Glossary

Twenty terms, the way couriers use them. Fictional vocabulary for a fictional world.

Fictional glossary

AF

“After the Fall.” The year-count of the Ruins. Nobody agrees what year it is now; estimates run from AF 18 to AF 31.

The grey belt where dust never settles. Goggles mandatory, landmarks few.

Terraced ruins on the old hillside, climbed past Lampwright lanterns.

The faction that holds the water — cisterns, filters, rationing.

The unheard voice of the Relay: route assignments over the wire. Maybe one person, maybe three.

The sunken avenue, ankle-deep in black water; crossed by plank and rope.

Rumored people of the flooded service levels. Unconfirmed by every faction.

Raiders of the open ground. They never touch a sealed Relay parcel.

The season the coastal megacity died. Every account disagrees; the site picks no version.

The embankment road along the dead waterfront. Fast, flat, watched.

Nights when enclaves burn signal flares; the sky goes orange and the routes go quiet.

The Sunken Market’s traders’ compact. Everything for sale, nothing as labeled.

Keepers of the signal lanterns and flare towers along the Cinder Steps.

The courier network: way-stations, a code, and a wax seal. Mia’s guild.

The Relay’s internal credit, honored at every station counter.

The linked rooftops and cable spans above the streets, run by the Wire Choir.

The remains of the coastal megacity. The whole world, as far as the routes go.

The dead harbor bed. Fastest open ground, most exposed.

What non-couriers pay to drink at a station. Couriers drink on the house.

The rooftop runners’ crew. Young, loud, brilliant on the cables.

This glossary is fictional vocabulary for Mia Rowan’s fictional world. All artwork is AI-generated dramatization art. See About This World.