More Trithofar Idioms

BELOW THESE NEW ONES, you will find the old Idioms of Trithofar I did in an earlier post.  I wanted to add a few more as a brainstorming activity.  I'm going to try and divide them into various places or vartem groups.  

KINTO-SHAH ORIGIN:

A Stel or a Stellinor: Stel was the world's most famous horror story.  He was a human who was trained in the use of magic.  Originally part of the Eight, he was trained in every art, every form of magic.  He particularly excelled, however, in combative arts and uses of magic.  His teacher for the ancient martial arts form Tah-Nith (meaning the Mind Touch) was a kinto-shah.  When Stel rebelled, he used this very art to harm kinto-shah, deliberately using it to show that he knew it, knew it better than most of the Tah-Nith masters, and used the gift that culture gave him to attempt to destroy them. Stel's, or Stellinor's, name is synonymous in almost every culture with betrayal, and particularly with the kinto-shah, who at the time had very little trust for humans or kunjels, both of which they would blame for hundreds of years for the horrors that were the Qwadro Wars.

Blood for a stone: In the ancient times, when the kinto-shah were coming to Trithofar, legends told of a stone called The Orb of Storms.  Apparently, this orb allowed some kinto-shah to journey through a great storm to Trithofar, or sent them there.  But naturally, if this stone really could control storms of the Kinto-shah homeworld, people would attempt to find it and take it, and several assassins and thieves did attempt to take it from the king who possessed it, but were unable and many of them were caught and beheaded or killed.  They traded their blood for a stone.  This idiom is invoked to describe someone who attempts to accomplish some great thing and either dies for it, or gives up more than they can afford for it.      

Ending All Bargains: To die.  The kinto-shah culture is a complicated world of debts and bargaining often.  The kinto-shah believe they owe a debt to their gods for allowing them to live after the time when, according to Kri'ism, every creature rebelled agianst the heavens.  Kinto-shah schools are places where children are trained as slaves, taught particular skills based on a very Confuscian idea of testing and placing along particular tracks.  They are contracted and sold to their careers where, if they are smart and understand the rules, they can eventually buy their freedom and run their own business, or be elevated to a status of nobility in some way.  But moving about in the kinto-shah system is a very tricky game and business.  You must know whose favor to win, whose favor to buy, and you must be willing to do certain things to get around.

Flea Befriender: This is a person who seems to let everyone use him.  He's a 'door mat' or he seems to be an easy mark for his abusive friends to take advantage of. People go to this person to take what he has or block what he might get, etc.  

Like shaving your fur: An expression of "What the &*^% was the point of doing that?"  Many times, this actually is an expression about someone attempting to be something they are not.  Among kinto-shah, there are stories of some of them attempting to make themselves to be like humans or attempt to make their body more human-like in some particular way.  Maybe it is a fetish of some kind.  Maybe they were raised around humans.  Perhaps some of them develop an inferiority complex or have been told they are monsters by humanoids (even though they are not).  A kinto-shah is an anthropomorphic rodent creature, some of them looking quite a bit like mice, rats, or ferrets in the face and head structure.  They are covered entirely by thick, water-repellant fur.  The only thing a kinto-shah does by shaving off his fur is makes himself cold and ridiculous to look at, though there have been a few small movements of kinto-shah who have done it.  Some have done it as a self-abasement, for religious reasons.  For most kinto-shah however, this is an extremely humiliating and stupid thing to do without much cause behind it no matter what.           

Schooler: This is the word for a slave who grows up in a slave school but never really leaves.  It's kind of like the person who supposedly can't find a real job and instead teaches (not that I support this saying, as teaching is 'the real job' to me.  But basically, instead of putting their acquired skills to work outside the facility where they learned them, they become teachers of new students coming up.  

