Glossary

This glossary is to be used to ensure that designers understand the meanings of various words used in Valyr game development, story writing and game play.

Please note, anything living that has the ability to attack (because of instinct or will, RE: An MOB) will be found in the Beastiary. NOTE: The jury is still out on Lying Grass.

AGM

n. abbreviation for the Valyr authorized game master. An AGM is one or more game designer authorized persons that facilitate game play.
DEPRECATED: Use Grand Master Storyteller, Master Storyteller, or Storyteller.

Arabellum wine

n. a dark amber wine made from malt and royal honey by the Arvalle family (owners of ‘The Rare Cup’ Inn of Frostport) since MV935.

Arvalle’s white wine

n. a clear wine made from malt and a hint of brittle tea by Arvalle Ansar (owner of ‘The Rare Cup’ Inn of Frostport) since MV913 when he was 25.

AVP

acronym for ability value point. Used in valuation of the ability system expenditures.

Bansu

n. (Bahn – soo) The kingdom which fills a large portion of the northern hemisphere of Valyr. See the political map.

Bansu Castle

n. (see above) The capital city of Bansu

Bansuan

adj (Bahn – soo -uhn) Of or relating to the Kingdom of Bansu (e.g. He was a member of the Bansuan Navy)

bell bush

n. a hearty, common shrub found in almost every region of MV™. The leaves begin a bright green and eventually become deep green. Leaves wither, curl and turn brown, resembling the shape of a hand bell. New leaves are most widely used as a seasoning for soups, while the dried leaves are valued as the main ingredient for brittle tea.

Blackwood trees

n. these dark trees have a fairly large girth in the trunk with a narrow canopy. The wood itself is charcoal colored and fairly tough when made into thin planks. As fire wood the stench is to be avoided! Individually these trees are appealing but as a grove or when dominating a forest they exude a new level of gloominess.

brittle tea

n. a caramelized tea made from the brown leaves of the bell bush. It is a potent hard candy that comes in various shapes. The most common shape is a stick that’s as thick as a child’s pinkie finger and about as long an old man’s thumb that you can suck on for an hour before it’s all gone.

camp dog

n. Wrought iron spit & a pair of spit supports. Used to suspend cooking pots or to cook large game on a spit over a camp fire. Includes a long handled shovel for moving hot embers or for shoveling soil on top of it to smother a fire. This equipment is not small! It’s intended to support large camps of 10 or more characters.

common tongue

a term generally applied to the informal every-day speech, common to respected guild and trades people. Not high-speak or the coarse, low-born talk of outcasts, thieves and beggars. High-speak, common tongue or low-born, crosses country and language barriers, each area has these three groups.

Corstagan

n. chaperoned home for single women. Very common in larger cities.

cursing

v. in Valyr a popular practice of cursing uses an exclamation including a pair of objects that are similar in sound or function. As if to say what’s the difference? Curses are typically pointed at a situation not a person or
group of persons. i.e., moons & meteors, sticks and staves, rocks & pebbles, etc. Though not technically a curse, an ‘off color’ statement would be to “swear” by something, like ‘by Imbrie I’ve had enough!’ or ‘by the beak of the father Roc.’

Denryke

n. (dehn – riek) The southern most independent nation on Valyr. The capital city is Pheaham Fortress in the West. See the political map.

Entrophite

n. infusion element for the Black Color Classes. Originally used on M0. Has the appearance of fine sand except that each granule absorbs light like a little black hole.

finlare

n. a hat very similar to the thirteenth century hat worn by earth men and women that has no known name. Modern day clothiers on Earth called this arrangement a barbette (strap) and fillet (hat). Also more modernly known as a “coffee filter hat” (this is the nickname that many modern day (M0) costumers give these hats.)

fire pegs

n. Used for fire starting. Rub two pegs together until they get warm then set them down side-by-side, they will ignite. Typically sold in bundles of 13.

governtithe

n. enforced “gift” to local government. (1/9)

Gnashwood

n. these trees are very tall and have a large girth (20% of their height) in the trunk with a huge canopy. The wood itself is deep red with black striations in the grain. From seedling to the height of a man takes more than 30 years, and to become large enough to produce a small amount of useful lumber is another 200 years. The wood is pretty hard to carve and very tough when made into planks. It’s fairly useless as a firewood as it is difficult to burn or hold a flame!

grade

adj. as in grade of weapon (or armor?) referring to the quality/durability of the weapon. Of course high grade means highly valued too. See MV.Armament

greenstone

n. highly sought quarry stone. It is quarried more easily in bitter cold weather as it tends to break at right angles for the seasoned stonemason. In warm weather it tends to bounce away hammers and chisels etc. It has a pleasing color with visible striations at right angles throughout.

high-speak

a term generally applied to formal ‘courtly’ speech. Not the informal common tongue or the low born talk of outcasts, thieves and beggars. High-speak, common tongue or low-born, crosses country and language barriers, each area has these three groups.

Imbrie

n. This is the larger and further of the two moons of Valyr its orbit takes about 59 Valyr days. See Celestial Bodies.

jolly-berry

n. a sweet berry the size of a green pea. Found on a climbing vine that favors cliff sides and rough bark trees (blackwood, gnashwood, etc.) to climb. These plants only flower and produce berries at 10′ above the soil. The
berries are ‘in season’ all year long.

Kubbs

n. A very old traditional northern lawn toss game. See Traditional games.

leaguer