Arena 13 #2 THE PREY COMPENDIUM OF ANCIENT TALES AND BALLADS, THEThis is a compilation of writings by humans before the fall and the subsequent construction of the Barrier. They take the form of lyrics, poems and prose fragments. Most are without a named author.CONTAINMENTThis is the digital store within which a soul is preserved with the possibility of being born again into a body of false flesh. An alternative name for this condition is ‘Stasis’.COVENANTThe Covenant is the agreement made between the djinn and mankind following the defeat of the latter. Humans were set down within the confines of the Barrier and given a chance to live there providing that theyaccepted the rule of the Protector. The Genthai were to submit to ritual culling by the werewights; non-Genthai were to accept culling by Hob. As time passed the Covenant was forgotten about by city dwellers. Somebelieve that no such agreement was ever made.CYROHe is the official responsible for the Commonality, the large underground zone below the Wheel. With the help of a small army of assistants, he supervises the storage of lacs, the kitchens, the training areas and thecombat zones. Cyro rules his domain with absolute authority and nobody interferes in his activities some of which are illegal.DECIDONSDecidons are hybrid djinn with ten selves, containing elements of both animal and vegetable but resembling trees. Largely static, they communicate by wind-blown pollen. Ur-humans developed them as sentinels andalso for purposes of espionage. They have offensive capabilities and generate both poisons and antidotes.DJINNIA djinni is the wurde made flesh. The different types of djinn are more numerous than the visible stars. They range from low singletons, who may hardly be higher than base simulacra, to high djinn known as asscka,who may now generate selves almost beyond counting. Almost all djinn are subordinate in some way – some major, some minor – to the patterns of the ur-humans who first gave their progenitors shape. But of all these,most deadly is the djinn who is no longer subservient in any way to the wurdes that shaped him. Originally they were created by the military to serve the Human Empire. Djinn is an acronym which stands for digitaljanus interface nano node.ENDOFFThis is the close-down function called when a blade is inserted into the throat-slit of a lac, which becomes temporarily inoperative. For the min combatant, it signals the end of the contest. All that remains is the ritual cutto the arm of the defeated human combatant.EXTENSIBILITYThis is a characteristic of Nym which allows a patterner to add new wurdes and features or modify existing ones. The language can be increased by those who have the skill to do so.FALSE FLESHFalse flesh is the derogatory term first used by ur-humans to describe the flesh hosts of any djinn born of the shatek and the wurde. When the war between djinn and ur-humans intensified, the former adopted the term indefiance and proved, victory by victory, its superiority in every way to ur-human flesh.FIRST INSURRECTIONThe First Insurrection began with two terrorist attacks upon humans by the djinn. The first was an attempt upon the life of the Empress, which failed. The second was an attack upon the Imperial Academy, in which overa hundred lives were lost, including that of the High Adept. The djinn rebellion was eventually put down by the employment of the gramagandar, the weapon which dissolves false flesh.GAMBLING HOUSEThe gambling agents (sometimes known as ‘touts’) accept wagers on behalf of the three large gambling houses which underpin the economy of Midgard. From their profits fees are paid to combatants who fight from themag position. Only min combatants are allowed to bet upon themselves – but only to win.Bets offered to Arena 13 gallery spectators are often very complex. Many aficionados attempt to predict the actual time of a victory and use accumulators, where winnings are placed upon the outcome of succeedingcontests. Red tickets are sold, and these bets are made on the likelihood of a contestant suffering injury or death.GINDEENThis is the only city of Midgard, although there are some small towns and hamlets. Gindeen consists largely of wooden buildings, with roads that are just mud tracks. Its main landmarks are the Wheel, the large cube-shaped slaughterhouse, and the citadel of Hob, which casts its shadow over the city.GORESTADGorestad is the ‘high mind’ usually operative in all high djinn with more than one self. But despite this group consciousness, which makes a djinni with many selves just one entity, there is always some individualawareness particular to each self. Both asscka and shalatan can control the awareness of their selves, even denying particular selves access to gorestad.GRAMAGANDARAn ancient weapon, also known as the Breath of the Wolf, the fire of which is capable of dissolving all false flesh. This weapon is anathema to all djinn and its use is forbidden. It was created and deployed by the last ur-humans, and for this crime they were destroyed, their fallen and debased descendants, the barbarian humans, banished for all time to Midgard, the place within the Barrier.GUNGARAGungara form the third component of all high djinn. These gungara are winged and are used to devour and absorb the mind and tissue of enemies or other creatures in need of study and/or reanimation by means of thewurde and the shatek. Gungara were not created by ur-humans and are a prime example of djinn self-directed evolution.HOBIt is believed that Hob is a rogue djinn who remained within the Barrier when barbarian humans were sealed within it. He preys upon humans, taking their blood and sometimes their minds. He occasionally fights withinArena 13 from the mag position.HUMANSHumans are the ur-race of creatures that created the language called Nym, thus constructing the first djinn and preparing the way for those which would supersede them. Outside the wurde, they are termed ur-humans,whereas their fallen and debased descendants are called barbarian humans. These latter are closest in form to the type of singletons known as lacs, though without their strength, speed and coordination. Their strengthcomes from their ability to cooperate and combine forces for a common purpose. It may also spring from the fear of death, having only one self which can easily be snuffed out in battle.INDEXThe catalogue of lacs, souls bound within false flesh, and wurdes offered by the Trader on his twice-yearly visits to Midgard. The Index exists only within the mind of the Trader and there is no written record of itscontents.KRANSINThis is a substance used to coat the blades of lacs for contests in Arena 13. It is a combined coagulant and an intensifier of pain. Thus the ritual cut suffered by the loser is agonizing. That pain must be faced withcourage, as the spectators watching from the gallery judge how the losing combatant conducts himself.LACThis is an abbreviated form of simulacrum. Lacs are born of a shatek for the purposes of arena combat of various types. Although shaped to resemble barbarian humans, they have a throat-slit which, once penetrated bya blade, brings instant unconsciousness, the state called by the wurde endoff. They also have long arms to aid fighting in Arena 13.LUDUSAA type of binary djinn who share a gorestad equally. Sometimes, having no apparent connection in either appearance or role, they were created by ur-humans for the purpose of espionage.
