Corrections/updates:
* The Manitou Islanders resemble the modern Ojibwa most closely but are in fact pre-contact Late Woodland Indians (which were of Algonquin descent).
* Dreams do not emanate from Tal Natha, he just kind of passes them along to people after they emerge from the Gemfields.
* The "fifth element" of ether/spirit is no longer uncertain seeing as Charmian utilized it in Manitou Island!
* Oddly, it's not stated here that the "gems" in the Gemfields actually contain unborn dreams.
* Typical tribal manitou form is not upright but deerlike; the upright form is mostly reserved for the mitchi manitous of Devil's Lake.
* I was unaware of the exact meaning of "Nathali" and just took it to be a generic ("species") name for Nathalit's sort, but here it's given an actual meaning.
* Ocryxes are no longer considered part rat. I'm unsure if Tal Natha is a beta or an alpha male.
* It hasn't been fixed yet in the first serial, but Ocryana's mixed-language nickname, "Taukka Ta-ko-ba Wendigo," One-Who-Moves-Like-The-Wind, is inaccurate and should more accurately be "Taukka Ta-ko-ba Nodin" ("Wendigo" being a cannibal monster, "Nodin" meaning "wind").
Original author's note follows.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I decided to create a rudimentary Manitou Island dictionary, just in case! Enjoy! :D
ALGONQUIN: Native American group including the fictional band of natives found on Manitou Island, Mackinac Island having been populated by Ojibwa. The natives in the story are unnamed and not based on any tribe, though some ideas are borrowed from Algonquin mythology.
APAKWAAPAAJIN: Ojibwa word for "bat," Charmian's familiar.
BRECCIA: Type of rock forming most of the formations upon Mackinac/Manitou Island, such as Arch Rock, Devil's Kitchen, Sugar Loaf, etc. In appearance it is jagged and knobby.
DREAMCURRENT: The flowing paths of all dreams as they emanate from Tal Natha, similar to a flowing stream.
DREAMRENDER: Translation of the Ocryx name "Dakh Natha," and occupation/duty of this character.
DREAMSPINNER: Translation of the Ocryx name "Tal Natha," and occupation/duty of this character.
DREAMWANDERER: Translation of the Ocryx name "Sikt Natha," and occupation/duty of this character.
ELEMENTAL: A spirit or force aligned to one of the elements of nature, the primary elements being earth, air/wind, fire, and water. (Other known elements or "subelements" are wood, stone, mist, etc.) A fifth primary element of ether or spirit is uncertain. Almost all spirits and creatures upon Manitou Island have an elemental connection: Ocryxes are typically part wind, part water elemental, GeeBees are wind elementals, firelings are fire elementals, etc.
FIRELING: A fire elemental. The aptly named "firelings," small, gargoylelike fiery creatures of low intelligence, are members of this group.
FLESHLING: Derogatory GeeBee name for humans, regarded as meals; may also refer to a being without any elemental powers. ("Flesh" = human.)
FORT HOLMES: A tiny fort located at the highest point on Mackinac/Manitou Island, consisting of merely a hollowed-out mound surmounted by wooden logs, with a doorway in the side of the hill. Tal Natha lives near here.
FUDGIE: Derogatory term for out-of-state tourists. (Possibly so-called because tourists tend to purchase fudge in the Mackinaw City/Mackinac Island region, which is famous for its fudge.)
GEEBEE: Also "Geebi," one of a race of cannibal giants related to the Windwalkers, a subgroup of the Wendigoes. The GeeBees consume human flesh and dwell in Devil's Kitchen, on the Lake Huron lakeshore. They take the form of tall (7-8') lanky creatures with oddly colored, hairless skin, tattered clothing, very long, thin fingers and toes, round skulls and sharply pointed ears, large round eyes, fangs, and barbels coming from the chin. They can fly, and assume the form of wind. They have a gang mentality and most are of low to average intelligence. All GeeBees are male.
GEMFIELDS: Fields strewn with gems, a region deep below the earth in Crack-In-The-Island.
GITCHI MANITOU: The Great Spirit, creator of the Island and everything on it; the native equivalent of "God." Name technically means "Great Manitou (Spirit)."
HALFLING: A creature/elemental of mixed ancestry, including two races or two different elements. By this rule, Kawaduk, lost spirits, humans with a manitou/divine parent such as Manabozho, and Ocryxes born of Ocryxes and humans are all halflings. Halflings, especially those who are part Ocryx, are generally looked upon with fear and distrust, no matter what their form.
MACKINAC ISLAND: Pronounced MACK-ih-naw. Manitou Island's "real world" counterpart; tourist resort and vacation spot in the Straits of Mackinac. The fictional "Manitou Island" is based on this location. (There is really a North Manitou Island and a South Manitou Island, and a Manitoulin Island, but those are unrelated to the story.)
