NOON ONYX SERIES: WHAT’S WHAT
* In alphabetical order
** There are SPOILERS in the descriptions below
Angel: Angels are Halja’s spellcasters. During the Apocalypse the Host fought the Angels. The Angels’ magic is not innate. In order for their spells to be effective, an Angel must have faith. They also must constantly practice and study. They are excellent linguists and historians. Angels can become vintners, artists, scholars, and a few other various occupations, but the most prestigious and popular way for an Angel to make a living is to become a Maegester’s Guardian Angel.
Apocalypse, The: Two thousand years before the stories start, Lucifer’s army (his Host warlords and his demons) beat the Savior’s army (the Angels) in a series of battles which are referred to as the Apocalypse.
Armageddon: The last great battle of the Apocalypse.
Barrister: The Hyrkes at St. Luck’s train to become Barristers. The real world counter-part would be a lawyer, litigator, or attorney. They study the laws of Halja but their clients will be other Hyrkes, not demons.
Boatmen: The sailors and captains who pilot boats, ferries, and other ships up and down the Lethe from New Babylon to Halja’s various outposts.
Book of Joshua: One of the main books the Angels study. Evander Joshua was an Angel who lived sometime in Halja’s second century. His mother was a Mederi and his father was an Angel. He created the first Guardian/Ward relationship and was the first Guardian Angel, serving Magnus Antimony, one of the earliest Council executives. The Book of Joshua is more of a philosophy book than a book of prayers.
Carne Vale: A public execution ceremony where demons are executed by Maegesters (and MIT’s). Carne Vales are purposefully designed to be cruel. They are an extreme form of punishment for egregious demon offenders. Deaths are not quick. It is a form of torture. Any loved ones the demon accused has are brought to watch their loved one suffer before death.
Cnawlece: The name of the dahabiya that Noon and her investigative team take to the Shallows in Fiery Edge of Steel. Behind the Story”/Pronunciation Tip: Cnawlece = “Nawless” (knowledge).
Demon Council: The governing body of Halja. The Council members are all greater demons who no one sees much (if at all). The Council is run by the Executive, one of the most powerful men in Halja. The Executive is always a Maegester.
Demon law: Haljan law, Lucifer’s law, and demon law are all names for the body of law that governs Halja.
Demon mark: All waning magic users – both demons and human members of the Host who have waning magic – have a demon mark. It is a dark splotch on the left breast, right above the heart. Waning magic user’s marks differ in appearance. Some are dark, light, big, or small, but anyone with waning magic has one. When she was nine, Noon tried to cut hers off with a knife. It grew back, darker and with no scaring.
Demon Register: A cross between a social register and a “demonicopedia.” It’s one of the first books purchased by MIT’s. It has the name of every known demon (all regulare demons are registered, as well as notorious rogares). It lists their names, what they are the patron of, what type of demon they are, the types of things they can do with their magic, where they live, who their followers are, and any other information that might be relevant to a Maegester.
Divinity, The: The group that governs the Angels. Angels are residents of Halja, so they are bound by Haljan law and by the terms of the Apocalyptic Treaty. But, otherwise, they are self-governing.
Executive: The head of the Demon Council. Noon’s father, Karanos Onyx, is the current Executive. He’s been the Executive since shortly after she was born.
Faith magic: The magic the Angels use to cast spells.
Firestarter: An informal name for someone with waning magic. Depending on how it’s used, its connotation can be negative. (Just because the Angels as a whole are now working with the descendants of Lucifer’s warlords doesn’t mean they all like it. Some look down on waning magic and see it as a blunt, brutish sort of magic.)
Gap Filler: A Guardian Angel whose specialty is filling in the gaps of their ward’s knowledge and experience level. Fara Vanderlin is a gap filler. Her father is Karanos Onyx’s Guardian and there was hope by both father and daughter that Fara might serve as Noon’s Guardian. Karanos looks down on gap fillers. He calls them “Gum and Pin Men,” meaning he sees them as Jacks-of-All-Trades-Masters-of-None.
Guardian Angel: An Angel who takes an oath to protect a Maegester (or a Maegester-in-Training). A Guardian helps protect their ward by casting various offensive and defensive spells over them. Since Angels are excellent linguists, they also know a lot of languages so they often serve as an interpreter for their ward. They also serve as scribe or assistant to the Maegester they work with and handle all of the formal introductions.
Hellcnight: A particularly nasty type of rogare demon. All demons can shift, but only hellcnights can shift into a mirror image of someone else. They can also mirror and manipulate other waning magic user’s signatures. This means they can impersonate anyone in Halja. (They are Haljan doppelgangers). Pronunciation tip: think of the “c” as a silent “k.” “Hell Knight.”
