1# SCCS Id: @(#)data.base 3.4 2003/07/23 2# Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 by the NetHack Development Team 3# Copyright (c) 1994 by Boudewijn Wayers 4# NetHack may be freely redistributed. See license for details. 5# 6# This is the source file for the "data" file generated by `makedefs -d'. 7# A line starting with a # is a comment and is ignored by makedefs. 8# Any other line not starting with whitespace is a creature or an item. 9# 10# Each entry should be comprised of: 11# the thing/person being described on a line by itself, in lowercase; 12# on each succeeding line a <TAB> description. 13# 14# If the first character of a key field is "~", then anything which matches 15# the rest of that key will be treated as if it did not match any of the 16# following keys for that entry. For instance, `~orc ??m*' preceding `orc*' 17# prevents "orc mummy" and "orc zombie" from matching. 18# 19abbot 20 For it had been long apparent to Count Landulf that nothing 21 could be done with his seventh son Thomas, except to make him 22 an Abbot or something of that kind. Born in 1226, he had from 23 childhood a mysterious objection to becoming a predatory eagle, 24 or even to taking an ordinary interest in falconry or tilting 25 or any other gentlemanly pursuits. He was a large and heavy and 26 quiet boy, and phenomenally silent, scarcely opening his mouth 27 except to say suddenly to his schoolmaster in an explosive 28 manner, "What is God?" The answer is not recorded but it is 29 probable that the asker went on worrying out answers for himself. 30 [ The Runaway Abbot, by G. K. Chesterton ] 31aclys 32aklys 33 A short studded or spiked club attached to a cord allowing 34 it to be drawn back to the wielder after having been thrown. 35 It should not be confused with the atlatl, which is a device 36 used to throw spears for longer distances. 37aleax 38 Said to be a doppelganger sent to inflict divine punishment 39 for alignment violations. 40*altar 41 Altars are of three types: 42 1. In Temples. These are for Sacrifices [...]. The stone 43 top will have grooves for blood, and the whole will be covered 44 with _dry brown stains of a troubling kind_ from former 45 Sacrifices. 46 [ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones ] 47 48 To every man upon this earth 49 Death cometh soon or late; 50 And how can man die better 51 Than facing fearful odds 52 For the ashes of his fathers 53 And the temples of his gods? 54 [ Lays of Ancient Rome, by Thomas B. Macaulay ] 55amaterasu omikami 56 The Shinto sun goddess, Amaterasu Omikami is the central 57 figure of Shintoism and the ancestral deity of the imperial 58 house. One of the daughters of the primordial god Izanagi 59 and said to be his favourite offspring, she was born from 60 his left eye. 61 [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] 62amber* 63 "Tree sap," Wu explained, "often flows over insects and traps 64 them. The insects are then perfectly preserved within the 65 fossil. One finds all kinds of insects in amber - including 66 biting insects that have sucked blood from larger animals." 67 [ Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton ] 68*amnesia 69maud 70 Get thee hence, nor come again, 71 Mix not memory with doubt, 72 Pass, thou deathlike type of pain, 73 Pass and cease to move about! 74 'Tis the blot upon the brain 75 That will show itself without. 76 ... 77 For, Maud, so tender and true, 78 As long as my life endures 79 I feel I shall owe you a debt, 80 That I never can hope to pay; 81 And if ever I should forget 82 That I owe this debt to you 83 And for your sweet sake to yours; 84 O then, what then shall I say? - 85 If ever I should forget, 86 May God make me more wretched 87 Than ever I have been yet! 88 [ Maud, And Other Poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson ] 89~amulet of yendor 90*amulet 91amulet of * 92 "The complete Amulet can keep off all the things that make 93 people unhappy -- jealousy, bad temper, pride, disagreeableness, 94 greediness, selfishness, laziness. Evil spirits, people called 95 them when the Amulet was made. Don't you think it would be nice 96 to have it?" 97 "Very," said the children, quite without enthusiasm. 98 "And it can give you strength and courage." 99 "That's better," said Cyril. 100 "And virtue." 101 "I suppose it's nice to have that," said Jane, but not with much 102 interest. 103 "And it can give you your heart's desire." 104 "Now you're talking," said Robert. 105 [ The Story of the Amulet, by Edith Nesbit ] 106amulet of yendor 107 This mysterious talisman is the object of your quest. It is 108 said to possess powers which mere mortals can scarcely 109 comprehend, let alone utilize. The gods will grant the gift of 110 immortality to the adventurer who can deliver it from the 111 depths of Moloch's Sanctum and offer it on the appropriate high 112 altar on the Astral Plane. 113angel* 114 He answered and said unto them, he that soweth the good seed 115 is the Son of man; the field is the world, and the good seed 116 are the children of the kingdom; but the weeds are the 117 children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the 118 devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers 119 are the angels. As therefore the weeds are gathered and 120 burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 121 [...] So shall it be at the end of the world; the angels 122 shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 123 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be 124 wailing and gnashing of teeth. 125 [ The Gospel According to Matthew, 13:37-42, 49-50 ] 126anhur 127 An Egyptian god of war and a great hunter, few gods can match 128 his fury. Unlike many gods of war, he is a force for good. 129 The wrath of Anhur is slow to come, but it is inescapable 130 once earned. Anhur is a mighty figure with four arms. He 131 is often seen with a powerful lance that requires both of 132 his right arms to wield and which is tipped with a fragment 133 of the sun. He is married to Mehut, a lion-headed goddess. 134ankh-morpork 135 The twin city of Ankh-Morpork, foremost of all the cities 136 bounding the Circle Sea, was as a matter of course the home 137 of a large number of gangs, thieves' guilds, syndicates and 138 similar organisations. This was one of the reasons for its 139 wealth. Most of the humbler folk on the widdershin side of 140 the river, in Morpork's mazy alleys, supplemented their 141 meagre incomes by filling some small role for one or other 142 of the competing gangs. 143 [ The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett ] 144anshar 145 A primordial Babylonian-Akkadian deity, Anshar is mentioned 146 in the Babylonian creation epic _Enuma Elish_ as one of a 147 pair of offspring (with Kishar) of Lahmu and Lahamu. Anshar 148 is linked with heaven while Kishar is identified with earth. 149 [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] 150ant 151* ant 152 This giant variety of the ordinary ant will fight just as 153 fiercely as its small, distant cousin. Various varieties 154 exist, and they are known and feared for their relentless 155 persecution of their victims. 156anu 157 Anu was the Babylonian god of the heavens, the monarch of 158 the north star. He was the oldest of the Babylonian gods, 159 the father of all gods, and the ruler of heaven and destiny. 160 Anu features strongly in the _atiku_ festival in 161 Babylon, Uruk and other cities. 162ape 163* ape 164 The most highly evolved of all the primates, as shown by 165 all their anatomical characters and particularly the 166 development of the brain. Both arboreal and terrestrial, 167 the apes have the forelimbs much better developed than 168 the hind limbs. Tail entirely absent. Growth is slow 169 and sexual maturity reached at quite an advanced age. 170 [ A Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Africa by Dorst ] 171 172 Aldo the gorilla had a plan. It was a good plan. It was 173 right. He knew it. He smacked his lips in anticipation as 174 he thought of it. Yes. Apes should be strong. Apes should 175 be masters. Apes should be proud. Apes should make the 176 Earth shake when they walked. Apes should _rule_ the Earth. 177 [ Battle for the Planet of the Apes, 178 by David Gerrold ] 179apple 180 NEWTONIAN, adj. Pertaining to a philosophy of the universe 181 invented by Newton, who discovered that an apple will fall 182 to the ground, but was unable to say why. His successors 183 and disciples have advanced so far as to be able to say 184 when. 185 [ The Devil's Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce ] 186archeologist 187* archeologist 188 Archeology is the search for fact, not truth. [...] 189 So forget any ideas you've got about lost cities, exotic travel, 190 and digging up the world. We do not follow maps to buried 191 treasure, and X never, ever, marks the spot. 192 [ Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ] 193archon 194 Archons are the predominant inhabitants of the heavens. 195 However unusual their appearance, they are not generally 196 evil. They are beings at peace with themselves and their 197 surroundings. 198arioch 199 Arioch, the patron demon of Elric's ancestors; one of the most 200 powerful of all the Dukes of Hell, who was called Knight of 201 the Swords, Lord of the Seven Darks, Lord of the Higher Hell 202 and many more names besides. 203 [ Elric of Melnibone, by Michael Moorcock ] 204*arrow 205 I shot an arrow into the air, 206 It fell to earth, I knew not where; 207 For, so swiftly it flew, the sight 208 Could not follow it in its flight. 209 210 I breathed a song into the air, 211 It fell to earth, I knew not where; 212 For who has sight so keen and strong 213 That it can follow the flight of song? 214 215 Long, long afterward, in an oak 216 I found the arrow still unbroke; 217 And the song, from beginning to end, 218 I found again in the heart of a friend. 219 [ The Arrow and the Song, 220 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ] 221ashikaga takauji 222 Ashikaga Takauji was a daimyo of the Minamoto clan who 223 joined forces with the Go-Daigo to defeat the Hojo armies. 224 Later when Go-Daigo attempted to reduce the powers of the 225 samurai clans he rebelled against him. He defeated Go- 226 Daigo and established the emperor Komyo on the throne. 227 Go-Daigo eventually escaped and established another 228 government in the town of Yoshino. This period of dual 229 governments was known as the Nambokucho. 230 [ Samurai - The Story of a Warrior Tradition, by Cook ] 231asmodeus 232 It is said that Asmodeus is the overlord over all of hell. 233 His appearance, unlike many other demons and devils, is 234 human apart from his horns and tail. He can freeze flesh 235 with a touch. 236athame 237 The consecrated ritual knife of a Wiccan initiate (one of 238 four basic tools, together with the wand, chalice and 239 pentacle). Traditionally, the athame is a double-edged, 240 black-handled, cross-hilted dagger of between six and 241 eighteen inches length. 242athen* 243 Athene was the offspring of Zeus, and without a mother. She 244 sprang forth from his head completely armed. Her favourite 245 bird was the owl, and the plant sacred to her is the olive. 246 [ Bulfinch's Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch ] 247axolotl 248 A mundane salamander, harmless. 249bag 250bag of * 251sack 252 "Now, this third handkerchief," Mein Herr proceeded, "has also 253 four edges, which you can trace continuously round and round: 254 all you need do is to join its four edges to the four edges of 255 the opening. The Purse is then complete, and its outer 256 surface--" 257 "I see!" Lady Muriel eagerly interrupted. "Its outer surface 258 will be continuous with its inner surface! But it will take 259 time. I'll sew it up after tea." She laid aside the bag, and 260 resumed her cup of tea. "But why do you call it Fortunatus's 261 Purse, Mein Herr?" 262 The dear old man beamed upon her, with a jolly smile, looking 263 more exactly like the Professor than ever. "Don't you see, 264 my child--I should say Miladi? Whatever is inside that Purse, 265 is outside it; and whatever is outside it, is inside it. So 266 you have all the wealth of the world in that leetle Purse!" 267 [ Sylvie and Bruno Concluded, by Lewis Carroll ] 268b*lzebub 269 The "lord of the flies" is a translation of the Hebrew 270 Ba'alzevuv (Beelzebub in Greek). It has been suggested that 271 it was a mistranslation of a mistransliterated word which 272 gave us this pungent and suggestive name of the Devil, a 273 devil whose name suggests that he is devoted to decay, 274 destruction, demoralization, hysteria and panic... 275 [ Notes on _Lord of the Flies_, by E. L. Epstein ] 276balrog 277 ... It came to the edge of the fire and the light faded as 278 if a cloud had bent over it. Then with a rush it leaped 279 the fissure. The flames roared up to greet it, and wreathed 280 about it; and a black smoke swirled in the air. Its streaming 281 mane kindled, and blazed behind it. In its right hand 282 was a blade like a stabbing tongue of fire; in its left it 283 held a whip of many thongs. 284 'Ai, ai!' wailed Legolas. 'A Balrog! A Balrog is come!' 285 [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 286baluchitherium 287titanothere 288 Extinct rhinos include a variety of forms, the most 289 spectacular being _Baluchitherium_ from the Oligocene of 290 Asia, which is the largest known land mammal. Its body, 18 291 feet high at the shoulder and carried on massive limbs, 292 allowed the 4-foot-long head to browse on the higher branches 293 of trees. Though not as enormous, the titanotheres of the 294 early Tertiary were also large perissodactyls, _Brontotherium_ 295 of the Oligocene being 8 feet high at the shoulder. 296 [ Prehistoric Animals, by Barry Cox ] 297banana 298 He took another step and she cocked her right wrist in 299 viciously. She heard the spring click. Weight slapped into 300 her hand. 301 "Here!" she shrieked hysterically, and brought her arm up in 302 a hard sweep, meaning to gut him, leaving him to blunder 303 around the room with his intestines hanging out in steaming 304 loops. Instead he roared laughter, hands on his hips, 305 flaming face cocked back, squeezing and contorting with great 306 good humor. 307 "Oh, my dear!" he cried, and went off into another gale of 308 laughter. 309 She looked stupidly down at her hand. It held a firm yellow 310 banana with a blue and white Chiquita sticker on it. She 311 dropped it, horrified, to the carpet, where it became a 312 sickly yellow grin, miming Flagg's own. 313 "You'll tell," he whispered. "Oh yes indeed you will." 314 And Dayna knew he was right. 315 [ The Stand, by Stephen King ] 316barbarian 317* barbarian 318 They dressed alike -- in buckskin boots, leathern breeks and 319 deerskin shirts, with broad girdles that held axes and short 320 swords; and they were all gaunt and scarred and hard-eyed; 321 sinewy and taciturn. 322 They were wild men, of a sort, yet there was still a wide 323 gulf between them and the Cimmerian. They were sons of 324 civilization, reverted to a semi-barbarism. He was a 325 barbarian of a thousand generations of barbarians. They had 326 acquired stealth and craft, but he had been born to these 327 things. He excelled them even in lithe economy of motion. 328 They were wolves, but he was a tiger. 329 [ Conan - The Warrior, by Robert E. Howard ] 330barbed devil 331 Barbed devils lack any real special abilities, though they 332 are quite difficult to kill. 333*bat 334 A bat, flitting in the darkness outside, took the wrong turn 335 as it made its nightly rounds and came in through the window 336 which had been left healthfully open. It then proceeded to 337 circle the room in the aimless fat-headed fashion habitual 338 with bats, who are notoriously among the less intellectually 339 gifted of God's creatures. Show me a bat, says the old 340 proverb, and I will show you something that ought to be in 341 some kind of a home. 342 [ A Pelican at Blandings, by P. G. Wodehouse ] 343*bee 344 This giant variety of its useful normal cousin normally 345 appears in small groups, looking for raw material to produce 346 the royal jelly needed to feed their queen. On rare 347 occasions, one may stumble upon a bee-hive, in which the 348 queen bee is being well provided for, and guarded against 349 intruders. 350*beetle 351 [ The Creator ] has an inordinate fondness for beetles. 352 [ attributed to biologist J.B.S. Haldane ] 353 354 The common name for the insects with wings shaped like 355 shields (_Coleoptera_), one of the ten sub-species into 356 which the insects are divided. They are characterized by 357 the shields (the front pair of wings) under which the back 358 wings are folded. 359 [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] 360bell of opening 361 "A bell, book and candle job." 362 The Bursar sighed. "We tried that, Archchancellor." 363 The Archchancellor leaned towards him. 364 "Eh?" he said. 365 "I _said_, we tried that Archchancellor," said the Bursar loudly, 366 directing his voice at the old man's ear. "After dinner, you 367 remember? We used Humptemper's _Names of the Ants_ and rang Old 368 Tom."* 369 "Did we, indeed. Worked, did it?" 370 "_No_, Archchancellor." 371 372 * Old Tom was the single cracked bronze bell in the University 373 bell tower. 374 [ Eric, by Terry Pratchett ] 375blindfold 376 The blindfolding was performed by binding a piece of the 377 yellowish linen whereof those of the Amahagger who condescended 378 to wear anything in particular made their dresses tightly round 379 the eyes. This linen I afterwards discovered was taken from the 380 tombs, and was not, as I had first supposed, of native 381 manufacture. The bandage was then knotted at the back of the 382 head, and finally brought down again and the ends bound under 383 the chin to prevent its slipping. Ustane was, by the way, also 384 blindfolded, I do not know why, unless it was from fear that she 385 should impart the secrets of the route to us. 386 [ She, by H. Rider Haggard ] 387blind io 388 On this particular day Blind Io, by dint of constant vigilance 389 the chief of the gods, sat with his chin on his hand 390 and looked at the gaming board on the red marble table in 391 front of him. Blind Io had got his name because, where his 392 eye sockets should have been, there were nothing but two 393 areas of blank skin. His eyes, of which he had an impressively 394 large number, led a semi-independent life of their 395 own. Several were currently hovering above the table. 396 [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] 397* blob 398gelatinous cube 399ooze 400* ooze 401*pudding 402* slime 403 These giant amoeboid creatures look like nothing more than 404 puddles of slime, but they both live and move, feeding on 405 metal or wood as well as the occasional dungeon explorer to 406 supplement their diet. 407 408 But we were not on a station platform. We were on the track ahead 409 as the nightmare, plastic column of fetid black iridescence oozed 410 tightly onward through its fifteen-foot sinus, gathering unholy 411 speed and driving before it a spiral, re-thickening cloud of the 412 pallid abyss vapor. It was a terrible, indescribable thing vaster 413 than any subway train -- a shapeless congeries of protoplasmic 414 bubbles, faintly self-luminous, and with myriads of temporary eyes 415 forming and unforming as pustules of greenish light all over the 416 tunnel-filling front that bore down upon us, crushing the frantic 417 penguins and slithering over the glistening floor that it and its 418 kind had swept so evilly free of all litter. 419 [ At the Mountains of Madness, by H.P. Lovecraft ] 420bone devil 421 Bone devils attack with weapons and with a great hooked tail 422 which causes a loss of strength to those they sting. 423book of the dead 424candelabrum* 425*candle 426 Faustus: Come on Mephistopheles. What shall we do? 427 Mephistopheles: Nay, I know not. We shall be cursed with bell, 428 book, and candle. 429 Faustus: How? Bell, book, and candle, candle, book, and bell, 430 Forward and backward, to curse Faustus to hell. 431 Anon you shall hear a hog grunt, a calf bleat, and an ass bray, 432 Because it is Saint Peter's holy day. 433 (Enter all the Friars to sing the dirge) 434 [ Doctor Faustus and Other Plays, by Christopher Marlowe ] 435*boot* 436 In Fantasyland these are remarkable in that they seldom or 437 never wear out and are suitable for riding or walking in 438 without the need of Socks. Boots never pinch, rub, or get 439 stones in them; nor do nails stick upwards into the feet from 440 the soles. They are customarily mid-calf length or knee-high, 441 slip on and off easily and never smell of feet. Unfortunately, 442 the formula for making this splendid footwear is a closely 443 guarded secret, possibly derived from nonhumans (see Dwarfs, 444 Elves, and Gnomes). 445 [ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones ] 446boulder 447 I worked the lever well under, and stretched my back; the end 448 of the stone rose up, and I kicked the fulcrum under. Then, 449 when I was going to bear down, I remembered there was 450 something to get out from below; when I let go of the lever, 451 the stone would fall again. I sat down to think, on the root 452 of the oak tree; and, seeing it stand about the ground, I saw 453 my way. It was lucky I had brought a longer lever. It would 454 just reach to wedge under the oak root. 455 Bearing it down so far would have been easy for a heavy man, 456 but was a hard fight for me. But this time I meant to do it 457 if it killed me, because I knew it could be done. Twice I 458 got it nearly there, and twice the weight bore it up again; 459 but when I flung myself on it the third time, I heard in my 460 ears the sea-sound of Poseidon. Then I knew this time I 461 would do it; and so I did. 462 [ The King Must Die, by Mary Renault ] 463~*longbow of diana 464bow 465* bow 466 "Stand to it, my hearts of gold," said the old bowman as he 467 passed from knot to knot. "By my hilt! we are in luck this 468 journey. Bear in mind the old saying of the Company." 469 "What is that, Aylward?" cried several, leaning on their bows 470 and laughing at him. 471 "'Tis the master-bowyer's rede: 'Every bow well bent. Every 472 shaft well sent. Every stave well nocked. Every string well 473 locked.' There, with that jingle in his head, a bracer on 474 his left hand, a shooting glove on his right, and a 475 farthing's-worth of wax in his girdle, what more doth a 476 bowman need?" 477 "It would not be amiss," said Hordle John, "if under his 478 girdle he had four farthings'-worth of wine." 479 [ The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ] 480brigit 481 Brigit (Brigid, Bride, Banfile), which means the Exalted One, 482 was the Celtic (continental European and Irish) fertility 483 goddess. She was originally celebrated on February first in 484 the festival of Imbolc, which coincided with the beginning 485 of lactation in ewes and was regarded in Scotland as the date 486 on which Brigit deposed the blue-faced hag of winter. The 487 Christian calendar adopted the same date for the Feast of St. 488 Brigit. There is no record that a Christian saint ever 489 actually existed, but in Irish mythology she became the 490 midwife to the Virgin Mary. 491 [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] 492~stormbringer 493*broadsword 494 Bring me my broadsword 495 And clear understanding. 496 Bring me my cross of gold, 497 As a talisman. 498 [ "Broadsword" (refrain) by Ian Anderson ] 499bugbear 500 Bugbears are relatives of goblins, although they tend to be 501 larger and more hairy. They are aggressive carnivores and 502 sometimes kill just for the treasure their victims may be 503 carrying. 504bugle 505 'I read you by your bugle horn 506 And by your palfrey good, 507 I read you for a Ranger sworn 508 To keep the King's green-wood.' 509 'A Ranger, Lady, winds his horn, 510 And 'tis at peep of light; 511 His blast is heard at merry morn, 512 And mine at dead of night.' 513 [ Brignall Banks, by Sir Walter Scott ] 514*camaxtli 515 A classical Mesoamerican Aztec god, also known as Mixcoatl- 516 Camaxtli (the Cloud Serpent), Camaxtli is the god of war. He 517 is also a deity of hunting and fire who received human 518 sacrifice of captured prisoners. According to tradition, the 519 sun god Tezcatlipoca transformed himself into Mixcoatl-Camaxtli 520 to make fire by twirling the sacred fire sticks. 521 [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] 522candy bar 523 Only once a year, on his birthday, did Charlie Bucket ever 524 get to taste a bit of chocolate. The whole family saved up 525 their money for that special occasion, and when the great 526 day arrived, Charlie was always presented with one small 527 chocolate bar to eat all by himself. And each time he 528 received it, on those marvelous birthday mornings, he would 529 place it carefully in a small wooden box that he owned, and 530 treasure it as though it were a bar of solid gold; and for 531 the next few days, he would allow himself only to look at it, 532 but never to touch it. Then at last, when he could stand it 533 no longer, he would peel back a tiny bit of the paper 534 wrapping at one corner to expose a tiny bit of chocolate, and 535 then he would take a tiny nibble - just enough to allow the 536 lovely sweet taste to spread out slowly over his tongue. The 537 next day, he would take another tiny nibble, and so on, and 538 so on. And in this way, Charlie would make his ten-cent bar 539 of birthday chocolate last him for more than a month. 540 [ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl ] 541s*d*g*r* cat 542 Imagine a sealed container, so perfectly constructed that no 543 physical influence can pass either inwards or outwards across its 544 walls. Imagine that inside the container is a cat, and also a 545 device that can be triggered by some quantum event. If that event 546 takes place, then the device smashes a phial containing cyanide and 547 the cat is killed. If the event does not take place, the cat lives 548 on. In Schroedinger's original version, the quantum event was the 549 decay of a radioactive atom. ... To the outside observer, the cat 550 is indeed in a linear combination of being alive and dead, and only 551 when the container is finally opened would the cat's state vector 552 collapse into one or the other. On the other hand, to a (suitably 553 protected) observer inside the container, the cat's state-vector 554 would have collapsed much earlier, and the outside observer's 555 linear combination has no relevance. 556 [ The Emperor's New Mind, by Roger Penrose ] 557*cat 558kitten 559 Well-known quadruped domestic animal from the family of 560 predatory felines (_Felis ochreata domestica_), with a thick, 561 soft pelt; often kept as a pet. Various folklores have the 562 cat associated with magic and the gods of ancient Egypt. 563 564 So Ulthar went to sleep in vain anger; and when the people 565 awakened at dawn - behold! Every cat was back at his 566 accustomed hearth! Large and small, black, grey, striped, 567 yellow and white, none was missing. Very sleek and fat did 568 the cats appear, and sonorous with purring content. 569 [ The Cats of Ulthar, by H.P. Lovecraft ] 570# this one doesn't work very well for dwarven and gnomish cavemen 571cave*man 572human cave*man 573 Now it was light enough to leave. Moon-Watcher picked up 574 the shriveled corpse and dragged it after him as he bent 575 under the low overhang of the cave. Once outside, he 576 threw the body over his shoulder and stood upright - the 577 only animal in all this world able to do so. 578 Among his kind, Moon-Watcher was almost a giant. He was 579 nearly five feet high, and though badly undernourished 580 weighed over a hundred pounds. His hairy, muscular body 581 was halfway between ape and man, but his head was already 582 much nearer to man than ape. The forehead was low, and 583 there were ridges over the eye sockets, yet he unmistakably 584 held in his genes the promise of humanity. 