The Campaign Builder's Guild

What is the Clockwork Jungle?

Imagine a vast jungle, replete with a vast chorus of living things. The land is a verdant sea, blooming and lush.  Some creatures may live for centuries and never see the sky, obscured as it is by canopies of leaves and vines that rise higher than any fortress wall. The sky is roiling and chaotic; lavender skies are replaced in minutes by ear-shattering rainstorms that turn a footprint into a swamp. There are valleys and mountains alike in this world, but there are few places to escape the ever-present jungle - only the largest of the seas, formidable white-capped ranges, and the Obsidian Plain, where barren mountains disgorge lava and sulfurous fumes into an ocean of broken blackness. Even these massive features are islands in a sea of life.

The Legacy

One might even lose a city in here - and in fact, long ago, a forgotten people lost a whole civilization. There are lonely statues, overgrown outposts, and entire empty metropolises shrouded in vines and ferns, with no builders to admire their works and no families to live in long abandoned houses. These places are ancient indeed; some have been forgotten so long that they are unrecognizable underneath untold ages of growth. It is an Empire of Neglect.

The Artificers, as these forgotten builders are now known, did leave some semblance of life behind - the Cogs.  There are nearly as many kinds of Cogs as there are types of animals. The Cogs are constructs, made of wood, metal, stone, and even glass, and animated by fine clockwork and some magic spark within them. There are Cogs that appear like animals: Cog monkeys that look down curiously on denizens of the forest floor with empty glass eyes; Cog songbirds that flit about with clicking wings, singing beautiful and haunting melodies; even Cog speckled cats that will stalk and kill prey, only to leave its corpse for the scavengers, for Cogs have no use for food. There are other Cogs too: Cog haulers, who look like tremendous lumbering tripods, and Cog soldiers, gaunt sentinels watching over weed-strangled posts. They are at best semi-intelligent, machines that have lost their masters and continue their ancient instructions eternally.

The Inheritors

When the Four Races first made their mark upon the world, the Artificers were already consigned to a distant age.  To them, the clockwork creatures are as natural and ordinary as their fleshy counterparts.  Few give much thought to the glories of the past when new glories await.  From their primitive and humble origins, the four peoples that venture to call themselves 'civilized' have spread across the known world.  They have forged metals, built cities, brought fierce beasts to heel, and even learned to fly; even more importantly, they have cultivated the mind and the soul.  They have made art and music, philosophy and poetry, and delved into the nature of the world and the powers that rule it.

For all their accomplishments, however, the Four Races are not this world's masters.  Their settlements and camps are but motes of civilization in a wild land.  As the generations pass, however, isolated settlements have begun reaching out to each other across the great green divide.  Since the disastrous years of the Recentering two centuries ago, the Four Races have experienced a new renaissance, and a tenuous web of trade and communication has brought new ideas, new goods, and new people to corners of the world they have never been before.  The stars of civilization scattered in the vast, dark night of the Forest are shining brightly again, seeking prosperity, glory, and power.

Yet where there is change, there is conflict.  In the prosperous cities of the Black Circle, merchants vie with each other for wealth and influence, and the potentates of these 'Jewels of the Obsidian Crown' seek any means to gain the upper hand against foreigners and aliens.  The wounds of war are still fresh in the isles of the Sea of Indigo, where a league of city-states has overthrown a legacy of tyranny and struggled against all comers to maintain their diverse and fragile confederation.  On the other side of the world, the ancient power of the Artificers has been unleashed in the present by the cruel and despotic World-Queen, who seeks the secret of immortality that she might bring about an eternal reign of one ruler over one race, and one race over the world entire.  And while all these powers bicker, the Saffron Moss - known simply as the Peril - festers and multiplies in forgotten vales around the world, corrupting the Forest itself and making the dead walk again to carry out its unitary and apocalyptic will.

In these places and everywhere in between, eclectic groups of merchants, explorers, adventurers, chroniclers, mercenaries, and treasure-hunters seek to profit - in wealth, knowledge, or power - from a land still shrouded in mystery and societies swept up in the riotous turmoil of a new age.

Welcome to the Clockwork Jungle.

The Wiki

Most CJ material is on the CBG Wiki (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Clockwork_Jungle).  I make an effort to keep setting information up to date, but if there are conflicts let me know and I'll sort them out.  You can keep track of newly posted articles on my talk page (http://thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Polycarp).

Good articles to get started with:

• Gheen (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Gheen), Iskites (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Iskites), Tahro (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Tahro), Umbril (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Umbril), the Four Races
• Regions of the World (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=World_Map_(Clockwork_Jungle)) (and a map)
• The Artificers (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Artificers_(Clockwork_Jungle))
• The Saffron Moss (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Saffron_Moss)
• The Obsidian Plain (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Obsidian_Plain)
• Cogs (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Cog_(Clockwork_Jungle))
• The Breath (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Breath_(Clockwork_Jungle)) ('magic' in the Clockwork Jungle)

This Thread

This thread is primarily for discussion, criticism, questions, and my own ruminations on world-building process and the direction of CJ development.  Unlike the old thread, I won't be making big content posts here.  Instead, when I have a big content update, I'll post it in the 3rd post of the thread (the post after this one).  This will prevent content posts from breaking up the rest of the thread, and when a 'current feature' is no longer current I can archive it (it will probably be put in the wiki in some form, and I might put it in a spoiler block here if there's info in it that isn't going to the wiki).

The Old Thread

The old thread was unfortunately far too out of date - if you read the first and second pages, some of it sounds like it's from an entirely different setting.  That was back when I presumed this was going to be a D&D variant world.  That's not the case any more, and I didn't feel like keeping the old thread active was helpful.

If you are interested in reading the old thread, however, you can find it here (http://www.thecbg.org/index.php/topic,39646.0.html).  Just don't expect it to agree with the setting in its present form!

Badges

We don't seem to be doing campaign badges like we used to, but I've got one for you just in case.  If you've contributed to the Clockwork Jungle in any way, whether it's posting your comments here or chatting with me about campaign stuff over IRC, please feel free to take a campaign badge: (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/images/1/1b/Clockworkbadge.gif) (http://www.thecbg.org/index.php/topic,79326.0.html)

It links directly to this page.  Just quote this post to see the code.

[ic=On Leadership]The one who leads always has its enemies at its back.

- Ajen proverb[/ic]

No people have benefited more from the inception of the Black Circle trade than the Ajen-Umbril.  Always the least numerous branch of their race, the Ajen have never before been a great power in the region.  Their folk have always had a certain wanderlust, unusual in Umbril, that has made them common travelers from the Wash to the Netai for thousands of years.  They have played their parts as merchants, explorers, and adventurers in foreign lands and gained recognition among aliens far in excess of their numbers or power, but in the end there was only ever one land they called home.

As long as history has been written, the inner side of the Greater Cogsteeth has always been the great fastness of the Ajen.  They are safe from their enemies here, though not from each other, for the Ajen have a long history of conflict within their race.  In Antiquity, each sept, a non-familial clan composed of many colonies and metils, considered itself independent and warred unceasingly with other septs for territory and the reconciliation of grievances.  In the days before the Golden Principality, the Ajen homeland was a place of constant turmoil, ephemeral victories, and precarious life.

The Ajen take their name from the individual who changed all this.  They once called themselves the Juleth, "(those) from above," but now they bear the name of the unifier, the Savior, the great conqueror Ajen (lit. "flame") who brought the septs to heel.  The Savior-Prince may well be a myth; no historical record exists of such a "conqueror" outside the hagiographies of the Ajen people, though any great deeds performed in this remote land would likely have escaped the notice of alien chroniclers at the time.

The achievements of the Savior-Prince – assuming it was real – are probably overrated.  Any visitor will note that the Ajen are united only in the loosest sense, and the septs and metil alliances that once warred openly with one another have only moved their conflicts into somewhat more covert and less devastating venues.  Still, the great wars of the Cogsteeth are now the exception rather than the norm, an achievement worth at least some recognition.

The Ajen, like their state, are filled with contradictions.  The septs still retain a fierce independent streak, yet the Ajen are the only branch of the overarching Umbril race that recognize one ruler over all.  They are known on the Circle as friendly and cosmopolitan traders, yet the majority of their race lives in isolated mountain colonies that seldom see any alien visitors.  They have a sense of communal honor and support that is foreign to most other Umbril, yet betrayals and schemes seem no less common among them than other Umbril societies.  In one way, the Ajen are like all races of the Forest – they differ from one another, and sometimes they differ quite strenuously.  There are some generalizations that may tentatively be made about Ajen society, however, and they are perhaps best expressed in the form of the ruler that names itself Prince of the Ajen and the state that binds this diverse people together – the Golden Principality.

From the Founding to the Recentering

Ajen was the first ruler of the Principality, though the use of "Ajen" to refer to the people – and thus the title "Prince of the Ajen" – developed only in later generations.  Ajen would likely have been titled simply as "Ul-Ivet" (Grand Prince – literally, "greater/superior foundation"), a title that is still used along with Prince of the Ajen to refer to the people's leader.  What scant written records remain of the Greater Cogsteeth in Antiquity imply that the Ivet's authority was never total, subverting the myth that all was peace and unity once Ajen conquered the septs.  Indeed, the early Ul-Ivets are regularly referred to in ancient literature as being "of" one sept or another, and septs doubtlessly came to blows over whose candidate would triumph.
[note=Banner of the Principality](http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/images/a/a0/Goldenflag.png)[/note]

The most well-known Ul-Ivet of the early period was Elam-Ilsal, who is remembered chiefly in the histories of White Lotus.  According to the founding legend of that city, it was an attack by Elam-Ilsal that forced the Ussik rulers of White Lotus to recognize the equal status of their Nevir-Umbril serfs, creating the Lake Compact that serves as the foundation of White Lotus society even today.  Though scarcely remembered by the Ajen, Elam-Ilsal enjoys a good reputation among the Nevir of the Greenwash, who tend to see its ultimately futile attack as an act of "Umbril liberation" that forced the Ussik to see the value in their alien neighbors.

Elam-Ilsal's strategy was one shared by several Ul-Ivets of its age – if the Ajen can be prodded into fighting aliens, they won't bother to fight each other.  The Ul-Ivets of Antiquity tended to style themselves primarily as warlords and launched raids into the Greenwash (and possibly the Maw) with less of an interest in plunder than political aggrandizement and domestic consolidation.  The Ajen culture developed a healthy respect for the warrior's art during this time, and it is possible that the improved social status of soldiering (compared to the contemptuous attitude the Nevir and Evne tend to display towards it) derives from this period of their history.

The Age of Prophets brought unprecedented peace to the civilized races, and the Ajen were no exception.  The Oracle Tree, having been first discovered in the neighboring Maw, arrived very quickly in the Greater Cogsteeth.  After a period of initial unrest, the situation stabilized with Fruit-eating "seers" exercising real control over the septs and the principality; to avoid the tyranny of one ruler over all, the holder of the title of Ul-Ivet was prohibited from partaking of the fruit.  The political wars with neighbors ceased and sept conflicts generally ebbed away.

Over the course of the age, the position of the Prince of the Ajen became progressively weaker and more irrelevant, yet paradoxically it was the prohibition against the Ul-Ivet tasting the fruit of prophecy that ultimately saved the institution of the Golden Principality.  When the Dominion Tree bloomed, madness and destruction came to the seers and all they touched – and the Ul-Ivet remained pure.  The Ajen were left with a leader that, though stripped of power over many generations, could still claim nominal leadership over the people.  The first real test of that leadership would not be long in coming.

The Prophetslayers and their great avenging Horde, after retreating from the impenetrable walls of the City of Orpiment, struck the land of the Ajen with all their might.  The lowland colonies were annihilated.  The Prince of the Ajen at that time, Sul-Thal, saw the futility of rallying its shattered nation to take up arms against such a superior force, but substituted cleverness and determination for might.  Sul-Thal arranged for the evacuation of the colonies in the Horde's path and made sure they were provided for by their highland cousins.  It organized raids against the Horde's scouts and supplies to harass them and weaken their resolve.  Though Sul-Thal is said to never have personally taken up a weapon like the warlord-Ivets of old, its policy eventually convinced the Horde to move on into the Vinetrough.

Sul-Thal is remembered as a great shepherd of its people, and is the only Ivet held to the same level of honor as Ajen itself – Ajen founded the Principality, and Sul-Thal ensured its survival against terrible foes.  Sul-Thal regained all the prestige its predecessors had lost under the stagnation of prophetic rule and set the path forward to a resurgent Principality.

The Cities' War

The Cities' War marked the entrance of the Principality into post-Recentering politics.  Initially, the Ul-Ivet was little more than an eager servant of the Orpimine Overseer, sending large numbers of Ajen warriors into the service of the City of Orpiment to fight its war against the Solar Order of Greythorn.  In the Orange Season of 140, however, the stability of the realm was smashed by an "iron rockslide" that had grown from a simple dispute over the spoils from a Greythorn caravan.  A mercenary veteran had been murdered, and it happened to belong to the same metil as a powerful councilor of the Enfel Sept.  The sept responded with a campaign of retaliations against half a dozen colonies which had connections with the murderers, and recalled many of its mercenaries in Orpimine service to the homeland.  Unnerved by this, the Ul-Ivet overreacted and decided to massacre the Enfel leadership in one bold stroke, but the plan was leaked and passed to the sept's spies.  Shortly afterward, the Ul-Ivet turned up dead, and the assembly to select a new one broke up in partisan bickering.  When the Enfel sept and its allies attempted to convene a second assembly without the representation of their rivals, an impromptu alliance of fifteen colonies and various other sympathetic metils laid siege to the Hearth of Sagacity.

The situation was dire enough as it stood, but the Solar Order – despite having agreed to a truce with the City of Orpiment less than two years earlier – decided to meddle in the Ajen conflict.  They had been duped by an Ajen official that led them to think it was a very likely candidate for the throne and would switch sides against the Orpimines in exchange for their help.  Their candidate was forced to flee to Greythorn within a year, but their actions caused the Overseer to renew the war.

The war in the mountains dragged on until 150; the favored Orpimine candidate had been poised to assume the mantle of Ul-Ivet in 143, but was assassinated.  Without Ajen manpower supplying their enemies, the Solar Order had managed to lay siege to the City of Orpiment itself, but could not breach the massive basalt walls.  When a new Ul-Ivet was finally proclaimed, Greythorn realized its seven-year blockade of the city could not be sustained any longer, and requested that Awetz Ishulu, the powerful ruler of White Lotus, negotiate an end to the conflict.

The subsequent treaty, known as Ishulu's Pact, recognized the Ul-Ivet's control over the land routes passing under the Cogsteeth.  When the volume of Circle trade exploded in the new atmosphere of peace, vast riches began flowing into the Principality.  The Ul-Ivets began taking the role of merchant-princes, setting up an officially backed trading cabal called the Golden Ring on the Circle and sending parties of explorers, traders, and colonists over the mountains in search of new goods and treasures in the Maw.  The current Ul-Ivet fancies itself an equal to even the Awetz of White Lotus in terms of riches and influence.

Culture

Ajen tend to bind themselves more readily in a metil (a voluntary Umbril "family") than other branches of the race.  Virtually all mature Ajen are members of a metil, and these associations tend to be composed of many more members than is normal for Umbril.  By virtue of their size, however, these metils are not as inviolably close-knit as those of the Nevir or Evne.

The septs are conglomerations formed from dozens of different metils, though since the time of the Savior-Prince many metils have been formed that are not bound to a sept.  In modern times, the septs no longer exercise much authority, but the bonds between metils of the same sept are still strong.  Though the Ajen may revere the great hero who broke the power of the septs, they also wax nostalgic about the glories and accomplishments of these old alliances.  The symbols and trappings of sept authority are still trotted out for social rituals, expressions of historical pride, and – occasionally – war.

In contrast to the usual Evne (and to a lesser extent, Nevir) distaste for a military career, the Ajen consider the warrior's vocation to be reasonably respectable.  Though hardly as militaristic as the Vars, armed conflict is much more common among them than in other Umbril societies.  A rivalry that would play itself out entirely through social maneuvering and subterfuge in a Nevir colony would stand a much better chance of escalating into an actual war among the Ajen.  These "wars" may only be between metils, but some have been known to snowball as other metils and even entire septs are drawn in by secret alliances or long-buried feuds.  The Ajen have a specific phrase for this kind of ever-growing conflict, which translates literally as "iron rockslide."  That phrase has been adopted by aliens on the Black Circle for any situation that seems to be spiraling out of control out of proportion to whatever caused it.  The last great Iron Rockslide resulted in the War of Ajen Succession, which lasted for a decade, greatly prolonged the larger Cities' War, and resulted in thousands of deaths.  The Ul-Ivet and its agents are constantly meddling and intriguing to quash any disputes that look like they might follow a similar path.

The explanation usually given for such compounding conflicts is that the Ajen (some would say uncommonly for Umbril) have a more communally-minded sense of prestige than other Umbril.  Any Umbril would consider an attack on its metil to be an attack on itself, but usually would act upon an indignity to another metil only if there were some gain to be made by doing so.  The Ajen are certainly pragmatic, but also mindful of saving the face of their metil.  An Ajen metil possesses prestige, and a metil's prestige is constituted by not only the importance of its members but the importance of the metil itself as a diplomatic entity.  When other metils ally with one's own metil, it demonstrates to others that this metil is trustworthy or at least important enough to court as an ally.  Preserving that reputation requires that alliances be more than nominal, and while action on behalf of a slighted ally does not necessarily require war, every such defense of prestige and act of retribution carries with it the possibility of escalation.