Take Some No Baby: Kinto-shah have a potion called "Inavé" which means "No Baby."  This potion chemically sterilizes women.  At first, it only has a temporary effect, but prolonged exposure will cause permanent damage.  The kinto-shah use it for a couple of reasons, the first being that a person has a slave and a wife and doesn't want children from the slave.  The second is so that only pre-selected imperial concubines will have children and therefore princes.  The third is to prevent a person with less than satisfactory genetic traits breeding.  This third reason is the source of this idiom.  This idiom is another way to suggest someone is too dumb to live, or should not be raising children.  This idiom is kind of like telling someone to take a long walk off a short pier, but ensure they have no children first.  

Without a Contract: Among kinto-shah, if you are not a free person or a noble, you are a slave.  A slave grows up and learns how to do a good job as whatever slave they are.  They don't get paid very well, but they do get to live with their masters and have a contract (if they've graduated from their schools).  A slave that has no contract is a slave without any rights.  A slave with no rights is no better off than an animal.  To be without a contract by choice is basically suicide by slavery.  To not know precisely what type of contract you have and what it stipulates is the on the first order of stupidity for kinto-shah.  Therefore, to say someone is 'without a contract' is to suggest that someone is highly ignorant or stupid.  This can also be an idiom similar to "without a paddle" in that the person's own stupidity or ignorance has caused their life to be very precarious.    

KUNJELIC ORIGIN:

A Gēb's Egg: Whether or not the story of Old Geeb and the magic egg he found is true or not to the people of Trithofar has no bearing on the use of this idiom.  A 'Geeb's Egg' is something that is good for a person in the short term, but very bad for a person in the long term.  It is kind of like using a drug to make oneself have a good idea or using stolen goods to get oneself rich or using immoral means to an end.  In the short term, it might actually work to one's advantage.  Long term, there could be disastrous results.  The Story of Old Geeb is on this site a few posts back from here, so I won't spoil it by explaining this one further.  

Asleep in the Road:  Among the kunjels, "the road" usually refers to the Great Easterwester, the longest and most prominent highway in the world, connecting Coth on one side of the continent of Frosomia to Cathra on the other.  Asleep in the Road mainly is an idiom describing someone who is not doing something in a place and time when they should be doing something.  Effectively, this idiom is the same as "Pee or get off the Pot" or "Lead, Follow, or Get out of the Way."  To literally sleep in the road would mean to risk getting run over by people.  Basically, this idiom means "you are not busy, so get busy." 

Ball on a Hilltop: Basically, this is a situation where eventually, things are going to go downhill.  Children playing with a ball on a hilltop will eventually have to go and fetch it again.  This is an idiom about the inevitability involved in certain actions taken, if the actions wish to be continued.  

The Eager Gremlin Chases the Price Up a Tree: Among merchants are many sayings and idioms.  This is one of them.  Basically, this is a saying for people who are seeking to buy something.  If you are looking at something you intend to buy, a savvy merchant will act as though it is of little importance whether or not he gets it.  If a person acts too eager, the seller will raise the price higher before bargaining.  

Fish look at fish and birds look at birds: Basically, this is the idea that people seek out things that are similar to themselves to be attracted to in other people (I am not advocating this principle so much as merely pointing out that it exists in the real world and therefore in the fantasy world as well). Yes, sometimes, opposites can attract, but more often, people like those who share similar interests or experiences and seek out people who think in ways similar to themselves.  Many humanoids in Trithofar, which include humans, kunjels, maybe nargs, and elves (aka no furs, slickskins, or knob-nosers, among a few other nicknames I'm not thinking up just now) think that having intimate relations or mated pairs with such animaloids (or fur-bodies, muzzlers, muzzle-nuzzles, etc.) as hials, kinto-shah, gincha, vyprun, etc. is tantamount to beastiality.  These people would suggest that all the vartemaea of Trithofar stick to their own kind and there won't be any trouble.  Among some groups, such strong opposition to mixed breeding exists that it can be a deadly offense.  We would call such things in our world hate crimes and acts of intolerance, but this expression has not gone away and some people, including kunjels, believe in it strongly.  

