Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Aspect: The archetypal name and nature of a geist; that portion of its makeup that is more iconic than
personal. Usually revealed through the course of binding a krewe.
Autochthonous Depths: The highest and most shallow region of the Underworld.
Avernian Gate: Another term for a cenote, specifically one used to travel directly to the Underworld.
Bargain, the: The moment of death and rebirth where the geist bonds with its mortal host to create a
Sin-Eater.
Bound, the: Another term for Sin-Eaters. Refers to the bond with the geist, but frequently takes on a
secondary connotation of being bound to fate, chance, a second life, or whatever the speaker believes
to be the purpose of her rebirth.
cenote: A place where the wall between the living world and the Underworld is naturally weaker.
ceremony: A ritual invoking the Bound’s power as medium to achieve mystical results involving the
dead and the Underworld.
Charonite: A Sin-Eater dedicated to the support and transmission of the Twilight Network.
Codex: A cache of lore and secrets recorded by a krewe and used by another to access supernatural
benefits.
cooler: Slang term for a freshly dead ghost; derived from “still-cooling body” and the low temperature
of a morgue.
deathlord: One of the legendary rulers of the Underworld; their existence is unproven.
faction: A krewe large enough to have several cliques within itself; often spread over more than one
city.
geist: A bizarre form of ghost, part human remnant and part archetype. Formal plural is Geister, but
English-speaking Sin-Eaters tend to use the less correct “geists.”
grand carnival: A particularly large and formal Sin- Eater gathering.
griever: Slang term for a human who still remembers a given ghost, and may potentially be an anchor.
Haunt: A cenote or “low place” that has been claimed by a Sin-Eater, krewe, or other entity.
Horsemen: The five archetypal figures of Sin-Eater mythology and symbolism that represent the five
Thresholds.
Kerberoi: Ancient guardians of the Underworld, bound and dedicated to enforcing the Old Laws or
punishing transgressions against them.
keystone: A memento specific to one particular geist, symbolizing its bond with the Sin-Eater.
krewe: A group of Sin-Eaters united by a common purpose. Usually ritually bound as well, which
allows them certain advantages through a channel to the Underworld.
memento: An object steeped in the power of death, able to activate given supernatural powers in the
hands of one of the Bound. Also called memento mori by more formal Sin-Eaters.
memorabilia: A memento associated with a person, place, or thing of great fame or infamy.
Old Laws, the: A code of rules that governs the Underworld; laws that govern interaction with the
dead. Kept by the Kerberoi.
plasm: The immaterial pseudo-matter of which ghosts are made; fuel for a Sin-Eater’s power.
Sacrosanct: A Sin-Eater that strives against his fellows out of dangerous beliefs.
Sin-Eater: A human being who has died temporarily and returned to life, or suffered a near-death
experience, and bonded with a geist during the moment of death. The name refers to the implied
burden of the sins of the dead, as well as the potential duty to serve as a medium.
Synergy: The measure of psychic unity between a Bound mortal and geist.
Threshold: A “type” or resonance of death; a loose category by which Sin-Eaters can identify certain
aspects of death.
Twilight Network: The eclectic network of coded and underground communications Sin-Eaters use to
keep in touch with one another.
Vacant: A former Sin-Eater who has been severed from his or her geist.
wake: A gathering of Sin-Eaters for the express purpose of socialization and celebration.
Wretched, the: Bound that have been brought back from death one time too many, serving as empty
shells for their geists to manipulate.