The Ajen place a similar emphasis on ambition and accomplishment as their cousins, but have grown to view accomplishment in more and more economic terms as the Circle trade prospers.  Accordingly, the prestige of a metil is no longer simply diplomatic, but economic.  Within an Ajen metil, all wealth and property is considered a shared good.  A debt incurred by one member of a metil will become the responsibility of its kinsmen if it cannot pay.   This is backed by the Ul-Ivet's laws – it is criminal to conceal wealth or property of any real value from members of one's own metil.  When one member is absent, the others of its metil assume responsibility for its businesses and contracts.
[note=Jewelry]The Ajen are the only group of Umbril who commonly adorn themselves with jewelry.  Such adornment, however, is meant purely as a boast, with little aesthetic consideration – Lodestone, for instance, is a dull, heavy, and ugly rock, but as it is rarer than gold it is considered more desirable in Ajen jewelry.  Foreigners have joked that the Ajen word for "beauty," when applied to jewelry, should be more accurately translated as "weight."[/note]

The Ajen lie somewhere between the Nevir and Evne (Netai Umbril) on a continuum of their acceptance of and integration with aliens.  On the one hand, the far-traveled Ajen are no strangers to aliens and foreigners of many different cultures and traditions; on the other, their homeland is strongly homogeneous with only a handful of aliens in permanent residence at any one time.  The Ajen are self-selective in their dealings with others – more insular and xenophobic metils remain in the mountains, meaning that an alien's experience with the Ajen of the Circle may not be a very good predictor of how he will be treated when traveling in their ancestral lands.

The Prince of the Ajen

By tradition, the Ajen – all Ajen, everywhere – are under the sovereignty of the Ul-Ivet, the "Prince of the Ajen," the successor to the first Ajen and ruler of the Golden Principality.  From the Hearth of Sagacity, their great fortress-palace, the Ul-Ivets have ruled in both strength and weakness.  They have been puppets under the control of the reviled prophets of the past age, and towers of strength against the menace of the Orange Horde.  In the modern age, they oversee a great people, masters of the mountain passes, suzerains of the City of Orpiment, their merchant syndicates unrivalled on the Circle, but over all these things they have only the loosest of reins.  Never has Ajen's successor been a tyrant – at least, not successfully – for the free people of the mountain septs would not have it.  For all their obstinacy, however, the title of Prince of the Ajen is still one that contains power within its ancient panoply of prerogatives and rituals, even when that power is wielded by those behind the throne.

The primary function of the Prince of the Ajen is essentially arbitrative.  The Ul-Ivet mediates conflicts and redresses grievances between metils and septs (though not individuals).  Any metil may seek redress from the Hearth of Sagacity, though the Prince of the Ajen may choose which matters it desires to hear.  The Prince is not a "neutral" arbiter per se – it does not interpret law and is not expected to be a disinterested party.  It does not attempt to create any kind of precedent or consistent policy.  It is charged with keeping the peace and benefiting the people as a whole, and thus is expected to make whatever compromises are most effective and expedient towards that end, even if that occasionally necessitates hypocrisy, injustice, or bad faith.  The Ul-Ivet is, quite simply, a diplomat-in-chief.

The Golden Principality lacks a formal enforcement capacity – it has no standing army or police force to compel individuals to comply with the Ul-Ivet's decisions.  The Prince forces compliance informally, using prestige, negotiations, favors, and bribes to rally other metils and septs against the offenders.

The Prince of the Ajen is chosen by way of a closed meeting between representative parties from the septs, as well as individual representatives from various metils of importance.  The size of the meeting has grown over the years as various Princes have granted representation rights to metils as part of political bargaining, to the point where the present election sessions can include nearly two hundred representatives.

The Prince and the Overseer

The City of Orpiment occupies a special place in the history of the Ajen.  During the Age of Prophets, it was founded by the Seers of Tiran Vainon, an Ajen stronghold, as a lodestone waystation.  After the Recentering, the city emerged both independent and more powerful than the fractious Principality; when they fought together against Greythorn in the Cities' War, the Orpimine Overseer was clearly the senior partner in the alliance and attempted several times to place a puppet in the Hearth of Sagacity during the War of Ajen Succession.

The relationship changed suddenly during the so-called Gauntlet War, a period of violent unrest in the city caused by the actions of the Flowering Gauntlet, an extremist Indigo Chapter to whom the Overseer had given sanctuary.  To end the devastation, the Overseer requested the Prince's aid, and order was restored by an Ajen force sent by the Prince.  Since that point, the Overseer has publicly acknowledged its fealty (and that of the city) to the Golden Principality, though this seems to mean little in practice – the Prince's soldiers have since left and the Overseer doesn't appear any less independent than before.

[spoiler=Ajen Sites of Importance]

The Hearth of Sagacity
The Hearth of Sagacity is the seat of the Ul-Ivet's power, a great palace-fortress complex with thick stone walls and gilded eaves that stands atop a peak not far below the tree line.  The Hearth is a sprawling complex that houses nearly a thousand retainers, councilors, representatives, messengers, spies, soldiers, servants, artisans, priests, merchants, and guests in its labyrinthine interiors.  Once installed, the Ul-Ivet seldom ever leaves its walls.

Navigating the complex is not for the faint of heart.  The Hearth was built over the course of many centuries, so architectural styles and designs vary from hall to hall and sometimes even from room to room.  Floors and ceilings often do not align perfectly one another and are bridged by sloping passages or stairways.  Hallways are seldom straight, and often appear to have been cut through walls some time after the building was first constructed.  The complex is dotted with seemingly pointless alcoves, branching passageways, corridors that turn back on themselves, and stairways that only access a few of the floors they pass by.  The design is in part deliberate; there is no way to "quickly" enter the Hearth and make one's way to any one of the Ul-Ivet's secure sanctums.  There are multiple "hidden" doorways and hatches known only to the Hearth's regulars, and probably some only to the Ul-Ivet itself.  It is rumored that there are some passageways and vaults below the fortress that are in no living memory, and every so often a neglected or forgotten room is re-discovered.  Guests are provided with guides, who also double as minders, making sure that nobody ends up somewhere they shouldn't be.

The Hearth is one of the few inhabited places in the Forest located where snow regularly (though not frequently) falls.  The Ajen possess the same superstitions regarding snow as many other Forest-dwellers, and it is just for this reason that one of the early Ul-Ivets decided that it would be quite a propaganda coup to rule successfully from a supposedly "cursed" place.  That Ul-Ivet, unfortunately, did not rule successfully, but the abandoned castle was re-occupied by a later ruler who had fled to the high peaks for fear of its life.  The position's strategic strength outweighed its malign precipitation, and the Princes of the Ajen have never since abandoned it.

The Hearth of Sagacity is the heart of the Ajen lands, and it plays host to representatives (both overt and covert) of every sept and most colonies in the Cogsteeth.  Access to the Ul-Ivet itself, however, is typically not available to anyone who does not have a pending dispute that has been duly taken on by the Prince.  Foreigners and aliens must usually be content with a meeting with a lesser official, of which the Hearth has many.

Tiran Vainon
Tiran Vainon (lit. "white-sided fortress") was the stronghold of the Seers of Tiran Vainon, a coven of Umbril diviners who ruled part of the Ajen domains during the Age of Prophets.  They were destroyed during the Recentering like all of their kind, but their greatest works remain – the City of Orpiment, whose vast Forest Walls were built under their orders, and Tiran Vainon itself.

Tiran Vainon is a three-tiered limestone structure built up against a steep cliff face.  Each of the rectangular tiers is smaller than the one below it, though it does not actually constitute a ziggurat because the tiers all directly abut the solid rock behind.  Tiran Vainon is the largest single structure in the Cogsteeth; the Hearth of Sagacity is a larger complex, but is composed of many different connected structures built over a long period of time.

Despite being called a fortress, the builders of Tiran Vainon had sufficient faith in their powers to make physical security a low priority.  With multiple wide, open entryways, the structure is hardly an impervious citadel.  The Orange Horde was the first and last force to besiege it; by that time the diviners were dead and Tiran Vainon was held solely by the Peril.  The Horde cleansed the fortress, but in later decades the infestation recurred regularly, preventing any productive use of the structure.  Only in the last few years was the discovery made that the visible portion of Tiran Vainon is only the antechamber to an extensive system of underground chambers and halls dug into the mountain, accessible only through carefully hidden entrances.  Many of these recesses are infested.  The true extent of the depths of Tiran Vainon is unknown; one rumor holds that a tunnel many miles long connects Tiran Vainon to the Delving of the City of Orpiment.

Ulanjan
The colony of Ulanjan is considered the center of power of the Sept of Ith, the sept which the Savior-Prince Ajen is said to have belonged.  Ith is one of the Antique Septs, those metil alliances can trace their existence back to Antiquity.  Ulanjan is one of the larger colonies in the Cogsteeth, with about two thousand permanent residents.

Ulanjan lies in the lower foothills of the Cogsteeth in the southern part of the Principality's dominion.  It lies fairly close to the Obsidian Plain, with the distance varying between about one and six day's travel based on the current state of the Plain's expansions and contractions.  This low position led to its destruction during the Recentering, but it was rebuilt thereafter and now benefits substantially from its position near the Black Circle trade route.  Though not as integral as the City of Orpiment, it sees significant mercantile traffic throughout the year.  It is likely that the only reason Ulanjan has not become the seventh Jewel of the Obsidian Crown is because its citizens have insisted on maintaining its purity as an Umbril settlement, and while aliens are welcome they are not permitted to reside there for more than a few days.

Ulanjan is perhaps best known for being the slaving capital of the Circle.  Though the City of Orpiment keeps massive numbers of slaves, these are all the property of the state and are never sold to individuals.  Ulanjan serves as the place where upland Ajen interested in alien slaves can meet with Circle traders who offer them.  Most slaves of the Ajen are bought for construction, quarrying, mining, and other strenuous and low-skill labors.  Their origins are diverse, but the majority are Old Kin Iskites or Kalath Tahro taken from deep Forest communities by either by neighboring enemies or the slavers themselves.

The Etharil Stair
The recent Ajen ventures into the Maw are all thanks to the recent discovery of Etharil, a name given to a pass through the Cogsteeth low enough that it is usually snow-free for a portion of the year.  Etharil (meaning "dry path") was probably not discovered earlier because the only natural access is an thousand foot slope of sharp, loose volcanic talus so steep and treacherous that even a Gheen scampering over the rocks is likely to break his neck or start a landslide.

The Etharil Stair was built to make access to the pass less dangerous.  Over a period of eight years, laborers (mostly alien slaves) cut steps straight into the rock outcropping that rises from the talus on the slope's unclock side.  The stairs climb about half the distance to the pass, at which point the rock becomes too weathered and unstable for further construction.  At that point, travelers must cross the talus to the other side of the slope.  This is accomplished by a "bridge" of wooden boards supported by iron piles sunk deep into the loose rock.  Parts of the bridge are periodically wiped out by avalanches and must be replaced.  The stair continues on the other side, eventually reaching the pass itself, little more than a deep cleft in the rock.

Within this cleft is the "Hole in the Mountain," a hidden meadow surrounded by tall cliffs on all sides.  Dozens of cairns of large black stones stand amid blue-green leafy meadow vines, erected by an unknown people long before the present Ajen discovered the pass.  Beyond is a "tunnel" formed by the collapse of the top of the cleft beyond the meadow, creating a covered pathway that descends gradually for about a hundred feet before it opens to reveal a great sea of mist that stretches all the way to the horizon.  Beneath lies the vastness of the Maw.

Speechless Vale
A verdant valley runs amid the unclockwise foothills of the Greater Cogsteeth.  As with all parts of the Forest, it is filled with vegetation, but here there are no recently-worn pathways or hanging webs of tree-spiders, no animal castings in the fecund soil or the telltale scrape-marks of crash wyrms twisting through the undergrowth.  There are, in fact, hardly any animals at all in this valley, and this is immediately obvious when one enters, because there is hardly a sound save the rustling of leaves in the wind.

The Speechless Vale, sometimes called the Valley of the Long Night or the Valley of the Cogs, is host to a colony of vicious cairn bats, nocturnal carnivores that will eat virtually anything that moves.  As with their cousins in the Sea of Repose deep in the Obsidian Plain, the bats of the Vale awake with the coming of twilight and proceed to devour every animal they can find, from insects to elephants.  On their own, cairn bats are only moderately dangerous; they are about the size of a Gheen, with sharp talons and teeth, but a solitary cairn bat will seldom seek out prey larger than an insect.  When gathered in sufficient numbers, however, they will try to kill almost anything until their hunger is sated.  Even the slightest sound is enough to gain their attention from hundreds of feet away.  Travelers and animals alike avoid the valley, though it is possible to cross it in a single day provided one has an early start and moves briskly.  Slow-moving caravans simply go around it.  The bats don't seem to bother flyers with enough altitude, though many still cut around it in case an accident or an unexpected weather pattern forces them down.

The vale is known to be quite rich in animal Cogs; the bats do not bother them, and many animal Cogs - thinking, as they do, like animals - find the valley a welcome respite from their "natural predators."  Day-long Cog hunting expeditions into the valley happen regularly, though hunters must be content with whatever they can lug back before darkness falls.

It is unknown why these bats exist in this valley; they are encountered nowhere else outside the Plain.  Some travelers who have visited the vale in the day (or managed to survive a night) say that there is a large, vertical cavern in the valley that the bats may dwell in.  A few have proposed that this may actually be the end of a lava tube or other tunnel that reaches into the Plain.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Who Should Lead?]Who Should Lead?

Adventurers and explorers are often faced with difficult, life-threatening decisions, sometimes on a daily basis. It's important to trust one's comrades - but it also complicates matters when those comrades have alien physiologies and radically different points of view to match. When a party is faced with mortal peril, who gets to make the ultimate choice? Who leads, and who follows?

Gheen

Who should lead? The group as a whole.

Leadership, to the Gheen, comes in two flavors - symbolic leadership, and 'actual' leadership. The Gheen love the trappings of power but are under no illusion that this actually confers real influence. A drey's Queen is, more often than not, a fancy figurehead. She has titles, privileges, and community honors, but very few actual responsibilities, and everybody knows it.

This is not just a charade put on for fun. Symbols have real meaning to the Gheen. The Queen may not be the real power within the community, but she stands for the unity and cohesiveness of the drey as a whole. She represents the solidarity of the community and the race; she embodies the relationship the drey has with its ancestors and its gods. These things are not trivial - they are critically important. To be a figurehead is not a dishonor so long as the role has meaning and purpose, even if that purpose is not to exert power over other Gheen.

An adventuring group, however, has no Queen, and in such situations Gheen tend to view leadership as a purely informal, group affair. There's no reason that a handful of people, aliens or not, can't sit down, sensibly discuss things, and reach a consensus. Why bother with majority votes, party captains, or any other silly positions or procedural curiosities? Such things just complicate matters. True, a majority vote might take less time, but consensus is very important to the Gheen. A party, like a community, should be unified - if not by a figurehead, then by a single course of action. It's not enough for a majority to agree; everyone needs to get behind the decision. This need for consensus comes directly from Gheen culture, in which family members are believed to be, in a sense, the same person - an open breach in a family is something to be avoided at all costs, because disagreement with kin is essentially thought of as a kind of schizophrenia. This attitude carries over into non-family relations as well, and helps explain why it's so important for Gheen to secure common agreement.

Of course, if they don't agree, you'll have to convince them. Gheen, however, tend to lack the patience for long deliberations and can be quickly aggravated by the glacial pondering of certain other races, so they usually try to convince people as quickly as possible. This convincing tends to come in the form of an emotional appeal, though some Gheen understand the necessity of speaking to aliens in their own language (and will try to make logical arguments to win over Iskites, experiential comparisons for Tahro, and so on). Other races have observed that it is sometimes possible to get a Gheen to support majority rule if they make the process of reaching a consensus so long and tedious that the Gheen simply throws up his hands and agrees to the vote.

More than the other races, a Gheen values his intuition and 'gut.' There is such a thing as over-thinking something - just do what feels right, because it probably is right. Uncanny intuition is thought of as a tremendous asset among the Gheen, much more so than a cool, logical mind. That doesn't mean that points shouldn't be raised or that arguments shouldn't be considered, but ultimately there's never such a thing as a truly logical decision. Mortals just don't have the total and complete information to do that.  That's why, for all their supposed rationality, Iskites still make blunders. You might as well just go with your gut.

The Gheen are quite tolerant of aliens in this informal decision-making, though they tend to believe that Gheen intuition is superior to that of other races and may not immediately trust the gut decisions of aliens. In mixed company, Gheen tend to gravitate towards a leadership role simply to help move things along - they will start and manage a discussion, seeking to herd their comrades towards consensus. This isn't always appreciated by the aliens, as Gheen have a tendency to push people towards a conclusion whether they like it or not, cutting people off when they feel they are 'rambling' unproductively or countering their reasoned objections with a flippant 'no, that doesn't feel right.'

Gheen tend to resist the imposition of formal leaders, whether elected or appointed. Certainly an elected head is better than an autocrat, but their general belief is that leadership by representation is a poor substitute for real "democratic" decision-making. If it's necessary to keep a group together, a Gheen will accept an elected leader, but will often challenge the leader's authority if it senses that the leader lacks a true consensus in the party. Because consensus-building is such an important part of leadership, Gheen quickly lose respect for leaders (elected or not) who simply override the minority and take action without serious attempts to unify the group.

Iskites

Who should lead? The individual who merits it.

An Iskite treats most enterprises as anyone else would treat a military expedition. Everything that is a cohesive whole has a command structure. If it doesn't, it's dysfunctional. As a member of the party, you should make sure that some kind of hierarchy is established and agreed upon. A group needs a leader - and the group needs to know with certainty who will replace him if he should fall.

A leader must be chosen by merit, and merit must be judged through direct observation. Observe your teammates at all times - who exhibits calmness under pressure? Who has just the right amount of confidence, being neither timid nor overconfident? Who takes the initiative? Who seems to naturally accept command and shoulders responsibility without flinching?

This, at least, is how it's supposed to work in Iskite communities. Aliens complicate matters. Individual Iskites can be all over the map in terms of their willingness to judge aliens on an equal basis.  A few Iskites deny that any aliens have ordered minds suited for real responsibility, and a few are completely equitable and see merit alone. The vast majority fall between these two extremes, and struggle daily to weigh the merit of aliens against their essential alien nature.

Unless your character is truly the picture of arrogance, he should consider the possibility that he is not the ideal leader even if he's the only Iskite in the party. Humility is one of the core virtues of the Mainspring Analects, and ambition is conspicuously absent from that list. In fact, the authors of the Analects rail against ambition. Ambition is the desire to become something more than what you are; the Analects teach that the most important spiritual goal is to understand and be content with your place in the world. You should accept no worse and aspire to no better.

