Disclaimer: Only a couple of these are my own. They all come from the Pedia threads from Fall Further, Fall Further Plus or Orbis.
DWARVEN SHADOW
Though they may be a loud and boisterous folk, Dwarves can be effective at espionage and precision strikes. However, even in the shadowy arts, Dwarves have no qualms about using indiscreet force in order to accomplish their objectives.
While Esus' Shadows normally strike at the weakest point within enemy ranks, Dwarven Shadows up the ante: they eliminate vulnerable targets through the usual methods of poison and blades, but supplement these with bombs and other explosive secrets of Dwarven lore. They do not mind if non-critical targets get caught in the spectacular results of their craft: most consider that a bonus as a matter of fact.
Though not as precise as the other servants of Esus, one cannot deny their effectiveness and efficiency. Armies facing these arsonist-assassins often find their adepts and magicians dead, while the rest of their forces end up horribly maimed or on fire.
RELIQUARY
The Elohim are a spiritually-attuned people, and many who have passed on leave behind relics in order to teach future generations lessons from the past. Despite the health hazard of exhibiting the remains of the dead to the public, the Elohim preserve these artifacts in Reliquaries. From ordinary labourers to their soldiers, every citizen of the Elohim finds the guarded treasures of their Reliquaries a window to enlightenment.
In turn, when their time comes, they too will pass on their lessons in life to those who walk in the halls of the Reliquary. Thus, enlightenment has come full circle.
NIGHTMARE
It's a horse. We've fought demons, dragons and liches, and you're scared of a horse? I mean, really, a horse is a horse, even in these blasted lands. I'm just gonna offer her an apple and see what happens.
--Private Mortimer, last words
AIRSHIP
A unique invention of the Kuriotate engineer and sage Mootus Pont, the Airship allows men to soar over sea and mountains effortlessly.
AUREALIS
The being shone with a light so bright that the orcs raised their shields to save their eyes, but the heat as it reached toward them burned the flimsy defense to ash. The smell of charred orc-flesh filled the air as the servant of Lugus stepped among them.
DWARVEN SLINGER
Being a short and stout people, the Dwarves have an understandably difficult time using bows; as such, they utilize a simpler yet surprisingly effective method of ranged combat: slings. Being around rocks all the time probably helped too.
A Dwarf using a sling is not to be underestimated. Though the sling may not have the range of a traditional bow, the sheer alacrity and accuracy of which Dwarves can sling stones at targets have surprised many of their foes. Some Dwarves even go so far as to refine their weaponry and ammunition: high quality slings with metallic shot can halt a charge as well as a flurry of arrows.
HORSE
A Hippus without a Horse.
Lanun phrase meaning useless
IRONCLAD
"One thing's for sure: if it ain't going to sink us, it's going to sink itself." - Shipwright Jones of the Lanun vessel 'Danalin's Hand'
Ever since they left the Underhome, the Khazad had to learn all the nuances of mercantilism and trade. One of these is the power of merchant shipping: masses of goods and luxuries can often be sold overseas for greater profit than peddling them to nearby nations.
However, where profit goes, so too will thieves. Foremost of these sea dogs are the Lanun, whose expertise with naval combat have earned them a reputation amongst sea traders as the pirates of Erebus. One could even say that the Lanun have built an empire on dwarven gold.
Not to be deterred by the seafaring Lanun in their quest for profit, the Khazad have commisioned a new type of ship to protect their sealanes. With a light but strong metal alloy covering the ship's hull and an extra cannon deck in lieu of a cargo hold, the Ironclad is an indomitable force on the seas. It may not look seaworthy, but this leviathan can outshoot and outsail the biggest ships the enemy of the Khazad can build.
WAR TORTOISE
When the Hippus first heard that the Lanun were fielding tortoises in combat, they responded with laughter, wondering just how the Lanun expected to win a battle with something so profoundly ridiculous.
After witnessing the Lanun War Tortoises in action, and discovering they had a particular appetite for horseflesh, the laughter stopped.
