glossary
The words you'll need — thirty terms, from bark-owl to wisp-keeper.
bark-owl
Enormous camouflaged owls of the Silver Wood; the school’s unofficial night watch. See bestiary.
beast-tending
One of the five disciplines: the care, study, and diplomacy of magical creatures.
bridge-builders
The unofficial student society behind the campus’s 100+ bridges; membership by contribution of one bridge.
crag cup
The annual dueling contest between elf school and the storm school.
cycle
A year in the moon count. The current cycle is 1444.
dark weeks
The short breaks between terms.
deep root
One of the five houses; also, a student of it. Beast-tenders and ward-keepers.
deep wood
The untouched heart of the Silver Wood. Unmapped by agreement.
dueling (polite)
The formal art of spellweaving contests. Strict rules, padded outcomes.
exchange table
The student society hosting gnome and dwarf exchange scholars.
finder moth
A moonmoth trained to seek out prospective students each spring.
forbidden shelf
The restricted shelf of the moonwell library; shrinking by about one book a year.
frostmoth
One of the five orders; also the creature. Starlore scholars, nocturnal even by elf standards.
full term
The bright term (Highsun–Harvest): advanced work and championships.
herbcraft
One of the five disciplines: the living pharmacy of the wood.
lantern exam
The admissions trial: light a lantern, carry it lit, answer one question.
lantern festival
The year’s great feast, 9th night of Starfall: lanterns, the moon cup, graduation.
laws of magic
The five laws governing spellweaving: moonlight, cost, consent, rune, return. See laws of magic.
moon count
The school’s calendar, kept by the order of the frostmoth.
moon cup
The inter-house competition trophy, awarded at the lantern festival.
moon-gate
The crescent arch marking the school’s boundary; also the school’s emblem.
moon-guide
A senior student assigned to each new arrival.
moonmoth
The school’s post, practice partner, and mascot. See bestiary.
moonwater
Water that absorbs moonlight and releases it slowly; powers the library’s glow.
nightingale
One of the five orders. Keepers of music, tongues, and memory.
open archive
Headmistress Lirien’s reform: gradually opening the library’s restricted shelves.
runes
One of the five disciplines: the written grammar of magic, carved not spoken.
silent night
One night per term with no spoken magic — only runes, gesture, and song.
silver stag
One of the five houses; also the protected wild creature. See bestiary.
sorting lantern
The first-term ceremony assigning students to houses.
spellweaving
One of the five disciplines: shaping moonlight and will into effect.
starlore
One of the five disciplines: reading the sky — navigation, calendars, foresight.
storm schism
The cycle-1055 split that founded the storm school. See school history.
thorned rose
One of the five houses. Healers, herbcraft masters, best cooks.
unbinding
The graduation ceremony: the student’s ribbon untied from the founders’ grove.
waning term
The deep term (Leaffall–Starfall): exams, the lantern festival, graduation.
ward
A lasting protective working, carved in runes. The school’s bones are full of them.
waxing term
The growing term (Snowmelt–Birdsong): arrivals and foundations.
wisp-keeper
The elected student keeper of the glow-wisp path-lanterns.
wisp-racing
The student sport of racing glow-wisps. The wisps always win.