COMPLETE FILE -Story of White-

Dragma is a portmanteau of dragon, drama, and dogma—a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true, usually religious in nature. The kanji listed under Dragma literally mean teachings or dogma.

Ecclesia is a biblical word used to refer to a congregation of believers.

Nadir is an astronomical term which means "directly below the observer." It's pronounced tentei, the same as a different Japanese word which means "heavenly emperor" and is used to refer to Polaris or the North Star.

Tetradragma is named after the Tetragrammaton (lit. "of four letters")—the Hebrew name of God transliterated in four letters as YHWH or JHVH and articulated as Yahweh or Jehovah.

The term used for Grand Worship Dignitary is the same one as Japan's Department of Divinities (Jingi-kan), a Japanese imperial bureaucracy established in the 8th century and charged with oversight of Shinto clergy and rituals for the whole country.

Fleur-de-lis is a stylized lily (in French, fleur means "flower", and lis means "lily") that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used by French royalty and throughout history representing Catholic saints of France.

Albas is a portmanteau of Albion (the mythological founding king of Britain) and bastard. His title Fallen Child (Rakuin) is the literal meaning of the Japanese term for a nobleman's illegitimate child, and is pronounced the same way as the Japanese term for a brand or stigma (rakuin).

Tribrigade is a portmanteau of tri-, tribe (which is also the Japanese term for Monster Types), and brigade.

Lugarou is a portmanteau of Luger (The Pistole Parabellum—a toggle-locked recoil-operated semi-automatic pistol) and Loup-garou (the French term for a werewolf, pronounced LOO-GUH-ROO). The silver bullet is famous in folklore for being one of the only effective weapons against werewolves, vampires, etc.

Shrige is a corruption of shrike—a songbird with a strong sharply hooked bill, often impaling its prey of small birds, lizards, and insects on thorns.

Felidgette may be a combination of felis (Latin for "cat"), flechette (a pointed steel projectile with a vaned tail for stable flight), and Bridgette (a feminine name).

Nabel comes from the German word Schnabel (lit. "beak").

Keras is a Greek word meaning "horn."

Phractaur is a combination of cataphract (a form of armored heavy cavalryman fielded in ancient warfare) and centaur.

Hashashin is an Arabic word meaning "users of hashish" (hashish being an extract of the cannabis plant). This word eventually became the root for the modern term "assassin," though it was initially just a mispronunciation of Asāsiyyūn (lit. "people of principle"), referring to the Order of Assassins.

Brigand is a pun on both brigand (a member of a gang that ambushes and robs people in forests and mountains) and brigade. The word brand here refers specifically to a stigma—a mark of disgrace etched onto a person's body, usually associated with the marks left on Jesus's body by the Crucifixion. The Brand-Devouring (Konjiki) part of its name is also a Japanese homophone for "golden."

Black-Shrouded (Kokui) is another term for a kuroko/kurogo—stagehands in traditional Japanese theater, who dress all in black.

Sprigguns is a portmanteau of spriggan (in Cornish folklore, a malicious spirit in the form of a wizened old man) and guns.

Gold Golgonda may be a reference to the Indian city Golkonda, which flourished as a trade centre of large diamonds, known as the Golconda Diamonds. It may also be a play on gorgon.

Sargas is the official name of the Theta Scorpii binary star and may also be a reference to the USS Scorpion—a Skipjack-class nuclear-powered submarine that served in the United States Navy.

Exblowrer is a mix of explorer with the word blow spliced in between.

Rockey comes from rocket.

Peedo comes from torpedo.

Kitt likely comes from kitty or kitten.

Sprind is a portmanteau of spriggan and lindworm—a wingless creature with a serpentine body and a dragon-like head usually depicted on heraldry.

The kanji listed under Dragma change from meaning Dogma to Corrupt Dogma with the beginning of the Despia chapter in the story.

Dragmata is a portmanteau of Dragma and dogmata (the plural from of "dogma").

Despia/Despian is a portmanteau of death (desu in Japanese), despair, and thespian—an actor, usu. in a play (named after the legendary first actor Thespis, literally meaning "divine inspiration").

