Alchemical Ink. Ink mixed with blood and a few aromatic herbs. Used to write spell glyphs, and traditionally used in correspondence or notes between occultists.
Alchemy. The extraction and manipulation of vis from non-blood objects and the manipulation of chemical interactions with the addition of vis. Alchemists are largely responsible for most modern medicines as well as a number of magical compounds. “Chemistry” is enmeshed in alchemy to the point where almost no one is skilled in one and not the other.
Athanor. A large furnace that is needed to refine quiet blood into quickblood. Very large and very costly. Blood is placed in an inner chamber along with an ampoule of quicksilver and of a special herbal blend, and carefully heated at a rotation of three specific heats over the course of five days. A single athanor can’t make more than about a pint of quickblood at once, but industrial alchemists usually operate five or more athanor at once.
Black Copper. A nonmagical alloy of copper that is often used as an ornamental metal in northern Esparc. It is normally reddish-brown, similar to pure copper, but has a unique reaction to certain chemicals that can cause it to turn an extremely dark shade of indigo, nearly black.
Blood Lamp. A lamp, similar to an oil lamp, which burns blood rather than oil. They come in many sizes, but are typically hung from chains so that they can be easily held by occultists wherever their travels take them. They are the traditional focus for occultist’s magic.
Blood Tonic. A mixture of quickblood and tincture of culsine, usually thinned with water for general use. Can be ingested or injected, and single-use syringes are often sold to mercenaries for ease of use in battle. Highly energising and kills pain, as well as stimulates rapid healing, capable of healing most surface-level injuries within minutes, if not seconds.
Chalice. Silver chalices are a frequent tool in Luminary Church rituals. They are also used specifically to administer the quickblood treatments to church sanguifers, and then later to collect the holy blood from their veins. They are a symbol both of bloodletting and of the Church tenet of communion.
Cordial. A common medicinal and recreational class of drinks. Typically doesn’t contain quickblood (though some contain a trace amount), but is almost always alcoholic. Flavours range from herbs and spices to more fruity notes, with a hint of bitterness from whatever medicine has been mixed into the concoction. Medicinal uses vary, but they normally aren’t used for anything more serious than cramps, aches, coughs, and dyspepsia.
Corh. Corh is the name of the world of this setting. It is a planet mostly covered with oceans, with five continents across its surface, three very large and two smaller.
Crucible. A pot of varying sizes, normally made of iron, steel, or ceramics, which is commonly used by alchemists as a heating vessel. Crucibles are a symbol of the alchemical profession in general, and are a symbol of the entire world for alchemic philosophers.
Culsa. A plant known to be high in natural vis, it also produces chemicals with anesthetic and energising properties. Grown industrially these days, it is found in many places as raw leaves to chew or make tea of, and is used in medicines and alcoholic cordials, used for both medicinal and recreational purposes.
Esparc. Esparc is a continent mostly in the northern and eastern hemispheres of Corh, though with some sections dipping into the southern hemisphere. It is a very expansive continent with a number of cultures and ways of life. The Lundenian Empire, now the Lundenian Confederation, covers just over a third of the continent, and is by far the dominant nation.
Evocation. A style of casting magic in which the caster draws power from their own blood rather than another’s. They will their own blood to burn within their veins. This is quite painful, but blood that is still yet living is one of the most high-vis substances known, so evokers are as such among the more powerful magi in the world.
Goêsite. A deep violet mineral that contains volatile arcane energies, though no vis, as var as is known. Though it is rare, it is sought for use as a medium for arcane weapons and explosives, as well as for its use as a lure and bargaining chip for spirits, who seem uniquely drawn to it.
Knight. In Esparc, a “knight” specifically refers to a member of one of a number of legendary knightly orders that have spanned the continent for well over a thousand years. Knights in Esparc are especially known for serving alongside dragons. Warriors who fit the typical knightly image but do not belong to one of these orders are called “knight-errants”.
Occultism. A style of casting magic in which the caster draws power from burnt blood (or, rarely, other reagents), normally through a blood lamp. The majority of magi are occultists, as its primary barriers of entry are wealth (to obtain a supply of blood) and intellect (to memorise Primaeval spells), both of which are generally easier to overcome than requiring a great force of will.
Orichalcum. A reddish natural alloy of gold and copper that has been charged with enormously dense vis. Orichalcum is the substance with the highest-known quantity of vis per weight, and it is highly, highly valued as a reagent by alchemists and occultists. It is extremely rare, and it is often more economical for alchemists to attempt a gruelling, months-long, difficult, and dangerous process to manufacture it than to attempt to mine it.
Primaeval. A language discovered by ancient astrologers written on fallen stars millennia ago. It comprises the spoken word, hand gestures, and a set of complex glyphs used to write it. Primaeval must be spoken and/or gestured to command magic from blood. Written Primaeval glyphs are necessary for large-scale rituals.
Quickblood. A watery, refined form of blood that has a higher concentration of vis. It is used as fuel for blood lamps, and also as a base in many modern medicines, especially blood tonic, certain lines of cordials, sedatives, and poison antidotes.
Quiet Blood. Unaltered blood drawn from the human (or dragon) body. It is thick with vis, but doesn’t burn as well as quickblood, and suffers from poor quality from most people. Quiet blood has mild healing properties, similar to quickblood although much less pronounced.
Sanguifer. A holy figure in the Luminary Church who has been chosen to dispense holy blood. They are treated with quickblood and a particular “holy medium”, before being sequestered in luxurious church apartments, only receiving contact from church doctors to take their blood for the church’s rituals of communion.
Vis. The essential energy of life, which fuels an organism’s “natural heat”. Vis collects in the blood of humans and dragons over the course of a lifetime. Some other creatures, plants, and substances contain a natural well of vis, though it is more difficult to extract from them than from blood, and is thus normally the domain of alchemists alone.