Like the Brothers from the Dragon: There is a famous song among kunjels called "Running from the Dragon" which tells the story (usually instrumentally kind of like "Peter and the Wolf") of some famous brothers who went and raided a low dragon's nest to prevent them from attacking nearby villages.  They took the last of the dragon's eggs and passed it back and forth between each other until they led the dragon to a trap where the villagers attacked and killed it.  Then, they ate the egg.  These brothers invented a kunjelic game called Eggerball (name subject to change) where teams attempt to carry a large and heavy ball to a particular place the most number of times without being caught by the opposing team.    

Low Lying Lem (for him or her): In the Sea of Grass, a lem is one of the most dreaded creatures to be found.  They are basically the land/air based version of a sea jelly.  They float in the air thanks to a much sought-after gas they create inside of themselves, and silently stalk ground-based creatures.  Some of them are notorious for lying low in the grass and leaving their nearly 14-foot long tentacles out beside them so something will come and trip on them or run into them.  Lem's venom is among the most feared in the world, as it disables the nerves of a living creature for hours at a time.  Once the creature starves to death or dies of thirst, the lem eats it by sucking out intestinal and stomach fluids (and eating some of the innards as well) and laying eggs in the carcass.  To combat these creatures, kunjels constructed quite a few lem fences, which are simply fences made of coarse wire, thorns, tough raggedy rope or any other material that the lems do not care to drag their tentacles over the tops of.  Lems are known to hate roads and not go anywhere near places where the dangerous ambush ants go.  The idiom, however, is about touchy subjects.  Some kunjels have issues they would prefer not to talk about, and any such touchy subject is like a low lying lem, waiting for someone to stumble upon it and get raged at for it, or risk severely pissing someone off by talking about it.    

Let gremlins eat the last (to die): Basically the same saying as "Let the Dead Bury the Dead."  Instead of continuing to kill, hurt, or argue with one another, it's best to just let things end.  Everyone involved is done with.  This is commonly used when two fighting sides have either managed to kill each other or have so hurt each other neither can fight any more.  Basically, don't get involved in a battle that's already done and fought.  

Be a Wald: General Wald made a stand against all odds, knowing full well he would die doing it.  He stood anyway, and with a few hundred kunjelic rebel soldiers, fended off thousands of Cheen warriors during the War Against Drod.  To Make a Wald Stand is to know that you are going to have to make a big sacrifice, and you do it anyway, because it is the right thing to do.  

She's beautiful like a fibal: A fibal is a type of 'grassfish' in the Sea of Grass.  It is not really a fish at all, but a type of reptilian creature like a miniature dragon.  Aside from their pretty scales being used for things, they don't offer much in the way of meat (some creatures eat them when it is possible to catch them).  Though not particularly dangerous, they are hard to catch, for two reasons.  The first is their scales can actually reflect light so dazzlingly, they can temporarily blind an enemy, and they are known for climbing up into the sun or deliberately getting on rocks during sunshine. When they knew they have flickered or flashed their enemy, they can also deposit musk balls which have a very overpowering stinking smell making it hard to track anything else.  The idiom is used to describe a woman who is primarily or only beautiful, and who will either break one's heart, who has little to offer other than her beauty, or who will blind a man to better judgment.  It's similar to the expressions: crazy like a fox, a wolf in sheep's clothing, the devil is the most beautiful angel, maneater, and other expressions about deceptive or dangerous women.  

Tying thirty knots (in Silk): Sometimes, when kunjels need to be calmed, particularly if they are young and still struggling with the rage, the calmists will tie the raging person's hands in a long silk scarf.  The idea is to force the raging kunjel to stop and think about what he/she is doing, get control of their rage, and be trustworthy enough to get out again without further incident (this is done when the rage is inappropriate or potentially harmful without merit).  However, to bind someone so thoroughly that the person is incapable of getting out of the binding, even if they wanted to do so, is a dishonor and embarrassment to the bound person.  Kunjels value self-control above many other virtues.  Such binding suggests they will attempt to dishonor themselves by getting loose against better judgment and it suggests they cannot be trusted to get themselves under control but must be controlled.  Tying thirty knots in silk is an exaggeration, meaning someone is overbearing or unreasonable in their punishment or disciplinary practices.  It's also another way of saying 'overkill.'  