Comedy and tragedy are the two most famous forms in dramatic literature. A common symbol associated with theaters are two masks: one bearing a sad expression, and the other smiling eerily.

Aluber (pronounced "ALOO-BEAR") is a portmanteau of Alba(s) and ruber (Latin for "red," which is Despia's signature color).

Ad Libitum (Latin for "as much as desired") or ad-lib is used in drama to describe individual moments during live theater when an actor speaks through their character using words not found in the play's text. Corrupt Play (Kyōgeki) is a pun on the Japanese term for the Peking opera (also pronounced kyōgeki).

Dramaturgia is likely a combination of dramaturgy—the study of dramatic composition and the representation of the main elements of drama on the stage—and theurgy/theurgia—the practice of magical rituals performed with the intention of invoking the action or evoking the presence of one or more deities, especially with the goal of achieving henosis (uniting with the divine) and perfecting oneself.

A proskenion (Greek for "proscenium") is the part of a theater stage in front of the curtain.

Quaeritis comes from the Latin phrase Quem quaeritis ("Whom do you seek?"), spoken by angels to the Three Marys seeking Jesus Christ in the first known liturgical drama. It eventually became a trope in medieval liturgical drama.

The kanji used for Resplendence (Aka) is pronounced the same way as the Japanese word for the color red (aka), and in Chinese this kanji is used to refer to something bright red.

Interluder is a play on interlude (a short play performed during a theater intermission) and Intruder (a reference to the Grumman A-6 Intruder U.S. Navy twinjet).

Bewitching Eyes (ayame) is a Japanese homophone for "iris," referring to the fleur-de-lis symbol in heraldry.

The Intertwined Swords are all named after famous swords from Chinese history and myths. (If not already apparent, this translation doesn't suggest their swords are physically intertwined, but more in a symbolic way.) The actual phrase used here (Sōken) could be a homophone for various other Japanese phrases: "cold sharp sword" and "a responsibility fallen on one's shoulders" seem to be the most likely intentions.

Xuanyuan was the given name of the Yellow Emperor, a deity from Chinese religion. He was one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and cosmological Five Forms of the Highest Deity. Since the other "Intertwined Sword" monsters are all based on famous swords from Chinese mythology, this one is likely a reference to the legendary sword wielded by the Yellow Emperor—unnamed, but known as the Xuanyuan Sword.

Albion, the Dragon Clad in Black is another reference to a kuroko or kurogo.

Bearbrougham is a combination of bear and brougham (pronounced either "BROOM" or "BROO-UM")—a car-body style where the driver is sat outside and passengers are seated within an enclosed cabin.

Tai'e (lit. "great riverbank") is a traditional Chinese sword said to be wielded by Han Xin, titled the King of Chu, to lead his army against a Jin invasion.

Mo Ye is named after the myth of Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, who forged a pair of swords using parts of their own body, although the exact story varies.

Longyuan (lit. "dragon gulf") is a legendary Chinese sword whose shape resembled that of a high mountain and a deep gulf. Goujian used it to cut a gash in his thigh as self-punishment when he mistakenly executed an innocent person.

Chunjun (lit. "purity") is a legendary Chinese sword whose patterns resembled a row of stars in a constellation. This sword was so precious it was considered a joint creation between man and heaven.

It is said that Chengying (roughly "inherited shadow") was a long sword without a blade. Strangely enough, it projected a shadow upon the wall in the dawn or the evening, when an alternation between daylight and darkness occurred. At this time, it was sharp enough to cut down a thick pine tree.

Chixiao (lit. "red sky" and pronounced "CHI SHAO") was a sword used by Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han dynasty. According to legend, this sword was initially just an iron rod Liu Bang bragged about being a divine sword given to him by an immortal. After the braggart proved his courage by hunting down a huge white snake, the iron rod transformed into this legendary sword.

The Dragons' Intertwined Swords Appear (Ryūsōkengen) and Auspicious Research of the Intertwined Swords (Zuisōkenkyū) contain puns on the multiple meanings of ken in Japanese, here being used as homophones for kengen ("manifestation") and kenkyū ("research"), with the ken being the kanji for "sword."

Icy Water (Hisui) is pronounced the same as the Japanese word for jade, a precious green gemstone.

