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The Lexicon contains all important terms and phrases that will be used throughout the role play. This is here for you to come and refer to. It will be updated when more terms come into existence. Please do not add terms randomly; terms can only be added to the corresponding alphabetical post.

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Abaddon:
The keeper of the Abyss.

Abyss, The:
Abyss is a term employed by Mages to describe the seeping rift of unreality that lies between the Upper World of Truth and the Lower World of Lies. Synonymous with the Void.

Every time a Mage uses the forces from the Upper World, his magic runs the risk of ushering a bit of the Abyss into the Lower World, creating what Mages call Paradox. Some scholars have theorized that the Abyss grows whenever a Mage unleashes Paradox. It should be noted that the Abyss does not cause Paradox, it is Paradox, and anywhere under the influence of it begins to display bizarre and often seemingly contradictory traits.

Aspecting:
Changing from your human form to your Kindred form, often accompanied by Flickering. This can be a Therian's more bestial face or their animal form, a Vampire with their fangs out, or a Gorgon with their serpentine features on display. Aspecting Former is when only the Awakened can see your Kindred form, Aspecting Proper is when even Sleepers can witness it.

Arcanum:
(pl. Arcana) One of many divisions of the Tapestry. Each Arcanum originates from the Upper World; each Watchtower is the source of two Arcana: the Subtle Arcana, relating to the Upper World, and the Gross Arcana, relating to the Lower World.

The Arcana are (Subtle/Gross):

Air: Correspondence and Space

Fire: Entropy and Force

Water: Fate and Time

Earth: Will and Matter

Aether: Prime and Life

Nether: Death and Shadow

Spirit: Glamour and Mind

Blood: Carnal and Body

Subtle Arcana
Correspondence: Teleportation, seeing into distant areas, levitation, flying, contagion and sympathy.
Entropy: Chaos, randomness, determinism, shapeshifting, mutation, transfiguration.
Fate: Blessings, curses, destiny, fortune, chance, luck, oaths, order, chaos, and probability.
Will: Strength, power, sex drive.
Prime: Nodes, Truth, magical imbuement, Mana, Patterns, revelation, resonance, spellcasting, and tass.
Death: Decay, ectoplasm, enervation, resurrection, soul stealing, the lifespan, undead.
Glamour: Exorcism, the Shadow Realm, soul retrieval, spirits, the Gauntlet.
Carnal: Diablerie, hunger, primal things, addiction, the Lie, Banality.

Gross Arcana
Space: Conjuration, dimension shifting, direction finding, spatial location, scrying, sympathy, teleportation, wards.
Force: Electricity, fire, gravity, heat, kinetic energy, light, magnetism, nuclear radiation, sound, physics, sunlight (note that sunlight is different from regular light), weather.
Time: Divination, prophecy, temporal scrying, time travel, time loops, and temporal acceleration/deceleration.
Matter: Alchemy, periodic table, chemistry, shaping, transmutation.
Life: Disease, evolution, healing, metamorphosis, vigour.
Shadow: Darkness (note that this is different from merely the absence of light), secrets, hidden things, lies, fear.
Mind: Communication, hallucinations, mental projection, mind control, empathy, aura reading, and telepathy.
Body: Desire, sex, mortality, the lifespan, age, vitality.

Atlantis:
The theoretical first civilization, synonymous with the Biblical concept of Eden. Where humanity first came to be, under the guidance of the Old Gods, before the Fall of the Lower World and the division of the Tapestry. Like how some theologians suggest Eden was a state of mind or being rather than an actual Garden, the same is said for Atlantis, though some scholars are adamant that it was a physical place.

Avatar:
The descended Shard of a Guardian's soul, an Oracle.

Awakening:
The process where one breaks free from their Dream and learns the Truth of reality. Often accompanied by Remembering past lives.

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Banality:
Banality is the name for the force of human disbelief. Banality is viewed as the antithesis of Glamour. Banality is a combination of many things, but mainly it consists of doubt, rationality, cynicism, disillusionment, realism and a general unwillingness to embrace the fantastic.

As well as being anathema to magic, Banality destroys a mortal's ability to Dream, and to create. Banality is thus seen as a major force in all that is dark and miserable in the Lower World, and it has many ties to the static reality sought after by Technocracy Mages.

Barrens, The:
1. Areas of a city declared unfit for hunting, such as industrial wastelands. 2. Areas of a city that are devoid of life. Graveyards, abandoned buildings and parks.

Beast, The:
1. The primal drives of an Otherkin that threaten the Kindred into becoming uncontrollably ravenous and/or zombie like. 2. The drives and urges which prompt a Kin to become entirely a monster, forsaking all Humanity.