Thus, a 'righteous' Iskite isn't harmed at all by the realization that another in his group would be a better leader than himself. He accepts his place and becomes a zealous advocate for who he believes to be the best leader. He is unquestionably loyal and tirelessly disputes the erroneous claims of those who support a less meritorious candidate. Are all Iskites this way? Absolutely not, and aliens often accuse them of being hypocrites for this reason. The Analects, however, are not laws - they are perfect philosophical principles that an imperfect mortal being only aspires to. Jealousy and ambition do exist among Iskites, but they try harder than most to control these feelings and cultivate a sense of being at peace with their position and function. 'There is as much glory,' it is written in the Analects, 'in the perfect subordinate as there is in the perfect ruler.'

To an Iskite, the 'perfect subordinate' is decidedly not a yes-man. A leader may merit his position, but that does not make him all-knowing. A good leader is a manager of others, someone who is capable of making logical and informed decisions based on the information, counsel, and wisdom he gleans from those in his charge. A sycophant is no better than a traitor. The sycophant deliberately undermines the efficacy of his superiors, poisoning the leader's mind with what he wants to hear instead of the real truth. If you're the leader, you should have no tolerance for lickspittles; if you're a subordinate, you should argue passionately against your leader when you believe he is making a mistake. Once the leader has made a decision, however, you follow it absolutely.  Dissent is valuable, but not when it challenges the hierarchy itself.

Iskites usually regard the idea of democracy with contempt. They don't see people as equals and sneer at the idea that they should all receive an equal vote, even in groups as small as an adventuring party. Iskites in a situation in which democracy is forced upon them will often attempt to undermine it. For example, an Iskite may repeatedly throw his vote in with whoever he feels should be the leader regardless of his own personal opinions on the matter at hand, simply as a matter of principle. In private, he will tell his chosen 'leader' his own opinions, but in public he will present a united front, hoping eventually to turn the democratic system into a sham by locking his vote and refusing to participate in genuine democratic decision-making. When the system collapses, he points to this as proof that he was right all along.

Umbril

Who should lead? You should. It's as simple as that.

Unlike the Iskites who attempt to carefully appraise an individual's merit, the Umbril tend to see 'merit' as self-evident. If a person is powerful, it means they must have merited it; if they are powerless, it is their own fault. In Umbril society, there is no inheritance or nepotism, no family to pin someone's fortune or misfortune on. Your life is your own responsibility.  You don't owe anybody anything, and nobody owes you. An Umbril usually doesn't worry about whether it 'deserves' to lead. Nobody deserves anything - if you want it, take it, and if you can't take it, you're not good enough.

The Umbril value their independence, by which they mean control over their own lives. The Umbril ideal is to have total and complete agency, so that nobody can exert control over your own fate. It doesn't matter that another person might make better decisions than you - what is important is not the decisions themselves, but the fact that your choices are your own to make. If someone else commands your life, it doesn't matter how successful you are or how much status or recognition you gain: You are a slave. A "true" Umbril does not rationalize slavery - it fights it, and seeks its total independence every day of its life, even though it realizes that only a scarce few ever completely realize this goal. The purpose of acquiring power (as well as wealth, allies, knowledge, and everything else) is to secure this independence. Any use of power for other ends is secondary.

As an Umbril, you are likely going to want this same independence, but that doesn't mean you have to be the formal leader of your party or community. Having control over your own life doesn't necessarily mean that everyone recognizes you as the leader. In Umbril society, it's far better to be the power behind the throne - it makes you less of a target. The Umbril don't place much value on fame, and know very well that having titles doesn't mean that you have the power that supposedly comes with them. An Umbril will happily let another bear the mantle of leadership so long as it believes it can influence or manipulate that leader towards the Umbril's own ultimate goals.

Because Umbril care very little about the formalities of power, they also tend to be indifferent towards the form of decision-making in a group. As long as leaders can be influenced, it doesn't really matter whether they were divinely appointed or democratically elected. The Umbril prefer weak leaders that can be more easily manipulated, but they won't make a fuss of opposing strong leadership; better to assent along with everyone else and immediately start working to make yourself indispensable to the new regime. Most Umbril are collaborators at heart, not revolutionaries. Most of the time, being on the winning side is more important than being on the right side... or, more accurately, the winning side is the right side by definition. There is no "honor" in standing by one's cause to the bitter end; that's just an empty self-justification made by people who were too stupid or timid to switch sides when the opportunity presented itself.

The Umbril, unsurprisingly, tend to be just as indifferent about the race of their leader. If anything, they may prefer an alien to an Umbril. An alien is naïve and easily manipulated, distracted by inane ideas about the 'nobility' of power and the trappings of office; another Umbril, on the other hand, is unwanted competition. When a party contains more than one Umbril, they are much more likely to be rivals than allies. Their alien comrades, who expect others to prefer their own kin as they do, are frequently baffled by this behavior.

Tahro

Who should lead? The people with the most experience.

The Tahro live a life that requires a wide repertoire of manual skills for survival. You know how to hunt, how to fight, how to build a shelter, how to evade dangerous predators, how to track enemies, and all of these skills were gained through years and years of experience. Not everyone makes it to adulthood, but those who do have done so because they gained experience and learned from their mistakes.

Experience, then, is far more important to a Tahr's consideration of a leader than either logic or intuition. Decisions should be made by analogy. How is this situation like my previous experiences? What parallels can be drawn? What actions have proven successful in the past? Logic without experience is a useless theoretical exercise, and intuition is blind without the benefit of history. When a group makes decisions together, they should bring up their experiences and explain how this knowledge can be applied to the present situation.

Because everyone has unique experiences and points of view, decisions should never be made alone. The wisdom of many is infinitely more valuable than the wisdom of one. Ultimately, however, Tahr society gives the decision-making power to its oldest members, because the longer one has lived, the more experiences one has had - and, supposedly, the wiser one is. Tahr patriarchs hold their position purely on the basis of their age. Though they are expected to value the counsel of others, once they make a decision they are not to be questioned.

This tradition is effective (at least, the Tahro think so) because the Tahro themselves have very similar experiences in their normal lives. It makes sense that the longest lived among them would be the wisest. Aliens, however, may have wildly different experiences because of their different lifestyles. A Tahr that has lived twice as long as a Gheen is probably not the wiser one when it comes to, say, survival in the canopy. Alien expertise trumps longevity.

Tahro in an adventuring group usually take this lesson to heart and support a sort of 'situational leadership' - the group should defer to the person who has the most direct experience. To paraphrase, 'When in Rome, let the Roman in the party be the leader.' A Tahr will forcefully take the lead when he feels he is the superior authority on the present situation, but will usually step to the back and silently assent when he feels he's not competent to make the decision. This awareness of one's own limited knowledge can be an asset, but it may also cause a Tahr to stay silent when his logic and/or intuition are screaming at him that this is a bad idea.

When multiple Tahro are in the same group, they will tend to revert towards traditional principles of leadership: the oldest is the wisest. They are often hesitant to break this tradition even if it is clear that the younger Tahr has more direct experience in a certain matter, as is frequently the case among Tahr adventurers who may have had very different lives prior to their mutual adventuring years. Aliens in the group are often frustrated by the younger Tahr's inability to 'stand up for himself,' when in reality he is simply loathe to break the tradition of precedence by age.[/spoiler]

New feature.  First feature, actually.  It turned out longer than I thought it would...

I found that it's rather difficult to make a religion based on a messiah returning to usher in an age of paradise without sounding like I'm "borrowing" from several real-world religions.  It's probably unavoidable.

Well, at long last I've actually added something new!  For a variety of personal reasons, I haven't been very active lately, much to my regret.  Since the CJ no-stats theater game, however, I've been thinking about how adventurers of the four races would work together as a party, and today's feature is the result of that cogitation.  It's a different kind of thing than my usual features, more like the "race and prejudice" post in the old thread, but I hope it's as enjoyable.

(See post 2 in this thread, above, for the current feature.)

Man, the Umbril really are wonderfully horrible at times.  I picture them almost like old British imperialists, or something: supremely arrogant and entitled, and simultaneously incredibly civilized and nonchalantly brutal.

A very useful post... I get a good feel for how an adventuring party might play out.

By the way, Steerpike - seeing as this is the CJ discussion thread - I heartily enjoyed reading about the Cult of Insectile Mimetism.  It's definitely the kind of Aras Tay worship that I imagine to be scattered across the world.  But for the acrobatics, I'd say it would attract the Umbril even more than the Gheen - an ever-changing, ever-adapting being that confounds and eludes those who try to grasp it gives the Umbril a great deal to admire.  As it stands, I would see them primarily in the position of patrons.  There are probably few Umbril who wouldn't enjoy the role of the masked benefactor, standing apart from the central action but influencing it regardless.

I'm not keen to try and adopt it whole cloth, mostly because the Shuulei themselves clash with my design a bit - they're a bit too much like the existing Aras Tay (the Axolt, later renamed to Azal for my own internally consistent linguistic purposes) thematically.  That doesn't mean I like it any less - in fact, I'd never thought of Cogs being part of a swarm before (specifically, in an Azal's gullet) and I am seriously considering adapting the Sacred Spectacles as a ritual to Poruai (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Poruai), who has a similar strange shape-changing ability.

Glad I could contribute some ideas!  Rereading the Azal, I agree they`re very similar.

Another update, this time of a more concrete nature - a school of channeling.

Right now I'd like to focus on filling out wiki links that already exist, specifically factions, cities, and regions that haven't been detailed.  I really want to finish up with the Jewels of the Obsidian Crown, which means laying down Greythorn and Koldon's Well once and for all.  I have a pretty good idea of what I want out of Greythorn, but the character of Koldon's Well is still eluding me at this point.  I do feel like I have a much better grasp on the Tahro than I did a few months ago, though, so hopefully something will strike me that will differentiate it both from Kengal (the other "super Red Camp") and the other Black Circle cities.

If you are filling out red links, please consider working on the Prophetslayer article: http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Enti-Ven_Famar

I find it fascinating! (Their story and the betrayal are sufficiently epic.)

*This post lost in forum transition*

Thank you for updating those. I had been wondering about Vul-Fan. Nice to see that you explain his ongoing influence on Umbril drama (!)

I'd suggest linking "fruit eater" to the expressions page.

Also a link to the Oracle Tree from that page might be a good idea.

Just posted a new feature on Greythorn - five Black Circle cities down, one to go.

A very well written feature. The society seems believable, although I find the bit about everyone partaking in farming a minor stretch.

How do they handle the exchange of goods between the city and the foreigners? It seems that the agricultural produce would be state property, to be sold in a centralized manner, although there would have to be many foreign parties buying small shares of it rather than a single buyer. Do the bureaucrats organize seasonal auctions, or do they engage in private negotiations with foreign merchants? What decides who gets a deal and for what price?

How does a foreign immigrant become a citizen?

Quote from: GhostmanHow does a foreign immigrant become a citizen?

Conversion.  You take vows, just like a monk would take vows entering a monastery.  Children born in Greythorn (or children of converts) are provisional citizens until their adulthood, at which point they either take the vows or are "deported" to the Foreigners' Quarter.  Usually, conversion is preceded by an extended stay in the city; a foreigner can't enter the city without an invitation from a resident, but this isn't usually very hard to get, and there's no limit on how long an invitation can last.  The priests encourage potential converts to become long-term guests with a local family before they consider making the permanent vows themselves.

A new feature on Teven has been posted.  I noticed it sitting around the other day, almost entirely written up already, so I thought I might as well bring it up to date and fire it off.  Though not the largest of the Netai cities, I think it has the most interesting concept.

Very, very cool city.

There was a touch posted about crime - I was wondering more about crime in Clockwork Jungle.  Is it common?  Uncommon?

I want to know more about Ineven-Nel Oran.  He sounds pretty whacky.

Are there marine cogs, like cog fish/dolphins/squids?

[spoiler=A brief postscript on Vanam Dur]Vanam Dur's misery didn't end with Ineven-Nel's death.  The "city" was impossible to control, so the subsequent Oranids ignored it.  It became a haven for pirates, and that eventually led the Oranids to resume Ineven-Nel's raids to suppress piracy and smuggling (and prolonged this process to "train the soldiers" as Ineven-Nel had done).  Eventually the bandits were sufficiently "suppressed" (in part because of recurring plagues caused by all the unburied bodies), but the isle was later taken over by a Saffronite cult which put the last of Vanam Dur's inhabitants out of their misery by converting them all into Abominations.  Even the sheltered and incompetent Varan-Etun Oran could not let this slide, and the isle was finally purged of the Peril, the cultists, and all its former residents in a bloody invasion only a few years before the start of the Scourge Crisis.  It was a gory end that Ineven-Nel would have enjoyed.[/spoiler]

QuoteAre there marine cogs, like cog fish/dolphins/squids?

You know, I think someone asked this before... my answer is that no, there aren't right now, but there's no reason why there couldn't be - I just haven't really given it much thought.  That would be a good explanation as to why there are some monsters deep in Teven - a Cog shark won't die if it gets lost in the tunnels.  Also a Cog squid just sounds really cool in general.

Actually, part of the reason I haven't thought about it much is because I haven't yet figured out how my concept of the Breath applies to undersea life.  If the Breath is literally the air all around, and is also literally the "life force" of all living things, how do fish live?  They must have some way of sharing the Breath even though a channeler is cut off when he's drowning.  It's a metaphysical puzzle I haven't really formed a clear answer to yet.

[blockquote=Polycarp]Actually, part of the reason I haven't thought about it much is because I haven't yet figured out how my concept of the Breath applies to undersea life. If the Breath is literally the air all around, and is also literally the "life force" of all living things, how do fish live? They must have some way of sharing the Breath even though a channeler is cut off when he's drowning. It's a metaphysical puzzle I haven't really formed a clear answer to yet.[/blockquote]The Breath is actually... Oxygen?  Midichlorians?

Ineven-Nel is great.  Sort of a cross between the Marquis de Sade and Vlad the Impaler.  Except also an anthropomorphic toadstool.

Quote from: SteerpikeThe Breath is actually... Oxygen?  Midichlorians?

Well, maybe that's the "real" explanation, but I'm more interested in how the natives would see it.  If Breath=air=life, that means either:

a) Fish have some means of acquiring the Breath despite being underwater, or
b) Fish are not alive.

The latter is interesting, but it causes problems - I mean, even the Cogs are considered "alive."  The only thing that "lives" but doesn't interact with the Breath is the Peril itself (and possibly some unique creatures/"demons" like the Caretaker).  To make every aquatic organism live without the Breath would require a drastic revision of how the natives of CJ see the world; there are suddenly whole categories of things that have life outside of the Breath, so suddenly the Peril being Breath-less isn't so weird any more.

Option A is more plausible but requires some explanation given that the natives don't know about oxygen, molecules, or anything else like that.  When they submerge themselves, they are cut off from the Breath's currents (and die shortly thereafter); it makes sense that the same thing should happen to fish, yet it doesn't.  There must be something different about fish, then, that allows them to be a part of the universal currents.  The question is whether I can leave it at that or whether it would be worthwhile to come up with a more specific metaphysical explanation.

But this isn't just fluff, it also impacts how Breath can be used in the game environment.  Can a channeler standing on the shore target a fish in a pond with a form (a Breath "spell")?  If the Breath can't penetrate water, the answer is "no," but if the fish has some means of accessing the Breath regardless, maybe the form would work on it.  And what about Aspection?  Aspection, one of the four disciplines of channeling, allows one to take on the attributes of other creatures (by changing one's currents to match the currents of others).  Could a channeler acquire that same ability to access the Breath through water by taking the aspect of a fish/squid/shark, thus being able to breathe and channel underwater?  Would he lose the ability to breathe and channel in air as a result?

It could simply be a mystery still unsolved, the kind of question "occult" thinkers (or their equivalent) lie awake thinking about at night, and/or debate with one another.  Depends on how well understood the Breath is in CJ.

This is kind of off-topic, but I recently read a novel called An Instance of the Fingerpost set during the 17th century.  A large part of the book was narrated by a physician.  The novel was quite well researched and gave a good idea how poorly understood medicine, physics, and anatomy really were during the 1600s.  For example, one group of scholars are doing experiments to see whether a chicken can breathe in a vacuum, using a vacuum pump to extract the air in a sealed glass chamber containing a chicken (!).  The common folk still fervently believe in the four humours, even though serious physicians have long since discredited the theory.[spoiler]The main character and some real-world figures in the novel essentially discover how to perform a blood transfusion, but they have *no idea* why it really works - just a bunch of disconnected, totally crazy theories.  The protagonist transfuses blood from a woman into her dying grandmother and assumes that there *must* be a sympathetic connection between the two afterwards, since the grandmother now somehow "shares" the woman's blood; he *definitely* doesn't understand that blood carries oxygen but instead comes to believe that blood must contain a "life-force" or soul-energy kind of thingy.  The woman is later convicted of murder and sentenced to execution.  Thoerizing that the woman's death would negatively affect the grandmother due to their supposed sympathetic connection, the guy proceeds to transfuse his own blood into the gradnmother's  veins to counteract the woman's death, but of course doesn't have any idea about blood types and just kills her (he blames it on the execution, of course). He further speculates that perhaps bull's blood would be more effective (yikes).  My point is, the protagonist is considered one of the most well-educated people around, and has access to knowledge that 99% of the population is totally oblvious about (Italian medical training, university qualifications, access to libraries, years of experience - heck, just literacy alone).

Things might be somewhat similar in CJ with respect to the Breath: lots of contradictory and conflicting theories, and big mysteries, misunderstandings, and gaps of logic as to how things actually work.[/spoiler]

Are the lower levels of the ziggurat interior waterlogged? You mentioned sea creatures getting in there, but I got the impression that those tunnels can still be explored by daring land-dwelling races.

Also, have there been any serious attempts to grow food on rooftop gardens?

Most of the tunnels below the waterline are flooded, yes.  Explorers can only venture there with some kind of enhanced ability to hold their breaths '" that is, certain forms of channeling.  The pool of potential explorers is thus limited to those with at least a basic knowledge of the Breath.

As for gardens, I mentioned them in the feature; there are certainly plenty of little gardens, many on rooftops, but all must be made with imported soil since the stone steps have none of their own.  Even established gardens must be renewed from time to time, as the limited soil is eventually exhausted.

