Dr. Nielsen, Ivar: A family doctor. Beth Ryder’s employer in Dorf.

émigré: An entity originating in the First Emanation but possessing enough power to open a strait and travel into the Second Emanation. All émigrés are powers, but not all powers are émigrés (many powers were born in the Second Emanation and don’t need to emigrate).

essence: The fundamental constituents of the universe. Defies easy explanation. Essence-workers conceive of essence in different ways; they often rely on metaphors that make sense to them as individuals. The human sciences of cosmology and particle physics have, over the years, constructed their own approaches to the subject.

essence-worker: An organism capable of manipulating the fundamental constituents of reality, or at least aware of others’ manipulation of those constituents. Often called “workers,” for short. Workers occur in all kingdoms of life.

Eye of the Heavens: An ancient (perhaps mythical) entity of the Second Emanation. Cordus believes that Justine Ryder is Eye of the Heavens.

First: A person, animal, or other entity native to the First Emanation.

the First Emanation: Earth and its universe, as we know it; the normal world. Nolanders tend to call it the “F-Em.”

Ghosteater: A wolf power born in North America about a million years ago. He is gifted with the abilities to speak with the wind and to pass into what he calls the silence. Over time, he has modified his body in several ways and has gained some ability to use language and think symbolically.

gift: A working someone can do automatically, without study and practice. The emergence of a gift marks entry into the second caste. The weakest essence-workers do not have gifts. Some workers have more than one.

Graham Ryzik: A high-ranked member of Cordus’s organization, in charge of the Upper Midwest region and stationed in Madison, Wisconsin. Gifted with luck. Assigned as Beth Ryder’s first trainer.

Grant Hillam: A Nolander who belongs to Cordus’s organization. Often operates the elevator leading to Cordus’s penthouse court.

green men: A Second Emanation species with birdlike features. Their trackers often become bounty hunters and assassins.

Gwen Hegstrom: A Nolander who belongs to Cordus’s organization. A firearms expert. Capable of making small objects disappear.

half-working: A working that does not attempt to maintain essence in an entirely altered state, instead allowing fluctuation back and forth between natural and worked states. Sometimes called a “halfing,” for short.

Hank (Henry) Jarrett: A Nolander who belongs to Cordus’s organization.

ice people: A species of giant, horned, apelike creatures native to the Second Emanation, famed for their water-working. The males are known as “ice men” and the females as “ice mothers.” They are a cold weather species. Their home stratum is Fur.

Innin: A power controlling territory in the First Emanation, including the Florida peninsula, the Caribbean, and the northern coast of South America. Styles herself “Lady.”