The Nameless Republic - Glossary of Terms
This is Endnotes from Oon, a series of posts in which I offer behind-the-scenes worldbuilding, research, extra and/or other tidbits in relation to my new epic fantasy series, The Nameless Republic, beginning with Son of the Storm. I will try my utmost best to avoid spoilers, but they may be inevitable to a small degree, as I might need to provide context for one thing or the other. If you’re risk-averse and would prefer to wait until you’ve read the book before you eyeball any of these emails, that’s great. But if you’re the brave sort, read on.
(Stresses--upward intonations--are on uppercase letters. Flat intonations on lowercase)
Abenai (ah-beh-NAI) League [of Warriors]: A league of sworn protectors of the secrets of ibor and the existence of the eastern archipelago of the Nameless Islands.
Ajabo (ah-JAH-boh): Refers to (1) The group of islands west of the continent of Oon, who were the first to migrate to the mainland; (2) The people of said islands.
Ashu (ah-SHOO): The white moon, the smaller of the two moons of Oon’s world. Represented as a hen in Bassai moon worship.
Bassa (BAH-sah): Refers to (1) The nation of Bassa, formerly the Empire of Bassa, which spans all of the mainland except for Whudasha and a few hinterland protectorates; (2) The capital city of Bassa from which the nation got its name; (3) The region of the mainland over which the Bassai nation spans, one of the three major regions on the continent of Oon next to the Savanna Belt and the Idjama desert.
Bassai (bah-SAI): Of Bassa.
Bassai Ideal, the: An embodiment of the epitome of Bassai existence, which includes purity of lineage and devotion to the nation’s protection, prosperity, religion, guilds and social contracts. Sometimes colloquially referred to as Prime Bassai.
Breathing Forest, the: A forbidden forest on the western edge of Bassa whose floor undulates during heavy winds. Rumored to possess supernatural creatures and is eschewed by the Bassai.
bushroad: Any minor road leading outside of the city of Bassa. Named for the bush paths that they often have to cut through.
Chabo (CHAH-boh): a colony to the west of the Savannah Belt
Chugoko (choo-GOH-koh): The biggest city in the Savannah Belt, standing between Bassa’s Soke Pass and the Emperor’s Road to the north.
cheto (cheh-TOH): A hair and skin dye used in beautifying the self.
civic guard: A member of law enforcement in Bassa, mostly of Emuru caste.
Command: The third stage of iborworking: to mentally order an object, element or inanimate being Possessed by ibor to carry out a task.
daa: Refers to (1) Father; (2) Mister, a formal form of address for any male household head (when used before name, e.g. DaaHabba); (3) a diminutive form of formal address for any man (when used after name, e.g. Danso-daa).
Dead Mines, the: A cluster of abandoned mines of gold and other ore at the foot of the Soke mountains, west of the border.
dehje (DEH-jeh): A formal greeting in Bassa
Diwi (DEE-wee): A household heirloom of red ibor, belonging to Lilong’s house
Draw: The first stage of iborworking: to mentally absorb the power from an ibor piece by touch.
desertland(s): Anywhere north of the Soke border. Indigenes referred to as desertlanders.
Elder: A honorific term used to refer to a leading member of Bassai society, especially in a guild or vocation. Sometimes preceded by qualifiers--First Elder for members of the Upper Council, Second Elder for members of the Lower Council.
Emperor’s Road: Any major road that leads out of the city of Bassa. Named for Bassa’s first emperors who built them to travel and establish trade with other parts of the mainland.
Emuru (eh-MOO-roo): The worker caste of Bassa and second in the hierarchy of all five mainland castes. Default caste for all mainland pureborns--mainlanders without any outlander blood--who are not Idu.
