Inspired by the 1998 release of the Playstation game “Xenogears”, the story of Edenworldsaga saw its beginnings in the year 1999, evolving and expanding until it was finally given illustration during the winter of 2006. Presently, Edenworldsaga takes the form of a toned black-and-white webcomic that is divided up into several books, each of which follow a particular story arc.

APHEL: A linear marker that shows the light of a soul and the unique chemical composition of a body. Sometimes referred to as “the red thread”, APHEL is an invisible line that only Mashina can perceive. Drawn between themselves and all creatures, an individual APHEL exists for as long as the creature bearing it lives. This marker can convey a great deal of information to a Mashina, including such data as age, sex, race, and whether an individual might be the “correct mate” or “optimal friend”. Because of their ability to sense APHEL, Mashina cannot be fooled by disguises.

Hybrids: Sargons born with a percentage of dragon blood in their lineage. In ages past, a mating between a Sargon and a Spawn created Sargons who never aged. These Sargons enjoy the greatest capacity of wisdom and magic, and many can even fly without wings. These beings are called “Hybrids” because they always look like a combination of many creatures, which is a feature that the Sargons consider to be divine in origin.

Arch Mashine: An axiomatic 1st Generation Mashina. (In the context of the Edenworld story, axiomatic refers to a “perfect” specimen of a generation.)

Arch Female: A Guardia that is mated to an Arch Mashine.

Guardia: A female Mashina or Jotun.

Host Guardia: One of the original Guardia, who were created by the Wave God in order to teach the Mashina the first emotions. This term also covers their reincarnations in the current story.

True Mashina: Children of Guardia and Mashina, who are considered to be one step closer to Wave God’s true ideal for the species.

Spawn: Spawn are proto-dragon beings that have broken off from the bodies of the Dragon Kings. They work collectively as a hive mind to further the success of the Sargon species.

Dragon King: Often referred to as just “The Kings”, they are one of three elemental beings maintaining the magic leylines of power that cross the world. They are colossal and indestructible dragons that were created by Sargilum, and are deeply connected to the planet Ignaz. All dragons originate from the bodies of these three kings.

Adamant: This metal is as strong as diamond but without any of its crystalline brittleness. It is also very expensive to create. Adamant is dark in hue and heavier then steel in its density. Most of the races commonly use steel weapons, but only a few types of metal (in addition to true silver) can penetrate the flesh of Mashina. Because of this quality, Devils put Adamant to use more often then Sargons do.

True Silver: Also known as “Muramite” in 2nd World, this gray metal shines with a prismatic luster and is a bane to every intelligent race except the Humans. People believe that the Gods gave this metal to Humans so they could use it to defend themselves against the more powerful races, but no one really knows why it contains a number of distinctively destructive properties. If Mashina are struck by this metal, it dissolves their armored flesh and creates wounds of red glass that cannot be healed. If this metal strikes a Sargon, the wound created burns until the body combusts. Devils struck by Muramite simply disintegrate.

Exalt: Those Sargons who die and pass on. Exalts enter the realm of the World Tree, which extends up from the depths of the physical world and into the elevations of the heavenly realm.

Runes: Hardened sap of the Yggdrassil tree. Because the Yggdrassil contains so much raw mystical power, the amber sap that comes from it can be utilized by even the most magically inept people to warp the laws of physics. Primarily a source for imbuing weapons with supernatural powers, each Rune has its own name and is used by either inserting it into a body or transmuting it into a device.

Chaos & Law brain: All Mashina and Jotun have two brains that regulate the functions and contain the memories of their body. The Law brain deals with problem solving and holds facts about things like mathematics or the nature of the world. The Chaos brain regulates emotions and holds concepts that cannot be empirically explained, such as faith in a God or the punch line of a good joke.

Sage: A Sargon senate or judicial group appointee, usually also a Hybrid.

Guffaldi: A prime minister of the Sargon governing body.

Genius: This is a class of Mashina who possess mental abilities and capacities that are above average, making them best suited for conducting research and development. Because the Mashine people do not have leaders, they delegate most major decisions to a panel of mecha who have been shown to possess the highest cognitive abilities. This is done willingly and in hopes of moving the species forward along the best possible course.