Becoming, The:
1. When a fledgling "becomes" or ranks to "full" Vampire status as seen fit by the Sire. 2. The moment one becomes an Otherkin. The metamorphosis from mortal to Kindred. Also called The Change; sometimes synonymous with Awakening.

Black Hand, The:
The assassin order of Awoken humans.

Blood Bond:
After accepting blood from a Vampire three times, one becomes under the supernatural influence or mastery of the supplying Vampire.

Blood Feast:
A victim or a group of victims, alive and restrained upside down, serving as refreshments at a Vampire social function. Often new age members have started joking with one another saying it is a BYOB night which is "bring your own body." The victim or victims are alive until bleed dry by the end of the function.

Blood Hound:
A derogatory word for a vampire-werewolf hybrid.

Blood Hunt:
The order given by a Leader for Final Death of a Kindred.

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Chimera:
1. Another term for a Hybrid Otherkin.
2. A Chimera is any object, animate or inanimate, from the Dreaming, or made of the essence of the Dreamlands. In practical use, "chimera" refers to an animate and likely sentient creature of the Dreaming, while an inanimate object would be referred to as "chimerical" (e.g. a chimerical sword). Even so, an inanimate object from the Dreamlands is still technically a chimera. It is unclear what is formally a chimera and what is not as one progresses deeper into the Dreaming. By technical definition, anything that exists in the Dreaming that is not Fae or an exotic material (such as a visiting Mage) would be a chimera, down to every last blade of grass, grain of sand, and particle of dust. Chimeras are stronger Thoughforms and Tulpas.

Comatose:
A result of a failed Awakening or Turning, the Sleeper refuses the Truth and falls into a Coma. Those in a Coma do not age and can exist in this death-like sleep for centuries. Waking up from a Coma is rare.

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Diablerie:
The consumption of another Vampire's blood, to the point of Final Death. Therianthropes can perform the Diablerie through their claws, Warlocks do this by ripping out hearts. The Diablerie steals the gift of another, killing them in the process. This adds black streaks to one's aura.

Dream:
1. The false reality of a Sleeper.
2. The ability to control and create reality, the use of glamour or magic.

Dreaming, The:
1. The Faction of Dreamers.
2. An etheric plane that is the source of dreams. While most dreams take place in one’s own mind, these personal, mental realms are all connected to the Dreaming like rivers feeding into an ocean. Sometimes, consciously or unconsciously, one’s soul can travel to the Dreaming through this connection and experience “true” dreams – visions, interactions with spirits, travel to other realms. The realm of the collective unconscious. Also called the Dreamlands. Fairy souls are native to the Dreaming.

The Dreaming is a vast and quite possibly infinite plane, similar in many ways to the Astral, but where the Astral plane is “above” our consciousness and is more energy-based, the Dreaming is “below” and is more form-based. The Astral plane is akin to the sky, the Cosmos that connects us all, in which senses are mixed together in new ways and energy can touch energy purely. The Dreaming is akin to the sea, the Chaos that we have created with our emotions and imaginations. Senses are individualized here, and enhanced. This is a place of form endlessly popping out of and into the Void, the realm of the collective Unconscious. The two are often confused because they both have access to all the realms, and can transition just as easily into each other, but having experienced both the Dreaming and Astral travel, there is a very distinct difference in how they feel and how one moves through them. On a scientific level, the Dreaming is similar to (if not the same as) the quantum level, in which matter is constantly popping into and out of being. The basis for form is Chaos, as paradoxical as that is.

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Elysium:
A place for Kin to meet together without fear of harm; Usually cultural locations, such as opera houses, theaters or museums.

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Flickering:
When a Awakened makes their eyes glow. Other Awakened in the vicinity will have their eyes glow in response, even if the Kindred does not want them to. This can be done involuntarily as an emotional response.

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Glamour:
1. Glamour is the creative energy that gives shape and life to magic and to the Dreaming. It's born from the dreams and hopes of mortals, and so emphasize the beauty or terror of even the most ordinary objects to something straight away from their dreams. It can take physical form as Chimera. Many consider it the antithesis of Banality.

Glamour is a rare commodity. Banality has greatly diminished the supply of Glamour, and Fairies spend much of their time searching for new sources and preserving what still exists. Most Fairies believe that if they can increase the amount of Glamour in the world, they can reduce the effects of Banality and eventually return the world to its original, magical state. Like most sources of energy or power, Glamour is imperceptible to normal senses. Lacking belief, Sleepers can't see Glamour or anything created from it. Nevertheless, it's as real as atoms, wind, or thought. Fairies, because they know that Glamour exists, can sense its presence. All Fairies have some degree of faerie sight, or Kenning, which enables them to perceive the currents of faerie magic, though those who possess the Kenning Talent are more skilled in its use than others. Kenning allows Fairies to see through Otherkin's mortal Seemings and recognize their Aspected forms, as well as to locate freeholds and perceive chimerical creatures and objects.

