Most Shekelodeons are of Chronotopian design, but there have been rumors of Titanian versions of Shekelodeons, which are more akin to games of chance ... purportedly with dire consequences for anyone who has the misfortune of losing.

When one refers to a "shekel" alone, it typically refers to the basic unit, a ceramic coin which is worth a cup of grain -- or roughly $1 for comparison. Greater denominations are represented by copper, iron, silver, and ultimately gold -- progressively rarer minerals on Sinai.

1 gold = 5000 shekels; 1 silver = 1000 shekels; 1 iron = 500 shekels; 1 copper = 100 shekels. The typical inn costs 5 shekels per night, not including food, and meals run between 3 and 5 shekels. There are half- and quarter-shekel pieces.

Sheol is also the name of a lesser deity of the Olympian Pantheon, associated with death and ashes.

The plural for "Shiga" is either "Shigas", or else "Shigai" (typically used when referring to the "race" as a group). Though not "proper", the use of the word "Shigai" when referring to a SINGLE Shiga is in such widespread use (at least among those who even know of the Shigai) that it is, in essence, interchangeable. (The same is the case for Chiga/Chigai, Rokuga/Rokugai, and Kiriga/Kirigai ... but woe to anyone who calls a single Naga a "Nagai"!)

Shrikens rarely live to grow to full adult size, typically found at no greater than a few feet in length, but there are legends of gigantic shrikens capable of smashing sand-triremes or swallowing victims whole. Some credence is lent to these legends in that the sand-faring Nohbakim often use very large bony structures for the supports for their sand-triremes ...which would tend to suggest the existence of suitably large creatures to provide the skeletons from which these structures are made!

There are legends that speak of the Silent Ones -- ancient ancestors of the cheetah-like Savanites, who predate even legends of a great Savanite Empire in the distant history of Sinai. The Silent Ones supposedly had great cathedral-ships that ferried them across the stars, and ruled a celestial empire, before they came down to Sinai. Their culture was one that revered the Star as a deity ... but portrayed this entity in a more warlike aspect.

Among so many other odd features, Sinai is characterized by floating "sky island" structures, the largest of which is capable of sustaining Sinai's most powerful city, Rephidim. Magic is known and practiced on Sinai, and it is known that magical powers (and a phenomenon known as "quantum uncertainty) are stronger near the surface, but weaker up at the level of sky islands. They are sometimes even more powerful in certain regions, such as a Forbidden Zone. At the same time, where magic is more powerful, machinery -- especially more complex mechanisms -- tends to be less reliable.

A wide variety of creatures can be found on Sinai, including many sapient races so varied as to defy organized classification -- particularly due to the high incidence of mutation on the surface, and the occasional arrival of Exile races from other worlds.

Most of the surface is covered by oceans, but there are three major land mass groups: Ai, Ur and Lamu. The sky islands drift freely across the globe, following varying courses, most not bound to any particular continent or other geographical anchor.

Sirens are a sub-type of Mariner (mer-cat) found on the water-world of Ashtoreth. They are distinctive in that they have large external translucent membranes that some describe as "wings", which serve as gills, making them amphibious, whereas Abyssianian Mariners merely have considerable lung capacity.

It is a common myth that Sirens are all female, but each clan of Sirens is ruled by a male of their species, a Triton. Relations between the Sirens and other species are most often violent, thus little is known about them or their culture.

Skedats move about on multiple tiny little legs, and they have larger claws useful for handling prey and for flipping themselves back over if they are upended. They are very disagreeable, capable of making loud screeches that sound like fingernails scraping on slate, only amplified ... and they will charge "intruders" on their "territory".

Skedat nests are noteworthy for the silvery sheen of the melon-sized eggs. At first glance, they may be mistaken for metal, because of the high silicon content.

"Skedat" is also the name used for a weapon favored by the warriors of Ashdod, fashioned from a skedat shell, hollowed out to cover the hand and part of the forearm, held with a supporting grip. Thus, it serves as a shield and a weapon, what with the sharp spikes. Sometimes the segmented tail is left on, used by more experienced warriors as a barbed whip. "Skedat armor" is made from shells of varying sizes, and it is common for warrior cults of Ashdod to send out young warriors to prove themselves by defeating a skedat in unarmed combat, then to fashion a weapon from the shell.