Foreman: Another class of above average mecha manage the systems that keep the Edenworld continent afloat and the people on it happy. Without Foremen, the infrastructure of Edenworld would degrade and collapse, so most jobs require that regular Mashina assist Foremen on a frequent basis.

Nanomachines: Small microscopic Mashine cells that flow in colonies and contribute to the overall positive functionality of the body they operate inside. Nanomachines act as the blood of a Mashina and have three specific jobs: Attacker, Assimilator, and Assembler.

Coedons: Nanomachine blood that has been stripped of its base code, the original Mashine DNA, for use in the process of Macronisation. Humans, from their original small size, can be quadrupled in body mass by Coedons to make the process of Mashine Apotheosis easier.

Devils: A creature, living or dead, who has been infected with Anti-Life-Matter God essence. These minor Devils are mostly mindless. Devils are virtually identical in appearance to what they were before their infection, except for the fact that they now have unnaturally pale skin, red eyes, ice cold breath, and black blood.

Devil Mashina: An especially nasty sort of creature, Devil Mashina are Mashina who have been infected by Anti-Life. In many cases, they can be as dangerous as the Devil Lords. Devil Mashina do not have pale flesh. Instead, they lack an APHEL signature and can be hard to detect by other Mashina.

Devil Lord: A member of the original Sargon sage group that was cast out during the Yggdrassil coup d’Ètat during the Zeboin War. Since that time, these very strong Sargons were infected by the Anti-Life-Matter God and have become the leaders of the Devil hordes.

Humans: Small bipedal life forms, usually very social, created by the God Wave to compliment the Mashina.

Sargons: Monstrous life forms of varying sizes, created by the Goddess Sargilum.

Immortal: Anyone who does not have a set lifespan. Immortality is usually attained through having a drgon as an ancestor, or by being born as or transformed into a Mashina.

Sabre Knight: A Sargon elite militia unit. Sabres are almost always Hybrids, and they have the strongest fighting ability of all the Sargon.

Mashine Apotheosis: This is a micro-cellular process that causes a Human female to transform into a Guardia. Assimilator nanomachines in a male Mashina body permeate the flesh of a Human and overwrite the shape and function of her original organic cells. The nanomachines then systematically kill the original cells while duplicating themselves until the Human element has been completely replaced with Mashine DNA. A Human so affected grows large, and her organs are replaced with Mashine systems until she is transformed into a Guardia, with a possible alternate mode.

Mashina: A race of very Machine-like metal elementals created by the Wave God.

Norns: Norns are an offshoot of the Human race. They evolved under the light of the Yggdrassil tree, and because of this they enjoy increased vitality and an extended lifespan. Norns live in 2nd World alongside the Jotuns in Jotunheim.

Zeboin: The civilization where the Humans of Ignaz reached their highest technological state. In the days before the Great War, fabulous cities full of incredible technology where built beneath the ground. The Humans living there had harnessed the power of the atom and put satellites into space. There was great prosperity, but at the cost of morality. The Zeboin era humans committed many sins against both the land and their own kind, until the Mashina found them and destroyed them in a blind rage.

Empathy drive: The system that regulates a Mashina’s APHEL sense also regulates their ability to learn language and communicate non-verbally. Any intelligent creature that possesses basic communication skills and emotions can be understood by a Mashina through concentration, utilizing the extensive analytical and cross-referencing tools that are innate within the Law brain.

Close brothers: Two or more Mashina or Jotun who are closely linked through their APHEL. Typically speaking, these types of Mashina get along much better and share similarities both physical and mental, even if they happen to look different. Mechs who are not close brothers have less compatibility and are therefore less optimally configured to operate in a group situation than close brothers would be. For the Mashina, this term is the equivalent of what a Human might call a “best friend” or “blood brother.”

Muldarch: A politician of Bifrost.

Vashrahti: A soldier of rank in the Bifrost military.

Angel: Spirit soldier of the gods.

70/30: 70% logic, 30% chaos. This is slang terminology for how the computer brains of a Jotun operate. (For example, Humans are considered to be 40/60, on average.)

90/10: 90% logic, 10% chaos. This is slang terminology for how the computer brains of a Mashina operate.