Vor's Nest: A dangerous place, a precarious position.  Vors are some of the more dangerous animals in Trithofar.  To imagine a vor, one imagines a creature like a tiger, but as big as a horse.  They are extremely powerful animals, with very sharp claws, long teeth, and a great deal of appetite.  In the Sea of Grass, they are a dominant predator.  They find and keep a certain amount of territory, usually in high grass areas, or in copses of trees, and they can hold this territory for generations, the dominant males taking it over.  Here, everything in the area, the vor will guard fiercely against intruders.  It is said that vors will kill anything that gets into its nest, even if it is not a threat.  A vor's nest, therefore, is a place where it is dangerous to go.  Kind of the same idiom as "A low lying lem" but not quite.  A vor's nest is a place where someone elects to go that is dangerous, I guess.  

Will be building a room/Needs an extra room/Looking for walls to knock down: When kunjel children come of age, the family (and any willing and able friends and neighbors) help add rooms to their homes out of sod bricks.  It is something of a tradition.  Traditionally, a party is held where the door is knocked out of the sod wall where the room is to be accessed.  To be in need of extra rooms is a euphemism for pregnancy.  It is kind of the same euphemism as "in a family way" or "with child" or etc.  

 

 

 

 

 

Having bought a book telling the stories of Chinese Idioms the other day, I thought I would make up some idioms for Trithofar. Where I have one, I'll also tell the story behind them, but otherwise, I'll just tell the idiom and what it means.  This is a brainstorming/drafting assignment and may/may not stick.  Over all though, it is very fun to do.   

An Alnomor: A member of the Fairy Folk (or the Dragon Seed).  An alnomor is a creature (as said in a previous post) who grants extra life to a person who begs it of them.  The alnomor hops aboard, usually either following the person, or actually becoming part of them, to see how they will spend their life gained and to protect them.  What an alnomor wants is difficult to say for certain, and may not pertain to anything rational or reasonable, and what pleases them is likewise indeciferable.  But an alnomor will guarantee a person will not die in their presence.  An alnomor is a thief's expression originally, meaning that elusive, perfect score that a thief can retire on after selling, or at least not have to worry about money for a while.  It has since become a commonly held expression meaning one's retirement or nest egg.   

Breaking the neck over eggs: This is an expression meaning someone has 'overdone' something for a lesser result. A struk is a large, stork-like bird which can be found quite often near kunjel civilizations because they know predators will not go there.  They are not exactly domesticated, but somewhat common.  Kunjels find their nests and harvest their eggs.  But unlike a chicken, a struk has defenses.  Their beaks are sharp and mercilessly pointed, and the male struk has spurs.  Consequently, when a kunjel wants the eggs, he/she has to catch hold of the parent guarding it, or in some way immobilize the animal.  The worst thing to do in this situation is to break the struk's neck, because that kills the animal and ensures no more eggs.  Therefore, the expression means to do something drastic, foolish, or wasteful to get a desired result.  

Courting a Cagulant: I wrote a story called "The Cagulant" which hopefully will be published one day.  The creatures themselves turn into a metaphor, so this one's kind of a double-backlash-whammy and a half.  A creature called a Cagulant takes advantage of people's attractions for each other, their willingness to touch, be held, be accepted, etc. They are, since the Shattering, considered legendary creatures and hardly ever seen outside of extreme western areas (over near the Whitefist Mountains and the East Terrilian Wastes).  But the expression took.  This expression basically means a person is 'hanging with the wrong crowd' and is about to get stuck with people who do not have his/her best interests at heart.  

A Drellorin: One of the more common threats in the wilds of Trithofar, particularly in swamps, are drellorins.  They are large, ugly creatures, about the size of a six year old child and roughly humanoid in shape, but lacking any culture, reasoning, or etc., and they attack to suck blood from other creatures.  They'll literally suck the blood of anything and are commonly called 'mosquito men,' even though the ones who suck blood are female.  They use poison to immobilize their prey.  Therefore, a drellorin is a person who poisons a person (spiritually speaking) to leech something off them.  Think like Wormtongue in Lord of the Rings.  He would be called, if he were in Trithofar, a drellorin.  

