Wow! It wasn’t until I actually sat down to collate all of these that I remembered how rich this setting was – and created in such a short time. I’m also delighted to see that almost none of this is my work. This is mostly player-generated content and I think that is great. Look at all the time it saved me!
There are some things here that are notable by their absence: I realised there isn’t really a name for the geographical area of “the valley” the characters are exploring. I’m sure we’ll find out what people from outside the player’s home village call the area soon though.
Rather than make more entries regarding words, terms and phrases, I’ll just update this one when needed.
GLOSSARY
Aggro: A sparsely inhabited island in the Makhtesh previously used for farming, now a park with a gyroberry orchard and a herb garden.
Agents: A small force of lightly armed militia that keep the peace in the Makhtesh. They enforce laws and are vigilant to external threats. Their symbol of office is a small copper shield attached to the arm.
Barriers: A group of Makhtesh residents empowered to attend to the physical safety of the area. They mend dikes, shore up walls, supervise demolition, fight fires and coordinate rescues.
Barr’n’s Folly: A small settlement on the western side of the Makhtesh, with a logging and mining camp and chain-ferry. Allow’s access to the western valleys.
Blackrock: Copper mining byproduct used as shins within the Makhtesh, but of limited utility outside the community.
“Brark”: A lightning strike, common in the peaks around the Makhtesh, Generally applied more generally to any bad omen.
“Breaking”: A worry particular to Lone residents regarding the slow erosion of their shared communal style of life and the values that it embodies.
“Brightday”: A general polite greeting.
Bright Falls: The secular term for waterfall leading out of the Makhtesh.
“Brightful”: Wonderful.
Brighthammer: A (largely ceremonial) small hammer used for splitting copper ore rocks, given as gifts to new households in the Lone Makhtesh.
Bright Mark: A pale patch on the left wrist of all those who were originally enslaved by the Bright Ones and their descendents.
Bright Ones: The race of powerful beings whose city disintegrated, causing a fragment to appear in the Lone Makhtesh. They later returned a year later in a terrifying display of power and then disappeared with two thirds of the refugees. The central worship focus for the Presbytery of the Penitent Watchers. They are associated with blinding light, deafening horns and are said to move beneath the earth.
Carp: The residents of Tilt refer to the amnesiac wanderers of the valley as Carps. The amnesia is commonly found in those who have left the Lone Makhtesh.
“Cref”: Belonging to the period after the return of the Bright Ones; free of the influence of the Bright Ones. More generally, something novel or pristine.
Cerulean Pine: A tall alpine tree ideal for light construction. The pine has pale blue needles and veins of blue in the bark.
Council of Elders: The governing body of the Lone Makhtesh, made up of elected representatives of its various settlements.
“Dark!”: A general expletive.
“Dugbright”: Looking sad, down. Derived from the observation that the person looked like they’d “dug up a Bright One”.
Eyecanseeclearly Peak: A small monastic community that trades gyroberries and berry liqueurs with Lone.
“Fell”: A common euphemism for dying, regardless of cause.
Glawv: A small, remote settlement in the north of the Great Valley that specializes in the making of amber glass goods. The source of the malleable substance is a species of worm that thrives locally.
Gyroberries: A small, sweet berry that grows in alpine environments. If consumed fresh, it produces ecstatic visions, but this quality is lost after a few hours. A good source of iron and essential minerals, the berries also magnetically align.
The Inert Cylinder: A thick, perfectly cylindrical column of smooth clear glass on the southern shore of the Makhtesh. It is surrounded by slowly spinning rings of debris and detritus which cannot be removed as any who approach close enough are added to the spinning collection forever. Pre-calamity, the glass column shone brightly at night.
Lone: The largest settlement and the largest of all the islands in the Makhtesh and the site of the remaining Bright One structure.
Lone Makhtesh: The name for the circular mountain valley and lake and the group of settlements within.
North Gregon: Formerly North Regoni. Site of the former copper mine in the Lone Makhtesh, now the island hosting the central market.
The Peristaltic Funicular: A device which transports people from a point at the base of the Bright Falls to the mountainside just outside Sham. The cage is moved up and down my the rhythmic undulation of the rock of the mountain. Use is rare and unsettling.
Pletbird: A domesticated fowl that frequently lays eggs of prodigious size,reputed to have aphrodisiac qualities. Their meat is unpleasantly oily and rarely eaten.
Presbytery of the Penitent Watchers: An small but influential religious congregation in the Makhtesh that worship the Bright Ones and prepare for their return. Known as the Probus, Probites and Probies. Their most militant members (Megaprobites) only interact with other members of the church. The church believes that the Bright Ones will return and take the more pious, worthy members of the community.
Red Glass: A euphoric, addictive stimulant which can drive imbibers into a violent frenzy in the presence of the colour red. Distribution is controlled by the Sisters of the Eclipse.
The Road: The probite term for the waterfall that leads from the Makhtesh, which is of religious significance to them.
The Rotational: A yearly celebratory wake for the first victim of the spiralling rings of garbage and detritus around the Inert Cylinder. Celebrants bring objects to hurl into the spinning rings.
Ruinfish: Small, plump and nutritious crustaceans found in abundance in the Lone Makhtesh, a staple of local cuisine. (Also, Yabbies).
Ruin in the Water: A pre-calamity structure buried in the lake of the Makhtesh, with doors just above the waterline. A source of occasional cyphers and numenera. Excavations are presided over by Tsuro, (Aeon Priest Bazzuro) and not without danger.
Sailweed: A tough fibrous water plant used in ropemaking.
Sham: A settlement on the southern shore of the Makhtesh, beneath the Inert Cylinder, founded by storied rebel Wilemina. Has historically attracted the young and artistically inclined and is the location of most entertainment in the Makhtesh.
Sisters of the Eclipse: A confederation of gangs and crime organizations under a mysterious central leadership. The Sisters are the source of Red Glass and suppliers of many other vices to communities in the valley.
South Gregon: A small shanty town in the Makhtesh built around the docks. Home to the trawlers and ferries that lead to Sham, Barr’n’s Folly, Yolshead, etc.
“Stay Shiny”: Good luck.
Tilt: A small city set on a gravity plate mounted on one of the valley’s quartz-sandstone pillars. Home of a university and market. The mercantile center of the northern valley and home to a dozen or so religions, whose leaders direct the city’s affairs.
Tiltbird: A breed of large domestic fowl with good meat yield and very flammable feathers.
Torbert’s Hill: The island which housed the pre-calamity inhabitants of the Makhtesh. Named after the leader designated after the initial arrival of the refugees, who later staged a failed coup and was subsequently murdered.
“Tread”/”treading”: Drudgery, joyless work.
“Trip to Sham”: A euphemism for a shared tender moment.
Undertown: The semi-permanent dwellings inside the Ruin under the Water in the Makhtesh, mostly used by the excavators.
Yol: A hardy ruminant quadruped found throughout the mountains of the area. They are used for their meat, milk, hides, and horn. They can be used to bear light burdens.
Yolshead: A settlement on the western shore of the Makhtesh that is home to a livestock market and the homes of most ranching families of the western valley.
