This is a guide that aims to be a comprehensive dictionary of Draak-Kin terms and their meanings in English.

Frequently throughout the game, ordinary words have their first letter capitalized to denote a different meaning than is typical in English. These are Draak (or Goodbeast) words with additional meaning that must be discerned through context.

Or you can just look it up in this guide!

For purposes of writing your own events, it's cool to use these terms, but I suggest not sticking to them too hard. Whether by accident or not, the normal English words are present plenty of times. For example, "speak" and "talk" appear throughout the text numerous times despite "sing" being the normal Draak term.

My advice? One of the fundamental rules of writing is "don't sound awkward". If the Draak word would sound weird, then don't use it.

Air - The Element of swiftness in both Body and Mind.

The Beyond - "Outer space".

Birther - "Female".

Birther-Creator - "Mother".

Body -

1. Same as the English word, but capitalized to complete the trio of Body, Mind, and Essence that make up a complete creature.
   
2. Sometimes used figuratively, such as "Earth's body" in reference to dirt and minerals that make up the outdoor ground.

Chamber - "Egg".

Circle-Dance - "Cycle".

Clan -

• A particular pack or family of Clansingers. (Other Goodbeasts do not form clans like this.)
  
• A subspecies of Draak-Kin, those clans being Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, Crystal, and Onyx. Draak-Kin clans may interbreed with each other. The child's clan is said to nearly always be inherited from their Birther-Creator.
  
• A subdivision of a Tribe or Clan. The only examples we see are in regard to Skyclaws, which are mentioned as having Day and Night clans, and then actual species; "Whiteface Clan of the Night Skyclaws"; "Broadwing Clan of the Day Skyclaws".

Core -

1. "Stomach". As in, "Your Core is singing a Song of Hunger."
   
2. "Heart", used metaphorically; "I will carry your heat in my Core."
   
3. "Instinct". As in, "Your Core is urging you to flee this place."

Creation - "Offspring".

Creator - "Parent".

Dance -

1. Frequent abbreviation for "Dance of Destruction"; less commonly for "Dance of Creation". It's usually obvious by context.
   
2. Body language that conveys a specific message; "Dance of Submission".
   
3. Any demonstration or purposeful movement; a meaningful action.
   
4. A balance of competing demands; "Life is the Dance between Creation and Destruction."

Dance of Creation - The act of mating or breeding.

Dance of Destruction - "Combat" or "Battle". Two or more combatants fighting with deadly intent. If there is no deadly intent, then "fight" is the correct word. The catch is that Draak always fight with lethal force. (Of course, it happens many times that your opponent yields before being killed, but at no time are you implied to be "pulling your punches".)

Destroy -

1. "Kill", when performed by a creature for legitimate purpose, such as defense of self, defense of territory, consumption, or seeking Treasure.
   
2. "Kill", even when none of the above criteria are met, as in the description for the Elixir: "produced before [the Artist] was Destroyed by its own kind."
   
3. "(To) cause the death of", because of a natural process not answerable to morality. "You are starving ... you must hunt now, or be Destroyed [by starvation]."

Destruction - "Death".

Dis-Ease - Not at ease. Feeling unwell. Having one's Body invaded by Subtle Beings of the Very Tiny Beings variety, or the Very Tiny Beings themselves. I'm not sure that there's a singular English equivalent for this.

Draak - "Dragon" or "Dragons". An individual or some individuals of the Draak-Kin species. This term is preferred by non-Draak, but Draak use it sometimes.

Draak-Kin - "Dragon", "Dragons", or "Dragonkind". The formal species name, able to refer to an individual, group, or the species in general. It is less often used because of its formality.

Dream-Den - "Bedroom", which is to say, a structure or area designated for sleeping. It doesn't require a literal bed.

The Dreaming - It's probably meant to be a reference to "The Astral Plane",[en.wikipedia.org] a place where sleeping Draak may lucid dream or communicate with each other.

Earth -

1. The planet; the Birther-Creator of Draak-Kin and all life under Sun.
   
2. The Element of Patience; Calmness under pressure.

Enkindle - The Draak-Kin ability to greatly alter and heighten the power, intelligence, and lifespan of a lesser Goodbeast.

Essence -

1. "Blood". Sometimes referred to as "Red Essence".
   
2. "Soul", "Spirit", or the otherwise incorporeal components of a being. Note that Draak are uniquely able to "see" or otherwise sense this within living things.
   