Those gardens aren't a primary source of food, however '" most of the 'crops' are herbs with medicinal value, spices, and vegetables to supplement one's main diet.  The two most common races in Teven, Umbril and Ussik, are perfectly fine with a sea-based diet.  The Umbril can eat almost any kind of sea plant once it's been 'stewed' (spoiled) and Evne in particular eat more fish than most Umbril.  The Ussik, for their part, are used to a diet of fish and aquatic plants; that's what one eats in the Wash, where they're from.  

Gheen, Tahro, and (non-Ussik) Iskites have a harder time of it.  Tahro can get used to a fish-based diet, though they consider it inferior to the flesh of Forest beasts.  Iskites consider a diet without grains to be unhealthy, and used to import a great deal of rice to the island before they were relocated.  I mentioned that the Gheen were probably the worst off '" most refuse to eat fish, and vegetables (including aquatic plants) aren't a big part of their normal diet.

Quote from: SteerpikeDepends on how well understood the Breath is in CJ.

is[/i] life (which is essentially true).  He knows that "Deep Breathers" - channelers - have a kind of sorcery that comes from the currents of the Breath.  His perception of these currents is limited to the feeling of air in his lungs and the wind on his face.

A channeler, particularly an experienced one, feels these currents much more clearly and feels them far beyond his own skin and lungs.  Depending on his skill and focus, he can sense their movement far beyond his body and becomes aware of the Breath's precise movement within his own blood and tissues.  He can sense the close presence of a "void in the Breath" like the Peril and feel the currents within others, eventually gaining the ability to tell if someone is alive or dead without even looking at them.

Your example was really interesting, and that's exactly how I see a lot of science in the CJ universe.  While herbalism is advanced, for instance, even many leading herbalists and healers believe in sympathetic magic (specifically that certain plants have an effect on the body based on what organs or limbs they resemble, or that more "aerodynamic" leaves and tubers promote health because the wind/Breath moves more swiftly and easily around them).  Only since the Recentering has actual empiricism begun to rear its head, and even scholars at the forefront of empirical discovery justify their empirically-proven cures with theories about plant resemblance and shape.

In the case of the Breath, however, this is something that channelers really feel; it would be hard to have a false perception of it, because it is exactly the understanding of the Breath - the ability to feel it as it flows - that is required to channel it.  It's more like swimming than science, more martial arts than medicine.  There are certainly those who theorize about the Breath and its nature, but this is above and beyond the actual disciplines of channeling which require no special academic or intellectual expertise.

A new feature has been added.  As noted, this is the "first of a 28 part series" on the regions of CJ (there are actually 27 regions - the 28th will be on the Obsidian Plain).  I'm not saying that I'll only do regional updates until I get through all 28, but I will finish the series eventually.

The series has a few key goals:

To identify sub-regions, communities, and important sites for adventure and exploration*To display different regional cultures and demonstrate that all Iskites/Umbril/Gheen/Tahro aren't the same*To provide slightly more detailed information on the lay of the land that the world map can't provide

The Maw, in my opinion, is one of the best demonstrations of Goal #2, because its isolation allows me to craft cultures far outside the norm.  It's really the "lost world" of the Forest - there are plenty of poorly known regions within the so-called "known world," but the Maw is one of the only ones with native civilizations of its own.

It's also a site of considerable inter- (and intra-) species conflict (with the presence of foreigners complicating what was already a place of continual struggle between the native peoples), and conflict is the driving force for adventure.  Though it might be hard to start an adventuring party here (a multi-racial troupe of Maw natives would be exceedingly rare), it's a place that adventurers could be drawn to, either for their own reasons or because of their involvement with one of the various foreign groups with interests in this wild land.

Some nice stuff in that feature, particularly the Blight's Eye.

Just posted the second region feature.  I got tired of working on a map but that may come in time.  I've been doing a bit of other work on the wiki as well, which you can keep track of on my newly rebooted user talk page (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Polycarp).

GREAT WALL OF TEXT

I've had that giant post on law and justice floating around on my hard drive for a while.  I finally decided to clean it up and post it, and it is now the current feature displayed above.  Whether you'll read it or not, however, is another matter entirely!

Bonus points if you picked up on the real-world inspiration (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struggle_session) of the Iskite "Confrontation."

CJ's hiatus has been temporarily suspended to give you this update (see the 3rd post in this thread, as usual).  Finally, the last of the Black Circle cities has a writeup.  Hopefully, the next month will see the wiki updated accordingly, and perhaps some articles whose topics were touched on here - the Haudavan faith and the Wrath's Eye Kaj have drafts already.  There's also a feature on the Golden Principality in the works, which - though it boasts no cities - is one of the major powers of the Circle.

The Principality already has a stub on the wiki (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/Golden_Principality), as a matter of fact, but it's a bit out of date.  More wrestling with the character of the Ajen as a people is required, however - their original incarnation was as "friendlier, more mercantile Umbril" but a different kind of society is coming out of my writing.  There's a definite tension between the fact that they're big players in the Circle trade and the seemingly incongruous fact that many live in fairly remote mountain colonies.  The Prince of the Ajen, originally devised as a simple puppet, is gaining importance in my mind as a figure who binds together the rival cosmopolitan and insular tendencies of its people.  And something must be said for a ruler who, considering the attitude of the CJ's people towards snow, chooses to build its palace on a mountaintop.  "I fear nothing - but you should fear me."

A fine writeup as usual :)

QuoteOn most issues the Council is split fairly evenly between the 'Lotuses' (made up of Nevir and Ussik originally from the Wash, who promote a pro-White Lotus policy) and the 'Orchids' (composed of Gheen in league with the smaller groups of Iskites, Ajen, and Skyshield Nevir).

Are there no Tahro within the council? Or are they simply not participating in these factions?

Quote from: GhostmanAre there no Tahro within the council? Or are they simply not participating in these factions?

There are no Tahro in the Great Council.  The original purpose of the Great Council was to create a body to manage "alien affairs" in what was then still a majority Tahr settlement.  The Paramount Patriarch had very little interest in how the Gheen, Ussik, Nevir, and so on conducted themselves so long as they were beneficial and not detrimental to the use of the Wells as a Red Camp.  The Great Council was intended as an instrument to grant them some autonomy without ceding ultimate control over the city.

The Tahro generally consider themselves to be "represented" by the Paramount Patriarch, making positions in the Council for Tahro unnecessary.  There may be some settled Tahro who disagree with this, particularly the more urbanized types who have more in common with the alien society of the Wells than with the roaming bloods, but not enough to make any political difference.  Most of the settled Tahro who stray too far from tradition end up moving elsewhere on the Black Circle anyway - much of the Tahr population of the City of Orpiment, for example, consists of former Well-Tahro who became too "alienized" to fit in with Well-Tahr society.  Despite the settled nature of the Paramount Patriarch's tribe, they are still a fairly conservative bunch when it comes to Tahr tradition.

Thanks for the update- I was just checking the wiki yesterday to see if Clockwork Jungle had updated recently, so this is a nice surprise!

I am stalked by the fear of monocultures.  No, I don't mean the agricultural kind, I mean the kind in which one race equals one culture, a situation very much unlike how things actually work here on earth.  Whenever I talk about customs, cultures, language, attitudes, and so on, I have to be careful to qualify my words to avoid making over-generalizations.

I had a realization the other day that things might be easier if I had a better idea of the different intra-racial cultural spheres that exist in the world.  I decided to start with our friends the Iskites, and made a list (with short descriptions) of each group of the race, what might be called "nations" or "ethnic groups" if such terms existed in CJ.  I also whipped up a map to go with it.

I didn't make this a "feature" because it's not really a polished article, just an idea, something to float by and ponder a bit as I pull other work together.  It occurs to me that even short blurbs of information on cultures like this could make generating an Iskite who's not just a hardass Analect stereotype somewhat easier.


Cultures are listed in physical order, starting with the pea-green blob in the lower left and moving clockwise.

Iskite cultures are colored in varying shades of green, and Ussik in blue.  Uncolored areas aren't necessarily Iskite-free, but they are definitely not a significant race in such areas, and any villages found there are likely to be highly isolated and possessing of very unique cultures and traditions that reflect that distance from a greater community identity.

Many entries refer to sects of the Iskite Great Social Reform (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/Great_Social_Reform), which is described in the wiki (see link).

Analectic Iskites
Territory: Scalemount, Clawed Thicket, clockwise Wyrmcrown, clockwise Vinetrough
Language: Luminous Tongue (New Script)
Religion: Various public cults

Analectic (or just 'Analect') Iskites consider themselves to be the original and authentic people of their race, and there is considerable evidence that Scalemount may have been the origin point of their people in distant Antiquity.  They typically refer to themselves as 'Analect,' 'Righteous,' or 'Orthodox' Iskites, all of which refer to their adherence to the Mainspring Analects.  Other Iskite cultures that are equally convinced of their own orthodoxy are more likely to describe them as 'Scalemount Iskites.'

Their cultural ideals may be directly traced to the Polemicist sect of the Great Social Reform, which ultimately triumphed in Scalemount and its surrounding regions.  The 'default' Iskite culture described in the CJ article on Iskites is the Analectic culture.  Their society and habits are explained there.

Sekata Iskites
Territory: The Sekah (the borderland between Scalemount and the Netai), the Watzash (unclock Netai coast), Anathi archipelago
Language: Luminous Tongue (New Script)
Religion: Various public cults

Sekata Iskites are the descendants of Scalemount Iskites who settled along the Netai shore and the borderland ('Sekah') clockwise of Scalemount.  In Antiquity they also occupied part of what is now the Mosswaste, and the now-corrupted Lake Isath was the center of their civilization and cultural sphere.  Sekata Iskites are considered generally 'orthodox' in their philosophy by Analectic Iskites, though their society tends to have more explicit social stratification into 'ranks' or 'degrees' due to the influence of the Orderine sect, an 'orphan' faction of the Great Social Reform that was popular in the Watzash.

As trade between villages in the Sekata and Scalemount cultural spheres has grown, the differences between the cultures have slowly but steadily eroded.  The victory of the Netai Confederation over the Sekata Iskites and their defunct Right Orientation Alliance has further abetted the growth of Scalemount's cultural dominance in the borderlands.

Netai Ussik
Territory: Netai Archipelago
Language: Washtongue (Zivenid Speech), Indigo Speech
Religion: Various public cults, many Umbril-influenced

The Ussik population of the Netai has only existed for about two decades.  The Netai Ussik are composed of the families and children of Ussik mercenaries imported from the distant Greenwash to fight the enemies of the Netai Confederation, most of whom have opted to remain in the isles after the end of the conflict.  Though Wash Ussik in tradition and upbringing, the Netai Ussik are separated from their kin by many miles, and have begun developing their own unique society - already, the speech of the Evne-Umbril has begun to creep into their language, and some have adopted Evne cults and forms of worship.

As they are virtually all mercenaries or family members thereof, the Netai Ussik are an especially hard-nosed, prideful, and militaristic addition to the Netai polity.  They have a higher regard for the Tahro and Gheen they've fought beside than their Wash cousins do, but are despised by the Sekata Iskites who they happily fought and vanquished for their Confederation masters.

Mangal Iskites
Territory: The Great Mire, Chokereed, Sea of Serpents, clockwise shore of Netai, Ninefold Vale
Language: Luminous Tongue (Old Script), Kzata, rarely some other local Antique languages
Religion: Various public cults, particularly the Cult of Imauwr (in the Great Mire) and the Cult of the Redeemer (in Chokereed).

Mangal Iskites occupy the lands of the Grand Mangal, having settled here in distant Antiquity.  They existed in these lands before the Great Social Reform of Scalemount but the ideas of the Mainspring Analects were later spread to them by missionary philosophers.  Mangal Iskites are generally orthodox, but many of their villages exhibit 'sodalities,' voluntary families similar in many ways to an Umbril metil, something unknown in Scalemount.  Some Iskite scholars believe this is was the result of proselytizing by members of the Covenanter sect during the Reform Era, whose 'covenants' were similarly non-lineage family groups, but the sodalities are more likely the result of their close contact with Nevir-Umbril colonies in the Grand Mangal super-region.

The Luminous Tongue is widespread among the Mangal Iskites, though many villages (particularly in the Chokereed and around the Sea of Serpents) still use other Antique languages, by far the most widespread of which is known as Kzata.  Most Mangal Iskites use an older, more ornate script for the LT that was superseded in most of the orthodox Iskite world by a 'new' or 'reformed' script during the Age of Prophets.

Wash Ussik
Territory: The Wash, unclock Whitefen
Language: Washtongue (Zivenid script)
Religion: Various public cults, many Umbril-influenced

The Wash Ussik represent the vast majority of the Ussik branch of the greater Iskite race.  The Ussik are physically adapted for semi-aquatic life and thrive in the environment of the Wash, which is ill-suited to farming.  Though the Wash Ussik embrace much of the Mainspring Analects, they refused to abolish heredity from their society and still live in extended family units, which - along with their occasional use of hereditary monarchy - is the source of much of the enmity between them and other Iskites.  Of the sects of the Reform Era, they are closest to the Meritocrats, though it is likely that their present condition is a result of selective adoption of Polemicist dogma than early (and almost certainly unhistorical) Meritocrat influence abroad.

Wash Ussik culture is permeated by Nevir-Umbril influence.  Their language, Washtongue, includes many Umbril terms and is written in a script adopted from the Umbril centuries ago with only minor modifications.  Many Wash Ussik cults are dedicated to Ussik versions of Ivetzivenid aspects, or at least bear a notable resemblance to them.  In many parts of the Wash, 'towns' exist in which Ussik and Umbril live together harmoniously, though villages are more common than such mixed-race communities.

Islander Ussik
Territory: Sea of Marching Stones
Language: Various endemic languages
Religion: Maltheistic wind-spirit cults, particularly the Cult of the Rime Dancer

The islands of the Sea of Marching Stones are populated largely by Ussik.  They rarely leave them, traveling between the nearest isles only occasionally to trade with friendly neighbors or raid unfriendly ones.  Though their isolation from the Wash is not total, most Islander Ussik have diverged in language and custom from the Wash Ussik (and each other) over the last few thousand years.

Though the Analects have reached many of the sea's communities in one form or another, the Islanders - like virtually all Ussik - have not rejected heredity as a part of their culture.  Despite this, Wash Ussik still consider the Islanders to be almost a different race, and describe them as insular, violent, and superstitious savages.  Their languages are no longer mutually intelligible with the Washtongue, though a shared origin is clear.  Most either did not adopt or discontinued the use of Umbril script and use native alphabets.  They not particularly backward in terms of technology, though some isles have regressed considerably since their settlement because of a dearth of resources.  This relative material poverty is the cause of many of their internal conflicts - the Islander Ussik have no meaningful unity and various isles ally or war with each other as petty sovereign villages.

The Islanders tend towards a Gheen-like concept of religion.  Powerful entities are essentially uncaring and even malevolent, and the purpose of religion and ritual is to mitigate their influences.  Unlike the Gheen, however, who generally appease their gods, the Islanders attempt to intimidate and frighten away the evil wind spirits from the forbidding Fanged Rampart above with cacophonous music.

Non-Ussik are rare in the isles of the Sea of Marching Stones and are likely to be viewed with fear or suspicion, though if an alien can avoid being taken for a wind spirit in disguise he is unlikely to be met with violence or outright hostility.

Maw Iskites
Territory:  The Maw, some adjacent parts of the Chalklands and Cogsteeth
Language: Various Antique languages, Szelsh in some areas
Religion: Various public cults

Maw Iskites are less homogenous than any other Iskite culture, as the Maw itself is subdivided into thousands of isolated valleys.  The Iskites of this land tend to be technologically primitive and socially untouched by the effects of the Great Social Reform and the Grand Authority, save those in the shadow of the Lesser Cogsteeth who have come under Szelsh domination.  Their methods of rulership vary from hereditary rulers to ruling councils or cultic theocracies; in the unclock Maw, Iskite villages are heavily matriarchal to an extent only surpassed by the Gheen.

Maw Iskites, reflecting their isolated existences, tend to be highly xenophobic.  Many will kill a Tahr on sight, regardless of their homeland or intentions, because a sizeable number of the Maw Tahro bloods regularly hunt and eat Iskites.  Unusually, Gheen are generally the aliens most likely to be well-received because of their overall rarity in the region.  Many Maw Iskites know of Gheen only through stories.

Szelsh Iskites
Territory: Gearfall, Lesser Cogsteeth, the outer Maw, clockwise Red Depths, and unclock Sea of Ink
Language: Szelsh
Religion: Various public cults

Szelsh Iskites are the descendants of the followers of Isz the Pale, a philosophical refugee from Gearfall during the upheaval of the Great Social Reform.  As such, they draw their cultural ideals from the Dualist sect that Isz belonged to.  Their name refers to the language they speak, an Antique Iskite language of Scalemount that is now extinct in that part of the world.  They are also sometimes referred to (by themselves or others) as 'Gearfall Iskites' or the 'Tribe of Isz.'

Szelsh Iskites consider themselves to be true followers of the Mainspring Analects, but they follow a different version of the text than the 'Analectic' Iskites of Greater Scalemount and retain a number of traditions that predate the Great Social Reform.  Some of their villages are still ruled by the remnants of 'the Elect,' a hereditary upper caste, which has been rapidly recovering from a nadir during the Age of Prophets.

Solar Iskites
Territory: The city of Greythorn, some villages in inner Vinetrough
Language: Luminous Tongue (New Script)
Religion: Cult of the Solar Emissary (or various splinter cults thereof)

Solar Iskites are the faithful of Mylsegemmen, specifically as prescribed by the Cult of the Solar Emissary.  Most followers of the cult are loyal to the Solar Order, the theocratic ruling order of Greythorn, though some who consider themselves true believers are condemned as heretics by the Order for their divergent doctrines.  They trace their origins to the exodus of Zenge, consort of Mylsegemmen, and her followers from Scalemount during the Age of Prophets.

