Lexicon Apocalypto

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Alice	Spiderwork, Alice Ghosting	A ghost of Allel.
Asherah	Series	A goddess, emanated from Sophia. Saved humankind and therefore the material world by making a select few women fertile. Samael’s putative consort, angry that he won’t pay attention to her.
Beastie	Firebird	Mal’s pug dog.
bleeder	Spiderwork, Firebird	A fertile female before she is consecrated as a chalice.
Blue Marble	Space Junque	Bar on the Imperial Space Station. Has a plexiglass floor so customers can watch the world go by.
breeder	Firebird	What kings and counselors call the chalice who bore them.
Celia	Firebird	A retired chalice, breeder of Prince Garrick and Counselor of Garrick, Edmund and Counselor of Allel, and twenty others. Served as regent of Allel until Edmund reached his majority. Totem: black dragon
chalice	Series	Human female made fertile by the goddess Asherah and granted a lifespan of 150 years. Able to manipulate the processes of pregnancy.
Char Meadowlark	Space Junque, Spiderwork	Hydroponics agronomist, twin sister of Scylla Meadowlark, lover of Jake Ardri.
Chita	Space Junque, Spiderwork	One of the original nine chalices.
city symbol	Firebird	Symbol associated with a city-state. Chalices tattoo the symbol on their bodies at the end of a contract. The final tattoo is called the completion tattoo; it goes on their left cheek.
Claire	Firebird	A bleeder from Allel, descendant of Hamish Drahan. Totem: cherubim (angel with flaming sword)
counselor	Firebird	Female, the unnamed first born of a Triune Contract. She serves as advisor to her brother when he becomes king.
counselor’s dagger	Spiderwork, Firebird	The symbol of a counselor’s position, the dagger is a gift from her breeder. The hilt jewel represents the breeder’s totem.
Delilah	Firebird	Kairo’s black Maltese dog.
Dix	Firebird	Architect of Allel. A ghost who fights the condition. Lover of Steve.
DOGs	Space Junque	Defenders of Gaia. Ecological terrorists bent on destroying all polluting entities.
Durga	Series	The Chosen One. Asherah’s favored person. Marked by Asherah with blood-red hair. A chalice. Totem: black widow spider. Durga means unattainable, twelve-armed warrior.
Edmund	Firebird	King of Allel.
Emissary	Spiderwork, Firebird	Representative of Red City who collects bleeders from around the world. Durga was the first Emissary, Jordana the second.
Empani	Series	A special species. Not human. Shapeshifters who take form according to human desires. They avoid humans and stay in “nests” in nonpopulated areas. Nobody knows what they want.
exotic	Series	Human being, mutant. Hairless, extraordinarily tall, irises change color according to their mood. At first shunned like ghosts and Pteryi, but coveted after the Emperor acknowledged their beauty.
Faina	Spiderwork	A chalice. Totem: lotus flower
Father Jesse	Firebird	Priest of Samael with special powers.
Garrick (city, corporation)	Series	At the time of the cataclysm, the world’s most powerful corporation. Later, the world’s most powerful city-state. Worst polluter on the planet, yet the city survived the cataclysm intact. Samael’s favored city.
Geraldo	Space Junque, Spiderwork	Son of Reynaldo. Co-founder of Red City.
Gerhold	Firebird	Blade master of Red City. Gerhold means ruler of the spear.
ghosts	Series	Human beings. The “ghosting” gene is a mutation caused by excessive buildup of toxins. The gene is triggered by a critical level of stress. Symptoms: loss of all body hair, loss of much muscle mass, extreme apathy. No will to eat, play, make love. At first thought fatal, later found to be treatable.
Great Chain of Being	Spiderwork, Firebird	Concept of hierarchy imposed by goddess Asherah. From the top down: Emperor, king, aristocrat, citizen, citadeller, settlement worker, the soulless, wildlings. Chalices and proof-of-service children are independent of the chain.
Hamish Drahan	Spiderwork	Allel’s Master of hydroponics.
Harriet	Firebird	Physician of Red City. Lover of blood oranges.
Hibernia	Spiderwork, Firebird	City-state in the new reality. In Firebird, Harold is the king. Has the charter on building airships.
ISS, Imperial Space Station	Space Junque	Administrative center of the Imperium, located in orbit.
Ithaca	Spiderwork, Firebird	City-state in the new reality. Has the charter on building ocean-going vessels.
Jack	Firebird	Chief carpenter of Allel.
Jake Ardri	Space Junque, Spiderwork	Pilot of the Space Junque. Son of Magda and the Emperor. Founder of Allel, lover of Char Meadowlark. Ardri means legendary high king.
Jasmine	Firebird	Proof-of-service female. Attendant on the Blackbird.
Jordana	Spiderwork, Firebird	An exotic and chalice. Daughter of Rani, second Emissary of Red City. Totem: mongoose.
Kairo	Firebird	Bleeder from Muskova. Natural born, of royal blood. Destined for greatness. Totem: peacock feather.
Khai of Luxor	Spiderwork	Scion and future King of Luxor. A musician.