Gondola (gom-DOH-lah): A river in Bassa
Gaddo (GAH-DOH) Company: A desertland group of semi-legal operatives
Haruna (hah-ROO-nah): A small town in the Savanna Belt
High Bassai: The exclusive, highbrow dialect spoken mostly among the Idu caste of Bassa. It is the only language with a clear written form.
high-black: Bassai denotation of the darkest skin complexion of all mainlanders. The darkest and most desirable skin tone on the continent of Oon. Usually affiliated with humus, the Idu caste, affluence and wellbeing, and mainland pureborns.
high-brown: Bassai denotation of the darkest skin complexion of all desertlanders. Darker than low-brown but lighter than low-black. Usually affiliated with the Potokin caste and people of the Savanna Belt.
hunthand: A private bounty hunter.
ibor (EE-bor): A fossil-like magical mineral with the consistency of both stone and bone. Found washed up on the shores of island nations. Many believe it originates from the beds of the great seas, but it is unclear and unproven. Naturally occurs in four states: white, grey, amber and red.
Iborworker: A manipulator of ibor who possesses the innate talent and training to wield each kind of ibor for their own use. White Iborworkers wield air and light, Grey Iborworkers wield fire and water, Amber Iborworkers wield objects with which they have established an existing connection, and Red Iborworkers wield dead entities that have once lived.
iborworking: The act of manipulating ibor.
Idjama (ee-jah-mah) (also, Idjama desert): The desert regions north of the Savanna Belt. Next to Bassa and the Savanna Belt, the third major region of the continent of Oon.
Idu (ee-DOO): The noble caste of Bassa and highest in the hierarchy of all five mainland castes. Highly selective, only accessible through vocational inheritance (priests), economic accomplishment and guild leadership (First and Second Elders), politics (ward leaders) and scholarly merit (jalis, scholars).
Ihinyon (ee-HIN-yawn): Collective name for the seven islands and the people of the archipelago east of Oon. A word that means “seven” in Island Common. Known as The Nameless Islands to mainlanders, for the seven islands it contains: Namge, Hoor, Ololo, Edana, Ufua, Sibu-Sibu, Ofen.
islander: An indigene of any of the islands surrounding Oon.
jali (JAH-lee): A trained oral historian, storyteller, musician, scholar and information repository of the Idu caste. Exclusively trained at the University of Bassa (called novitiates while in training), the jali guild is highly selective.
kwaga (KWAH-gah): A striped, hoofed equine with horns and a sharp bark. Primary transport animal on the continent of Oon.
Landfowl (sometimes, fowl): Any bird incapable of flight and restricted to land.
low-black: Bassai denotation of the lighter skin complexion of all mainlanders. Lighter than high-black but darker than high-brown. Usually affiliated with the Emuru caste and poverty or less affluence.
low-brown: Bassai denotation of the lighter skin complexion of all desertlanders. The lightest and least desirable skin tone on the mainland, only darker than islanders and yellowskins. Usually affiliated with the Yelekute caste and people of the Idjama desert.
Lower Council: Second-highest ruling council of the nation of Bassa with thirty members. Also doubles as government of the capital city, with two selected members each representing one of the city’s fifteen wards. Usually of ward leaders, civic guard captains, high-ranking counsels and local government officials, etc.
maa: Refers to (1) Mother; (2) Missus, a formal form of address for any female household head (when used before name, e.g. MaaEsheme); (3) a diminutive form of formal address for any woman (when used after name, e.g. Esheme-maa).
mainland: Anywhere south of the Soke border. Indigenes referred to as mainlanders. Sometimes synonymous with Bassa.
Mainland Common: The crossover, easily understood dialect spoken all over the mainland.
Mainland Pidgin: The dialect spoken northward of the mainland, closer to the Soke border. It contains limited vocabulary and is interspersed with other languages from the Savanna Belt. Sometimes referred to as border pidgin.
mainway: One of fifteen major roads that each divide and enclose Bassa’s fifteen wards.
