.

## Forge

A Nanite Forge is a small device that wraps around a major artery in those who have attached themselves to Ti-Yo or *Avalon*.

Both produce nanites using materials from within the hosts body, the Ti-Yo forges being slightly bulkier than the *Avalon* forges. That being said, *Avalon* forges have a few extra functions than Ti-Yo forges, most notably:

Forge Replication: If the host's forge is destroyed, some of the nanites within their body will self-cannibalize to create a new forge elsewhere in the host's body.

Relay: The Nanite Forge within the body acts as a relay for Avalon's commands when dealing with the nanites.

Diagnostic Port and Display: If the host is injured or ill, a small exploratory surgery will grant access to the forge, and can interface with other people's nanites/forges for diagnosis.

*Ti-Yo* forges are ancient things, and have to be produced on-site at *Ti-Yo's* central console, then surgically implanted, and take a week or more to charge up using minerals in the body before nanite production begins. *Avalon* style forges merely require the person be registered in the system, and the forge can be built remotely. Chae's forge is a special case - because it's an *Avalon*-style forge registered to *Ti-Yo* instead, it had to be specially manufactured and installed.