Glamour is a refined form of Quintessence, just as diamonds are a refined form of carbon. Quintessence is key to magic.

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Insomnia:
A drug, similar in appearance to ecstasy, that causes Sleepers to temporarily get a glimpse into the Upper world through hallucinations and can grant them minor powers which they can wield while under the influence. Potentials can take Insomnia to Awaken, it takes around your fifth dose to Awaken. Sleepers who take large amounts of Insomnia can become Awoken. In order for it to cause an Awakening, it must be taken multiple times, as most think what they see is drug-induced hallucinations rather than it being a hidden reality that they have been previously blinded to.

Insomniac:
1. An addict of Insomnia.
2. A person who was born not Slumbering, usually the offspring of two Awakened.
3. An excommunicated Dreamer, who has fallen through the Abyss and into the Lower World, keeping some of their abilities.

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Kindred:
Another term for Otherkin, commonly used by Vampires.

Kith:
Originally meaning the same as Companion, this term is seen as slightly derogatory and refers to Sleepers, Mages, and Awoken, opposed to Kindred. Humans collectively, regardless of Awakened status. Also called Kithian.

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Laws of Dis, The:
Also called The Creed, the Laws that govern the Underworld and is applied to all undead beings. Necromancy or the creation of Revenants, the returning of souls to the Living World, and the existence of Wraiths is forbidden. The souls of the dead, when communing with Mediums, can not tell lies nor withhold secrets. Souls of the dead are not bound by earthly contracts and thus can leave their spouses for other souls. These laws are enforced by Reapers. Set by the Old God of Death.

Lower Depths:
The Underworld equivalent of the Abyss. It is distanced from the Lower World in the same manner the Lower World is distanced from the Upper World. It appears to devour magic and souls.

Lower World, The:
After the Dreaming committed the ultimate act of hubris, usurping control of the Upper World, and the Celestial Ladder was shattered during the climatic battle between their supporters and those opposed to their claim, the Tapestry was shaken to its core. This allowed the Abyss to stretch itself between the higher truths and the material world, thus separating it from the truth of magic and bringing the Lie into being. All that remained from the world was a fallen remnant of what it has once been.

Within the Tapestry, the Lower World lies between the higher truths of the Upper World and the gnawing void of the Lower Depths.

The Lower World is further divided into two parts: The Realm Material, that is accessed everyday and forms the reality most Sleepers will ever know, and the Spiritual Realms, who have clearly supernatural traces left but are barred from the higher truths through the Abyss. The Underworld is a Spiritual Realm, while the Material Realm is sometimes called the Skinlands, with the Underworld dubbed the Shadowlands by its inhabitants.

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Node: A node is a natural wellspring of Quintessence. The Gauntlet is thinner in a node than elsewhere, although some nodes attuned to Stasis (such as those found in Technocratic laboratories) have artificially strengthened Gauntlet ratings to all Awakened save the Technocrats themselves. The vast majority of covens are constructed on or around nodes.

Mages and Technocrats alike tend to view other supernaturals' mystic places of power as nodes, rather than as distinct sites with powers and properties of their own, and members of both groups have been known to raid these nodes for their Quintessence.

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Otherkin:
The Awakened whose soul is not human.

Otherworld, The:
The society formed by the Factions that exist within the Lower World, comprised of Awakened souls.

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Pattern: Patterns are metaphorical vessels of Quintessence, and as such, constitute all known reality, acting as "lego bricks" to Prime's "building blocks".

A Pattern, according to common knowledge and metaphorical allegories within the Factions, is formed when threads of the Tapestry, also called "Arcana", interject, bringing context into possibility and acting as variables, functions and instances. Patterns are usually composed of numerous smaller Patterns, for example, the Pattern of a human body contains individual Patterns for its internal organs, limbs and overall appearance. As a result, every Pattern is unique, and because they are constantly in flux through the eternal stream of Quintessence, they are not static.

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Quintessence: Quintessence is the raw material of reality. It is what flows through the patterns of reality and what makes magic possible. The primal force, quintessence can not truly be divided, measured or contained. The patterns of all supernaturals, mortals, inanimate objects, and the whole of the Tapestry is woven from Quintessence. The term literally translates to 'Fifth Essence'.

