Called to Battle: Volume Two Read online

  Omegus: An ancient holy stone brought back from Urcaen by the Testament of Menoth. Said to be inscribed with Menite scripture never before seen by mortal eyes, the Omegus facilitates the ability of reclaimers to serve as guardians and conduits for the souls of the faithful after death.

  Ord: The small and resource-poor kingdom on the western coast between Khador and Cygnar, respected for its formidable navy. Ord has defended against Khadoran incursions with varied success in several border wars since the Iron Kingdoms were founded and has become a haven for mercenary companies profiting on the wars of other nations.

  Order of the Golden Crucible: The preeminent alchemists’ organization in western Immoren with branches in Cygnar, Ord, and Llael. The order earns a sizable portion of its money through the sale of commercial blasting powder used for firearm and cannon ordnance.

  Order of the Wall: The name of an ancient Menite martial order whose members trace their origins to Priest-King Valent of Thrace. These holy knights obey a distinct code and are singularly dedicated to the protection of the faithful. They seek to embody the Wall, one of the Gifts of Menoth.

  Orgoth: Term for both an empire and the fearsome race of men from an unknown continent to the west across the Meredius who invaded western Immoren and enslaved it for centuries. The Orgoth were driven from Immoren in 201 AR.

  paladin: See Order of the Wall.

  Praetorians: The backbone of the skorne warrior caste, soldiers of several fighting disciplines who serve their houses by following the hoksune code. Most Praetorians practice sword mastery, but others employ polearms and shields, while others subjugate and control ferox steeds to serve as cavalry.

  Protectorate of Menoth: A southeastern theocracy dedicated to the god Menoth and established in 484 AR at the end of the Cygnaran Civil War. Though it did not exist at the time of the Corvis Treaties, the Protectorate is considered the fifth Iron Kingdom.

  rangers: Primarily soldiers trained by the Cygnaran Reconnaissance Service in methods of survival, stealth, and secret communications. Rangers function as the scouts of the Cygnaran military. Informally this term can apply to other soldiers or warriors who are versed in wilderness fighting, including among the tribal Nyss.

  relic blade: Sacred swords entrusted to the Knights Exemplar that are inscribed with holy runes and purified by the prayers of Menite priests.

  Ripjaw: A Cryxian bonejack armed with a powerful armor-piercing bone saw and capable of tearing through even the armored hulls of heavy warjacks. First reported in 586 AR.

  Scharde Islands: An island group southwest of Cygnar, named after the largest island, which has become the heart of Cryx. The Nightmare Empire claims the majority of the Scharde Islands and preys upon those few that remain contested.

  Sinari: An originally nomadic ethnic group with darker skin tones than most other western Immorese and whose origins are lost to prehistory. Some who still identify as Sinari live in small communities scattered along the western coast of Immoren, but over the centuries many integrated with the local populations. There are a number of Thurians, Tordorans, and Khards who may have once been Sinari but who no longer identify as such.

  skorne: A race originating from eastern Immoren that crossed the Bloodstone Desert and Bloodstone Marches to make war on the west. The product of a harsh and brutally strict culture, they seem bent on the conquest of the Iron Kingdoms. The Skorne Empire boasts a highly disciplined and versatile army that employs a variety of enslaved beasts to fight alongside their soldiers.

  soul: In the cosmology of Caen, every member of any sentient race possesses an immortal soul composed of spiritual essence that encapsulates their identity, free will, and potential. Souls can be interacted with and manipulated by occult practices, an aspect of necromancy. Usually souls eventually cross to Urcaen after death, although Dhunians are instead reincarnated.

  soulhunter: A specific and powerful variant of thrall designed for speed and killing efficiency and comprising an undead human torso fused with the body of a Scharde-bred charger to which necromechanika has been integrated.

  steamjack: A steam-powered mechanikal construct designed in a variety of configurations and sizes, used for both labor and warfare throughout the Iron Kingdoms, Cryx, and Rhul.

