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Glossary of subterranean features:
  • Abandoned Mine: a mine no longer used, often dangerous.
  • Acid Cloud: clouds of acid produced by volcanic activity.
  • Aetherial Torch: massive bowls filled with fuel that burn with aetherial flame. Used as lightsources in the Hollow and other layers.
  • Aquifer: groundwater source.
  • Bandwood Forest: a forest of trees with fossilized bark (though still growing and alive) that is colored in bands of brown, white, and grey. Found in the Hollow and the Hypogaeum.
  • Barathrum: the eighth layer of the Subterranean Realm, a molten region where few things can live.
  • Blast Region: area of a mine made unstable by use of explosives.
  • Caldera: reservoir of magma beneath the surface of the world.
  • Catacomb: caves beneath cities, sometimes made up of the cities.
  • Center Plaza: a huge open space in the center of the Labyrinth.
  • Cold Zone: part of a mine where the temperature drops dramatically to the point of danger.
  • Collapsed Mine: a mine that collapsed intentionally or unintentionally and can no longer be used.
  • Crag: jagged speleothems, usually found in large subterranean rocky scrublands just called crags.
  • Creator's Table: underground mesas usually found within the Hollow.
  • Crystal Field: a stretch of open cavern or layer that is covered in (or mostly covered in) crystal formations. Often a source of light.
  • Crystalleaf Forest: a forest of trees with clear, crystalline leaves. Found in the Hollow and the Hypogaeum.
  • Dark Ice: ice filled with true shadow, found only in Shadowdeep.
  • Dark Magma: magma filled with true shadow, which dims its burning glow but does not reduce its heat. Found only in Shadowdeep.
  • Darkwater: water infused with true shadow, making up the rivers, lakes, and aquifers of Shadowdeep.
  • Dark Zone: area of a mine that fills with true shadow and becomes unnavigable, even to dongxue, dwarves, gondals, or gnomes.
  • Deep Tomb: a tomb that is large enough to reach the Subterranean Realm, or one built intentionally into it. Some are long buried and forgotten, others connect to active graveyards.
  • Deep Train: trains that run through a subterranean layer, such as the Hollow.
  • Dragon's Den: the massive den of a dragon, found at almost any level of the Subterranean Realm.
  • Ebon Wonders: structures made of true shadow that none can see.
  • Fuligin Pocket: a sealed cave filled with fuligin in form of sand, liquid, ore, or crystal.
  • Gas Pocket: sealed cave filled with some kind of non-breathable, toxic, or explosive gas.
  • Gaunt Peak: a tall, narrow stalagmite in Shadowdeep in which nighgaunts make their homes.
  • Geode: a sealed pocket rimmed with crystals. Some can be massive enough to hold cities, others small enough to hold in one hand.
  • Great Expanse: a huge open area within the Hollow.
  • Green Colony: a colonial vegetable organism that fills a portion of a subterranean layer and appears almost like a forest.
  • The Grottos: the second layer of the Subterranean Realm, a mostly solid zone with the occasional massive grotto, or isolated cave, and other pockets.
  • Heartway: narrow tubes under the earth that carry the emotional resonance generated by Mother Shem herself. This resonance creates intense heat, which makes the stone and earth around it glow (blue, pink, or red).
  • The Hollow: a massive cavern that comprises the third Subterranean Realm.
  • Hot Zone: part of a mine where the temperature rises considerably to the point of danger.
  • The Hypogaeum: a maze-like series of tubes that comprises the fourth layer of the Subterranean Realm.
  • Ice Cave: a cave with notable ice structures within it or a cave within ice. A sealed ice cave is an ice pocket.
  • Inner Core: the tenth and final layer of the Subterranean Realm. The center of the world, filled with peace.
  • Ironwood Forest: a forest in the Hollow or the Hypogaeum made up of ironwood trees, which have wood as strong as iron.
  • Irritohydrum: void-infused waters of the Voidbarrens.
  • Irritosinum: a void pocket. A cave with no opening to another cave system or the surface, filled with void energy in the form of gas, liquid, or sand. The energy is completely clear, but no magic will work within the area.
  • The Labyrinth: a massive, mortalmade maze that twists around the top three layers. It only has one entrance (the surface, in Wymmera) and one exit (the roof of the Hollow).
  • Layer: one of the main regions of the Subterranean Realm.
  • Lift: elevators built by subterranean nations to move up and down.
  • The Lithosphere: the caves and so on nearest the surface of the world, comprising the first layer of the Subterranean Realm.
  • Lost City: the ruins (inhabited or otherwise) of ancient cities long forgotten, buried under sediment and stone.
  • Lowland Cave: between sea level and 1,000'.
  • The Low Mines: so-named because they are the last dwarven- or dongxue-controlled mines, the deepest mines, and the fifth layer of the Subterranean Realm.
  • Magma Cascade: a magmafall, as water is to a waterfall.
  • Magma Flow: a river of magma.
  • Magma Lake: large body of molten magma that is connected to the greater expanse of a layer. A larger one is called a magma sea. A small one is a magma pool.