Quintessence is the same thing as Chi and Mana. Glamour is a form of quintessence, just as diamonds are a form of carbon. Vitae is theorized by Mages to be fused with Quintessence, thus explaining its supernatural properties.

Quintessence is 'found' in two forms, although only one of them can be touched. It flows through the pattern of everything in existence, essentially keeping them in existence, however it has, and can often be found as Tass; Quintessence trapped inside a physical existence, and when loosed can be absorbed much like meditating at a node, where the stuff is found. When raw Quintessence crystallizes into tass, it takes a coincidental form for the type of node where it wells up: mushrooms growing in a forest glade, previously-lost socks in a laundromat, etc.

The true nature of Tass is practically unknowable, since Quintessence is immaterial and free-flowing; it shouldn't hypothetically possible for Tass to exist, yet it does. Metaphors of Quintessence being water and Tass being ice are the most common way of explaining the abnormality, but it goes nowhere towards explaining why something that should travel through a pattern could get trapped by it; Some theories are that excessive Quintessence at a Node has to go somewhere, Tass doesn't trap Quintessence it merely has an extremely long pattern that can store a large amount of Quintessence inside, and another theory is that Quintessence isn't getting used enough by the world, trapped by the static nature of the world engineered by the Technocracy, a lot of Quintessence simply has nowhere else to go and condenses at Nodes, although all of these have logical flaws in them.

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Sleepwalker:
1. A Sleeper involved with Otherworld affairs somehow.
2. A Sleeper mind controlled by a Dreamer.
3. A ghoul, a human corrupted and driven insane by magic radiation.

Sphere: A Sphere is a well-rounded knowledge of nine different yet interrelated elements of reality. These nine constructs represent a sort of “unified field theory” of Earthly metaphysics. They measure what witches do and cannot do, based upon their understanding of theoretical knowledge and practical results. The Spheres existed during Atlantis and where what the Archmages based the Watchtowers Arcana on.

Spheres represent the divisions of the Tapestry - the divisions are largely artificial, but are fairly accurate in dividing the known universe into several distinct facets. Although the distinction was originally artificial, it's notable that each Sphere has its own associated Realm within the Umbra, matching up to one of the nine planets within the physical universe.

Each Witch has a particular Affinity Sphere that often manifests during the Awakening, but can also express itself in the interests and personality of a mage. For this reason, many Witches are drawn to a paradigm that grants special weight and insight to their Affinity Sphere, although exceptions do exist in every case.

The nine Spheres are interconnected, each feeding the others in process referred to as Transmogrification. Higher levels demand that Spheres be used in conjunction. If a particular Sphere aligns with the same aspect of the Metaphysical Trinity, the Witch can even imitate effects from this Sphere with another Sphere of the same spectrum that he has mastered. This is, in general, possible regardless of paradigm, provided that the paradigm accepts the model espoused by the major magical factions.

Connection: The element of connection between apparently different things.
Entropy: The principle of chance, fate and mortality.
Forces: The understanding of elemental energies.
Life: The mysteries of life and death.
Matter: The principles behind supposedly “inanimate” objects.
Mind: The potentials of consciousness.
Prime: An understanding of the Primal Energy within all things.
Spirit: Comprehension of Otherworldly forces and inhabitants.
Time: The strange workings of chronological forces and perceptions.

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Tapestry:
The Tapestry was the Atlantean concept of the world as a whole, before it was fragmented.

Today, the Tapestry is divided in the Lower Depths, the Lower World (which is further divided into the Material Realms and the Spiritual Realms) and the Upper world. Their division was created through the hubris of the Dreamers and the Celestial Ladder which shattered reality and allowed the Abyss to seep into being. The forces of the 16 Arcana bind these different Worlds together and maintain stability and order.

During the time of Atlantis, mages thought of the 16 Arcana as threads that created the known worlds. Only by understanding the threads could a Mage weave them into Patterns of his own devising. The Atlanteans also pondered the reasons behind their art. They knew with certainty that there was more to reality than what met the common eye, and that there was more than one state of existence beyond the material. They believed that behind the many forms and shapes of things, the world was in fact One, heaven and earth together in a single continuum. Subtle veils divided the realms and states of being from one another, separating high from low and creating the illusion of division. Through Ascension, a Mage was able to transcend this illusion and become a being of all Worlds by returning to the supernal fires that created everything.

Tass: Tass is the concrete, physical expression of Quintessence. These bits of pure Prime can often be used to fuel a Mage's magical undertakings.

If one is accustomed to thinking of the raw Quintessence as a pool, then think of Tass as Quintessence temporarily frozen like ice, floating on the surface of this larger sea. In time, this Tass will "melt," eventually flowing back into the infinite pool of Quintessence that first spawned it. Until it does however, Tass may be used by Mages to lend power to their magic and to fuel their mystical Talismans.