An East Watcher: Someone who knows bad things will end soon and another day will come.  An optimist primarily.

A fishpalmer: A word for penitent kinto-shah with little money who lay fish in the hands of an idol to Kri-Vu-Roshi or the fish god or the god of the seas (one of the more repected of the Krinoa).  They believe that whatever is sent to take the fish from the palm of the idol's hand is the gods' way of answering the prayer, and some kinto-shah attempt to predict what the answer is based on what type of creature comes and gets it.  A fellow kinto-shah stealing from the idol is considered, oddly, good luck as it means the god was given a chance to feed a fellow soul.  A bird taking it is good or bad luck depending on the bird.  A gull taking it is bad luck, while a hawk or other bird taking it, is a good omen.   

Fleas can keep you company (but they can't keep you warm) (KINTO-SHAH syntax: Can Company-Makers Fleas noWarm-Makers for you them): A kinto-shah expression (and possibly one from Earth as well, but I didn't see it in my limited research for this activity).  Some people are worth attending to, or must needs be dealt with, but really only take from you and don't give anything in return.  It is better to be with people you want to be with than people who constantly annoy.     

Giving a barrel of ol' Xenor: A white elephant gift.  This is when someone gives a gift that is a good gift, finely made, expensive, etc. but people don't necessarily want it.  Xenoreth was, originally, the first Aavemancer, and a member of the Eight Aethren Counsel.  He was the aavemancer who invented the process of making zombie slaves, and he proposed that the world adopt a system whereby corpses were reanimated for the purposes of serving the living.  It is believed this abominable act was what caused the first Qwadro wars to take place and has been since forbidden by all Aethren societies.  It is believed this power came from the Qwadro originally and was not of Willeonis.  The command of the dead, according to Willeoneaen law, was strictly forbidden, along with the communication with the dead and slain, largely because (as it turns out), the only people willing and able to communicate with the living after death are those waiting in the wings for that very purpose (traps for people looking for power by the Queen of Traps, Lortho of the Qwadro).  In any event, Lord Xenoreth was not only a very powerful Counselor in the Autumn of the Xomirian Empire, but he was a wine enthusiast.  It was said he had some of the best wines and ports anyone could ever make.  But, when it was discovered he'd used undead labor to make his wines, people were not so sure they wanted to drink them after all. Therefore, giving a barrel of ol' Xenor means you've given a gift people may put on a shelf and 'enjoy later' or want to get the receipt for.

A Grass Merchant: While people sell some of the grasses of the Sea of Grass to people not from the area or people who live in a city, being a grass merchant, in the sea of grass is selling something a person can get for free on his own.  It comes from the story of a person who laid a claim to a field of sweet grass and harvested the stuff to sell to passer's by.  A traveling merchant, on his way to a city outside the sea of grass noticed the mefs and gremlins eating the grass at their leisure and he asked why it was the grass merchant didn't charge for them.  "Because they have no coin for trading and they do not understand property like we do."  The merchant moved on, but came back later with a mef pelt draped over his head and took all the grass he wanted.  A silly story told to children about hoarding one's property and trying to make money with foolishness.  

He has the understanding of Orrimar: Orrimar the Traveler was a legendary figure believed to have the ability to change shapes.  Whether or not he existed or still exists isn't quite known, and whether or not, if existing, he was an Aav is also unknown.  However, whoever or whatever he was, he traveled.  He enjoyed meeting new people, saying "people are like fine dishes, and one must eat, but one must not have to eat poorly."  He inspired, spiritually or otherwise, the Writings of Orrimar the Traveler, one of Trithofar's ongoing journals, a peculiar sociological study of various cultures of Trithofar.  People who undertake going amongst a people to learn of their culture, often write their findings as a desciple of Orrimar the Traveler, and some even attempt to write as Orrimar.  Needless to say, a figure who wanders into other people's cultures to study them and learn about them would gather some understanding, and so to be said to have the understanding of Orrimar is to be said to have great understanding.  The kinto-shah have a related saying: "The knowledge of Kri-Vu," which means a person knows the heart of a matter or the heart of people involved in a conflict very well.   

