Encyclopedia of Science and History, volume C

Encyclopedia of Science and History
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

CALICYNA BUDS are light green buds from the Calicyna tree. They have a sweet, sugary taste and are often served as treats in poorer homes. The better buds, those with more sap and tissue growth, possess the ability to be used as material components for the slow metabolism spell. Calicyna trees are found in deciduous forests, especially the western coasts of Vyrica and the island of Yarmouth.

CANDLE-GIVING is a tradition among surface gnomes; it is an ages- old ritual wherein lighted candles are exchanged at important religious and seminal events in a gnome's life. The candles signify the enduring flame of life. When candles are received, they are extinguished at the end of the evening and saved until the bearer is on his death bed, when they are lit and allowed to burn out.

CANNER is the principal river of the Republic. It flows southwest from the Maldai Hills toward Lyncepolis which sits on a widening of the river. Just beyond Lyncepolis it turns south and continues in that direction until it flows into Kissing Dragon Lake near Cannermouth. The Canner is navigable from its mouth to a narrow point some 40 miles upstream from Lyncepolis.

CANNERMERE was the previous name of the town that became the capital of the Republic after secession. Until 9987 its population was about 5,000 and consisted primarily of relatively prosperous farmers and craftsmen. Plato moved the capital of his new country from the much larger and wealthier Kissing Dragon Pass East to emphasize the disdain he felt for its corrupt, mercantile nature and the place he wanted agricultural production to have in his new society. He renamed Cannermere to Lyncepolis in honor of the far-sighted hero of orcish mythology.

CANNERMOUTH (pop. 6,800 (10046)) is a town situated at the mouth of the Canner River, the principal river of the Republic. While of no little importance as a route for goods and people to travel to the inland regions of the Republic (including its capital), Cannermouth is principally remembered as the city in which the Republic's founder, Plato, spent his early years under the supervision of his aunt and uncle.

CARLISLE (pop. 3,200) is a small farming village within the Republic. The village was razed in 10008 because it was alleged to be a headquarters for the RLO, but it was rebuilt within the next three years, during which the population trebled its earlier value due to the construction of a new agriculture research facility within the town. The town's municipal guardian has been Robert Rulzavorder since 10030.

CARNATION, ORDER OF is a chivalrous order of knights founded in 9800 in the Chinmic city of Forsythia by Johnathan the Red. In 10016, however, it burned to the ground in a fire the gave every appearance of arson, including the perfectly lettered sign: "Burn in hell." that appeared during the night. Everyone in the Order was presumed dead until the resurfacing of a missionary, Sir Jerome Lee, who claimed to be an old member of the order sent to Trangle island by Sir James of Forsythia to do missionary work. Several members of the Forsythian council spoke for Sir Lee and voted him an interest-free loan to rebuild the order. In 10021 the new building was finished and the recruitment of knights was begun. By 10023 the order had 10 full-members, as many squires, and a number of other personnel. The Order of the Carnation is very public-service oriented and it is not rare to see men clad cap-a-pied in plate mail sweeping the streets.

CARTESIA (pop. 5,900) is the largest city on the island of Quetico, just off-shore of Gailinia. It is an important port town as Cartesia is a large exporter of lumber and other forest products. Cartesia was founded in 9601 by sea-elf fishermen, but the quality of timber available quickly induced two major elvish logging companies to establish logging camps in the vicinity. The city grew since then until the logging contracts were taken. Cartesia boasts a surprising number of public services (a major bank, for instance) for its size, such establishments made possible by the export and import tariffs levied on incoming merchant vessels.

CARTHAGE (pop. 75,000) is an important port city on the southeastern side of Gailinia. It is mainly populated by sea elves and is renowned for its ship-building and hydromancy schools. ETCo is based in Carthage. Carthage is also overlooked by the renowned Red Castle which has protected the city from invasion from centuries.

CASSIDY, HAMILTON see Titanium.

CASSITERITE is the most common ore of tin and one of a very few from which the metal is extractable. The Aranian Mountains, the Grignard Range, the Gailinian Range, the Sprines, the Trenines, and the Vyrican Range all have significant deposits of the mineral, although the Southern Sprines, the Grignards, and the Aranian Mountains are partially exhausted.

CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE is the most important point of the ethical theory of Kant. The categorical imperative is postulated as an external criterion that can be called upon to distinguish moral actions from immoral actions. The imperative is, "an action is moral given a situation if and only if you are at least indifferent to the hypothetical consequences of any and possible everyone choosing the same action when presented with the situation."

CATHAY (9814-9866) Cathay was a sea-elf spell theoretician who did most of his memorable work in the area of physohydromancy, researching the Waterwalk, Evaporation, and Affect Viscosity spells.

CENTAURS are mythical half-anthropoid, half-horse creatures. They appear in the legends of humans, hobbits, and elves with varying descriptions. They always are incredibly strong and possessed of courage and great physical attractiveness. They appear as nomads in the tales, wandering from place to place. They are also presented as inquiring students of nature; often centaurs receive temporary teaching jobs in their fables. One poet describes his protagonistic centaur:

And gladly would he learn, and gladly teach.

CHADESSA (6475-6525) was an poet of the middle of the First Orcish Republic. She lived her entire live in Dwello, near present-day Blue Earth, and wrote profusely. Unfortunately, only a few of her works survive, including several poems, and three dramas. An excerpt from her most famous work, Artaxerxes II, follows, taken from a scene in which young Artaxerxes laments the murder of his father, Artaxerxes I and questions the reasoning behind such a heinous deed and gods who permit it, if they exist:

We live convinced of choices freely made
As almost all men do.  But what, I ask,
Could prove that all is not ordained before?
If science built machines that followed rules
They would believe that reason drove them on.
Thus men, if they could step beyond the sphere,
Would see their moves controlled like men
Upon the checkered board.  Some pawns, few kings,
But none of their own choosing.  Life promotes
And captures of its own free determined will.
Do gods then play their simple games with us?
What manner of beings watch me now as I
Do founder in a sea of thought?  Which god
Does wonder at the wandering script whose player
Now strides before his eyes?  Is where I go
When morrow comes now known?  I think it so.
All life must run but forward into death
Oblivious to pain, desire, and love.
It never skips a frame nor runs reverse.
Effects are churned by causes; Future is
Determined by the past. If I had sight
I could now see me moving forward fast
To places where I must needs tomorrow be.
Without a doubt the gods are bored with life
By knowing everything that will occur;
They prick us with events that make us jump
And yelp with pain for their amusing jests.
Why punish men themselves along this trip?
'Tis fate that darkly steers our lively ship.

CHANDRAKEZAR was a fictional orcish swordsmith said to have lived in the early 7000's near present-day Crimson Tide. It was said that he created several sets of superbly magical swords, including a pair of mirror image long swords, five "alignment swords" of different types and abilities, a rapier/long dagger combination which guaranteed immortality as long as the swords were worn, and a scimitar that was guided by the gods themselves when thrown or thrust. It is entirely possible that such swords were made as much of the magic of the Second Orcish Empire has been lost, but there is no historical evidence to suggest that a single person, Chandrakezar, existed and made the weapons.

CHAUCER (pop. 6,700) is a town in Pieschland founded in 9733 by Dwayno Tantobury. It is the site of the ruling directorate of Pieschland, a 25 member body elected in proportion to population by all five Pieschland towns since 9768. Its major industry is the production of ores of iron, osmium, and copper. Chaucer is the home of Tyrdaeus the poet.

CHERRYALL, ROBERT see CHOPAN, DANNEL

CHINMIN PROVINCE is the chief coal-mining region in the Confederacy. It lies to the south of the Trenines and to the west of the Southern Sprines. It was the last sovereignty to join the Confederacy (in 9900), but has since become an economic and diplomatic cornerstone of that country due to its almost unique natural resources and proximity to dwarvish, gnomish, and hobbitian civilizations. The capital city is Forsythia.

CHINQUIN WOOD is lumber of choice for hard-use projects, including expensive furniture, construction, ships, and seige equipment. It is a strong hardwood made more impressive by its relatively light weight. Chinquin copses are rare; some have been found within the Bending Branch Forest, but most have been discovered in the forests of Vyrica, although there are a few patches within the Gailinian forests and those of Uchebnik. Concentrated Chinquin sap is poisonous to humans and most birds, but is required for processing many vegetative magical components. It is used by itself as the material component for the Repel Fish and Repel Birds spells.

CHINTZY is the trademark of an Ilican weapons manufacturer. "Chintzy" swords are made by the Dun Cess Armament Company (DCAC) and are guaranteed to be of at least good quality. The company provides a free inscription service (up to 10 letters) and a free good scabbard to those who buy their long, short, broad, or bastard swords.

