GLOSSARY

Aixin – The ruling people of the *Aixingo Empire, they are divided into *Eight Banners. They are a small ethnic minority in the Empire.

Aixingo Empire – The largest empire in the Known *Cosmos encompassing more than forty million worlds.

Aixingo (world) – The capital world of the *Aixingo Empire, it houses the *Imperial Court

Amrita – A mysterious vessel of ancient design and unknown origin.

Angrahar – One part of the binary *Awakened Stars worshipped by the *Gathasian Empire.

Anu – See *Lady Anu.

Awakened Stars – Conscious stars that exude godlike power through the *Starflow.

Banners – One of the eight fundamental divisions of the *Aixingo Empire.

Banner Lord – The leader of one of the *Eight Banners.

Bards of Cáerthand – Travelling musicians, poets, and story-tellers from the planet *Cáerthand who worship *Lady Anu.

Bureau of Celestial Foresight – An independent organ of the government of the *Aixingo Empire, directly advising the *Grand Council, it is led by the *Grand Astronomer and made up of *Starseers. It plays a key role in coordinating Imperial policy in line with prophecy.

Bureau of Customs – An organ of the *Ministry of Civil Administration of the *Aixingo Empire, it is tasked with monitoring and controlling all movements between worlds within the Empire.

Bureau of Resonance – An organ of the *Ministry of Civil Administration of the *Aixingo Empire, it is tasked with regulating *Resonants within the Empire, including hunting down those who are unregistered.

Cáerthand – A minor, independent planet.

Celestial Pagoda – The building which houses the Great Totem of *Nara Enduri on *Aixingo, it is the most sacred site of the *Aixin.

Cosmos – All that is.

Covens – The tight-knit and clandestine groups formed by the *witches of *Hecate, most specialise in particular forms of *Starflow magic.

Divine Lantern – The lantern carried by Princess Chang Xi which preserved the ancient flame used to kindle the *Nine Suns, according to *Shang mythology.

Eight Banners – The fundamental divisions of the *Aixin people, they also now serve as the highest administrative divisions of the *Aixingo Empire. There are Three Upper, and Five Lower Banners.

Eleftherian League – A powerful confederation of millions of worlds ruled by the *Heptarchy.

Emperor – A ruler of either the *Aixingo Empire or the *Gathasian Empire.

Empire of the Nine Suns – An ancient *Shang empire, it worshipped a group of *Awakened Stars, the *Nine Suns.

Far-Scrying – A unique form of *Starflow magic practiced by certain *witches of *Hecate that allows seeing forward and backward in time and observing occulted events.

Filaments – Strands of the *Starflow that connect *Awakened Stars.

First Emperor – In modern times usually refers to the First Emperor of *Aixingo, once known as Yurhudan Khan.

Gathasian Empire – A vast interstellar empire, worshipping the binary *Awakened Stars *Shahrivar and *Angrahar.

Gong Sheng Xing – One of the *Nine Suns.

Grand Astronomer – The head of the *Bureau of Celestial Foresight and a extremely powerful *Starseer.

Grand Council – The body comprised of Imperial Ministers and some other high officials – military and civilian – that advises the Emperor of *Aixingo.

Heart Orchids – Flowering plants found only on the planet *Lan He, they bloom irregularly, sometimes decades apart.

Heart Orchid Festival – A festival held on the planet *Lan He to celebrate the blooming of the Heart Orchids.

Hecate – The planet inhabited by the *Witches, orbiting the *Witching Star.

Heptarchy – The group of seven heads of state of the *Eleftherian League.

Host, the – The army of Xerxes.

Hymns of Pythia – Holy songs of prophecy sung by the people of *Ouranos, passed down by the *Orcalord from *Pythia.

Imperial Capital – See *Aixingo (world)

Imperial Court – The political apparatus surrounding the *Emperor of *Aixingo.

Imperial Common Tongue – A standardised version of the *Shang language, used throughout the *Aixingo Empire, and as a lingua franca beyond.