Acti and Tinola come from actinolite—an amphibole silicate mineral sometimes used as the gemstone nephrite, one of the types of jade.

Tremola comes from tremolite—another amphibole mineral which sometimes forms a nephrite.

Aegir (also the name of the god of the seas in Norse mythology) is named after aegirine—a member of the clinopyroxene group of inosilicate minerals. Aegirine occurs as dark green monoclinic prismatic crystals.

Kosmochlor is a rare chromium sodium clinopyroxene that's found in some jade deposits. The name is from German kosmisch ("cosmic"), for its occurrence in meteorites, and the Greek chlor, for "green."

Kingfisher is named after the family of small- to medium-sized, brightly colored birds. The Japanese term for it is synonymous with "jade" due to the bird's bright feathers.

In the mythological writings of William Blake, Enion is an Emanation/mate of Tharmas, one of the four Zoas, who were created when Albion, the primordial man, was divided fourfold.

The Japanese phrase used for Fade to Black (anten) is the Japanese term for a thetrical blackout: when all stage lights go off so that the audience can be transporeted seamlessly to a different scene. It can also figuratively mean "to take a turn for the worse."

Qixing ("CHI-SHING", lit. "seven stars") is the Chinese name for the Big Dipper. Qixing Longyuan is also a famous sword from Chinese folklore known as the "sword of integrity." It was made by two swordsmiths using seven ponds around a sword-making fireplace. The seven ponds were shaped like the seven stars of the Big Dipper, giving it its name. If you look down the sword, it looks ethereal and profound, as if you are in a high position overlooking a valley where a huge dragon lives, which is why the sword was also named Longyuan (an abyss with a dragon).

Holy White Shroud refers to the Holy Shroud, i.e. the Shroud of Turin (a length of linen cloth bearing the negative image of a man, which some claim depicts Jesus of Nazareth and the fabric is the burial shroud in which he was wrapped after crucifixion). The Japanese term for it is written with the kanji for "skeleton," hence the skeletons presumably raised from the dead in the artwork.

Stigmata Lost (Shitsurakuin) is a play on Paradise Lost (Shitsurakuen), a 17th-century epic poem.

Dragmacabre is a portmanteau of Dragma and macabre (disturbing and horrifying).

Mirajade is a portmanteau of mirage and jade. The Icy Sword part of its name is spelled with one kanji each from the Icy Water and Intertwined Sword themes.

Renatus is a first name of Latin origin which means "born again." Its title, Abyss Dragon (Shin'enryū), in Japanese is phonetically the same as that of Luberrion, the Dragon of Divine Flames.

Dragmaturgy is a portmanteau of Dragma and dramaturgy (the theory and practice of dramatic composition).

Albas the Ashen shares its title with Bastard the Ashen Dragon, one of his dragon forms.

The theme name Therions comes from the Greek term therion (meaning "wild animal" or "beast"), and it is the name the ancient Greeks gave to the constellation Lupus. All the monsters are named after celestial objects in the constellations of the zodiac, as well. (Sprigguns Captain Sargas also shares this naming scheme, being named after the official name of the Theta Scorpii binary star.) Therion is also a deity found in the mystical system of Thelema, which was established in 1904 with Aleister Crowley's writing of The Book of the Law. Therion, as a Thelemic personage, evolved from that of The Beast from the Book of Revelation (in numerology, the value of "Therion" is 666).

"Bulls" Ain is named after Ain, the formal name of Epsilon Tauri (a star in the constellation of Taurus), as well as being a pun on bullseye. The Ain part may also be a pun on Einrad (German for "unicycle").

Likewise, Fum is named after Beta Piscium (from the constellation Pisces), whose formal name is Fumalsamakah (from the Arabic fum al-samakah, lit. "mouth of the fish").

"Duke" Yul is based on Drukyul, an extrasolar planet located in the constellation Cancer. Drukyul is a Bhutanese phrase which means "land of the thunder dragon," the native name of Bhutan.

"Lily" Borea is based on Lilii Borea (Latin for "the north of Lilium," with Lilium being a now-defunct constellation), a star in the northern constellation of Aries.