CHITWERK is the gnomish god of birth, long life, and death. His worshippers must give a divine thanksgiving at high noon every day or risk Chitwerk's displeasure. He is symbolized by four pearls arranged as a pyramid. Chitwerk is also the god of symmetry; his worshippers belief that "correct" deaths occur nine months after debilitating physical or emotional shocks; those who die unexpectedly (whether early or late) are counted as flawed individuals and buried without the blessing of a Chitwerkan priest outside of the holy grounds near the only known temple, in Muonutil. Only ambidextrous individuals may be Chitwerkan priests, the hair is forbidden to be asymmetrically worn, uneven muscle building is a mark of the devil, and religious art must have a line of at least qualitative symmetry. Many Chitwerkan priests adopt palindromes as new names upon ordination.

CHOPAN, CATHERINE (9986 - present) is the daughter of Ergan Chopan and adopted daughter of Ergan's bastard son Dannel. She is the current head of the Ivory Export Company, having assumed that office in 10038 upon the death of Dannel.

CHOPAN, DANNEL (9969 - 10038) was the illegitimate son of Ergan Chopan, born in Cherry Hall hospital in Dun Cess to an unknown mother. Upon his father's death at sea in 9991, Dannel (then known as Robert Cherryall) traveled to Ilum Gamma and presented himself to his father's widow, Gwynneth Chopan (nee Clay) as a potential overseer for her husband's elephant herds and employees. After being hired, he triggered one of the great scandals of modern times by revealing his secret to his new employer. He then adopted the last name Chopan, then unadopted it, and then married his father's widow and, in contrast to matrimonial tradition, became a Chopan again by assuming her last name. Finally he adopted his half-sister Catherine and changed his first name to Dannel, which, he later confessed, his new wife had told him was his father's first choice of names for a son.

Social extravagances aside, Dannel was more of the businessman than his father and, after the last wild elephants died in 9995, established the Ivory Export Company in 9999 to take advantage of his monopoly on ivory and other elephant products. Dannel successfully exploited his position and became one of the richest men in the world. He and Gwynneth had three children, Ergan (9994 - present), Dannel, Jr. (9996 - present), and Yorick (9997 - 10012), the last of whom tragically died of scarlet fever. Gwynneth died in 10014, but Dannel lived on until 10038 when control of the company passed to his adopted daughter and half-sister, Catherine.

CHOPAN, ERGAN (9948 - 9991) was the youngest son of whaling magnate Randall Chopan, Sr. Though he server as an officer on one of his father's whaling vessels, the two were never close and Ergan often expressed his interest in pursuing an alternate career. He attended the University of Dun Cess and the Institute for Advanced Sorcery for some years--obtaining good but not great marks--before leaving to travel the world. He returned to his father's company in 9973, having apparently renounced his prodigality, but allegedly betrayed his father's trust the next year by embezzling enough money to hire ships and men to transport two dozen of the world's last remaining elephants from their dwindling habitat on Ilico to Ilum Gamma, home of many abandoned whaling stations. His father disowned him and, in 9986, his older brother, Randall, Jr., sued him. While the lawsuit was pending, Ergan married the heiress Gwynneth Clay of the Odite Province. Following legal tradition and principle, Randall named Gwynneth as culpable through marriage, only to see Odite secede from the Confederacy and its new Republican government disavow all lawsuits against its citizens by foreigners. The case was thrown out and the legal matter came to an end, though the two brothers never spoke to each other again.

Ergan lived simply with his elephants, wife, and the several hundred inhabitants of the island, even as the remaining elephants population and Ilico, stricken by an unknown degenerative disease, fell away. Ergan died in 9991 when his ship was lost at sea, leaving his wealth and possessions to his wife and four-year-old daughter, Catherine.

CHOPAN, RALLAND, JR. (9943 - 10013) was the eldest son of whaling magnate Randall Chopan, Sr. He assumed control of the United Whalers of Ilico upon his father's retirement 9978 and controlled the organization until its disintegration during the Second War of Ilican Succession (10007-10011).

