A list of some terms used in the comic and their meaning. Will be updated as needed.

A
-Abyss: The place where the Daera ultimately landed, letting a deep rift within the earth. The strong density of vail in this area makes it deadly for explorers and only one man is known to have returned alive from it.
-Adhene Company: The main company in charge of train transportation between imperial dome-lands. It’s main base of operations is in Sarkesa.
–Arshamudd: Name of the planet where the story occurs.

B
-Blessed Ones: Martyrs selected by the Pontiff to be his closest entourage and attendants. Being a Blessed One is considered the highest honor a Martyr can desire – in exchange, they give up their names, identities, and even all contact with their families.
-Bunkvern: An underground tavern of sorts, they date back from the ages of survival as a refuge for the few human travelers that were establishing settlements and routes. Alcohol is served in them and gambling is rampant.
-Burrower: A deadly animal inhabiting the Silence, the burrower appears as a sheet-like creature that disguises itself within the snow to ambush its victims.

C
-Cerberus: Paramilitary organization founded by the Asgados Clan, mostly composed of cyborgs and ex-military forces. They patrol imperial roads and trains hunting for rebels and are known for their savagery. Many of them have body-modifications as they are used for weapon-testing and development by the Shepherd.
-Clans: The Clans are the ruling families of each dome-city, which started simply as democratic representatives before being integrated by the Empire by negotiation or force. While most still lord over a specific territory, a few clans have been born from Harvatat and still play a part in the local politics.
-Conduits: Name for any human born capable of using vail energy within their body.
-Cyborg: Human modified with robotic-parts. They can be both vail or electricity-powered.

D
-Daera: The name given to the meteor that hit Arshamudd centuries ago – killing most of mankind and starting a new ice age in the world, yet also bringing Vail with it.
-Desert Campaigns: Vicious military campaigns led by the Empire – the first one led by current Emperor Orduz Rosal around the abyss and the northern lands with the help of the Asgados Clan, and the current one led by the current Imperial War Monitor, Yeudar Asgados, against any still-rebelling Dome-cities. The Campaigns both led a trail of death and blood and established trade routes and negotiations that became the basis of the current’s Empire wealth and power.
-Dome-Cities: Name for the inhabitable spaces around noostowers, where humanity gathers. Every dome-city is ruled by a noble family which obeys the Empire’s orders.
-Dome-Lands: Another name for the dome-cities.

E
-Empire: Known as the Aurian Empire, it encompasses the 46 anexed Dome-lands and its capital is Harvatat. The current Emperor is Rosal Orduz who led more of its expansionist ventures. The Empire’s simbol is a clear blue sky, symbolizing the triumph of mankind against the ice age.
-Exarchs: Skull-mask wearing church militia employed by the Shepherd both as agents and decoys for its identity, the exarchs function as the control and police for the church and report to their leader. Any individual can be an Exarch unbeknownst to those around them.

F
-Fae: Also known as fey/fairy/faerie/many others spellings, this race used to share the world alongside humanity, preferring to dwell in nature, but were decimated after the meteor hit and during the Desert Campaigns. They are known to be able to cast illusions, shift their forms, and even control reality to some degree.

G
-Golem: Mechanical beings created using Vail, they serve their masters and can follow a different arrangement of orders. They are generally not considered to be conscious nor alive, though experts argue the matter.
-Great white: Shark/like feline predators that roam the Silence.

M
-Makeshift signal: A device utilized by the Cerberus. Once installed in a train wagon and activated, it hacks the systems of the wagon and starts emitting a distress signal that can be traced by any other Cerberus outposts around it. Removing the device does not stop the alarm.
-Martyrs: Conduit children -from the noble-families and even lesser families- forced to stay at the Noostowers by the Asgados Clan, powering them. They are offered in exchange education and the chance of a career in the Church after their service time ends. Visits are allowed sporadically.
-Moledogs: Mole-like creatures often adopted by pets in outskirt towns. They have the capacity to navigate the snowy terrain of the Silence with ease and often work well as rescuers.

N
-The Nameless Goddess/Cradle of Desires: the Goddess adored by the Vail Church, a “mother” to mankind wishing to allow it to experience heaven through the use of Vail.
-Noble families: Another name for the noble Clans.
–Noostower: Tower-like constructions that concentrate enormous fragments of vail within, used to push away the Silence and allow areas to be habitable by humans. They need to be recharged by conduits often. They were devised by the current Pontiff, Deiruge Asgados.

R
-Red Ore: A red metal used in the creation of light, sharp weaponry.

S
-Shepherd: A high ranking church member, the Shepherd is in charge of safeguarding and developing the vail tech the Empire implements, and as such his identity is kept well guarded. They usually don a goat-like skull mask during public appearances. They are served by the Exarchs, and considered to be the Nameless Goddess “herald”. _{(note: other church positions will be explained on another entry dedicated to that.)}
-Silence: Also known as “The Great Silence”, it refers to the freezing extension of land outside of the Dome-cities, covering the vast majority of the planet after the meteor fell, and also to the cold outside of the cities itself.

T
-Terguins: Voracious flightless animals inhabiting the frozen lakes of the Great Silence.

V
-Vail: A -often crystaline- substance that came from space within the Daera, Vail allows humans to use its energy to generate all sorts of reality-warping effects: most importantly, the generation of heat to survive the world’s current climates. Vail also splashed within humans, and can be generated by them.
-Vail Card: A device of artificial Vail circuits used to bypass Vail fields. Given to important people within the Empire.
-Vail Church: Organization formed alongside the Empire, the church reveres the use of Vail as god-given, and though it has many branches, the main one is led by the Pontiff and establishes worship of the Nameless Goddess who gave humans Vail to allow them to obtain their desires.
-Vail circuits: Vein-like structures within the body of conduits, pulsating and generating Vail. Not two conduits have the same circuit arrangement. Different arrangements can create different results when using Vail.
-Vail field: A protective barrier created with Vail, known to be impossible to break through by normal means. It’s technology is zealously guarded by the Empire.
-Vail implosion: A phenomena that occurs when a vail crystal or conduit gets overcharged with more vail than they can contain: generating a blueish explosion that burns off vail circuits and matter alike.
-Vox: The Pontiff’s main aid and spokesperson, chosen between his Blessed Ones. Several children have been in the role of the Vox already.

W
-Wormhog: A limbless, pig-like creature that survives the cold climates via storing great quantities of fat within its body. Domesticated by the empire and widely used for rations. Feral, giant tusked versions still exists and pose a great danger for explorers within the Silence.