A Rihanha Glossary

This is a limited glossary of terms used in the stories of Airissuin.

aefvadh -- welcome.

ael -- winged, quick, or mercurial. A common first name, as well. The tabloid Ael ch'Rihan is considered a "flighty" magazine, although the publishers would say it is "quickest at finding the story".

Areinnye -- Rihannsu Hell. Reserved for those with tarnished mnhei'sahe.

au'e -- oh yes! Can be sarcastic or enthusiastic.

eil'rrh -- lit. "mountain-poison". A beverage, red in color, usually served hot in small shot-size cups or with steamed milk. (Basically, it's espresso.) The mountain-grown eil root is baked until dry, then grated coarsely, roasted, and brewed. Only half as likely to kill a person as Rihannsu ale. There are currently more eil'rrh houses on ch'Rihan than taverns.

Eisn -- Homesun, 128 Trianguli. Used as a prefix the way Terrans use "sun", i.e., sunburn, sun-lamps, sunshine.

galae -- a space fleet. The rihannen'galae is what employs the Airissuin crew; lloannen'galae can mean Starfleet or any collection of Federation ships.

ie -- yes. May be used to mean "what is it?", "come in", and "whatever you say, dear"

lloann'mhrahel -- the UFP. The actual translation is "Them, from There" (as opposed to "Us, from Here"). Also, lloann'na is "the Fed", any UFP member, lloann'nu being the plural. The Rihannsu give little thought to the difference between UFP civilians and Starfleeters.

mnhei'sahe -- honor, but more than that. The Ruling Passion, and something uniquely Rihanha that other species have yet to understand completely. However, it does NOT mean killing people for revenge. That's a Klingon concept.

siuren -- "minutes", although it is closer to 50 seconds. If a Rihanha commander gives you five siuren to give up your starship, think 4.