A War Tortoise is essentially a small, armored bunker built atop one of the Giant Tortoises that roam the seas and prove the bane of many a captain. Giant Tortoises are, in of themselves, startlingly deadly creatures, capable of wrecking ships, crushing and swallowing a fully armored centaur in a single bite, and striking anything that gets too close to their mouths before their victim has a chance to react. Add to that a Lanun rider, goading the beast into moving with unnerving speed, and you have a weapon that can change the tide of war and render a mountain pass practically impassable. How the Lanun managed to tame and control the foul-tempered beasts is a closely guarded secret, and other Lanun forces generally give the War Tortoises a wide berth, often fearing the creatures more than their own enemies.
MOTHERLODE
Deep in the Underhome, there is a cavern held most sacred by the children of Kilmorph. Within lies a massive crystal of Earth mana, the largest ever found by the Khazad in their underground expeditions. To the dwarves, this crystal was a blessing from the Earth Mother.
When they first struck into the cavern, the latent mana seeped out into the rest of the Underhome. Veins of gold literally grew into the rock, simultaneously enriching and endangering the dwarves as their halls came under assault from the shifting earth. From then onwards, only the highest of the priesthood of the dwarves is permitted within the hallowed chamber, for such power is not to be manipulated on a whim.
Now that the Khazad have begun their quest to establish an empire upon the surface of Erebus, perhaps the dwarves may have a reason to release the power of the Motherlode once more. The land itself will rise, and mines will run with a temporary but bountiful river of gold on the command of the Khazad leader. Surely the Khazad will have a use for their newly-arrived wealth; whether for war or peace.
DRAGON'S HOARD
"Yes, I have seen the mighty pile o' treasures that the great dragon Acheron has gathered over the years. A mountain of gold, it is. The dragon's got at least half o' all the treasures in the world in there. I was but a small lad when I stumbled upon it... What? When I was on one of my adventures of course. How did I escape? With a magical crown of invisibility I found in the pile. Are you calling me a liar?"
- Old Heb, "retired adventurer" and a regular at the Three Cups Tavern
GUILD OF NINE
"Sure I likes it. I get to do what I loves and paid at the same time."
- Hofan, Ogre Mercenary
ADVENTURER
"They always want to put in your place. A peg for every hole, a shoe for every foot. Well ever since I was a lad I did what I wanted and not what was expected of me. No, I've lived a square life in a world full of round holes. Oh I do the bidding of the good Minister Koun alright, but I do it on my terms and my way. Course I can do this because I know the Golden Gule: those who produce results get to make their own rules!"
Adventurer Sefar Yetziras to that evenings light-o-loves at the Dancing Sea Turtle tavern
HISTORY: The Grigori pride themselves in casting off of old ways of thought and not wedding themselves to any one dogma. Yet every society has its rules and laws that bind them together. The Adventurers of the Grigori chafe at even these light restrictions and thus are some of the most adaptable of Erebus. Even the Balseraph Mimics would be hard pressed to match the Adventurers ability to be what is needed when needed.
GROVE
"As the sun reaches its zenith, here we stand under the open sky. How different then the cool semi-darkness of the forest. Here we hear but the birds and not the constantly rustle of the woods. Why are we here? Why after all these months of teaching you the skills of the woods, the sounds, the smells and the dangers? We are here because it is a center point. Everything has a center point; a place where it is quiet and one is at peace. This quiet, this grove, is what you must learn before you can truly be a master of beasts. Because it is learning this quiet center that will allow you to track without thought, wait in ambush without boredom and track without thought, only through the various smells and sounds just 'appearing' in your mind. The forests are never truly silent, but in the quiet of your center you will be able to sort through a find what others would say is untraceable."
Faun Elder Onondaga Wyandot before his class of aspirant Battlemasters
HISTORY: A forest is like the sea, a vast verdant blanket of life with it's own sounds and rhythms. Tracking and taming this forest is often a solitary existence where often one does not see aught but animals for many moons. Yet for these forest walkers, a grove is a place of community, a place to walk out from under the tree canopy and see the stars and feel the wind without it being first tasted by the trees. In coming together in the open, the forest born accept the antithesis of their lives and know it makes their amazing skills possible.
BATH HOUSE
A bath a day, keeps impurities away
Bannor saying - source unknown
CAVE OF THE ANCESTORS
...and not shortly after, Dains resolve paid of, and ,during his following journey into the lands of the Momus he discovered the cave holding the trials of Kylorin, which he passed, and, as such, he ascended to the rank of Archmage among the Amurites.