He'll have the grin after him: A fearsome, but seldom seen figure in Trithofar is Orthonian.  Orthonian, for reasons unknown, is often seen wearing a smiling, kunjelic opera mask and travels around in black usually.  Kunjelic opera masks are made of the same material as bonia dishes (bone china), pale white, and usually absurd-looking up close due to the need of them to make an expression all the way back in the audience.  One of the things 'the grin' is known for is making shady deals of the spirit.  He is not the devil, but is quite powerful.  He won't take your soul, but he can make life for the dealt with quite aggravating.  His sword prowess is legendary and if anyone can beat him at sword play, he'll make a deal with them.  He seems to be attracted to arrogance, or at least has been in legends where he has made prominent appearances, and he particularly likes to humble people where he can, or if not, make use of them where he can.  One of his more famous appearances was in Drod during the Kunjelic Revolutions that won them Thortinis.  He is given credit, whether he did it or not, for unsettling Prince Thoedor GaDrod's mind and causing him to push the kunjels to responding against him and his kingdom; before this, he was given credit for helping Rufen GaDrod rebel and successfully drive out the Xomirians from Frosomia.  This expression means a person is getting a little too big for their breeches.  

He who holds the knife divides the bread: Originally a kinto-shah expression.  Pretty self-explanatory.  The person with the most power is the person who tells people when they should eat, drink, etc.  This expression is discussed quite often in Kinto-Shah philosophy.  Most thinkers believe it justifies humility and submission to someone in power, because they achieved their power, even if only in a small way, through the will of the gods.  If a person has gained your respect and authority, you have given it to them, and if they have gained control over you, it is because the gods put them in your path.   

A Japal at the Festival:  The every-five-year festival of Japals in Waldoris is a celebratory gathering of merchants and knights and commoners to celebrate quite a few things.  One, they celebrate (secretly), defeating the Kingdom of Drod, establishing the Kingdom of Thortinis, and the Promises of the Protector being kept.  It began merely as a gathering of breeders and merchants and suppliers with knight orders.  According to legend, a couple of knight orders got into an argument over who would have first pick in purchasing new japals for the order, along with who would get first pick of gremlins and other livestock.  They began to pick duels with each other to make agreements over the order of picking and buying.  The king of the new kingdom of Thortinis decided to turn this event into a festival in Waldoris, where General Wald held off the mercenaries of Cheen from backing up the forces of Drod in the last days of the Kunjelic revolution at the battle of Redgrass.  At the festival, representatives of knight orders gather and have games against one another for the right to pick first in Japals and Gremlins for their orders.  Other prizes can be won here, too.  However, to choose the Japals they will buy, the knights test and examine the japals extremely, carefully.  This idiom is another way of saying someone is being very, very, very knitpicky, examining every single detail, perhaps even twice.  

Light in the Sark: The wizards of Trithofar utilize a peculiar dimension known as the Sark.  Roughly compared, the Sark is a place connected to all things, between all things, and between all times.  It is like a huge mess of strings, and knowing which string to follow through it, theoretically, can lead a wizard to wherever he wants to go.  However, the greater the distance (timewise and distance wise) the greater the exposure to the Sark.  For a modern day comparison, think of computers.  A computer programmer has to do quite a bit of work to get the computer to do what he wants, but a user of a computer can simply type in a command or even point and click, and the desired task is done.  And even modern day computer programmers don't have to reinvent the wheel.  They find things that people have already done and build on that.  Wizards are much the same.  Once a particular way of going from place to place is established, the wizard will happily use it.  To create a new path, however, requires time, calculations, and extremely dangerous traveling through an infite maze of choices.  Wizards who have actually been stupid enough or desperate enough to enter the Sark without a guide or any kind of 'tether' to the extant world, have been lost in a world of infinite possibilities.  Think of it kind of like jumping so high you go into space, but have forgotten to take with you a way to turn around and go back to Earth.  A light in the sark is a person who comes and helps a person out of a very difficult decision or situation (kind of like a Son of the Protector).  Originally coined by Willeonis Treborrin himself, this has become a common expression in Trithofar.   

