to weather	to face sth and survive, to come safely through sth dangerous
volatile	unstable, changeable
to cobble sth together	to combine
to harrow sb	to distress sb
outright	completely, clearly, directly
realm	kingdom
misnomer	a wrong use of a word, definition, description
intact	untouched, unharmed
conundrum	a mystery, a riddle
to close in on sth	to come near and attack, to surround
obscured	not easily seen
all-enveloping	all-including
to be privy to sth	to be sharing in the knowledge of facts that are secrets
fortitude	courage, endurance
buffs	people who love sth, enthusiasts, partisans
mongering	spreading
to scurry	to run with quick, short steps
aftermath	consequences, circumstances that follow sth
rampant	uncontrollably
edifice	a large, imposing building
chagrin	a feeling of disappointment or annoyance
pertinent to sth	relevant to sth
disgruntled	displeaded, malcontent
self-contained	that doesn't need the company of others
snotty	superior
precinct	an area that is marked and can be used for certain purposes
to whisk around	to move, go quickly
in the blinking of an eye	very quickly
demise	death/ end
to seed	to plant/ to place sth swhn in the space or people's minds
to shell sth out for sth	to give money reluctantly
to inoculate against sth	to vaccinate against sth
fervent	enthusiastic, passionate, hot
culprit	wrong-doer, perpetrator
fringe zealots	marginal fanatics or enthusiasts
harbinger of sth	sth that announces that sth else will happen
dire	extreme/ terrible/ dreadful
nigh	near
to forestall sth	to act before the other does sth to avoid unpleasant consequences
indigenous	belonging naturally
to rave out	to speak too much about sth in a too enthusiastic way