Retes A Magyarian strudel, often made with apples or sweetened cheeses.
Sakal [Sah-KHAL] The sun god of the Tehuantin.
Sapnut The fruit of the sapnut tree, from which a rich yellow dye is made.
Scarlet Pox A childhood illness, often deadly.
Scath Cumhacht [Skawth Koo-MOCKED] The Numetodo term for the Ilmodo.
Sesemora [Say-seh-MOHR-ah] A province in the northeast of the Holdings of Nessantico.
Southern Fever An affliction that kills a high percentage of those affected-the fever causes the brain to swell, bringing on dementia and/or coma, while the lungs fill with liquid from the infection, causing pneumonia-like symptoms. Often, even if the victim recovers from the coughing, they are left brain-damaged.
Starkkapitan [Starkh-KAHP-ee-tahn] “High Captain”-the title for the commander of Firenzcian troops.
Stone A measure of weight for dry goods. Merchants are required to have a set of weights, certified by the local board. A stone is approximately a pound and a half in our measures.
Strettosei [STRETT-oh-see] The ocean to the west of Nessantico.
T’Sha [Ti-SHAH] The ruler of Tennshah.
Ta’Mila [Tah-MEE-ah] The ruler of Il Trebbio.
Tantzia “Aunt.”
Tashta [TAWSH-tah] A robelike garment in fashion in Nessantico.
Tecuhtli [Teh-KOO-uhl-ee] The title for “Lord” or “War-King” in the Tehuantins’ language.
Tehuantin [Teh-WHO-ahn-teen] “The People”-the name the Westlanders call themselves.
Teni [TEHN-ee] “Priest.” Those of the Concenzia who have been tested for their mastery of the Ilmodo, have taken their vows, and are in the service of the church. The teni priesthood also uses a ranking similar to the Families of Nessantico. In ascending order, the ranks are e’Teni, o’Teni, u’Teni, and a’Teni.
Tete [teh-TAY] “Head”-a title for the leaders of an organization, such as the Guardians of the Faith or the Council of Ca’.
Tlaxcala [Tlash-TAH-lah] the capital city of the Tehuantin nations.
Toustour [TOOS-toor] The “All-Tale”-the bible for the Concenzia Faith.
Turn of the glass An hour. The glass referred to is an hourglass, the sides of which are typically incised with lines marking the quarter-hours. Thus a “mark of the glass” is roughly fifteen minutes.
Utilino [Oo-teh-LEE-noh] A combination concierge and watchman who patrols a small area (no more than a block each) of the city. The utilino-who is also a teni of the Concenzia faith-is there to run errands (for a fee) as well as to keep order, and is considered to be part of the Garde Kralji.
Vajica [Vah-JEE-kah] Title most similar to “Madam,” used in polite address with adults who have no other title, or where the title is unknown. The masculine form is “Vajiki.” The plurals are “Vajicai” and “Vajik.”
Vambrace Armor protecting the lower arm.
Vatarh [VAH-ter] “Father.”
Verzehen [Ver-ZAY-hehn] Tehuantin term for a telescope.
Ville Colhelm [VEE-ah KOHL-helm] A town on the border of Nessantico and Firenzcia, at the River Clario.
War-teni Teni whose skills in Ilmodo have been honed for warfare.
Zink A wind instrument similar to a cornet, but curved rather than straight.
HISTORICAL PERSONAGES:
Falwin I [FAHL-win] Hirzg Falwin of Firenzcia led a brief, unsuccessful revolt against Kraljiki Henri VI, which was quickly and brutally put down.
Henri VI [OHN-ree] First Kralji of the ca’Ludovici line (413-435), from whom Marguerite I was descended.
Kalima III [Kah-LEE-mah] Archigos from 215-243.
Kelwin [KEHL-win] First Hirzg of Firenzcia.
Levo ca’Niomi [LEHV-oh Kah-nee-OH-mee] Led a coup in 383 and was Kraljiki for three days. Forcibly removed, he would be imprisoned for almost two decades in the Bastida, and there would write poetry that would long survive his death.
Maria III Kraljica of Nessantico from 219-237.
Misco [MEEZ-koh] The legendary “founder of Brezno.”
Pellin I [PEH-Lihn] Archigos of the Faith from 114-122.
Selida II [Seh-LEE-dah] Kraljiki of Nessantico. Finished building the city walls and the Bastida d’Drago.
Sveria I [seh-VERH-ee-ah] Kraljiki of Nessantico 179-211. The Secession War occupied nearly all his reign. He finally brought Firenzcia fully into the Holdings.
SNIPPETS FROM THE “NESSANTICO CONCORDIA”
(4th Edition, Year 642)
Family Names in the Holdings:
Within Nessantico, lineage follows the matrilineal line. A husband might, in rare cases, retain his own family name (especially if it were considered higher in status than his wife’s), but the wife can never take his name. In the vast majority of cases, however, the husband will legally take on his wife’s family name, thus becoming a member of that family in the eyes of Nessantico law-the husband will continue to bear that name and be considered to be part of that family even upon the death of his spouse, unless and until he remarries and thus acquires his new wife’s name. (Divorces and annulments are rare in Nessantico, requiring the signature of the Archigos, and each divorce is a special situation where the rules are sometimes fluid.) Children are, without exception, given the mother’s family name: “One always is certain of the mother,” as the saying goes in Nessantico.
The prefix to a family name can change, depending on the relative status of the immediate family within Nessantico society. The prefixes, in order of rising status, are:
• none
• ce’ (keh)
• ci’ (kee)
• cu’ (koo)
• ca’ (kah).
One of the functionary roles of the Kralji was to sign the official family rolls every three years wherein the prefixes are recorded, though the Kraljiki or Kraljica rarely determined any changes personally; that was the role of the bureaucracy within Nessantico known as the Gardes a’Liste.
Thus, it is possible that the husband or wife of the ci’Smith family might gain status in some manner and be awarded a new prefix by the Gardes a’Liste. Husband, wife, their children, and any surviving maternal parents thus become cu’Smith, but brothers, sisters, and any cousins would remain ci’Smith.
Royalty Succession Within The Holdings:
Various countries within the Holdings, not surprisingly given the variance of customs, have various rules of succession within their societies. This is especially true when those countries are independently ruled. For instance, in East Magyaria, the closest male relative of the previous ruler who is also not a direct child of that ruler is named as the successor. However, with the ascension of Nessantico and the Holdings, those countries within Nessantico’s influence tend to follow the lead of the Kralji.
For the royal families of Nessantico, title succession is normally to the Kralji’s children by birth order regardless of gender. However, it is possible for the Kralji to legally designate a favorite child as the heir and bypass earlier-born children, if the Kralji deems them unfit to rule, or if, for some reason, they fall out of favor. This is an uncommon occurrence, though hardly rare throughout history. For the Kralji, it means that his or her children will tend to curry favor so as to remain in good graces or perhaps to unseat one of their brothers or sisters from being named the a’Kralj.
