Post by Moderator on Aug 13, 2008 10:04:12 GMT -5
Posted: 13 Mar 2008 07:27 pm Post subject: Druchii Glossary
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(Thanks to Illarion from the WHA forums; he originally put this glossary of terminology together!)
Dark Elf Glossary
This is an evolving glossary of terms and concepts related to Dark Elf weapons, armor, and culture. I am neither a master of Dark Elf Lore nor do I have access to a lot of the older source material that covered them. As such please feel free to PM me if you see something's missing or just have something to add to one of the existing entries. Special thanks to Raes for his help in adding to the glossary!
Weapons, Equipment, and Armor
Crossbelts - Most druchii wear an intricate set of narrow crossbelts on which they sling their weapons.
Dalakoi - Literally meaning "strength against death" a dalakoi is a padded aketon with mail sleeves and a long mail skirt. The mail is lined with soft leather such human or doeskin, which helps hold the mail in place.
Draich - A long, two-handed sword primarily used by the executioners of Har Ganeth and the Temple. Draichs are usually ornate, and are always well-crafted and their owners take pride in their care. Draich-masters have such skill with their blades that they can swing them as if they had no weight at all, and with such force and finesse as to easily slice through bone and armor. Most druchii who wield draichs finish off any opponent by decapitation.
Drannach - Literally translated to Sky-Piercer, a drannach is a long, heavy-bladed spear.
Fighting Spines - Fighting spines are razor sharp blades which can trap and hold enemy blades as well as being weapons in their own right. They often adorn the vambraces of druchii warriors, whether common or highborn. Some adepts of the temple and brides of khaine make use of fitted vambraces that cover their forearms and are adorned with these fighting spines. Some suits of armor include fighting spines on the legs and feet as well as on the forearms and knuckles.
Ghlaith - Literally meaning spineblade, the ghlaith is primarily used for ritual combat and duels although some druchii still use it in actual combat. It is a short, sickle-shaped blade used for a paralyzing blow to the lower back or limbs. During dueling this is commonly used in tandem with another archaic druchii weapon, the lakelui.
Khaitan - A khaitan is a long, flowing robe often made from rich silk patterned with spells and charms. Other common materials used instead of silk are human hide, doeskin, dwarf hide, or even nauglir hide. The material is often used to represent the prestige of its owner, so human hide - easily acquired - represents a druchii of low status while silk might represent wealth, nauglir hide represents druchii of position or strength. Nevertheless, most khaitan's tend to be made from light cloth materials such as silk or cheaper threads. Knights and nobility almost always wear a khaitan while a warrior captain or guard might own one of human hide or something more expensive if he is lucky. Khaitan's are seen as a reflection of the owner's status. Adepts and acolytes of temple may wear khaitans outside of their duties and combat, and those who practice the dark arts often wear khaitans too. These should be spelt khaitans, not kheitans, khaitens, or any other variant, despite different spellings from one edition to the next.
Lakelui - A long-hafted weapon, resembling a staff in some respects, the lakelui usually has two blades, one at its head and one at its butt. The blade at the butt is more a dagger than anything, but it allows for fierce blunt blows that can also slash through the skin. The blade at the head of the lakelui is somewhat a hybrid between a spear and a miniature glaive, which is used to kill an opponent once he is defenseless. During formal duels, the lakelui is used with the aforementioned ghlaith and failure to properly immoblize the foe before death will earn the displeasure of the audience and quite often leads to summary execution of the duelist.
Uraithen - Literally translated to the Deathrain, uraithen is what the druchii call their repeater crossbows.
Substances, Mounts, and Poisons
Black Lotus - Black lotus has a terrifying effect on living flesh, driving victims into delusions and insanity.
Courva - Root extract from a plant found in the jungles of Lustria. When chewed, it acts as a stimulant, sharpening the senses. It is believed to increase reflexes. Favoured by duellists and assassins. Mildly addictive.
Dark Venom - Extracted from the poisonous reptiles of the bleak land of Naggaroth, dark venom is a deadly toxin. A weapon coated with dark venom will cause a mortal wound if it even barely scratches skin.