Not much is known about the ordeals in the original cave, but Dain must have been severely impressed, because, after he became the Caswallawn, he made every candidate archmage take the tests and even having mages take parts of it as suited their studies for a trial. It is said that Dain himself passes these trials himself on a regular basis to keep himself sharp.
-Biographies of the Caswallawns, part XXIX 327-362 AoR
Chapter 10: Dains ascension to Caswallawn; Paragraph 2: Kylorins trials
Baruk the unrelenting
BATTERING RAM
“Don’t let your blood freeze my lad; we’ll get through and then there will be fine plunder. I’ve been sworn to Asena for many a year and if there is one thing I’ve learned is every city thinks their walls were designed by the best Amurite sages and built by Kilmorph’s chosen dwarven masons. Ha! With a little muscle and some stout wood you’ll see how yonder wall is merely an impressive lie!”
Doviello soldier Laif Svenson to his nephew prior to the sack of Kaserlorne
HISTORY: Prior to the Age of Winter, vast fortresses dotted the land and the working of stone was an art known to a level that would make today’s dwarves hold their skills cheap. Most of this knowledge was lost and when the ice receded and new cities emerged, cities lacked the complex stone fortifications of the past. Thus for many a year a combination of wood, strength and bravery was all that was needed to breach the flimsy palisades of the early cities of Erebus.
TACTICS: While not as effective as catapults or cannons, the battering ram has the advantage of being able to be carried by melee units. This is especially useful after the development of Horse Riding and the ability to gain the Movement I promotion and thus axemen/swordsmen units can carry their own siege weapons and keep up a quick speed into enemy territory. The Khazad and Doviello’s racial ability to create battering rams from forests tiles frees up production of even more combat units.
MANA NODE
"The glow, the wonderous glow..."
Victim of the Tanshir incident, following the first Amurite Rite of Oghma
As recorded by Prof. Selsten of the University of advanced uses for enchantment magic
-Cevedes, summer solstice 412 AoR
History
The essence of magic, the very purest of its forms is mana. Mana can be shaped and influenced in myriad curious ways for each kind of magic there is. Mana can be found on those points where flows of power cross, crossings of Ley lines. There mana comes to the surface pure and undiluted (and in far larger quantities than actually needed). Similarily the Rites of Oghma use knowledge of these Ley lines and raw power to split one of them, making new crossings and shifts in power through which new sources of mana appear.
PUBLIC BATHS
"Welcome to our establishment! Come, I shall show you the way. Here we have the caldarium where you can feel take a proper hot bath. If heat isn't to your temper, then along here with have the tepidarium were the water is deliciously warm. Then for those in need of a refresher, a quick jump into the frigidarium will get your blood pumping!. A special treat after a long day at diplomatic table; we have one of the new sudatorium, where the moist steam will loosen tense muscles. For those disliking humidity, the dry steam of laconicum is for you! This way to the vestibule where you can disrobe in private."
Owner of the Thermae, Poldi Federigo, greeting the Hippus diplomatic party to the Mechanos
HISTORY: Public baths are important places in many of the cultures of Erebus. Often built as public monuments, they are used by everyone, whether rich or poor, free or slave. A person could eat, exercise, read, drink, shop, socialize, and discuss politics.
When asked by a visiting Doviello chieftain why he bathed once a day, an Amurite governor is said to have replied "Because I do not have the time to bathe twice a day."
Governors, Dukes and other powerful nobles often built baths to gain favor for themselves and to create a lasting monument of their generosity. A rich man who wish to gain the favor of the people may arrange for a free admission day in his name. For example, a Baron with ambitions to a higher standing might pay all admission fees at a particular bath on his birthday to become well known to the people of the area and thus become widely seen as kind and generous.
ARENA
"He did not care any more... life and death... the same. Only that the crowd would be there to greet him with howls of lust and fury. He began to realize his sense of worth... he mattered. In time, his victories could not easily be counted... he was taken to the East and where the best Mimics would teach him their deepest secrets. Language and writing were also made available, the poetry of the Kuriotates, the philosophy of the Grigori; and he also came to know the pleasures of women, when he was bred to the finest stock. Yet for all of the fame and the roar of the crowd, deep within him he remembered his Doviello heritage and knew one day he would be free and then he'd have his revenge for that day when the Taskmasters burnt his village.."
