Introduction to the story:
Nanu, with the help of his sister Seer, is running a
gruelling race across the fire plains of Naime to win back the Amulet of Tears
for his people. Naime is their home planet, one of the Tied Worlds ruled by
Ota. By winning it, it will set the Naime free from Ota's brutal rule.
The Amulet is an
ancient jewel that Blem is prepared to pay trillions for. If Ota sells the
jewel, he will be able to pay off his debtors beyond the Tied Worlds & be
free.
But Blem's protege,
Cha is a Wind Walker whose people Ota destroyed. She wants to do more than help
procure the jewel for Blem but inadvertently sets out on an adventure of her
own across the Tied Worlds.
Jovu, the deal broker
is simply after making sure he gets the best deal, whether it's Ota, Blem or
Ota's creditors that he deals with.
Between them all, they trigger a set of events that will eventually take them beyond the fire plains & rift mines of Naime...
Click here to read Part 1 and 2 for free over on Fiction Press.
Glossary
Amulet of Tears
An ancient artefact, believed to be a piece of jewellery.
'The central leucotine gemstone glows with a milky light, around
it, lesser gems, red emperiums, blue hyacinthstone & a ring of opalescent
fyredimes glitter. Three milk pearls and a suspended waterbarle complete the
jewel.'
Amulet of
Tears Lore
Amulet of Tears
‘The central leucotine gemstone glows with a milky light, around it,
lesser gems, red emperiums, blue hyacinthstone & a ring of opalescent
fyredimes glitter. Three milk pearls and a suspended waterbarle complete the
jewel.’
The Amulet of Tears is an ancient jewel, maker unknown, depicting
the Tied Worlds. It is the symbol of the Naime & of considerable wealth.
Body Damper
Electronic device creating an interference shield camouflaging the wearer from
scanning devices.
Brinwold Seawater
A spa treatment, the seawater from the Brinwold planet system is high in
minerals and salts & highly sought after as a relaxant for space travel
stress.
Caliedeope
The spinning disc galaxy the Tied Worlds solar system is in.
Chafestalk
A rough grass used for animal silage and once processed, for weaving.
Cloche
Type of hard hat worn on the Tied Worlds, usually with an outer layer of heavy
cloth, covering most of the face.
Cred (Singular)
Creds (plural)
Monetary unit of credit system run on the Naime planet.
Disrupter Gun
A disrupter gun fires focused high frequency beams that rupture cellular
cohesion through interference at point of convergence.
Doub (Singular)
Doubs (Plural)
Official monetary unit of the local solar systems.
Etoh-Mix
An alcoholic mix designed to be introduced into the drink tubes of travelpod suit-seats.
Face-Tech Tattoos
Cyberware tattooed onto the skin to provide enhancement, connectivity or
control over external hardware.
Fanfare
Tree roosting forest bird. Seed eating found in the Honetan Forests.
Fathomer
Title given to someone who has undergone many educational processes on Parse-Terra
in multiple disciplines such as science, economics and medicine. With the title
is the weight of responsibility for your local community.
Fleose
A long, simple gown or top made of any soft, woven material.
Flikscreen
Portable
device with the ability to project information streams to other nearby devices
in real time.
Fulcrum
Flies
A
marsh insect found on Parse-Terra, named for its erratic flight pattern, hovering
while producing a whirring sound to attract mates then jumping to another spot,
mid-air, propelled by releasing rubber band-like muscles on its legs.
Glimmer
The name for the effect of sunlight on the dust ring, causing blinding light
flares on the polar caps of Syrene.
Gravonium
A noble metal element.
GST
Galaxy Standard Time. A standardized time
system across the galaxy to allow for easier trade & communications.
HAB Kit
A basic survival kit for planet pioneering.
Contains basic rations, medicines & survival equipment. Habitat Adaptive
Biodome Kit
Hecton
A volumetric unit on the planet Honetan. Based
on an old system of measuring the weight of a crop by its dimensions. A hecton
equals the amount of crop one Honetan could carry on their own, roughly
equivalent to a standard cubic meter.
Hoop-Station
Space travel speeds are increased using laser propulsion which can be
magnified many times by passing through a series of mirrored donut shaped space
stations, forming lanes to cross large areas of space.
Hotsand
A type of powdery rock found on the Naime planet. When exposed to sandmint
oil it explodes. Often used for rock blasting in the mines or ground up to be
used as a firelighter.
Liege Lines
Usually presented as a tattoo or body
ornamentation, liege lines express the feudal ancestry of the wearer, like a
family tree of ownership.
Leans
A compound word, leather or pleather and jeans.
Lung Sail
A breathing bladder designed to float above you by using a double layered
outer shell filled with helium. The internal bladder can be filled with clean
air or water and tethered to you by a feeding tube.
MagProp Batteries© Engine
An MPB© engines uses Magnetars to charge its battery-based
EM propulsion system.
Moon Shitting
Once a saying used when something easy becomes overly complicated to do, now used
as a profanity.
Mindsplain
A type of herb, brewed to produce a mind altering effect, often used as a truth
serum.
Mintweed
A culinary herb found on Honetan.
Night Slips
Marsh-dwelling creature on Parse-Terra.
