Glossary

By Dolores J. Nurss

Z

Note: This glossary changes constantly, receiving new entries all the time. Most of these words will not crop up in all stories. I have not written down all of the unusual words and terms that I have buried in my notes, but have concentrated mainly on those most pertinent to finished novels (which is why you will at first see more notes on Til Territories and the Charadoc than any other cultures) though I am trying to include as much as I can on missions, cultures and lands not yet formally written about--hundreds of cultures exist in my notes, and they all have their peculiar terminology. Please notify me if you find anything unfamiliar in my tales that I haven't yet catalogued for this letter. Thank you.
 
Zanne's Rouge: Street name for a tranquilizer closely related to “Pink Paste” in its composition. Cherry-red in color and suspended in a gel, one administers it directly to the tissues under the tongue, where the skin absorbs it and conveys it to blood vessels headed directly to the brain. Allegedly first concocted by the field pharmacologist and coran, Zanne Charlotte.
 
Zarm-Michawn: Southernmost nation of the Southeastern Continent, wealthy in almost all important minerals, farm produce (particularly root crops and tropical fruits) and exotic woods. The people are known for their mysticism, their religious diversity and their demanding standards of honesty. The Michawnas hyphenate all place names. The first half, followed by an -o, then becomes an adjective for inanimate objects pertinent to the place. The second half, followed by an -a, becomes an adjective for human beings, human traits, institutions, or sentiments related to the place. Thus a Michawna woman weaves Zarmo cotton in traditional Michawna style on a Zarmo loom.
 
Zarmo: Adjective for an inanimate object of Zarm-Michawn

                        Zarmo Cedar:  A hardwood tree of Zarm-Michawn, with wood that bears considerable resemblance to Earth’s cedar, though entirely unrelated, as it has large, heart-shaped leaves, and the habit of sending down many auxilliary trunks to uphold its unusually thick branches.  It flowers and fruits in rapid succession in rainy season, bearing large, lotus-like white blossoms shading to deep pink in the centers.  The fruit, resembling a half-melded handful of green walnuts, has an unpleasant, resinous taste, but provides a rich oil useful for polishing furniture, as it can impart many of the insect- and rot-resistance of the tree itself to cheaper varieties of wood.

         People covet the straight wood of the trunks for building, and the burlwood of the branches for fine furnishings, but Michawna law prohibits harvesting the primary trunk of the tree.  Lumberjacks have sustainably harvested Zarmo cedar for generations by cutting only outlying branches (many of which have the circumference of common trees in their own right) and auxiliary trunks alone.  In time the wood turns from red to silver unless one fixes the color by the proper finish.  Resistant to insects and rot, it withstands moist conditions and weather changes remarkably well.

 
Zeteca: A nation largely defined by the midrange of the Zetecan Mountains, predominantly inhabited by people of Mountainfolk race. Bordered to the north and eat by Xarthikae, to the west by Sananda, and to the south by Dhalzinj, it has one extension to the northwest to connect it to the Greater Ocean, a hard-won concession, gained in war, to keep it from becoming completely landlocked. This enables them to export silver, copper, and timber. Otherwise they have little contact with the outside world, and Mountainfolk in other nations refer to Zeteca as a refuge for their kind.
 
Zetecan Mountains: A range of mountains that extends almost the entire length of the western Northwestern Continent, and is not confined, contrary to popular misconception, to the nation of Zeteca.