Glossary

Big Dig — the Central Artery/Tunnel Project. “Ginsu guardrials” were blamed for harm to pedestrians and passengers ejected in crashes. 

Brú na Bóinne — (brew nah bohgn-yay) is the palace, or mansion, of the Boyne in Ireland. It contains three large passage tombs, Knowth, Newgrange, and Dowth. This structure is a World Heritage Site.

Cádir (kh-dar) Idris (id-ris) — a mountain in Wales at the southern end of Snowdonia National Park. It is the location of the residential school for training mages. It educates student mages from middle-school through the equivalent of a PhD. 

Courts of the Sidhe — in this universe the courts are divided into four seasons rather than two types of sidhe (seelie and unseelie): 

Spring — generally associated with the seelie. Those born in early spring may have a closer association with the unseelie. Early spring prefers twilight, late spring prefers sunlight. 

Summer — are seelie. Seelie are more benevolent but contact is not without risk. Seelie interact more with humans and warn of mundanes of danger, but still play tricks on them. They prefer the bright light associated with summer. 

Autumn — generally associated with unseelie. Those born in early autumn may have a closer association with the seelie. Late autumn prefers twilight, early autumn prefers brighter light.

Winter — are unseelie. Winter is associated with an unhappy inclination. Those born in early winter may blend in with late autumn. Those born in late winter may be more like early spring in inclination. In general, no offense is required to cause an assault. There is a preference for deep twilight to full night. Those of late winter may find a spring inclination, as those of early winter may have an autumnal inclination.

Fangs for the Memories — a popular nightclub in downtown Boston provides a faux vampire experience. It is run by a vampire seethe. 

Mag Meall — (mag mahl) also known as the Summerlands or The Plains of Joy. In this universe it is the elven afterlife. Only an individual with an elven or part-elven soul can enter. No one can leave. 

Nowhere Inn — a regional inn which is magical and semi-sentient that is nowhere and everywhere simultaneously. It can be located when needed by turning a corner with a distinct magical need. No magical weapons are permitted and the Inn removes them magically upon entry, returning them upon exit. Glamours are considered defensive magical weapons and removed and returned. It is one of many regional inns in this realm. Each inn has a designated Innkeeper who is powerful as he can restrict access to the inn. All inns are semi-sentient or  fully sentient. 

Underhill — a generic term for all the realms of the fae and, in general, the hell realms. May also be referred to as a hollow hill or the NeverNever. Like a bag of holding, it is larger inside than out. It may be different pocket universes linked together. Physics is imprecise. This is the realm of the wild faeries as well as the courts of the sidhe. 

Windermere — (win-der-meer) is the largest natural lake in England. In this universe it is also the name of the mythological town in the middle of the lake that hosts the worldwide organization for born-witches.

Zakim (zie-kuhm) Bridge aka the Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge — built as a part of The Big Dig that crosses the River Charles into Boston and carries eight lanes of interstate traffic northbound and southbound.

Black Dog — See also Doog. A spectral entity from the British Isles. Shapeshifter. In this universe Elorie (see also Eloire in characters) is a Muathe Doog (muh-yoo-uh-tuh dōōg) from Castle Peel on the Isle of Man. Elorie is a psychopomp and accompanies the souls of the dead to whatever realm is appropriate. Lilit the hellhound is also a black dog associated with the guardian dogs of Somerset. 

Born-witch — mundane humans who develop magical abilities in their teen years and become capable of practicing witch-level magic. They live hundreds of years. These magic workers develop mental connections with animals who are become spirit-inhabited familiars. Not all favor cats, although cats remain a fetish with many . 

Changeling — children/infants who have been exchanged with the faeries. 

Cù sith (kuh-sie) — a dangerous faery dog from Scotland. 

Djinn (jinn) — Pre-Islamic Arabian spirits of various forms that inhabit the world. They are invisible, shapeshifting and often feared. Al-al-din (see also, Al-al-din character) is a djinn. 

Elf (ell-f) — Elves and sidhe were originally the same species on what is now identified as the realm of men. In the distant past this species diverged into mundanes, elves, and sidhe. Elves remained immortal, lost their wings, and became more mundane in their relationship with magic. While they share many of the same facial features as the sidhe, elves are like mundanes in terms of how they live their lives. They have a deep bond to the realm in which they live at the time of this series. Presently, there has been a divergence of the realm of men, the realm of the elves, and the realms of magic where the fae reside.

Fae — (fay) is short for faery/fairy. This group encompasses a wide variety of beings from pixies and brownies to sidhe. The sidhe consider the term fae or faery an insult when used to describe them. 

Firedrake — a scaled, flame-eyed, flying dragon with hands on the tips of the wings and legs. Drakes have a long, snaky neck and a triangular head. Glorioso (see also, Glorioso, character) is a firedrake.