585 [ 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke ] 586*centaur 587 Of all the monsters put together by the Greek imagination 588 the Centaurs (Kentauroi) constituted a class in themselves. 589 Despite a strong streak of sensuality, in their make-up, 590 their normal behaviour was moral, and they took a kindly 591 thought of man's welfare. The attempted outrage of Nessos on 592 Deianeira, and that of the whole tribe of Centaurs on the 593 Lapith women, are more than offset by the hospitality of 594 Pholos and by the wisdom of Cheiron, physician, prophet, 595 lyrist, and the instructor of Achilles. Further, the 596 Centaurs were peculiar in that their nature, which united the 597 body of a horse with the trunk and head of a man, involved 598 an unthinkable duplication of vital organs and important 599 members. So grotesque a combination seems almost un-Greek. 600 These strange creatures were said to live in the caves and 601 clefts of the mountains, myths associating them especially 602 with the hills of Thessaly and the range of Erymanthos. 603 [ Mythology of all races, Vol. 1, pp. 270-271 ] 604centipede 605 I observed here, what I had often seen before, that certain 606 districts abound in centipedes. Here they have light 607 reddish bodies and blue legs; great myriapedes are seen 608 crawling every where. Although they do no harm, they excite 609 in man a feeling of loathing. Perhaps our appearance 610 produces a similar feeling in the elephant and other large 611 animals. Where they have been much disturbed, they 612 certainly look upon us with great distrust, as the horrid 613 biped that ruins their peace. 614 [ Travels and Researches in South Africa, 615 by Dr. David Livingstone ] 616cerberus 617kerberos 618 Cerberus, (or Kerberos in Greek), was the three-headed dog 619 that guarded the Gates of Hell. He allowed any dead to enter, 620 and likewise prevented them all from ever leaving. He was 621 bested only twice: once when Orpheus put him to sleep by 622 playing bewitching music on his lyre, and the other time when 623 Hercules confronted him and took him to the world of the 624 living (as his twelfth and last labor). 625chameleon 626 Name of a family (_Chameleonidae_) and race (_Chameleo_) of 627 scaly lizards, especially the _Chameleo vulgaris_ species, 628 with a short neck, claws, a grasping tail, a long, extendible 629 tongue and mutually independent moving eyes. When it is 630 scared or angry, it inflates itself and its transparent skin 631 shows its blood: the skin first appears greenish, then 632 gradually changes color until it is a spotted red. The final 633 color depends on the background color as well, hence the 634 (figurative) implication of unreliability. [Capitalized:] 635 a constellation of the southern hemisphere (Chameleo). 636 [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] 637charo*n 638 When an ancient Greek died, his soul went to the nether world: 639 the Hades. To reach the nether world, the souls had to cross 640 the river Styx, the river that separated the living from the 641 dead. The Styx could be crossed by ferry, whose shabby ferry- 642 man, advanced in age, was called Charon. The deceased's next- 643 of-kin would place a coin under his tongue, to pay the ferry- 644 man. 645chest 646large box 647 Dantes rapidly cleared away the earth around the chest. Soon 648 the center lock appeared, then the handles at each end, all 649 delicately wrought in the manner of that period when art made 650 precious even the basest of metals. He took the chest by the 651 two handles and tried to lift it, but it was impossible. He 652 tried to open it; it was locked. He inserted the sharp end 653 of his pickaxe between the chest and the lid and pushed down 654 on the handle. The lid creaked, then flew open. 655 Dantes was seized with a sort of giddy fever. He cocked his 656 gun and placed it beside him. The he closed his eyes like a 657 child, opened them and stood dumbfounded. 658 The chest was divided into three compartments. In the first 659 were shining gold coins. In the second, unpolished gold 660 ingots packed in orderly stacks. From the third compartment, 661 which was half full, Dantes picked up handfuls of diamonds, 662 pearls and rubies. As they fell through his fingers in a 663 glittering cascade, they gave forth the sound of hail beating 664 against the windowpanes. 665 [ The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas ] 666chih*sung*tzu 667 A Chinese rain god. 668chromatic dragon 669tiamat 670 Tiamat is said to be the mother of evil dragonkind. She is 671 extremely vain. 672~elven cloak 673~oilskin cloak 674*cloak* 675 Cloaks are the universal outer garb of everyone who is not a 676 Barbarian. It is hard to see why. They are open in front 677 and require you at most times to use one hand to hold them 678 shut. On horseback they leave the shirt-sleeved arms and 679 most of the torso exposed to wind and Weather. The OMTs 680 [ Official Management Terms ] for Cloaks well express their 681 difficulties. They are constantly _swirling and dripping_ 682 and becoming _heavy with water_ in rainy Weather, _entangling 683 with trees_ or _swords_, or needing to be _pulled close 684 around her/his shivering body_. This seems to suggest they 685 are less than practical for anyone on an arduous Tour. 686 [ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones ] 687cloud* 688 I wandered lonely as a cloud 689 That floats on high o'er vales and hills, 690 When all at once I saw a crowd, 691 A host, of golden daffodils; 692 Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 693 Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 694 [ I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, by William Wordsworth ] 695cobra 696 Darzee and his wife only cowered down in the nest without 697 answering, for from the thick grass at the foot of the bush 698 there came a low hiss -- a horrid cold sound that made 699 Rikki-tikki jump back two clear feet. Then inch by inch out of 700 the grass rose up the head and spread hood of Nag, the big 701 black cobra, and he was five feet long from tongue to tail. 702 When he had lifted one-third of himself clear of the ground, 703 he stayed balancing to and fro exactly as a dandelion-tuft 704 balances in the wind, and he looked at Rikki-tikki with the 705 wicked snake's eyes that never change their expression, 706 whatever the snake may be thinking of. 707 'Who is Nag?' said he. '_I_ am Nag. The great God Brahm put 708 his mark upon all our people, when the first cobra spread his 709 hood to keep the sun off Brahm as he slept. Look, and be 710 afraid!' 711 [ Rikki-tikki-tavi, by Rudyard Kipling ] 712c*ckatrice 713 Once in a great while, when the positions of the stars are 714 just right, a seven-year-old rooster will lay an egg. Then, 715 along will come a snake, to coil around the egg, or a toad, 716 to squat upon the egg, keeping it warm and helping it to 717 hatch. When it hatches, out comes a creature called basilisk, 718 or cockatrice, the most deadly of all creatures. A single 719 glance from its yellow, piercing toad's eyes will kill both 720 man and beast. Its power of destruction is said to be so 721 great that sometimes simply to hear its hiss can prove fatal. 722 Its breath is so venomous that it causes all vegetation 723 to wither. 724 725 There is, however, one creature which can withstand the 726 basilisk's deadly gaze, and this is the weasel. No one knows 727 why this is so, but although the fierce weasel can slay the 728 basilisk, it will itself be killed in the struggle. Perhaps 729 the weasel knows the basilisk's fatal weakness: if it ever 730 sees its own reflection in a mirror it will perish instantly. 731 But even a dead basilisk is dangerous, for it is said that 732 merely touching its lifeless body can cause a person to 733 sicken and die. 734 [ Mythical Beasts by Deirdre Headon (The Leprechaun Library) 735 and other sources ] 736cornuthaum 737 He was dressed in a flowing gown with fur tippets which had 738 the signs of the zodiac embroidered over it, with various 739 cabalistic signs, such as triangles with eyes in them, queer 740 crosses, leaves of trees, bones of birds and animals, and a 741 planetarium whose stars shone like bits of looking-glass with 742 the sun on them. He had a pointed hat like a dunce's cap, or 743 like the headgear worn by ladies of that time, except that 744 the ladies were accustomed to have a bit of veil floating 745 from the top of it. 746 [ The Once and Future King, by T.H. White ] 747 748 "A wizard!" Dooley exclaimed, astounded. 749 "At your service, sirs," said the wizard. "How 750 perceptive of you to notice. I suppose my hat rather gives me 751 away. Something of a beacon, I don't doubt." His hat was 752 pretty much that, tall and cone-shaped with stars and crescent 753 moons all over it. All in all, it couldn't have been more 754 wizardish. 755 [ The Elfin Ship, James P. Blaylock ] 756couatl 757 A mythical feathered serpent. The couatl are very rare. 758coyote 759 This carnivore is known for its voracious appetite and 760 inflated view of its own intelligence. 761cram* 762 If you want to know what cram is, I can only say that I don't 763 know the recipe; but it is biscuitish, keeps good indefinitely, 764 is supposed to be sustaining, and is certainly not entertaining, 765 being in fact very uninteresting except as a chewing 766 exercise. It was made by the Lake-men for long journeys. 767 [ The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 768*crocodile 769 A big animal with the appearance of a lizard, constituting 770 an order of the reptiles (_Loricata_ or _Crocodylia_), the 771 crocodile is a large, dangerous predator native to tropical 772 and subtropical climes. It spends most of its time in large 773 bodies of water. 774croesus 775kroisos 776creosote 777 Croesus (in Greek: Kroisos), the wealthy last king of Lydia; 778 his empire was destroyed when he attacked Cyrus in 549, after 779 the Oracle of Delphi (q.v.) had told him: "if you attack the 780 Persians, you will destroy a mighty empire". Herodotus 781 relates of his legendary conversation with Solon of Athens, 782 who impressed upon him that being rich does not imply being 783 happy and that no one should be considered fortunate before 784 his death. 785crom 786 Warily Conan scanned his surroundings, all of his senses alert 787 for signs of possible danger. Off in the distance, he could 788 see the familiar shapes of the Camp of the Duali tribe. 789 Suddenly, the hairs on his neck stand on end as he detects the 790 aura of evil magic in the air. Without thought, he readies 791 his weapon, and mutters under his breath: 792 "By Crom, there will be blood spilt today." 793 794 [ Conan the Avenger by Robert E. Howard, Bjorn Nyberg, and 795 L. Sprague de Camp ] 796crossbow* 797 "God save thee, ancient Mariner! 798 From the fiends, that plague thee thus! - 799 Why look'st thou so?" - With my cross-bow 800 I shot the Albatross. 801 [ The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor 802 Coleridge ] 803crystal ball 804 You look into one of these and see _vapours swirling like 805 clouds_. These shortly clear away to show a sort of video 806 without sound of something that is going to happen to you 807 soon. It is seldom good news. 808 [ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones ] 809curse* 810 Curses are longstanding ill-wishings which, in Fantasyland, 811 often manifest as semisentient. They have to be broken or 812 dispelled. The method varies according to the type and 813 origin of the Curse: 814 [...] 815 4. Curses on Rings and Swords. You have problems. Rings 816 have to be returned whence they came, preferably at over a 817 thousand degrees Fahrenheit, and the Curse means you won't 818 want to do this. Swords usually resist all attempts to 819 raise their Curses. Your best source is to hide the Sword 820 or give it to someone you dislike. 821 [ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones ] 822cwn*n 823 A pack of snow-white, red-eared spectral hounds which 824 sometimes took part in the kidnappings and raids the 825 inhabitants of the underworld sometimes make on this world 826 (the Wild Hunt). They are associated in Wales with the sounds 827 of migrating wild geese, and are said to be leading the souls 828 of the damned to hell. The phantom chase is usually heard or 829 seen in midwinter and is accompanied by a howling wind. 830 [ Encyclopedia Mythica, ed. M.F. Lindemans ] 831cyclops 832 And after he had milked his cattle swiftly, 833 he again took hold of two of my men 834 and had them as his supper. 835 Then I went, with a tub of red wine, 836 to stand before the Cyclops, saying: 837 "A drop of wine after all this human meat, 838 so you can taste the delicious wine 839 that is stored in our ship, Cyclops." 840 He took the tub and emptied it. 841 He appreciated the priceless wine that much 842 that he promptly asked me for a second tub. 843 "Give it", he said, "and give me your name as well". 844 ... 845 Thrice I filled the tub, 846 and after the wine had clouded his mind, 847 I said to him, in a tone as sweet as honey: 848 "You have asked my name, Cyclops? Well, 849 my name is very well known. I'll give it to you, 850 if you give me the gift you promised me as a guest. 851 My name is Nobody. All call me thus: 852 my father and my mother and my friends." 853 Ruthlessly he answered to this: 854 "Nobody, I will eat you last of all; 855 your host of friends will completely precede you. 856 That will be my present to you, my friend." 857 And after these words he fell down backwards, 858 restrained by the all-restrainer Hupnos. 859 His monstrous neck slid into the dust; 860 the red wine squirted from his throat; 861 the drunk vomited lumps of human flesh. 862 [ The Odyssey, (chapter Epsilon), by Homer ] 863~sting 864*dagger 865 Is this a dagger which I see before me, 866 The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. 867 I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. 868 Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible 869 To feeling as to sight? or art thou but 870 A dagger of the mind, a false creation, 871 Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? 872 I see thee yet, in form as palpable 873 As this which now I draw. 874 [ Macbeth, by William Shakespeare ] 875dark one 876 ... But he ruled rather by force and fear, if they might 877 avail; and those who perceived his shadow spreading over the 878 world called him the Dark Lord and named him the Enemy; and 879 he gathered again under his government all the evil things of 880 the days of Morgoth that remained on earth or beneath it, 881 and the Orcs were at his command and multiplied like flies. 882 Thus the Black Years began ... 883 [ The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 884demogorgon 885 Demogorgon, the prince of demons, wallows in filth and can 886 spread a quickly fatal illness to his victims while rending 887 them. He is a mighty spellcaster, and he can drain the life 888 of mortals with a touch of his tail. 889demon 890 It is often very hard to discover what any given Demon looks 891 like, apart from a general impression of large size, huge 892 fangs, staring eyes, many limbs, and an odd color; but all 893 accounts agree that Demons are very powerful, very Magic (in 894 a nonhuman manner), and made of some substance that can squeeze 895 through a keyhole yet not be pierced with a Sword. This makes 896 them difficult to deal with, even on the rare occasions when 897 they are friendly. 898 [ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones ] 899dingo 900 A wolflike wild dog, Canis dingo, of Australia, having a 901 reddish- or yellowish-brown coat, believed to have been 902 introduced by the aborigines. 903 [Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language] 904disenchanter 905 Ask not, what your magic can do to it. Ask what it can do to your magic. 906dispater 907 Dispater is an arch-devil who rules the city of Dis. He is 908 a powerful mage. 909djinn* 910 The djinn are genies from the elemental plane of Air. There, 911 among their kind, they have their own societies. They are 912 sometimes encountered on earth and may even be summoned here 913 to perform some service for powerful wizards. The wizards 914 often leave them about for later service, safely tucked away 915 in a flask or lamp. Once in a while, such a tool is found by 916 a lucky rogue, and some djinn are known to be so grateful 917 when released that they might grant their rescuer a wish. 918~hachi 919~slasher 920~sirius 921*dog 922pup* 923 A domestic animal, the _tame dog_ (_Canis familiaris_), of 924 which numerous breeds exist. The male is called a dog, 925 while the female is called a bitch. Because of its known 926 loyalty to man and gentleness with children, it is the 927 world's most popular domestic animal. It can easily be 928 trained to perform various tasks. 929~trap*door 930*door 931doorway 932 Through me you pass into the city of woe: 933 Through me you pass into eternal pain: 934 Through me among the people lost for aye. 935 Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd: 936 To rear me was the task of power divine, 937 Supremest wisdom, and primeval love. 938 Before me things create were none, save things 939 Eternal, and eternal I endure. 940 All hope abandon ye who enter here. 941 [ The Inferno, from The Divine Comedy of Dante 942 Alighieri, translated by H.F. Cary ] 943doppelganger 944 "Then we can only give thanks that this is Antarctica, where 945 there is not one, single, solitary, living thing for it to 946 imitate, except these animals in camp." 947 948 "Us," Blair giggled. "It can imitate us. Dogs can't make four 949 hundred miles to the sea; there's no food. There aren't any 950 skua gulls to imitate at this season. There aren't any 951 penguins this far inland. There's nothing that can reach the 952 sea from this point - except us. We've got brains. We can do 953 it. Don't you see - it's got to imitate us - it's got to be one 954 of us - that's the only way it can fly an airplane - fly a plane 955 for two hours, and rule - be - all Earth's inhabitants. A world 956 for the taking - if it imitates us! 957 [ Who Goes There?, by John W. Campbell ] 958 959 Xander: Let go! I have to kill the demon bot! 960 Xander Double (grabbing the gun): Anya, get out of the way. 961 Buffy: Xander! 962 Xander Double: That's all right, Buffy. I have him. 963 Xander: No, Buffy, I'm me. Help me! 964 Anya: My gun, he's got my gun. 965 Riley: You own a gun? 966 Buffy: Xander, gun holding Xander, give it to me. 967 Anya: Buffy, which one's real? 968 Xander: I am. 969 Xander Double: No, _I_ am. 970 [ Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Episode 5.03, "The Replacement" ] 971*dragon 972*xoth 973 In the West the dragon was the natural enemy of man. Although 974 preferring to live in bleak and desolate regions, whenever it 975 was seen among men it left in its wake a trail of destruction 976 and disease. Yet any attempt to slay this beast was a perilous 977 undertaking. For the dragon's assailant had to contend 978 not only with clouds of sulphurous fumes pouring from its fire 979 breathing nostrils, but also with the thrashings of its tail, 980 the most deadly part of its serpent-like body. 981 [ Mythical Beasts by Deirdre Headon (The Leprechaun Library) ] 982 983 "One whom the dragons will speak with," he said, "that is a 984 dragonlord, or at least that is the center of the matter. It's 985 not a trick of mastering the dragons, as most people think. 986 Dragons have no masters. The question is always the same, with 987 a dragon: will he talk to you or will he eat you? If you can 988 count upon his doing the former, and not doing the latter, why 989 then you're a dragonlord." 990 [ The Tombs of Atuan, by Ursula K. Le Guin ] 991*drum* 992 Many travelers have seen the drums of the great apes, and 993 some have heard the sounds of their beating and the noise of 994 the wild, weird revelry of these first lords of the jungle, 995 but Tarzan, Lord Greystoke, is, doubtless, the only human 996 being who ever joined in the fierce, mad, intoxicating revel 997 of the Dum-Dum. 998 [ Tarzan of the Apes, by Edgar Rice Burroughs ] 999~dwarf ??m* 1000dwarf* 1001dwar* cave*man 1002 Dwarfs have faces like men (ugly men, with wrinkled, leathery 1003 skins), but are generally either flat-footed, duck-footed, or 1004 have feet pointing backwards. They are of the earth, earthy, 1005 living in the darkest of caverns and venturing forth only 1006 with the cloaks by which they can make themselves invisible, 1007 and others disguised as toads. Miners often come across them, 1008 and sometimes establish reasonably close relations with them. 1009 ... The miners of Cornwall were always delighted to hear a 1010 bucca busily mining away, for all dwarfs have an infallible 1011 nose for precious metals. 1012 Among other things, dwarfs are rightly valued for their skill 1013 as blacksmiths and jewellers: they made Odin his famous spear 1014 Gungnir, and Thor his hammer; for Freya they designed a 1015 magnificent necklace, and for Frey a golden boar. And in their 1016 spare time they are excellent bakers. Ironically, despite 1017 their odd feet, they are particularly fond of dancing. They 1018 can also see into the future, and consequently are excellent 1019 meteorologists. They can be free with presents to people 1020 they like, and a dwarvish gift is likely to turn to gold in 1021 the hand. But on the whole they are a snappish lot. 1022 [ The Immortals, by Derek and Julia Parker ] 1023earendil 1024elwing 1025 In after days, when because of the triumph of Morgoth Elves and 1026 Men became estranged, as he most wished, those of the Elven-race 1027 that lived still in Middle-earth waned and faded, and Men usurped 1028 the sunlight. Then the Quendi wandered in the lonely places of the 1029 great lands and the isles, and took to the moonlight and the 1030 starlight, and to the woods and the caves, becoming as shadows 1031 and memories, save those who ever and anon set sail into the West 1032 and vanished from Middle-earth. But in the dawn of years Elves 1033 and Men were allies and held themselves akin, and there were some 1034 among Men that learned the wisdom of the Eldar, and became great 1035 and valiant among the captains of the Noldor. And in the glory 1036 and beauty of the Elves, and in their fate, full share had the 1037 offspring of elf and mortal, Earendil, and Elwing, and Elrond 1038 their child. 1039 [ The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 1040eel 1041giant eel 1042 The behaviour of eels in fresh water extends the air of 1043 mystery surrounding them. They move freely into muddy, silty 1044 bottoms of lakes, lying buried in the daylight hours in summer. 1045 [...] Eels are voracious carnivores, feeding mainly at 1046 night and consuming a wide variety of fishes and invertebrate 1047 creatures. Contrary to earlier thinking, eels seek living 1048 rather than dead creatures and are not habitual eaters of 1049 carrion. 1050 [ Freshwater Fishes of Canada, by Scott and Crossman ] 1051egg 1052 But I asked why not keep it and let the hen sit on it till it 1053 hatched, and then we could see what would come out of it. 1054 "Nothing good, I'm certain of that," Mom said. "It would 1055 probably be something horrible. But just remember, if it's a 1056 crocodile or a dragon or something like that, I won't have it 1057 in my house for one minute." 1058 [ The Enormous Egg, by Oliver Butterworth ] 1059elbereth 1060 ... Even as they stepped over the threshold a single clear 1061 voice rose in song. 1062 1063 A Elbereth Gilthoniel, 1064 silivren penna miriel 1065 o menel aglar elenath! 1066 Na-chaered palan-diriel 1067 o galadhremmin ennorath, 1068 Fanuilos, le linnathon 1069 nef aear, si nef aearon! 1070 1071 Frodo halted for a moment, looking back. Elrond was in his 1072 chair and the fire was on his face like summer-light upon the 1073 trees. Near him sat the Lady Arwen. [...] 1074 He stood still enchanted, while the sweet syllables of the 1075 elvish song fell like clear jewels of blended word and melody. 1076 "It is a song to Elbereth," said Bilbo. "They will sing that, 1077 and other songs of the Blessed Realm, many times tonight. 1078 Come on!" 1079 [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 1080electric eel 1081 South-American fish (_Gymnotus electricus_), living in fresh 1082 water. Shaped like a serpent, it can grow up to 2 metres. 1083 This eel is known for its electrical organ which enables it 1084 to paralyse creatures up to the size of a horse. 1085 [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] 1086*elemental 1087 Elementals are manifestations of the basic nature of the 1088 universe. There are four known forms of elementals: air, fire, 1089 water, and earth. Some mystics have postulated the necessity 1090 for a fifth type, the spirit elemental, but none have ever 1091 been encountered, at least on this plane of existence. 1092~elf ??m* 1093*elf* 1094elvenking 1095 The Elves sat round the fire upon the grass or upon the sawn 1096 rings of old trunks. Some went to and fro bearing cups and 1097 pouring drinks; others brought food on heaped plates and 1098 dishes. 1099 "This is poor fare," they said to the hobbits; "for we are 1100 lodging in the greenwood far from our halls. If ever you are 1101 our guests at home, we will treat you better." 1102 "It seems to me good enough for a birthday-party," said Frodo. 1103 Pippin afterwards recalled little of either food or drink, for 1104 his mind was filled with the light upon the elf-faces, and the 1105 sound of voices so various and so beautiful that he felt in a 1106 waking dream. [...] 1107 Sam could never describe in words, nor picture clearly to 1108 himself, what he felt or thought that night, though it remained 1109 in his memory as one of the chief events of his life. The 1110 nearest he ever got was to say: "Well, sir, if I could grow 1111 apples like that, I would call myself a gardener. But it was 1112 the singing that went to my heart, if you know what I mean." 1113 [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 1114elven cloak 1115 The Elves next unwrapped and gave to each of the Company the 1116 clothes they had brought. For each they had provided a hood 1117 and cloak, made according to his size, of the light but warm 1118 silken stuff that the Galadrim wove. It was hard to say of 1119 what colour they were: grey with the hue of twilight under 1120 the trees they seemed to be; and yet if they were moved, or 1121 set in another light, they were green as shadowed leaves, or 1122 brown as fallow fields by night, dusk-silver as water under 1123 the stars. 1124 [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 1125emerald 1126 'Put off that mask of burning gold 1127 With emerald eyes.' 1128 'O no, my dear, you make so bold 1129 To find if hearts be wild and wise, 1130 And yet not cold.' 1131 1132 'I would but find what's there to find, 1133 Love or deceit.' 1134 'It was the mask engaged your mind, 1135 And after set your heart to beat, 1136 Not what's behind.' 1137 1138 'But lest you are my enemy, 1139 I must enquire.' 1140 'O no, my dear, let all that be; 1141 What matter, so there is but fire 1142 In you, in me?' 1143 [ The Mask, by W.B. Yeats ] 1144erinys 1145erinyes 1146 These female-seeming devils named after the Furies of mythology 1147 attack hand to hand and poison their unwary victims as well. 1148ettin 1149 The two-headed giant, or ettin, is a vicious and unpredictable 1150 hunter that stalks by night and eats any meat it can catch. 