Solar Iskites share many cultural similarities to Analectic Iskites but have abandoned some of the teachings of the Mainspring Analects where they are superseded by what is believed to be divine teaching.  Spurned by other Iskites, the Solars have been increasingly gravitating towards the Ussik cultural sphere, and some have begun living in family units (the Allotment is practiced by many, but is not a state institution or religious requirement).  They tend to be disdainful of the nearby Old Kin, whose culture reflects none of the Analectic ideals that the Solar Iskites are inheritors to (despite their religious 'improvements' to those ideals).

Old Kin Iskites
Territory: Inner Wyrmcrown and outer Vinetrough
Language: Luminous Tongue (New Script), some local Antique languages
Religion: Various public cults

The Iskites of the 'Old Kin' fled the Greater Scalemount during the Great Social Reform.  Their name derives from the conservative sects that opposed the Reformist radicals, known generally as 'kinsmen.'  They managed to survive conversion or destruction in the sparsely populated inner slopes of the Wyrmcrown and there preserved a heredity-based society, albeit one without the autocratic 'blood lords' of old, in keeping with the ideas of the Conclavist sect of the Reform Era.  The Old Kin were only discovered by Analect Iskites during the Age of Prophets, but their small numbers and isolated location made conversion and conquest difficult.  During the Recentering, the Orange Horde and its offshoots annihilated most of the orthodox Iskite villages of the inner Vinetrough, allowing a surprisingly swift expansion of the Old Kin further towards the Black Circle in the modern era.

The Old Kin are considered to be debased and corrupt by most other Iskite cultures but are one of the few Iskite groups to get along passably with the Ussik (though their interactions are very limited).  They are frequently compared to Maw Iskites by their orthodox cousins, despite vast differences in culture, homogeneity, technology, and history.

I agree this multitude of (sub)cultures makes the race seem that much more real. It reinforces the concept of a people spread about, isolated and evolved over centuries.

It's the same exact pitfall I've been trying to avoid in Mare Eternus by creating different cultures like you are. One thing however I've realized is that there probably will be cultural borders between species even in the same area. So a Nicu in The Pearl Way will probably have a different culture than a Maeri. It may be closer to the local Maeri culture than the culture of a Nicu from somewhere else but there will be a difference. It's something we can't really find examples of in the real world but I just don't see species differences not effecting culture at all. I still like you though hate the idea of mono-cultural species.

Quote from: NomadicOne thing however I've realized is that there probably will be cultural borders between species even in the same area.

*part of this post eaten by forum change*

In one way I've actually got it rather easy - The Known World is just smaller than the worlds of a lot of other settings (including most of my own).  The map above, after all, is about as wide as the continental US.

It's big, but it's not so big as to have the kind of vast cultural difference exhibited by, say, the Mughals and the Mayans.  It's more realistic that ideas and ideologies (like the Mainspring Analects) could move from one side to another over the course of centuries, even considering the enhanced difficulty of jungle transport.

QuoteI still like you though hate the idea of mono-cultural species.

"Hate" is perhaps a strong word - I don't want to rule out the idea entirely if it works.  Maybe a race only has one country/community left, or perhaps instant communications and transport make homogeneity possible over long distances.  I invoke the latter explanation a bit in the case of the Iskites, to justify how the Luminous Tongue became the language of so many different cultures over such a large area in only a few hundred years - the Grand Authority, for a time, was able to coordinate their efforts over vast amounts of space through the power of the Oracle Fruit.

I have put together a second map, this time on the Gheen.  You'll notice that they aren't quite as widespread as the Iskites.  In fact, Gheen are the least widespread of the four races because they're the only ones that might be considered environment-dependent - unlike the other races that live on the forest floor, the Gheen live above it, and so generally prefer to live in 'high forest' areas with very tall trees.  The three Gheen 'homelands,' the Red Depths, the Skyshield, and Chalicewood, are all such high forest areas (the only others are Feathervale and the Sea of Ink, though there are some high forest parts of other regions as few are totally ubiquitous).

That restriction is what keeps the Gheen from being the dominant race in the known world.  After all, they mature faster and reproduce (much) faster than any of the other civilized races; if they could live anywhere comfortably, they might simply overrun everyone else.  The closer to the ground they are, however, the closer they are to danger, so Gheen cultures in low forest areas tend to remain comparatively small and beleaguered compared to the massive hosts of Gheen in Skyshield and the Red Depths.


Cultures are listed in physical order, starting with the big red blob on the right and moving clockwise.

Gheen cultures are colored in shades according to their lineage - Red/pink indicates Red Gheen descent, Orange indicates Chalice Gheen descent, and Yellow indicates Shield Gheen descent (the Black Gheen are colored greenish as their descent is uncertain).  Uncolored areas aren't necessarily Gheen-free, but they are definitely not a significant race in such areas, and any dreys found there are likely to be highly isolated and possessing of very unique cultures and traditions that reflect that distance from a greater community identity.

Red Gheen
Territory: Red Depths, Feathervale
Language: Red Gheen
Religion: Ancestor worship, various public cults (often maltheistic)

The Red Gheen are the largest of the three main Gheen lineages, and have ruled as the unchallenged masters of the Red Depths for as long as history has been recorded.  Myths tell of the Gheen arriving from beyond the World's Edge in ancient times, but this may be pure fiction.  The Gheen of the Red Depths refer to their home as the 'Pure Land,' and occasionally to themselves as the 'Pure Gheen' to distinguish themselves from Red Gheen speaking populations in other regions.  They are the most monarchical of Gheen cultures, with nearly every Red Gheen drey ruled by a formal Queen ('reeya').

Though nearly all Gheen believe in the immortality of one's blood through one's descendents, Red Gheen tend to place more emphasis in ancestor-worship, believing that their past relatives are not only present in their blood but capable of exerting power and granting favors in the physical world.  Many Red Gheen practice drinking the blood of recently deceased family members and ancestors to strengthen their familial power, and in some dreys the flesh is ritually consumed as well, particularly if the dead Gheen has no direct descendents.

The Red Gheen have traditionally considered commerce to be a degrading activity and in recent centuries have delegated this role to aliens, particularly Umbril and Tahro.  Powerful Red Gheen families often form patron-client relationships with alien communities to act as merchants and intermediaries with other alien groups, but seldom deign to live among aliens themselves.

The Red Gheen are politically divided between those who are under the dominion of the Yrtan Empire and those who are not.  Dreys part of or sympathetic to the World-Queen's empire are likely to be much less tolerant of aliens, but are not culturally distinct from dreys not under her control.

Black Gheen
Territory: The City of Orpiment, some dreys in inner Vinetrough, elsewhere on the Black Circle
Language: Perchtalk
Religion: Various cults, many Umbril-influenced

The Black Gheen are a small community of Gheen of uncertain lineage living on the edge of the Black Circle, particularly in the City of Orpiment (where they make up more than a quarter of the population) and a few clusters of dreys at the confluence of the Cogsteeth, Vinetrough, and the Obsidian Plain.  They are descended from Gheen who came to the foothills of Ajen territory in the middle Age of Prophets, but it is unclear whether they settled voluntarily or were taken there as slaves, or where they originally came from.  Their language isn't mutually intelligible with any other Gheen tongue, though it bears some similarities to both Red Gheen and Shield Gheen languages.  The Black Gheen themselves claim they are a 'fourth branch' of the race, though no other Gheen recognize this as fact.

The Black Gheen have historically been closely aligned with the Ajen-Umbril.  They aided the Golden Principality in the Cities' War and Greythorn destroyed some of their dreys in Vinetrough in retaliation.  Since the growth of the Circle trade, they have begun to spread to other Black Circle cities.  They are known for having some of the best khauta fliers in the world, and have a keen mercantile, political, and cultural rivalry with the Gheen of the Rookery.

Though they are named for the Black Circle, it is sometimes said the name also describes their outlook - they are stereotypically described as a fatalistic and morbid people, and it is true that the death-goddess Iseecha (also called 'Grandmother Jet-Eyes' or the 'Queen of the Void') is far and away the most important and widespread deity among them.  This quality is generally exaggerated, however, and they are nearly as favorably inclined towards riotous religious celebrations as most other Gheen.

Peregrine Gheen
Territory: Unclock Sea of Ink, outer Cogsteeth
Language: Red Gheen
Religion: Ancestor worship, various public cults (often maltheistic)

The Peregrine Gheen are descended from Red Gheen colonists that journeyed through Gearfall during the Recentering to make new lives for themselves in the Sea of Ink, of which only rumors were known at the time.  The original settlers were largely from weak or marginalized families in the Red Depths.  For the most part, they share their culture and language with the rest of the Red Gheen, but two hundred years of isolation from the Pure Land have caused some deviation.

Because of the low number of original settler families and the danger of this uncivilized land, the Peregrine Gheen consolidated themselves early on into a number of 'domains' in which a cluster of dreys is ruled by a single Queen.  Over the last hundred years the number of such domains has varied between 15 and 18, with a handful of dreys existing outside this system.  For the most part, the domains coexist peacefully, but some ongoing violent feuds do exist.

Syani Gheen
Territory: Clawed Thicket, outer Wyrmcrown, clockwise Sea of Ink
Language: Chalice Gheen variants
Religion: Maltheistic public cults, the Cult of the Forest Martyr

The Syani Gheen are one of the three descendant peoples of the Chalice Gheen, whose homeland was largely overrun by the Mosswaste in late Antiquity.  Under the leadership of the legendary queen La'at Syani, this branch of the Chalice Gheen crossed the Seven Antlers and settled in the Clawed Thicket.  Since then they have expanded their range and begun to settle the high forest of the Sea of Ink.

Because the Clawed Thicket is not a high forest region (the environment that Gheen prefer), the Syani Gheen have had to adapt to living closer to the forest floor.  Their dreys tend to be smaller and more dense to provide additional protection against predators and aliens, and some are low enough that the residents also build several concentric palisades on the ground around their settlement.  A few communities have adopted the Tahr practice of using ruins as habitations, though they tend to seal up most of the doors and window entrances of a ruin to prevent any entry save through the roof.

The Syani have a chilly relationship with the Analectic Iskites of the Clawed Thicket; they do trade and communicate, but also war with each other frequently.  They get along better with the Tahro of the Outlands, with whom they often ally against the scales.

Lost Flock
Territory: Chalicewood, the Seven Antlers
Language: Chalice Gheen variants
Religion: Aras Tay worship

The Lost Flock are one of the three descendant peoples of the Chalice Gheen.  Unlike their cousins, they chose to remain in their homeland despite the encroachment of the Peril, though most of them have been forced up into the mountain valleys of the Seven Antlers.  They call themselves 'the Faithful,' as they alone refused to leave their homeland entirely.  They have almost no contact with the rest of the world and very little is known about them.  In recent years, a handful of raids by 'wild Gheen' on Iskite settlements in the outer Scalemount have been documented, attributed to Lost Flock bands seeking iron, lodestones, or other goods.

The Lost Flock is primarily a society of nomads.  Some permanent dreys do exist, but staying still for long in the Chalicewood often attracts the attention of the Abominations of the Peril.  They do not rely on seasonal camps like the Tahro, for fear that these could become traps, but higher up in the mountains the Peril is less of a threat and some groups do return to the same sites regularly.

The religion of the Lost Flock has lost most of its gods.  Over the centuries has been pared down to only two real deities - the Peril, which is the enemy of all life, and the Aras Tay, who are all considered to be avatars of a single great being.  It is rumored among the Iskites of Scalemount that the Lost Flock actually communicates with the Aras Tay, and that their shamans can call these otherworldly creatures to carry them or fight for them.

Indigo Gheen
Territory: Netai Archipelago, inner/clockwise Netai coast
Language: Chalice Gheen variants, Indigo Speech
Religion: Public cults, often maltheistic, with some Umbril-influenced deities

The Indigo Gheen, also called Netai Gheen or Inembran Gheen, are the smallest of the three descendant peoples of the Chalice lineage.  The ancestors of the Indigo Gheen left Chalicewood to settle near the outer edge of the Sea of Netai, but many migrated into the Watzash and the inner edge of the sea as the Mosswaste continued to expand.  Most of their dreys were annihilated during the Recentering, and for a generation it was believed that this branch of the Chalice Gheen had become extinct.  Survivors, however, had fled into the Chalklands, and began to migrate back towards the Netai coast and the isles themselves in the late first century of the modern era.

Most of their number who came to the isles settled on the two islands that make up the city of Inembran, a member of the Netai Confederation.  These Gheen have been faithful allies of the Confederation since its founding.  Their numbers were again reduced dramatically by the Scourge, but those that survived in the isles joined the Evne rebels in toppling the Green Principality and defeating the forces of the Oranid restoration.  Most Indigo Gheen learn the Evne language and several aspects of the Evne religion have been adopted into their own practices.

Though decimated repeatedly in their history, the Indigo Gheen have been recovering rapidly since the Scourge Crisis and spreading along the Netai coast, where many live in Evne-inspired ground settlements on easily defensible isles or peninsulas.  By way of the Rainbow Road trade route, many Indigo Gheen have established themselves abroad, from the Grove of Tranquility to inner Scalemount, making reputations for themselves as excellent flyers, guides, and traders.  In the isles, they are also famous - and a bit feared - for the exploits of The Last, an Indigo Gheen 'suicide squad' of the First Netai War.  Having lost their families to the Scourge, the Last painted themselves white and threw themselves fearlessly into dozens of battles against the Oranids.  Fewer than one in twenty survived the war.  These heroes are revered by the Indigo Gheen, whose warriors have painted their faces white in battle ever since.

Shield Gheen
Territory: The Skyshield, the Rookery
Language: Shield Gheen
Religion: Maltheistic public cults

The Shield Gheen are the second largest of the three great lineages of the Gheen race, and have lived in the high forest of the Skyshield as long as any can recall.  They sometimes refer to their land as the 'Heart of the Forest,' and may call themselves 'Heartland' or 'Heart's Blood' Gheen.

The Shield Gheen are the most homogenous of the three lineages.  The 'default' Gheen culture described in the CJ article on Gheen is Shield Gheen culture, and their attitudes and customs are described there.  In recent years, however, there has been a cultural schism growing between the Gheen of the central and outer Skyshield and those living near the edge of the Black Circle, who are influenced by foreign and alien customs and ideas that travel along with goods on the Circle route.  The Rookery, an integral part of the route, has even developed its own specific dialect (called Rooktalk) that includes many alien terms, and this speech has spread to many other Circle dreys.  In future generations the Shield Gheen may find themselves divided into two cultural spheres, one maintaining its 'pure' traditions and the other incorporating an alien world into its customs, languages, and beliefs.

Idakym Gheen
Territory: The Ninefold Vale
Langauge: Idakymi
Religion: Maltheistic public cults

The Idakym Gheen are Shield Gheen who traveled outwise into the Ninefold vale thousands of years ago.  They no longer have any contact with the Skyshield Gheen and their language has developed into a completely different one in that time.

According to Skyshield legend, the Idakym Gheen were founded by a band of Gheen males who no longer wished to live under female dominance.  This myth is not very credible even when one ignores the most obvious problem of how a group without females would be able to found a new community.  The story likely derives from the fact that Idakym Gheen society is indeed unusually favorable to males compared to other Gheen cultures; while inheritance and family are still traced through the female line and females still exercise authority within the family, the drey itself is considered to be a male institution over which groups of males from all the drey's families preside.  Priestesses (and thus Queens) are still female, but virtually no Queen among the Idakym has any political function, serving solely as the drey's high priestess.  Many Idakym dreys elect a High Consort, the Queen's mate and political leader of the drey.  Only males (and usually only those with grandchildren) participate in such elections.

The Idakym, who live in dreys similar to those of the Syani, have no consistent relations with their Vars-Umbril neighbors.  Sometimes the dreys and colonies get along well, and sometimes they don't.  The Idakym Gheen find it difficult to prevail against the warlike Vars and their fortified colonies and seldom provoke a fight with the Umbril even when relations are cold.  They are less restrained towards the few Mangal Iskites who live in the region; the Iskites lorded over the Idakym during the Age of Prophets, which the Idakym repaid with a decades-long genocidal war as soon as the diviners were undone.  The Iskite population in the Ninefold Vale has yet to recover.  More than a hundred years later, members of the two races will still attack one another on sight, and may not check first to see if the interloper is actually a local.

Work still progressing here, and if so, upon what areas are you focusing in the immediate future? 

Also, I sent you a pm, Polycarp.  Not sure if you regularly drop in and check them or if anyone knows a better way to contact the mad-genius architect of CJ.

Quote from: DialexisWork still progressing here, and if so, upon what areas are you focusing in the immediate future?

I've been on hiatus for a few months because of family issues.  I haven't made much progress on the setting in that time, but neither have I abandoned it; the timing just hasn't been right for me recently.  Hopefully I will be able to write more and contribute more to the CBG community in the near future.

Dialexis, I sent you a response, though obviously a it's bit later than you probably hoped!  Send me an email as I mentioned and we'll talk.

Though I have a few things in the works, I decided that it would be best to finish the racial maps before moving on to another area.  It's actually quite helpful to know exactly where the four races live, and will help me a great deal when detailing regions, locations, and settlements.  Today's map belongs to the Tahro, and I'll finish up with the Umbril (hopefully) sometime later this week.

I don't want to make too many promises about updates, but I will tell you what's currently in the works.  Most of this stuff I have drafts of, but either haven't finished parts of them or simply haven't polished them enough to be worthy yet.

• The Golden Principality, the Ajen, and the Hearth of Sagacity
• The Kaj of the Empty Walls, the most famous of Breath-schools
• Gearfall, the Cult of the Great Machine, and an albino Iskite aristocracy (!)
• A somewhat esoteric essay on literacy and scripts

Also, I need to devote some time to editing this thread - not all my syntax came through the forum transition unscathed.  The wiki also needs some updates to get in synch with the thread, particularly the Language page.

Lastly before the feature, I thought I'd give a shout-out to a group of people on Dicefreaks who have actually been running a CJ game on IRC!  Dialexis, a.k.a. Lost Scribe, has been adapting Pathfinder to the setting.  They've been kind enough to put up some chatlogs that you can read here (http://dicefreaks.superforums.org/viewtopic.php?f=86&t=3684&sid=a096f6ff212cd895ba7d880015a492f2).  I'm really impressed and can't wait for the next installment!

