Echoes From Dust:
Glossary

Cauterhaugh: A vast, inorganic wasteland. All forms of life and landscapes are comprised of inorganic compounds, metals and plastic. Small settlements of inorganic human beings struggle to survive against natural predators. Due to atmospheric conditions, it is always bathed in strong daylight. Population: unknown.

Astral Plane or Celestial Plane: The realm of the gods. Contact is limited to members of the Priesthood.

Cynth: An inorganic creature born in the Cauterhaugh. Many varieties prey on human beings and cattle.

Dejan: A member of the Council and a high-level priest. The Council is the governing group of master-level priests occupying the Fjord. Each member is distinguished by the title “dejan” and answers only to the High Priestess and the gods.

Dust: A mythic land deep in the Cauterhaugh. Said to have been spared from the catastrophic transformation wrought by the Fjord.

The Fjord: An ancient manmade megalith located at the center of Mitchlum. Said to have created the world anew. It currently houses the Council and upper-echelon priests. Relics of the old world and lost technologies are housed in secured chambers. Population: 2,000.

Grotto-le: Mysterious behemoths of the Cauterhaugh. Invisible to all but the Priesthood. Capable of wiping out whole towns and villages if left unchecked.

Kaminovo Village: Riku’s hometown in the Cauterhaugh.

Kirin: An organic beast, born in Mitchlum. Just as dangerous as cynths. They feed on human waste — and humans — in and around Mitchlum.

Mag: The slang term for an inorganic person. See also: Voyin.

Mitchlum: The last remaining organic metropolis, where organic human beings dwell. Surrounded by a reinforced wall and cloaked in perpetual night by smog. Enormous trees house the majority of the population. Population: 80,000,000.

Priest: The ruling class and the vessels of the gods. Chosen through lifelong training or innate abilities. Ranked from neophyte to master. The High Priestess is the uncontested leader of the Priesthood. Possessing a god provides not only supernatural abilities, but eternal salvation and divine guidance. Their main function is to eliminate grotto-le.

Voyin: The slang term for an organic person.