3. Anything that is normally hidden inside another thing, as in, "A chunk of Earth's Body [dirt] is here, and some of her shiny Essence [metal ore] sparkles within."
   
4. Anything that exists intangibly; sunlight ("Sun's Essence"); gases other than ordinary Air.

Falsefang - "Blade". This can be a dagger (simply called "falsefang"), sword ("too-long falsefang"), or spear ("falsefangs on the ends of branches").

Fang of the Green - "Weapon of the forest"; the player character.

The Final Darkness - "Death".

Fire - The Element of Hunger, Rage, Ambition, Power, Passion, Strength.

Firemountain - "Volcano".

Flame Within - A Draak-Kin's firebreath.

Giver - "Male".

Giver-Creator - "Father".

Golden Age - The period of time tens of thousands of years prior to The Great Green when Draak-Kin held uncontested dominion over Earth, and ended with the Skyfall.

Goodbeast / Beast - "Animal". All animals that are native to Earth.

Great - Extremely common adjective used to describe something's superiority.

Great Above / High Lair - "Sky".

Great Below - All subterranean areas in general; caverns and tunnels.

Great Blue - "Ocean".

Great Giver - "Sun", as in the star of the local solar system.

Great Green -

1. "Forest"; an area of woodland and lush wilderness in general.
   
2. The player character.

Great Mother - "Earth", as in the planet and its terrain.

Great Silence / The Silence - "Afterlife", or perhaps "Between-life". The temporary residence of Goodbeast Essences until they are reborn into new Bodies. It is regarded with neutrality; a required inverse to Life, if somewhat less exciting than the corporeal world (Great Loudness?).

Great Sleep - "Hibernation". For Draak-Kin, this seems to be 30-40 years.

Heavenfall shinestone - Probably meteoric iron.[en.wikipedia.org]

Hive - "Village", but with a negative connotation. "No-Tail Hive".

Is, Was, and Shall Be (or Will be) - "Present, Past, and Future".

Kin - "Dragon" or "Dragons". An individual or some individuals of the Draak-Kin species. This term is preferred by Draak, but non-Draak use it sometimes.

Law of Fang and Claw - "The law of the jungle", or "Might makes right". The fact that application of physical force trumps all other laws, rules, and Traditions because the other party will be too maimed or dead to complain.

Lower Void - The ocean's deepest depths.

Mind - Thoughts, consciousness.

Moon -

1. "Month", as in a completed cycle of the Moon's phases. Also called "Moon-time".
   
2. "Night", as the counterpart of "Sun" meaning "day".

Music -

1. "Individuality"; uniqueness, nature, instinct.
   
2. "Technology", especially weaponry created by No-Tails and Delvers.
   
3. "Rightness", "Harmony"; the proper order of the world in general.
   
4. The audible, wordless component of a True Song.

Murder - Destruction without appropriate purpose, not for defense nor consumption.

Nature -

• The sum of a creature's values and beliefs that guides their decisions and behavior. Most Goodbeasts have a simple and predictable Nature. Draak can be more diverse and complex.
  
• The collective rules of the world, such as gravity, the sudden stop at the end, resultant blunt trauma, etc.

Number - "Mathematics", an advanced concept typically relevant only to Draak-Kin. How else would all those Shiny Things get a proper count?!

Onesong - "Universe". Everything that exists, everywhere.

Other - "Extraterrestrial", any entity or object not created by Sun and Earth.

Others - "Extraterrestrials", whether specific alien individuals or aliens in general.

Paragons / The Seven - The seven Draak that are considered the eldest and most powerful of the species: Many-Times-Burned, Darktooth, Allmother, Fathom, Bladetail-of-the-Many-Minds, Jade Cloud, and the Ruiner-Empress.

People - "Species". Also see Tribe.

Quiet - "Dead", or otherwise lacking a Rhythm.

Rhythm -

1. "Heartbeat". Also called "Rhythm of Life".
   
2. Any steady sound, such as the regular movement of water flowing or making waves.

Sacred Joy-Plant - "Catnip".

Secondskin - "Clothing", as frequently worn by No-Tails.

Shinestone - "Metal", with no distinction between ore, smelted products, or alloys. Although gold is (naturally) singled out as being the best, because dragon.

Sigil - "Symbol" that represents a word or concept. The closest approximation would be something like Japanese kanji. These are used in Mind-Song and are part of the natural Essence of living things (which Draak can see). There is no indication that Draak physically write or carve these sigils onto anything. It's all visualized via Mind or Essence.