Anyway, here come the Tahro.  As befits their nomadic ways, they're a people on the move, with many of their current inhabited regions only settled within the last few hundred years.  In several areas they're on the retreat, either from the Mosswaste or alien enemies, but as a people they're survivors - a tribe can always move on.  You'll notice that they're more widespread than the Gheen, but perhaps not as much as the Iskites.  In part this is because Iskites expand as a matter of policy, while the Tahro tend to only seek out a new home when their old one has been taken from them.


Cultures are listed in physical order, starting with the big tan blob at the bottom and moving clockwise.

Uncolored areas aren't necessarily Tahro-free, but they are definitely not a significant race in such areas, and any bloods found there are likely to be highly isolated and possessing of very unique cultures and traditions that reflect that distance from a greater community identity.

Outland Tahro
Territory: Unclock Seven Antlers, Clawed Thicket, outer Wyrmcrown
Language: Seekers' Chant
Religion: Incarnation Cult, Aras Tay worship

The Outland Tahro, or "Seeking Tahro," are a group of Tahro who live outwise of the Pass of Thorns.  Scholars are divided on whether they are native to the Clawed Thicket or, like the Kalath, refugees from the fall of Chalicewood who migrated over the Seven Antlers instead of inwise into the Sekah.

Outland Tahro are a scattered group who occupy the land quite thinly.  They share the Clawed Thicket with Iskites, Gheen, and Umbril, but do not often interact with the settled peoples, preferring to limit contact to local merchant-pioneers.  Over the centuries there has been a continuous flow of Outland bloods through the Pass of Thorns; most of these bloods now fall within the sphere of Kengal and have merged their families and cultures with the Kalath.

There exist many legends about the Outland Tahro traversing the boundary of the Known World.  Among some bloods, there exists a custom called "the stride" in which an individual sets off alone beyond the Outer Circle in search of a physical communion with the world of spirits.  The Outland Tahro believe that in some places, largely beyond the Known World, the land of spirits can be physically accessed.  Some striders do return, some claiming to have reached this mystic destination.  It is theorized that the Outland Tahro, having lived so long at the periphery of the Grandmother Mountain's influence, have developed a stronger pseudomagnetic sense than most Tahro and may be able to keep their bearings for some distance beyond the world's edge.

Kengal Tahro
Territory: Clockwise Wyrmcrown, clockwise Vinetrough, inner Clawed Thicket, Scalemount
Language: Kalath languages, Seekers' Chant
Religion: Incarnation Cult

The Kengal Tahro include the largest true "tribe" of Tahro, meaning a group of bloods that all use the same Red Camp – in this case, Szalk Kengal in the foothills of the Wyrmcrown.  As the center of a cultural sphere, however, the influence of Kengal extends to may bloods who only occasionally or rarely ever travel to Kengal for the Great Conclave, but who nonetheless interact with and are influenced by bloods of the Kengal tribe on a regular basis.

Kengal represents the fusion of two Tahr cultural traditions, that of the Kalath and the "Seeking Tahro" of the Outlands.  The Great Conclave's most profound effect has been the weaving together of these traditions over hundreds of years.  Though languages of both families are spoken amongst the Kengal Tahro, the bloods of Kengal consider themselves to have a shared identity, and their ancestral stories – the touchstones of Tahr culture and traditional values – are also shared each year at the Conclave.

The Kengal Tahro generally enjoy good relations with their alien neighbors, though their sympathy for the Kalathoon Tahro of the Netai sparked conflict between Kengal and the Iskites of Scalemount.  Many bloods raided Iskite caravans and border villages in the low-level "War of the Road," but since the end of the Netai Wars this violence has largely disappeared.

The Tahro of Kengal are the most technologically advanced of the Tahr cultures owing to the great size of their annual conclave and their longstanding trade relations with the Iskites of Scalemount.  They maintain their own metalworking facilities in the vicinity of Szalk Kengal and employ more iron in tools, weapons, and armor than most tribes throughout the forest.

Kalath Tahro
Territory: The Sekah (the borderland between Scalemount and the Netai), Chalklands, unclock Skyshield
Language: Kalath languages
Religion: Incarnation Cult, some alien-influenced cults in the Netai and near the Black Circle

The Kalath Tahro originate from the high forest outside the Sea of Netai, which is now the Mosswaste.  The expansion of the Saffron Peril over the last thousand years drove their bloods to the coast of the Sea of Indigo, and from there into the Sekah.  From there, the Kalath bloods divided into two major groups; one group moved unclockwise into the Scalemount and became the Kengal Tahro, while the other moved further inward into the Chalklands and the region surrounding the Grove of Tranquility.  In the modern era, their descendants can be found as far as the Skyshield.

Kalath Tahro claim an extremely old lineage; "Kalath" itself means "the first."  Throughout their history, they have maintained their identity in alien-dominated lands by being even more strictly traditionalist than other Tahr cultures.  While they are respectful of aliens and cooperate with them often, most Kalath bloods spurn any adoption of foreign ideas and often have strict rules about the kind of goods they will accept from merchants – things decorated with "foreign" motifs or religious art, and anything considered too "alien" are unacceptable.  Exceptions to this rule do exist, however, particularly among the Confederation Tahro of Kalathoon and the Tahr residents of the Grove of Tranquility, who are more integrated with alien culture (particularly Umbril) with each passing generation.  The Kalath Tahro are seen by some to be a culture approaching a schism, with the more cosmopolitan bloods of Netai and the Black Circle drifting away from the hidebound and isolationist tribes in and around the Chalklands.  These latter tribes refer to themselves as the Marou, or "faithful" Tahro.

Mudfoot Tahro
Territory: The Great Mire, unclock Chokereed
Language: Guthulath
Religion: Incarnation Cult with substantial Ivetzivenid influence, Cult of Imauwr

The "Mudfeet" have resided in the swampy forests of the Great Mire for as long as history has been written.  They are numerous but thinly spread upon the land, with each tribe returning to a series of seasonal camps that have been in continual use for thousands of years.  They have developed largely in isolation from other Tahr cultures, but in close contact with the Nevir Umbril who share their homeland.

The Mudfoot Tahro are in some ways a very primitive Tahr culture – they have no knowledge of metallurgy, with Cogsteel being essentially the only metal in use among them.  They do, however, maintain the most developed seasonal camps of any Tahr culture.  Because the same camps have been in use for such a long time, most of them feature some permanent structures (or at least permanent enough to withstand the Forest until the next season in which they are inhabited).  Some are based around ruins, as is typical, but many were made by the Tahro themselves, who in Antiquity sunk massive stones into the marsh to create permanent piles on which raised camps of reeds and branches can be quickly constructed.  It is still unclear how such large stones were moved over the marshlands.

The Mudfoot Tahro have adopted many Umbril cultural practices, including a love of poetry, the art of sculpture, advanced knowledge of herbalism, and the cultivation and use of psychoactive plants.  Many bloods worship deities obviously derived from the facets of Ivetziven (and for their part, many of the Mire Umbril have adopted the doctrine of reincarnation).  The colonies and bloods of the Mire tend to get along well, though conflict sometimes develops over Imauwr, the "Night Wreath," an Elder Wyrm that inhabits this land.  The Umbril generally despise her as deeply as many bloods revere her, and this has occasionally led to violent religious conflict.  The Mudfoot Tahro tend to be an especially religious and superstitious people, attributing nearly everything to subtle divine influence and committing themselves to numerous daily rituals and prayers to secure the favor of the divine world.

The dialects of the Mudfoot Tahro, collectively known as "Guthulath," are distantly related to the Kalath languages.  It is theorized that the two cultures share a common origin in distant Antiquity.

Black Blood
Territory: Outer Chokereed
Language: Black Chant
Religion: River worship

The Tahro of the Black Blood are an isolated and little-understood branch of the race that lives in the upper reaches of the Chokereed.  They are known primarily for their riparian lifestyle (many of their migrations are made by raft) and their violent isolationism – foreigners and aliens are unwelcome in their lands and often attacked immediately.

The Chokereed and its tributaries change their course so often that permanent camps are untenable.  The Black Blood Tahro appear to make their camps wherever shelter and food can be found, and drift all over the region over the course of the year.  They have no proper Red Camps and do not seem to observe the Rainbow Calendar at all, instead having impromptu conclaves whenever several bloods share the same territory.  They are largely ignorant of modern technology, but are very skilled boatmen.

The Black Blood have their own language, usually called the Black Chant.  Though many assume they are a branch of the Mudfoot Tahro, their language bears no apparent similarities to Guthulath or Kalath languages.  Their origin is ultimately uncertain.

The religious practices of the Black Blood are only poorly understood by outsiders, but are largely based around the Chokereed itself, which is understood as a divine entity in the same manner as the Forest itself.  The river is both a physically present deity and a metaphor for the journey of the spirit, which is believed to be linear rather than cyclical.

Well Tribe
Territory: Clockwise Skyshield, Unclock Wash, communities on the Black Circle
Langauge: Well Tahr
Religion: Incarnation Cult, other local and alien cults

As an actual tribe, the Well Tribe is limited to those Tahro who utilize the city of Koldon's well as their Red Camp and those who reside there permanently.  More broadly, however, the "Well Tribe" is used to refer to Tahro who lie within the Well's cultural sphere, including much of the Tahr population of the Black Circle and numerous bloods who make their migrations further outwise in the Wash borderlands or deeper into the Skyshield.  Trade, language, and inheritance link the various tribes of this sphere even though only a minority ever visit the Well itself.

The Well Tribe descends from bloods who migrated out of the Wash during the Recentering, who themselves were relatives of what is now the Banished Blood.  Their speech and customs are marked by a high level of Ussik and Umbril influence, both from their time in the Wash and their present status as a virtual protectorate of White Lotus.  The Tahro of Skyshield have adopted more Gheen terminology into their language, allowing a fluent listener to guess a Tahr's origin based on the ratio of Washtongue to Shield Gheen words.

The Well Tahro are generally regarded as the most open, inquisitive, and cosmopolitan of their species.  Even bloods that live relatively far from the Black Circle usually have regular contact with local Gheen, Iskites, and Umbril, and typically have some involvement in the lesser caravan routes that branch off the Circle to serve more remote communities.  They are also one of the most cohesive of Tahr cultures, and formed a military union in the recent past to defeat an attempt by a league of Gheen dreys to reclaim the Well for themselves.  Though not a large population, they are well represented among Tahr adventurers and journeymen.

Banished Blood
Territory: Clockwise Wash, unclock Whitefen
Language: Dalhath
Religion: Incarnation Cult, various martyrdom cults

The Banished Blood, once known as the Dalhath Tahro, is composed of the remnants of the once thriving Tahr community of Feathervale.  Distantly related to the Well Tahro (who emigrated from the Wash during the recentering), the Dalhath lived in the clockwise reaches of the Great Basin for thousands of years until the rise of Auk Yrta Su'u, called the World-Queen, to the throne of Sarmyk.  The Dalhath violently resisted the efforts of her Yrtan Empire to displace them from their ancestral lands, but were ultimately defeated.

The Banished Blood now survives in scattered communities in the Wash and the edges of Whitefen, where they are out of Yrta Su'u's reach.  They have become an especially militarized culture over the last few years, and it is considered the duty of every tribe to make raids into Feathervale to harry and harass the World-Queen's followers in the hope of eventually contributing to her overthrow.  A sizable number live in Ussik and Umbril communities in the Wash, having sworn to give up their traditional lifestyle until their homeland is redeemed.

The loss of their homeland has affected the Dalhath deeply, and this is reflected in their faith, which has moved towards a doctrinal embrace of vendetta and warfare.  Bands of (usually male) Tahro have forsaken or modified traditional beliefs and formed so-called "death cults," whose practices vary but usually involve the belief that martyrdom for their people is the only means of finding true guidance in the world of spirits.  These cults may exist within larger Tahr society, or break off and pursue a life of guerilla war in Yrtan dominions until the whole group is annihilated.

Ardaun Tahro
Territory: The Red Depths
Language: Dalhath, Ardaun
Religion: Incarnation Cult

The Ardaun ("old roots") are the "native" Tahro of the Red Depths.  The legends of the Red Gheen, who dominate this territory, hold that the Tahro existed here even before the Gheen themselves.  Originally, the Ardaun were one of the most widespread Tahr cultures, inhabiting nearly all of the Red Depths and Gearfall.  They were forced from most of Gearfall by the Szelsh invasion during Antiquity, and have more recently emigrated from unclock areas of the Red Depths that have fallen under the World-Queen's control.

The Ardaun have a very old relationship with the Red Gheen.  Bloods have played the roles of mercenaries, arbitrators, merchants, and laborers for various Gheen dreys and royal houses for thousands of years.  They often compete with the native Umbril in the arena of trade, as the Red Gheen generally consider mercantile activity beneath their dignity.  When not acting in some sort of contractual capacity with the Gheen, however, the Ardaun largely keep to themselves.  They have a long history of conflict with the Szelsh Iskites, who originally drove them from Gearfall, and have provided the main obstacle to continued Iskite expansion into the Red Depths.

The Ardaun have welcomed some of the Banished Blood into their territory, but are overall suspicious of the vengeful zeal of their kin – the Ardaun are no strangers to being expelled from ancestral lands and see turning back the clock as folly.  They have so far resisted the Dalhath Tahro's calls for all-out war with the Yrtan Empire for fear that such a conflict could jeopardize their relationship with the rest of the Red Gheen.  The Ardaun are notoriously cautious, requiring numerous Patriarchal summits and conclaves to enact tribe-wide decisions of any weight.  If the World-Queen's domain continues to expand, however, they may be left with no choice but to act.

Maw Tahro
Territory: The Maw, unclock Sea of Ink
Language: Maw Tahr languages
Religion: Various

As with the other populations of this isolated land, the Maw Tahro have had little exposure to the outside world since Antiquity.  Their languages, faiths, and customs vary substantially from one valley to another, and few blanket statements can be made about them with any accuracy, though most of their languages are clearly related to the tongue of the Ardaun.

The Maw Tahro are probably best known for being xenophages – they hunt Iskites for food.  This has, unsurprisingly, made the Iskites of the Maw their mortal enemies, and many villages in the Maw will kill a Tahr on sight, Maw or not.  The Maw Tahro have a closer relationship with the Umbril, though it is nothing like the relationship between Tahro and Umbril in the Great Mire.

Maw Tahro have occasionally been found outside their homeland.  Bloods have been known to cross Whitefen and raid Ussik settlements, and in recent years bloods speaking Maw Tahr tongues have been found in the Sea of Ink, which is mostly unexplored even today.  Some theorize that pressure from the Maw Iskites, now supported by the metal and weaponry of the Szelsh "uplift," has forced Maw bloods to migrate over the snow-capped mountains into the Outlands.

I've had an article on the Golden Principality and the Ajen-Umbril in the works for many months, and I've finally finished it.  I'm too tired to do my usual double-check right now, so please excuse any errors.  The feature, as usual, is in the third post of the first page of this thread.  I'm really excited about it - the Ajen were a really interesting bunch to try to get a hang of, and hopefully they'll provide a first look at how a specific culture can differ from the four races in general and the Umbril norm in particular.  The Principality is a big part of the Black Circle setting and something any PCs in that region would likely have to deal with, whether they're doing a job for a Golden Ring merchant, forging over the mountains into the exotic land of the Maw, seeking answers in the labyrinthine Hearth of Sagacity, or getting themselves caught up in the business of Ajen slavers.

In other news, I've recently been trading reviews with Sarisa, who has been extraordinarily patient with me despite my less than punctual behavior over the Christmas season.  I recommend that you check out Over Under (http://www.thecbg.org/index.php/topic,208565.0.html), his campaign setting, once you get tired of my endless forestry and decide you'd prefer an eccentric urban adventure in the city of towers.

A pretty interesting read. I liked the vale with the cairn bats and animal cogs - creepy yet fascinating. The Ajen "families" have a subtle mafia vibe to them.

Our recent IRC games have provided me with some crunch inspiration, perhaps the first of its kind to directly encounter the Clockwork Jungle setting.  User Lost Scribe over on Dicefreaks was running a Clockwork Jungle game using his own house-ruled adaptation of Pathfinder.  Though his game ended more quickly than I had hoped, I was intrigued by the information and stats he produced (aside from the great chatlogs, of course), particularly because 3rd edition D&D is something I am very familiar with.

Since playing in Steerpike's Fimbulvinter and Horse's Haveneast games, I've come to a better understanding of the Pathfinder system, and I've decided it would be worthwhile to continue where Lost Scribe started and produce a heavily customized version of Pathfinder for the Clockwork Jungle.

CJ did originally start as a d20 setting; I turned away from that because I did not find the world I wanted to build to be compatible with the system as written.  The fact that I'm working on "CJ:PF" does not mean I've changed my mind on this, or that I believe Pathfinder is the best system for CJ.  Rather, I have selected Pathfinder because it is a system I know well (through 3rd ed) and because it builds off a base of information already established by Lost Scribe.  As a well-known system both here on the CBG and the wider gaming community, I feel it's a system I stand to get better and more experienced feedback on.  I am mindful of Vreeg's maxim about settings changing to meet the system, and to that end I am keeping the fluff of CJ totally separate from the Pathfinder crunch.  I have established a new wiki "domain" for CJ:PF articles which run parallel to the fluff CJ articles - they have few links between them and you can clearly tell which "track" you are on by the sidebar.

This is not going to be a quick and easy process.  It involves coming up with a Breath-based magic system unlike anything in Pathfinder, as well as mostly-new classes to reflect the archetypes of the typical CJ adventurer.  Perhaps ironically, the task may be slightly easier than expected simply because of how much I'm gutting - after ripping out all divine and arcane magic, for instance, I no longer have to worry about balancing the Breath system against other magic systems, the situation that has plagued psionics since its introduction.

The ultimate goal of this process is to finish a workable draft of the CJ:PF rules and play a game with them.  How long that will take is something I can only guess at, but I've been pushing ahead on the Breath magic system.  You can check out everything I've been working on right here (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php/Clockwork_Jungle:_Pathfinder), though please note that not all the sidebar links are functional yet.  I appreciate any feedback you'd like to give, though as usual I'd prefer it in this thread rather than on various wiki discussion pages.

Thanks folks!