Hashulta - Hashulta is a milk-like liquid, often called "Mother's Milk." It can heal the body even after the mortal wounds, but the inbiber may succumb to prolonged comatose states where they dwell in their subconscious and prolonged use can cause ill-effects to the mind, stupefying, retarding, dimming, or maddening the imbiber.
Manbane - One of the most lethal venoms ever devised, which causes even the tiniest wound to bleed openly.
Nauglir - Nauglir is the word druchii use to refer to cold ones.
Nauglir Slime - Druchii wishing to ride cold ones, must initially coat their body with the slime of a cold one, masking their true scent from the cold one and allowing them to ride. This, however, can also numb or even completely deaden the senses for prolonged periods or even permanently. Additionally, desperate cold one knights facing mortal wounds will sometimes place the nauglir slime on their wounds, which keeps them from bleeding, numbs the pain, and helps to temporarily heal the wound. However, while grievous wounds may heal, the danger of nauglir slime is that it may infect the wound, merely prolonging the knights inevitable death or even worse, the nauglir slime may indeed keep the knight alive but at the cost of his sanity.
Cultural References
Acolyte of Khaine/the Temple - A member of the Temple, male or female, who knows the ritual spells of Khaine and can cast spells of the Lord of Murder. Despite Malekith's decree that no males should practice sorcery nor should any female without his permission, the Temple - his primary enforcers - are unsurprisingly relatively exempt from his decree. (Nevertheless, I am unaware of just how prevalent casters are among the Temple, and unfortunately my main sources for this information are the Black Library's four Malus Darkblade novels).
Adept of (the Temple of) Khaine - This refers to especially gifted witch elves and assassins.
Asrai - Wood Elf
Asur - High Elf
Autarii - A term that refers to the Shades of the Blackspine Mountains and outlying areas of Naggaroth.
Bride of Khaine - Witch Elf
Caedlin - A mask, usually of silver or gold, worn by highborn citizens of Hag Graef to protect their faces from the fog that sweeps over the city each night. Sometimes called a Nightmask.
Dark Elf Navy - My knowledge of the druchii navy is admittedly limited, however, from what I've seen their ships primarily come in four categories from smallest to largest in both size and crew size: skiffs, corsairs, reavers, and black arks. The original black arks were fortresses and cities of ancient Nagarythe and as the High Elves sunk the rest of Nagarythe, druchii mages managed to set a few keeps and castles afloat, including the land they were built on. New black arks, however, are constructed of iron, stone, steel, ithilmar, and wood in the port of Clar Karond and subsequently magically ensorcelled to float. Some of these vessels sail the seas on the aethyr alone while others have sails and use the wind and others are dragged along by sea dragons goaded by the beastmasters of Karond Kar or make use of all three means of movement. Reavers are large wooden ships that often raid the coasts of the Old World, Ulthuan, and Cathay in moderate numbers. Corsairs are smaller ships primarily used in small raids along the coast or to lure enemy ships into the jaws of waiting black arks and reavers. Skiffs are very small craft, usually carried aboard the other three categories of ships. Skiffs are used for trade between the six cities or for ferrying druchii from one ship to another or from a ship to the shore. They are not made for combat other than as a means of a boarding action. In terms of design, the closest artistic interpretation appears to be something akin to the trieriemes used by the ancient Greeks.
Drachau - Literally 'Hand of Night', the title held by the six rulers of the great druchii cities as appointed by the Witch King Malekith. The Drachau serve as the Witch King's lieutenants and his inner council, each fulfilling a specific function in that capacity. Traditionally the Drachau of Hag Graef serves as the General of the Witch King's armies in times of war.
'Dragons of the Deep...' 'Dark Mother...' 'By the Dark Mother...' 'Dark Abyss...' - These and many more are a few common Druchii curses I'm aware of. Basically the equivallent of saying god-damned for most purposes.
Druchii - Dark Elves
Druchii Language - Common Druchii speak a language, which depending on the edition of the lore is either Druhir or Druchii. Druhir, however, is preferred to avoid confusion between the people and their culture with their language.
Despite speaking Druhir, all Druchii still remember and learn Tar-Eltharin - the language of the High Elves of Ulthuan -, which is also simply known as Eltharin. Either spelling for the language of the High Elves is acceptable. Eltharin is primarily spoken in formal events and by the nobility.
