…Even those depicted in the artworks of other species have all been replaced by blank spaces on canvases, gaps in bas-reliefs, and empty lines in songs. Just about everyone on Haven is certain the Rakshasas went extinct during the same magical catastrophe that gave rise to the White Waste.

A warrior who attains vita ngoma ya akili (battle dance mind) is aware of the flow of an entire battle at the same time she notices one minute flaw in an opponent’s defenses, and can anticipate attacks split seconds before they hit.

The majority of Chimerae live in and around the White Waste, Haven’s largest desert and site of the world’s worst magical catastrophe. … Natural philosopher Marius Thane, who has risked his life to study the Couatl, believes that they await the hatching of the “Paragon”, a being that will lead them in the retaking of Ghost.

It is within the ability of most educated people on Haven to learn the structure of Koro-go, the Korobokuru language, but about half their vocabulary is incomprehensible to non-Koro. Koro-go has words for colors beyond red, for combinations of magnetic field characteristics beyond just polarity and strength, and for complex emotional interactions. Conversely, the language has few ways to describe deliberate deception, such as lying, because it’s very difficult to do in Koro society.