- Androids
- Conscious, self-directed machines with a society of their own.
- Badgers
- An intelligent, speaking people native to the Isle of Swynseer. They have long lived apart from the wider world.
- Beyond World
- The world in which the story takes place.
- Champion
- Someone who has accepted a bargain to act on behalf of one of two rival divine powers: Kasmine through a Champion of Light, Khraohs through a Champion of Darkness.
- Essyx
- The grey, barren northern country of Esteogozobar, home to Rumfurd City and the surrounding Plains.
- Esteogozobar
- The continent at the heart of Beyond World. Its three countries run from north to south: Essyx, Phrance and Wessyx.
- The Eternal Night
- The unbroken darkness that has lain over Beyond World for twenty years.
- Humans
- The human inhabitants of Beyond World, sharing its towns and roads with its many other peoples.
- Kasmine and Khraohs
- Two ancient divine powers locked in an endless quarrel. Kasmine is the power of good and Khraohs the power of evil; they fight through their Champions of Light and Darkness.
- Mage Arts
- The practice of magic. Someone who practises it is known as a Mage Artist.
- Magical Folk
- The various non-human peoples of Beyond World touched by magic, including Goblins.
- Ord
- A person who shares the traits of an animal. A Cat’Ord, for example, has feline features alongside their human ones.
- Peckham Beach
- A pirate port on the coast of Essyx, with grey buildings clustered around the harbour on Peckham Bay.
- Phrance
- The desert country between Essyx and Wessyx. Its scattered camps and shifting territories are ruled by bandits and barons rather than a central government.
- Rumfurd City
- Essyx’s main city, enclosed by a circular, soot-blackened wall. Its streets run inward like spokes towards a central plaza.
- The Southern Isles
- A cluster of four islands south of Esteogozobar: Nevelund, Null Near, Os and Vunderlund. They are surrounded by the Tempest, a permanent magical disturbance.
- Wessyx
- Esteogozobar’s southernmost country, where even the natural laws and the passage of time can be unreliable.