Waybound (39 page)

Overguard
military commanders in the Covenant.

Panzamine
medication for managing motion sickness and nausea.

phase
a mehkan unit of time, roughly equivalent to a year.

pinpod
small mehkan critters that burrow into surfaces and pucker to take in air.

Primal Age
a mythical era the Waybound consider the beginning of time.

puddlemudge
a mehkan expletive.

quadrit
a mehkan unit of measurement, roughly equivalent to two meters.

The Quorum
an alliance among several nations of the human world that feel threatened by Meridian's supremacy and vehemently oppose its trade policies.

ragleaf
a common mehkan weed that is highly reflective, though it degrades rapidly when trimmed or plucked.

Rathskellar
an ill-reputed tavern in the seaside settlement of Ghalteiga.

Rattletrap
the most common language in Mehk.

Rekindling
a mehkan astronomical event involving swirls of colored starlight. This spectacle has religious significance to the Waybound.

rot-pox
a gruesome, degenerative mehkan disease that causes premature decomposition among tchurbs.

rust
the mehkan term for “death.”

Rust Risen
fabled home of the ancient and dreaded Uaxtu.

rustgut
a mehkan ailment caused by the consumption of water.

rusting rites
funeral ceremony for the Waybound.

sacred machine
all of Makina's creation, the entirety of the universe, according to the Waybound.

salathyl
a peaceable, sentient mehkan species that is subterranean and massive in size, used by the Covenant as a secretive method of travel.

salathyl prong
a mehkan device shaped like a spike that emits a signal when planted in the ground in order to summon a nearby salathyl.

Scrollbar
a handheld tablet Computator made by the Foundry.

Sea Bullet
a high-powered Foundry speedboat that can be retrofitted with a magnetic operating system for use in flux.

Sen Ta'rine, aka “The Living City”
one of several mehkan metropolises constructed out of the towering sendrite growths that give these cities their “Sen” prefix.

sendrite
a gigantic species of mehkan vegetation, cultivated as living architecture in major cities.

The Shroud
the afterlife, according to the Way. It is a physical place in Mehk, a wall of dense, obscuring fog where Makina is said to reside and judge the embers of the dead. It remains unexplored by both humans and mehkans.

silver steppes
a mehkan region of barren plains that conduct heat in such a way as to be impassable during the day.

Sliverytik
a mehkan gambling game. Players assemble a set of curved rods marked with symbols into a formation that rearranges itself as new rods are added.

span
mehkan term for “lifetime.”

sungold
a brilliant, extraordinarily reflective mehkan material, so rare it is thought to no longer exist. It was once used to create religious artifacts for the Way.

tahnik
bulbous mehkan vegetation with branching tendrils, capable of growing to tremendous size.

The Talons
a harrowing, spiky reef in the Mirroring Sea that is infamous for destroying ships.

tchurb
a pathetic species of diminutive mehkan, regarded as the untouchable bottom-feeders of society. The arrival of humans in Mehk introduced rot-pox, a contagious genetic scourge that afflicts only tchurbs.

thiaphysi
a sophisticated, highly empathetic race of mehkans who prize artistic expression above all else. By touching their hands to the moving, helical bands that surround their sprocketed bodies, thiaphysi can create both speech and music.

tick
a mehkan unit of time, roughly equivalent to a minute.

tinklet
an individual unit of mehkan currency.

Titan
giant military automaton made by the Foundry with advanced intelligence and powerful cannons.

tiulu
an intimidating mehkan race with chainsaw forelimbs on bodies reminiscent of praying mantises. Although they are farmers and vegetarians, they are fiercely competitive and known to subjugate jaislids for slave labor.

torch bloom
colloquial term for a carnivorous mehkan plant with flowers that burst into flame when their stamens are touched.

Trel
slang for a person from Trelaine.

Trelaine
proud human nation that is a founding member of the Quorum and has been in protracted peace talks with Meridian for years.

Uaxtu, aka “ember-reaper”
a mythical cult of ancient mehkans, rumored to have conducted unspeakable rituals to resurrect the dead. It is said their spirits were cursed to wander for eternity like ravenous ghosts, devouring life to feed their empty souls.

vaptoryx
a flying mehkan predator that snares its prey with musical tripwire.

vesper
an oily, orange liquid found in streams, rivers, and lakes throughout Mehk, as vital to mehkans as water is to humans.

viscollia
a popular mehkan liquor distilled from augurweed.

vital component
a term used in the Way to refer to those who have pursued their function to the fullest and have become enlightened.

volmerid, aka “vol”
a gruff mehkan species covered with shaggy steel wool, distinguished by their oversized right arms and prehensile chain fingers. This species has earned a reputation of being grunts and thugs.

VooToo, aka “Vesper to H
₂
O Conversion Unit”
a Foundry-made device used to convert vesper to water.

Vo-Pykaron Mountains
a prominent range of living mountains in the Lateral Provinces of Mehk.

V-Stalker
a Foundry surveillance automaton with powerful olfactory sensors, highly adept at tracking.

Ward of Broken
lighthouse beacon of the Housing of the Broken. Its precious sungold reflector was stolen long ago.

Watchmen
Foundry-made automatons with advanced intelligence that serve a variety of functions from menial labor to foot soldier, capable of complex multitasking.

The Way
an ancient and nearly extinct religion that worships a deity named Makina. The fundamental tenets of the faith have to do with living a compassionate life, finding one's spiritual function, and serving the rest of creation.

Waybound
a term for those devoted to the ancient religion of the Way.

Waypoint
ancient altars of the Way scattered across Mehk, where travelers once made devotional offerings in exchange for blessings from Makina.

whist
a ceremonial shawl that has the remarkable ability to mute all sound, bestowed by the Waybound to the loved one of a martyr.

wryl
a gargantuan, oceanic mehkan creature with a dangerous array of tusks. Because they have simple brains that can be mechanically modified to make the creatures docile, pirates and marauders often use wryls as a deadly means of conveyance.

Wycik
a remote mehkan hamlet built amid the Arcs, considered primitive.

For a complete glossary with illustrations, go to
booksofore.com
.

CAM BAITY & BENNY ZELKOWICZ
are writers, animators, and filmmakers who began collaborating after meeting at California Institute of the Arts. A Texas native, Cam is an Emmy Award-winning animator, and his short films have screened around the world, including at Anima Mundi in Brazil and the BBC British Short Film Festival. His credits include major motion pictures like
Team America: World Police
and
The SpongeBob Square Pants Movie
, and popular television shows such as
Robot Chicken
and
SuperMansion.
Canadian-born Benny studied animation at CalArts and made the awardwinning film
The ErlKing
, which screened at Sundance. He directed and starred in the BBC/CBC animated series
Lunar Jim
and worked on
The LEGO Movie
as well as TV shows, including
Robot Chicken
and
Moral Orel.
Together, Cam and Benny are also the authors of
The First Book of Ore: The Foundry's Edge.
Learn more about them at
www.booksofore.com
.