Regulus (Latin for "prince" or "little king") is the brightest object in the constellation Leo and one of the brightest stars in the night sky.

Therions Cross is named after a cross-counter (a counter-attack begun immediately after an opponent throws a jab, exploiting the opening in the opponent's position).

Argyro System is a pun on argyros (Greek for "silver"). It was also the name of a prominent Byzantine noble clan.

The Sprite theme's name is a double entendre on two meanings of the word "sprite": "a fairy-like creature from European folklore" and "a large-scale electric discharge that occurs high above thunderstorm clouds, or cumulonimbus, giving rise to a varied range of visual shapes flickering in the night sky."

Starter is named after the blue starter (a weaker variant of the blue jet).

Blue and Jet are named after the blue jet—upward-shooting, blue-colored lightning from a thunderstorm cell in the upper atmosphere. Blue jets are not sprites themselves, though they are considered to be closely related.

Pixies are a type of upper-atmospheric lightning described as a series of unusual, white luminous events atop a thunderstorm.

Red is named after the alternative term for sprites: red sprites (due to their reddish-orange color).

Carrot is named after the carrot sprite—a large type of sprite with long tendrils.

Gamma Burst is likely named after a terrestrial gamma-ray flash (TGF), also known as dark lightning, which is a burst of gamma rays produced in Earth's atmosphere. It is speculated that TGFs are caused by intense electric fields produced above or inside thunderstorms.

Alasia (an ancient name for Cyprus) is a yellow dwarf star in the constellation of Serpens. Unlike the other Therions, it is not named after a star in one of the Zodiac constellations; although, the constellation of Ophiuchus (the 13th sign of the Zodiac) lies between the two halves of Serpens.

Irregular is a twist on Regulus.

Elf is named after ELVES (an acronym for Emission of Light and Very Low Frequency perturbations due to Electromagnetic Pulse Sources)—a type of upper-atmospheric lightning characterized by a dim, flattened, expanding glow around 400 km (250 mi) in diameter that lasts for, typically, just one millisecond.

Gigantic Sprite is based on the gigantic jet—a jet that reaches higher altitudes than a blue jet, and the upper portion of the jet changes color from blue to red.

Double-Cross is a double entendre on the wrestling move cross bomber—in which two partners in a tag-team wrestling match sandwich one opponent between two lariats—and double-crossing as in betraying someone, referring to its effect that steals the opponent's cards in various ways.

Sprite Sprind shares its name with Sprind the Bolting Iron Dragon. This is likely due to Kitt's armor, which this monster is possessing, being made of parts from the original Sprind.

Central Dragma is a play on central dragma (the central teachings of a religion), used today primarily to refer to the central dogma of molecular biology—an explanation of the flow of genetic information within a biological system: the flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA, to make a functional product, a protein.

Grand Guignol (French for "great puppet" and pronounced "GRAWN GHEE-NYAWL") is named after Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol ("The Theater of the Great Puppet"), a historic Parisian theater which specialized in grotesque and grisly horror shows. Its name is often used as a general term for graphic, amoral horror entertainment.

Beasted is meant to be a play on the words abyss and beast, which is a reference to the biblical Beast—a figure in the Book of Revelation (Apocalypse), often identified with Satan or the Antichrist. The Number of the Beast (666) is represented by the Beasted that can be Normal Summoned all being Level 6. The Beasted theme is largely based on the book of pseudo-Berossus (an elaborate forgery claiming to be the work of Berossus, a Babylonian writer). The book was said to contain the history after the Flood (Noah's Ark) and the myth behind the founding of Britain. As shown below, it describes five kings from the founding of Britain (or Albion as it was known then) and was later circulated by historian Raphael Holinshed, who added two kings from the existing British legend: Albion and Brutus.

Samothes (also known as Dees): son of Noah's son Japheth, who is said to have first landed on Celtica (Great Britain) after the Flood.

Magnus/Magus: son of Samothes, described as the ancestor of the wise Magi.

Saron/Sarronius: son of Magus, described as the founder of a university and the origin of the Saronides, a school of philosophers.

Druis (Druiyus): son of Saron, described as the founder of the Druids.

Bardus: son of Druis, described as the founder of the Bards.