1151excalibur 1152 At first only its tip was visible, but then it rose, straight, 1153 proud, all that was noble and great and wondrous. The tip of 1154 the blade pointed toward the moon, as if it would cleave it 1155 in two. The blade itself gleamed like a beacon in the night. 1156 There was no light source for the sword to be reflecting 1157 from, for the moon had darted behind a cloud in fear. The 1158 sword was glowing from the intensity of its strength and 1159 power and knowledge that it was justice incarnate, and that 1160 after a slumber of uncounted years its time had again come. 1161 After the blade broke the surface, the hilt was visible, and 1162 holding the sword was a single strong, yet feminine hand, 1163 wearing several rings that bore jewels sparkling with the 1164 blue-green color of the ocean. 1165 [ Knight Life, by Peter David ] 1166expensive camera 1167 There was a time when Rincewind had quite liked the iconoscope. 1168 He believed, against all experience, that the world was 1169 fundamentally understandable, and that if he could only equip 1170 himself with the right mental toolbox he could take the back off 1171 and see how it worked. He was, of course, dead wrong. The 1172 iconoscope didn't take pictures by letting light fall onto 1173 specially treated paper, as he had surmised, but by the far 1174 simpler method of imprisoning a small demon with a good eye for 1175 colour and a speedy hand with a paintbrush. He had been very 1176 upset to find that out. 1177 [ The Light Fantastic, by Terry Pratchett ] 1178eye of the aethiopica 1179 This is a powerful amulet of ESP. In addition to its standard 1180 powers, it regenerates the energy of anyone who carries 1181 it, allowing them to cast spells more often. It also reduces 1182 any spell damage to the person who carries it by half, and 1183 protects from magic missiles. Finally, when invoked it has 1184 the power to instantly open a portal to any other area of the 1185 dungeon, allowing its invoker to travel quickly between 1186 areas. 1187eyes of the overworld 1188 ... and finally there is "the Eyes of the Overworld". This 1189 obscure artifact pushes the wearer's view sense into the 1190 "overworld" -- another name for a segment of the Astral Plane. 1191 Usually, there is nothing to be seen. However, the wearer 1192 is also able to look back and see the area around herself, 1193 much like looking on a map. Why anyone would want to ... 1194figurine* 1195 Then it appeared in Paris at just about the time that Paris 1196 was full of Carlists who had to get out of Spain. One of 1197 them must have brought it with him, but, whoever he was, it's 1198 likely he knew nothing about its real value. It had been -- 1199 no doubt as a precaution during the Carlist trouble in Spain 1200 -- painted or enameled over to look like nothing more than a 1201 fairly interesting black statuette. And in that disguise, 1202 sir, it was, you might say, kicked around Paris for seventy 1203 years by private owners and dealers too stupid to see what 1204 it was under the skin. 1205 [ The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett ] 1206floating eye 1207 Floating eyes, not surprisingly, are large, floating eyeballs 1208 which drift about the dungeon. Though not dangerous in and 1209 of themselves, their power to paralyse those who gaze at 1210 their large eye in combat is widely feared. Many are the 1211 tales of those who struck a floating eye, were paralysed by 1212 its mystic powers, and then nibbled to death by some other 1213 creature that lurked around nearby. 1214flesh golem 1215 With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected 1216 the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark 1217 of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was 1218 already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against 1219 the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the 1220 glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow 1221 eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive 1222 motion agitated its limbs. 1223 1224 How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how 1225 delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I 1226 had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I 1227 had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful!--Great God! 1228 His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and 1229 arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and 1230 flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances 1231 only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that 1232 seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in 1233 which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight 1234 black lips. 1235 [ Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ] 1236*flute 1237 With this thou canst do mighty deeds 1238 And change men's passions for thy needs: 1239 A man's despair with joy allay, 1240 Turn bachelors old to lovers gay. 1241 [ The Magic Flute, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ] 1242fog cloud 1243 The fog comes 1244 on little cat feet. 1245 1246 It sits looking 1247 over harbor and city 1248 on silent haunches 1249 and then moves on. 1250 [ Fog, by Carl Sandburg ] 1251fountain 1252 Rest! This little Fountain runs 1253 Thus for aye: -- It never stays 1254 For the look of summer suns, 1255 Nor the cold of winter days. 1256 Whose'er shall wander near, 1257 When the Syrian heat is worst, 1258 Let him hither come, nor fear 1259 Lest he may not slake his thirst: 1260 He will find this little river 1261 Running still, as bright as ever. 1262 Let him drink, and onward hie, 1263 Bearing but in thought, that I, 1264 Erotas, bade the Naiad fall, 1265 And thank the great god Pan for all! 1266 [ For a Fountain, by Bryan Waller Procter ] 1267fox 1268 One hot summer's day a Fox was strolling through an orchard 1269 till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine 1270 which had been trained over a lofty branch. "Just the thing 1271 to quench my thirst," quoth he. Drawing back a few paces, he 1272 took a run and a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning 1273 round again with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with 1274 no greater success. Again and again he tried after the 1275 tempting morsel, but at last had to give it up, and walked 1276 away with his nose in the air, saying: "I am sure they are 1277 sour." 1278 [ Aesop's Fables ] 1279*fung* 1280 Fungi, division of simple plants that lack chlorophyll, true 1281 stems, roots, and leaves. Unlike algae, fungi cannot 1282 photosynthesize, and live as parasites or saprophytes. The 1283 division comprises the slime molds and true fungi. True 1284 fungi are multicellular (with the exception of yeasts); the 1285 body of most true fungi consists of slender cottony 1286 filaments, or hyphae. All fungi are capable of asexual 1287 reproduction by cell division, budding, fragmentation, or 1288 spores. Those that reproduce sexually alternate a sexual 1289 generation (gametophyte) with a spore-producing one. The 1290 four classes of true fungi are the algaelike fungi (e.g., 1291 black bread mold and downy mildew), sac fungi (e.g., yeasts, 1292 powdery mildews, truffles, and blue and green molds such as 1293 Penicillium), basidium fungi (e.g., mushrooms and puffballs) 1294 and imperfect fungi (e.g., species that cause athlete's foot 1295 and ringworm). Fungi help decompose organic matter (important 1296 in soil renewal); are valuable as a source of antibiotics, 1297 vitamins, and various chemicals; and for their role in 1298 fermentation, e.g., in bread and alcoholic beverage 1299 production. 1300 [ The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia ] 1301*gargoyle 1302 And so it came to pass that while Man ruled on Earth, the 1303 gargoyles waited, lurking, hidden from the light. Reborn 1304 every 600 years in Man's reckoning of time, the gargoyles 1305 joined battle against Man to gain dominion over the Earth. 1306 1307 In each coming, the gargoyles were nearly destroyed by Men 1308 who flourished in greater numbers. Now it has been so many 1309 hundreds of years that it seems the ancient statues and 1310 paintings of gargoyles are just products of Man's 1311 imagination. In this year, with Man's thoughts turned toward 1312 the many ills he has brought among himself, Man has forgotten 1313 his most ancient adversary, the gargoyles. 1314 [ Excerpt from the opening narration to the movie 1315 _Gargoyles_, written by Stephen and Elinor Karpf ] 1316*garlic 1317 1 November - All day long we have travelled, and at a good 1318 speed. The horses seem to know that they are being kindly 1319 treated, for they go willingly their full stage at best 1320 speed. We have now had so many changes and find the same 1321 thing so constantly that we are encouraged to think that the 1322 journey will be an easy one. Dr. Van Helsing is laconic, he 1323 tells the farmers that he is hurrying to Bistritz, and pays 1324 them well to make the exchange of horses. We get hot soup, 1325 or coffee, or tea, and off we go. It is a lovely country. 1326 Full of beauties of all imaginable kinds, and the people are 1327 brave, and strong, and simple, and seem full of nice 1328 qualities. They are very, very superstitious. In the first 1329 house where we stopped, when the woman who served us saw the 1330 scar on my forehead, she crossed herself and put out two 1331 fingers towards me, to keep off the evil eye. I believe they 1332 went to the trouble of putting an extra amount of garlic into 1333 our food, and I can't abide garlic. Ever since then I have 1334 taken care not to take off my hat or veil, and so have 1335 escaped their suspicions. 1336 [ Dracula, by Bram Stoker ] 1337# gas spore -- see *spore 1338geryon 1339 Geryon is an arch-devil sometimes called the Wild Beast, 1340 attacking with his claws and poison sting. His ranking in 1341 Hell is rumored to be quite low. 1342*ghost 1343 And now the souls of the dead who had gone below came swarming 1344 up from Erebus -- fresh brides, unmarried youths, old men 1345 with life's long suffering behind them, tender young girls 1346 still nursing this first anguish in their hearts, and a great 1347 throng of warriors killed in battle, their spear-wounds gaping 1348 yet and all their armour stained with blood. From this 1349 multitude of souls, as they fluttered to and fro by the 1350 trench, there came a moaning that was horrible to hear. 1351 Panic drained the blood from my cheeks. 1352 [ The Odyssey, (chapter Lambda), by Homer ] 1353ghoul 1354 The forces of the gloom know each other, and are strangely 1355 balanced by each other. Teeth and claws fear what they cannot 1356 grasp. Blood-drinking bestiality, voracious appetites, hunger 1357 in search of prey, the armed instincts of nails and jaws which 1358 have for source and aim the belly, glare and smell out 1359 uneasily the impassive spectral forms straying beneath a 1360 shroud, erect in its vague and shuddering robe, and which seem 1361 to them to live with a dead and terrible life. These 1362 brutalities, which are only matter, entertain a confused fear 1363 of having to deal with the immense obscurity condensed into an 1364 unknown being. A black figure barring the way stops the wild 1365 beast short. That which emerges from the cemetery intimidates 1366 and disconcerts that which emerges from the cave; the 1367 ferocious fear the sinister; wolves recoil when they encounter 1368 a ghoul. 1369 [ Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo ] 1370*giant 1371giant humanoid 1372 Giants have always walked the earth, though they are rare in 1373 these times. They range in size from little over nine feet 1374 to a towering twenty feet or more. The larger ones use huge 1375 boulders as weapons, hurling them over large distances. All 1376 types of giants share a love for men - roasted, boiled, or 1377 fried. Their table manners are legendary. 1378# note: "gnomish wizard" is a monster; cave*man entry doesn't fit nonhumans 1379~gnome ??m* 1380gnome* 1381gnomish wizard 1382gnom* cave*man 1383 ... And then a gnome came by, carrying a bundle, an old 1384 fellow three times as large as an imp and wearing clothes of 1385 a sort, especially a hat. And he was clearly just as frightened 1386 as the imps though he could not go so fast. Ramon Alonzo 1387 saw that there must be some great trouble that was vexing 1388 magical things; and, since gnomes speak the language of men, and 1389 will answer if spoken to gently, he raised his hat, and asked 1390 of the gnome his name. The gnome did not stop his hasty 1391 shuffle a moment as he answered 'Alaraba' and grabbed the rim 1392 of his hat but forgot to doff it. 1393 'What is the trouble, Alaraba?' said Ramon Alonzo. 1394 'White magic. Run!' said the gnome .. 1395 [ The Charwoman's Shadow, by Lord Dunsany ] 1396 1397 "Muggles have garden gnomes, too, you know," Harry told Ron as 1398 they crossed the lawn. 1399 "Yeah, I've seen those things they think are gnomes," said Ron, 1400 bent double with his head in a peony bush, "like fat little 1401 Santa Clauses with fishing rods..." 1402 There was a violent scuffling noise, the peony bush shuddered, 1403 and Ron straightened up. "This is a gnome," he said grimly. 1404 "Geroff me! Gerroff me!" squealed the gnome. 1405 It was certainly nothing like Santa Claus. It was small and 1406 leathery looking, with a large, knobby, bald head exactly like 1407 a potato. Ron held it at arm's length as it kicked out at him 1408 with its horny little feet; he grasped it around the ankles 1409 and turned it upside down. 1410 [ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J. K. Rowling ] 1411goblin 1412 Now goblins are cruel, wicked, and bad-hearted. They make 1413 no beautiful things, but they make many clever ones. They 1414 can tunnel and mine as well as any but the most skilled 1415 dwarves, when they take the trouble, though they are usually 1416 untidy and dirty. Hammers, axes, swords, daggers, pickaxes, 1417 tongs, and also instruments of torture, they make very well, 1418 or get other people to make to their design, prisoners and 1419 slaves that have to work till they die for want of air and 1420 light. 1421 [ The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 1422god 1423goddess 1424 Goddesses and Gods operate in ones, threesomes, or whole 1425 pantheons of nine or more (see Religion). Most of them claim 1426 to have made the world, and this is indeed a likely claim in 1427 the case of threesomes or pantheons: Fantasyland does have 1428 the air of having been made by a committee. But all Goddesses 1429 and Gods, whether they say they made the world or not, have 1430 very detailed short-term plans for it which they are determined 1431 to carry out. Consequently they tend to push people into the 1432 required actions by the use of coincidence or Prophecy, or just 1433 by narrowing down your available choices of what to do next: 1434 if a deity is pushing you, things will go miserably badly until 1435 there is only one choice left to you. 1436 [ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones ] 1437gold 1438gold piece 1439zorkmid 1440 A metal of characteristic yellow colour, the most precious 1441 metal used as a common commercial medium of exchange. Symbol, 1442 Au; at. no. 79; at. wt. 197.2. It is the most malleable 1443 and ductile of all metals, and very heavy (sp. gr., 19.3). 1444 It is quite unalterable by heat, moisture, and most 1445 corrosive agents, and therefore well suited for its use in 1446 coin and jewelry. 1447 [ Webster's New International Dictionary 1448 of the English Language, Second Edition ] 1449gold golem 1450 The bellows he set away from the fire, and gathered all the tools 1451 wherewith he wrought into a silver chest; and with a sponge wiped 1452 he his face and his two hands withal, and his mighty neck and 1453 shaggy breast, and put upon him a tunic, and grasped a stout staff, 1454 and went forth halting; but there moved swiftly to support their 1455 lord handmaidens wrought of gold in the semblance of living maids. 1456 In them is understanding in their hearts, and in them speech and 1457 strength, and they know cunning handiwork by gift of the immortal 1458 gods. 1459 [ The Iliad, by Homer ] 1460~gold golem 1461~flesh golem 1462*golem 1463 "The original story harks back, so they say, to the sixteenth 1464 century. Using long-lost formulas from the Kabbala, a rabbi is 1465 said to have made an artificial man -- the so-called Golem -- to 1466 help ring the bells in the Synagogue and for all kinds of other 1467 menial work. 1468 "But he hadn't made a full man, and it was animated by some sort 1469 of vegetable half-life. What life it had, too, so the story 1470 runs, was only derived from the magic charm placed behind its 1471 teeth each day, that drew down to itself what was known as the 1472 `free sidereal strength of the universe.' 1473 "One evening, before evening prayers, the rabbi forgot to take 1474 the charm out of the Golem's mouth, and it fell into a frenzy. 1475 It raged through the dark streets, smashing everything in its 1476 path, until the rabbi caught up with it, removed the charm, and 1477 destroyed it. Then the Golem collapsed, lifeless. All that was 1478 left of it was a small clay image, which you can still see in 1479 the Old Synagogue." ... 1480 [ The Golem, by Gustav Meyrink ] 1481grave 1482 "Who'd care to dig 'em," said the old, old man, 1483 "Those six feet marked in chalk? 1484 Much I talk, more I walk; 1485 Time I were buried," said the old, old man. 1486 [ Three Songs to the Same Tune, by W.B. Yeats ] 1487grayswandir 1488 Why had I been wearing Grayswandir? Would another weapon have 1489 affected a Logrus-ghost as strongly? Had it really been my 1490 father, then, who had brought me here? And had he felt I might 1491 need the extra edge his weapon could provide? I wanted to 1492 think so, to believe that he had been more than a Pattern-ghost. 1493 [ Knight of Shadows, by Roger Zelazny ] 1494*grease 1495 ANOINT, v.t. To grease a king or other great functionary 1496 already sufficiently slippery. 1497 [ The Devil's Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce ] 1498gremlin 1499 The gremlin is a highly intelligent and completely evil 1500 creature. It lives to torment other creatures and will go 1501 to great lengths to inflict pain or cause injury. 1502 1503 Suddenly, Wilson thought about war, about the newspaper 1504 stories which recounted the alleged existence of creatures in 1505 the sky who plagued the Allied pilots in their duties. They 1506 called them gremlins, he remembered. Were there, actually, 1507 such beings? Did they, truly, exist up here, never falling, 1508 riding on the wind, apparently of bulk and weight, yet 1509 impervious to gravity? 1510 He was thinking that when the man appeared again. 1511 [ Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, by Richard Matheson ] 1512grid bug 1513 These electronically based creatures are not native to this 1514 universe. They appear to come from a world whose laws of 1515 motion are radically different from ours. 1516 1517 Tron looked to his mate and pilot. "I'm going to check on 1518 the beam connection, Yori. You two can keep a watch out for 1519 grid bugs." Tron paced forward along the slender catwalk 1520 that still seemed awfully insubstantial to Flynn, though he 1521 knew it to be amazingly sturdy. He gazed after Tron, asking 1522 himself what in the world a grid bug was, and hoping that the 1523 beam connection -- to which he'd given no thought whatsoever 1524 until this moment -- was healthy and sound." 1525 [ Tron, novel by Brian Daley, story by Steven Lisberger ] 1526gunyoki 1527 The samurai's last meal before battle. It was usually made 1528 up of cooked chestnuts, dried seaweed, and sake. 1529hachi 1530 Hachi was a dog that went with his master, a professor, to 1531 the Shibuya train station every morning. In the afternoon, 1532 when his master was to return from work Hachi would be there 1533 waiting. One day his master died at the office, and did not 1534 return. For over ten years Hachi returned to the station 1535 every afternoon to wait for his master. When Hachi died a 1536 statue was erected on the station platform in his honor. It 1537 is said to bring you luck if you touch his statue. 1538*harp 1539 A triangular stringed instrument, often Magic. Even when not 1540 Magic, a Harp is surprisingly portable and tough and can be 1541 carried everywhere on the back of the Bard or Harper in all 1542 weathers. A Harp seldom goes out of tune and never warps. 1543 Its strings break only in very rare instances, usually 1544 because the Harper is sulking or crossed in love. This is 1545 just as well as no one seems to make or sell spare strings. 1546 [ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones ] 1547 1548 After breakfast was over, the ogre called out: "Wife, wife, 1549 bring me my golden harp." So she brought it and put it on 1550 the table before him. Then he said: "Sing!" and the golden 1551 harp sang most beautifully. And it went on singing till the 1552 ogre fell asleep, and commenced to snore like thunder. 1553 Then Jack lifted up the copper-lid very quietly and got down 1554 like a mouse and crept on hands and knees till he came to the 1555 table, when up he crawled, caught hold of the golden harp and 1556 dashed with it towards the door. But the harp called out 1557 quite loud: "Master! Master!" and the ogre woke up just in 1558 time to see Jack running off with his harp. 1559 [ Jack and the Beanstalk, from English Fairy Tales, 1560 by Joseph Jacobs ] 1561healer 1562* healer 1563attendant 1564doctor 1565physician 1566 I swear by Apollo the physician, and Aesculapius, and Health, 1567 and All-heal, and all the gods and goddesses, that, according 1568 to my ability and judgment, I will keep this Oath and this 1569 stipulation -- to reckon him who taught me this Art equally dear 1570 to me as my parents, to share my substance with him, and relieve 1571 his necessities if required; to look upon his offspring in the 1572 same footing as my own brothers, and to teach them this art, if 1573 they shall wish to learn it, without fee or stipulation; and 1574 that by precept, lecture, and every other mode of instruction, 1575 I will impart a knowledge of the Art to my own sons, and those 1576 of my teachers, and to disciples bound by a stipulation and oath 1577 according to the law of medicine, but to none others. I will 1578 follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and 1579 judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain 1580 from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. [...] 1581 [ Hippocrates' Oath, translated by Francis Adams ] 1582 1583 PHYSICIAN, n. One upon whom we set our hopes when ill and our 1584 dogs when well. 1585 [ The Devil's Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce ] 1586heart of ahriman 1587 The other three drew in their breath sharply, and the dark, 1588 powerful man who stood at the head of the sarcophagus whispered: 1589 "The Heart of Ahriman!" The other lifted a quick hand 1590 for silence. Somewhere a dog began howling dolefully, and a 1591 stealthy step padded outside the barred and bolted door. ... 1592 But none looked aside from the mummy case over which the man 1593 in the ermine-trimmed robe was now moving the great flaming 1594 jewel, while he muttered an incantation that was old when 1595 Atlantis sank. The glare of the gem dazzled their eyes, so 1596 that they could not be sure what they saw; but with a 1597 splintering crash, the carven lid of the sarcophagus burst 1598 outward as if from some irresistible pressure applied from 1599 within and the four men, bending eagerly forward, saw the 1600 occupant -- a huddled, withered, wizened shape, with dried 1601 brown limbs like dead wood showing through moldering bandages. 1602 "Bring that thing back?" muttered the small dark man who 1603 stood on the right, with a short, sardonic laugh. "It is 1604 ready to crumble at a touch. We are fools ---" 1605 [ Conan The Conqueror, by Robert E. Howard ] 1606hell hound* 1607 Hell hounds are fire-breathing canines from another plane of 1608 existence brought here in the service of evil beings. A hell 1609 hound resembles a large hound with rust-red or red-brown fur, 1610 and red, glowing eyes. The markings, teeth, and tongue are 1611 soot black. It stands two to three feet high at the shoulder 1612 and has a distinct odour of smoke and sulphur. The baying 1613 sounds it makes have an eerie, hollow tone that sends a shiver 1614 through any who hear them. 1615hermes 1616 Messenger and herald of the Olympians. Being required to do 1617 a great deal of travelling and speaking in public, he became 1618 the god of eloquence, travellers, merchants, and thieves. He 1619 was one of the most energetic of the Greek gods, a 1620 Machiavellian character full of trickery and sexual vigour. 1621 Like other Greek gods, he is endowed with not-inconsiderable 1622 sexual prowess which he directs towards countryside nymphs. 1623 He is a god of boundaries, guardian of graves and patron deity 1624 of shepherds. He is usually depicted as a handsome young 1625 man wearing winged golden sandals and holding a magical 1626 herald's staff consisting of intertwined serpents, the 1627 kerykeion. He is reputedly the only being able to find his way 1628 to the underworld ferry of Charon and back again. He is said 1629 to have invented, among other things, the lyre, Pan's Pipes, 1630 numbers, the alphabet, weights and measures, and sacrificing. 1631hezrou 1632 "Hezrou" is the common name for the type II demon. It is 1633 among the weaker of demons, but still quite formidable. 1634hippocrates 1635 Greek physician, recognized as the father of medicine. He 1636 is believed to have been born on the island of Cos, to have 1637 studied under his father, a physician, to have traveled for 1638 some time, perhaps studying in Athens, and to have then 1639 returned to practice, teach, and write at Cos. The 1640 Hippocratic or Coan school that formed around him was of 1641 enormous importance in separating medicine from superstition 1642 and philosophic speculation, placing it on a strictly 1643 scientific plane based on objective observation and critical 1644 deductive reasoning. 1645 [ The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition ] 1646hobbit 1647 Hobbits are an unobtrusive but very ancient people, more 1648 numerous formerly than they are today; for they love peace 1649 and quiet and good tilled earth: a well-ordered and well- 1650 farmed countryside was their favourite haunt. They do not 1651 and did not understand or like machines more complicated 1652 than a forge-bellows, a water-mill, or a handloom, although 1653 they were skillful with tools. Even in ancient days they 1654 were, as a rule, shy of "the Big Folk", as they call us, and 1655 now they avoid us with dismay and are becoming hard to find. 1656 [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 1657hobgoblin 1658 Hobgoblin. Used by the Puritans and in later times for 1659 wicked goblin spirits, as in Bunyan's "Hobgoblin nor foul 1660 friend", but its more correct use is for the friendly spirits 1661 of the brownie type. In "A midsummer night's dream" a 1662 fairy says to Shakespeare's Puck: 1663 Those that Hobgoblin call you, and sweet Puck, 1664 You do their work, and they shall have good luck: 1665 Are you not he? 1666 and obviously Puck would not wish to be called a hobgoblin 1667 if that was an ill-omened word. 1668 Hobgoblins are on the whole, good-humoured and ready to be 1669 helpful, but fond of practical joking, and like most of the 1670 fairies rather nasty people to annoy. Boggarts hover on the 1671 verge of hobgoblindom. Bogles are just over the edge. 1672 One Hob mentioned by Henderson, was Hob Headless who haunted 1673 the road between Hurworth and Neasham, but could not cross 1674 the little river Kent, which flowed into the Tess. He was 1675 exorcised and laid under a large stone by the roadside for 1676 ninety-nine years and a day. If anyone was so unwary as to 1677 sit on that stone, he would be unable to quit it for ever. 1678 The ninety-nine years is nearly up, so trouble may soon be 1679 heard of on the road between Hurworth and Neasham. 