'Chronicles of Khonahn: The Road from Rage to Power' - Thadan Welhm, Amurite sage
HISTORY: The clang of arms, the swearing of drill masters, the smell of leather and sweat is what is found in most training yards across Erebus. Yet in the lands of the Balseraph, this training isn't kept hidden but exploited for entertainment. Mistakes that would get a upcoming soldier extra detail or a cuff to the side of the head bring boos and often a death sentence. Those who survive their training and able to please the fickle crowds are often the most dangerous (if flamboyant) of all warriors of Erebus. Often these crafty warriors join the elite ranks of the Mimics, famed for their ability to ape their enemies abilities.
BLASTING WORKSHOP
"You see, my boys, it is a marriage of sorcery, craftsmanship, and to be frank, a lot of luck. That our golems can throw fire is wondrous enough to our enemies but most never think of the real wonder in how we are able to do this in the first place! I mean who would have thought a love sick sorcerer's attempt to make a crystal that would carry a flicker of flame inside forever to give to the lady who had constantly spurned him would end up being the discovery that gave our golems a power usually reserved for mages? By my father's beard, Kilmorph certainly smiled upon us that day!"
Lurchirp Crystalsmith Harin Forkbeard to a new group of apprentices
HISTORY: After the accidental discovery of embedding a crystal with mana from a fire node, Lurchirp craftsmen have used a process one part alchemy, one part sorcery, and one part mechanics to gift their golems with the ability to cast fireballs. Yet for all their jewelers care, the making of such crystals is fraught with danger as often times the crystal explode under the strain, making the blasting workshop a odd mix of precision workshop, jewelry shop and armored bunker.
ENCLAVE
"Move to the city? Have you had to much mead on this your wedding day? Out here we make our own rules to run our day to day affairs. We make our own friends, whether they be orc or elf; I would like to see you do that in town and get ahead in society no matter what people say about tolerance. No, as long as we pay our taxes, don't deface any of the monuments to His Most Royal Majesty and keep quiet, we are as much lords then any Bannor Baron or Calibim Governor. Cities! Phagh! There the lowest tax collector ends up being your master!"
Miller Foran Jopspur to his son and new wife, somewhere in the Kuriotate hinterlands
HISTORY: While many civilizations try to keep an iron grip on their lands, the Kuriotates took a counter-intuitive path. By keeping strict control of growth in the King's hand could easily have brought resentment to the masses. Yet in this total control, the Kuriotates allow almost unlimited freedom to their enclaves. Thus any disgruntled citizens in the Royal cities can easily leave to the enclaves and live as they please. In time the disgruntlement turns to loyalty to a King willing to allow his people so much direction in their own lives. Even when the tides of war turn against the Kuriotates and many an enclave is conquered by a foe, the independent minded folk bide their time, secure in knowing the Dragon Blessed God-King will come for them in the fullness of time, never in their hearts giving in to the oppression set upon them.
FLAGBEARER
No sooner did we kill one than five more of those accursed god-botherers would scuttle up and take his place.
Gritkan Goreguts explaining to Jonas Endain why the Clan of Embers was defeated by the Bannor in the Battle of Calmor Plain
No Membership or one of the economic techs
"Some men wager smart money on Somnium, the arena, or the battlefield. But the smartest money of all is the coin that stays in the pouch."
Kelsie, Barmaid at The Bent Nail.
AIR MANA
Why do I like studying air magic? Oh sure, you don't get to hurl fireballs or raise the dead. But it's great fun. More an art then a science, really, with plenty of room for creativity. You can completely wing it, not learn a single formal spell, and still do well just by willpower and ingenuity. Besides, controlling the wind has many suprising uses, especially considering the length of most girl's skirts these days.
-Adept Morin
BODY MANA
"Are all mages that... big?" "No, that's Tyr, the school's body magic specialist." "He must get a lot of ladies." "Actually, too much time around raw body mana has some unfortunate side-effects... You see, Tyr's actually a woman. Don't worry, it's a common mistake."
-Adept Morin and his younger brother
CHAOS MANA
Don't you see? Chaos is life! Without chaos, we would be nothing but clockwork men! But with chaos, life is interesting. Life is worth living. Some people waste their lives seeking order and stability. These people have no sense of fun.