Like finding vor sklut: A kunjelic expression.  A vor is considered to be a sacred animal.  A person who is not 'licensed' in kunjelic society to do so should never kill a vor.  Fighting them is sometimes a right of passage for knights (kind of like bull fighting) but even then, the knights do not kill the vor.  Instead they capture it, knocking it unconscious, protect it for a time and then release it with food and water provided for it.  This expression is used to describe a moment when someone encounters a mixed blessing or when they encounter a moment they are not sure they are ready to face.  If one is not ready to face a vor, it is one of the most dangerous things in the world to come upon the leavings without meaning to do so, as a vor picks particular spots in its territory to do things and is vicious to trespassers. However, if one is prepared to fight them, finding the sklut is a good thing, but still dangerous.  

Lortho's tongue: A person who lies, deceives, or seduces people for selfish reasons alone.  This may be more literal than figurative, as Lortho is believed to be a Queen of Lies and Exploitative Deceit and Seduction.  It is said Lortho's chief delight is watching people struggle against her toying with their hopes.

A Qwestor without an Eye: This has a couple origins.  One is the most obvious: someone on a quest but without an eye is the idea that they are looking for something they've never seen and are hindered from looking.  But it also comes from the peculiar people called Qwestors in Trithofar.  Qwestors is a mutation of the word for a term "People on a Quest," obviously.  It was coined as a particular word with particular meaning, though, as it pertains to people who seek after the Four Eyes.  

The Four Eyes, the Sword, Shield, Ring/Glove (depending on which translation you have), and the Dagger are four mythic and legendary treasures people have sought for centuries (similar to the lost arc, the grail, etc.). These objects collected are believed to give the bearer of them control of the world, or control of Ollogriath the Great Dragon, which could destroy the world.  One or two of these objects seem to make an appearance every so often in Trithofar History, or at least objects matching their descriptions, and wreak havoc.  These MacGuffins usually cause massive amounts of fear, panic, and pain when they emerge from their hiding places or are seen to go about in the world and people will kill, rob, and destroy to get them.  Whether or not they have anything to do with Ollogriath or not is anyone's guess.  Because of their properties, they are said to represent different aspects of Ollogriath's heart: the sword was his will, his desire and aggression, his ability to reach for what he wanted; the shield was his strength and power, his ability to resist temptations and stand firm; the dagger was his insight, judgment, his discretion, and inner being; and the ring or glove was his foreknowledge.  Of course, most of this is purely conjectural.  

Each eye has a different and distinct power that it grants the user: the sword pierces to the heart, literally bending and stretching when coming in contact with a person, allegedly it is unblockable and unstoppable; the shield is, by contrast (and yes, paradoxically) unconquerable, protecting its user from all magic attacks and any other attacks, as well as giving the bearer knowledge of a person's intentions (the shield has never surfaced for at least ten centuries, if it even exists); the dagger 'tells stories,' in that it reveals history, particularly its own history as to where it has been, what it's been doing, and the dagger also grants a sort of invisibility, provided it is not used to cause harm or interfere; the ring is said to be able to predict the future, or at least given limited foretellings (at the very least, it makes threats in the form of visions).  Being a Qwestor without an Eye primarily comes from this legend and the people who seek out the Four Eyes of Ollogriath, some of them setting off with great fanfare and some with the hatred of their people and some without notice.  It is commonly believed that until one finds one of the eyes, none of the others will be found.  So, this idiom could mean someone's going on a foolhardy quest, or someone is undertaking to do the impossible, or someone is extremely optimistic to the point of unrealistic expectations.   

The River Asking the Mountain for Advice: When a person who has no chance of doing something asks how to do it anyway, or when two people who don't belong together stay together anyway.  It is an expression of unknown origins, but basically means that the best advice comes from those who understand something or who are like you or have gone through what you are going through.  The mountains don't know how to be a river, and the river can never learn how to be a mountain.  

A scroll roller: A person who gets most of what they know out of books and reading.  A book worm.   

