Glossary

The Group – Seth’s group is one of several, not all known to each other, who keep to themselves, in a mostly patriarchal setting. While resistant to change, some among them are curious. Sometimes this causes them to be ostracized.

The Books – Most probably an ancient set of encyclopedias.

Elders – Beings (sometimes humans) with special abilities, who are committed to defeating the evil ones. The term does not necessarily mean “old”.

Nem (possibly a corruption of mnemonic) - a medicine bag worn on a rawhide thong around the neck. It contains objects and paraphernalia to aid in remembrance and worship. All hunters carry one, and the leader carries special objects in his, which are passed from leader to leader. Not viewed as sacred or magical in themselves, they are more an aid to remembering.

Deepwood -- Vast primeval forest, consisting mostly of hardwoods, but including large patches of conifers. The trees are huge, with not much underbrush, except in areas bordering the few open (mostly high desert places) spaces.

Drag, dragger – A device made from two poles tied at one end in a vee shape – in the before time, a travois.

Drogs -- Beings inimical to the Group, and to normal humans in general. Their origins are uncertain, but most probably they are humans mutated by exposure to the radiation and biological weapons that were a part of the Great Death. Their hatred of normal humans is unfathomable, and their cunning attacks are nearly impossible to predict nor defend against. They are not supermen, though, and must rely on stealth and numbers instead of brute strength. They are much slower than normal humans, but are wily. They are servants and slaves to the Others. The origin of the term is uncertain.

‘patches – Small, ape-like animals, some grey-and-white, but mostly black-and-white. Relatively sedentary, they could be tamed as pets, but were generally of no use for anything else, even though they often displayed an astonishing degree of intelligence. The name stems from the patchwork pattern of dark and white blotches that distinguishes them from other apes.

“Eater” – (or Venus plant) - a mutated omnivorous plant, resembling the Venus fly trap of today. Having limited mobility, they lie in wait for anything warm-blooded - from small rabbits, to large humans - unwary enough to stumble into them. They are fairly easy to avoid, but are deadly. There are, in fact, many such mutated forms of plant life. Some are mobile, but most are not. Some are deadly, and are able to lure other creatures to them for food. And a great many are benign - useful and beneficial to humans as food and shelter. Plants were not the only life forms that mutated. Mammalian and reptilian creatures did so as well, producing strange new variations of themselves. Some, like the ‘patches, rabbits, and goats, were benign, and some of those were hunted and used for food. Others could be extremely dangerous to humans and beasts alike, and were avoided, if at all possible.

The Others – remnants of a group bent on regaining control of the earth and all that live upon it. No one knows how long they have existed, but there have been glimpses of them throughout history. Thought to be working within a plan, they have survived every attempt to eradicate them, and at various times through history they have even been thought to be something other than human. The Drogs are thought to be their creation, and are enslaved to them.

Medicine tree – The inner bark of the willow has long been known to contain a pain-relieving compound, similar to aspirin. Those qualities had been remembered, or rediscovered, and were widely used by the people in this account. Other plants, fungi, and minerals were discovered or rediscovered, and were similarly used, for medicinal or other uses. Among those are nettles, sumac, various teas, and roots.

Span – a measure of time, equating to the length of time it takes the sun to traverse the width of an adult hand held up at arms’ length. Other measures of time include heartbeats, mealtimes, day/night cycles, and seasons.

New entries will be cataloged as discovered

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