1680 [ A Dictionary of Fairies, by Katharine Briggs ] 1681holy water 1682 "We want a word with you," said Ligur (in a tone of voice 1683 intended to imply that "word" was synonymous with "horrifically 1684 painful eternity"), and the squat demon pushed open the office 1685 door. 1686 The bucket teetered, then fell neatly on Ligur's head. 1687 Drop a lump of sodium in water. Watch it flame and burn and 1688 spin around crazily, flaring and sputtering. This was like 1689 that, just nastier. 1690 The demon peeled and flared and flickered. Oily brown smoke 1691 oozed from it, and it screamed and it screamed and it screamed. 1692 Then it crumpled, folded in on itself, and what was left lay 1693 glistening on the burnt and blackened circle of carpet, looking 1694 like a handful of mashed slugs. 1695 "Hi," said Crowley to Hastur, who had been walking behind Ligur, 1696 and had unfortunately not been so much as splashed. 1697 There are some things that are unthinkable; there are some 1698 depths that not even demons would believe other demons would 1699 stoop to. 1700 ". . . Holy water. You bastard," said Hastur. "You complete 1701 _bastard_. He hadn't never done nothing to _you_." 1702 "Yet," corrected Crowley. 1703 [ Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett ] 1704hom*nculus 1705 A homunculus is a creature summoned by a mage to perform some 1706 particular task. They are particularly good at spying. They 1707 are smallish creatures, but very agile. They can put their 1708 victims to sleep with a venomous bite, but due to their size, 1709 the effect does not last long on humans. 1710 1711 "Tothapis cut him off. 'Be still and hearken. You will travel 1712 aboard the sacred wingboat. Of it you may not have heard; but 1713 it will bear you thither in a night and a day and a night. 1714 With you will go a homunculus that can relay your words to me, 1715 and mine to you, across the leagues between at the speed of 1716 thought.'" 1717 [ Conan the Rebel, by Poul Anderson ] 1718# also gets 'pruning hook' aka guisarme 1719*hook 1720 But as for Queequeg -- why, Queequeg sat there among them -- 1721 at the head of the table, too, it so chanced; as cool as an 1722 icicle. To be sure I cannot say much for his breeding. His 1723 greatest admirer could not have cordially justified his 1724 bringing his harpoon into breakfast with him, and using it 1725 there without ceremony; reaching over the table with it, to 1726 the imminent jeopardy of many heads, and grappling the 1727 beefsteaks towards him. 1728 [ Moby Dick, by Herman Melville ] 1729~unicorn horn 1730*horn 1731 Roland hath set the Olifant to his mouth, 1732 He grasps it well, and with great virtue sounds. 1733 High are those peaks, afar it rings and loud, 1734 Thirty great leagues they hear its echoes mount. 1735 So Charles heard, and all his comrades round; 1736 Then said that King: "Battle they do, our counts!" 1737 And Guenelun answered, contrarious: 1738 "That were a lie, in any other mouth." 1739 [ The Song of Roland ] 1740horned devil 1741 Horned devils lack any real special abilities, though they 1742 are quite difficult to kill. 1743~horsem* 1744*horse 1745 King Richard III: A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse! 1746 Catesby: Withdraw, my lord; I'll help you to a horse. 1747 King Richard III: Slave, I have set my life upon a cast, 1748 And I will stand the hazard of the die: 1749 I think there be six Richmonds in the field; 1750 Five have I slain to-day instead of him. 1751 A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse! 1752 [ King Richard III, by William Shakespeare ] 1753*horsem* 1754rider* 1755death 1756famine 1757pestilence 1758war 1759hunger 1760 [Pestilence:] And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, 1761 and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four 1762 beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white 1763 horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given 1764 unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. 1765 1766 [War:] And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the 1767 second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another 1768 horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon 1769 to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one 1770 another: and there was given unto him a great sword. 1771 1772 [Famine:] And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the 1773 third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black 1774 horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his 1775 hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, 1776 A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley 1777 for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. 1778 1779 [Death:] And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the 1780 voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and 1781 behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, 1782 and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over 1783 the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with 1784 hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. 1785 [ Revelations of John, 6:1-8 ] 1786huan*ti 1787 The first of five mythical Chinese emperors, Huan Ti is known 1788 as the yellow emperor. He rules the _moving_ heavens, as 1789 opposed to the _dark_ heavens. He is an inventor, said to 1790 have given mankind among other things, the wheel, armour, and 1791 the compass. He is the god of fortune telling and war. 1792hu*h*eto*l 1793minion of huhetotl 1794 Huehuetotl, or Huhetotl, which means Old God, was the Aztec 1795 (classical Mesoamerican) god of fire. He is generally 1796 associated with paternalism and one of the group classed 1797 as the Xiuhtecuhtli complex. He is known to send his 1798 minions to wreak havoc upon ordinary humans. 1799 [ after the Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] 1800humanoid 1801 Humanoids are all approximately the size of a human, and may 1802 be mistaken for one at a distance. They are usually of a 1803 tribal nature, and will fiercely defend their lairs. Usually 1804 hostile, they may even band together to raid and pillage 1805 human settlements. 1806human 1807chieftain 1808guard 1809ninja 1810nurse 1811page 1812ronin 1813shopkeeper 1814student 1815thug 1816warrior 1817*watch* 1818player 1819 These strange creatures live mostly on the surface of the 1820 earth, gathering together in societies of various forms, but 1821 occasionally a stray will descend into the depths and commit 1822 mayhem among the dungeon residents who, naturally, often 1823 resent the intrusion of such beasts. They are capable of 1824 using weapons and magic, and it is even rumored that the 1825 Wizard of Yendor is a member of this species. 1826hunter 1827 What of the hunting, hunter bold? 1828 Brother, the watch was long and cold. 1829 What of the quarry ye went to kill? 1830 Brother, he crops in the jungle still. 1831 Where is the power that made your pride? 1832 Brother, it ebbs from my flank and side. 1833 Where is the haste that ye hurry by? 1834 Brother, I go to my lair to die. 1835 [ The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling ] 1836ice devil 1837 Ice devils are large semi-insectoid creatures, who are 1838 equally at home in the fires of Hell and the cold of Limbo, 1839 and who can cause the traveller to feel the latter with just 1840 a touch of their tail. 1841imp 1842 ... imps ... little creatures of two feet high that could 1843 gambol and jump prodigiously; ... 1844 [ The Charwoman's Shadow, by Lord Dunsany ] 1845 1846 An 'imp' is an off-shoot or cutting. Thus an 'ymp tree' was 1847 a grafted tree, or one grown from a cutting, not from seed. 1848 'Imp' properly means a small devil, an off-shoot of Satan, 1849 but the distinction between goblins or bogles and imps from 1850 hell is hard to make, and many in the Celtic countries as 1851 well as the English Puritans regarded all fairies as devils. 1852 The fairies of tradition often hover uneasily between the 1853 ghostly and the diabolic state. 1854 [ A Dictionary of Fairies, by Katharine Briggs ] 1855incubus 1856succubus 1857 The incubus and succubus are male and female versions of the 1858 same demon, one who lies with a human for its own purposes, 1859 usually to the detriment of the mortals who are unwise in 1860 their dealings with them. 1861*iron ball 1862*iron chain 1863 "You are fettered, " said Scrooge, trembling. "Tell me why?" 1864 "I wear the chain I forged in life," replied the Ghost. "I 1865 made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my 1866 own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its 1867 pattern strange to you?" 1868 Scrooge trembled more and more. 1869 "Or would you know," pursued the Ghost, "the weight and 1870 length of the strong coil you bear yourself? It was full as 1871 heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago. You 1872 have laboured on it, since. It is a ponderous chain!" 1873 [ A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens ] 1874ishtar 1875 Ishtar (the star of heaven) is the Mesopotamian goddess of 1876 fertility and war. She is usually depicted with wings and 1877 weapon cases at her shoulders, carrying a ceremonial double- 1878 headed mace-scimitar embellished with lion heads, frequently 1879 being accompanied by a lion. She is symbolized by an eight- 1880 pointed star. 1881 [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] 1882issek 1883 Now Issek of the Jug, whom Fafhrd chose to serve, was once 1884 of the most lowly and unsuccessful of the gods, godlets 1885 rather, in Lankhmar. He had dwelt there for about thirteen 1886 years, during which time he had traveled only two squares up 1887 the Street of the Gods and was now back again, ready for 1888 oblivion. He is not to be confused with Issek the Armless, 1889 Issek of the Burnt Legs, Flayed Issek, or any other of the 1890 numerous and colorfully mutilated divinities of that name. 1891 Indeed, his unpopularity may have been due in part to the 1892 fact that the manner of his death -- racking -- was not 1893 deemed particularly spectacular. ... However, after Fafhrd 1894 became his acolyte, things somehow began to change. 1895 [ Swords In The Mist, by Fritz Leiber ] 1896izchak 1897 The shopkeeper of the lighting shop in the town level of the 1898 gnomish mines is a tribute to Izchak Miller, a founding member 1899 of the NetHack development team and a personal friend of a large 1900 number of us. Izchak contributed greatly to the game, coding a 1901 large amount of the shopkeep logic (hence the nature of the tribute) 1902 as well as a good part of the alignment system, the prayer code and 1903 the rewrite of "hell" in the 3.1 release. Izchak was a professor 1904 of Philosophy, who taught at many respected institutions, including 1905 MIT and Stanford, and who also worked, for a period of time, at 1906 Xerox PARC. Izchak was the first "librarian" of the NetHack project, 1907 and was a founding member of the DevTeam, joining in 1986 while he 1908 was working at the University of Pennsylvania (hence our former 1909 mailing list address). Until the 3.1.3 release, Izchak carefully 1910 kept all of the code synchronized and arbitrated disputes between 1911 members of the development teams. Izchak Miller passed away at the 1912 age of 58, in the early morning hours of April 1, 1994 from 1913 complications due to cancer. We then dedicated NetHack 3.2 in his 1914 memory. 1915 [ Mike Stephenson, for the NetHack DevTeam ] 1916jabberwock 1917vorpal* 1918 "Beware the Jabberwock, my son! 1919 The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! 1920 Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun 1921 The frumious Bandersnatch!" 1922 1923 He took his vorpal sword in hand; 1924 Long time the manxome foe he sought -- 1925 So rested he by the Tumtum tree, 1926 And stood awhile in thought. 1927 1928 And, as in uffish thought he stood, 1929 The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, 1930 Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, 1931 And burbled as it came! 1932 1933 One, two! One, two! And through and through 1934 The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! 1935 He left it dead, and with its head 1936 He went galumphing back. 1937 [ Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll ] 1938jackal 1939 In Asiatic folktale, jackal provides for the lion; he scares 1940 up game, which the lion kills and eats, and receives what is 1941 left as reward. In stories from northern India he is 1942 sometimes termed "minister to the king," i.e. to the lion. 1943 From the legend that he does not kill his own food has arisen 1944 the legend of his cowardice. Jackal's heart must never be 1945 eaten, for instance, in the belief of peoples indigenous to 1946 the regions where the jackal abounds. ... In Hausa Negro 1947 folktale Jackal plays the role of sagacious judge and is 1948 called "O Learned One of the Forest." The Bushmen say that 1949 Jackal goes around behaving the way he does "because he is 1950 Jackal". 1951 [ Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore ] 1952jade* 1953 Nothing grew among the ruins of the city. The streets were 1954 broken and the walls of the houses had fallen, but there were 1955 no weeds flowering in the cracks and it seemed that the city 1956 had but recently been brought down by an earthquake. Only 1957 one thing still stood intact, towering over the ruins. It 1958 was a gigantic statue of white, gray and green jade - the 1959 statue of a naked youth with a face of almost feminine beauty 1960 that turned sightless eyes toward the north. 1961 "The eyes!" Duke Avan Astran said. "They're gone!" 1962 [ The Jade Man's Eyes, by Michael Moorcock ] 1963jaguar 1964 Large, flesh-eating animal of the cat family, of Central and 1965 South America. This feline predator (_Panthera onca_) is 1966 sometimes incorrectly called a panther. 1967 [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] 1968jellyfish 1969 I do not care to share the seas 1970 With jellyfishes such as these; 1971 Particularly Portuguese. 1972 [ Lines on Meeting a Portuguese Man-o'-war while 1973 Bathing, by Michael Flanders ] 1974juiblex 1975jubilex 1976 Little is known about the Faceless Lord, even the correct 1977 spelling of his name. He does not have a physical form as 1978 we know it, and those who have peered into his realm claim 1979 he is a slime-like creature who swallows other creatures 1980 alive, spits acidic secretions, and causes disease in his 1981 victims which can be almost instantly fatal. 1982kabuto 1983 The kabuto is the helmet worn by the samurai. It was 1984 characterized by a prominent beaked front which jutted out over 1985 the brow to protect the wearer's face; a feature that gives 1986 rise to their modern Japanese name of 'shokaku tsuki kabuto' 1987 (battering-ram helmet). Their main constructional element 1988 was an oval plate, the shokaku bo, slightly domed for the 1989 head with a narrow prolongation in front that curved forwards 1990 and downwards where it developed a pronounced central 1991 fold. Two horizontal strips encircling the head were riveted 1992 to this frontal strip: the lower one, the koshimaki (hip 1993 wrap), formed the lower edge of the helmet bowl; the other, 1994 the do maki (body wrap), was set at about the level of the 1995 temples. Filling the gaps between these strips and the shokaku 1996 bo were small plates, sometimes triangular but more commonly 1997 rectangular in shape. Because the front projected so 1998 far from the head, the triangular gap beneath was filled by 1999 a small plate, the shoshaku tei ita, whose rear edge bent 2000 downwards into a flange that rested against the forehead. 2001 [ Arms & Armour of the Samurai, by Bottomley & Hopson ] 2002katana 2003 The katana is a long, single-edged samurai sword with a 2004 slightly curved blade. Its long handle is designed to allow 2005 it to be wielded with either one or two hands. 2006ki-rin 2007 The ki-rin is a strange-looking flying creature. It has 2008 scales, a mane like a lion, a tail, hooves, and a horn. It 2009 is brightly colored, and can usually be found flying in the 2010 sky looking for good deeds to reward. 2011king arthur 2012*arthur 2013 Ector took both his sons to the church before which the 2014 anvil had been placed. There, standing before the anvil, he 2015 commanded Kay: "Put the sword back into the steel if you 2016 really think the throne is yours!" But the sword glanced 2017 off the steel. "Now it is your turn", Ector said facing 2018 Arthur. 2019 The young man lifted the sword and thrust with both arms; the 2020 blade whizzed through the air with a flash and drilled the 2021 metal as if it were mere butter. Ector and Kay dropped to 2022 their knees before Arthur. 2023 "Why, father and brother, do you bow before me?", Arthur asked 2024 with wonder in his voice. 2025 "Because now I know for sure that you are the king, not only 2026 by birth but also by law", Ector said. "You are no son of 2027 mine nor are you Kay's brother. Immediately after your birth, 2028 Merlin the Wise brought you to me to be raised safely. And 2029 though it was me that named you Arthur when you were baptized, 2030 you are really the son of brave king Uther Pendragon and queen 2031 Igraine..." 2032 And after these words, the lord rose and went to see the arch- 2033 bishop to impart to him what had passed. 2034 [ Van Gouden Tijden Zingen de Harpen, by Vladimir Hulpach, 2035 Emanuel Frynta, and Vackav Cibula ] 2036knife 2037stiletto 2038 Possibly perceiving an expression of dubiosity on their 2039 faces, the globetrotter went on adhering to his adventures. 2040 2041 -- And I seen a man killed in Trieste by an Italian chap. 2042 Knife in his back. Knife like that. 2043 2044 Whilst speaking he produced a dangerous looking clasp knife, 2045 quite in keeping with his character, and held it in the 2046 striking position. 2047 2048 -- In a knockingshop it was count of a tryon between two 2049 smugglers. Fellow hid behind a door, come up behind him. 2050 Like that. Prepare to meet your God, says he. Chuck! It 2051 went into his back up to the butt. 2052 [ Ulysses, by James Joyce ] 2053knight 2054* knight 2055 Here lies the noble fearless knight, 2056 Whose valour rose to such a height; 2057 When Death at last had struck him down, 2058 His was the victory and renown. 2059 He reck'd the world of little prize, 2060 And was a bugbear in men's eyes; 2061 But had the fortune in his age 2062 To live a fool and die a sage. 2063 [ Don Quixote of La Mancha by Miquel de 2064 Cervantes Saavedra ] 2065~kobold ??m* 2066*kobold* 2067 The race of kobolds are reputed to be an artificial creation 2068 of a master wizard (demi-god?). They are about 3' tall with 2069 a vaguely dog-like face. They bear a violent dislike of the 2070 Elven race, and will go out of their way to cause trouble 2071 for Elves at any time. 2072*kop* 2073 The Kops are a brilliant concept. To take a gaggle of inept 2074 policemen and display them over and over again in a series of 2075 riotously funny physical punishments plays equally well to the 2076 peanut gallery and the expensive box seats. People hate cops. 2077 Even people who have never had anything to do with cops hate 2078 them. Of course, we count on them to keep order and to protect 2079 us when we need protecting, and we love them on television shows 2080 in which they have nerves of steel and hearts of gold, but in 2081 the abstract, as a nation, collectively we hate them. They are 2082 too much like high school principals. We're very happy to see 2083 their pants fall down, and they look good to us with pie on 2084 their faces. The Keystone Kops turn up--and they get punished 2085 for it, as they crash into each other, fall down, and suffer 2086 indignity after indignity. Here is pure movie satisfaction. 2087 2088 The Kops are very skillfully presented. The comic originality 2089 and timing in one of their chase scenes requires imagination 2090 to think up, talent to execute, understanding of the medium, 2091 and, of course, raw courage to perform. The Kops are madmen 2092 presented as incompetents, and they're madmen rushing around 2093 in modern machines. What's more, the machines they were operating 2094 in their routines were newly invented and not yet experienced 2095 by the average moviegoer. (In the early days of automobiles, 2096 it was reported that there were only two cars registered in all 2097 of Kansas City, and they ran into each other. There is both 2098 poetry and philosophy in this fact, but most of all, there is 2099 humor. Sennett got the humor.) 2100 [ Silent Stars, by Jeanine Basinger ] 2101kos 2102 "I am not a coward!" he cried. "I'll dare Thieves' House 2103 and fetch you Krovas' head and toss it with blood a-drip at 2104 Vlana's feet. I swear that, witness me, Kos the god of 2105 dooms, by the brown bones of Nalgron my father and by his 2106 sword Graywand here at my side!" 2107 [ Swords and Deviltry, by Fritz Leiber ] 2108koto 2109 A Japanese harp. 2110kraken 2111 Out from the water a long sinuous tentacle had crawled; it 2112 was pale-green and luminous and wet. Its fingered end had 2113 hold of Frodo's foot, and was dragging him into the water. 2114 Sam on his knees was now slashing at it with a knife. The 2115 arm let go of Frodo, and Sam pulled him away, crying out 2116 for help. Twenty other arms came rippling out. The dark 2117 water boiled, and there was a hideous stench. 2118 [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 2119*lady 2120offler 2121 Blind Io took up the dice-box, which was a skull whose various 2122 orifices had been stoppered with rubies, and with several of 2123 his eyes on the Lady he rolled three fives. She smiled. This 2124 was the nature of the Lady's eyes: they were bright green, 2125 lacking iris or pupil, and they glowed from within. 2126 2127 The room was silent as she scrabbled in her box of pieces and, 2128 from the very bottom, produced a couple that she set down on 2129 the board with two decisive clicks. The rest of the players, 2130 as one God, craned forward to peer at them. 2131 2132 "A wenegade wiffard and fome fort of clerk," said Offler the 2133 Crocodile God, hindered as usual by his tusks. "Well, 2134 weally!" With one claw he pushed a pile of bone-white tokens 2135 into the centre of the table. 2136 2137 The Lady nodded slightly. She picked up the dice-cup and held 2138 it as steady as a rock, yet all the Gods could hear the three 2139 cubes rattling about inside. And then she sent them bouncing 2140 across the table. 2141 2142 A six. A three. A five. 2143 2144 Something was happening to the five, however. Battered by the 2145 chance collision of several billion molecules, the die flipped 2146 onto a point, spun gently and came down a seven. Blind Io 2147 picked up the cube and counted the sides. 2148 2149 "Come _on_," he said wearily, "Play fair." 2150 [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] 2151*lamp 2152 When he came to himself he told his mother what had passed, 2153 and showed her the lamp and the fruits he had gathered in the 2154 garden, which were in reality precious stones. He then asked 2155 for some food. 2156 2157 "Alas! child," she said, "I have nothing in the house, but I 2158 have spun a little cotton and will go and sell it." 2159 2160 Aladdin bade her keep her cotton, for he would sell the lamp 2161 instead. As it was very dirty she began to rub it, that it 2162 might fetch a higher price. Instantly a hideous genie 2163 appeared, and asked what she would have. She fainted away, 2164 but Aladdin, snatching the lamp, said boldly: 2165 "Fetch me something to eat!" 2166 [ Aladdin, from The Arabian Nights, by Andrew Lang ] 2167lance 2168 With this the wind increased, and the mill sails began to turn 2169 about; which Don Quixote espying, said, 'Although thou movest 2170 more arms than the giant Briareus thou shalt stoop to me.' 2171 And, after saying this, and commending himself most devoutly 2172 to his Lady Dulcinea, desiring her to succor him in that trance, 2173 covering himself well with his buckler, and setting his lance 2174 on his rest, he spurred on Rozinante, and encountered with the 2175 first mill that was before him, and, striking his lance into 2176 the sail, the wind swung it about with such fury, that it broke 2177 his lance into shivers, carrying him and his horse after it, 2178 and finally tumbled him a good way off from it on the field in 2179 evil plight. 2180 [ Don Quixote of La Mancha by Miquel de 2181 Cervantes Saavedra ] 2182leash 2183 They had splendid heads, fine shoulders, strong legs, and 2184 straight tails. The spots on their bodies were jet-black and 2185 mostly the size of a two-shilling piece; they had smaller 2186 spots on their heads, legs, and tails. Their noses and eye- 2187 rims were black. Missis had a most winning expression. 2188 Pongo, though a dog born to command, had a twinkle in his 2189 eye. They walked side by side with great dignity, only 2190 putting the Dearlys on the leash to lead them over crossings. 2191 [ The Hundred and One Dalmatians, by Dodie Smith ] 2192lembas* 2193 In the morning, as they were beginning to pack their slender 2194 goods, Elves that could speak their tongue came to them and 2195 brought them many gifts of food and clothing for their 2196 journey. The food was mostly in the form of very thin cakes, 2197 made of a meal that was baked a light brown on the outside, 2198 and inside was the colour of cream. Gimli took up one of the 2199 cakes and looked at it with a doubtful eye. 2200 'Cram,' he said under his breath, as he broke off a crisp 2201 corner and nibbled at it. His expression quickly changed, 2202 and he ate all the rest of the cake with relish. 2203 'No more, no more!' cried the Elves laughing. 'You have 2204 eaten enough already for a long day's march.' 2205 'I thought it was only a kind of cram, such as the Dalemen 2206 make for journeys in the wild,' said the Dwarf. 2207 'So it is,' they answered. 'But we call it lembas or 2208 waybread, and it is more strengthening than any foods made by 2209 Men, and it is more pleasant than cram, by all accounts.' 2210 [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 2211lemure 2212 The lowliest of the inhabitants of hell. 2213leocrotta 2214leu*otta 2215 ... the leucrocotta, a wild beast of extraordinary swiftness, 2216 the size of the wild ass, with the legs of a Stag, the neck, 2217 tail, and breast of a lion, the head of a badger, a cloven 2218 hoof, the mouth slit up as far as the ears, and one continuous 2219 bone instead of teeth; it is said, too, that this animal can 2220 imitate the human voice. 