Glossary

This is a quick list of various terms your character would likely know. Most of these terms have their own pages you can check out for more information!

ORGANIZATIONS

GUILDS

The six guilds control commerce:

• Mythos: Bioengineering, gene-splicing, cyberware, healthcare.
• Symphony: Entertainment, fashion, news, gambling, vices, the Matrix, blood sports.
• Pegasus: Mysterious and unknown.
• Vulcani: Makers of arms, armor, weapons research, vehicles, heavy industry, etc.
• Sepulchre: The Church. The spiritual authority of the whole city.
• Outriders: Salvaging, scavenging, and surface runs.

GREAT HOUSES:

The nine Great Houses essentially rule the city:

• House Vesalius: Bioengineered leaders of Mythos who believe they have transcended the weakness of the flesh.
• House Rook: Service-oriented warriors who dominate the Lichtorate (the guardsmen).
• House Drepane: The artistic, fashionable, and decadent servants of Symphony's artificial gods.
• House Varga: Owners of Deshret's largest hunting grounds and experts in livestock/husbandry.
• House Valcora: Holders of Deshret's primary aviation fleet; wanders and pilots first and foremost.
• House Qamarat: Miners of the crystals that power Deshret, the wealthiest aristocracy in town.
• House Morcant: Mysterious masked individuals somehow associated with death.
• House Amari: The great garden of Deshret, providing luxury produce - and substances.
• House Kadesh: The truest believers in the city and the backbone of Sepulchre's faithful.

OTHER ORGANIZATIONS:

• The Pagos: The government of Deshret, dominated by the Nine Great Houses.
• The Lictorate: These are the state police, official military AND city watch of the Pagos. Their elite regiment is known as the Dragoons.
• The Church of the Nine: Somewhat synonymous with Sepulchre, this is the official name of the religion Deshret follows.

SLUM ORGANIZATIONS:

• The Cabiri: The mechanics and rogue engineers of the slums.
• The Kolkhos: The agricultural collective that controls much of Suburba’s food production.
• The Ophirian League: A "professional association established to preserve orderly commerce in Suburba."
• The Abkal: Protectors and curators of the Cortex, the slums' entryway to Abzu (aka the Matrix).

PLACES

• Abzu: The official name of the 'Matrix', a dimension of cyberspace overlaid on the real world. Perceived as more a spiritual realm ICly. See Diving for more.
• Arcadia: The residential district for Sixers, aka guild members.
• Delos: The collective name for the floors owned by the guilds.
• Deshret: The name for the city as a whole, encompassing all of the other districts listed here.
• Palatine: The district of the Great Houses and the elite, the deepest level of Deshret. Also referred to as 'the deeps'.
• Suburba: The slums, comprised of the highest levels of Deshret.
• The Surface: The scorched, irradiated wasteland outside Deshret's upper airlocks. Regarded by Church doctrine as permanently cursed.

RELIGION

• Awakening/Recombination: Coming back after death by the installation of your splinter (see Splintering below) in a new body, a mysterious process done by Mythos and Sepulchre in tandem. Mythos calls it recombination instead.
• Fragmenting: The process of updating your splinter (see Splintering below) to have your most recent memories.
• The Hum: A mysterious sound/vibration that pervades Deshret, said to be the breath of Saint Marrow by the Church.
• Ninefold: The name for a follower of the Church of the Nine.
• Saints: Nine religious figures central to the worship of the Church of the Nine; most faithful have chosen their own patron saint.
• Seals: Eight religious sigils associated with the various Saints of the Church of the Nine.
• Splintering: The process of dedicating a sliver of your soul to Marrow so that Sepulchre can grant you eternal life by guiding their souls back into their bodies after death. See Religion for more info.

TECHNOLOGY

• Chrome: Cybernetic implants, mechanical prosthetics, neural taps, and internal hardware fitted into organic flesh.
• Diving: One slang term for the act of accessing Abzu, the Matrix. (What is commonly known as 'decking' in many cyberpunk settings).
• Panopticon: The great elevator that connects Floors 2, 9, 10, and 18 (among others) through Deshret. Necessary as the gap between Floors 9-10 is far too extensive to be crossed by foot.
• Pneumatikon: The massive geothermal steam engine and pressure grid powering Deshret's electrical systems and life-support scrubbers. It also relies on the crystals mined and controlled by House Qamarat.
• Sprites: The familiar or spirit-like 'programs' that divers use to help carry out their will in Abzu. See Diving for more information.

GROUPS/PEOPLE

• Ascended: Nobles who have been disowned from their Houses of birth. The name of course refers to going up in floors - a bad thing in a world where down = privilege.
• Sixers: Slang term for members of the six Guilds.
• Slummers: A resident of Suburba living outside formal guild employment and noble house patronage.
• Splicers: Individuals who have been genetically modified to possess non-human traits.
• Yeoman: A term for contracted laborers, whether to guilds or Houses, without full membership in their organizations.

HISTORY/CULTURE

• Babble: The pidgin language spoken in Suburba.
• The Burning: The planetary catastrophe ~400 years ago that scorched the surface and forced human survivors underground into the bedrock. See The Beginning of Deshret for more.
• The Founders: The nine individuals who founded Deshret, most of whom became Saints. See The Beginning of Deshret for more.
• Hassan: The language utilized within Sepulchre for religious purposes (and, rumor suggests, occult ritual as well).
• Nisabic: The language utilized in government records and other administrative archives.
• Shinar: The 'common tongue' of Deshret.