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| (not common information outside of Babel or religious circles) In Babelite, "Yodh" means "daughter" or "daughters", and this term is used to generically refer to the priestesses of the various Seven Sisters. They are generally known as the "Daughters of" the various goddesses. So, there are the Yodhinala, the Yodhsunala, the Yodhblakat, the Yodhgorphat, the Yodhrephath, the Yodhzakaro, and the Yodhbarada. "Yodhinala" would mean "Daughter(s) of Inala". Many of the Yodh are practitioners of magic, and would be classified by the College Esoterica as either hedge wizards or sorcerers, since few of them are accredited by the Mages' Guild. However, due to special arrangement with the Babelite government, and centuries of tradition, the Yodh are exempt from persecution by the College Esoterica for practicing magic as a part of their religion. (Considerable restrictions are placed upon use of their powers outside of Babel, however.) | ||
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| Yorspice is a "meditative" herb purported to clear the mind and to allow visions to form. It is used in many temples, particularly about the region of the Himar, and is worth fortunes due to its geographically limited supply. Yorspice is native to the Jupani lands of the Himar Region, and aside from knowing that the Jupani obtain it from their clan lands, no outsider really knows what Yorspice truly is -- The Himarian Jupani guard the secret of its production jealously. Finished Yorspice is a fine tan powder that is smoked with tobacco or mixed with beeswax into incense candles. Yorspice is a mild hallucinogenic. It is popular with seers and oracles as an aid in vision-forming. Some mages -- particularly of the Sphere of Mind -- value Yorspice for its reputed ability to aid in concentration while researching or casting spells. According to those who favor Yorspice, it is nonaddictive and its hallucinogenic effects can be shaken off if need be. Others consider this claim to be controversial at best. | ||
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| (obscure information outside of Babel, or religious circles) Zakaro is also the name of a mountain outside of Babel, which holds a shrine deciated to the goddess of the same name. Many of the priestesses of Zakaro are mages, focusing on the Sphere of Chaos. For the most part, the priestesses of Zakaro do not have approval from the College Esoterica, but they have traditionally been protected by Babelite law for their roles as priestesses. | ||
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| (not common knowledge outside of Babel and religious circles) Can be translated as either "Soul" or "Wisdom". According to the myth of the Birth of the Seven Sisters, this was the former name of Zakaro, Goddess of Sorcery, before she and her sisters rebelled against and slew Bael, the Creator God. | ||
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 Very self-centered and very isolationist underground-dwelling insectoids with a hive-caste culture. They make tools and weapons from hard chitin, and will build larger items to order. They sell surplus warriors who make excellent and highly loyal fighters, though quite unimaginative and without motivation. They purchase large quantities of food, especially fruits high in trace minerals, and covet information and artifacts. Their hives may be found virtually everywhere -- they purchase land from rulers for new hives -- and they prefer to keep their secrets to themselves. Their most-often seen caste are the warriors, who are 6' tall and have long claws over their hands, and are six-limbed (two arms, two foot-hands, and two foots). Their chitin exoskeletons come in a variety of colors and patterns which identify the hive from which a warrior comes. | ||
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 Zerdas are found primarily in the arid region known as the Himaat, either as desert nomads, or as merchants or "gooshurm farmers" near Abu Dhabi. They have their own language, "Zerda", which shares a number of similarities with the local dialect of Khattan, due to frequent interaction between the two races. In appearance, a Zerda is a humanoid with the head, tail and fur of a fennec, and correspondingly large ears. They also tend to be fairly short by human standards, averaging four to five feet tall as adults. Zerdas are best known for their keen sense of hearing. | ||
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| Zolk is a silk-like fabric with a metallic sheen to it, available in a number of varieties. The rarest sort, "platinum" zolk, has puncture-resistant properties that make it highly favored by the wealthy, as it can give them fashionable clothing that still affords a degree of protection without the bulk of armor. Zolk is manufactured in the Himaat, fashioned from strands of material left in the desert sands by roaming gooshurms. Some Zerda clans are brave enough to run "gooshurm farms", but these only produce the more common varieties of zolk. The strands required for the rarer and more durable varieties of zolk (such as "platinum" zolk) are only to be found in the Sea of Sand by determined prospectors. These strands of material are actually pieces of the stomach linings of gooshurms that are shed from time to time, and float to the surface in the strange silty material of the Sea of Sand. Zolk is a major export of Abu Dhabi, and the more common varieties can be found easily in Rephidim (especially in the Bazaar). Availability elsewhere on Sinai varies greatly depending on geographic location (proximity to the Himaat) and just how much one is willing to pay for zolken garments. |
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The rune that represents Zakaro in Babelite script is also known as "The Magic Circle".