2221 [ Curious Creatures in Zoology, by John Ashton ] 2222leprechaun 2223 The Irish Leprechaun is the Faeries' shoemaker and is known 2224 under various names in different parts of Ireland: 2225 Cluricaune in Cork, Lurican in Kerry, Lurikeen in Kildare 2226 and Lurigadaun in Tipperary. Although he works for the 2227 Faeries, the Leprechaun is not of the same species. He is 2228 small, has dark skin and wears strange clothes. His nature 2229 has something of the manic-depressive about it: first he 2230 is quite happy, whistling merrily as he nails a sole on to a 2231 shoe; a few minutes later, he is sullen and morose, drunk 2232 on his home-made heather ale. The Leprechaun's two great 2233 loves are tobacco and whiskey, and he is a first-rate con-man, 2234 impossible to out-fox. No one, no matter how clever, has ever 2235 managed to cheat him out of his hidden pot of gold or his 2236 magic shilling. At the last minute he always thinks of some 2237 way to divert his captor's attention and vanishes in the 2238 twinkling of an eye. 2239 [ A Field Guide to the Little People 2240 by Nancy Arrowsmith & George Moorse ] 2241*lich 2242 But on its heels ere the sunset faded, there came a second 2243 apparition, striding with incredible strides and halting when 2244 it loomed almost upon me in the red twilight-the monstrous mummy 2245 of some ancient king still crowned with untarnished gold but 2246 turning to my gaze a visage that more than time or the worm had 2247 wasted. Broken swathings flapped about the skeleton legs, and 2248 above the crown that was set with sapphires and orange rubies, a 2249 black something swayed and nodded horribly; but, for an instant, 2250 I did not dream what it was. Then, in its middle, two oblique 2251 and scarlet eyes opened and glowed like hellish coals, and two 2252 ophidian fangs glittered in an ape-like mouth. A squat, furless, 2253 shapeless head on a neck of disproportionate extent leaned 2254 unspeakably down and whispered in the mummy's ear. Then, with 2255 one stride, the titanic lich took half the distance between us, 2256 and from out the folds of the tattered sere-cloth a gaunt arm 2257 arose, and fleshless, taloned fingers laden with glowering gems, 2258 reached out and fumbled for my throat . . . 2259 [ The Abominations of Yondo, Clark Ashton Smith, 1926 ] 2260lichen 2261 The chamber was of unhewn rock, round, as near as might 2262 be, eighteen or twenty feet across, and gay with rich 2263 variety of fern and moss and lichen. The fern was in 2264 its winter still, or coiling for the spring-tide; but 2265 moss was in abundant life, some feathering, and some 2266 gobleted, and some with fringe of red to it. 2267 [ Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore ] 2268~* of light 2269* light 2270 Strange creatures formed from energy rather than matter, 2271 lights are given to self-destructive behavior when battling 2272 foes. 2273gecko 2274iguana 2275lizard 2276 Lizards, snakes and the burrowing amphisbaenids make up the 2277 order Squamata, meaning the scaly ones. The elongate, slim, 2278 long-tailed bodies of lizards have become modified to enable 2279 them to live in a wide range of habitats. Lizards can be 2280 expert burrowers, runners, swimmers and climbers, and a few 2281 can manage crude, short-distance gliding on rib-supported 2282 "wings". Most are carnivores, feeding on invertebrate and 2283 small vertebrate prey, but others feed on vegetation. 2284 [ Macmillan Illustrated Animal Encyclopedia ] 2285loki 2286 Loki, or Lopt, is described in Snorri's _Edda_ as being 2287 "pleasing and handsome in appearance, evil in character, and 2288 very capricious in behaviour". He is the son of the giant 2289 Farbauti and of Laufey. 2290 Loki is the Norse god of cunning, evil, thieves, and fire. 2291 He hated the other gods and wanted to ruin them and overthrow 2292 the universe. He committed many murders. As a thief, he 2293 stole Freyja's necklace, Thor's belt and gauntlets of power, 2294 and the apples of youth. Able to shapechange at will, he is 2295 said to have impersonated at various times a mare, flea, fly, 2296 falcon, seal, and an old crone. As a mare he gave birth to 2297 Odin's horse Sleipnir. He also allegedly sired the serpent 2298 Midgard, the mistress of the netherworld, Hel, and the wolf 2299 Fenrir, who will devour the sun at Ragnarok. 2300*longbow of diana 2301 This legendary bow grants ESP when carried and can reflect magical 2302 attacks when wielded. When invoked it provides a supply of arrows. 2303# long worm -- see "worm" 2304looking glass 2305mirror 2306 But as Snow White grew, she became more and more beautiful, 2307 and by the time she was seven years old she was as beautiful 2308 as the day and more beautiful than the queen herself. One 2309 day when the queen said to her mirror: 2310 2311 "Mirror, Mirror, here I stand. 2312 Who is the fairest in the land?" - 2313 2314 the mirror replied: 2315 2316 "You, O Queen, are the fairest here, 2317 But Snow White is a thousand times more fair." 2318 [ Snow White, by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm ] 2319lord carnarvon 2320 Lord Carnarvon was a personality who could have been produced 2321 nowhere but in England, a mixture of sportsman and collector, 2322 gentleman and world traveler, a realist in action and a 2323 romantic in feeling. ... In 1903 he went for the first time 2324 to Egypt in search of a mild climate and while there visited 2325 the excavation sites of several archaeological expeditions. 2326 ... In 1906 he began his own excavations. 2327 [ Gods, Graves, and Scholars, by C. W. Ceram ] 2328lord sato 2329 Lord Sato was the family head of the Taro Clan, and a mighty 2330 daimyo. He is a loyal servant of the Emperor, and will do 2331 everything in his power to further the imperial cause. 2332lord surt* 2333 Yet first was the world in the southern region, which was 2334 named Muspell; it is light and hot; that region is glowing 2335 and burning, and impassable to such as are outlanders and 2336 have not their holdings there. He who sits there at the 2337 land's-end, to defend the land, is called Surtr; he brandishes 2338 a flaming sword, and at the end of the world he shall go forth 2339 and harry, and overcome all the gods, and burn all the 2340 world with fire. 2341 [ The Prose Edda, by Snorri Sturluson ] 2342lug* 2343 Lugh, or Lug, was the sun god of the Irish Celts. One of his 2344 weapons was a rod-sling which worshippers sometimes saw in 2345 the sky as a rainbow. As a tribal god, he was particularly 2346 skilled in the use of his massive, invincible spear, which 2347 fought on its own accord. One of his epithets is _lamfhada_ 2348 (of the long arm). He was a young and apparently more 2349 attractive deity than Dagda, the father of the gods. Being 2350 able to shapeshift, his name translates as lynx. 2351lurker* 2352 These dungeon scavengers are very adept at blending into the 2353 surrounding walls and ceilings of the dungeon due to the 2354 stone-like coloring of their skin. 2355lycanthrope 2356were* 2357human were* 2358*were 2359 In 1573, the Parliament of Dole published a decree, permitting 2360 the inhabitants of the Franche-Comte to pursue and kill a 2361 were-wolf or loup-garou, which infested that province, 2362 "notwithstanding the existing laws concerning the chase." 2363 The people were empowered to "assemble with javelins, 2364 halberds, pikes, arquebuses and clubs, to hunt and pursue the 2365 said were-wolf in all places where they could find it, and to 2366 take, burn, and kill it, without incurring any fine or other 2367 penalty." The hunt seems to have been successful, if we may 2368 judge from the fact that the same tribunal in the following 2369 year condemned to be burned a man named Giles Garnier, who 2370 ran on all fours in the forest and fields and devoured little 2371 children, "even on Friday." The poor lycanthrope, it appears, 2372 had as slight respect for ecclesiastical feasts as the French 2373 pig, which was not restrained by any feeling of piety from 2374 eating infants on a fast day. 2375 [ The History of Vampires, by Dudley Wright ] 2376lynx 2377 To dream of seeing a lynx, enemies are undermining your 2378 business and disrupting your home affairs. For a woman, 2379 this dream indicates that she has a wary woman rivaling her 2380 in the affections of her lover. If she kills the lynx, she 2381 will overcome her rival. 2382 [ 10,000 Dreams Interpreted, by Gustavus Hindman Miller ] 2383magic marker 2384 The pen is mightier than the sword. 2385 [ Richelieu, by Edward Bulwer-Lytton ] 2386magic mirror of merlin 2387 This powerful mirror was created by Merlin, the druid, in ages 2388 past, when trees sang and rocks danced. It protects all who 2389 carry it from magic missiles, and gives them ESP. 2390mail d*emon 2391 It is rumoured that these strange creatures can be harmed by 2392 domesticated canines only. 2393ma*annan* 2394 Normally called Manannan, Ler's son was the patron of 2395 merchants and sailors. Manannan had a sword which never 2396 failed to slay, a boat which propelled itself wherever its 2397 owner wished, a horse which was swifter than the wind, and 2398 magic armour which no sword could pierce. He later became 2399 god of the sea, beneath which he lived in Tir na nOc, the 2400 underworld. 2401manes 2402 The gnats of the dungeon, these swarming monsters are rarely 2403 seen alone. 2404marduk 2405 First insisting on recognition as supreme commander, Marduk 2406 defeated the Dragon, cut her body in two, and from it created 2407 heaven and earth, peopling the world with human beings who not 2408 unnaturally showed intense gratitude for their lives. The 2409 gods were also properly grateful, invested him with many 2410 titles, and eventually permitted themselves to be embodied in 2411 him, so that he became supreme god, plotting the whole course 2412 of known life from the paths of the planets to the daily 2413 events in the lives of men. 2414 [ The Immortals, by Derek and Julia Parker ] 2415marilith 2416 The marilith has a torso shaped like that of a human female, 2417 and the lower body of a great snake. It has multiple arms, 2418 and can freely attack with all of them. Since it is 2419 intelligent enough to use weapons, this means it can cause 2420 great damage. 2421mars 2422 The god of war, and one of the most prominent and worshipped 2423 gods. In early Roman history he was a god of spring, growth in 2424 nature, and fertility, and the protector of cattle. Mars is 2425 also mentioned as a chthonic god (earth-god) and this could 2426 explain why he became a god of death and finally a god of war. 2427 He is the son of Jupiter and Juno. 2428 [ Encyclopedia Mythica, ed. M.F. Lindemans ] 2429master assassin 2430 He strolled down the stairs, followed by a number of assassins. 2431 When he was directly in front of Ymor he said: "I've come for 2432 the tourist." ... 2433 "One step more and you'll leave here with fewer eyeballs than 2434 you came with," said the thiefmaster. "So sit down and have 2435 a drink, Zlorf, and let's talk about this sensibly. _I_ 2436 thought we had an agreement. You don't rob -- I don't kill. 2437 Not for payment, that is," he added after a pause. 2438 Zlorf took the proffered beer. 2439 "So?" he said. "I'll kill him. Then you rob him. Is he that 2440 funny looking one over there?" 2441 "Yes." 2442 Zlorf stared at Twoflower, who grinned at him. He shrugged. 2443 He seldom wasted time wondering why people wanted other people 2444 dead. It was just a living. 2445 "Who is your client, may I ask?" said Ymor. 2446 Zlorf held up a hand. "Please!" he protested. "Professional 2447 etiquette." 2448 [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] 2449master key of thievery 2450 This skeleton key was fashioned in ages past and imbued with 2451 a powerful magic which allows it to open any lock. When 2452 carried, it grants its owner warning, teleport control, and 2453 reduces all physical damage by half. Finally, when invoked, 2454 it has the ability to disarm any trap. 2455master of thieves 2456 There was a flutter of wings at the window. Ymor shifted his 2457 bulk out of the chair and crossed the room, coming back with 2458 a large raven. After he'd unfastened the message capsule from 2459 its leg it flew up to join its fellows lurking among the 2460 rafters. Withel regarded it without love. Ymor's ravens were 2461 notoriously loyal to their master, to the extent that Withel's 2462 one attempt to promote himself to the rank of greatest thief 2463 in Ankh-Morpork had cost their master's right hand man his 2464 left eye. But not his life, however. Ymor never grudged a 2465 man his ambitions. 2466 [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] 2467mastodon 2468 Any large, elephantlike mammal of the genera Mammut, Mastodon, 2469 etc., from the Oligocene and Pleistocene epochs, having 2470 conical projections on the molar teeth. 2471 [ Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary 2472 of the English Language ] 2473meat* 2474huge chunk of meat 2475 Some hae meat and canna eat, 2476 And some would eat that want it; 2477 But we hae meat, and we can eat, 2478 Sae let the Lord be thankit. 2479 [ Grace Before Meat, by Robert Burns ] 2480medusa 2481 Medusa, one of the three Gorgons or Graeae, is the only one 2482 of her sisters to have assumed mortal form and inhabited the 2483 dungeon world. 2484 2485 When Perseus was grown up Polydectes sent him to attempt the 2486 conquest of Medusa, a terrible monster who had laid waste the 2487 country. She was once a beautiful maiden whose hair was her 2488 chief glory, but as she dared to vie in beauty with Minerva, 2489 the goddess deprived her of her charms and changed her 2490 beautiful ringlets into hissing serpents. She became a cruel 2491 monster of so frightful an aspect that no living thing could 2492 behold her without being turned into stone. All around the 2493 cavern where she dwelt might be seen the stony figures of men 2494 and animals which had chanced to catch a glimpse of her and 2495 had been petrified with the sight. Perseus, favoured by 2496 Minerva and Mercury, the former of whom lent him her shield 2497 and the latter his winged shoes, approached Medusa while she 2498 slept and taking care not to look directly at her, but guided 2499 by her image reflected in the bright shield which he bore, he 2500 cut off her head and gave it to Minerva, who fixed it in the 2501 middle of her Aegis. 2502 [ Bulfinch's Mythology, by Thomas Bulfinch ] 2503melon 2504 "What is it, Umbopa, son of a fool?" I shouted in Zulu. 2505 "It is food and water, Macumazahn," and again he waved the 2506 green thing. 2507 Then I saw what he had got. It was a melon. We had hit upon 2508 a patch of wild melons, thousands of them, and dead ripe. 2509 "Melons!" I yelled to Good, who was next me; and in another 2510 second he had his false teeth fixed in one. 2511 I think we ate about six each before we had done, and, poor 2512 fruit as they were, I doubt if I ever thought anything nicer. 2513 [ King Solomon's Mines, by H. Rider Haggard ] 2514mercury 2515 Roman god of commerce, trade and travellers. He is commonly 2516 depicted carrying a caduceus (a staff with two snakes 2517 intertwining around it) and a purse. 2518*mimic 2519 The ancestors of the modern day chameleon, these creatures can 2520 assume the form of anything in their surroundings. They may 2521 assume the shape of objects or dungeon features. Unlike the 2522 chameleon though, which assumes the shape of another creature 2523 and goes in hunt of food, the mimic waits patiently for its 2524 meals to come in search of it. 2525*mind flayer 2526 This creature has a humanoid body, tentacles around its 2527 covered mouth, and three long fingers on each hand. Mind 2528 flayers are telepathic, and love to devour intelligent beings, 2529 especially humans. If they hit their victim with a tentacle, 2530 the mind flayer will slowly drain it of all intelligence, 2531 eventually killing its victim. 2532mine* 2533 Made by Dwarfs. The Rule here is that the Mine is either long 2534 deserted or at most is inhabited by a few survivors who will 2535 make confused claims to have been driven out/decimated by humans/ 2536 other Dwarfs/Minions of the Dark Lord. Inhabited or not, this 2537 Mine will be very complex, with many levels of galleries, 2538 beautifully carved and engineered. What was being mined here 2539 is not always evident, but at least some of the time it will 2540 appear to have been Jewels, since it is customary to find 2541 unwanted emeralds, etc., still embedded in the rock of the 2542 walls. Metal will also be present, but only when made up into 2543 armor and weapons (_wondrous_). 2544 [ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones ] 2545minotaur 2546 The Minotaur was a monster, half bull, half human, the 2547 offspring of Minos' wife Pasiphae and a wonderfully beautiful 2548 bull. ... When the Minotaur was born Minos did not kill him. 2549 He had Daedalus, a great architect and inventor, construct a 2550 place of confinement for him from which escape was impossible. 2551 Daedalus built the Labyrinth, famous throughout the world. 2552 Once inside, one would go endlessly along its twisting paths 2553 without ever finding the exit. 2554 [ Mythology, by Edith Hamilton ] 2555mit*ra* 2556 Originating in India (Mitra), Mithra is a god of light who 2557 was translated into the attendant of the god Ahura Mazda in 2558 the light religion of Persia; from this he was adopted as 2559 the Roman deity Mithras. He is not generally regarded as a 2560 sky god but a personification of the fertilizing power of 2561 warm, light air. According to the _Avesta_, he possesses 2562 10,000 eyes and ears and rides in a chariot drawn by white 2563 horses. Mithra, according to Zarathustra, is concerned with 2564 the endless battle between light and dark forces: he 2565 represents truth. He is responsible for the keeping of oaths 2566 and contracts. He is attributed with the creation of both 2567 plants and animals. His chief adversary is Ahriman, the 2568 power of darkness. 2569 [ The Encyclopaedia of Myths and Legends of All 2570 Nations, by Herbert Spencer Robinson and 2571 Knox Wilson ] 2572*mithril* 2573 _Mithril_! All folk desired it. It could be beaten like 2574 copper, and polished like glass; and the Dwarves could make 2575 of it a metal, light and yet harder than tempered steel. 2576 Its beauty was like to that of common silver, but the beauty 2577 of _mithril_ did not tarnish or grow dim. 2578 [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 2579*mitre of holiness 2580 This helm of brilliance performs all of the normal functions 2581 of a helm of brilliance, but also has the ability to protect 2582 anyone who carries it from fire. When invoked, it boosts 2583 the energy of the invoker, allowing them to cast more spells. 2584mjollnir 2585 Forged by the dwarves Eitri and Brokk, in response to Loki's 2586 challenge, Mjollnir is an indestructible war hammer. It has 2587 two magical properties: when thrown it always returned to 2588 Thor's hand; and it could be made to shrink in size until it 2589 could fit inside Thor's shirt. Its only flaw is that it has 2590 a short handle. The other gods judged Mjollnir the winner of 2591 the contest because, of all the treasures created, it alone had 2592 the power to protect them from the giants. As the legends 2593 surrounding Mjollnir grew, it began to take on the quality of 2594 "vigja", or consecration. Thor used it to consecrate births, 2595 weddings, and even to raise his goats from the dead. In the 2596 Norse mythologies Mjollnir is considered to represent Thor's 2597 governance over the entire cycle of life - fertility, birth, 2598 destruction, and resurrection. 2599~slime mold 2600*mold 2601 Mold, multicellular organism of the division Fungi, typified 2602 by plant bodies composed of a network of cottony filaments. 2603 The colors of molds are due to spores borne on the filaments. 2604 Most molds are saprophytes. Some species (e.g., penicillium) 2605 are used in making cheese and antibiotics. 2606 [ The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia ] 2607mol?ch 2608 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2609 Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever 2610 he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that 2611 sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; 2612 he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall 2613 stone him with stones. 2614 And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off 2615 from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto 2616 Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. 2617 And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes 2618 from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill 2619 him not: 2620 Then I will set my face against that man, and against his 2621 family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after 2622 him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people. 2623 [ Leviticus 20:1-5 ] 2624monk 2625* monk 2626grand master 2627master kaen 2628 One day, an army general invited the Buddhist monk I-Hsiu 2629 (literally, "One Rest") to his military head office for a 2630 dinner. I-Hsiu was not accustomed to wearing luxurious 2631 clothings and so he just put on an old ordinary casual 2632 robe to go to the military base. To him, "form is void". 2633 2634 As he approached the base, two soldiers appeared before him 2635 and shouted, "Where does this beggar came from? Identify 2636 yourself! You do not have permission to be around here!" 2637 2638 "My name is I-Hsiu Dharma Master. I am invited by your 2639 general for a supper." 2640 2641 The two soldiers examined the monk closely and said, "You 2642 liar. How come my general invites such a shabby monk to 2643 dinner? He invites the very solemn venerable I-Hsiu to our 2644 base for a great ceremony today, not you. Now, get out!" 2645 2646 I-Hsiu was unable to convince the soldiers that he was 2647 indeed the invited guest, so he returned to the temple 2648 and changed to a very formal solemn ceremonial robe for 2649 the dinner. And as he returned to the military base, the 2650 soldiers observed that he was such a great Buddhist monk, 2651 let him in with honour. 2652 2653 At the dinner, I-Hsiu sat in front of the table full of 2654 food but, instead of putting the food into his month, he 2655 picked up the food with his chopsticks and put it into 2656 his sleeves. The general was curious, and whispered to 2657 him, "This is very embarrassing. Do you want to take 2658 some food back to the temple? I will order the cook to 2659 prepare some take out orders for you." "No" replied the 2660 monk. "When I came here, I was not allowed into the 2661 base by your soldiers until I wear this ceremonial robe. 2662 You do not invite me for a dinner. You invite my robe. 2663 Therefore, my robe is eating the food, not me." 2664 [ Dining with a General - a Zen Buddhism Koan ] 2665monkey 2666 "Listen, man-cub," said the Bear, and his voice rumbled like 2667 thunder on a hot night. "I have taught thee all the Law of 2668 the Jungle for all the peoples of the jungle--except the 2669 Monkey-Folk who live in the trees. They have no law. They 2670 are outcasts. They have no speech of their own, but use the 2671 stolen words which they overhear when they listen, and peep, 2672 and wait up above in the branches. Their way is not our way. 2673 They are without leaders. They have no remembrance. They 2674 boast and chatter and pretend that they are a great people 2675 about to do great affairs in the jungle, but the falling of 2676 a nut turns their minds to laughter and all is forgotten. 2677 We of the jungle have no dealings with them. We do not drink 2678 where the monkeys drink; we do not go where the monkeys go; 2679 we do not hunt where they hunt; we do not die where they die...." 2680 [ The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling ] 2681mumak* 2682 ... the Mumak of Harad was indeed a beast of vast bulk, and 2683 the like of him does not walk now in Middle-Earth; his kin 2684 that live still in latter days are but memories of his girth 2685 and majesty. On he came, ... his great legs like trees, 2686 enormous sail-like ears spread out, long snout upraised like 2687 a huge serpent about to strike, his small red eyes raging. 2688 His upturned hornlike tusks ... dripped with blood. 2689 [ The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 2690*mummy 2691 But for an account of the manner in which the body was 2692 bandaged, and a list of the unguents and other materials 2693 employed in the process, and the words of power which were 2694 spoken as each bandage was laid in its place, we must have 2695 recourse to a very interesting papyrus which has been edited 2696 and translated by M. Maspero under the title of Le Rituel de 2697 l'Embaumement. ... 2698 Everything that could be done to preserve the body was now 2699 done, and every member of it was, by means of the words of 2700 power which changed perishable substances into imperishable, 2701 protected to all eternity; when the final covering of purple 2702 or white linen had been fastened upon it, the body was ready 2703 for the tomb. 2704 [ Egyptian Magic, by E.A. Wallis Budge ] 2705mummy wrapping 2706 He held a white cloth -- it was a serviette he had brought 2707 with him -- over the lower part of his face, so that his 2708 mouth and jaws were completely hidden, and that was the 2709 reason for his muffled voice. But it was not that which 2710 startled Mrs. Hall. It was the fact that all his forehead 2711 above his blue glasses was covered by a white bandage, and 2712 that another covered his ears, leaving not a scrap of his 2713 face exposed excepting only his pink, peaked nose. It was 2714 bright, pink, and shiny just as it had been at first. He 2715 wore a dark-brown velvet jacket with a high, black, linen- 2716 lined collar turned up about his neck. The thick black 2717 hair, escaping as it could below and between the cross 2718 bandages, project in curious tails and horns, giving him 2719 the strangest appearance conceivable. 2720 [ The Invisible Man, by H.G. Wells ] 2721*naga* 2722*naja* 2723 The naga is a mystical creature with the body of a snake and 2724 the head of a man or woman. They will fiercely protect the 2725 territory they consider their own. Some nagas can be forced 2726 to serve as guardians by a spellcaster of great power. 2727naginata 2728 A Japanese pole-arm, fitted with a curved single-edged blade. 2729 The blades ranged in length from two to four feet, mounted on 2730 shafts about four to five feet long. The naginata were cut 2731 with a series of short grooves near to the tang, above which 2732 the back edge was thinned, but not sharpened, so that the 2733 greater part of the blade was a flattened diamond shape in 2734 section. Seen in profile, the curve is slight or non- 2735 existent near the tang, becoming more pronounced towards the 2736 point. 2737 2738 "With his naginata he killed five, but with the sixth it 2739 snapped asunder in the midst and, flinging it away, he drew 2740 his sword, wielding it in the zigzag style, the interlacing, 2741 cross, reversed dragonfly, waterwheel, and eight-sides-at- 2742 once styles of fencing and cutting down eight men; but as he 2743 brought down the ninth with a mighty blow on the helmet, the 2744 blade snapped at the hilt." 2745 [ Story of Tsutsui no Jomio Meishu from Tales of Heike ] 2746nalfeshnee 2747 Not only do these demons do physical damage with their claws 2748 and bite, but they are capable of using magic as well. 2749nalzok 2750 Nalzok is Moloch's cunning and unfailingly loyal battle 2751 lieutenant, to whom he trusts the command of warfare when he 2752 does not wish to exercise it himself. Nalzok is a major 2753 demon, known to command the undead. He is hungry for power, 2754 and secretly covets Moloch's position. Moloch doesn't trust 2755 him, but, trusting his own power enough, chooses to allow 2756 Nalzok his position because he is useful. 2757neanderthal* 2758 1. Valley between Duesseldorf and Elberfeld in Germany, 2759 where an ancient skull of a prehistoric ancestor to modern 2760 man was found. 2. Human(oid) of the race mentioned above. 