Thursday, March 28, 2013

Geato Abira: An Overview


by Matt Bennett


The lizardfolk are reclusive and fierce about their territory. Of course, having helped in the Great Rebellion, their alliance with the Kindred runs deep. The Kindred pass freely through the Geato marshes, treated like cousins or honored guests. Only the Temples of Geato Kariba (Ishari) have been barred to the Kindred, as they are barred to everyone without the second sight. A full fifth of the Geato Abira reside outside the marshes—many in the metropolis of Hub—but they are largely the young and curious. At age seventeen, the elders encourage the Geato Abira to leave home and see what life is like without the guidance of a chieftain or the Talos Bak Sal (the Circle of Eyes). Most of the Geato younglings come back in a year or two, and those who don’t are viewed almost as lost—though the offer to come home is very seldom revoked.

Only younglings, wood merchants and emissaries ever travel extensively beyond the Geato marshes—and the likeliest wayfarers are female seers assisting the Kindred in trials and diplomatic disputes. Among the Geato Abira, females grow largest while their males tend to be slight and quick. Geato government is matriarchal and oligarchical, with power invested in the Talos Bak Sal, a body which tends to be female-dominant and overprotective of “the weaker sex.” Female lizardfolk are all naturally born with an extra set of crystalline blue pupils (their irises are long and ovoid inside upwardly tilted eye sockets). The extra pupils grant them low-light vision and—in a few of them—the talent of seership. Rarely, a male lizardfolk is born with the gift of sight, but a male chieftain or councilman is rarer still. Legend holds that the Geato Abira sprang from the tears of a goddess mixed with the blood of the Nameless One—which is why the lizardfolk women are so strong and gifted. 

Geato Abira have always had open borders, but to defend themselves from the overreach of Elven Empire they became withdrawn and six hundred years has yet to soften them. Passwords, or signs, are given to non-Geato merchants who wish to enter and trade within their cities. A merchant train may be held up by a whole week waiting for permission at a border gate village. And yet, the Geato Abira are rarely overtly aggressive toward outsiders, unless challenged; if anything, they are merely a people of custom. Before a merchant, or visitor, can be allowed inside, a chieftain—known as a Sal Abira (literally, “Eye Child”)—must look upon him and decide whether the Children of the Marsh can extend their trust. At times this is perfunctory, but many Sal Abira feel the custom is deadly serious and will turn away unsavory elements. Certainly, though, the isolation of the Geato is geographical as well as cultural. The marsh is nigh impossible to siege, besides being home to a skin-crawling army of giant insects, ravenous camouflaged reptiles, lethally psychotropic plants and magical beasts understood by none but the Geato Abira. 
The sexes are five-fold in Geato culture. Females without the gift of seership are known as Sala, from “sal,” meaning eye. Again, they are born with extra blue pupils which grant them low-light vision. Female seers are known as Sala-ma and, despite being physically like non-seer females, are regarded as separate since seership is so important to the Geato. In a way, they are less feminine because they cannot become warriors, and in another way, they are divinely feminine because their seership links them to the goddess. Males are Taro, from “tar,” which means horn, as males have a row of tiny horns across the median line of their skulls. She-males are known as Taresal. Occasionally, males are born with the extra crystalline pupils normally only conferred to females. Although they’re anatomically like males, aside from their eyes, they are treated as hermaphroditic; expected to know the spear, like any female, and mercilessly bullied. They aren’t considered aberrations per se, but gender roles are rigid in Geato society, and the Taresal belong nowhere—especially if they show little talent with the sight. Only a hardened few she-males survive into adulthood. Physical prowess is penultimate to the Geato, with seership its only uneasy superior. The last sex type among the Geato Abira is the Sal-talon. Outsiders might view a Sal-talon as simply a freak, but because of the emphasis on physicality in the Geato society, a Sal-talon is honored. Truthfully, they are females born with a rare form of gigantism. Due to their condition, they’re sterile and usually do not mate at all. However, they’re twice the size of normal females, with incredible muscle mass.
Anywhere in the marshes, whether one is Geato or not, a challenge to one’s status as the alpha, is legally answerable with a bare-handed duel to the death once a person has passed puberty. The Taresal are frequently the victims of these duels. To back down from these challenges, among the Geato, is a terrible and unthinkable humiliation. By law, if a Geato backs down from a sal duel, their left eye can be gouged out by their chieftain. Once a person’s eye is lost by the shame of backing out of a sal duel, they cannot be challenged again, but they become indentured to the Sal Abira and can be legally traded to any other Sal Abira. Geato custom, of course, doesn’t extend to outsiders, but backing down from a sal duel will lose you whatever face you had among the Geato present. And an angry alpha might duel you anyway and leave you eyeless as a lesson to you.