  • Mechanical Chamber: technology from forgotten eras, lost under earth and stone.
  • Mine: mortalmade caves from which gems, metals, and minerals are gathered.
  • Mine Shaft: a vertical or sloping passage within a mine.
  • Mineral Deposit: unmined minerals in a significant-sized area.
  • Mirror Clock: a device that measures time by reflecting light from the surface.
  • Mountain Cave: above 1,000' feet over sea level.
  • Mushroom Forest: a forest of large and small fungus, found in many different layers of the Subterranean Realm.
  • Night Wood: the forest in Shadowdeep made up of umbral trees, trees that thrive in the dark.
  • Oasis: a spot within the Labyrinth where runners may rest, eat, drink, or partake in social activities.
  • Compression Reservoir: large reservoirs with oil or natural gas.
  • Oceanic Trench: chasm at the bottom of the ocean that sometimes connects to the Subterranean Realm.
  • Oceanic Vent: volcanoes at the bottom of the ocean.
  • Ossuary: caves filled with the bones of the dead.
  • Pillar of the Hollow: one of the massive stone columns that supports the roof of the Hollow.
  • The Pit: the massive wound in the surface of Shem that is filled with god-killing fuligin (metal, mineral, or otherwise).
  • Quarry: an area from which stone is cut for use by mortals.
  • Rhizome System: a near-surface region full of rhizomes from various organisms on the surface that creates a complex maze of tunnels, tubes, caverns, pockets, barriers, and rhizomes.
  • The Rim: the outer edge of the inner core, the inside of the sphere, upon which things grow and thrive.
  • Rim Forest: a forest on the Rime of the Inner Core made up of every kind of tree imaginable.
  • Rim River: river that flows on the interior of the Inner Core.
  • Root Cluster: a pocket filled with roots, usually under a root system.
  • Root System: region of the shallow Subterranean Realm under a forest or other large, vegetative region, wherein many roots congregate to form a maze-like system of tunnels, pockets, caves, and barriers.
  • Runner: one who seeks to navigate through the Labyrinth.
  • Runner Arena: an area of the Labyrinth where in those who run the maze must fight some kind of opponent in single combat or small group combat.
  • Sand Cave: cave partially or wholly filled with sand, often under sandy terrain on the surface, such as a desert or beach. A sealed sand cave is a sand pocket.
  • Scorpion Bridge: narrow bridge that spans Stagnum Ignis and connects to the Inner Core.
  • Sea Cave: cave under sea or ocean, regardless of altitude, which is filled or partially filled with saltwater.
  • Seam: a band of ore or coal that extends a significant distance.
  • Seam Fire: when a coal seam burns, it burns for centuries.
  • Sewer System: the sanitation tunnels under a city.
  • Shadowdeep: the sixth layer of the Subterranean Realm, a network of caverns and caves filled with true shadow.
  • Sinkhole: water filled with sediment, dirt, or other materials caused by the dissolution of rock via karst process or similar.
  • Slush: water filled with rocks, dirt, minerals, sediment, etc. that forms a sinkhole or similar feature.
  • Slush Pocket: a sealed cave filled with slush.
  • Slush Swamp: an area filled with slush and vegetation.
  • Speleothem: rock formations like stalagmites or stalagtites.
  • Spirit Gate: a gate to the Spirit Realm that exists in Shadowdeep.
  • Stagnum Ignis: the Lake of Fire that makes up the outer core, the ninth layer of the Subterranean Realm.
  • The Stair: a massive, winding staircase that goes from the mountain caves of Akazad in the Lithosphere down to the Low Mines.
  • Steam Cave: when water is near to magma or other heat source and builds up into steam, it can form caves, tubes, or pockets. These are extremely dangerous.
  • Still Lake: large underground freshwater lake with little to no movement of its waters.
  • Subterranean Cascade: an underground waterfall, often bringing water between layers.
  • Subterranean City: a city underground.
  • Subterranean Country: a country underground.
  • Subterranean Geyser: a geyser underground, opening into a layer.
  • Subterranean River: flowing groundwater of significant volume. A river flowing partially or completely below ground.
  • Subway System: train system under a city. Not to be confused with other trains used in larger subterranean areas.
  • Tainted Matter: polluted matter that makes an area toxic, creating tainted caves, pockets, rivers, aquifers, etc.
  • Tube: a natural passage.
  • Tunnel: a mortalmade passage.
  • The Umbra: regions of the underground filled with true shadow, thus containing no light. A sealed cave filled with true shadow is an umbral pocket. A passage filled with true shadow is an umbral tube.
  • Under Cave: below sea level but not underwater.
  • Vacuum: a pocket with no air or gas whatsoever. Extremely dangerous to open.
  • Vewelian Forest: a forest in the Voidbarrens made up of void berry trees and irritodendral trees.
  • The Voidbarrens: the seventh layer of the Subterranean Realm, filled with void energy.
  • Void Ice: frozen irritohydrum.
  • Volcano: fissure in the ground from which lava flows onto the surface of the world. Often a mountain.
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Topic revision: r3 - 19 Oct 2021, SallyJaneBlack
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