2761neferet 2762neferet the green 2763 Neferet the Green holds office in her hidden tower, only 2764 reachable by magical means, where she teaches her apprentices 2765 the enigmatic skills of occultism. Despite her many years, she 2766 continues to investigate new spells, especially those involving 2767 translocation. It is further rumored that when she was an 2768 apprentice herself, she accidentally turned her skin green, and 2769 has kept it that way ever since. 2770newt 2771 (kinds of) small animal, like a lizard, which spends most of 2772 its time in the water. 2773 [ Oxford's Student's Dictionary of Current English ] 2774 2775 "Fillet of a fenny snake, 2776 In the cauldron boil and bake; 2777 Eye of newt and toe of frog, 2778 Wool of bat and tongue of dog, 2779 Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, 2780 Lizard's leg and howlet's wing, 2781 For a charm of powerful trouble, 2782 Like a hell-broth boil and bubble." 2783 [ Macbeth, by William Shakespeare ] 2784ninja-to 2785 A Japanese broadsword. 2786*norn 2787 The Norns were the three Norse Fates, or the goddesses of fate. 2788 Female giants, they brought the wonderful Golden Age to an end. 2789 They cast lots over the cradle of every child that was born, 2790 and placed gifts in the cradle. Their names were Urda, 2791 Verdandi, and Skuld, representing the past, the present, and 2792 the future. Urda and Verdandi were kindly disposed, but Skuld 2793 was cruel and savage. Their tasks were to sew the web of 2794 fate, to water the sacred ash, Yggdrasil, and to keep it in 2795 good condition by placing fresh earth around it daily. In her 2796 fury, Skuld often spoiled the work of her sisters by tearing 2797 the web to shreds. 2798 [ The Encyclopedia of Myths and Legends of All 2799 Nations by Herbert Spencer Robinson and Knox 2800 Wilson ] 2801nunchaku 2802 A Japanese flail. 2803*nymph 2804 A female creature from Roman and Greek mythology, the nymph 2805 occupied rivers, forests, ponds, etc. A nymph's beauty is 2806 beyond words: an ever-young woman with sleek figure and 2807 long, thick hair, radiant skin and perfect teeth, full lips 2808 and gentle eyes. A nymph's scent is delightful, and her 2809 long robe glows, hemmed with golden threads and embroidered 2810 with rainbow hues of unearthly magnificence. A nymph's 2811 demeanour is graceful and charming, her mind quick and witty. 2812 2813 "Theseus felt her voice pulling him down into fathoms of 2814 sleep. The song was the skeleton of his dream, and the dream 2815 was full of terror. Demon girls were after him, and a bull- 2816 man was goring him. Everywhere there was blood. There was 2817 pain. There was fear. But his head was in the nymph's lap 2818 and her musk was about him, her voice weaving the dream. He 2819 knew then that she had been sent to tell him of something 2820 dreadful that was to happen to him later. Her song was a 2821 warning. But she had brought him a new kind of joy, one that 2822 made him see everything differently. The boy, who was to 2823 become a hero, suddenly knew then what most heroes learn 2824 later -- and some too late -- that joy blots suffering and 2825 that the road to nymphs is beset by monsters." 2826 [ The Minotaur by Bernard Evslin ] 2827odin 2828 Also called Sigtyr (god of Victory), Val-father (father of 2829 the slain), One-Eyed, Hanga-god (god of the hanged), Farma- 2830 god (god of cargoes), Hapta-god (god of prisoners), and 2831 Othin. He is the prime god of the Norsemen: god of war and 2832 victory, wisdom and prophecy, poetry, the dead, air and wind, 2833 hospitality, and magic. 2834 As the god of war and victory, Odin is ruler of the Valkyries, 2835 warrior-maidens who lived in the halls of Valhalla in Asgard, 2836 the hall of dead heroes where he held his court. 2837 These chosen ones will defend the realm of the gods against 2838 the Frost Giants on the final day of reckoning, Ragnarok. 2839 As god of the wind, Odin rides through the air on his eight- 2840 footed horse, Sleipnir, wielding Gungner, his spear, normally 2841 accompanied by his ravens, Hugin and Munin, who he would also 2842 use as his spies. 2843 As a god of hospitality, he enjoys visiting the earth in 2844 disguise to see how people were behaving and to see how they 2845 would treat him, not knowing who he was. 2846 Odin is usually represented as a one-eyed wise old man with a 2847 long white beard and a wide-brimmed hat (he gave one of his 2848 eyes to Mimir, the guardian of the well of wisdom in Hel, in 2849 exchange for a draught of knowledge). 2850ogre* 2851 Anyone who has met a gluttonous, nude, angry ogre, will not 2852 easily forget this encounter -- if he survives it at all. 2853 Both male and female ogres can easily grow as tall as three 2854 metres. Build and facial expressions would remind one of a 2855 Neanderthal. Its small, pointy, keen teeth are striking. 2856 Since ogres avoid direct sunlight, their ragged, unfurry 2857 skin is as white as a sheet. They enjoy coating their body 2858 with lard and usually wear nothing but a loin-cloth. An elf 2859 would smell its rancid stench at ten metres distance. 2860 Ogres are solitary creatures: very rarely one may encounter 2861 a female with two or three young. They are the only real 2862 carnivores among the humanoids, and its favourite meal is -- 2863 not surprisingly -- human flesh. They sometimes ally with 2864 orcs or goblins, but only when they anticipate a good meaty 2865 meal. 2866 [ het Boek van de Regels; Het Oog des Meesters ] 2867oilskin cloak 2868 During our watches below we overhauled our clothes, and made 2869 and mended everything for bad weather. Each of us had made 2870 for himself a suit of oil-cloth or tarpaulin, and these we 2871 got out, and gave thorough coatings of oil or tar, and hung 2872 upon the stays to dry. Our stout boots, too, we covered 2873 over with a thick mixture of melted grease and tar. Thus we 2874 took advantage of the warm sun and fine weather of the 2875 Pacific to prepare for its other face. 2876 [ Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Henry Dana ] 2877oilskin sack 2878 Summer passed all too quickly. On the last day of camp, Mr. 2879 Brickle called his counselors together and paid them what he 2880 owed them. Louis received one hundred dollars - the first 2881 money he had ever earned. He had no wallet and no pockets, 2882 so Mr. Brickle placed the money in a waterproof bag that had 2883 a drawstring. He hung this moneybag around Louis' neck, 2884 along with the trumpet, the slate, the chalk pencil, and the 2885 lifesaving medal. 2886 [ The Trumpet of the Swan, by E.B. White ] 2887olog-hai 2888 But at the end of the Third Age a troll-race not before seen 2889 appeared in southern Mirkwood and in the mountain borders of 2890 Mordor. Olog-hai they were called in the Black Speech. That 2891 Sauron bred them none doubted, though from what stock was not 2892 known. Some held that they were not Trolls but giant Orcs; 2893 but the Olog-hai were in fashion of body and mind quite unlike 2894 even the largest of Orc-kind, whom they far surpassed in size 2895 and power. Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will 2896 of their master: a fell race, strong, agile, fierce and 2897 cunning, but harder than stone. Unlike the older race of the 2898 Twilight they could endure the Sun.... They spoke little, 2899 and the only tongue they knew was the Black Speech of Barad-dur. 2900 [ The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 2901oracle 2902delphi 2903p*thia 2904 Delphi under towering Parnassus, where Apollo's oracle was, 2905 plays an important part in mythology. Castalia was its 2906 sacred spring; Cephissus its river. It was held to be the 2907 center of the world, so many pilgrims came to it, from 2908 foreign countries as well as Greece. No other shrine rivaled 2909 it. The answers to the questions asked by the anxious 2910 seekers for Truth were delivered by a priestess who went into 2911 a trance before she spoke. 2912 [ Mythology, by Edith Hamilton ] 2913orange 2914pear 2915 What was the fruit like? Unfortunately, no one can describe 2916 a taste. All I can say is that, compared with those fruits, 2917 the freshest grapefruit you've ever eaten was dull, and the 2918 juiciest orange was dry, and the most melting pear was hard 2919 and woody, and the sweetest wild strawberry was sour. And 2920 there were no seeds or stones, and no wasps. If you had once 2921 eaten that fruit, all the nicest things in this world would 2922 taste like medicines after it. But I can't describe it. You 2923 can't find out what it is like unless you can get to that 2924 country and taste it for yourself. 2925 [ The Last Battle, by C.S. Lewis ] 2926pyrolisk 2927 At first glance around the corner, I thought it was another 2928 cockatrice. I had encountered the wretched creatures two or 2929 three times since leaving the open area. I quickly ducked my 2930 head back and considered what to do next. My heart had begun 2931 to thump audibly as I patted my pack to make sure I still had 2932 the dead lizards at close reach. A check of my attire showed 2933 no obvious holes or damage. I had to keep moving. One deep 2934 breath, and a count of three, two, one, and around the corner 2935 I bolted. But it was no cockatrice! I felt a sudden intense 2936 searing of the skin around my face, and flames began to leap 2937 from my pack. I tossed it to the ground, and quickly retreated 2938 back, around that corner, desperately striving to get out of 2939 its sight. 2940*orb of detection 2941 This Orb is a crystal ball of exceptional powers. When 2942 carried, it grants ESP, limits damage done by spells, and 2943 protects the carrier from magic missiles. When invoked it 2944 allows the carrier to become invisible. 2945orb of fate 2946 Some say that Odin himself created this ancient crystal ball, 2947 although others argue that Loki created it and forged Odin's 2948 signature on the bottom. In any case, it is a powerful 2949 artifact. Anyone who carries it is granted the gift of 2950 warning, and damage, both spell and physical, is partially 2951 absorbed by the orb itself. When invoked it has the power 2952 to teleport the invoker between levels. 2953goblin king 2954orcrist 2955 The Great Goblin gave a truly awful howl of rage when he 2956 looked at it, and all his soldiers gnashed their teeth, 2957 clashed their shields, and stamped. They knew the sword at 2958 once. It had killed hundreds of goblins in its time, when 2959 the fair elves of Gondolin hunted them in the hills or did 2960 battle before their walls. They had called it Orcrist, 2961 Goblin-cleaver, but the goblins called it simply Biter. 2962 They hated it and hated worse any one that carried it. 2963 [ The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 2964orcus 2965 Orcus, Prince of the Undead, has a ram's head and a poison 2966 stinger. He is most feared, though, for his powerful magic 2967 abilities. His wand causes death to those he chooses. 2968~orc ??m* 2969~orcish barbarian 2970~orcish ranger 2971~orcish rogue 2972~orcish wizard 2973orc* 2974* orc 2975uruk*hai 2976 Orcs, bipeds with a humanoid appearance, are related to the 2977 goblins, but much bigger and more dangerous. The average orc 2978 is only moderately intelligent, has broad, muscled shoulders, 2979 a short neck, a sloping forehead and a thick, dark fur. 2980 Their lower eye-teeth are pointing forward, like a boar's. 2981 Female orcs are more lightly built and bare-chested. Not 2982 needing any clothing, they do like to dress in variegated 2983 apparels. Suspicious by nature, orcs live in tribes or 2984 hordes. They tend to live underground as well as above 2985 ground (but they dislike sunlight). Orcs can use all weapons, 2986 tools and armours that are used by men. Since they don't have 2987 the talent to fashion these themselves, they are constantly 2988 hunting for them. There is nothing a horde of orcs cannot 2989 use. 2990 [ het Boek van de Regels; Het Oog des Meesters ] 2991orion 2992sirius 2993 Orion was the son of Neptune. He was a handsome giant and a 2994 mighty hunter. His father gave him the power of wading 2995 through the depths of the sea, or, as others say, of 2996 walking on its surface. 2997 2998 He dwelt as a hunter with Diana (Artemis), with whom he 2999 was a favourite, and it is even said she was about to marry 3000 him. Her brother was highly displeased and often chid her, 3001 but to no purpose. One day, observing Orion wading through 3002 the sea with his head just above the water, Apollo pointed 3003 it out to his sister and maintained that she could not hit 3004 that black thing on the sea. The archer-goddess discharged 3005 a shaft with fatal aim. The waves rolled the dead body of 3006 Orion to the land, and bewailing her fatal error with many 3007 tears, Diana placed him among the stars, where he appears 3008 as a giant, with a girdle, sword, lion's skin, and 3009 club. Sirius, his dog, follows him, and the Pleiads fly 3010 before him. 3011 [ Bulfinch's Mythology, by Thomas Bulfinch ] 3012osaku 3013 The osaku is a small tool for picking locks. 3014owlbear 3015 Owlbears are probably the crossbreed creation of a demented 3016 wizard; given the lethal nature of this creation, it is quite 3017 likely the wizard who created them is no longer alive. As 3018 the name might already suggest, owlbears are a cross between 3019 a giant owl and a bear. They are covered with fur and 3020 feathers. 3021panther 3022 And lo! almost where the ascent began, 3023 A panther light and swift exceedingly, 3024 Which with a spotted skin was covered o'er! 3025 3026 And never moved she from before my face, 3027 Nay, rather did impede so much my way, 3028 That many times I to return had turned. 3029 [ Dante's Inferno, as translated 3030 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ] 3031pelias 3032 Conan cried out sharply and recoiled, thrusting his companion 3033 back. Before them rose the great shimmering white form of Satha, 3034 an ageless hate in its eyes. Conan tensed himself for one mad 3035 berserker onslaught -- to thrust the glowing faggot into that 3036 fiendish countenance and throw his life into the ripping sword- 3037 stroke. But the snake was not looking at him. It was glaring 3038 over his shoulder at the man called Pelias, who stood with his 3039 arms folded, smiling. And in the great, cold, yellow eyes 3040 slowly the hate died out in a glitter of pure fear -- the only 3041 time Conan ever saw such an expression in a reptile's eyes. 3042 With a swirling rush like the sweep of a strong wind, the great 3043 snake was gone. 3044 "What did he see to frighten him?" asked Conan, eyeing his 3045 companion uneasily. 3046 "The scaled people see what escapes the mortal eye," answered 3047 Pelias cryptically. "You see my fleshy guise, he saw my naked 3048 soul." 3049 [ Conan the Usurper, by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp ] 3050pick*ax* 3051 The mine is full of holes; 3052 With the wound of pickaxes. 3053 But look at the goldsmith's store. 3054 There, there is gold everywhere. 3055 [ Divan-i Kebir Meter 2, by Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi ] 3056*piercer 3057 Ye Piercer doth look like unto a stalactyte, and hangeth 3058 from the roofs of caves and caverns. Unto the height of a 3059 man, and thicker than a man's thigh do they grow, and in 3060 groups do they hang. If a creature doth pass beneath them, 3061 they will by its heat and noise perceive it, and fall upon 3062 it to kill and devour it, though in any other way they move 3063 but exceeding slow. 3064 [ the Bestiary of Xygag ] 3065piranha 3066 They live in "schools." Many times they will wait for prey 3067 to come to the shallow water of the river. Then the large 3068 group of piranhas will attack. These large groups are able 3069 to kill large animals... Their lower teeth fit perfectly 3070 into the spaces of their upper teeth, creating a tremendous 3071 vice-like bite... Piranhas are attracted to any disturbance 3072 in the water. 3073 [ http://www.animalsoftherainforest.com ] 3074pit 3075spiked pit 3076 Amid the thought of the fiery destruction that impended, the 3077 idea of the coolness of the well came over my soul like balm. 3078 I rushed to its deadly brink. I threw my straining vision 3079 below. The glare from the enkindled roof illumined its inmost 3080 recesses. Yet, for a wild moment, did my spirit refuse to 3081 comprehend the meaning of what I saw. At length it forced -- 3082 it wrestled its way into my soul -- it burned itself in upon my 3083 shuddering reason. Oh! for a voice to speak! -- oh! horror! -- 3084 oh! any horror but this! 3085 [ The Pit and the Pendulum, by Edgar Allan Poe ] 3086pit fiend 3087 Pit fiends are among the more powerful of devils, capable of 3088 attacking twice with weapons as well as grabbing and crushing 3089 the life out of those unwary enough to enter their 3090 domains. 3091platinum yendorian express card 3092 This is an ancient artifact made of an unknown material. It 3093 is rectangular in shape, very thin, and inscribed with 3094 unreadable ancient runes. When carried, it grants the one 3095 who carries it ESP, and reduces all spell induced damage done to 3096 the carrier by half. It also protects from magic missile 3097 attacks. Finally, its power is such that when invoked, it 3098 can charge other objects. 3099pony 3100 Hey! now! Come hoy now! Whither do you wander? 3101 Up, down, near or far, here, there or yonder? 3102 Sharp-ears, Wise-nose, Swish-tail and Bumpkin, 3103 White-socks my little lad, and old Fatty Lumpkin! 3104 3105 [...] 3106 Tom called them one by one and they climbed over the brow and 3107 stood in a line. Then Tom bowed to the hobbits. 3108 3109 "Here are your ponies, now!" he said. "They've more sense (in some 3110 ways) than you wandering hobbits have -- more sense in their noses. 3111 For they sniff danger ahead which you walk right into; and if they 3112 run to save themselves, then they run the right way." 3113 [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 3114*portal 3115 Portals can be Mirrors, Pictures, Standing Stones, Stone 3116 Circles, Windows, and special gates set up for the purpose. 3117 You will travel through them both to distant parts of the 3118 continent and to and from our own world. The precise manner 3119 of their working is a Management secret. 3120 [ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones ] 3121poseido*n 3122 Poseido(o)n, lord of the seas and father of rivers and 3123 fountains, was the son of Chronos and Rhea, brother of Zeus, 3124 Hades, Hera, Hestia and Demeter. His rank of ruler of the 3125 waves he received by lot at the Council Meeting of the Gods, 3126 at which Zeus took the upper world for himself and gave 3127 dominion over the lower world to Hades. 3128 Poseidon is associated in many ways with horses and thus is 3129 the god of horses. He taught men how to ride and manage the 3130 animal he invented and is looked upon as the originator and 3131 guardian deity of horse races. 3132 His symbol is the familiar trident or three-pronged spear 3133 with which he can split rocks, cause or quell storms, and 3134 shake the earth, a power which makes him the god of 3135 earthquakes as well. Physically, he is shown as a strong and 3136 powerful ruler, every inch a king. 3137 [ The Encyclopedia of Myths and Legends of All 3138 Nations, by Herbert Robinson and Knox Wilson ] 3139*potion* 3140 POTABLE, n. Suitable for drinking. Water is said to be 3141 potable; indeed, some declare it our natural beverage, 3142 although even they find it palatable only when suffering 3143 from the recurrent disorder known as thirst, for which it 3144 is a medicine. Upon nothing has so great and diligent 3145 ingenuity been brought to bear in all ages and in all 3146 countries, except the most uncivilized, as upon the 3147 invention of substitutes for water. To hold that this 3148 general aversion to that liquid has no basis in the 3149 preservative instinct of the race is to be unscientific -- 3150 and without science we are as the snakes and toads. 3151 [ The Devil's Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce ] 3152priest* 3153* priest* 3154acolyte 3155 [...] For the two priests were talking exactly like priests, 3156 piously, with learning and leisure, about the most aerial 3157 enigmas of theology. The little Essex priest spoke the more 3158 simply, with his round face turned to the strengthening stars; 3159 the other talked with his head bowed, as if he were not even 3160 worthy to look at them. But no more innocently clerical 3161 conversation could have been heard in any white Italian cloister 3162 or black Spanish cathedral. The first he heard was the tail of 3163 one of Father Brown's sentences, which ended: "... what they 3164 really meant in the Middle Ages by the heavens being 3165 incorruptible." The taller priest nodded his bowed head and 3166 said: "Ah, yes, these modern infidels appeal to their reason; 3167 but who can look at those millions of worlds and not feel that 3168 there may well be wonderful universes above us where reason is 3169 utterly unreasonable?" 3170 [ The Innocence of Father Brown, by G.K. Chesterton ] 3171prisoner 3172 Where am I? 3173 In the Village. 3174 What do you want? 3175 Information. 3176 Whose side are you on? 3177 That would be telling. We want information ... 3178 information ... 3179 You won't get it. 3180 By hook or by crook, we will. 3181 Who are you? 3182 The new Number 2. 3183 Who is Number 1? 3184 You are Number 6. 3185 I am not a number! I am a free man! 3186 [ The Prisoner, by Patrick McGoohan ] 3187ptah 3188 Known under various names (Nu, Neph, Cenubis, Amen-Kneph, 3189 Khery-Bakef), Ptah is the creator god and god of craftsmen. 3190 He is usually depicted as wearing a closely fitting robe 3191 with only his hands free. His most distinctive features are 3192 the invariable skull-cap exposing only his face and ears, 3193 and the _was_ or rod of domination which he holds, 3194 consisting of a staff surmounted by the _ankh_ symbol of 3195 life. He is otherwise symbolized by his sacred animal, the 3196 bull. 3197*purple worm 3198 A gargantuan version of the harmless rain-worm, the purple 3199 worm poses a huge threat to the ordinary adventurer. It is 3200 known to swallow whole and digest its victims within only a 3201 few minutes. These worms are always on guard, sensitive 3202 to the most minute vibrations in the earth, but may also 3203 be awakened by a remote shriek. 3204quadruped 3205 The woodlands and other regions are inhabited by multitudes 3206 of four-legged creatures which cannot be simply classified. 3207 They might not have fiery breath or deadly stings, but 3208 adventurers have nevertheless met their end numerous times 3209 due to the claws, hooves, or bites of such animals. 3210quantum mechanic 3211 These creatures are not native to this universe; they seem 3212 to have strangely derived powers, and unknown motives. 3213quasit 3214 Quasits are small, evil creatures, related to imps. Their 3215 talons release a very toxic poison when used in an attack. 3216quest 3217 Many, possibly most, Tours are organized as a Quest. This 3218 is like a large-scale treasure hunt, with clues scattered 3219 all over the continent, a few false leads, Mystical Masters 3220 as game-show hosts, and the Dark Lord and the Terrain to 3221 make the Quest interestingly difficult. [...] 3222 In order to be assured of your future custom, the Management 3223 has a further Rule: Tourists, far from being rewarded for 3224 achieving their Quest Object, must then go on to conquer 3225 the Dark Lord or set about Saving the World, or both. And 3226 why not? By then you will have had a lot of practice in 3227 that sort of thing and, besides, the Quest Object is usually 3228 designed to help you do it. 3229 [ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones ] 3230quetzalcoatl 3231 One of the principal Aztec-Toltec gods was the great and wise 3232 Quetzalcoatl, who was called Kukumatz in Guatemala, and 3233 Kukulcan in Yucatan. His image, the plumed serpent, is found 3234 on both the oldest and the most recent Indian edifices. ... 3235 The legend tells how the Indian deity Quetzalcoatl came from 3236 the "Land of the Rising Sun". He wore a long white robe and 3237 had a beard; he taught the people crafts and customs and laid 3238 down wise laws. He created an empire in which the ears of 3239 corn were as long as men are tall, and caused bolls of colored 3240 cotton to grow on cotton plants. But for some reason or other 3241 he had to leave his empire. ... But all the legends of 3242 Quetzalcoatl unanimously agree that he promised to come again. 3243 [ Gods, Graves, and Scholars, by C. W. Ceram ] 3244quit* 3245 Maltar: [...] I remembered a little saying I learned my first 3246 day at the academy. 3247 Natalie: Yeah, yeah, I know. Winners never quit and quitters 3248 never win. 3249 Maltar: What? No! Winners never quit and quitters should be 3250 cast into the flaming pit of death. 3251 [ Snow Day, directed by Chris Koch, 3252 written by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi ] 3253raijin 3254raiden 3255 The god of thunder. 3256ranger 3257* ranger 3258 "Lonely men are we, Rangers of the wild, hunters -- but hunters 3259 ever of the servants of the Enemy; for they are found in many 3260 places, not in Mordor only. 3261 If Gondor, Boromir, has been a stalwart tower, we have played 3262 another part. Many evil things there are that your strong walls 3263 and bright swords do not stay. You know little of the lands 3264 beyond your bounds. Peace and freedom, do you say? The North 3265 would have known them little but for us. Fear would have 3266 destroyed them. But when dark things come from the houseless 3267 hills, or creep from sunless woods, they fly from us. What 3268 roads would any dare to tread, what safety would there be in 3269 quiet lands, or in the homes of simple men at night, if the 3270 Dunedain were asleep, or were all gone into the grave?" 3271 [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 3272rat 3273* rat 3274 Rats are long-tailed rodents. They are aggressive, 3275 omnivorous, and adaptable, often carrying diseases. 3276 3277 "The rat," said O'Brien, still addressing his invisible 3278 audience, "although a rodent, is carnivorous. You are aware 3279 of that. You will have heard of the things that happen in 3280 the poor quarters of this town. In some streets a woman dare 3281 not leave her baby alone in the house, even for five minutes. 3282 The rats are certain to attack it. Within quite a small time 3283 they will strip it to the bones. They also attack sick or 3284 dying people. They show astonishing intelligence in knowing 3285 when a human being is helpless." 3286 [ 1984, by George Orwell ] 3287raven 3288 But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only 3289 That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour. 3290 Nothing further then he uttered -- not a feather then he fluttered-- 3291 Till I scarcely more than muttered, 'other friends have flown before-- 3292 On the morrow *he* will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.' 3293 Then the bird said, 'Nevermore.' 3294 [ The Raven - Edgar Allan Poe ] 3295*ring 3296ring of * 3297 Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, 3298 Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, 3299 Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, 3300 One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne, 3301 In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. 3302 One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, 3303 One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them 3304 In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. 