A slave blanketer: This is a person who grieves for people in a bad situation, or at least feels some sympathy towards them, but does nothing to alleviate the situation.  This is a kinto-shah expression, primarily/originally directed at people who say the slave system is unfair, or who gripe about it, or who go out of their way to say things like "something ought to be done about that poor fellow" without actually having any plan in mind to do anything.  

Sleeping like the Dragon: The Great Dragon Ollogriath (yeah, I know, another O-name: not entirely unintentional) is believed to be vanquished, but being a supernatural, immortal demi-god like creature, he doesn't die.  None of the 'gods,' really aaviri, ever truly die, but they can be slain, which is usually a fate worse than death.  It is a fate where they are forced into dormancy with nothing but the shame of whatever it was that got them killed, unable to do much of anything for an unknown span of time.  Effectively, it is like the grounding of a child from his favorite toy in the world and telling him you're not sure when he'll get it back.  This is what happened to quite a few aaviri when the First Hammer fell, the expression used to describe Ollogriath's fall from grace.  Ollogriath was a being tasked with watching for evil and ruling the world, effectively, but decided it would be easier to rule the world if he destroyed most of it.  They say he went crazy, or his mind was possessed by the evil Qwadro.  No one is sure.  But he is believed to be sleeping under the forever mountains until such time as the four "Eyes" are found, which are used to rule him.  Sleeping like the Dragon means a person is in hiding because of some kind of shame in their life and they don't want to face the world anymore.  

The Snake that Bites Is the Snake that Dies: Another expression of likely kunjelic origin.  This is used to mean that a person who lashes out against someone is a person who best be expecting the comeuppance that follows such an action.  Yes, a snake might kill someone biting it, but the snakes that live longer are those that slither away from humans and bigger enemies rather than trying to pick a fight where one cannot win and would be better left alone.  Of course, I am not an advocate for cowardice, but some battles must be chosen carefully.  Kunjels believe very strongly in killing any snake that bites them, or even attempts to bite them.  

Son/Daughter of the Protector or Protector's Son/Daughter: Another kunjelic expression, but not used anything like son of a bitch.  This is used as an expression of gratitude to someone who has done you a big favor, or someone who has pulled your butt out of a fire.  Sometimes simply used as an expression of thanks.  

You're a wastewalker: Calling someone a wastewalker is basically telling them they are doing something pointless or are currently involved in pointless situation.  A wastewalker is a zombie, or undead, stuck in the middle of the East Terrilian Wastes, who wanders around aimlessly in search of something to bother.  This expression has added meaning and is apropo of a person who bothers people to help them in a pointless endeavor.  The tribal people of the waste call them 'sha'oo' or demon spawn or demons in rags.  Occasionally, undead emerge from the East Terrilian Wastes, just walking out of it, but most often years and years after the person died.  The wastes are a cursed land, made by the ancient Simm'rii'an Queen Aschenthia cursing the very ground and forests of East Terrilia and consuming it with her brood of monsters.  Why the undead rise in the wastes likely has something to do with the curses of Aschenthia, or the 'vampiric' (note, Vampires are not Twilight, Daybreakers, Anne Rice, or even Bram Stoker's vampires) Lord Lukhasius from the other side of the Whitefist Mountains who opposed her and fought wars against her.  Between the two of them, they probably cursed the ground to death and caused massive magical upheaval in that area (a bit like the giant storm of Jupiter that never stops).  Magical storms, which are dangerous mixtures of magical powers, are both common and unusable for Aethren in Trithofar.  Most do not last for very long.  If the wastes are one, then it has lasted for centuries and is one of the largest in the world.  

A wumfinder: A wum is a large insect that pollinates flowers.  Very like a bee, but bigger, fuzzier, and not very dangerous or aggressive; their stings are severe but not readily given.  Being a wum finder means you are sort of a flibbertigibbit or silly dreamer type, but in a positive way.  You are a person who wants to smell flowers because they smell good, and who will stop and enjoy a Spring day when it is given.  Basically, an appreciator of the little good things in life.