Part 49 (2/2)

Ruin - A location, usually rich or poor in the Change to some notable degree, with close ties to the past. These may include cities, isolated buildings, mine shafts, roads, harbours, and other relics of ancient civilisation. They are often places of great danger, to be approached with caution.

Selection - The process by which those with innate talent or strong Change-sensitivity are discovered in the Strand. Selectors visit every village at least once a year, testing candidates and taking the successful to attend the Novitiate in the Haunted City.

Sky Warden - Those trained in the Change who rule the Strand. They traditionally wear blue robes and crystal torcs. Their charms often involve feathers and wood, and have efficacy over water and air. They claim to draw their powers from the deep reservoirs of the open ocean, so they are most puissant near the coast.

Stone Mage - Those trained in the Change who rule the Interior. They traditionally wear red robes and tattoo signs of rank on their skin. Their charms often involve stone and metal, and are effective over fire and earth. They claim to draw their powers from the red heart of the desert, near the site of the ancient city known as the Nine Stars.

Strand - The nation known as the Strand encompa.s.ses one vast stretch of uninterrupted coastline along which are scattered numerous villages. Each village is run by a group of ten elected Alders, who in turn elect a Mayor. The Mayors then elect Regional Governors who meet once every four years in the Haunted City with representatives of the Sky Wardens to discuss governance of their nation. The highest rank obtainable in the Strand is the Alcaide, closely followed by the Syndic.

Surveyor - A member of the multi-disciplinary and bipartisan corps dedicated to research and exploration of the historically active sites known as Ruins. To be a Surveyor is to be regarded as both supremely talented and foolhardy, and perhaps a little reckless.

Syndic - The Syndic is the Alcaide's chief administrator, a position currently held by Nu Zans.h.i.+n, aunt of Highson Sparre and great-aunt of Sal Hrvati.

Synod - The body of select, high-ranking Stone Mages that cast judgments every month from the city of the Nine Stars.

Ulum - One of the great cities of the Interior, in the Desert Port Region.

Void Beneath - The emptiness connecting all things, and into which the minds of Change-workers might disappear if they exert themselves too greatly. Even partial exposure to the Void may irreversibly corrode memory.

end.

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