Was looking over your wiki article on Channeling, since it sounds like that might pose the biggest problem for your conversion (although doing the races is probably pretty central to doing a good CJ->PF conversion).

I'm assuming you want to do a Channeler class. That said, incorporating the First Discipline into a feat would make sense in regard to otherwise non-channeling adventurers taking it. Since there is some overlap, I would probably make Endurance a prerequisite.
The first level in Channeler should thus give the player Endurance and First Discipline as feats. I don't think either of these are going to be so powerful that a player would wish to take that level just to get those, but that depends a lot on the balancing. I also think that a player should choose his Path at level 1. These should probably be designed like wizard schools, sorcerer bloodlines, or cleric domains in that the Channeler should get some minor additional benefits from them. Especially considering that all paths but the final one limit the Channeler discipline-wise.

This system is probably ill-suited for a plethora of spells, so I'd make something more akin to the Warlock with a few limited powers that can be used often. Maybe add a pool mechanic.
Is Breath a finite resource or can the Channeler keep performing his supernatural feats forever?

I believe Tahro get Endurance feat for free at the moment.

Could you please give a link to the Dicefreak games? (Edit- found... Oct 14th post had the link)

Good luck with the system establishment!

Quote from: PolycarpI am keeping the fluff of CJ totally separate from the Pathfinder crunch.

In your write-ups, maybe you are, but by assigning crunch to the game, in the actual gameplay (which will be the main way most players experience the setting) you are making assertions that have mechanical ramifications. For example, you have created four very interesting races, but by assigning them a lot of racial traits, you are making the choice of which race to play a mechanical one as well as a theme-oriented one. Players who want to create an optimized character are thus going to find their choice of races curtailed, and, given their uniqueness, to me that is a shame. I'm not saying "make everyone the same," of course, but right now you're pretty much ruling out Gheen Fighters or Iskite Sorcerers-- or whatever you end up calling the classes-- and to me that feels like a net loss.

sparkletwist's point has some validity, but it's a problem that always afflicts d20 games with races.  I would maintain, however, that some of the above statements aren't quite true.  For example, sparkle, you say that no one would make a Gheen Fighter, presumably due to their strength penalty.  I disagree - no one is going to make a Gheen front-line melee tank Fighter, but that's partly because Gheen, as a species, are really ill-suited to that role.  What you could make, though, is a dextrous, nimble Fighter with weapon finesse or a focus on ranged weapons - a Fighter who devotes their bonus feats to Precise Shot and Point Blank shot instead of Cleave and Power Attack, who emphasizes having a high AC and a high ranged to-hit over high damage or hp.  Such Fighters might well mix in some Rogue or Ranger levels.  My point is that saying no one will make a Gheen Fighter misses the flexibility of the Fighter class, which while perhaps archetypally a burly front-line warrior in heavy armour isn't necessarily so.

EDIT: the Iskites-can't-be-sorcerers thing has more validity but there's an incredibly easy fix - just give Iskites the ability to cast from Wisdom instead of Charisma.  Problem solved.  Call it "Iskite Priesthood" or something.  This could also be a feat.

Quote from: Superfluous CrowI'm assuming you want to do a Channeler class. That said, incorporating the First Discipline into a feat would make sense in regard to otherwise non-channeling adventurers taking it. Since there is some overlap, I would probably make Endurance a prerequisite.

Actually, I'd been originally trying to avoid a Channeler class, but I may end up doing it anyway.  I'd like channeling to be something that every character might consider taking, even if they're primarily a combat or socially-focused character, but making First Discipline available to all classes while restricting proper discipline-based channeling to one or more classes might be a more straightforward way to accomplish that.  I  agree with regards to Endurance; as Llum mentioned, Endurance is currently a bonus feat for Tahr characters, but those racial statistics are drawn straight from Lost Scribe's work with minimal alteration on my part and I have no qualms about rearranging them as needed.

QuoteThe first level in Channeler should thus give the player Endurance and First Discipline as feats. I don't think either of these are going to be so powerful that a player would wish to take that level just to get those, but that depends a lot on the balancing. I also think that a player should choose his Path at level 1. These should probably be designed like wizard schools, sorcerer bloodlines, or cleric domains in that the Channeler should get some minor additional benefits from them. Especially considering that all paths but the final one limit the Channeler discipline-wise.

This is making be think that I should increase the "tiers" of understanding the breath from two to three.  As it stands, there are two ways that characters understand and use the Breath - A) Unconsciously, and B) Consciously.  Most characters understand that the Breath exists but "use" it only subconsciously, when they exert themselves to accomplish great feats.  When a character spends a breath point to give themselves a bonus on a roll, for instance - something that any character (and every NPC and almost every monster) can do - this is not a conscious act on the character's part.  A Channeler is distinguished in that he perceives the Breath consciously, and thus can use it in more advanced and complex ways; he does this by understanding the Breath via a particular Path.

The problem this creates is that you can't channel without a Path; even First Discipline forms are consciously used and thus require a Path.  As it stands, I can't both make Paths channeler-only while letting other characters use First Discipline forms.

I could, however, expand the levels of awareness of the Breath to three, in that there could be a level of semi-conscious understanding in between "everyday" unconscious Breath use and proper Channeling, in which a character had a rudimentary understanding of the Breath that allowed the use of First Discipline forms but did not require a formal Path, thus limiting Paths to the true channeling classes.  It's worth a thought, at least.

QuoteThis system is probably ill-suited for a plethora of spells, so I'd make something more akin to the Warlock with a few limited powers that can be used often. Maybe add a pool mechanic.

I'm going to have to look into the warlock, then, because I don't know anything about it.  My understanding is that it hasn't been "formally" converted for Pathfinder.

QuoteIs Breath a finite resource or can the Channeler keep performing his supernatural feats forever?

For lower-level forms that require no upfront cost of Breath, it is effectively infinite as long as you don't mind occasionally failing, because you can always choose to not spend a breath point if you fail the Channeling check to initiate it and try again next round or whatever.  If you are in a critical or combat situation, this may not be a good idea, forcing you to expend breath points when you fail as to not waste time sputtering about doing nothing for precious rounds.  Higher-level forms with high DCs or that require up-front spending of breath points are finite over the course of a day, because you will eventually run out of breath points to spend.

If you mean over a long-term period, they are infinite, in the same way that a Sorcerer's magic is infinite over the course of his lifetime.

Quote from: SparkletwistIn your write-ups, maybe you are, but by assigning crunch to the game, in the actual gameplay (which will be the main way most players experience the setting) you are making assertions that have mechanical ramifications. For example, you have created four very interesting races, but by assigning them a lot of racial traits, you are making the choice of which race to play a mechanical one as well as a theme-oriented one. Players who want to create an optimized character are thus going to find their choice of races curtailed, and, given their uniqueness, to me that is a shame. I'm not saying "make everyone the same," of course, but right now you're pretty much ruling out Gheen Fighters or Iskite Sorcerers-- or whatever you end up calling the classes-- and to me that feels like a net loss.

Well, that's certainly a valid concern, but I'm not sure how I would go about addressing it.  The four races are different and will inevitably have different strengths and weaknesses when expressed in a gaming system, and players who are in a mood to do so will inevitably find a way to maximize one strategy or another.  I care about balance and not making obvious sub-optimal character choices, but even the fluff supports the conclusion that a Tahr warrior will probably crush a Gheen warrior on an otherwise equal playing field.  The crunch may support that, but I don't think that's an innovation of the crunch.

Additionally, I don't think I feel quite as strongly as you that these races are "ruled out" quite yet.  While Gheen suffer from their smaller size and lower strength, there are positive combat attributes from small size, and their dexterity and mobility on the battlefield would seem to make them very competitive as either ranged combatants or skirmishers.  Likewise, while Iskites suffer a penalty to Charisma (which is the primary attribute of Channeling), they can make up for this by choosing a Channeling path that adds their Con or Int bonus to Channeling checks, since they receive bonuses to these attributes.  The Path feats need an overhaul right now, but my intention is that every channeler will have the potential to be on an equal footing with another channeler regardless of race via the selection of an appropriate Path feat.

You note specifically that having "a lot" of racial traits is a problematic choice.  I think that Lost Scribe took the approach of giving a crunch parallel to every attribute of the races that I described in fluff, and (to my observation, at least) had little concern as to the balance between them or the min-maxing potential created by it.  Do you think that reducing the amount of traits to an "essential few" would help avoid the pitfalls that you've raised as concerns?

Quote from: PolycarpYou note specifically that having "a lot" of racial traits is a problematic choice.  I think that Lost Scribe took the approach of giving a crunch parallel to every attribute of the races that I described in fluff, and (to my observation, at least) had little concern as to the balance between them or the min-maxing potential created by it.  Do you think that reducing the amount of traits to an "essential few" would help avoid the pitfalls that you've raised as concerns?

I'll just reiterate the suggestion I made on IRC, so that it's preserved for posterity. :)

What might actually be the most expedient approach for you is to figure out how your mechanics, particular rather complicated mechanics custom to your game like Channeling, are going to work in Pathfinder, and do so assuming just a "generic bonusless human" as an archetype. Then, maybe think about classes and feats. Finally, once you've got a much firmer grasp on how your game's mechanics work and how they've changed from base PF, to assign racial bonuses and abilities that complement the kinds of things that players would probably do with their characters using all those other rules you've created.

Let me say that I'm damn proficient at Pathfinder. They even let me write a bit o' it. ;)
I suggest you use the words of power variant system, but rather than accessing it through a class you devise a feat matrix (comparable perhaps to 3.5 ToB Iniator feats) that allows any character with the right prerequisite take the right channeling/WoP.

Nomadic and I were discussing the matter last week and I think we came to the conclusion that a feat-based system, rather than a skill-based one, was probably the way to go.  I wasn't aware of the words of power variant, though, so thank you for pointing me in that direction - I'll definitely check it out.

I've been vacillating on the issue continuously, but right now I'm leaning towards not having "spellcaster" classes per se, but perhaps having a few classes that give characters a head start on prerequisites towards channeling without forcing them to do that to make the class effective.  That seems well-suited for a feat-based system, but we'll see how it goes.

It's been a while - grad school really takes it out of me - but I intend to push forward with CJ this year.  I'm in the process of going through and editing some already-written stuff to get it ready to add to the thread and wiki, and it occurred to me that I never posted the last entry in my culture series, the Umbril.


Cultures are listed in physical order, starting with the largest purple blob and moving clockwise.

Uncolored areas aren't necessarily Umbril-free, but they are definitely not a significant race in such areas, and any colonies found there are likely to be highly isolated and possessing of very unique cultures and traditions that reflect that distance from a greater community identity.

Wash Nevir
Territory: The Wash, the Skyshield, unclock Whitefen
Language: Zivenid
Religion: Ivetzivenism, various local and alien cults

The Wash Nevir are the largest component of the "Great Web," the arc of Nevir-Umbril settlement that once spanned continuously from Gearfall to the Grand Mangal.  The Wash Nevir themselves believe their people and all Nevir (indeed, all Umbril) originated in the Wash, but "Wash Nevir" presently refers to all the Nevir colonies between Feathervale and the Chokereed.

The Wash Nevir, being the most numerous and widespread of their race, are the Umbril considered by most aliens to be "standard" or "normal."  The 'default' Umbril culture described in the article on Umbril is the Wash Nevir culture, and their society and habits are explained in more detail there.

There has been a steady differentiation ongoing between the Nevir of the Wash proper, who closely associate themselves with the Ussik, and the more recently settled colonies of the Skyshield that are more interested in the politics of the Black Circle and the Shield Gheen than the threat of the distant World-Queen or the provincial concerns of White Lotus and its Greenwash dependencies.

White Nevir
Territory: The Red Depths
Language: Zivenid
Religion: Ivetzivenism

The White Nevir (alternately "silver," "pale") are relatives of the Wash Nevir who migrated out of the Great Basin into the Red Depths and Gearfall.  "White" is a reference to an ancient Umbril system of assigning colors to cardinal directions, in which white was the color corresponding to outwise.  Like the Ardaun Tahro, they were largely driven out of Gearfall during the Szelsh invasion and have recently faced pressure in the opposite direction from the expansion of the Yrtan Empire.

The White Nevir have a long history of interdependence with the Red Gheen, which has resulted in the practice of "fareethi" in which an Umbril colony enters a client-patron relationship with a prominent Gheen family for protection and mutual benefit.  This kind of relationship is discouraged in Yrtan territory but continues elsewhere in the Depths.  In contrast, the White Nevir are often competitors with the Ardaun Tahro for territory, trade, and resources.

The Nevir of the Depths speak Zivenid like their Wash cousins, though their regional dialect is often difficult for Wash Nevir to penetrate (and vice versa).

Darkling Nevir
Territory: Outwise Maw, clockwise Whitefen
Language: Various Zivenid-related languages and isolates
Religion: Ivetzivenism, Cult of the Calligrapher, The Lost Sight

The Darkling Nevir represent the farthest extent of the Great Web, the fringe of the wider Nevir race that migrated into the misty vales of the Maw in Antiquity.  Their name comes from the fact that some of their colonies, particularly those in Whitefen, are located entirely in karst cave systems below the earth.

The Darkling Nevir live in an easy to transit part of the Maw – relatively speaking – and are in closer contact with one another than the communities of other races native to the region.  Though unity does not always follow from this, their colonies have increasingly become consolidated under cluster-wide regimes to resist Iskite and Ajen expansion.  The Darkling Nevir also control the paths between the Maw and the Red Depths, the easiest part of the Maw's border to traverse.

The Nevir of the Maw tend to be extremely mistrustful of outsiders – even for Umbril – and dealing with them is extremely difficult for anyone without previous contacts in their society.  They presume Iskites, Gheen, and Ajen-Umbril to be their enemies, are highly suspicious of fellow Nevir, and are only slightly less suspicious of the Tahro, whom they have occasionally allied with against the Maw Iskites.

Many Darkling colonies speak languages that are related to Zivenid, but not closely enough to be mutually intelligible.  Explorers have reported that some colonies in more isolated areas have languages apparently unrelated to Zivenid in any respects.  Their religious practices are eclectic, typically including cults to local powers like the Graven Calligrapher alongside bits and pieces of traditional Ivetzivenid ritual.  Many colonies in Whitefen practice a religion known as the Lost Sight, whose rituals are extremely secretive but are suspected by some to have some connection with the Golhai that dwell in the deeper caves of the region.  It is known that some colonies engage in Cog-worship, which Szelsh scholars have hypothesized is related to the practices of the Cult of the Great Machine, an apocalyptic cult active in Gearfall in Antiquity.  Evidence for a direct relationship, however, is thin.

Golden Ajen
Territory: Greater Cogsteeth, settlements of the Black Circle
Language: Golden Speech, Trade Cant
Religion: Ivetzivenism, various Black Circle cults

The Golden Ajen make up the bulk of the Ajen subrace.  They are the native inhabitants of the inner valleys of the Greater Cogsteeth and hold virtually complete dominion over these mountains.  Though individual Ajen have traveled far and wide as merchants and explorers, their colonies have never spread far beyond the mountain valleys.  In the modern era, Ajen communities can be found in nearly every city on the Black Circle, particularly the City of Orpiment (which was founded by the Ajen and built by their slaves).

The Golden Ajen are, in theory, all united under the rule of the Ul-Ivet, styled "Prince of the Ajen."  The apparatus of state is known as the Golden Principality, but the Principality bears little resemblance to what we would recognize as a state – it maintains no army or police force, collects no taxes, and passes no laws.  The Ul-Ivet functions primarily as a mediator between the "septs," large alliances of various metils, using negotiation, subterfuge, bribery, and prestige to maintain a semblance of harmony between the colonies and metils of the Cogsteeth.

The Golden Ajen are differentiated from other cultures in a variety of ways.  The Ajen of the mountains tend to be more respectful of the soldiers' vocation than the Nevir or Evne, in part because of a very warlike past.  The metil is of singular importance to them, and nearly every Ajen is a member of a metil, which in turn is usually tied to a traditional sept.  In the modern era, the Umbril concept of ambition has become more and more economically-oriented among the Golden Ajen, and the Golden Principality has been steadily transforming into a mercantile state since the end of the Cities' War.

Though the Ajen are believed by other races to be especially open and abiding of aliens compared to other Umbril, this is only true of those individuals who live closest to the Black Circle.  Most Golden Ajen colonies, perched up in the mountains, have very little contact with aliens.

The language of the Golden Ajen is called, appropriately enough, the Golden Speech.  The Trade Cant, which may as well be the "official" trading language of the Circle, is based primarily on the Golden Speech but with considerable borrowings from Well-Tahr, the Luminous Tongue, and the slang of Circle flyers.

It should be noted that "Golden Ajen" is a term used almost exclusively by scholars – until the recent discovery of the Maw Ajen, the so-called Golden Ajen were thought to be the only "kind" of their race and were referred to simply as "Ajen."

Maw Ajen
Territory: Outwise slopes of the Greater Cogsteeth, inwise Maw
Language: Vale Speech
Religion: Various

Until recently, it was believed that the "Golden Ajen" was the only culture of Ajen that existed.  It was only in the last century that Szen-Sel the Whistler, an Iskite explorer, discovered a pass through the mountains and made contact with an Ajen colony in the Twistwood that had no knowledge of any such thing as the Golden Principality.

It is unknown precisely when the Golden and Maw Ajen diverged, but it certainly happened before the Age of Prophets.  The Maw Ajen speak a variety of languages, many of which are recognizably related to the Golden Speech, but some are also clearly influenced by Zivenid.  The language family is collectively called "Vale Speech," though many of these languages are not mutually intelligible.  As with the other peoples of the Maw, the Maw Ajen have few universal customs owing to the isolated nature of each of the Maw valleys.  Many Maw Ajen communities, however, exhibit some level of nomadism, and may maintain seasonal camps in the Tahr fashion.  As the Umbril have no need to worry about exhausting the food supply of a region as the Tahro do, the purpose of their migrations is presumed to be cultural or defensive in nature.

Though some Maw Ajen colonies have retained the worship of Ivetziven and its facets in a recognizable form, most have developed religious traditions that borrow from alien tradition or have apparently developed entirely original spiritual beliefs and practices.