The Kindred, ever since the Great Rebellion, have been considered exempt from the custom of sal duels. Even though it may be a bitter pill, Geato alphas will swallow the insults of the Kindred. A Kindred challenger would have to be hugely insulting to force any Geato into a duel; if anything is stressed in the schooling of a Geato, it’s the blood oath with the Kindred. Most Geato refuse to fight the Kindred unless the evidence is overwhelming that the Kindred has done wrong.   
Although isolated, the Geato Abira are a a people of prophecy and visions, and cannot fully hold themselves apart from the rest of Desylinn. Above any other people, perhaps, the lizardfolk understand and accept their role in the cosmic soup of fate. Centuries ago, before the Great Rebellion in the dawn of all peoples, the great seer Virin saw that Daras, the goddess of death, would one day “lower the spear” for the Geato. In the Geato mythology, Daras is a dragon-like figure who appears at one’s last moment and drives the spear of her already red claw through the heart, bringing a sweet long sleep. The seer foresaw a grievous world-wide battle in which the Geato Abira served as the vanguard, and in which, due to Daras, they would be wounded but would not die. For centuries they have awaited this calling and for centuries it hasn’t come, but every Geato believes the prophecy without reservation. Too many of Virin’s other prophecies have turned out to be true—for instance, that the Geato and the Kindred would become blood-sisters and that the elves would fall. The Geato seers may debate the details of the immortality that awaits them, but none doubt, and bravery in a warrior is to fight like death cannot happen. Knowing that the future depends, in part, on the Geato Abira, they are ever vigilant. To be weak means to be unworthy of Daras. When a warrior cuts herself with a claw above the falls of Kaza Dar, she swears to be worthy of Daras’ call as she serves the Great Protector, Geato Kariba.  

Friday, March 22, 2013

Kindred: An Overview

by John Belliston



“These Frozen Elves from the North. They say their divine blood lets them rule us. I say, blood is red water the earth drinks. Would you be ruled by wine? Would you make a beverage your master? We were ruled by our flesh and our blood in the Old Days. What did it grant us? Slavery to the Frozen Men for a hundred generations. Look into the eyes of those that stand around you. Those that kill with you. Those that die with you. Are they less your brothers? Does the wine of their blood make them less worthy of love and respect? No. NO! They have proven the worth of their blood by spilling it. They prove their flesh by the scars that mark it. Troll, minotaur, abira, human, these mean nothing. They are hollow titles given us to strip away the strength we wield together. Today. In this battle we become brothers, become a new Kindred that cannot be sundered. The Elves are naught but fragile ice and hollow lights. We shall smash against them as a wave of Earth and Fire! Their blood, the blood of the traitorous Frozen God, this is their strength. That is the might that lets them claim their rights of conquest. Let us make the ground slick with their strength! Let the earth grow drunk on their splattered might! A Kindred Born! A Kindred Born! A Kindred Born!”

The chant spread. A thousand thousand fists thrust into the air. A thousand thousand voices rose into a warcry.

The Nameless One's death gave them life. The dragon Ancreoro's sacrifice gave them purpose. For two thousand years slavery hammered them against the anvil of Empire. Finally the philosophies of the Five Glorious Transcendent drew them forth as a blade, to reshape the world. These are the Kindred. Their birth is the story of this new dawn. What they have become brings hope for the future.

Your worth is not in your blood, but in the worth of your choices and your actions. In order to understand the Kindred you must understand the difference between being a blood orc and being a True orc, or Orkhan. When a Kinsmen speaks of an orc, troll, goblin, minotaur, or ogre, they refer to the khan they have chosen, rather than the blood they bear. It is quite common to see humans, lizardwomen, gren, or even elves all bearing the Marks of a particular khan. In the eyes of Kindred and the law there is no difference between a human Orkhan and an orc Orkhan.

All peoples start in the world as Tur’id, a word with the dual meaning of both "child" and "baby teeth." In the eyes of the Kindred, Tur’id can be protected and guided to find their True Parent or “Khan-mik,” who will initiate them into adulthood. Only then do you find your Kinship and place in the culture.

Orkhan

The Orkhan are the mouth of the Kindred. They act as the face to the outside world. They are by far the most social of the Kindred and the least offensive to those outside the Kindred society. Those that seek to become Orkhan are usually charismatic individuals of any type, and there are even elves who have taken the Orcmark. They serve the Kindred as diplomats, singers, and storytellers. To create the Orcmark a heated iron chain is put around the prospective Orkhan’s neck and left to cool, to symbolize their stolen voices.

Trolkhan

The Trolkhan are the hands of the Kindred. They are the War-shamans, scouts, and healers. Of all the Kindred they have the most Fire in them. Their natural regenerative capacity stems from their natural fire burning the wounds away. Those willing to do whatever is necessary strive for the honor of the Trollmark. Any individual seeking to push the boundaries of society will be found worthy. The Trollmark is created by thrusting a red-hot knife through one hand, reminding the Trolkhan their hands were useless during the Empire.