Menai (meh-NAI): The red moon, the bigger of the two moons of Oon’s world. Represented in Bassai moon worship as a leopard.
mooncrossing: The celestial event when the orbital paths of both moons in the world of Oon, Menai and Ashu, cross over each other. Usually accompanied by festivities.
Oon: The universal name for the one continental body, consisting of three distinct landforms: the mainland to the south, the desertland to the north, and islands to the east and west.
outer lands: The regions on the opposite side of the Soke border or across the seas, esp relative to wherever the speaker is from (e.g. a mainlander would refer to the deserts and islands as outer lands).
outlander: Someone who hails from the opposite side of the Soke border or across the seas, esp relative to wherever the speaker is from (e.g. a mainlander would refer to indigenes of the deserts and islands as outlanders).
Possess: The second stage of iborworking: to mentally release power Drawn from an ibor piece into a target object, element or inanimate being in order to Command it.
Potokin (poh-TOH-keen): The higher immigrant caste of Bassa and third in the hierarchy of all five mainland castes. Reserved only for immigrants who work directly for Idu caste members, including aides, pages, hunthands, and a select number of Seconds.
raffia (RAH-FEE-ah): the collective name for the leaves of the palm tree native to Bassa. Also refers to the fiber from the raffia leaves, used for making woven items.
runku (ROON-koo): A wooden club with a heavy bulbous end, usually carried by civic guards and Seconds.
Savanna Belt: The savanna region between the mainland and the desert, north of the Soke mountains. Next to Bassa, the second most prosperous of the three main regions that make up the continent of Oon.
Savanna Common: The commonly understood dialect spoken all over the Savanna Belt.
Sahel Belt: The transition zone just north of the Savanna Belt. Its most conspicuous landmark is the Lave Vezha.
Soke (SOH-kay): Refers to (1) The Soke mountains separating the mainland from the mainland; (2) The Soke border, the man-made border of moats and drawbridges built along the Narrow Pass between the mountains to regulate southward immigration from the desertland into the mainland.
Shashi (shah-shee): The outcast caste of Bassa and lowest of all five in the hierarchy of mainland castes. Reserved for those of mixed blood between a mainlander and outlander, whether desertlander or islander. Also sometimes used to refer to the mixed-complexion appearance of Shashi caste members.
Skopi (SKOH-pee) or, lightning bat: A human-sized bat with the ability to call down lightning.
stone-bone: A colloquial term for referring to ibor.
Tombolo (tom-BOH-loh): A river in Bassa
Upper Council: The highest ruling council representing the nation of Bassa, made up of ten First Elders and an appointed Elder Jali as a Speaker.
Undati (oon-DAH-tee): A small mining town east of the Soke pass. Also refers to the mines.
Vezha (VEH-zzah), Lake: A lake in the Sahel belt, separating the Savanna Belt from the Idjama desert proper
Yaya (yah-YAH): A Whudan title for an elderly maternal person
Yelekuté (yay-lay-KOO-tay): The lower immigrant caste of Bassa and fourth in the hierarchy of all five mainland castes. Default caste for Seconds and all other desertlander immigrants which constitute all the -hands: househands and all other workhands and servicehands.
yellowskin: Describes the albinoid people of the islands of the eastern archipelago, known to most on Oon as the Nameless Islands. Expression comes from the yellowish appearance of their skin, hair and eyes.
ward: One of fifteen subdivisions of the city of Bassa, from starting from the innermost and most affluent closest to the Great Dome (First Ward) to the outermost and least affluent furthest from the Great Dome (Fifteenth Ward).
weybo (WAY-boh): A highly intoxicating alcoholic spirit distilled from fermented raffia wine.
Whudan (woo-DAHN): Of Whudasha. Also refers to the language spoken by the people.Whudasha (woo-DAH-shah): A western coastal protectorate on the mainland, separated from Bassa by a Peace Fence. Known as the land of the first landers--the Ajabo who first arrived on the mainland through the bight, now known as the Bight of Whudasha.