Additionally, Druchii tend to know languages that they've encountered, and like most Elves they quickly learn to fluently speak languages. Nevertheless, an Elf who has spent most of his time guarding the Northern Watch Towers likely will only know Druhir, Tar-Eltharin, and a dialect spoken by the northern barbarian tribesmen of Chaos. Likewise, an Elf who has spent most of his time raiding Cathay, might know Druhir, Tar-Eltharin, and Cathayan, but is unlikely to know too many other languages. Druchii of noble birth may know more languages than would be expected common Druchii.
Dru Perim (The Black Pilgrims) - A council of old dark elf nobles who helped govern Naggaroth after the Sundering. Most of these druchii practiced sorcery, and after Malekith issued his decree that only he could grant permission to practice the dark arts and that no male could do practice regardless he had most of them executed, isolated, or exiled. Note that of those still alive, almost all of them practice sorcery and hold strong powerbases isolated away from the six cities, thereby allowing them to engage in their personal pursuits as they please.
Flesh hooks - Warriors and especially knights wear a selection of flesh hooks. Each is shaped as a Druchii rune, and the place and manner in which they are hung can tell a lot about a knight's allegiances, battle honors, and family.
Hadrilkar - Literally 'collar of service'. A torc worn by members of a highborn's retinue or followers of certain religious cults or professional guilds. The torc is typically made of gold or silver and etched with the highborn's family sigil.
Hakseer - The 'proving cruise' made by every druchii highborn upon reaching adulthood. Every highborn is expected to lead a yearlong raiding cruise to demonstrate his skill and ruthlessness and establish his reputation in highborn society. Oftentimes, success on the cruise depends on how much the family spends to outfit it. It is not uncommon, for example, for a drachau's son to take to the sea with a small fleet of ships at his command. The commander of the cruise keeps the lion's share of the plunder, as is customary on all raiding cruises.
Hanil Khar - The 'Bearing of Chains', an annual ceremony held in all six of the great druchii cities, where highborn families restate their oaths of allegiance to their drachau and present some form of tribute as a symbol of their fear and respect for him. The Hanil Khar marks the end of the raiding season and the beginning of the long winter of Naggaroth.
Hithuan - The druchii, with their passionate and murderous nature, have evolved a rigid etiquette of social space that allows the highborn to function socially without the near constant risk of bloodshed. Distance is measured in sword lengths; lowborn may not approach closer than three sword lengths without being summoned, while retainers may stand as close as two sword lengths from their masters. Valued retainers, lieutenants and lower-ranking highborn stand just out of sword reach. The closest, most intimate space is reserved for lovers, playthings and mortal foes. Hithuan does not apply to slaves, as they are expected to shed their blood at a druchii's whim.
Maelith - Malevolent spirits, supposedly the ghosts of druchii who offended the Dark Mother and were consigned to haunt the earth until the end of days. They feed on the blood of living and cannot be harmed save by the touch of cold iron. Occasionally used by powerful sorcerers as familiars and guardians.
Maibd - Bride of Khaine
Keikalla - Literally meaning "spirit bells," keikalla are worn by paranoid druchii fearing ill-fortune, but more often they are worn by knights and especially arrogant nobles. These serve a two-fold purpose. Firstly, the Druchii believe they ward away the most malicious of the magical spirits and entities that inhabit barren Naggaroth. Secondly, they serve to announce the presence of the wearer, whether it be a noble's appearance at an auspicious event or as an aural prelude to a rank of knights as they ride proudly to battle in full view of their foes.
Sa'an'ishar - A shorthand of the command 'Shields and spears!' - the standard druchii order for a formation to ready itself for action. Druchii lords often use the phrase as a general command for attention. Effectively means "stand at attention."
Sea Ravens/Seabirds - Corsairs (both the ship and the druchii)
Tulluch - Witch Elf.
Vaulkhar - Literally 'Maker of Chains', a title held by the warlord of a drachau's army. The title comes from the warlord's right of indenture - rather than killing or ransoming prisoners of war, he can enslave them if he so desires.