3305 [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 3306robe 3307 Robes are the only garments, apart from Shirts, ever to have 3308 sleeves. They have three uses: 3309 1. As the official uniform of Priests, Priestesses, Monks, 3310 Nuns (see Nunnery), and Wizards. The OMT [ Official Management 3311 Term ] prescribed for the Robes of Priests and Nuns is that 3312 they _fall in severe folds_; of Priestesses that they _float_; 3313 and of Wizards that they _swirl_. You can thus see who you 3314 are dealing with. 3315 2. For Kings. The OMT here is _falling in stately folds_. 3316 3. As the garb of Desert Nomads. [...] 3317 [ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones ] 3318rock 3319 Bilbo saw that the moment had come when he must do something. 3320 He could not get up at the brutes and he had nothing to shoot 3321 with; but looking about he saw that in this place there were 3322 many stones lying in what appeared to be a now dry little 3323 watercourse. Bilbo was a pretty fair shot with a stone, and 3324 it did not take him long to find a nice smooth egg-shaped one 3325 that fitted his hand cosily. As a boy he used to practise 3326 throwing stones at things, until rabbits and squirrels, and 3327 even birds, got out of his way as quick as lightning if they 3328 saw him stoop; and even grownup he had still spent a deal of 3329 his time at quoits, dart-throwing, shooting at the wand, 3330 bowls, ninepins and other quiet games of the aiming and 3331 throwing sort - indeed he could do lots of things, besides 3332 blowing smoke-rings, asking riddles and cooking, that I 3333 haven't time to tell you about. There is no time now. While 3334 he was picking up stones, the spider had reached Bombur, and 3335 soon he would have been dead. At that moment Bilbo threw. 3336 The stone struck the spider plunk on the head, and it dropped 3337 senseless off the tree, flop to the ground, with all its legs 3338 curled up. 3339 [ The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 3340rock mole 3341 A rock mole is a member of the rodent family. They get their 3342 name from their ability to tunnel through rock in the same 3343 fashion that a mole tunnels through earth. They are known to 3344 eat anything they come across in their diggings, although it 3345 is still unknown how they convert some of these things into 3346 something of nutritional value. 3347rogue 3348* rogue 3349 I understand the business, I hear it: to have an open ear, a 3350 quick eye, and a nimble hand, is necessary for a cut-purse; a 3351 good nose is requisite also, to smell out work for the other 3352 senses. I see this is the time that the unjust man doth 3353 thrive. <...> The prince himself is about a piece of iniquity, 3354 stealing away from his father with his clog at his heels: if 3355 I thought it were a piece of honesty to acquaint the king 3356 withal, I would not do't: I hold it the more knavery to 3357 conceal it; and therein am I constant to my profession. 3358 [ Autolycus the Rogue, from The Winter's Tale by 3359 William Shakespeare ] 3360rothe 3361 The rothe (pronounced roth-AY) is a musk ox-like creature with 3362 an aversion to light. It prefers to live underground near 3363 lichen and moss. 3364*royal jelly 3365 "'Royal Jelly,'" he read aloud, "'must be a substance of 3366 tremendous nourishing power, for on this diet alone, the 3367 honey-bee larva increases in weight fifteen hundred times in 3368 five days!'" 3369 3370 "How much?" 3371 3372 "Fifteen hundred times, Mabel. And you know what that means 3373 if you put it in terms of a human being? It means," he said, 3374 lowering his voice, leaning forward, fixing her with those 3375 small pale eyes, "it means that in five days a baby weighing 3376 seven and a half pounds to start off with would increase in 3377 weight to five tons!" 3378 [ Royal Jelly, by Roald Dahl ] 3379rust monster 3380 These strange creatures live on a diet of metals. They can 3381 turn a suit of armour into so much useless rusted scrap in no 3382 time at all. 3383*saber 3384*sabre 3385 Flashed all their sabres bare, 3386 Flashed as they turned in air, 3387 Sab'ring the gunners there, 3388 Charging an army, while 3389 All the world wondered: 3390 Plunged in the battery smoke, 3391 Right through the line they broke; 3392 Cossack and Russian 3393 Reeled from the sabre-stroke 3394 Shattered and sundered. 3395 Then they rode back, but not-- 3396 Not the six hundred. 3397 [ The Charge of the Light Brigade, 3398 by Alfred, Lord Tennyson ] 3399saddle 3400 The horseman serves the horse, 3401 The neat-herd serves the neat, 3402 The merchant serves the purse, 3403 The eater serves his meat; 3404 'Tis the day of the chattel, 3405 Web to weave, and corn to grind, 3406 Things are in the saddle, 3407 And ride mankind. 3408 [ Ode, by Ralph Waldo Emerson ] 3409sake 3410 Japanese rice wine. 3411salamander 3412 For hundreds of years, many people believed that salamanders 3413 were magical. In England in the Middle Ages, people thought 3414 that fire created salamanders. When they set fire to damp 3415 logs, dozens of the slimy creatures scurried out. The word 3416 salamander, in fact, comes from a Greek word meaning "fire 3417 animal". 3418 [ Salamanders, by Cherie Winner ] 3419samurai 3420* samurai 3421 By that time, Narahara had already slipped his arm from the 3422 sleeve of his outer robe, drew out his two-and-a-half-foot 3423 Fujiwara Tadahiro sword, and, brandishing it over his head, 3424 began barreling toward the foreigners. In less than a minute, 3425 he had charged upon them and cut one of them through the torso. 3426 The man fled, clutching his bulging guts, finally to fall from 3427 his horse at the foot of a pine tree about a thousand yards 3428 away. Kaeda Takeji finished him off. The other two Englishmen 3429 were severely wounded as they tried to flee. Only the woman 3430 managed to escape virtually unscathed. 3431 [ The Fox-horse, from Drunk as a Lord, by Ryotaro Shiba ] 3432sandestin 3433 Ildefonse left the terrace and almost immediately sounds 3434 of contention came from the direction of the work-room. 3435 Ildefonse presently returned to the terrace, followed by 3436 Osherl and a second sandestin using the guise of a gaunt blue 3437 bird-like creature, some six feet in height. 3438 3439 Ildefonse spoke in scathing tones: "Behold these two 3440 creatures! They can roam the chronoplex as easily as you 3441 or I can walk around the table; yet neither has the wit to 3442 announce his presence upon arrival. I found Osherl asleep 3443 in his fulgurite and Sarsem perched in the rafters." 3444 [...] 3445 "No matter," said Rhialto. "He has brought Sarsem, and this 3446 was his requirement. In the main, Osherl, you have done well!" 3447 3448 "And my indenture point?" 3449 3450 "Much depends upon Sarsem's testimony. Sarsem, will you sit?" 3451 3452 "In this guise, I find it more convenient to stand." 3453 3454 "Then why not alter to human form and join us in comfort at 3455 the table?" 3456 3457 "That is a good idea." Sarsem became a naked young epicene 3458 in an integument of lavender scales with puffs of purple hair 3459 like pom-poms growing down his back. He seated himself at 3460 the table but declined refreshment. "This human semblance, 3461 though typical, is after all, only a guise. If I were to put 3462 such things inside myself, I might well become uneasy." 3463 [ Rhialto the Marvellous, by Jack Vance ] 3464sasquatch 3465 The name _Sasquatch_ doesn't really become important in Canada 3466 until the 1930s, when it appeared in the works of J. W. Burns, 3467 a British Columbian writer who used a great deal of Indian 3468 lore in his stories. Burn's Sasquatch was a giant Indian who 3469 lived in the wilderness. He was hairy only in the sense that 3470 he had long hair on his head, and while this Sasquatch lived a 3471 wild and primitive life, he was fully human. 3472 Burns's character proved to be quite popular. There was a 3473 Sasquatch Inn near the town of Harrison, British Columbia, and 3474 Harrison even had a local celebration called "Sasquatch Days." 3475 The celebration which had been dormant for years was revived 3476 as part of British Columbia's centennial, and one of the 3477 events was to be a Sasquatch hunt. The hunt never took place, 3478 perhaps it was never supposed to, but the publicity about it 3479 did bring out a number of people who said they had encountered 3480 a Sasquatch -- not Burns's giant Indian, but the hairy apelike 3481 creature that we have all come to know. 3482 [ The Encyclopedia of Monsters, by Daniel Cohen ] 3483*sceptre of might 3484 This mace was created aeons ago in some unknown cave, 3485 and has been passed down from generation to generation of 3486 cave dwellers. It is a very mighty mace indeed, and in 3487 addition will protect anyone who carries it from magic 3488 missile attacks. When invoked, it causes conflict in the 3489 area around it. 3490scimitar 3491 Oh, how handsome, how noble was the Vizier Ali Tebelin, 3492 my father, as he stood there in the midst of the shot, his 3493 scimitar in his hand, his face black with powder! How his 3494 enemies fled before him! 3495 [ The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas ] 3496scorpio* 3497 A sub-species of the spider (_Scorpionidae_), the scorpion 3498 distinguishes itself from them by having a lower body that 3499 ends in a long, jointed tail tapering to a poisonous stinger. 3500 They have eight legs and pincers. 3501 [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] 3502scorpius 3503 Since early times, the Scorpion has represented death, darkness, 3504 and evil. Scorpius is the reputed slayer of Orion the Hunter. 3505 [...] The gods put both scorpion and hunter among the stars, but 3506 on opposite sides of the sky so they would never fight again. 3507 As Scorpius rises in the east, Orion sets in the west. 3508 [ 365 Starry Nights, by Chet Raymo ] 3509*scroll 3510scroll * 3511 And I was gazing on the surges prone, 3512 With many a scalding tear and many a groan, 3513 When at my feet emerg'd an old man's hand, 3514 Grasping this scroll, and this same slender wand. 3515 I knelt with pain--reached out my hand--had grasp'd 3516 Those treasures--touch'd the knuckles--they unclasp'd-- 3517 I caught a finger: but the downward weight 3518 O'erpowered me--it sank. Then 'gan abate 3519 The storm, and through chill aguish gloom outburst 3520 The comfortable sun. I was athirst 3521 To search the book, and in the warming air 3522 Parted its dripping leaves with eager care. 3523 Strange matters did it treat of, and drew on 3524 My soul page after page, till well-nigh won 3525 Into forgetfulness; when, stupefied, 3526 I read these words, and read again, and tried 3527 My eyes against the heavens, and read again. 3528 [ Endymion, by John Keats ] 3529shad* 3530 Shades are undead creatures. They differ from zombies in 3531 that a zombie is an undead animation of a corpse, while a 3532 shade is an undead creature magically created by the use 3533 of black magic. 3534shaman karnov 3535 Making his quarters in the Caves of the Ancestors, Shaman 3536 Karnov unceasingly tries to shield his neanderthal people 3537 from Tiamat's minions' harassments. 3538shan*lai*ching 3539 The Chinese god of Mountains and Seas, also the name of an 3540 old book (also Shan Hai Tjing), the book of mountains and 3541 seas - which deals with the monster Kung Kung trying to 3542 seize power from Yao, the fourth emperor. 3543 [ Spectrum Atlas van de Mythologie ] 3544shark 3545 As the shark moved, its dark top reflected virtually no 3546 light. The denticles on its skin muted the whoosh of its 3547 movements as the shark rose, driven by the power of the 3548 great tail sweeping from side to side, like a scythe. 3549 The fish exploded upward. 3550 Charles Bruder felt a slight vacuum tug in the motion of 3551 the sea, noted it as a passing current, the pull of a wave, 3552 the tickle of undertow. He could not have heard the faint 3553 sucking rush of water not far beneath him. He couldn't 3554 have seen or heard what was hurtling from the murk at 3555 astonishing speed, jaws unhinging, widening, for the 3556 enormous first bite. It was the classic attack 3557 that no other creature in nature could make -- a bomb from 3558 the depths. 3559 [ Close to Shore, by Michael Capuzzo ] 3560shito 3561 A Japanese stabbing knife. 3562shrieker 3563 With a single, savage thrust of her spear, the warrior-woman 3564 impaled the fungus, silencing it. However, it was too late: 3565 the alarm had been raised[...] 3566 Suddenly, a large, dark shape rose from the abyss before them, 3567 its fetid bulk looming overhead...The monster was some kind of 3568 great dark worm, but that was about all they were sure of. 3569 [ The Adventurers, Epic IV, by Thomas A. Miller ] 3570skeleton 3571 A skeleton is a magically animated undead creature. Unlike 3572 shades, only a humanoid creature can be used to create a 3573 skeleton. No one knows why this is true, but it has become 3574 an accepted fact amongst the practitioners of the black arts. 3575slasher 3576 "That dog belonged to a settler who tried to build his cabin 3577 on the bank of the river a few miles south of the fort," 3578 grunted Conan. ... "We took him to the fort and dressed his 3579 wounds, but after he recovered he took to the woods and turned 3580 wild. -- What now, Slasher, are you hunting the men who 3581 killed your master?" ... "Let him come," muttered Conan. 3582 "He can smell the devils before we can see them." ... 3583 Slasher cleared the timbers with a bound and leaped into the 3584 bushes. They were violently shaken and then the dog slunk 3585 back to Balthus' side, his jaws crimson. ... "He was a man," 3586 said Conan. "I drink to his shade, and to the shade of the 3587 dog, who knew no fear." He quaffed part of the wine, then 3588 emptied the rest upon the floor, with a curious heathen 3589 gesture, and smashed the goblet. "The heads of ten Picts 3590 shall pay for this, and seven heads for the dog, who was a 3591 better warrior than many a man." 3592 [ Conan The Warrior, by Robert E Howard ] 3593slime mold 3594 Slime mold or slime fungus, organism usually classified with 3595 the fungi, but showing equal affinity to the protozoa. Slime 3596 molds have complex life cycles with an animal-like motile 3597 phase, in which feeding and growth occur, and a plant-like 3598 immotile reproductive phase. The motile phase, commonly 3599 found under rotting logs and damp leaves, consists of either 3600 solitary amoebalike cells or a brightly colored multinucleate 3601 mass of protoplasm called a plasmodium, which creeps about 3602 and feeds by amoeboid movement. 3603 [ The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia ] 3604sling 3605 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and 3606 drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward 3607 the army to meet the Philistine. 3608 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, 3609 and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that 3610 the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face 3611 to the earth. 3612 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with 3613 a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there 3614 was no sword in the hand of David. 3615 [ 1 Samuel 17:48-50 ] 3616*snake 3617serpent 3618water moccasin 3619python 3620pit viper 3621 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field 3622 which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, 3623 hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 3624 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of 3625 the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is 3626 in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of 3627 it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent 3628 said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth 3629 know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be 3630 opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And 3631 when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it 3632 was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one 3633 wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also 3634 unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 3635 3636 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou 3637 hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I 3638 did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou 3639 hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above 3640 every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and 3641 dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put 3642 enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her 3643 seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 3644 [ Genesis 3:1-6,13-15 ] 3645snickersnee 3646 Ah, never shall I forget the cry, 3647 or the shriek that shrieked he, 3648 As I gnashed my teeth, and from my sheath 3649 I drew my Snickersnee! 3650 --Koko, Lord high executioner of Titipu 3651 [ The Mikado, by Sir W.S. Gilbert ] 3652sokoban 3653 Sokoban (Japanese for "warehouse person") is a puzzle-type 3654 game where the player must push around treasure to a goal 3655 area. It apparently won first prize in a Japanese programming 3656 contest. 3657 [ Xsokoban web site ] 3658*soldier 3659sergeant 3660lieutenant 3661captain 3662 The soldiers of Yendor are well-trained in the art of war, 3663 many trained by the Wizard himself. Some say the soldiers 3664 are explorers who were unfortunate enough to be captured, 3665 and put under the Wizard's spell. Those who have survived 3666 encounters with soldiers say they travel together in platoons, 3667 and are fierce fighters. Because of the load of their combat 3668 gear, however, one can usually run away from them, and doing 3669 so is considered a wise thing. 3670*spear 3671javelin 3672 - they come together with great random, and a spear is brast, 3673 and one party brake his shield and the other one goes down, 3674 horse and man, over his horse-tail and brake his neck, and 3675 then the next candidate comes randoming in, and brast his 3676 spear, and the other man brast his shield, and down he goes, 3677 horse and man, over his horse-tail, and brake his neck, and 3678 then there's another elected, and another and another and 3679 still another, till the material is all used up; and when you 3680 come to figure up results, you can't tell one fight from 3681 another, nor who whipped; and as a picture of living, raging, 3682 roaring battle, sho! why it's pale and noiseless - just 3683 ghosts scuffling in a fog. Dear me, what would this barren 3684 vocabulary get out of the mightiest spectacle? - the burning 3685 of Rome in Nero's time, for instance? Why, it would merely 3686 say 'Town burned down; no insurance; boy brast a window, 3687 fireman brake his neck!' Why, that ain't a picture! 3688 [ A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, by Mark 3689 Twain ] 3690*spellbook* 3691 The Book of Three lay closed on the table. Taran had never 3692 been allowed to read the volume for himself; now he was sure 3693 it held more than Dallben chose to tell him. In the sun- 3694 filled room, with Dallben still meditating and showing no 3695 sign of stopping, Taran rose and moved through the shimmering 3696 beams. From the forest came the monotonous tick of a beetle. 3697 His hands reached for the cover. Taran gasped in pain and 3698 snatched them away. They smarted as if each of his fingers 3699 had been stung by hornets. He jumped back, stumbled against 3700 the bench, and dropped to the floor, where he put his fingers 3701 woefully into his mouth. 3702 Dallben's eyes blinked open. He peered at Taran and yawned 3703 slowly. "You had better see Coll about a lotion for those 3704 hands," he advised. "Otherwise, I shouldn't be surprised if 3705 they blistered." 3706 [ The Book of Three, by Lloyd Alexander ] 3707*spider 3708 Eight legged creature capable of spinning webs to trap prey. 3709 3710 "You mean you eat flies?" gasped Wilbur. 3711 "Certainly. Flies, bugs, grasshoppers, choice beetles, 3712 moths, butterflies, tasty cockroaches, gnats, midges, daddy 3713 longlegs, centipedes, mosquitoes, crickets - anything that is 3714 careless enough to get caught in my web. I have to live, 3715 don't I?" 3716 "Why, yes, of course," said Wilbur. 3717 [ Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White ] 3718*spore 3719*sphere 3720 The attack by those who want to die -- this is the attack 3721 against which you cannot prepare a perfect defense. 3722 --Human aphorism 3723 [ The Dosadi Experiment, by Frank Herbert ] 3724~*aesculapius 3725*staff 3726 So they stood, each in his place, neither moving a finger's 3727 breadth back, for one good hour, and many blows were given 3728 and received by each in that time, till here and there were 3729 sore bones and bumps, yet neither thought of crying "Enough," 3730 or seemed likely to fall from off the bridge. Now and then 3731 they stopped to rest, and each thought that he never had seen 3732 in all his life before such a hand at quarterstaff. At last 3733 Robin gave the stranger a blow upon the ribs that made his 3734 jacket smoke like a damp straw thatch in the sun. So shrewd 3735 was the stroke that the stranger came within a hair's breadth 3736 of falling off the bridge; but he regained himself right 3737 quickly, and, by a dexterous blow, gave Robin a crack on the 3738 crown that caused the blood to flow. Then Robin grew mad 3739 with anger, and smote with all his might at the other; but 3740 the stranger warded the blow, and once again thwacked Robin, 3741 and this time so fairly that he fell heels over head into the 3742 water, as the queen pin falls in a game of bowls. 3743 [ The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, by Howard Pyle ] 3744*staff of aesculapius 3745 This staff is considered sacred to all healers, as it truly 3746 holds the powers of life and death. When wielded, it 3747 protects its user from all life draining attacks, and 3748 additionally gives the wielder the power of regeneration. 3749 When invoked it performs healing magic. 3750stair* 3751 Up he went -- very quickly at first -- then more slowly -- then 3752 in a little while even more slowly than that -- and finally, 3753 after many minutes of climbing up the endless stairway, one 3754 weary foot was barely able to follow the other. Milo suddenly 3755 realized that with all his effort he was no closer to the top 3756 than when he began, and not a great deal further from the 3757 bottom. But he struggled on for a while longer, until at last, 3758 completely exhausted, he collapsed onto one of the steps. 3759 "I should have known it," he mumbled, resting his tired legs 3760 and filling his lungs with air. "This is just like the line 3761 that goes on forever, and I'll never get there." 3762 "You wouldn't like it much anyway," someone replied gently. 3763 "Infinity is a dreadfully poor place. They can never manage to 3764 make ends meet." 3765 [ The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster ] 3766 3767 Dr. Ray Stantz: Hey, where do those stairs go? 3768 Dr. Peter Venkman: They go up. 3769 [ Ghostbusters, directed by Ivan Reitman, 3770 written by Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis ] 3771~statue trap 3772statue* 3773 Then at last he began to wonder why the lion was standing so 3774 still - for it hadn't moved one inch since he first set eyes 3775 on it. Edmund now ventured a little nearer, still keeping in 3776 the shadow of the arch as much as he could. He now saw from 3777 the way the lion was standing that it couldn't have been 3778 looking at him at all. ("But supposing it turns its head?" 3779 thought Edmund.) In fact it was staring at something else - 3780 namely a little dwarf who stood with his back to it about 3781 four feet away. "Aha!" thought Edmund. "When it springs at 3782 the dwarf then will be my chance to escape." But still the 3783 lion never moved, nor did the dwarf. And now at last Edmund 3784 remembered what the others had said about the White Witch 3785 turning people into stone. Perhaps this was only a stone 3786 lion. And as soon as he had thought of that he noticed that 3787 the lion's back and the top of its head were covered with 3788 snow. Of course it must be only a statue! 3789 [ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis ] 3790sting 3791 There was the usual dim grey light of the forest-day about 3792 him when he came to his senses. The spider lay dead beside 3793 him, and his sword-blade was stained black. Somehow the 3794 killing of the giant spider, all alone and by himself in the 3795 dark without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of 3796 anyone else, made a great difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt 3797 a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of 3798 an empty stomach, as he wiped his sword on the grass and put 3799 it back into its sheath. 3800 "I will give you a name," he said to it, "and I shall call 3801 you Sting." 3802 [ The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 3803stormbringer 3804 There were sounds in the distance, incongruent with the 3805 sounds of even this nameless, timeless sea: thin sounds, 3806 agonized and terrible, for all that they remained remote - 3807 yet the ship followed them, as if drawn by them; they grew 3808 louder - pain and despair were there, but terror was 3809 predominant. 3810 Elric had heard such sounds echoing from his cousin Yyrkoon's 3811 sardonically named 'Pleasure Chambers' in the days before he 3812 had fled the responsibilities of ruling all that remained of 3813 the old Melnibonean Empire. These were the voices of men 3814 whose very souls were under siege; men to whom death meant 3815 not mere extinction, but a continuation of existence, forever 3816 in thrall to some cruel and supernatural master. He had 3817 heard men cry so when his salvation and his nemesis, his 3818 great black battle-blade Stormbringer, drank their souls. 3819 [ The Lands Beyond the World, by Michael Moorcock ] 3820susano*o 3821 The Shinto chthonic and weather god and brother of the sun 3822 goddess Amaterasu, he was born from the nose of the 3823 primordial creator god Izanagi and represents the physical, 3824 material world. He has been expelled from heaven and taken 3825 up residence on earth. 3826 [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] 3827tanko 3828 Samurai plate armor of the Yamato period (AD 300 - 710). 3829tengu 3830 The tengu was the most troublesome creature of Japanese 3831 legend. Part bird and part man, with red beak for a nose 3832 and flashing eyes, the tengu was notorious for stirring up 3833 feuds and prolonging enmity between families. Indeed, the 3834 belligerent tengu were supposed to have been man's first 3835 instructors in the use of arms. 3836 [ Mythical Beasts, by Deirdre Headon (The Leprechaun Library) ] 3837thoth 3838 The Egyptian god of the moon and wisdom, Thoth is the patron 3839 deity of scribes and of knowledge, including scientific, 3840 medical and mathematical writing, and is said to have given 3841 mankind the art of hieroglyphic writing. He is important as 3842 a mediator and counsellor amongst the gods and is the scribe 3843 of the Heliopolis Ennead pantheon. According to mythology, 3844 he was born from the head of the god Seth. He may be 3845 depicted in human form with the head of an ibis, wholly as an 3846 ibis, or as a seated baboon sometimes with its torso covered 3847 in feathers. His attributes include a crown which consists 3848 of a crescent moon surmounted by a moon disc. 3849 Thoth is generally regarded as a benign deity. He is also 3850 scrupulously fair and is responsible not only for entering 3851 in the record the souls who pass to afterlife, but of 3852 adjudicating in the Hall of the Two Truths. The Pyramid 3853 Texts reveal a violent side of his nature by which he 3854 decapitates the adversaries of truth and wrenches out their 3855 hearts. 