Albion: a Giant son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. He became king after defeating Bardus, but was defeated by Hercules.

Brutus (Brute of Troy): a legendary descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas, known in medieval British history as the eponymous founder and first king of Britain.

Magnamut is a portmanteau of Magnus and Bahamut—in Arabian mythology, a giant sea monster that supports the Earth from deep below.

Cartesia is likely named after Renatus Cartesius (the latinized name of René Descartes, with "Renatus" literally meaning "born again")—a French philosopher, mathematician, scientist, and lay Catholic who invented analytic geometry, linking the previously separate fields of geometry and algebra. It has a similar name, stats, and effects as Saint Ecclesia of White, and the kanji for Resplendent (Aka) in its name is also used for the names of Stigma of Resplendence (Branded in Red) and Masquerade, the Dragon of Scorching Resplendence (Masquerade the Blazing Dragon). Aka is homophonous with the Japanese word for red (aka).

Saronir is a portmanteau of Saron and Fafnir—in Norse mythology, a son of the dwarf king Hreidmar (whom he killed to steal his gold), transformed into a lindworm, a type of dragon, due to the curse from the gold and was subsequently slain by Regin and Sigurd.

Druidwurm is a combination Druis/druid and lindwurm—a wingless serpentine dragon with two arms, which was a popular motif found on runestones in 11th-century Sweden.

Re-Stigmatize (Fukurakuin) might be a pun on the Japanese phrase fukuraku (an archaic term meaning "happiness and comfort").

Bardrake is a portmanteau of Bardus (a legendary king of Britain and founder of the bards) and drake.

Alba Los is a combination of Albas, either ouroboros or Armaros (lit. "the accursed one")—the eleventh on a list of 20 leaders of a group of 200 fallen angels called Grigori or "Watchers" in the Book of Enoch—and Los—the fallen (earthly or human) form of Urthona, one of the four Zoas.

Dragmatrix is a portmanteau of Dragma and matrix (a Latin term for "womb"). In Christianity, Annunciation refers to the announcement by the archangel Gabriel to Mary that she would give birth to a son, namely Jesus.

Mercourier is a portmanteau of mercury and courier.

Deadline is used with its more literal meaning, representing the boundary between life and death. Here, it's a parallel to the term front line, which is used in the kanji subtitle for the Tribrigade monsters: Iron Beasts' Front Line. In other words, it represents their final stand before death.

Zoa is the plural form of zoon (any of the individuals of a compound organism). In the Book of Revelation, this term is used to refer to the Four Beasts of Revelation: four living creatures, each with the face of a lion, a bull, a man, and an eagle, and each with six wings. In the mythology of William Blake, the term "Zoa" is a singular noun that refers to each of the four godlike beings Albion the primeval man is divided into after his fall. Alba Zoa likely represents Urthona, the Zoa of inspiration and creativity, as well as a blacksmith god. Urthona usually appears in his "fallen" form, that of Los (The Beasted Alba Los). The term nadir (meaning the lowest point or depths of something) here refers to how Urthona joined with the unconscious mind called Nadir after being split from its Los form. In the Albas storyline, this "Nadir" likely refers to the giant hole present on the continent this story takes place in.

Aegirocassis is an extinct genus of radiodont arthropod that lived 480 million years ago during the early Ordovician. The name roughly translates to "Aegir's helmet" (Aegir being the personification of the sea in Norse mythology and the namesake of the mineral aegirine).

Gymir is another name for Aegir (Old Norse for "sea"), a jötunn and a personification of the sea in Norse mythology, as well as the namesake for the mineral aegirine.

The Icy Water's Grand Swords Appear (Hisui Daikengen) is named similarly to The Dragons' Intertwined Swords Appear (Ryūsōkengen, Swordsoul Emergence in the TCG).

Tally-ho is the traditional cry made by a huntsman to tell others the quarry has been sighted. Nowadays, it's mainly used as an aviation term with the meaning of "Target sighted."

Gigantic Thunder-Cross is named in the same vein as Therions Cross and Sprite Double-Cross.

Gigantic "Champion" Sargas gets its Gigantic epithet from Gigantic Sprite. Its name follows a similar format to the Therions monsters as well.