CHOPAN, RALLAND, SR. (9918 - 9985) was a native of Distown and one of the world's wealthist men when he died. Chopan worked as an independent whaling captain in the Western Ocean where he succeeded in creating successively tighter alliances of Ilican whalers to contest the dominance of Mickelgarth in the Western Ocean. In 9958 he midwifed the United Whalers of Ilico and was elected that company's first president. He succeeded in raising prices, obtaining naval support for the company's vessels, and exploring new hunting grounds. Control of the company passed to his eldest son, Ralland Chopan, Jr., upon his retirement in 9978. Curiously, his youngest son, Ergan, made his name with another rare animal, the elephant, when he brought the remaining healthy specimens off of Ilico to Ilum Gamma in order to monopolize the export of ivory in 9974. He did this, however, by embezzling funds from UWI, an act which resulted in disownment by his father and, in 9986, a lawsuit from his older brother.

CHORG, SENTLE (9996 - 10037) was a noted humanitarian and physician of Dun Cess. He was best known at the time of his death for organizing a number of public seminars on hygiene and medical care for the city's lower classes. In later years he became equally famous for a short passage in ~With the People of Pskov~ which appears to be the first reference to the creatures who would later come to be known as the Egyebrech and wreak so much havoc with the world. Dr. Chorg died of ptericarsis in 10037, a disease he probably contracted during his 10034-5 stay in Pskov during which he labored to bring modern medical methods to the region's backward orcish population.

CHRONOMANCY is a division of magical research and application that deals with the flow, or lack thereof, of time. Chronomancy has only recently (since 9950) been studied by a large number of people due to its incredibly difficult nature and lack of useful research materials. Thus, the few known Chronomantic spells (Time Stop, Slow Time, Reverse Time, etc.) work poorly--to the point of insignificance--as well as rarely. Chronomancy has been a "Big Magic" project since its inception at UDC and other places; it has taken funds away from other, smaller magical projects and has always provided a target for liberal journalists to decry the spending of huge sums on Chronomancy and so little on water and shelter for the poor. Two well-studied spells from the class are Tell Time and Age Gauge.

CHRYSANTHEMUM is the most prominent imperial insignia of the Subidin Empire. The 16-petal chrysanthemum originated as the crest of Neko Jurozaemon who became emperor in 8727. In 8911 it was incorporated into the design of the Chrysanthemum Thone by Hon'ami Koetsu, the vector by which it would come to symbolize all imperial power. When the throne was captured by the forces of Komori Mataichi in 9238, it and the chrysanthemum were adopted as imperial symbols by the common-born Mataichi to legitimize his rule. Despite its overwhelming association with the Sudibin nation, where it is known as the O'kiku, the common name for the chrysanthemum comes from the ancient orcish tongue and means "golden flower."

CHRYSANTHEMUM THRONE is a sacred symbol of the Imperial Houses of the Sudibin Empire. It was crafted in 8911 by Hon'ami Koetsu for the Emperor Yoritomo when the House of Neko was at the peak of its power. The throne itself is made of Zi Tan (red-purple santalum) and has only a single decoration, an inset, 16-petaled chrysanthemum, the symbol of the House of Neko which later became an imperial emblem. Though the throne itself is spare and elegant, its interior is said to be filled with jewels and rarities from the four corners of the world arranged with such splendor that it is unbefitting for mortals to gaze upon it.

The throne was installed in the Castle of Nara in 8911, but was taken from there in 9238 after the defeat of the House of Neko by Komori Mataichi. The throne was carried throughout the domain by Komori's supporters (including his brother and ablest general, Kojiro) before being brought to the new capital of Yarisuto where it was consecutively occupied by emperors from the houses of Komori, Ishikawa, Jitsutaro, and Yoshioka. The throne disappeared in 10038 during the sack of Yarisuto by the egyebrech and was presumaby carried off as a spoil of war.

CHUDAK n. an eccentric, (orc.)

CIMMERIA is a smaller island roughly eight miles in diameter of the coast of Allotrope. Since 9725 it has provided a home to the fierce Celtic dwarf society. The only major settlement above ground is Cimmeria City, a dirty, polluted, coal and iron refinery/smelter. Cimmerian steel is respected world-wide for its strength and shine. The Celtic dwarves a secret smelting ingredient and method; the veracity of the claim is unknown though Anthraco publicly announced in 10029 that it had infiltrated Cimmeria and discovered no such process.

CIMMERIA CITY (pop. 5,600) see Cimmeria.

CINCTORIUM was the embellished battlesword awarded to orcish generals of the Second Empire upon the receipt of a triumph or other major honor.