Gobkhan

The role of the legs rests on the Gobkhan. They are shock troops and the physical labor base. A blooded goblin grows slightly more slowly then other Kindred, but unlike the others they never stop growing. After a certain period of time the only options they have available are to wait for their heart to explode or to die in glorious combat. Their limited life spans make them more and more driven the older they become. Many abiran "lizardwomen" and a handful of stubborn humans bear the Goblinmark, which is created by heating iron cuffs around the potential Gobkhan’s ankles and letting them cool. This is symbolic of their role as the legs of the Kindred but also acts as a reminder of the chains which once cut into ever-growing flesh.

Minokhan

The Minokhan are the smiths, artisans, and masons, serving as the arms of the Kindred. Their strength turns the destructive impulses of the Kindred into a force of creation and beauty. Of all the Kinships this one has the most members who are not blooded minotaurs. As part of their Rite of True Parenting a Minotaur crafts the brand they choose to bear for the rest of their life. The Minomark is a brand on the arm, symbolizing that they were considered less than people, traded as cattle.

Ogrekhan

The Ogrekhan are the backbone of the Kindred, the historians and mystics. It was on their hide the old Fleshreaders secretly carved the histories of their people. Without them the teachings of the great dragon Ancreoro would have been lost. To create the Ogremark, the potential Ogrekhan has a heated iron yoke placed across his shoulders, reminding them of their place both current and past.

If you are willing to make the proper sacrifices, then all that the Kindred have to offer is yours. If not? In their eyes you will forever be “Tur’id,” less than even a child. Amongst the Kin no difference exists between Tur’id and an outsider. Under the law all who have not chosen a khan are considered children. This mindset has on occasion brought about serious tensions with some of the longer lived races. No matter the nature of your birth, any child can choose to pay the price and become an adult, with no exceptions. This is perhaps the truest strength of the Kindred. Blood is red water the earth drinks, so anyone can be your family as long as they are willing to prove it.  

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Secrets of Desylinn: The Chaos Man

by Frank Shaw



When the first to take the moniker of the Chaos Man came down from the Black Fire Mountains, he brought fiery destruction with him. Finding an abandoned Elven fortress, shortly after the Imperial collapse, he destroyed it utterly. It is said he brought fire from the sky itself and only a handful of the refugees taking shelter there survived. Of those few, most were gifted with magic and they followed the linen wrapped, heavily cowled “man” who stood head and shoulders taller than an ogre to his next destination.

The stories say he traveled down the Elven road to just north of the border to the Geato Marsh. He carried nothing but a large, sturdy, wooden box with a bizarre magical lock. Each village, encampment and fortress he and his expanding army of mages entered was laid to waste. The survivors,  mostly spell-casters, followed in his stead, joining the others. Whenever asked the question “Why?” to the destruction he had laid down on his path he would answer softly “To see my potential realized. Like the others who have gone before me.”

Word of this small army was ushered by a vanguard of fleeing survivors who did not have the magical talent of the throng. Soon settlements were nearly abandoned before the Chaos Man's arrival, with only a few hopeful, woefully addicted, or desperate spell-casters left. After long months of travel the Chaos Man arrived at the newly formed city now known as Hub, which still surged with refugees coming from other parts of the recently emancipated Desylinn.
                 
The group, some say numbering a thousand, others say numbering ten thousand, was asked their business. The Chaos Man spoke, which he rarely did, and said they would like to help in exchange for a place in Hub. The mages were given a small corner to eke out their living and in exchange they began to truly build the city with their power. Their first act was building a great feasting hall known as the Halls of the Councils of Chaos. Here the Chaos Man, whoever that may be today, resides with his advisors and meets with the heads of the Mage Schools from the city.
                 
The question of the original Chaos Man’s identity has never been fully satisfied. The first Chaos Man took refuge in the Halls shortly after they were built and was never seen again. “The Chaos Man” has become the de facto title of the Mage Guild leader, and the position seems to change hands frequently. One week a meeting with the Chaos Man will bring forth a dwarf with a tattooed face, the next will land you in a discussion with a one armed Minotaur, and the one after that will have you sitting with an ancient Gren Maitre for tea. How each individual Chaos Man takes power is never fully explained to outsiders or even lower ranking guild members, and the advisors and faction leaders are not telling.
                 
The current popular rumor is that the Chaos Man is really a council of the current hundred and one most powerful Mages in the city. Another is that the Chaos Man is a simple discretionary title held for a week or two before being passed onto the next eligible candidate. One theory is that because of the fractious nature of the Mages Guild and the unsavory dealings they have with other guilds, especially the Music Guild, there really isn’t a Chaos Man and it’s simply a front to outsiders - that the guild itself is actually not nearly as organized as they let on. Of course there are whispers that the Chaos Man is still the same, and always has been the same individual, but he simply uses powerful magics of illusion and shadows to appear different each time.
                 
No matter the truth, it is rare when an outsider gets a visit with the Chaos Man. It is an even rarer event when he attends any of the Great Guild Councils. In fact, most dealings with the Mages Guild are usually conducted with one of the school captains, who are intimidating at best and cruel or malicious most of the time. The calmer captains only chuckle and shake their head when asked to meet with the Chaos Man, as if having a private joke. Typically the only response is, “If you only knew.”