Revision as of 20:06, 21 August 2010

Vocabulary

Terra -

Plagues - The Black Death was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. It is widely thought to have been an outbreak of bubonic plague caused by a curse carried by rats. Usually thought to have started in Central Asia, it had reached the Crimea by 1346. The curse was carried black rats which were the familiars of magicians in Central Asia.

The fourteenth-century eruption of the Black Death had a drastic effect on Europe's population, irrevocably changing Europe's social structure. It was a serious blow to the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in widespread persecution of minorities such as Jews, foreigners, beggars and lepers. The uncertainty of daily survival created a general mood of morbidity influencing people to "live for the moment", as illustrated by Giovanni Boccaccio in The Decameron (1353).

Other notable 17th century outbreaks were the Italian Plague of 1629-1631, the Great Plague of Seville (1647-1652), the Great Plague of London (1665–1666), the Great Plague of Vienna (1679).

There were plagues of a similar magnitude affecting all of the cities of Central and East Asia as well as the Arabian Penisula and the African colonies. The effect was to decimate their populations as well as most thoroughly undermine the confidence of the people in their heriditary belief systems.

Medicine during the plagues was informed by mystical tradition. Gnostic sects of Christianity and Judiasm had more success at treating plague than scientific medical technique. Mystical traditions gained popularity and the seeds of the new terran religions were planted..

These events were a precursor to a widespread reexamination of religious beliefs. Many Terran religions emerged from this period of uncertainty.

Energy - Magical processes consume [ENERGY]. [ENERGY] occurs naturally, and can be harvested from nature using a few different techniques. There are a few different ways of collecting [ENERGY], and it can be stored in a few different forms. Currently, [ENERGY] is collected using the following methods: Miasmic: Energy is emitted by Terra as she lives and breathes. It's clean, renewable, and difficult to access safely and effectively. Psychic: All animals radiate psychic energy. They radiate more of it during REM sleep. In modern times, psychic energy is harvested using dream catchers, but it used to be harvested directly from humans, willing or unwilling. Current methods are considered relatively "clean", but they may be having effects on the collective dreamscape. Physical: Energy that has been compounded with organic matter that, must be mined or extracted from Terra's land, air or seas. The energy consortiums associated with this end of the energy business, historically have shown little concern for the toxic by-products their industries have poisoned terra with.

Necromancy - there is a way to bring the dead back to life but they are zombies. This is socially taboo.