Vauvalka - Literally 'Shadow-casters', illegal users of the dark arts who raise angry spirits and inflict them on a druchii's rival - for a price.
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(Thanks to Illarion from the WHA forums; he originally put this glossary of terminology together!)
Dark Elf Glossary
This is an evolving glossary of terms and concepts related to Dark Elf weapons, armor, and culture. I am neither a master of Dark Elf Lore nor do I have access to a lot of the older source material that covered them. As such please feel free to PM me if you see something's missing or just have something to add to one of the existing entries. Special thanks to Raes for his help in adding to the glossary!
Weapons, Equipment, and Armor
Crossbelts - Most druchii wear an intricate set of narrow crossbelts on which they sling their weapons.
Dalakoi - Literally meaning "strength against death" a dalakoi is a padded aketon with mail sleeves and a long mail skirt. The mail is lined with soft leather such human or doeskin, which helps hold the mail in place.
Draich - A long, two-handed sword primarily used by the executioners of Har Ganeth and the Temple. Draichs are usually ornate, and are always well-crafted and their owners take pride in their care. Draich-masters have such skill with their blades that they can swing them as if they had no weight at all, and with such force and finesse as to easily slice through bone and armor. Most druchii who wield draichs finish off any opponent by decapitation.
Drannach - Literally translated to Sky-Piercer, a drannach is a long, heavy-bladed spear.
Fighting Spines - Fighting spines are razor sharp blades which can trap and hold enemy blades as well as being weapons in their own right. They often adorn the vambraces of druchii warriors, whether common or highborn. Some adepts of the temple and brides of khaine make use of fitted vambraces that cover their forearms and are adorned with these fighting spines. Some suits of armor include fighting spines on the legs and feet as well as on the forearms and knuckles.
Ghlaith - Literally meaning spineblade, the ghlaith is primarily used for ritual combat and duels although some druchii still use it in actual combat. It is a short, sickle-shaped blade used for a paralyzing blow to the lower back or limbs. During dueling this is commonly used in tandem with another archaic druchii weapon, the lakelui.
Khaitan - A khaitan is a long, flowing robe often made from rich silk patterned with spells and charms. Other common materials used instead of silk are human hide, doeskin, dwarf hide, or even nauglir hide. The material is often used to represent the prestige of its owner, so human hide - easily acquired - represents a druchii of low status while silk might represent wealth, nauglir hide represents druchii of position or strength. Nevertheless, most khaitan's tend to be made from light cloth materials such as silk or cheaper threads. Knights and nobility almost always wear a khaitan while a warrior captain or guard might own one of human hide or something more expensive if he is lucky. Khaitan's are seen as a reflection of the owner's status. Adepts and acolytes of temple may wear khaitans outside of their duties and combat, and those who practice the dark arts often wear khaitans too. These should be spelt khaitans, not kheitans, khaitens, or any other variant, despite different spellings from one edition to the next.
Lakelui - A long-hafted weapon, resembling a staff in some respects, the lakelui usually has two blades, one at its head and one at its butt. The blade at the butt is more a dagger than anything, but it allows for fierce blunt blows that can also slash through the skin. The blade at the head of the lakelui is somewhat a hybrid between a spear and a miniature glaive, which is used to kill an opponent once he is defenseless. During formal duels, the lakelui is used with the aforementioned ghlaith and failure to properly immoblize the foe before death will earn the displeasure of the audience and quite often leads to summary execution of the duelist.
Uraithen - Literally translated to the Deathrain, uraithen is what the druchii call their repeater crossbows.
Substances, Mounts, and Poisons
Black Lotus - Black lotus has a terrifying effect on living flesh, driving victims into delusions and insanity.
Courva - Root extract from a plant found in the jungles of Lustria. When chewed, it acts as a stimulant, sharpening the senses. It is believed to increase reflexes. Favoured by duellists and assassins. Mildly addictive.
Dark Venom - Extracted from the poisonous reptiles of the bleak land of Naggaroth, dark venom is a deadly toxin. A weapon coated with dark venom will cause a mortal wound if it even barely scratches skin.
Hashulta - Hashulta is a milk-like liquid, often called "Mother's Milk." It can heal the body even after the mortal wounds, but the inbiber may succumb to prolonged comatose states where they dwell in their subconscious and prolonged use can cause ill-effects to the mind, stupefying, retarding, dimming, or maddening the imbiber.