Host: Mostly refers to the descendants of Lucifer’s warlords who have waning magic — the Maegesters and Mederies. But can sometimes be used to describe all waning magic uses, meaning the demons too.
Hveit: A term Joy Carmine (Ari’s Carmine’s adoptive mother) used to describe herself. Joy is a Hyrke but, like Noon, her birth was unusual among her people. She lacks pigmentation. She says she doesn’t have magic, but sometimes she “sees” things. Pronunciation tip: “White” with the “wh” pronounced as a “v” sound.
Hyrke: Humans with no magic. Halja’s population is mostly Hyrkes. Behind the Story: Hyrke is a Greek word that means “earthen vessel.” Originally, it was just a place holder until I found a better term, but I never found anything I liked better so the term stuck.
Lucifer: The leader of the Host army. Some of Lucifer’s backstory was borrowed from our real world (i.e. Lucifer’s association with the Morning Star), but much is not. Halja’s Lucifer is not meant to be seen as “the devil,” although he is/was a demon.
Maegester: A demon peacekeeper or modern-day knight. Humans with waning magic train to become Maegesters at demon law schools like St. Luck’s. Upon graduation, they are expected to serve the greater public good by serving the demons – as advisors, counselors, judges, and executioners. Noon jokes with her mother that her best weapons will be wisdom, knowledge, and experience, but – in a physical fight at least – a Maegester’s best weapon is their magic.
Mederi: A healer or grower. Female members of the Host that have waxing magic train to be Mederies. They train in groups called a tribe, which can VERY loosely be thought of as a sorority. Members of a tribe must be accepted into the tribe before they begin training and their association with that tribe lasts a lifetime. Three different tribes are mentioned in Dark Light of Day: Gaia (straight-laced traditionalists, Hawthorn (Noon’s mother’s tribe), and Demeter (Noon’s brother’s tribe). Each tribe has its own outpost in southern Halja with a teaching hospital, crops, gardens, and greenhouse.
Midland Express: The railway that runs north of New Babylon.
MIT: Maegester-in-Training.
Monarch: The head of a Mederi tribe. They are elected and serve at the will of the members. The Monarch reports to the executive of the Demon Council but otherwise handles all matters within her tribe.
North-South Express: The railway that runs south of New Babylon.
Patron Demon: Many demons are the patron of something – a place or a thing. Flora is the patron demon of Beltane, Cliodna is the patron demon of waves and waterbirds, Ionys is the patron demon of wine, winemaking, and vineyards, Beetiennik is the patron demon of springtails, mayflies, and water beetles. Fraitan and Worghen are the demons of fret and worry, respectively.
Primoris: The top ranked MIT from each class.
Rogare: A demon who doesn’t follow the rules. Rogares act like you would think a demon would act – heinously, viciously, cruelly. They are violent and irrational. They are aggressive and evil.
Regulare: A demon who has made a conscious decision to follow rules, uphold Lucifer’s law, and participate in Haljan society. They prefer the adoration of their followers to anarchy. They still have demon impulses, but they are more disciplined than rogares. They prefer structure to chaos. They are dangerous, but not necessarily violent.
Secundus: The second ranked MIT from each class.
Signare: A magic “smudge” left by one waning magic user on another. It takes emotional and magical reciprocity to create a signare, but physically, all it takes is one waning magic user touching another waning magic user’s demon mark. Some demons mark their mates with a signare.
Signature: The magical aura that surrounds a waning magic user (both demons and human waning magic users have signatures). Signatures feel different to each waning magic user. They can be masked by cloaking spells. Powerful waning magic users have stronger signatures and are better able to sense other waning magic users’ signatures. Often, a waning magic user can sense other waning magic users’ emotions in their signature, but it doesn’t allow them to read their thoughts. Haljans believe that signatures are a magical hold over from the days of Armageddon. It’s much easier to coordinate battle strategy and keep track of your army’s movements if you can sense each other magically.
Spellcaster: An informal name for an Angel.
Voir Dire: The process by which second year MIT’s select a Guardian Angel. The assignments don’t have to be permanent, but many times initial partnerships last a lifetime. Behind the Story: The inspiration for Haljan Voir Dire was our real world practice of voir dire, the procedure for selecting members of a jury for trial.
Waning magic: All demons have waning magic. Most male members of the Host are born with waning magic, but not all. Noon was also born with waning magic.
Ward: The term for the Maegester (or MIT) that a Guardian Angel is sworn to protect.
Waxing magic: Most female members of the Host are born with waxing magic, but not all. Nightshade, Noon’s brother, was also born with waxing magic.
JILL ARCHER 