  Sul: A western Protectorate city comprising what was once the portion of Caspia east of the Black River. The city was ceded to the newly formed Protectorate at the end of the Cygnaran Civil War in 484 AR. Named after Hierarch Sulon.

  swampies: A swamp-dwelling people, usually of Morridane or Arjun ancestry, most commonly found in Cygnar and eastern Ord. Swampies do not consider the term pejorative but these people are frequently subject to prejudice by city-dwellers who regard them as unsophisticated.

  Testament of Menoth: An already legendary warcaster of the Protectorate of Menoth who was known as the High Reclaimer until he accomplished an unprecedented journey to Urcaen and back, during which he secured the Omegus. The Testament of Menoth also serves as the head of the Reclaimant Order of the Sul-Menite faith. See also Omegus.

  Thamar: One of the Twins, sister to Morrow and a goddess who was once mortal but who ascended to divinity through occult study. Also known as the Dark Sister, Thamar is a widely despised god who emphasizes self-interest, self-empowerment, subversive acts, and freedom from the restraints of conventional morality. Her followers, called Thamarites, worship in secretive cults. Though no cohesive organization connects these groups, they exist in every major urban center of the Iron Kingdoms.

  Thornwood: A large forest that includes Cygnar’s northernmost territories and serves as a geographical barrier along the border shared with Khador. This forest is untamed and home to many dangers, including territorial trollkin kriels, wild trolls, Tharn tribes, gatormen, and beasts like the Thornwood mauler.

  titan: A bipedal and four-armed pachyderm used by the skorne in warfare.

  Tower Judgment: A massive fortress on the northwestern border of the Protectorate of Menoth that serves as barracks and prison as well as the central meeting place for the scrutator caste when they choose to gather outside the capital.

  trenchers: The second-most numerous infantry of the Cygnaran Army, trained to dig in and defend ground. Trencher units are typically armed with heavy rifles, hazer smoke grenades, and entrenching tools.

  trollkin: A hardy and intelligent race who live both in their own wilderness communities and within cities of man. Distantly related to the more savage and monstrous trolls, trollkin have a distinct appearance with colorful skin, usually blue in hue, with quills instead of hair and rock-like calcified growths on various parts of their bodies. They possess a complex and rich culture, including a written language. Most trollkin worship the goddess Dhunia.

  uiske: A distinctive and potent liquor distilled from roasted barley and water.

  Urcaen: A mysterious cosmological realm that is the spiritual counterpart to Caen. Most of the gods reside here, and it is where most souls spend the afterlife. Urcaen is divided between protected divine domains and the hellish wilds stalked by the Devourer Wurm.

  warcaster: An arcanist born with the ability to control steamjacks and connect to other mechanika with the power of the mind. With proper training warcasters become singular military assets and stand among the greatest officers and soldiers of western Immoren, entrusted to command scores of troops and their own battlegroups of warjacks in the field. Acquiring and training warcasters is a high priority for any military force that employs warjacks.

  Warden: Massive and slavishly obedient once-human creatures physically and mentally altered through a specialized sequence of horrors and surgical manipulations to protect their cephalyx masters. Unlike most cephalyx creations, wardens retain a glimmer of independent thought.

  warjack: A highly advanced and well-armed steamjack created or modified for war. Some warjacks use power sources other than steam and are not technically steamjacks but are still referred to as such as a matter of custom.

  Winter Guard: The largest grou
p of soldiers within the Khadoran Army representing the rank-and-file infantry. Unless they serve in some other capacity, nearly all male and many female Khadoran citizens are conscripted into the Winter Guard for a single tour of service. Guardsmen undergo brief but intensive military training, and most are equipped with relatively simple and inexpensive gear.

  Called to Battle: Volume Two

  Copyright © 2014 Privateer Press

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  First electronic printing: December 21st, 2014

  ISBN: 978-1-939480-80-4

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  Table of Contents

  MAP

  WELCOME TO THE IRON KINGDOMS

  MIND OVER MATTER

  A CASUALTY OF SCIENCE

  CONVICTION

  FLESH AND BONE

  GLOSSARY