Manbane - One of the most lethal venoms ever devised, which causes even the tiniest wound to bleed openly.
Nauglir - Nauglir is the word druchii use to refer to cold ones.
Nauglir Slime - Druchii wishing to ride cold ones, must initially coat their body with the slime of a cold one, masking their true scent from the cold one and allowing them to ride. This, however, can also numb or even completely deaden the senses for prolonged periods or even permanently. Additionally, desperate cold one knights facing mortal wounds will sometimes place the nauglir slime on their wounds, which keeps them from bleeding, numbs the pain, and helps to temporarily heal the wound. However, while grievous wounds may heal, the danger of nauglir slime is that it may infect the wound, merely prolonging the knights inevitable death or even worse, the nauglir slime may indeed keep the knight alive but at the cost of his sanity.
Cultural References
Acolyte of Khaine/the Temple - A member of the Temple, male or female, who knows the ritual spells of Khaine and can cast spells of the Lord of Murder. Despite Malekith's decree that no males should practice sorcery nor should any female without his permission, the Temple - his primary enforcers - are unsurprisingly relatively exempt from his decree. (Nevertheless, I am unaware of just how prevalent casters are among the Temple, and unfortunately my main sources for this information are the Black Library's four Malus Darkblade novels).
Adept of (the Temple of) Khaine - This refers to especially gifted witch elves and assassins.
Asrai - Wood Elf
Asur - High Elf
Autarii - A term that refers to the Shades of the Blackspine Mountains and outlying areas of Naggaroth.
Bride of Khaine - Witch Elf
Caedlin - A mask, usually of silver or gold, worn by highborn citizens of Hag Graef to protect their faces from the fog that sweeps over the city each night. Sometimes called a Nightmask.
Dark Elf Navy - My knowledge of the druchii navy is admittedly limited, however, from what I've seen their ships primarily come in four categories from smallest to largest in both size and crew size: skiffs, corsairs, reavers, and black arks. The original black arks were fortresses and cities of ancient Nagarythe and as the High Elves sunk the rest of Nagarythe, druchii mages managed to set a few keeps and castles afloat, including the land they were built on. New black arks, however, are constructed of iron, stone, steel, ithilmar, and wood in the port of Clar Karond and subsequently magically ensorcelled to float. Some of these vessels sail the seas on the aethyr alone while others have sails and use the wind and others are dragged along by sea dragons goaded by the beastmasters of Karond Kar or make use of all three means of movement. Reavers are large wooden ships that often raid the coasts of the Old World, Ulthuan, and Cathay in moderate numbers. Corsairs are smaller ships primarily used in small raids along the coast or to lure enemy ships into the jaws of waiting black arks and reavers. Skiffs are very small craft, usually carried aboard the other three categories of ships. Skiffs are used for trade between the six cities or for ferrying druchii from one ship to another or from a ship to the shore. They are not made for combat other than as a means of a boarding action. In terms of design, the closest artistic interpretation appears to be something akin to the trieriemes used by the ancient Greeks.
Drachau - Literally 'Hand of Night', the title held by the six rulers of the great druchii cities as appointed by the Witch King Malekith. The Drachau serve as the Witch King's lieutenants and his inner council, each fulfilling a specific function in that capacity. Traditionally the Drachau of Hag Graef serves as the General of the Witch King's armies in times of war.
'Dragons of the Deep...' 'Dark Mother...' 'By the Dark Mother...' 'Dark Abyss...' - These and many more are a few common Druchii curses I'm aware of. Basically the equivallent of saying god-damned for most purposes.
Druchii - Dark Elves
Druchii Language - Common Druchii speak a language, which depending on the edition of the lore is either Druhir or Druchii. Druhir, however, is preferred to avoid confusion between the people and their culture with their language.
Despite speaking Druhir, all Druchii still remember and learn Tar-Eltharin - the language of the High Elves of Ulthuan -, which is also simply known as Eltharin. Either spelling for the language of the High Elves is acceptable. Eltharin is primarily spoken in formal events and by the nobility.