Silence -

1. "Kill" (as verb).
   
2. "Death" (as noun). Note this is distinct from Great Silence or The Silence.
   
3. Lack of sound in general.

Silent - "Dead", or otherwise lacking a Rhythm.

Sing - "Speak" or "Converse" via a telepathy-like mechanism that all Goodbeasts are innately capable of. There are some considerations to keep in mind that make it different from verbal speech:

• Simple conversation requires a connection to be formed with another Mind. This is normally a simple task, but foreign Minds require intense concentration to connect with.
  
• It is possible to sing out loud without forming a connection, so one Goodbeast can "overhear" another. This seems akin to shouting, and would be impolite in a one-on-one situation. Not sure that Flare cares about this.
  
• Some singing can be fairly indiscriminate, such as the True Song of Destruction killing anything in its way.

Sky-Egg - "Meteorite".

Skyfall, Firefall, Great Death - The invasion of Earth by the Others, and the ensuing True War between Draak-Kin and the Others that altogether resulted in the Draak-Kin being massacred and Earth being populated with bipeds of various heights. Some Draak-Kin survived or altered themselves into other Goodbeast species, but it was still nothing short of catastrophic. This occurred tens of thousands of years before the time of The Great Green.

Smell - Used in place of "see" in a metaphorical sense. "You smell possibilities".

Song / Mind-song - "Speech", "Conversation", "Phrase". This is not physical speech, but a telepathy-like mechanism that all Goodbeasts are innately capable of. See Sing for more info.

Song of [something] -

1. Any sound, especially one without specific words, as in "Song of Hunger" (growling stomach) or "Song of Objection" (a rusted gate creaking).
   
2. One of several traditional Draak-Kin songs that carry specific meanings and power. "Song of Annunciation", "Song of Challenge", "Song of Command".
   
3. Any speech by a sentient being that is being summarized instead of quoted verbatim. As in, "Song of Protest" (which one would imagine to be "Stop! Stop!").
   
4. Any linear progression and the events therein, as in "Song of your Life".

song-note / note - "(Telepathically spoken) word". It seems that "song-note" is used exactly one time in the entire game (by MTB during the finale), and "note" is used a few times in reference to songs being summarized instead of quoted verbatim. "Word" appears rather more commonly, even though it seems less Draak-like.

Spirit-Keeper - The Draak who holds the Spiritwood as its territory right now; the player character.

Subtle Being -

1. "Elemental"; an incorporeal Spirit representing either Fire, Water, Earth, or Air.
   
2. "Ghost"; a Mindless and Body-less remnant of a Destroyed creature.
   
3. "Illusion" or "False Being"; a phenomenon that mimics life but is not alive, as from unknown technology, trickery, or misinterpretation.
   
4. "Very Tiny Beings"; "Dis-Ease".

Sun -

1. The Giver-Creator of Draak-Kin and all life on Earth.
   
2. Each individual bright circle that floats across the sky. Draak-Kin do not seem to have a notion of the Earth rotating. Rather, they see the Sun as literally dying and being born anew or reincarnated as another Sun.
   
3. "Day", as in, "Spend a Sun researching an artifact."
   
4. An indeterminate period of time between one day and two weeks; some fraction of a Moon (month).

Tradition - The code of honor and rules that Draak-Kin are expected to follow when dealing with each other.

• Following Tradition is protective for weaker Draak; it allows Draak of different age and power to interact neutrally.
  
• Breaking Tradition encourages the offended party to also break it in retaliation, which would end poorly for the weaker side.
  
• It's likely that a strong Draak who flaunts tradition would soon gain a dishonorable reputation and pay dearly for it in the long term.

Treasure - Anything rare and valuable. Treasure is in the eye of the beholder. What is Treasure to a Draak may be worthless to a different Goodbeast.

Treefeather - "Leaf".

Tree-foot - "Tree stump".

Tribe -

1. "Species". Also see People.
   
2. Category of an animal type in a broader sense, most prominently the Skyclaw Tribe. Day Skyclaws and Night Skyclaws are different species, but both are birds of prey.

True Dream -

1. "Precognition", "Prophecy"; a vision of a possible future that may still be altered.
   
2. A vision of something that is happening currently, especially as a means of communication between distant parties.

True Self - Anything hidden behind an illusion or guise. This can be in reference to a creature, but it can also be something intangible like a concept or idea.

