The Steadfast Sky | Glossary


Petrichor: Mineral that collects and stores entropic energy from heat. The mineral dissolves in water, and collects naturally in the bones and tendons of all living beings. Naturally white and silvery, and cool to the touch.

Instruction: A command given to petrichor in order to release its energy. This come in two flavors, mental instructions (commands coming directly from the brain of a living being) or mineral instructions (a set of instructions etched into the interior of a stone).

Spell: A specific and rigorously tested instruction that is commonly known or frequently used.

Magic: An effect that happens because petrichoric energy was expended.

Aura: Visible combustion from the expenditure of petrichoric energy, especially prominent in unskilled or unrefined instructions. Sometimes the appearance is described as an “aura flame.”

Melancholia: A state petrichor takes when exposed to excessive, corrupted instructions and emotions. Absorbs heat and energy more readily than petrichor in its base form, but is much more reluctant to give up that stored energy. Naturally dark and oily, frigid to the touch.



Carnivore & Herbivore: Both terms carry political weight, rather than being scientific classifications. There is no omnivore middle ground. Any kind that requires meat to have a healthy diet is considered a carnivore. Men are considered carnivores, and Sylph are herbivores. While both can eat meat, only in Men is it required, as the Sylph’s bodies are better at making up for needed proteins.

Sylph : A variant of the Man kind that can channel magic via gems grown in their foreheads. These gems are called ‘pips’ and can be used to roughly estimate a Sylph’s age. The first pip typically grows in at age 10~13, the second and third at 15~20, and fourth and beyond past the mid-twenties.

Animal : Any non-magical, non-Manlike kind without wings. Often short lived, and without opposable digits.

Rodent : Any non-winged kind smaller than a cat. Often has their own language, due to their inability to produce sounds in the languages of larger races.

Chimera : A unique kind built by The God of Wisdom and The God of Kindness. An upright, man-like kind with wings and various animalistic limbs. Their bodies passively grow or wither depending on occupation and use, referred to as ‘idle transformation’ or ‘the idles.’

Harpy : An upright man-like kind with wings and colorful feathers. Has very hand-like talons, allowing them to manage more administrative duties at the ports.

Griffin : A heavyset, winged eagle-lion as big as a draft Horse. While their talons have a maneuverability equal to man-like hands, they need to use them to walk, limiting them the same as most animals.

Kind vs Meat: When any being dies, the spirit departs, leaving behind anonymous meat. The meat has no identity, and is a ‘kind’ no longer. During butchery and sale, every kind has a specific ‘meat name’ that references this anonymous meat. Many of these words are ones we already use, beef for Cattle, pork for Pigs, and cheval for Horses. Some terms are unfamiliar, with chiff referring to the meat of Rats and Mice, and button being the meat of Men.



Founded: 90 years ago, Year 1571 in the Era of Man

Language: United Angeocia, Angeocian Rodent

Religion: United Septemist

Government: Theocratic Oligarchy (Rule by seven leaders worshiped as gods, with their position voted on by church & state officials)

Area: 650,000

Population: 50,000,000 total (20m larger kinds, 30m rodents and birds)

Population of Helleborus : 10,000 (6,000 large kinds, 4,000 small kinds)

Currency: “Petal” silver wedges, eight of which make a Silver “Flower” Coin. Ten “Flowers” add up to a “Branch” gold coin, and a hundred “Branches” add up to a heavy and rarely-used crystal “Tree” coin. Usually tree coins are just used for large purchases, like land and titles, or mint in banks.

1 P = 1 $

1 F = 8 $

1 B = 80 $

1 T = 8000 $



The Calendar is 8 months of 45 days, with two months apiece being considered a ‘season.’ The calendar starts in spring, and ends in winter. The year is 365 days long, with 5-6 days being added on the end of the last month as buffer.

The months (and their Gregorian equivalent) are:

Seed (Spring) (March + April)

Shield (Spring)(April + May)

Star (Summer)(June + July)

Moon (Summer)(July +August)

Sword (Fall)(September + October)

Wind (Fall)(October + November)

Earth (Winter)(December + January)

Spirit (Winter)(January + February)



The God of Kindness

He does not participate in any day-to-day civic governance, only deciding the broad strokes of policy. He has been silent for a very, very long time.

The Chimeras

A secret force answering only to The God of Kindness, following his command to steal & kill anyone from the streets at night. Only the Harpies and Griffins are aware of the Chimera’s presence in the city, a necessity which allows the Chimeras to trade for much needed goods.

The Griffins and Harpies

Port guards and managers answering only to The God of Kindness. Their presence is necessary, as the ports only open into the sky. However, there is a tension between these kinds and the rest of the city, as these Harpies and Griffins are all representatives from another country, The Avian Nation. Along with managing trade, they distribute the grain given by the God of Kindness.

Council of Twelve

The actual government of the city, running all day-to-day operations.

Civic Governor  (Mayor, essentially)

Master of Imports

Master of Exports (Also Treasurer)

District Head (Of which there are seven)

Septemist Representative (supposedly there to represent the will of Kindness Himself)

Head Warden

There are no popular elections held. Most of the District Heads are passed down family lines, or negotiated internally by the district guilds. The Septemist Rep is the head of the church, and the Head Warden is promoted internally. The River District Head doesn’t have a population to pick from, so it’s usually relegated to a family member of the other Districts, or given to a low-ranking official from the Wardens. The Civic Governor, Master of Imports, and Master of Exports are all picked by the District Heads + The Septemist Rep. In case of a tie, the Septemist Rep’s vote counts for two.



The Law of Hunt: An outdated law from before the Era of Man, allowing carnivores to kill freely to feed themselves, as long as their victims were perfect strangers.

The Repose Policy: The modern meat-distribution policy in Angeocia, which states no kind can be killed for sustenance. All corpses are to be handed over to butcheries for anonymous processing and distribution among kinds in need.

The Era of Man: A 1600 year span dominated by the Empire of Mankind. In this era, all kinds served Man, and were subject to the Law of Service. All secondary products (like milk and eggs) were immediately considered property of the landowners or local guilds. And any beings’ life could be freely taken for dietary needs, decided on by government officials. Slavery and serfdom was incredibly common for any non-manlike kind. This era was ended by a large slave revolt known as the Unification War. The fall of this empire led to the rise of roughly five major and dozens of minor countries, including Angeocia and The Avian Nation.

The Unification War: A popular slave religion, The Septemist Church, grew steadily in power in the Empire of Mankind. They led a series of slave revolts, ending in the referred-to war to destroy The Empire and unite the Seven Stones, which they called the ‘Seven Virtues’. They established the country of Angeocia on the most fertile strip of land in the fallen Empire.

The Septemist Church: The ruling religion in Angeocia, which worship seven powerful artifacts called The Seven Virtues. They believe these artifacts were handed down by The Great Spirit to help all kinds live in a hostile and dangerous world. They believe using the power of The Virtues will help recreate The Great Garden, a heavenly pre-existence state where all kinds are united as one, singular people.

The Seven Virtues: Seven powerful stones that Septemists revere as holy. Each stone , along with being associated with a specific virtue, is also associated with a number of other divine attributes and powers. Every stone is a great source of magical energy, but for example, Kindness is associated with growth and life, and is known to be able to weave any material easily. Bravery is associated with destruction and deconstruction, giving a boost to offensive spells, and order spells.