Additionally, Druchii tend to know languages that they've encountered, and like most Elves they quickly learn to fluently speak languages. Nevertheless, an Elf who has spent most of his time guarding the Northern Watch Towers likely will only know Druhir, Tar-Eltharin, and a dialect spoken by the northern barbarian tribesmen of Chaos. Likewise, an Elf who has spent most of his time raiding Cathay, might know Druhir, Tar-Eltharin, and Cathayan, but is unlikely to know too many other languages. Druchii of noble birth may know more languages than would be expected common Druchii.
Dru Perim (The Black Pilgrims) - A council of old dark elf nobles who helped govern Naggaroth after the Sundering. Most of these druchii practiced sorcery, and after Malekith issued his decree that only he could grant permission to practice the dark arts and that no male could do practice regardless he had most of them executed, isolated, or exiled. Note that of those still alive, almost all of them practice sorcery and hold strong powerbases isolated away from the six cities, thereby allowing them to engage in their personal pursuits as they please.
Flesh hooks - Warriors and especially knights wear a selection of flesh hooks. Each is shaped as a Druchii rune, and the place and manner in which they are hung can tell a lot about a knight's allegiances, battle honors, and family.
Hadrilkar - Literally 'collar of service'. A torc worn by members of a highborn's retinue or followers of certain religious cults or professional guilds. The torc is typically made of gold or silver and etched with the highborn's family sigil.
Hakseer - The 'proving cruise' made by every druchii highborn upon reaching adulthood. Every highborn is expected to lead a yearlong raiding cruise to demonstrate his skill and ruthlessness and establish his reputation in highborn society. Oftentimes, success on the cruise depends on how much the family spends to outfit it. It is not uncommon, for example, for a drachau's son to take to the sea with a small fleet of ships at his command. The commander of the cruise keeps the lion's share of the plunder, as is customary on all raiding cruises.
Hanil Khar - The 'Bearing of Chains', an annual ceremony held in all six of the great druchii cities, where highborn families restate their oaths of allegiance to their drachau and present some form of tribute as a symbol of their fear and respect for him. The Hanil Khar marks the end of the raiding season and the beginning of the long winter of Naggaroth.
Hithuan - The druchii, with their passionate and murderous nature, have evolved a rigid etiquette of social space that allows the highborn to function socially without the near constant risk of bloodshed. Distance is measured in sword lengths; lowborn may not approach closer than three sword lengths without being summoned, while retainers may stand as close as two sword lengths from their masters. Valued retainers, lieutenants and lower-ranking highborn stand just out of sword reach. The closest, most intimate space is reserved for lovers, playthings and mortal foes. Hithuan does not apply to slaves, as they are expected to shed their blood at a druchii's whim.
Maelith - Malevolent spirits, supposedly the ghosts of druchii who offended the Dark Mother and were consigned to haunt the earth until the end of days. They feed on the blood of living and cannot be harmed save by the touch of cold iron. Occasionally used by powerful sorcerers as familiars and guardians.
Maibd - Bride of Khaine
Keikalla - Literally meaning "spirit bells," keikalla are worn by paranoid druchii fearing ill-fortune, but more often they are worn by knights and especially arrogant nobles. These serve a two-fold purpose. Firstly, the Druchii believe they ward away the most malicious of the magical spirits and entities that inhabit barren Naggaroth. Secondly, they serve to announce the presence of the wearer, whether it be a noble's appearance at an auspicious event or as an aural prelude to a rank of knights as they ride proudly to battle in full view of their foes.
Sa'an'ishar - A shorthand of the command 'Shields and spears!' - the standard druchii order for a formation to ready itself for action. Druchii lords often use the phrase as a general command for attention. Effectively means "stand at attention."
Sea Ravens/Seabirds - Corsairs (both the ship and the druchii)
Tulluch - Witch Elf.
Vaulkhar - Literally 'Maker of Chains', a title held by the warlord of a drachau's army. The title comes from the warlord's right of indenture - rather than killing or ransoming prisoners of war, he can enslave them if he so desires.
Vauvalka - Literally 'Shadow-casters', illegal users of the dark arts who raise angry spirits and inflict them on a druchii's rival - for a price.