Tally Road Glossary
Airestronn: A Nerre bloodline resembling blue point Siamese cats.
Aons: see Vraonse
Chos: Nerre curseword. Curiously, it translates as 'so what' or 'don't care', but is never used in anything resembling a literal sense.
Estrai: Vulpine alien race, known for their flamboyance and daring, and their defense of the Tompar race against Xarnax attack.
False Nerre: A Nerre who has violated protocol by mistake or mischance. Note that to Nerre there is no such thing as a Nerre intentionally violating protocol- this is deeply taboo, unthinkable.
Hovers: also- fliers, 'kitty flitty' (Runge slang). These are like 'ultralight' helicopters, with tubular frameworks and a foot-rest directly below the center of lift, two ducted-fan high-bypass micro-jet engines just strong enough to lift a Nerre, and handholds to control weight shifting.
Nerre: Feline alien race, known for their intensely rigid protocol and intolerance of any violations of it, intentional or unintentional.
Newstape: Runge device constituting a long tickertape-like strip licensed by advertisers- they pay you a small amount for placement of the newstape, in your home or office, and broadcast advertisements and headlines continually. If you select an ad or news story, both you and the supplier pay the newstape aggregator to have your inquiry connected to the information you're looking for.
Resten: Canine alien race, known for their well established class system and the beauty of their home planet.
Runge Knot Expanders: Do not work and pose health hazards, don't be a sucker.
Runge: Lupine alien race, known for their technological advances and the chaotic, nearly lawless state of their overcrowded worlds.
Taistronn: A Nerre bloodline resembling seal point Siamese cats.
Tally Road: A road that cuts through the mountains between Dennte and Verss. Cuts days off your travel time, so fraught with bandits and crime that no reasonable person would choose to take it...
Tompar: Venomous lizard alien race, known for their harsh class system and systemic attitude of nihilistic futility.
True Nerre: A Nerre, of any walk of life or occupation, who has never violated protocol even once, for any reason. Relatively uncommon, and the aristocracy of the culture.
Viez: Nerre idiom, literally "melt while standing" but translates more accurately as 'relax'. The word originally arises from an obvious sexual context but Nerre are so unperturbed by such matters that it eventually became extremely general, and can be understood as somewhere between 'take it easy' and 'don't worry'.
Vierestre: Nerre- literally, "dull/soften your strike" but translates more accurately as 'please let me run away more!' In a looser sense, it could be read as 'help help', and Nerre use the term even in accidents where there is no sentient 'attacker', but it is essentially broadcasting distress and an intention to flee.
Vranorche: Nerre- literally, "may you be soothed". This Nerre protocol element is uttered by a Nerre who has been fighting, as an indicator that he or she has become calm enough to not lash out in fits of nervous energy or combative instinct.
Vraonse: Nerre- literally, "may you consider". This most common Nerre protocol element expresses the concept known in other cultures as interrupting. It's so widely used that it has developed the short form, 'aons, and serves as a continual reminder to Nerre that they are interacting on a basis of politeness and courtesy.
Vrironste: Nerre- literally, "may you flee or be slain". This notorious Nerre protocol element is uttered by a Nerre who is on the verge of flipping out and initiating physical combat. The purpose is to guarantee that no Nerre will ever fight without some form of warning, and to warn bystanders so they can flee to safety.
Vritere: Nerre- literally, "may you flee my bared claws". Not so much a protocol element as a martial art, vritere is a claw-fighting form concerned largely with finding anatomical weak points that can be disabled by ripping them out with claws. Technological advances have allowed Nerre claws to sport razor edges inside, rather than just the natural point at the tip. Vritere fights do not last long by nature, as attacks are delivered in almost a frenzy and it's not a defensive form.
Xarnax: Cybernetic race at war with Tompar and Estrai, and considered generally dangerous. Xarnax did not give a reason for attacking Tompar, and nobody has been able to establish communication with them, with one possible exception- on one occasion, a Nerre was confronted with an attacking Xarnax scout, and recited a Nerre poem at it. That Nerre was spared. Others have not been able to repeat the event, however, and there is no reason to believe Xarnax speak the Nerre language, so many questions remain about this unique occurrence.
