River Twine Holt Glossary

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Glossary of Elfin Terms

agemate" - friend about the same age

arrow-whip - missile weapon made with a flexible stick and leather strap; designed to give a dart more distance.

Ayoooah - Wolfrider word/sound incorporated in to many different meanings

beesweets - honey or honeycomb

bellyworms - parasites that enter the stomach and cause malnutrition

Big Moon: larger of the two moons

bloodworm - river leech

bond-pack" - wolves allied with and ridden by Wolfriders

branch-horn - very large deer-like animal with spreading antlers (elk)

"By the Two Moons" - general exclamation of astonishment

capnut - acorn; also capnut tree is the oak

carrion birds - vultures, crows, etc.

cave slugs - slimy worms found in caverns

Child Moon - alternate name for the smaller of the two moons

cub / cubling - elfin Wolfrider child; plural "cubs" or "cublings"

den-hide - a practiced, coordinated defensive action in which all members of the tribe hide and keep silent on command

dreamberry - a berry that causes intoxication in elves when eaten fresh; fermented, it is hallucinogenic; can be poisonous to humans. Note -- the word dreamberry is not commonly capitalized.

dreamberry talk - drunken babbling

dreamberry vision - a hallucination

eightday - elven equivalent for a week

elf-friend - a wolf's particular Wolfrider

Firstcomers - refers to the first elf arrivals in the world (their children were High Ones, but not Firstcomers)

fisher bird - water bird similar to kingfisher

flesh worms - parasites that infest the flesh of living creatures

furmate - a casual lover

"High Ones" - used as curse or blessing; refers collectively to the pureblooded elves who first arrived on the world, and to their pureblooded children.

Holt - both a generalized term for the entire territory claimed by the elves, and in context, the immediate area where the Dentrees are located. Note: the term Holt is always capitalized.

Howl - Wolfrider ceremony in honor of deceased elf or wolf, to tell stories about him/her and keep memories alive

itchleaf - poison ivy

joining - mating

kill-hunger - akin to a pack or "shark" feeding frenzy

kit / kitling - Wolfrider term for a female elf child

lifemate - term for elves who have formed a permanent relationship, usually (but not always) as a result of Recognition

Little Moon – the name of the smaller of the world’s two moons

lock-send - a sending directed to one individual only; a private sending.

lovemate - term for elves in a more serious relationship, but one that is not sparked by Recognition.

magic - power usable by elves to circumvent natural laws

Moon Madness - a state of dementia supposedly induced by both moons being full at the same time.

Mother Moon - an alternate name for the larger of the two moons.

"My Eyes See with Joy / My Hand Touches with Joy" – General elfin greeting, usually after an extended separation

mud rat - a small animal that hibernates

nut mush' / nutmash" - a) porridge; b) metaphorically, weakened to the point of uselessness

owl pellets - expletive for expressing disbelief

puckernuts - expression of distaste

ravvit - important note: although this term is mentioned in a BoTC novel, we do not use "ravvit" at RTH. Instead, we use "rabbit."

Recognition - entirely involuntary process - psychic link between two elves of the opposite sex whose progeny would improve the elven race; sometimes (but not always) results in lifemating. Note - the term "Recogition" is commonly captialized.

season of death sleep - interchangeable with Autumn or Fall

season of new green - interchangeable with Spring

season of white cold - interchangeable with Winter

shards – generally a curse, not certain from whence it derived. It does not, however, refer to the shards of the Palace -- the RTH elves do not know that the Palace is in shards, buried beneath their feet in the domain of the trolls. Most likely, it was derived from the process of knapping, which is what the tribe uses to make most of its stone weapons (arrow and spearheads, knives, etc.) Knapping would create lots of shards of flint and obsidian, which the elves would have to be careful to contain and clean up, or risk stepping on them or getting painful stone splinters. Thus, "shards" refers to something that is an everyday nuisance, potentially annoying or painful.

skyfire - lightning

skyfire storm - lightning storm

squirrel chatter - talking without making sense

soul-name - secret name devised by wolfriders to keep some part of themselves protected in a largely telepathic society. Note: the term is spelled soul-name, not soul name or soulname.

Sun Goes Down - west

Sun Comes Up - east

swamp rot - expression meaning that one's words are totally unbelievable

taal - elfin child's game similar to hide and seek

taal-stick - wand used by children playing taal to touch each other; each touch counting a point

The Way - the wolfrider’s way of life, which in general is respectful of all life.

touch-me-touch-you - child's game similar to tag

tree walker - one who is at home in the tops of trees and can move easily and silently from branch to branch

treewee - tarsier-like creature known for timidity and silliness

turn of the seasons or turn - one year

wolf-friend - term for an elf's bond wolf

wolf-nap - brief nap of a few minute’s duration, alternating with period of watchful wakefulness.

wolf-send - elfin method of communicating telepathically with his/her wolf

wolfsong - the "always now" state of mind of being perpetually in the present

woodworms - wood-boring insects

Preserver-Speak

angrytalk = arguing

beesweets = honey

belonging-time = when the Palace first landed, before the Firstcomers were scattered

big highthing-place = Palace

bigthing = anything bigger than a Preserver (later, comes to mean humans almost exclusively)

bigwet -- rivers, lakes, or the sea. Any large body of water. (Smaller bodies of water are generally called littlewets)

birdbasket = bird's nest

bitty bunches = small groups

bitty wingthing = winged insects

bushytail = rabbit

darks = nights

darksleep = unconsciousness

darktime = night

digdig = troll

growler = wolf

hangeydowns = hanging wrapstuff cocoons

hardstuff = rock

highthing = elf

homeplace = Palace

hometrees = the Dentrees / Holt

sleepyplace = cocoon den

snug-safe = sealed in wrapstuff

sparklebits = Palace shards

stillquiet = sleeping

think-do = magic

wrapstuff = (obvious)

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