Glossary

Grand Normandy in general and the Dedicated Cavalry in particular have their own jargon and slang.

base, basal zone, la zone basale, home zone

The set of dimensions containing our Earth.

base-Earth

Our Earth, here in the home zone.

bronco

Cavalry slang for a boisterous centaur.

cayuse

Cavalry slang for an eccentric centaur.

Chenelaise

The native language of Grand Normandy, a creole of English and French, with borrows from many other languages.

chevalin, horsey

Having more equine features than those defining a centaur, e.g., oval pupils, furry ears, a trace of mane. Not usual, but not terribly rare either.

cousin

Used as a casual term of address or endearment by centaurs to or of horses and sometimes donkeys or mules. The benandante then picked it up and use it for canines. Merfolk do not use it of fish; there are limits.

DC

Dedicated Cavalry, in full the Royal Dedicated Cavalry of Grand Normandy, the branch of the Grand Norman military composed of centaurs.

frer

Pronounced with the same vowel as in "air." The Chenelaise form of frère, "brother," not only used literally and ecclesiastically but as a term of endearment, but markedly warmer and more individual than "brother" has been used as in "Brother, can you spare a dime?" or "Brother, you said it!" or "bruv" or "bro" in modern usage in the monde-minor.

horse-simple, stallion-simple, colt-simple

Dedicated Cavalry jargon for a natural horse, stallion, or colt. The terms are needed because the centaurs consider that they are now horses (specifically stallions, occationally colts), just as they conside that they are still men, still human. "Mare-simple" and "filly-simple" are not used because the transformation doesn't work on women.

jockeys, jockey-boys, jockey-girls

Slang for members of the Standard Cavalry. Not necessarily insulting.

man-simple, human-simple

Dedicated Cavalry jargon for an untransformed human, coined to underline their conviction that they are still men, still human, even if they are also now horses. "Woman-simple" is not used because the transformation does not work on women.

le monde majeur, the monde-major

The big world, the world of both prosaic and esoteric, natural and supernatural, events. Someone who lives in the monde-major is a mondain-major, or un mondain-majeur or une mondaine-majeure, according to gender.

le monde mineur, the monde-minor

The little world, what we would call the ordinary world, the world minus supernatural events. Someone who lives in the monde-minor is a mondain-minor, or un mondain-mineur or une mondaine-mineure, according to gender.

out-zones

Zones that are little known or hard to reach, interdimensional frontier territories so far as Grand Normandy is concerned.

para-zones, alter-zones

Zones other than the home zone (q.v.).

passages

Paths or portals from one zone to another. Many require magic to open or to walk.

pips

Local Ufham slang for first-year recruits to the Dedicated Cavalry, under the tutelage of Capt. Philip Fletcher. "Pip" is sometimes a nickname for "Philip."

plug

Slang for an infirm or elderly centaur.

plug-soldier

Derisive slang for a member of the Dedicated Cavalry.

pony-boys

Slang for members of the Dedicated Cavalry. Not necessarily insulting (unlike "plug-soldiers").

SC

Standard Cavalry, in full the Royal Cavalry of Grand Normandy, the branch of the Grand Norman military composed of people riding horses and vehicles.

se'r

Pronounced with the same vowel as in "air." The Chenelaise form of soeur, "sister," not only used literally and ecclesiastically but as a term of endearment, but markedly warmer and more individual than "sister" has been used as in "Sister, you said it!" or "sis" in modern usage in the monde-minor.

Sundering

The luck that hides magic. Try to bring the supernatural to public attention and bad luck will make you fail. Try to hide the supernatural from public attention and good luck will help you. No one knows why.

zones

Other worlds, other dimensions. Some are cosmic in size, like the home zone (q.v.) but most are small, the size of a continent or less.

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