Tass collects in certain Nodes where energies gather in physical objects. Tass is sometimes affected by the form in which it manifests, unlike the pure Quintessence from which it springs. Quintessence stored in the waters of a holy spring may lend itself to healing, while that stored in the mushrooms of a faerie ring may cause the magic powered by them to have unpredictable side effects. A Mage should be aware of this Resonance and use this resource accordingly. Tass also infuses the bodies of Otherkin -- werewolves, faeries, and the like -- and it may be harvested from them. Needless to say, such creatures are less than happy to sacrifice themselves for a Mage's convenience. More than a few mages have paid the ultimate price for such presumption.

Triggering, Triggered:
Kindred can be Triggered by high amounts of emotional stress, commonly extreme sadness or anger can cause them to be Triggered. When an Otherkin is Triggered, their Aspected form is visible to Awoken. This is a unconscious act and they have no control over it. They will retract back to their normal form after the initial wave of emotion passes and as such, it does not last long. When in the presence of Triggered Kin, an Awoken's pupil dilates till it covers the entire eye in blackness and reflects the Kindred's Aspected form.

Torpor:
The state of deep slumber that Vampires enter into for prolonged periods of time. Torpor may be entered into voluntarily by Vampires, such as when one seeks to escape the monotony of eternal life and awaken in a different age, or, more commonly, involuntarily, as when a Vampire starves, is staked, or suffers damage sufficient to kill a mortal.

The amount of time one spends in torpor depends on the reason for hibernating and the Vampire's strength against the Beast. Torpor is particularly common among elders, who often feel a great ennui after centuries of unlife or who wish to sleep through certain ages and rise again during more "interesting" times.

In short periods, Torpor is merely a deeper state of stasis compared to the sleep Vampires normally experience during daylight hours. Torpor is described as a relatively dreamless state where the vampire's body is preserved (unless suffering from lack of blood) and does not require sustenance. Sufficiently strong-willed individuals may maintain some degree of consciousness.

In longer periods of time, Torpor is often a disturbing experience where the Vampire's mind wanders through memories of one's Requiem and their mortal existence. These events are relived over and over, each time seeing different outcomes, different participants, different precedents. This can cloud a Vampire's memory to such an extent that they cannot clearly remember events that occurred before their last stint of Torpor, an effect called the Fog of Eternity.

During this time the body swiftly dries out and takes on the appearance of being mummified. The skin contracts around the bones, the eyes dry out and sink into their sockets, hair become fine and brittle. The muscles of one's mouth retreat, forming a rictus around the teeth. To all appearances, the Vampire is a long dead corpse.

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Underworld, The:

Upperworld, The:
The Upperworld is a higher "plane" of existence from which all magic springs. It is the platonic, symbolic underlying "source code" of reality. Consisting of symbols, it expresses the underlying "Patterns" of the things found in the Lower World. Together, these symbols of what Is form a cohesive whole referred to as the Tapestry. Mages often draw diagrams arranging the Upper, Lower, and other worlds based on their supposed mystical connections, but these fall apart when others posit (and even experimentally verify) different relationships. When sorcerers try to integrate the perspectives of other supernatural beings, these maps degrade into convoluted, contradictory messes.

The Upperworld is not a physical location in the traditional sense. Instead, it is all around us, but the Lie and limited human perception hinder mortals to perceive it in all its glory. Mages can see it or at least catch glimpses of it in the form of Mysteries, but even they are limited by their Path that allows them only to perceive a slightly skewed version of the Supernal, corresponding with the Watchtower he connected with.

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Void, The:

Vorcion:
A disease that can be spread through consumption, copulation (vaginal and anal), as well as injection and is highly contagious. An Otherkin infected with the fatal strain will begin weakening, losing their strength and even power. Within an hour or so, the virus can be visibly seen spreading through the victims' skin by looks of their veins darkening to a blueish black color that slowly covers the victims. Over time, the veins will cover the victim's entire body appearing where major veins and arteries are held. The victim also experiences pain and discomfort which increases as the virus destroys its host from the inside out. Many hours after exposure to infection, the virus saps its victims powers and strength completely, and they will begin to feel extremely hot all over their body which may perpetuate to a burning sensation all over as the victim comes near their true death. It appears the average victim will succumb to their affliction within 24-48 hours after first exposure to the virus, if delivered directly by injection. It also accelerates the Kindred's metabolism, causing them to need to feed excessively. This hunger tends to drive the infected to savagery and brutality out of desperation that they would not normally exhibit.

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Watchtowers, The:

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