Formor — (foh-mawr). Fomorians are a mythical tribe of Ireland. The name may relate to the underworld or the sea. They are sometimes considered demons from the sea. In Leabhar Gabhala Eirann (see: Book of Conquests of Ireland) they are described as one-armed, one-eyed, one-legged giants of which one was Balor who always kept one eye covered as that eye killed any who saw it. They were also described as shapeless or monstrous. At other times they were described as beautiful werewolves who interbred with the Tuatha Dé Dannan. 

Grim (gr-im) — a form of hellhound associated with sinister and negative actions. 

Halfling — the child of two different species. Nigel is half sidhe and half human rootstock mage. Many halflings in faery are the result of love springs. 

Hellhounds — Lilit (also see Lilit, characters) is most closely associated with the Black Dog of Somerset those Gurt Dogs (great dogs) were the caregivers of children and protected travelers. About the size of a calf, she has a sooty black coat. Some have glowing coal eyes, others have eyes like huge silver platters. Black Dogs may be an omen of death or protect travelers. 

Kitsune (kit-soon) — a term for fox, demon fox, or divine fox. There are thirteen types of kitsune. They are shapeshifters and with age they have increased abilities. 

Zenko (zen-ko) kitsune — (also see, Jiro, characters) are associated with the god Inari. They are called Inari foxes and always depicted as white. 

Mage (may-juh) — born mundane human, their abilities develop in teen years through genetic activation. Runes erupt as incisions on the skin down the spine, across the shoulders, down both arms and around both wrists. These runes hold the power of the mages like batteries. It is a painful process. Not all survive the transition. Magery may skip generations. Mundane grandchildren and great-grandchildren are watched for manifestations. In some cases. there are spontaneous manifestations of magery. 

Shifter — a generic term for beings who evolved in this mundane realm who can change shape either intentionally or during the full of the moon. Born, not made. 

Sidhe (shee) — These are the faeries/fairy people of Celtic Irish folklore. They are said to live under the hills (Underhill) and are thought to be the descendants of the Tuatha Dé Dannan. At some point in the very distant past, the species of mundanes, elves and sidhe diverged. Sidhe remained immortal and their wings remain as a reservoir for their magic. They became beings entirely made of magic, yet retain a bodily form and interbreed with mundanes and elves. They retain many of the same facial features of the elves but are more beautiful. Some can enchant based on their looks. Most sidhe live simple lives away from royalty (high sidhe). At this time, there has been a divergence from the realm of men, and the realm of the elves. Sidhe are considered to live in the realms of magic.

Troll  (tr-roll) — A giant monster. They hate mundanes and live in dark places because sunlight burns them or turns them to stone. Boston has periodic troll infestations in tunnels. Probably sentient. 

Tuatha Dé Dannan (Thoo-a day Du-non) — This is a supernatural race in Irish mythology. The represent the gods of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland and the larger Gaelic/Celtic world. Tuatha Dé Dannan means people/folk of the goddess Danu of the Danube River. Mira refers to some of these gods.

Vampire (vam-pie-ur) — There are worldwide legends of vampires that predate Dracula. In this universe there are several varieties of vampire. None are required to consume only blood. Not all have a severe sunlight allergy.

Dark Fae/sidhe can be vampires — Most dark fae 0r dark sidhe blood drinkers are Winter Court or poorly aspected Autumn Court. 

Sanguine (meaning blood) (sang-gwn) — They require blood to survive and eat regular food. Generally night-dwellers due to fully dilated eyes and sunlight allergies. They can sleep, but rarely do so. There are magical interventions (talismans) that can be worn to provide protection in daylight and those who use them are known as “daywalkers.” Sanguine vampires beings are created. 

Succubi/succubus — These energy drinking vampires are like mundanes in terms of ability to tolerate sunlight. They consume food as well as anger, sorrow, and lust. They rarely cause death, but can cause debilitation. They are born, not created. Their blood can be used in some healing instances.

Light Mages — All mages are born light mages with the chaos of white light in them. The Guild of Light Mages is the largest guild. They consider themselves to be the top of the heap since the original Merlin was a light mage. Light mages are forbidden from killing with exceptions given to mages such as Miranda or designated executioners. Light magic is transitory in nature, whether it is additive or subtractive.

Leader: The Merlin 

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Gray Mages — This is the smallest guild. Gray Mages bridge the gap between white and the dark magic They have a loosely associated guild. They use ephemeral magics and those which last longer periods of time. Necromancers among them can raise spirits of the dead for revealing past secrets or influencing present events. They cannot create zombies. They are able to do transformational magic easily and often are the creators of large bag of holding enchantments.

Leader: The Gandalf

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Dark Mages — These magic workers are involved in foundational magic that is called dark, but it does not equate to evil. Dark magic can transmogrify on a cellular level and is considered foundational. Dark mages are the most conservative magic workers. They are the most skilled healers of hexes and curses. Dark Mages are the only ones who can resurrect bodies after death and can create zombies. Zombie creation and resurrection is forbidden by the Guild of Light Mages under pain of death, creating conflicts between the guilds. 

Leader: The Morrigan