Glossary

Ahd- A domesticated animal with a prehensile tail, similar in size and appearance to that of a cat, but with the temperament and loyalty more like that of a dog. They have highly developed paws, designed for climbing trees, especially wogbols. Accomplished hunters, this animal is useful because they prey on the poisonous snakes, insects, and arachnids that dwell in wogbols and other tropical trees.

Algmal- A long stemmed flower with green petals, found in the dense jungle. It has few, if any, leaves at its base, since its petals handle most of the plant's photosynthesis. The stem is solid, but flexible; similar in structure to a wogbol, though not related. When competing with dense ground foliage, this flower can grow up to two meters in height.

Aris- One who is a master at her ability, and uses it to make a living. The title is a fairly common title for portalers, healers, and movers, but uncommon for minders and emoters.

Bor- A goat-like animal raised for milk and meat.

Cahlar- Portaler. Portalers can "portal"-- a form of teleportation that opens a window between two locations, allowing movement between the two points. The extent of which varies from person to person. All portalers wear shades of green. Their style of dress is the most conservative of the five power groups. All clothes have at least some leg and sleeve to it. But the fit can vary from baggy to skintight.

Dahs- Child. All newborns are given the last name of Dahs, and dressed in white. When the child first displays her ability, around age one-half year, that ability is added on to the name, and then dressed in the appropriate color clothes. For example: when Dahra Dahs exhibited portaling abilities. Her name was immediately changed to Dahra Cahlardahs and dressed in the green clothing worn by all portalers.

Difig- The standard unit of measurement on docre. It is equal to roughly eighteen inches (forty-five centimeters). This story was originally written using these units.

Docre- Dahra's home planet, the fifth planet out from Lat. It is five and a third Astronomical Units from its sun (one AU is the distance of the Earth from the Sun). Docre has only a ten degree tilt on its axis (as opposed to Earth's twenty- three and a half), and has a tropical climate over the majority of the planet. Docre's year is equivalent to six point seven earth years (2560 days long). Each year is divided into sixteen "months", and each month is divided into four "weeks", each of which is forty days long. A docren day is approximately equivalent to twenty five Earth hours long. Coincidentally, docrens divide time into twenty four hour intervals, breaking their hours down into one hundred "minutes", and then breaking the "minutes" into one hundred "seconds".

Eglas- Engineer.

Falas- Geologist.

Faldu- A large-breasted woman. Most docren females have small breasts (A-cup bra size). Only about three percent have breasts larger than that (no larger than D- cup). There are a number of myths about faldu which most docrens know are not true, but color others' attitude about them anyway (much like our superstitions about horseshoes and walking under ladders). The most prevalent of these is that faldu are more likely to get pregnant than non-faldu, and make better mothers. In a society that cherishes children as much as Docre's, this is a good thing. Faldu tend to get extra attention at the insemination centers, thus making this prejudice self-fulfilling. On the negative side, faldu are said to be lazy, and slow to catch on to new skills. This tends to make it hard for some faldu to find a job, and makes their bosses more critical of their job performance. As a result, many faldu try to cover up this fact from the rest of the world, through having their breasts surgically reduced, or binding them.

Fahr- The largest island on Docre. About twice the size of the big island of Hawaii.

Fahrlot- The capital city of Docre on the island of Fahr. It is also the largest city on Docre, with a population of approximately one hundred thousand.

Felgis- Archaeologist/anthropologist.

Grandahs- Priest (means literally "Child of Gran").

Guild- Every docren, by age one, is a member of one of the five guilds corresponding to which ability she has. The original purpose of the guilds were to develop, control and refine the ability of each docren.

As time passed, the guilds also became political organizations, looking after the political interests of their guild. Many docrens have little to do with their guild. While some, who enjoy politics or are politicians, want to refine their ability, or teach them to children, are very active in guild activities. All guild members wear the specific color of their guild, as soon as the ability is discovered. This started out as a courtesy to others. But now, to docrens, the notion of not wearing the appropriate color is as strange as the idea of men wearing women's clothing is to us.

Ipse- The equivalent of a doctor's degree. The word is formally added to the name of the person receiving the degree. Dahra has an ipse in archeology, so her actual name is Dahra Cahlaripsefelgis. Using the ipse in your last name is considered pretentious, and is thus only used when the recipient needs to establish her credentials, such as when giving a scholarly speech, writing a technical paper, or introducing oneself to a new class. Thus Dahra hardly ever adds "ipse" to her name.

Ishtahr- Healer. Healers can accelerate metabolism, immunity and healing mechanisms in another person. All healers have taken an oath, similar to the Hippocratic Oath, not to use their ability to hurt others. The extent of this ability varies from individual to individual. All healers wear shades of blue. They having their navels exposed and decorated in some manner-- except in the most extreme weather conditions. They also wear some kind of skirt, even if it is just a small ruffle around the waist.

Kemetir- Mover. Movers are telekinetic. They can move objects with their mind-- the extent of which varies from individual to individual. All movers wear shades of brown. Their clothes are usually loose-fitting and expose as much skin as possible, which borders on what we would call indecent. But unlike healers, movers never have their navels exposed. Some movers have gone so far as having their naval surgically removed.