3856 [ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ] 3857thoth*amon 3858 Men say that he [Thutothmes] has opposed Thoth-Amon, who is 3859 master of all priests of Set, and dwells in Luxor, and that 3860 Thutothmes seeks hidden power [The Heart of Ahriman] to 3861 overthrow the Great One. 3862 [ Conan the Conqueror, by Robert E. Howard ] 3863*throne 3864 Methought I saw the footsteps of a throne 3865 Which mists and vapours from mine eyes did shroud-- 3866 Nor view of who might sit thereon allowed; 3867 But all the steps and ground about were strown 3868 With sights the ruefullest that flesh and bone 3869 Ever put on; a miserable crowd, 3870 Sick, hale, old, young, who cried before that cloud, 3871 "Thou art our king, 3872 O Death! to thee we groan." 3873 Those steps I clomb; the mists before me gave 3874 Smooth way; and I beheld the face of one 3875 Sleeping alone within a mossy cave, 3876 With her face up to heaven; that seemed to have 3877 Pleasing remembrance of a thought foregone; 3878 A lovely Beauty in a summer grave! 3879 [ Sonnet, by William Wordsworth ] 3880tiger 3881 1. A well-known tropical predator (_Felis tigris_): a 3882 feline. It has a yellowish skin with darker spots or 3883 stripes. 2. Figurative: _a paper tiger_, something that is 3884 meant to scare, but has no really scaring effect whatsoever, 3885 (after a statement by Mao Ze Dong, August 1946). 3886 [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ] 3887 3888 Tyger! Tyger! burning bright 3889 In the forests of the night, 3890 What immortal hand or eye 3891 Could frame thy fearful symmetry? 3892 [ The Tyger, by William Blake ] 3893tin 3894tin of * 3895tinning kit 3896 "You know salmon, Sarge," said Nobby. 3897 "It is a fish of which I am aware, yes." 3898 "You know they sell kind of slices of it in tins..." 3899 "So I am given to understand, yes." 3900 "Weell...how come all the tins are the same size? Salmon 3901 gets thinner at both ends." 3902 "Interesting point, Nobby. I think-" 3903 [ Soul Music, by Terry Pratchett ] 3904tin opener 3905 Less than thirty Cat tribes now survived, roaming the cargo 3906 decks on their hind legs in a desperate search for food. 3907 But the food had gone. 3908 The supplies were finished. 3909 Weak and ailing, they prayed at the supply hold's silver 3910 mountains: huge towering acres of metal rocks which, in their 3911 pagan way, the mutant Cats believed watched over them. 3912 Amid the wailing and the screeching one Cat stood up and held 3913 aloft the sacred icon. The icon which had been passed down 3914 as holy, and one day would make its use known. 3915 It was a piece of V-shaped metal with a revolving handle on 3916 its head. 3917 He took down a silver rock from the silver mountain, while 3918 the other Cats cowered and screamed at the blasphemy. 3919 He placed the icon on the rim of the rock, and turned the 3920 handle. 3921 And the handle turned. 3922 And the rock opened. 3923 And inside the rock was Alphabetti spaghetti in tomato sauce. 3924 [ Red Dwarf, by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor ] 3925titan 3926 Gaea, mother earth, arose from the Chaos and gave birth to 3927 Uranus, heaven, who became her consort. Uranus hated all 3928 their children, because he feared they might challenge his 3929 own authority. Those children, the Titans, the Gigantes, 3930 and the Cyclops, were banished to the nether world. Their 3931 enraged mother eventually released the youngest titan, 3932 Chronos (time), and encouraged him to castrate his father and 3933 rule in his place. Later, he too was challenged by his own 3934 son, Zeus, and he and his fellow titans were ousted from 3935 Mount Olympus. 3936 [ Greek Mythology, by Richard Patrick ] 3937touch*stone 3938 "Gold is tried by a touchstone, men by gold." 3939 [ Chilon (c. 560 BC) ] 3940tourist 3941* tourist 3942 The road from Ankh-Morpork to Chrim is high, white and 3943 winding, a thirty-league stretch of potholes and half-buried 3944 rocks that spirals around mountains and dips into cool green 3945 valleys of citrus trees, crosses liana-webbed gorges on 3946 creaking rope bridges and is generally more picturesque than 3947 useful. 3948 Picturesque. That was a new word to Rincewind the wizard 3949 (BMgc, Unseen University [failed]). It was one of a number 3950 he had picked up since leaving the charred ruins of 3951 Ankh-Morpork. Quaint was another one. Picturesque meant -- 3952 he decided after careful observation of the scenery that 3953 inspired Twoflower to use the word -- that the landscape was 3954 horribly precipitous. Quaint, when used to describe the 3955 occasional village through which they passed, meant fever- 3956 ridden and tumbledown. 3957 Twoflower was a tourist, the first ever seen on the discworld. 3958 Tourist, Rincewind had decided, meant "idiot". 3959 [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] 3960towel 3961 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has a few things to say 3962 on the subject of towels. 3963 A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing 3964 an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great 3965 practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as 3966 you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie 3967 on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus 3968 V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it 3969 beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of 3970 Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down down the slow heavy 3971 River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand combat; wrap it 3972 round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze 3973 of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mind-bogglingly 3974 stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't 3975 see you - daft as a brush, but very very ravenous); you can 3976 wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of 3977 course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean 3978 enough. 3979 [ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 3980 by Douglas Adams ] 3981*tower 3982 Towers (_brooding_, _dark_) stand alone in Waste Areas and 3983 almost always belong to Wizards. All are several stories high, 3984 round, doorless, virtually windowless, and composed of smooth 3985 blocks of masonry that make them very hard to climb. [...] 3986 You will have to go to a Tower and then break into it at some 3987 point towards the end of your Tour. 3988 [ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones ] 3989trap*door 3990 I knew my Erik too well to feel at all comfortable on jumping 3991 into his house. I knew what he had made of a certain palace at 3992 Mazenderan. From being the most honest building conceivable, he 3993 soon turned it into a house of the very devil, where you could 3994 not utter a word but it was overheard or repeated by an echo. 3995 With his trap-doors the monster was responsible for endless 3996 tragedies of all kinds. 3997 [ The Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux ] 3998trapper 3999 The trapper is a creature which has evolved a chameleon-like 4000 ability to blend into the dungeon surroundings. It captures 4001 its prey by remaining very still and blending into the 4002 surrounding dungeon features, until an unsuspecting creature 4003 passes by. It wraps itself around its prey and digests it. 4004tree 4005 I think that I shall never see 4006 A poem lovely as a tree. 4007 A tree whose hungry mouth is prest 4008 Against the earth's sweet flowing breast; 4009 A tree that looks at God all day, 4010 And lifts her leafy arms to pray; 4011 A tree that may in Summer wear 4012 A nest of robins in her hair; 4013 Upon whose bosom snow has lain; 4014 Who intimately lives with rain. 4015 Poems are made by fools like me, 4016 But only God can make a tree. 4017 [ Trees - Joyce Kilmer ] 4018tripe 4019tripe ration 4020 If you start from scratch, cooking tripe is a long-drawn-out 4021 affair. Fresh whole tripe calls for a minimum of 12 hours of 4022 cooking, some time-honored recipes demanding as much as 24. 4023 To prepare fresh tripe, trim if necessary. Wash it thoroughly, 4024 soaking overnight, and blanch, for 1/2 hour in salted water. 4025 Wash well again, drain and cut for cooking. When cooked, the 4026 texture of tripe should be like that of soft gristle. More 4027 often, alas, because the heat has not been kept low enough, 4028 it has the consistency of wet shoe leather. 4029 [ Joy of Cooking, by I Rombauer and M Becker ] 4030*troll 4031 The troll shambled closer. He was perhaps eight feet tall, 4032 perhaps more. His forward stoop, with arms dangling past 4033 thick claw-footed legs to the ground, made it hard to tell. 4034 The hairless green skin moved upon his body. His head was a 4035 gash of a mouth, a yard-long nose, and two eyes which drank 4036 the feeble torchlight and never gave back a gleam. 4037 [...] 4038 Like a huge green spider, the troll's severed hand ran on its 4039 fingers. Across the mounded floor, up onto a log with one 4040 taloned forefinger to hook it over the bark, down again it 4041 scrambled, until it found the cut wrist. And there it grew 4042 fast. The troll's smashed head seethed and knit together. 4043 He clambered back on his feet and grinned at them. The 4044 waning faggot cast red light over his fangs. 4045 [ Three Hearts and Three Lions, by Poul Anderson ] 4046*tsurugi of muramasa 4047 This most ancient of swords has been passed down through the 4048 leadership of the Samurai legions for hundreds of years. It 4049 is said to grant luck to its wielder, but its main power is 4050 terrible to behold. It has the capability to cut in half any 4051 creature it is wielded against, instantly killing them. 4052~*muramasa 4053tsurugi 4054 The tsurugi, also known as the long samurai sword, is an 4055 extremely sharp, two-handed blade favored by the samurai. 4056 It is made of hardened steel, and is manufactured using a 4057 special process, causing it to never rust. The tsurugi is 4058 rumored to be so sharp that it can occasionally cut 4059 opponents in half! 4060twoflower 4061guide 4062 "Rincewind!" 4063 Twoflower sprang off the bed. The wizard jumped back, 4064 wrenching his features into a smile. 4065 "My dear chap, right on time! We'll just have lunch, and 4066 then I'm sure you've got a wonderful programme lined up for 4067 this afternoon!" 4068 "Er --" 4069 "That's great!" 4070 Rincewind took a deep breath. "Look," he said desperately, 4071 "let's eat somewhere else. There's been a bit of a fight 4072 down below." 4073 "A tavern brawl? Why didn't you wake me up?" 4074 "Well, you see, I - _what_?" 4075 "I thought I made myself clear this morning, Rincewind. I 4076 want to see genuine Morporkian life - the slave market, the 4077 Whore Pits, the Temple of Small Gods, the Beggar's Guild... 4078 and a genuine tavern brawl." A faint note of suspicion 4079 entered Twoflower's voice. "You _do_ have them, don't you? 4080 You know, people swinging on chandeliers, swordfights over 4081 the table, the sort of thing Hrun the Barbarian and the 4082 Weasel are always getting involved in. You know -- 4083 _excitement_." 4084 [ The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett ] 4085tyr 4086 Yet remains that one of the Aesir who is called Tyr: 4087 he is most daring, and best in stoutness of heart, and he 4088 has much authority over victory in battle; it is good for 4089 men of valor to invoke him. It is a proverb, that he is 4090 Tyr-valiant, who surpasses other men and does not waver. 4091 He is wise, so that it is also said, that he that is wisest 4092 is Tyr-prudent. This is one token of his daring: when the 4093 Aesir enticed Fenris-Wolf to take upon him the fetter Gleipnir, 4094 the wolf did not believe them, that they would loose him, 4095 until they laid Tyr's hand into his mouth as a pledge. But 4096 when the Aesir would not loose him, then he bit off the hand 4097 at the place now called 'the wolf's joint;' and Tyr is one- 4098 handed, and is not called a reconciler of men. 4099 [ The Prose Edda, by Snorri Sturluson ] 4100*hulk 4101 Umber hulks are powerful subterranean predators whose 4102 iron-like claws allow them to burrow through solid stone in 4103 search of prey. They are tremendously strong; muscles bulge 4104 beneath their thick, scaly hides and their powerful arms and 4105 legs all end in great claws. 4106*unicorn 4107unicorn horn 4108 Men have always sought the elusive unicorn, for the single 4109 twisted horn which projected from its forehead was thought to 4110 be a powerful talisman. It was said that the unicorn had 4111 simply to dip the tip of its horn in a muddy pool for the water 4112 to become pure. Men also believed that to drink from this horn 4113 was a protection against all sickness, and that if the horn was 4114 ground to a powder it would act as an antidote to all poisons. 4115 Less than 200 years ago in France, the horn of a unicorn was 4116 used in a ceremony to test the royal food for poison. 4117 4118 Although only the size of a small horse, the unicorn is a very 4119 fierce beast, capable of killing an elephant with a single 4120 thrust from its horn. Its fleetness of foot also makes this 4121 solitary creature difficult to capture. However, it can be 4122 tamed and captured by a maiden. Made gentle by the sight of a 4123 virgin, the unicorn can be lured to lay its head in her lap, and 4124 in this docile mood, the maiden may secure it with a golden rope. 4125 [ Mythical Beasts, by Deirdre Headon (The Leprechaun Library) ] 4126 4127 Martin took a small sip of beer. "Almost ready," he said. 4128 "You hold your beer awfully well." 4129 Tlingel laughed. "A unicorn's horn is a detoxicant. Its 4130 possession is a universal remedy. I wait until I reach the 4131 warm glow stage, then I use my horn to burn off any excess and 4132 keep me right there." 4133 [ Unicorn Variations, by Roger Zelazny ] 4134valkyrie 4135* valkyrie 4136 The Valkyries were the thirteen choosers of the slain, the 4137 beautiful warrior-maids of Odin who rode through the air and 4138 over the sea. They watched the progress of the battle and 4139 selected the heroes who were to fall fighting. After they 4140 were dead, the maidens rewarded the heroes by kissing them 4141 and then led their souls to Valhalla, where the warriors 4142 lived happily in an ideal existence, drinking and eating 4143 without restraint and fighting over again the battles in 4144 which they died and in which they had won their deathless 4145 fame. 4146 [ The Encyclopaedia of Myths and Legends of All 4147 Nations, by Herbert Robinson and Knox 4148 Wilson ] 4149vampire 4150vampire bat 4151vampire lord 4152 The Oxford English Dictionary is quite unequivocal: 4153 _vampire_ - "a preternatural being of a malignant nature (in 4154 the original and usual form of the belief, a reanimated 4155 corpse), supposed to seek nourishment, or do harm, by sucking 4156 the blood of sleeping persons. ..." 4157venus 4158 Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of 4159 Jupiter and Dione. Others say that Venus sprang from the 4160 foam of the sea. The zephyr wafted her along the waves to 4161 the Isle of Cyprus, where she was received and attired by 4162 the Seasons, and then led to the assembly of the gods. All 4163 were charmed with her beauty, and each one demanded her 4164 for his wife. Jupiter gave her to Vulcan, in gratitude for 4165 the service he had rendered in forging thunderbolts. So 4166 the most beautiful of the goddesses became the wife of the 4167 most ill-favoured of gods. 4168 [ Bulfinch's Mythology, by Thomas Bulfinch ] 4169vlad* 4170 Vlad Dracula the Impaler was a 15th-Century monarch of the 4171 Birgau region of the Carpathian Mountains, in what is now 4172 Romania. In Romanian history he is best known for two things. 4173 One was his skilled handling of the Ottoman Turks, which kept 4174 them from making further inroads into Christian Europe. The 4175 other was the ruthless manner in which he ran his fiefdom. 4176 He dealt with perceived challengers to his rule by impaling 4177 them upright on wooden stakes. Visiting dignitaries who 4178 failed to doff their hats had them nailed to their head. 4179*vortex 4180vortices 4181 Swirling clouds of pure elemental energies, the vortices are 4182 thought to be related to the larger elementals. Though the 4183 vortices do no damage when touched, they are noted for being 4184 able to envelop unwary travellers. The hapless fool thus 4185 swallowed by a vortex will soon perish from exposure to the 4186 element the vortex is composed of. 4187vrock 4188 The vrock is one of the weaker forms of demon. It resembles 4189 a cross between a human being and a vulture and does physical 4190 damage by biting and by using the claws on both its arms and 4191 feet. 4192wakizashi 4193 The samurai warrior traditionally wears two swords; the 4194 wakizashi is the shorter of the two. See also katana. 4195wand of * 4196*wand 4197 'Saruman!' he cried, and his voice grew in power and authority. 4198 'Behold, I am not Gandalf the Grey, whom you betrayed. I am 4199 Gandalf the White, who has returned from death. You have no 4200 colour now, and I cast you from the order and from the Council.' 4201 He raised his hand, and spoke slowly in a clear cold voice. 4202 'Saruman, your staff is broken.' There was a crack, and the 4203 staff split asunder in Saruman's hand, and the head of it 4204 fell down at Gandalf's feet. 'Go!' said Gandalf. With a cry 4205 Saruman fell back and crawled away. 4206 [ The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 4207warg 4208 Suddenly Aragorn leapt to his feet. "How the wind howls!" 4209 he cried. "It is howling with wolf-voices. The Wargs have 4210 come west of the Mountains!" 4211 "Need we wait until morning then?" said Gandalf. "It is as I 4212 said. The hunt is up! Even if we live to see the dawn, who 4213 now will wish to journey south by night with the wild wolves 4214 on his trail?" 4215 "How far is Moria?" asked Boromir. 4216 "There was a door south-west of Caradhras, some fifteen miles 4217 as the crow flies, and maybe twenty as the wolf runs," 4218 answered Gandalf grimly. 4219 "Then let us start as soon as it is light tomorrow, if we can," 4220 said Boromir. "The wolf that one hears is worse than the orc 4221 that one fears." 4222 "True!" said Aragorn, loosening his sword in its sheath. "But 4223 where the warg howls, there also the orc prowls." 4224 [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 4225~mjollnir 4226war*hammer 4227 They had come together at the ford of the Trident while the 4228 battle crashed around them, Robert with his warhammer and his 4229 great antlered helm, the Targaryen prince armored all in 4230 black. On his breastplate was the three-headed dragon of his 4231 House, wrought all in rubies that flashed like fire in the 4232 sunlight. The waters of the Trident ran red around the 4233 hooves of their destriers as they circled and clashed, again 4234 and again, until at last a crushing blow from Robert's hammer 4235 stove in the dragon and the chest behind it. When Ned had 4236 finally come on the scene, Rhaegar lay dead in the stream, 4237 while men of both armies scrambled in the swirling waters for 4238 rubies knocked free of his armor. 4239 [ A Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin ] 4240water 4241 Day after day, day after day, 4242 We stuck, nor breath nor motion; 4243 As idle as a painted ship 4244 Upon a painted ocean. 4245 4246 Water, water, everywhere, 4247 And all the boards did shrink; 4248 Water, water, everywhere 4249 Nor any drop to drink. 4250 [ The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor 4251 Coleridge ] 4252web 4253 Oh what a tangled web we weave, 4254 When first we practise to deceive! 4255 [ Marmion, by Sir Walter Scott ] 4256# werecritter -- see "lycanthrope" 4257*wight 4258 When he came to himself again, for a moment he could recall 4259 nothing except a sense of dread. Then suddenly he knew that 4260 he was imprisoned, caught hopelessly; he was in a barrow. A 4261 Barrow-wight had taken him, and he was probably already under 4262 the dreadful spells of the Barrow-wights about which whispered 4263 tales spoke. He dared not move, but lay as he found himself: 4264 flat on his back upon a cold stone with his hands on his 4265 breast. 4266 [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 4267# note: need to convert player character "gnomish wizard" into just "wizard" 4268# in the lookup code to avoid conflict with the monster of that same name 4269~gnomish wizard 4270wizard 4271* wizard 4272apprentice 4273 Ebenezum walked before me along the closest thing we could 4274 find to a path in these overgrown woods. Every few paces he 4275 would pause, so that I, burdened with a pack stuffed with 4276 arcane and heavy paraphernalia, could catch up with his 4277 wizardly strides. He, as usual, carried nothing, preferring, 4278 as he often said, to keep his hands free for quick conjuring 4279 and his mind free for the thoughts of a mage. 4280 [ A Dealing with Demons, by Craig Shaw Gardner ] 4281wizard of yendor 4282 No one knows how old this mighty wizard is, or from whence he 4283 came. It is known that, having lived a span far greater than 4284 any normal man's, he grew weary of lesser mortals; and so, 4285 spurning all human company, he forsook the dwellings of men 4286 and went to live in the depths of the Earth. He took with 4287 him a dreadful artifact, the Book of the Dead, which is said 4288 to hold great power indeed. Many have sought to find the 4289 wizard and his treasure, but none have found him and lived to 4290 tell the tale. Woe be to the incautious adventurer who 4291 disturbs this mighty sorcerer! 4292wolf 4293*wolf 4294*wolf cub 4295 The ancestors of the modern day domestic dog, wolves are 4296 powerful muscular animals with bushy tails. Intelligent, 4297 social animals, wolves live in family groups or packs made 4298 up of multiple family units. These packs cooperate in hunting 4299 down prey. 4300woodchuck 4301 The Usenet Oracle requires an answer to this question! 4302 4303 > How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could 4304 > chuck wood? 4305 4306 "Oh, heck! I'll handle *this* one!" The Oracle spun the terminal 4307 back toward himself, unlocked the ZOT-guard lock, and slid the 4308 glass guard away from the ZOT key. "Ummmm....could you turn around 4309 for a minute? ZOTs are too graphic for the uninitiated. Even *I* 4310 get a little squeamish sometimes..." The neophyte turned around, 4311 and heard the Oracle slam his finger on a computer key, followed 4312 by a loud ZZZZOTTTTT and the smell of ozone. 4313 [ Excerpted from Internet Oracularity 576.6 ] 4314*worm 4315long worm tail 4316worm tooth 4317crysknife 4318 [The crysknife] is manufactured in two forms from teeth taken 4319 from dead sandworms. The two forms are "fixed" and "unfixed". 4320 An unfixed knife requires proximity to a human body's 4321 electrical field to prevent disintegration. Fixed knives 4322 are treated for storage. All are about 20 centimeters long. 4323 [ Dune, by Frank Herbert ] 4324wraith 4325nazgul 4326 Immediately, though everything else remained as before, dim 4327 and dark, the shapes became terribly clear. He was able to 4328 see beneath their black wrappings. There were five tall 4329 figures: two standing on the lip of the dell, three advancing. 4330 In their white faces burned keen and merciless eyes; under 4331 their mantles were long grey robes; upon their grey hairs 4332 were helms of silver; in their haggard hands were swords of 4333 steel. Their eyes fell on him and pierced him, as they 4334 rushed towards him. Desperate, he drew his own sword, and 4335 it seemed to him that it flickered red, as if it was a 4336 firebrand. Two of the figures halted. The third was taller 4337 than the others: his hair was long and gleaming and on his 4338 helm was a crown. In one hand he held a long sword, and in 4339 the other a knife; both the knife and the hand that held it 4340 glowed with a pale light. He sprang forward and bore down 4341 on Frodo. 4342 [ The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien ] 4343wumpus 4344 The Wumpus, by the way, is not bothered by the hazards since 4345 he has sucker feet and is too big for a bat to lift. If you 4346 try to shoot him and miss, there's also a chance that he'll 4347 up and move himself into another cave, though by nature the 4348 Wumpus is a sedentary creature. 4349 [ wump (6) -- "Hunt the Wumpus" ] 4350xan 4351 They sent their friend the mosquito [xan] ahead of them to 4352 find out what lay ahead. "Since you are the one who sucks 4353 the blood of men walking along paths," they told the mosquito, 4354 "go and sting the men of Xibalba." The mosquito flew 4355 down the dark road to the Underworld. Entering the house of 4356 the Lords of Death, he stung the first person that he saw... 4357 4358 The mosquito stung this man as well, and when he yelled, the 4359 man next to him asked, "Gathered Blood, what's wrong?" So 4360 he flew along the row stinging all the seated men until he 4361 knew the names of all twelve. 4362 [ Popul Vuh, as translated by Ralph Nelson ] 4363xorn 4364 A distant cousin of the earth elemental, the xorn has the 4365 ability to shift the cells of its body around in such a way 4366 that it becomes porous to inert material. This gives it the 4367 ability to pass through any obstacle that might be between it 4368 and its next meal. 4369ya 4370 The arrow of choice of the samurai, ya are made of very 4371 straight bamboo, and are tipped with hardened steel. 4372yeenoghu 4373 Yeenoghu, the demon lord of gnolls, still exists although 4374 all his followers have been wiped off the face of the earth. 4375 He casts magic projectiles at those close to him, and a mere 4376 gaze into his piercing eyes may hopelessly confuse the 4377 battle-weary adventurer. 4378yeti 4379 The Abominable Snowman, or yeti, is one of the truly great 4380 unknown animals of the twentieth century. It is a large hairy 4381 biped that lives in the Himalayan region of Asia ... The story 4382 of the Abominable Snowman is filled with mysteries great and 4383 small, and one of the most difficult of all is how it got that 4384 awful name. The creature is neither particularly abominable, 4385 nor does it necessarily live in the snows. _Yeti_ is a Tibetan 4386 word which may apply either to a real, but unknown animal of 4387 the Himalayas, or to a mountain spirit or demon -- no one is 4388 quite sure which. And after nearly half a century in which 4389 Westerners have trampled around looking for the yeti, and 4390 asking all sorts of questions, the original native traditions 4391 concerning the creature have become even more muddled and 4392 confused. 4393 [ The Encyclopedia of Monsters, by Daniel Cohen ] 4394*yugake 4395 Japanese leather archery gloves. Gloves made for use while 4396 practicing had thumbs reinforced with horn. Those worn into 4397 battle had thumbs reinforced with a double layer of leather. 4398yumi 4399 The samurai is highly trained with a special type of bow, 4400 the yumi. Like the ya, the yumi is made of bamboo. With 4401 the yumi-ya, the bow and arrow, the samurai is an extremely 4402 accurate and deadly warrior. 4403*zombie 4404 The zombi... is a soulless human corpse, still dead, but 4405 taken from the grave and endowed by sorcery with a 4406 mechanical semblance of life, -- it is a dead body which is 4407 made to walk and act and move as if it were alive. 4408 [ W. B. Seabrook ] 4409zruty 4410 The zruty are wild and gigantic beings, living in the 4411 wildernesses of the Tatra mountains. 4412