CLASSICISM is an artistic term that describes the prevailing form of two-dimensional art before 9850 within civilizations in cultural contact with Ilico. Classical artists drew upon ancient ruins (especially lenevestic), traditional religious beliefs, and folk-history for their subject matter. Portraiture was limited to the depiction of wealthy and important people. Classicism was most prevalent among human, orcish, and hobbitian civilizations. Elvish and dwarvish artists followed many of the same paths, but there was a greater degree of modern culture (buildings, battles, etc.) Gnomish artists, withdrawn economically from this group, did not accept the precepts of classicism; their styles, grouped under the term Early Gnomish Classicism in scholarly journals, are difficult to categorize, most likely due to the little emphasis placed on painting in the gnomish culture and the few number of actual gnomish painters. Classicism was succeeded by Impressionism in the orcish population and Geometrism in the other races during the period 9850-9880.

COIF n. a chain-mail hood worn with armor.

COINS are the medium of exchange for a monetary system. The following table lists important current and historical coins.

COMMON is a nearly universal tongue throughout the surface of the world. Based on simple grammatical concepts, it developed from a trading tongue. In various stages of evolution, the Common language has been around for nearly 2,500 years. Of that, the modern period of the language is restricted to the past 500. The mother tongue probably originated near gnomish civilizations, semioticians say, citing cognates and sentence structure as their principal evidence, though they also admit a large influence from the orcish language during their development. Common, relative to elvish and middle orcish, is thought to be neither a poetic nor harmonious language; at any rate, modern civilization has not produced the same caliber of creative authors and poets as previous periods of time.

COMPONENT see MATERIAL COMPONENT

CONFEDERACY OF DUN CESS is the largest and most populous country in the world today. Originally its area consisted of seventeen feudal tribes founded by colonists from Iceland. Eventually the city of Dun Cess, the largest (population 60,000) and most industrialized city, led by the ruthless, ambitious mind of John Kennedy O'Toole, concluded a military and economic treaty with its neighbors; the weight of this coalition soon forced others to join. The Confederacy was created in 9886 and has withstood most internal and external pressures, crushing secessions in 9905, 9927, 9967, but losing a province in 9987 that later became the Republic. Relationships worsened during the early years of the 101st century contributed to the beginning of the Second War of Ilican Succession; its seemingly premature end in 10011, was a tribute to the lack of actual animosity between the people of different parts of the empire. Dun Cess consists of mainly farmland in the north and central regions, savannah in the south, and two important mountain ranges, the Aran Mountains and the Trenines. It also has access to the largest coniferous forest in the world, the Bending Branch Forest--which is rapidly being depleted. The Confederacy of Dun Cess is overwhelmingly Universalist, but there is no official national religion; certain provinces, though, require religious conformity. The Confederacy is ruled by a legislative body elected by the provinces in proportion to their population. This body drafts and passes the legislation. They also elect the President, the head of the executive branch, who then appoints his ministers, chief investigators, and generals. Judicial disputes are resolved by courts in the capital cities of the respective province. The Confederacy allows great freedom to its individual provinces, mandating that interprovincial commerce should only be taxed by the Confederate government, provincial military forces should be limited in size and scope, and provincial diplomacy is limited to non-embargo economic matters. The Confederacy collects a tax of 10% of all earnings every December to support its operations. The Confederacy--and all of the provinces--support a general right to free speech (but see Confederacy v. Zornon), a free press, the right to own arms (but see Confederacy v. Jeden), the right to judicial process, and the right to possess magical and technical knowledge (but see Confederacy v. Keyom).

CONFEDERATE MUSEUM OF CULTURE AND TRADITION is the largest museum in the Confederacy of Dun Cess. It is was finished in 10021 near the Chinmic town of Forsythia. The museum hopes to showcase the history of human culture. One man associated with the creation and subsequent management of the museum, M. Charles Parnault described the undertaking as:

...the most fabulous undertaking under the sun, for culture is painted, sung, and written everywhere we care to look. It is its own raison d'etat. It is the magnificent expression of creativity, the bleeding from head to toe of an artist concerned not only with himself and the temporal present but with the spatially distant and twisted interstitial pandemonium of the chaotic soul, entwined forever around an unbending, established, order imposed by divine and worldly deja vu and distressed, pathetic seething. My God, what more can I say?