MAINLAND: Michigan; specifically, the Lower Peninsula, the mainland apart from the Island.
MAINLANDER: One from the mainland; may be any race, but usually applies to those of European descent.
MANITOU: A spirit, specifically a nature spirit of some sort. May take many forms, but the most common is that of a large deerlike creature, walking upright, with moose antlers and glowing blue eyes. All manitous are aligned to at least one element, such as earth, water, fire, wood, etc. There are two main groups, the Devil's Lake manitous (of an evil disposition), and tribal manitous (of mixed dispositions); both groups usually shun each other. They may be solitary or in tribes. May also refer to any spirits in general, even the Ocryxes in their original, spirit form.
MANITOU ISLAND: Mackinac Island's "shadow" counterpart, an interdimensional island that appears during heavy fogs. In appearance is much like Mackinac Island, but more primitive and unsettled, and with many openings to the spirit world. (The "Manitou Island" of the fictional serial is in no way related to the real life North and South Manitou Islands.)
MITCHI MANITOU: The leader of the evil manitous, subordinate to Ocryx in Devil's Lake. In the original Ojibwa mythology, Mitchi Manitou lived alone in the lake and would seduce passersby by singing a haunting song. He appears as a great white manlike beast with moose antlers and glowing blue eyes. His name technically means "Bad Manitou (Spirit)."
MOONBOW: A rainbow, formed from the light of the moon rather than the light of the sun. Moonbows are weaker than rainbows, and tend to be whiter in color.
NATHALI: An Ocryx term meaning, roughly, "Dreaming One" or "One (Born) Of Dreams."
NATHALIT: An Ocryx term meaning "Dreamer."
OCRYX: Demons who were once manitous. There are two original Ocryxes, Ocryx and Ocryana, who cursed each other with the demonic forms they now bear. All other Ocryxes are descendants of theirs. They take the form of a creature that is part wolf, part eagle, part snake, and part rat, with horns, but are shapeshifters and may assume other shapes. Pureblooded Ocryxes may only die by the horn of another Ocryx, or when their source of power is destroyed. Of the three full-blooded Ocryxes, Ocryx is the alpha male, Ocryana is the female, and Tal Natha is the son, a beta male. They are usually solitary creatures.
PETOSKEY: Medium-sized modern city in northern Michigan, Lower Peninsula; home of Charmian and Drake in the story.
RAINBOWBRINGER: Translation of the Ocryx name "Xrr'grra'nghraghu" (X/X'aaru), and occupation/duty of this character.
SANDLING: An earth elemental. The sandlings include the Uroona.
SHAPESHIFTER: Also known as a "skinwalker" or lycanthrope, or by the French term "loup-garou" (werewolf); a creature that can change its shape. Ocryxes and most manitous are shapeshifters, though they can assume a different form for only a limited amount of time.
SHEPLER'S: Shepler's Mackinac Island Ferry, one of the three ferry lines to Mackinac Island (the other two being Arnold Transit Co. and Star Line).
TAUKKA TA-KO-BA WENDIGO: Mixed Ocryx/Ojibwa term meaning "One Who Moves Like The Wind," alternate name of Ocryana ("Ocryana-Who-Moves-Like-The-Wind"). A formal title, used in fear or respect.
UROONA: Large earth elementals ("sandlings"), fearsome in appearance but peaceful in disposition. They communicate via empathy (similar to telepathy, only involving images and feelings rather than direct thoughts). Known as the guardians of the forest; they have an uncanny ability to vanish into thin air, despite their gigantic size.
WATERLING: A water elemental. The waterlings include Ocryxes and the lake manitous.
WENDIGO: One of a group of wind elementals ("windlings"), two subgroups of which are the male GeeBees and the female Windwalkers. Wendigoes have a bad reputation for dragging hapless people off into the air, never to be seen again, and of consuming them as well. They are more active in the cold months, and take the form of howling wind.
WINDLING: An air/wind elemental. The windlings include GeeBees, Wendigoes, and Ocryxes.
WINDWALKER: One of a race of a subgroup of Wendigoes, related to the GeeBees. They are more mysterious than the GeeBees, but not as carnal or threatening, being more ethereal. They take the form of tall thin glowing creatures with long tufted ears, large skulls, deepset eyes, and long thin limbs, and may also take the form of wind. They are more active in winter and are under rulership of Sooleawa Chepi, a former waterling. All Windwalkers are female.
WOODLING: A wood elemental. The woodlings include Mitchi Manitou (formerly) and Kawaduk.
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