Panagereme
Type of vine fruit, with pink flesh and sweet pips with a thin edible yellow skin,
up to 8cm in diameter.
Panicle Seed
A food crop plant on the Tied Worlds, usually ground and used as a type of
flour.
Phosphor Eels
A bio-luminescent eel found in the marshes of Parse-Terra.
Pungene
A noxious gas found on Barle.
Quinium
A precious element derived from the processing of quintessence.
Quintessence
The fifth element in the universe, defined as comprising of dark energy.
Saltwort
A type of edible plant like a seaweed. Native to the Tied Worlds.
‘Salvar Trove’
Misinterpreted by Cha as meaning treasure trove, the ‘Salvar Trove’ is an
escape route
Salvar – save
Trove – find
Sand Mint
Aromatic herb growing on plains of the Naime planet. Containing volatile
oils that combust in the air on exposure to high temperatures hence giving the
fire plains their name. At night, sparks from these fires fill the air, caused
by the hot air rising into the cooler night sky.
Sandmint Oil
A highly flammable oil pressed from the leaves of Sand Mint.
Sinbarum Balm Oil
A skin emollient made from pearl oil, farmed in the pearl fields on the
planet Sinbarum.
Slipon
A plain utility tunic, primarily used for uniforms.
Snow Spriggan
Mythical being associated with the planet Syrene.
Sofface
A Naime musical instrument, like a drum, producing different tones when
tapped.
Sollop
A moss, grown as a food crop, rich in amino acids.
Sonic Vortex
Machine using sonic waves directed into a vortex field to hold an object in
place. First built to stabilise shockwaves from hypersonic travel.
Spacedial
FTL (faster than light) universal
communication system.
Space
Fugue
A dream state often induced by long
bouts space travel, where the individual has trouble distinguishing the
conscious from the unconscious.
Stimpen
A quick revival auto-injector pen, delivering a stimulant to counter the effect
of sedatives.
Terranium
A
conductive salt harvested from a plant of the same name, grown in the salt
marshes on Parse-Terra.
Torque
(plural)
Torquo (singular)
Hunting bolas often worn in pairs on the arm. Made from a rope of woven
plant material with lizard claws weighted with lead at each end. The claws are found
on the fire plains, shed from lizard species both living & extinct on the
Naime planet.
Water-Bark & Water-Trees
Barrel-shaped trees with tough silvery leaves, the bark can be cut to
reveal, fleshy edible pulp high in sugars and water. The bark can be plaited and
carried as a food and water source.
Wisdomer
A person who guides or mentors people on the planet Syrene.
Wrist App
A skin surface-mounted bio-chip, most often used by organisations with
large workforces. Can be programmed for resources such as attendance,
admittance, security clearance and time and motion studies.
Wyren
Syrean Cave Bat
Xinta (singular)
A type of small knife, usually worn hidden in clothing, typically carried
by Gemins. The handles feature horn from Mountain Oryx and finely worked silver
motifs. The blades are knapped Gemin flint.
Zstral
The name of a fictional fiery planet in Naime folklore. Often used in
comparative sayings. Eg ‘as hot as a firestorm on
Zstral’ or ‘I’d run the firestorms of Zstral’
as an expression of how difficult or important a task is.
The Tied Worlds Solar System
Star/Sun: Leucotia
The four large planets of the solar
system:
Barle - Gas Giant, outer planet, largest of the
planets. Habitable.
Naime - Dying planet, mined for precious metals and
gems. Homeworld of the Naime.
Honet - Habitable planet.
Volpair - Once habitable planet, destroyed by Ota.
The five smaller planets of the solar
system:
Blythe - Technically a moon, satellite to Honet.
Habitable
Syrene - A cold planet furthest from the sun,
Leucotia. Habitable.
Solea – A fiery, volcanic planet closest to the
sun, Leucotia. Uninhabitable.
Duos and Empiria – Once moons for the planet Barle, now pulled
away into their own orbit. Habitable. Homeworld of the Wind Walkers.
A Hand Drawn map of the Tied Worlds Solar System (artist unknown)
Syrene Old Language Translations
An - I am
Beforn - before
Caverns – Tunnels/caves
Flyge - fly
Hearthen – Home
Glimmer – the proper noun for the effect of sunlight on the dust
ring, causing blinding light flares on the polar caps of Syrene.
Mi – I/me
Most - must
On – In
Quiken – Quick/run
Sleppen – Sleep
Toggon – Go to / to get
Wealk - walk
Wyren - Syrean Cave Bat
Ule – You
Y - And
‘Wyren sleppen on cavernes. Flur y
Char most toggon hearthen. Quiken! Quiken!’
‘Syrene Cave Bats sleep in the
tunnels. Flur and Char must get home. Run! Run!’
‘Uly y mi wealk Hearthen beforn glimmer.’
‘You & I walk home before the
glimmer’
‘Ule sleppen on mi hearthen y ule
most reman onside amiddn glimmer. Wilcom tog Glist Fae!’
‘You sleep in my home and you must
remain inside during the glimmer, Welcome to Glist Fae!’
‘Uly salvar, uly sleppen, uly
flyge.’
‘You safe, you sleep, you fly.’