Iron-Capped Prince/Princess – A Prince/Princess of the First/Second Degree of the *Aixingo Empire, whose title can be passed down undiminished through successive generations. It is exceedingly rare for new Iron Caps to be bestowed; the vast majority are descendants of the companions of the *First Emperor.

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Iron Praetors – ?????

Lady Anu – A little-known deity worshipped by the *Bards of *Cáerthand. Unusually, she is not an *Awakened Star.

Lan He – A world under direct administration of the *Aixingo Empire’s central government, renowned for its gardens and beauty, it orbits the *Awakened Star *Gong Sheng Xing. It is the only place in the *Cosmos that *Heart Orchids grow.

Living Stars – See *Awakened Stars.

Lower Five – The Five *Banners of the *Aixingo Empire that have more autonomy and less connection to the *Emperor.

Manda – Profound, indescribable understanding of the *Starflow – its cultivation enhances *Resonance. Some believe that Manda is knowledge of the minds of the *Awakened Stars and that its cultivation is the path to *Theophany.

Melusine Coven – A largely extinct *Coven of the *witches of *Hecate.

Ministry of Civil Administration – One of the most powerful branches of the government of the *Aixingo Empire, it overseas a huge variety of functions, including the *Resonance Bureau.

Nara Enduri – The *Awakened Star worshipped by the *Aixin. *Aixingo orbits it.

New Elysia – A planet ruled by the *Order of Astraios.

Nine Suns – The group of *Awakened Stars worshipped by the *Shang.

Oblivion Star – ?????

Oblivion’s Shadow – See *Oblivion Star.

Oculus Coven – A *Coven of the *witches of *Hecate that specialises in *Far-Scrying magic.

Old Stars – See *Nine Suns.

Onyx Tortoise Banner – One of the *Lower Five of the *Eight Banners of the *Aixingo Empire.

Orbital Ring – A common structure built around civilised planets, it allows starships to avoid atmospheric flight capabilities, relying on *STOCs to ferry passengers from the surface.

Order of Astraios – A chivalric order that worships the *Starflow collectively. It has both warrior and civilian members.

Ouranos – An archipelagic world of shallow seas, orbiting the *Awakened Star *Pythia, destroyed by the Cosmic leviathan *Lotan.

Planetary Governor – An official of the *Aixingo Empire charged with governance of a specific planet, usually an *Aixin.

Pythia – An *Awakened Star devoured by the *Cosmic leviathan, *Lotan.

Resonance – The power to harness the *Starflow.

Resonance Bureau – See *Bureau of Resonance.

Resonant – A person with *Resonance.

Shang – The major ethnic group of the *Aixingo Empire. Before the *Aixin conquest, they ruled the *Empire of the Nine Suns. Today, 80% of the Aixingo Empire’s population is Shang.

Shangxia – A world of the *Onyx Tortoise Banner, it is heavily urbanised.

Shangxia Jazz – A music genre popular on *Shangxia, it is popular in the planet’s many nightclubs.

Shahrivar – One part of the binary *Awakened Stars worshipped by the *Gathasian Empire.

Starflow – A power that suffuses the *Cosmos. Some conscious beings can *Resonate with it and draw special powers from it, typically tied to a particular *Awakened Star.

Starlift Elevator – A structure that allows rapid transit from a planet’s surface to its *Orbital Ring, avoiding the use of *STOCs.

Starseer – A *Resonant of *Nara Enduri with the power of foresight.

Starship Amrita – See *Amrita.

STOC – A surface-to-orbit craft. Most starships are not designed for atmospheric entry, so these crafts ferry people from planetary surfaces to orbit.

Theophant – One who has received *Theophany, Theophants have immense, god-like power over the *Starflow, far exceeding that of ordinary *Resonants.

Theophany – A vision granted to a *Resonant by an *Awakened Star.

Twin Star Empire – See *Gathasian Empire.

West Gate Yamen – The Planetary Governor’s residence on *Shangxia.