Lindbrougham is a combination of the names of Sprind the Bolting Iron Dragon/Sprite Sprind and Tribrigade - Bearbrougham the Hulking Attacker, as well as a pun on lindwurm. A brougham (pronounced "BROO-UM") was a light, four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage built in the 19th century. The term Ignition Hammer refers to the hammer of a firearm—the part used to strike the percussion cap/primer, or a separate firing pin, to ignite the propellant and fire the projectile.

Bucephalus (Latin for "bull's head") comes from Lanius bucephalus, the scientific name of the bull-headed shrike.

Dis Pater or Dīs Pater (roughly meaning "Divine Father" in Latin) is a Roman god of the underworld. Dis was originally associated with fertile agricultural land and mineral wealth, and since those minerals came from underground, he was later equated with the chthonic deities Pluto (Hades) and Orcus. According to Pseudo-Berossus, "Dis Pater" was an alias used by Samothes, the first king of Celtica.

Albion's True Flames (Shin'en) moniker is a pun on the Japanese name for the Abyss (also pronounced Shin'en in Japanese), which is the name of the contintent this story takes place on. It shares this trait with Luberrion, the Dragon of Divine Flames, in whose case the shin kanji means "divine" instead. Its effect of releasing all four monsters among the Extra Monster Zones and center Main Monster Zones is meant to be a reference to the relationship between the four Zoas, which when illustrated connects to form a lozenge-like shape. The lozenge shape is also commonly associated with Despia, who utilize lozenge-shaped portals.

Luluwalilis is a combination of Luluwa (another name for Aclima, the oldest daughter of Adam and Eve and sister of Cain), Lilith (the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon), and Fleur-de-Lis. Bewitching Knight is a reference to Intertwined Swordmaster with Bewitching Eyes. Holy Resplendence (Kakusei) is homophonous with the Japanese word for "awakening" (kakusei), with the "resplendence" part in Japanese being heavily reminiscent of the color red due to the way it's pronounced and written.

Tribrigade Roar's name is inspired after a line in the story description for the Tribrigade theme in The Valuable Book EX: "Hear, invaders, the roar of the iron beasts on the battlefield!"

An étude is a short piece of music designed to give a performer practice in a particular area or skill, but in the context of theater it's used to refer to practice for an improv drama.

Fallen Child of Argyros is titled in the same vein as Fallen Child of Albas, with Fallen Child (Rakuin) being pronounced in Japanese the same way as rakuin ("stigma"), but instead named after the card Inexhaustible Engine - Argyro System (with argyros being the Greek word for "silver").

Blinkout is a pun on "to blink out of existence," link (referring to Link Monsters), and possibly blackout.

Rán is a goddess in Norse mythology, a personification of the sea, and wife of Aegir, a jötunn who also personifies the sea.

Quem, like Despian Quaeritis, is named after Quem quaeritis? (Latin for "Whom do you seek?"), a line spoken by the angels to the Three Marys, who were seeking Jesus Christ, in the first known liturgical drama. This line eventually became a trope in medieval liturgical drama.

Million-Century Ice Tomb (Okunen no Hyōbo, lit. "100-Million-Year Ice Tomb") has a similar-sounding name to Intertwined Swords in Eternal Remembrance (Okunen no Sōken, Swordsoul Strife in the TCG), which first depicted the battle between Longyuan and the Icy Water.

Rumpel Teufel (pronounced "TOY-FELL") in German roughly translates to "rattling devil" ("rattling" here likely refers to the sound of laughing). Rumpel is a reference to Rumpelstiltskin, a German fairy tale about the titular magical imp. In it, in order to avoid giving her firstborn child as payment to the imp, a woman instead accepts a challenge in which she has three tries to somehow guess the imp's difficult-to-guess name. She eventually succeeds by secretly following the imp and overhearing him singing a song about his name. This is reflected in this card's effect, which essentially seals off a certain monster by declaring its name. The Black Goat in its kanji subtitle is a reference to Baphomet, a satanic deity commonly depicted with the head of a black goat.

A Wide-Open Land serves as a contrast to A Closed-Off Land, a phrase which has been used by official sources to refer to the Albas storyline.