Nothing is here 5

This is an extended glossary of terms and concepts for the setting-in-progress The Judges of Tehom.

Cerenim

Singular: Ceren

English Translation: Lord, or Aristocrat

The Cerenim are individuals who have caught the attention of the Tide's Eye. This can occur a number of ways:

• Individuals born

The Common Republic

See Dundaysalem.

Cosmopolis

A Cosmopolis is the name for a sovereign city-state on Tehom. As the name suggests, cosmopoli are centered on an urban, densely populated core that often has a large area of land and ocean that it uses for food and resource extraction. Due to automation, the amount of population needed in rural areas is very small. The most notable cosmopoli are the Seven Spires, the great powers among the Shoftim-lead cities, and Dundaysalem, the one cosmopolis that rejects the Shoftim and Cerenim.

Other cosmpoli include:

• Gilgal, built around a core of buildings originating from the original colonization effort. Drenched in history, it is paradoxically known for its acceptance of novelty and liberalism.

Dundaysalem

Dundaysalem, the "Little Horn" or "Barb", is the capital city of the Common Republic, the only major polity on Tehom that is not ruled by Shoftim. Cerenim are carefully monitored here, and greatly feared. The non-Cerenim populace that survived the Waste-Blessed Revolution came together, establishing a Republic from and in the ashes. They have developed seemingly alien rights that entertain the Tide's Eye by commemorating their lost and their dead, but never the living. Mores and laws exist to minimize the potential for celebrity and exalt the collective. They now exist in an uncomfortable cold war with the Seven Spires, as the Spires are not prepared to launch the full-scale war necessary to destroy an enemy state not lead by Shoftim. It is a "horn without a head," a thought that terrifies many within the Seven.

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Mevakeret Tavul

The Immersed Watcher. See The Tide's Eye

Mystics

Mystics are individuals, usually Cerenim, who proclaim a special insight into the actions and motives of the Tide's Eye. Some are charlatans, others are insane, though there are some have an uncanny ability to commune with the Tide's Eye.

Mystics who use their abilities in the service of a Spire or a Shoftim, making sure their actions produce the best reaction from the Eye, are often called Prophets.

The Seven Spires

The Seven Spires are the seven global cities under the command of Shoftim.

Shoftim

Singular: Shofet

English translation: Judge, or Governor

The Shoftim are Cerenim who hold an official office of some kind. They are the rulers, diplomats, and champions who are defined by their occupation. Many Cerenim avoid responsibilities, preferring a more fluid life as a dilettante or adventurer, Shoftim are invested in some social institution of society in an important and public way. They are not just a shareholder of a corporation, they are an executive. They are not just an artist, but a promoter of a style of art. They don't simply know how to fight, they are a general.

Generally speaking, the Tide's Eye often takes a special interest in Shoftim above and beyond the interest it has in Cerenim. In most places outside the Seven Spires

Tehom

Tehom is a primarily ocean world that was colonized by humanity several generations ago. Its terraforming was interrupted when the Tide's Eye took an interest in humanity.

The Tide's Eye

The Tide's Eye is the planetary consciousness of Tehom.

The Track

The Track is the integrated communication system of the

The Waste-Making War

Sometimes called the Waste-Blessed Revolution, the Waste-making War occured when three Spires wages total war on one another. The carnage and destruction was so terrible, that the most badly defeated Spire experienced an anti-Shoftim revolution that, shockingly, succeeded. Chaos ensued, and after much turmoil and betrayal, the Shoftim governments of all three spires was eradicated (along with muc of the infrastructure and population).