Witches – The arcane race that inhabits the planet *Hecate, they are all female and all *Resonants, specifically of the *Witching Star, the *Awakened brown dwarf around which Hecate orbits. They have no nations, but form tight knit, clandestine groups known as *Covens.

Witching Star – The *Awakened Star around which the planet *Hecate orbits, it is a brown dwarf.

White Gang – A secret society and crime syndicate on *Shangxia.

Yamen – The residence of a *Planetary Govenor of the *Aixingo Empire.

Yarkan – A world of the *Onyx Tortoise Banner.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Notes: (1) While most characters are alphabetised by surname, Aixin characters are listed by first name, as they do not traditionally use surnames (all nominally adopt ‘Aixin’ as their surname). (2) Shang names are written with the surname first.

Apollo – A talking black cat and the captain of the Amrita.

Bai Qiang – The boss of the White Gang, known as Big Bai.

Black Dragon – A mysterious masked swordsman and Resonant, working as an agent of Bright Eyes.

Bright Eyes – Mu’s mysterious benefactor.

Chang Xi – A princess in Shang mythology whose Divine Lantern provided the flame that kindled the Nine Suns.

Madame Chen – A patron of the Silver Moon lounge and a gambler.

Ms Chu – A Resonance Bureau enforcement agent pursuing Mu.

Fang – The lead singer of the house band at Mr Wu’s Jazz Lounge and Cocktails, a nightclub on Shangxia.

Mrs Hua – The general manager of Mr Wu’s Jazz Lounge and Cocktails, a nightclub on Shangxia.

Li Mingxia – A concubine of the Planetary Governor of Shangxia, Aixin Yucheng, and an aspiring actress.

Li, Mr – A staff-member at Mr Wu’s Jazz Lounge and Cocktails, a nightclub on Shangxia.

Li, Sergeant – A Customs Bureau agent on Shangxia’s Orbital Ring.

Mr Lin – A dealer at the Silver Moon Lounge’s gambling tables.

Liu Jing – An accountant working with the White Gang.

Locke, Tavian – A travelling Bard and Resonant of a mysterious entity known as Lady Anu.

Lotan – A Cosmic leviathan that devours stars, also known as the Heliophage.

Matthias – The six-winged raven familiar of Seraphina.

Milos – A superintelligent dolphin of the world Ouranos, that Mu encoutners in a dream

Mu (Aixin Mukushen) – A fugitive princess running from the Imperial authorities.

Nyx, Kallistos – The security chief aboard the Amrita, a former hoplite of the Eleftherian League.

Orcalord – The leader of Ouranos, a Resonant of Pythia.

Ostara – The first mate of the Amrita and its gardener, she also acts as a counsellor for the crew.

Mr Pan – A people-smuggler on Shangxia.

Reid, Nova – The Amrita’s engineer (no formal qualifications), she is also a hacker and stowaway.

Ruyin – Mu’s former lady-in-waiting, she is now an agent of Bright Eyes

Seraphel – A wraith-like entity that delights in the corruption and abasement of the noble and powerful.

Seraphina – The Amrita’s resident expert in the arcane, she is an exiled witch of Hecate.

Shu, Lieutenant – A Customs Bureau agent on Shangxia’s Orbital Ring.

Tender Hand – See Ruyin.

Aixin Ulušun – Minister for Civil Administration and Prince of the First Degree of the Aixingo Empire, he is an Iron-Capped Prince and the Banner Lord of the White Horse Banner. He is Mu's father.

Mr Wang – A Resonance Bureau enforcement agent pursuing Mu.

Xerxes – A powerful interstellar warlord.

Wei Jiang – A gangster and underboss of the White Gang.

Mr Wu – The owner of Mr Wu’s Jazz Lounge and Cocktails, a nightclub on Shangxia on Shangxia.

Yao Zhi – A landlady in Shangxia City, owner of an apartment on Onyx Tortoise Boulevard.

Aixin Yucheng – Planetary Governor of Shangxia.

Zhang, Harry – The bartender and chef aboard the Amrita.

Zhen Yan – A shapeshifting bounty hunter and favourite of Big Bai.