Kim (Kimlel)	Firebird	A bleeder, member of Prime Hub.
King Harold	Firebird	King of Hibernia, lover of stout.
Kronos	Firebird	Nin’s white Maltese dog.
Lady Bron (Bronagh)	Firebird	Aristocrat of Garrick who “lets go of her name” to become counselor by special dispensation. Runs Garrick when King Garrick is indisposed.
Lady Drahan	Firebird	Mother of Claire. Lives in Allel. Social climber.
Lady Helen	Firebird	One of Mal’s Ladies of the Hours at Allel.
Lily	Firebird	A proof-of-service female befriended by Mal.
Magda Ardri	Space Junque, Spiderwork	The Emperor’s favorite consort and mother of Jake Ardri. First Matriarch of Red City. Owner of the Space Junque.
Mal (Mallory)	Firebird	Heroine of Firebird. A chalice. Mallory means bad luck. Totem: firebird.
Maribel	Space Junque, Spiderwork	One of the original nine chalices.
Matriarch	Series	The head administrator of Red City. The original matriarch was the headmistress of Durga’s school before the cataclysm. The first matriarch of Red City was Magda Ardri. Durga was the second.
Mike Augustine	Space Junque	Sky Meadowlark’s fiancé, governor of the Imperial Space Station.
Nin (Ninny, Ninshubur)	Firebird	Mal’s best friend at Red City. Her name means Inanna’s (Asherah’s) warrior maiden. Totem: a talaris (winged sandal)
Pala (Gopala)	Firebird	Mal’s best friend before going to Red City. Weapon is a longbow made of yew. Designed mechanical arrows that dispense poison strong enough to kill a raptor. Gopala means protector of cows.
Palada (Jarlvidar)	Firebird	Husband of Palama (Verdandi), father of Pala (Gopala). Named after his grandfather, the Imperial jeweler. Uses the same maker’s mark: seven pomegranate seeds. Jarlvidar means the chief who will avenge his father’s death in the end times.
Palama (Verdandi)	Firebird	Mother of Pala (Gopala), wife of Palada (Jarlvidar). Verdandi means becoming, happening; Verdandi was a Norse goddess of present time.
Prince Garrick (Firebird)	Firebird	Prince, then king, of Garrick during the events in Firebird. Tried to exploit the Mallory myth. Refused to return his dead sister’s dagger to her breeder.
Prince Garrick (Spiderwork)	Spiderwork	The first of the scions of Garrick to become a king under the new-world city-state structure. Wanted to control all scarce resources.
Ptery	Series	A bleeder/chalice with the pterygium mutation, a wing-like gauzy film that covers the eyes. Pteryi lose their longevity, but not their fertility. Red City removes the uterus of someone who “goes Ptery” so they can’t pass on the Ptery gene.
Queen Chiyo	Firebird	Queen of Nippon. First counselor to invoke The Queen Clause.
Queen Clause	Firebird	An obscure clause in the Concords, the new world’s governing document. It provides that, in the event that a counselor turns bleeder, she will become the monarch of her city and her brother will become counselor.
Quidel	Firebird	Operates the tattoo parlor in the arcade called The Tat Man.
Rani	Space Junque, Spiderwork	Daughter of Emperor. Jake’s half-sister, mother of Jordana. An exotic.
raptors	Series	Predatory birds mutated to gigantic size during the cataclysm. Found in the northern hemisphere.
Reynaldo	Space Junque	Co-founder of Red City (Sanguibahd) with Geraldo, his son.
Roh (Rohna)	Firebird	Chalice, member of Prime Hub. Totem: chaos star.
Samael	Series	Creator god. Emanation of Theletos, Sophia’s rejected mate. Created “the ten thousand things” (the material world) including human beings. The Empani adore him. Properly mated to Asherah, he pays no attention to her — which pisses her off.
Sister Marin	Firebird	Former chalice, teacher in Red City. Expertise in special species. Totem, jackrabbit.
Sky (Scylla) Meadowlark	Series	Char Meadowlark’s twin sister. Their full names are Charybdis and Scylla. Their mother named them after monsters because she didn’t want to have children.
Space Junque	Space Junque	Shuttle owned by Magda Ardri, given to her by the Emperor, flown by her son Jake Ardri
special species	Series	Species which came into being at the end of the old reality and into the next. Some special species are: raptors, Empani, Ptery, exotics, ghosts.
Steve	Firebird	Allel’s head engineer
Talibanos Unidos	Space Junque	Pre-cataclysm terrorist group, more interested in religion than ecology. Destroyed the Los Angeles/San Diego zone.
Tesla	Series	Alternative energy source, derived from orbiting solar net. Developed by team that included Sky Meadowlark
The Blackbird	Spiderwork, Firebird	Fabulous transport with all the bells and whistles. Belonged to Garrick, then Red City.
totem	Series	Symbol which signifies a chalice is ready to be consecrated, bestowed by Asherah. Says something about a chalice’s fundamental nature.
Tyler	Space Junque	Navigator of the Space Junque
Vacation Station	Space Junque	Orbiting space station. Vacation spot for the rich and well-connected.