-Archmage Luke
That was awesome...
-Archmage Luke, last words
DEATH MANA
They say that a necromancer needs the curiosity to follow the darkest paths, the courage to keep going when he realizes where that path leads, and a bit of insanity to keep from having nightmares about what he finds on the other side. This is true. But I assure you, the most important part of being a necromancer is public relations. For some reason, raising the dead is unpopular amongst the common folk.
-Dasan, Necromancer
EARTH MANA
You can tell a lot about a mage by their preferred sphere. Take Korven there. Earth adept. Not too bright, but honest. He's hardworking and a bit stubborn. He might not get the spell right the first time, but he'll try again until he can do it on a whim. It takes him twice as long to learn a spell, but when he gets the hang of it he'll do it twice as well.
-Adept Morin
ENTROPY MANA
For any nonmagical process, you cannot get out more energy then you put in. At first, magic was assumed to be different; you could put in the effort of a few words and get raw energy out, more than you put in. Interestingly, we've been studying the inner workings of magic and have found that with every spell, a little power gets... lost. We even determined where that power ends up, and have recently managed to harness that "lost" power...
-3rd entry in Archmage Fulton's journal
We live such short lives. A single death, a hundred deaths, a million deaths... I'd sacrifice them all. People live their pathetic little lives and then die. Nobody really matters on this dying rock. But I'd like to at least enjoy my time on this wretched world before I go to Hell.
-12th entry in Archmage Fulton's journal
FIRE MANA
Mages. I used to laugh at them. Scrawny little buggers with words and chants and charms. Weaklings more interested in watching stars and experimenting than feeding their families. Then I saw one make it rain fire. I don't laugh at mages any more.
-Thoros, Doviello warrior
LAW MANA
The Law Magic class? By Oghma, I could barely stay awake through it. Those people are crazier than Balseraphs. No, I mean it. Anyone who, when given the almost limitless potentials of magic, chooses to can it up and bind it to a bunch of complicated and seemingly arbitrary laws is simply not right in the head.
-Adept Morin
LIFE MANA
Some mages want to play with fire, toy with death, gamble with chaos. They called me a coward for sticking with the powers of life. They're all dead now, some slain by an assassin sent by one of their numerous enemies, some killed in their mad experiments, some corpses upon some gods-forsaken battlefield. I, meanwhile, have a beautiful wife, a fine estate in the country, three children, and an excellent retirment pension.
-Mirthan, life mage
MIND MANA
I used to be paranoid, yeah. I thought everyone was out to get me, without any reason. So I decided I'd learn some magic, so nobody could stab me in the back. Now I can look into the deepest thoughts of those around me. And they all thought I was paranoid. Which I was. Now, however, I know they're not out to get me. Because I'm out to get them.
-Bjorn, mage and amatuer assassin
NATURE MANA
I tell ya, all the best looking girls in this school study nature magic. Don't ask me why, but they do. Now, I'd love to ask one out on a date, but the only time they're alone is when they meditate in the woods. Surrounded by woodland animals... including ones that would happily eat me.
-Adept Morin
ICE MANA
If you're stuck taking an Ice Magic class, bring a coat, no matter how hot it is outside. Make sure it has a really thick hood, so you can use it as a pillow. Oh, sure, every so often that doddering fool does something impressive, but for the most part, you get to hear an old windbag complain about how he'd trudge twenty miles, uphill both ways, just for a chance to polish Kylorin's boots.
-Adept Morin
ENCHANTMENT MANA
I don't consider myself a mage. You see, mages are arrogant. Half of them are useless fools who turn good food into daydreams, and the other half would blow up a city just to see what patterns the debris would make. I am a craftsman, who just happens to use magic to make swords sharper, hammers strike more true, and armor withstand more abuse then steel alone can.
-Flavius, Bannor enchanter
WATER MANA
HORATIUS: What element could be mightier than water? It extinguishes the flames when all others perish before them. It gnaws ceaselessly at the earth, never tiring til in time it has worn even the greatest mountain down to the smallest speck of sand. Even the wind is it's servant, scattering raindrops so that all may know it's manifold blessings. With such power at our call, what threat could ever endanger our glorious republic?
-Excerpt from The Vanity of the Aifons, Bernado Juvenal