True Song - One of the special and sacred types of song that powerful Draak-Kin can use to alter certain aspects of Reality. This power is normally attainable only by Elders, but the player character is able to perform several True Songs despite its youth, much to the surprise of other Draak.

True War - "Total war"; absolute commitment toward fighting and killing a specific kind of target.

Truth -

1. "Fact", "Knowledge"; the way things are.
   
2. "Perspective"; something that is factual to one individual, but is not necessarily universal.
   
3. "Ability", "Existent thing"; something that can affect something else, especially through intangible means, as from an elemental spirit, raw elemental forces, or inborn abilities.

Turning - "Year".

Void / The Void -

1. "Outer space". Also called the "Upper Void".
   
2. "Nothingness", "Oblivion".
   
3. Processes that take place after death; decay; reduction to nothingness.

Void-envoy - "Weapon".

Water - The Element of stealth, subtlety, perception, and intuition.

Way - Traditions, Common practice, especially in reference to a Tribe. "The Good Way of Draak-Kin".

Furbeast - Mammal.

Featherbeast - Bird.

Scalebeast - Reptile.

Waterbound - Fish.

Tiny Being - Insects, or any creatures that are insect-sized.

Very Tiny Being - Viruses and bacteria.



Baretail - Rat.

Barkborer - Woodpecker.

Blackburn - Raven.

Blazetail - Fox.

Clansinger - Wolf.

Darksweet - Dormouse.

Day Skyclaw - Bald eagle.

Deathbite Tailbeast - Adder.

Delver - Dwarf.

Draak-Kin / Draak / Kin - Dragon.

Great Glider - Manta ray.

Great Grazer - Bovine; only Bulls are encountered.

Great Lumberer - Brown bear.

Great Slideclaw - Lion.

Great Spearbill - Crane.

Great Stinkstrike - Marten.

Greathorn Surefoot - Ibex.

Greenleaper - Frog.

Hillback - Bison.

Layerwing - Goose (probably a greylag goose).

Lesser Lumberer - Black bear.

Lesser Slideclaw - Cat.

Lesser Spearbill - Great blue heron.

Lesser Stinkstrike - European polecat.

Longear - Rabbit.

Longscale - Pike.

Lumberkin - Badger.

Night Skyclaw - Owl.

No-Tail / Tailless / Other-seed - Humans.

Om - Olm.[en.wikipedia.org]

Plainsrunner - Horse.

Prickleback - Hedgehog.

Rainscale - Rainbow trout.

Scuttleclaw - Crab.

Shellbeast - Turtle.

Shiftscale - Salmon.

Shimmerling - Pheasant.

Shorttail Slideclaw - Eurasian lynx.

Shrieker - Bat.

Snowfeather - Swan.

Suncaller - Chicken.

Surefoot - Goat.

Surefoot Slave - Sheep.

Tailbeast - Snake.

Treetail - Squirrel.

Tusksnort - Boar. (They are also referred to as Tuskchargers on one occasion; it is unclear whether this is a mistake.)

Waterling - Salamander.

Waterwing - Mallard.

Whiteblack - Magpie.

Woodstrider / Crowned / Beloved-of-the-Green - Deer.



Armorling - Beetle.

Berryback - Ladybug.

Bloodsucker - Mosquito.

Deathpit - Antlion.

Feastling - Caterpillar.

Honeybuzz - Bees.

Returner - Earthworm.

Shredder - Praying mantis.

Springtail - Well, uh... Springtail. It looks like this was used as an art reference.[i.imgur.com]

Sunfly - Mayfly.

Sweetkin - Aphid.

Weaver - Spider.

Woodeater - Termite.

Coldward - "North".

Earthward - "Downward".

Riseward - "East".

Setward - "West".

Sunward - "Upward".

Warmward - "South".

(One imagines that Coldward and Warmward get reversed if your Draak live in the southern hemisphere.)

These are words that are (almost) always capitalized, but do not have a particularly different meaning than the English term.

This is not meant to be an absolutely comprehensive list. I am only adding words that appear with relative frequency.

• Breath
  
• Change
  
• Consume
  
• Crown
  
• Death
  
• Den
  
• Desire
  
• Fear
  
• Lair
  
• Life
  
• Light
  
• Mountains
  
• Night
  
• Plants
  
• Pride
  
• Rage
  
• Rain
  
• Reality
  
• Sea
  
• Self
  
• Space (as in the three-dimensional kind, not what is outside of a planet's atmosphere)
  
• Spirit
  
• Stone
  
• Time
  
• Trees
  
• Trove
  
• Warrior