Rex Aftermath (Elei's Chronicles) (35 page)

GLOSSARY

General terms:

Agaric mushrooms: enormous mushrooms, large as trees, growing in groves. Sometimes they are phosphorescent.

Aircar: hovercraft (useful for unstable terrain such as the Seven Islands which contain many swamps)

Ama cigarettes: herbal cigarettes which are relaxing

Biotransmitter: small transmitter inserted in the body (partly made of human tissue so the body won’t reject it)

Dakron: from ‘Dakru’ (see below in the Seven Islands) — solid, high-energy fuel mined in the mountains of Dakru

Gultur: Indo-European for ‘vulture’ — the ‘all-women race ruling the Seven Islands (originally their name had been: Gwen Gultur — the Women-Vultures)

Hatha: holy (from the name of the ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor, whose name means “House of Horus”) — used for the elite Gultur line of “Echo” Princesses to which Hera belongs (they have the original strain of the parasite Regina, hence are considered purer than other Gultur and sacred)

Info-pole: a pillar with a screen where you insert coins and can look up information, like geographical locations

Longgun: semi-automatic gun with long barrel (like a machine gun but requiring the user to reload each time) — favored by the Gultur

Nepheline: a semi-transparent form of plastic. From ancient Greek ‘nephele’ (‘cloud’) — used in making everything from chairs to boats.

Polyesthene: a fabric similar to spandex (flexible fabric made of synthetic fibers) — made-up word from the Greek ‘poly’ (‘many’) and ‘esthene’ (‘feel’ and ending -ene) — used in creating close-fitting uniforms for the Gultur

Rasmus: a brand of an antique semi-automatic pistol, such as the one Elei carries

Seleukids: diamond-shaped, military aircrafts (airplanes) forming the Gultur air fleet. They also carry drones they can send to track down people on the ground.

Senet: ‘sister’ in ancient Egyptian — used among Gultur as a greeting

Telespeak: old-fashioned telephone where you have to call the operator to connect

Tel-marks (also called “snakeskin”): marks left by the parasite telmion (hence: ‘tel’) on the skin of the infected person.

T’e: yes/all right (ancient Egyptian)

Parasites
(all are made-up but based on real-life parasites):

Cronion: a protozoan parasite that can be deadly if not kept in check by another parasite (like telmion), it infects the brain, controls certain hormones (which enables it to cause strong adrenaline rushes) and controls one eye, giving infrared vision.

Palantin: parasite. like telmion, it is a pathogenic fungal infection. Not as strong as telmion, it can be controlled with suppressants, but if left unchecked, usually proves lethal. On the surface, it manifests as white spiderweb-like patterns on the skin.

Regina: parasite. ‘queen’ in Latin (here: name of the parasite which has created the race of the Gultur)

Rex: parasite. a relative of cronion, it is even stronger, able to control nerve endings and act almost as an intelligent being to ensure the survival of its host.

Telmion: parasite. a pathogenic fungal infection, causing snakeskin (also called ‘tel-marks’), and with the side effects of vomiting and fever which in most cases lead to dehydration

Names of persons and places:

Afia: corruption of the Greek name “Sophia” (‘wisdom’)

Albi: from Latin ‘albus’ (‘white’) — the woman who raised Elei

Alendra: short form of Alexandra (Greek for: the one who fights men)

Elei (Eles): Indo-European root meaning ‘bend’. Eles is derived (independently from Elei) from the ancient Greek word ‘Eleos’ (‘mercy’)

Hecate: ancient Greek goddess of the crossroads, the moon, magic and the dead

Hera: ancient Greek goddess whose name means ‘the lady’

Jek: as with most names of street kids, this is a corruption of the name “Jake”

Kalaes: another form of the name ‘Calais’, brother of Zetes, a winged god of the wind in the ancient Greek mythology. Name possibly derived from ‘kalos’ (‘good’) but this is not certain.

Leny: corruption of ‘Helen’

Nunet: ancient Egyptian goddess (form of Naunet, one of the gods of chaos and water) — the Gultur tend to worship an Egyptian Pantheon, unlike mortals who only believe in an ancient Greek one.

Pelia: Indo-European for ‘dove’ — she was Elei’s boss

Sacmis: ancient Egyptian name which means ‘she has power’

Sobek: ancient Egyptian god (god of water who has the form of a crocodile)

Tefnut: ancient Egyptian goddess tfnt (tefenet) of moisture, moist air, dew and rain — here she is Hera’s mother

Verne: a tribute to Jules Verne, one of my favorite authors

Zag: short for Zagres (derived from Zagreus, an epithet of Dionysus, possibly meaning “Great Hunter”), Kalaes’ brother

The Seven islands:

Dakru: Indo-European for ‘teardrop’ (same word in Greek)

Aue: Indo-European for ‘water’

Ert: Indo-European for ‘earth’

Ker: Indo-European for ‘head’

Kukno: Indo-European for ‘swan’ (same word in Greek)

Ost: Indo-European for ‘bone’(same word in Greek)

Torq: Indo-European for ‘turn’

All town names are ancient Greek and Egyptian town names and their origin is not really known (Abydos, Teos, Calydon), except for:

Artemisia (town of Artemis — the Greek version of the goddess Diana)

Aerica: airy (from ‘aer’ ancient Greek for ‘air’)

About the Author

Greek Cypriot with a penchant for dark myths, good food, and a tendency to settle down anywhere but at home, Chrystalla likes to write about fantastical creatures, crazy adventures, and family bonds. She lives in Cyprus with her husband and her vast herds of books. She writes mainly fantasy and science fiction. Her dystopian YA science fiction series “Elei’s Chronicles” (Rex Rising, Rex Cresting, Rex Equilibrium) is available on Kindle and in print. Shorter stories set in that world are also available, and a Companion to the series is also in the plans.

Where to find all books and series:
http://tinyurl.com/buth6k6

Other links:

Blog:
http://chrystallathoma.wordpress.com

Twitter:
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Facebook:
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 To keep updated on the sequels and other satellite books, make sure to check regularly this page on the author’s blog:

http://chrystallathoma.wordpress.com/rex-rising

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