Isle Evne
Territory: The Sea of Indigo/Netai, outwise Chalklands
Language: Indigo Speech
Religion: Netai Ivetzivenism, Cult of the Mentor

The Isle Evne, also called "Netai Umbril," are the larger of the two extant branches of the Evne Umbril.  The Evne originally resided on the outwise shores of the Sea of Netai and within Old Chalicewood, but were forced to flee their homeland by the Orange Horde and the expansion of the Mosswaste.  The Isle Evne took to the waters and settled the islands of the Netai, and within the last hundred years have spread to the inwise shore and the borderland between the Chalklands and the Chromatic Plain.

In the modern era, the Evne were largely united under the rule of the Oranid Princes of the Green until their overthrow and the establishment of the Netai Confederation.  While the Confederation only holds sway over (most of) the Netai isles, aliens often refer to even the Evne of the Chalklands as "Confederation Umbril."

The Isle Evne are generally regarded to be the most outgoing of the Umbril, an outgrowth of their close coexistence with other races over their history.  Their cultural and religious practices are not especially syncretic compared to other Umbril cultures, but they are not immune to alien influences – their concept of the "spiritual descent," absent in other Ivetzivenid rituals, is thought to derive from Tahr belief.  Islander religion differs in substantial ways from the Nevir Ivetzivenid cult, though to outsiders it is notable chiefly for its greater visibility in public life.  Isle Evne priests are generally not social outcasts, and they construct actual temples and ritual edifices that are unheard of among the whole of the Nevir.

The Isle Evne are a highly urbanized people, unique among all other races.  Even the coastal Evne, who lack any true cities, congregate in larger and more built-up colonies.

Delta Evne
Territory: The Mouth of the Great Mire
Language: Indigo Speech
Religion: Netai Ivetzivenism

The Delta Evne are the lesser branch of the Evne Umbril, descended from Evne who migrated into the mouth of the Great Mire instead of into the Netai isles.  While their language and rites are close to those of their islander cousins, they are more traditionally Umbril in their attitude towards foreigners and aliens and the urban life of the Isle Evne is foreign to them.

Unlike the Nevir of the Great Mire, the Evne do not have a particularly close relationship with the Tahro; in fact, they are a rather aggressive people in their region, often raiding Nevir colonies to expand their territory.  In terms of the status of warriors in their society, they are more similar to the Ajen than to their island cousins.  Though they were not part of the rebellion that ended Oranid rule in the isles, they did contribute incidentally by taking advantage of the conflict to plunder Iskite, Tahr, and Nevir settlements along the clockwise Netai coastline whose best warriors were serving the Oranid Prince in the isles as mercenaries.  In recent years some colonies have taken up piracy, slipping out in small craft at night to seize hapless ships near the coast.  It is believed that the Prince of Meja, the last Oranid outpost, has been courting them as allies against the Confederation, but the Delta Evne have yet to organize themselves for any larger undertaking than a razzia against their neighbors.

Mire Nevir
Territory: The Great Mire, unclock Chokereed
Language: Green Speech
Religion: Ivetzivenism, Cult of the Redeemer

The Mire Nevir are an offshoot of the Nevir community that grew apart from the rest of their cousins in distant Antiquity.  It is unclear exactly when their ancestors left the lands of the Great Basin or what route they took to the Great Mire, but the Umbril of the Mire (save the Evne of the Mouth) are unquestionably Nevir in physiology.  Their language, called the "Green Speech" in contrast to the "Indigo Speech" of the Evne, bears no obvious resemblance to Zivenid but also shares virtually nothing with the language of Netai.  Like the Black Gheen of the Circle, they are something of an anomaly.

Unlike the Black Gheen, however, the Mire Nevir are widespread and populous, with colony clusters throughout the Great Mire and the lower Chokereed, the most habitable part of that great untamed river system.  Though they greatly outnumber the Tahro who share their lands, they enjoy a fairly good relationship save in matters of religion – the Nevir despise the Elder Wyrm Imauwr, an important deity among the Mudfoot Tahro, and in turn the Tahro have nothing but disdain for those Mire Nevir who consider the Prophetslayer and "Redeemer" Enti-Ven Famar to be the herald of a future paradise.  There may be more followers of the Cult of the Redeemer among the Mire Nevir than those of all other races and cultures put together, perhaps in part because they were visited by the Prophetslayer but never victimized by the Orange Horde itself, which had disintegrated by the time Enti-Ven Famar reached the Great Mire.

The Mire Nevir are unique in that their culture has no concept of the metil, an Umbril "family."  Instead of the usual free-for-all social system of the Umbril, they have a caste-based society in which certain castes have unique privileges and responsibilities.  Ivets are rare among them, with most Mire colonies ruled in theory by an oligarchy of the highest caste.  In practice, as among most Umbril, power may not always lie with those who are formally charged with wielding it.

Vars
Territory: Ninefold Vale, Halberd Spires
Language: Grey Speech
Religion: "Fire worship" and wyrm cults

The Vars ("Talus") Umbril are an isolated subspecies of Umbril residing in the steep valleys of the Ninefold Vale and the cloud forests of the Halberd Spires.  They are physiologically and linguistically differentiated from the Nevir, and until the Nevir expansion into the Skyshield they had virtually no contact with other Umbril communities.  Their own dialects are all related to one another and referred to collectively as the "Grey Speech."

Knowledge about the culture and customs of the Vars is very limited.  Only one Vars attempt at colonization outside their "native" range is known – a Vars group founded the colony of Ithels on the Black Circle in late Antiquity, on the site of what is now Koldon's Well.  The colony appears to be unique in Vars history.  The Vars were brought to popular attention in the modern era by the writings of the Gheen explorer Taku Yim, who was nearly killed in a khauta crash in the Halberd Spires and was subsequently captured (and eventually released) by the Vars.

Vars society is focused around the colony.  There are no metils and very few politically united clusters.  Colonies are generally led by an Ixar, which is popularly believed to be a corruption of Ivet ("prince," literally "foundation") but appears to actually be etymologically unrelated (better translated as "commander" or "dictator," more literally "one who shouts").  The Ixar is typically an elected position, but the electorate is composed only of veterans, those who have fought in the colony's defense.  Taku Yim described the Vars as "militaristic" and believed that the constant wars between Vars colonies were not so aimed less at conquest but were rather a means to allow enterprising young Vars to gain the vote.  Ixars appear to have more actual power than many Ivets, though they are sometimes purely war-leaders who leave "domestic" governance to advisors.

The Vars are unique among Umbril in that they do not appear to have any vestige of the otherwise-ubiquitous Ivetzivenid pantheon represented in their religious practices.  They were described by Taku Yim as "fire-worshippers" and are also known to have cults devoted to wyrms.  Priests of the Vars are generally 'high-status exiles,' itinerant Umbril who belong to no colony but are welcomed and respected in all of them.  Because they are welcome anywhere even in time of war, Vars priests are also commonly diplomats and traders, to the point where the same word is used both for "merchant" and "holy man."

...and then I thought to myself, "what would it look like if I overlaid all these maps on top of each other?"

(http://i.imgur.com/ggSop.png)

When I started making cultural area maps, I didn't create them with this in mind, but I'm pleasantly surprised to find that when put together, my culture maps are a good indicator of how I think of populated areas in CJ.  There are, essentially, two main "complexes" of settlement.  One is the broad arc from Gearfall to Netai in which most of the population lives.  The second is the Scalemount-Clawed Thicket-Vinetrough complex, which is isolated by nearly-impassable regions (the Mosswaste, the Moors, and the Mountains).  Immediately the importance of the Sekah stands out, which is that narrow isthmus of settlement between Scalemount and Netai that pushes through the Flowering Moors; this is the path of the Rainbow Road, a trade route that connects the two complexes together.  Another point of connection is through the Vinetrough via the Black Circle, but for geographic reasons that's a somewhat less practical route.  Unfortunately, this map only tells you where there are settlements, not how many there are or who is settled there.

The Mire-Chokereed-Ninefold Vale region, also cut off from the rest of the world but for one point (roughly, the Chalklands/Netai), has the look of a separate complex, but the Mire and the Vale are only "connected" in settlement by the Black Blood, which does no business with anybody - practically speaking, the Vars-Umbril are up there by their lonesome, and the Great Mire is more of a standalone periphery.  Chalicewood is also a "stranded" area, with the Lost Flock of the Chalice Gheen even more isolated from the world than the Vars.

We can take this same information and go a different route:

(http://i.imgur.com/KBPP4.png)

This is the same map, but with each race colored in at 40% opacity.  The darker an area is, the more races it has living in close proximity to one another - it's a "diversity map."  The Netai shows up as one of the darkest areas, which is intended.  Most interesting may be that light-shaded area around Feathervale that separates the darker-shaded part of the Wash and the Red Depths.  That, starkly illustrated, is the domain of the genocidal World-Queen; those dark zones on either side of it were once fully contiguous.

MORE CLOCKWORK JUNGLE! Woo my life has meaning again :D

I kid of course, but still woo I am happy. Always loved your stuff man.

CJ update?

Actually, I've been posting various pieces of material on the wiki for a few months now, focusing in particular on the Golden Principality and its history.

Notable articles:
*The Interregnum (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Interregnum_%28Clockwork_Jungle%29), a decade-long Ajen civil war during the Cities' War (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Cities%27_War)
*Thas-Var Fushin Vir-Ivren (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Thas-Var_Fushin), also known as Shif Thuar ("It Exhales Death"), the channeler who seized power over the Principality at the end of the Interregnum, and supposedly died on the altar in an attempt to become a telavai (or did it?)
*Whitewalls (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Whitewalls), Thas-Var's signature deed in which the Hearth of Sagacity was turned into a bloodbath, and from which we get the closest saying the Ajen have to "collateral damage"
*Virishka (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Virishka), the Traitor, who may be unfairly maligned, but definitely did attempt to conquer the Principality with Iskite backing, only to fail spectacularly, flee the Circle, and end its days in Andar.  Though not much more than a decaying lump now, some say it still whispers to those few individuals who wander through the Wilting Garden of Andar...
*Thar Zejal (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Thar_Zejal), named after Zejal the Besieger (or Szejal Sun's-Arrow, or Szejal High-Hackles, depending on who you are), a military camp outside the City of Orpiment that has developed into a half-ruined settlement on the Black Circle route, where the drink at the Four Princes gondola serves equally well as airship fuel

I'm not sure where the next content push is going to be - probably either the Vars-Umbril in their mountain hermitage or the expansion of various stubs concerning the Netai.

What's still taking up most of my CJ thought right now, however, is adaptation for play.  I have some general thoughts on that which I will hopefully be posting soon, because there's nothing quite like dumping your entire thought process into your homebrew thread!

Awesome updates! I have always loved this setting, especially its exotic beauty and socio-political complexity (and the most recent updates certainly reinforce the latter).

I look forward to seeing more, and to the prospects of seeing mechanics for gameplay.

I've always had a great fascination for the Clockwork Jungle. It's different enough to be very unique and interesting without coming off as starkly alien and too weird. It also has always given me a Myst sort of vibe with its strange landscapes and lost culture - I look forward to seeing what, if anything, you do to make it playable.

Also, I've been reading the wiki now that I know it's been updated. Early on it's stated that the races of CJ hunt the Cogs for glass and gears and such, but I would wonder how sustainable that is. Is it a recent practice? Do I underestimate the sheer volume of Cogs running through the forest? Or is this something better left to mystery?

Quote from: WeaveIt also has always given me a Myst sort of vibe with its strange landscapes and lost culture

This makes me happy.  I was crazy about Myst, Riven, etc. as a kid and I think it's one of my biggest aesthetic influences.

Quote from: WeaveEarly on it's stated that the races of CJ hunt the Cogs for glass and gears and such, but I would wonder how sustainable that is. Is it a recent practice? Do I underestimate the sheer volume of Cogs running through the forest? Or is this something better left to mystery?

Well, Cog populations actually can be depleted.  The Cog version of the saszih (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Saszih), or "village bird," is specifically mentioned as being (apparently) extinct in the Chalklands due to scrap-hunting.  Cog-hunting is not a recent practice, but there are a few certain or potential reasons why they're not all gone.

• There's a lot of them.  Depending on the species the ratio of organic to Cog animals ranges between about 10:1 to 2:1.
• The civilized races, on the other hand, don't actually have that many individuals – there number of Iskites in the entire known world, for instance, is probably not much more than a million, spread over about two million square miles of territory.  If we assume all the civilized races have the same population (dubious, but let's go with it) that means that even the most liberal estimate places the population density of the Clockwork Jungle at less than half that of Mongolia, the country with the least population density in the world today (barring territories like Greenland).
• Not all cogs are actually useful.  Cogsteel is very nice, but it can't be reforged without losing its unique properties, so pieces of cogsteel that aren't shaped in a way that's useful are no more valuable than scrap iron.  "Cog gold" (actually brass) is more valuable, but it's not present in large quantities (it generally makes up little gears and springs in the inside of cogs rather than limbs or body pieces).  The resources you will get from a Cog songbird probably just aren't enough to bother with, unless you specifically need really tiny machine parts.
• Cog hunting has fallen off at least somewhat in the modern age as ironworking has become more refined and widespread.  The Forest is dangerous, and the better metalworking becomes the more sensible it is for communities to produce their own weapons and tools rather than hunt for Cogs.  Glassmaking is also more widespread than it used to be.
• Recall that the known world doesn't actually have an "edge."  The border of the known world is where it is because after that point lodestone pseudomagnetism fails, and it becomes almost impossible to find your way anywhere.  Cog animals don't really care about getting lost; the "edge" means nothing to them.  For all anyone knows, there could be much larger populations of cogs outside the edge that sustain the predated populations within it.
• The most valuable Cogs are really, really hard to kill.  Cog elephants may be tougher than Cog Soldiers, which is saying something, because Cog Soldiers are one-man armies.  A Cog Assassin Spider will really ruin your day, and the prospect of hunting one is not very attractive.
• More than one scholar has conjectured that the Cogs may have some way of reproducing.  The sunken mural in Teven portrays what appeared to be Cogs making other Cogs, but the "smith cogs" it depicts have never actually been seen before.  Some places like the Heart of the Machine in Gearfall have been proposed as Cog creation sites, but again, there is no evidence for this; the Heart of the Machine is best known for "disappearing" pretty much everyone who goes inside, including the last Prime of the Cult of the Great Machine who supposedly fled there when the Tribe of Isz conquered Gearfall.  (I may do Gearfall and the Heart as the next content update, as most of it is already done).

Quote from: Polycarp
CJ update?

Actually, I've been posting various pieces of material on the wiki for a few months now, focusing in particular on the Golden Principality and its history.

Notable articles:
*The Interregnum (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Interregnum_%28Clockwork_Jungle%29), a decade-long Ajen civil war during the Cities' War (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Cities%27_War)
*Thas-Var Fushin Vir-Ivren (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Thas-Var_Fushin), also known as Shif Thuar ("It Exhales Death"), the channeler who seized power over the Principality at the end of the Interregnum, and supposedly died on the altar in an attempt to become a telavai (or did it?)
*Whitewalls (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Whitewalls), Thas-Var's signature deed in which the Hearth of Sagacity was turned into a bloodbath, and from which we get the closest saying the Ajen have to "collateral damage"
*Virishka (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Virishka), the Traitor, who may be unfairly maligned, but definitely did attempt to conquer the Principality with Iskite backing, only to fail spectacularly, flee the Circle, and end its days in Andar.  Though not much more than a decaying lump now, some say it still whispers to those few individuals who wander through the Wilting Garden of Andar...
*Thar Zejal (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Thar_Zejal), named after Zejal the Besieger (or Szejal Sun's-Arrow, or Szejal High-Hackles, depending on who you are), a military camp outside the City of Orpiment that has developed into a half-ruined settlement on the Black Circle route, where the drink at the Four Princes gondola serves equally well as airship fuel

I'm not sure where the next content push is going to be - probably either the Vars-Umbril in their mountain hermitage or the expansion of various stubs concerning the Netai.

What's still taking up most of my CJ thought right now, however, is adaptation for play.  I have some general thoughts on that which I will hopefully be posting soon, because there's nothing quite like dumping your entire thought process into your homebrew thread!

I was afraid Rome ate it...

[ic]If my stone knows not the way to the Mountain, I may die; but if my soul knows not the way to justice, I have never lived.

- Szelsh Proverb[/ic]

The unclock edge of the Outlands is hard to recognize.  To the ground-walking traveler, there is no obvious border where the high forest of the Red Depths falls into the lower forest lands behind the Lesser Cogsteeth.  The declining height of the forest is gradual and frequently marred by patches of taller trees sprouting up miles ahead of the great mass of their cousins.  The border can only truly be seen from the air, during the day – though mottled and indistinct, one can see the gradient in which the reddish hues of the Fiery Alak that give the Red Depths its name become the more common forest and emerald greens of Gearfall, the unclock end of the great Outlands.

[note=From the Archives]This feature was actually 90% completed months ago, but I never really got around to finishing it up.  I spent a little time cleaning it up this week and thought I might go ahead and post it.  It's not the only document I have like this but it was definitely the one closest to completion.[/note]
The Outlands – also called the "lands behind the veil" – are well known for their great remoteness from the rest of civilization.  Squeezed between the mountains and the edge of the known world, the great crescent is a mystery to most.  The fact that a part of this remote land is also one of the great centers of Iskite culture and civilization is a testament to what is perhaps the most legendary feat of migration of all time.

In distant Antiquity, Gearfall was a very different land, populated primarily by Tahro bloods and a few dozen Umbril clusters that kept in close contact with their kin in the neighboring Depths.  A thousand miles away, however, events were transpiring that would have far-reaching effects upon these early denizens.  The Scalemount had exploded in the first throes of the Great Social Reform, in which the Iskites overthrew – often violently – their old rulers, old cultures, and old philosophies over the course of decades of turmoil.  It was around this time that a reformist named Isz the Pale, named for her ivory-white scales, led a great exodus of her persecuted followers from their ancient homeland, through the Duskwine Gap, and beyond the edge of the known world.

Here, the "Tribe of Isz" passes from the history books of Scalemount.  If any remembered them, it was as a doomed expedition, fools following a foolish leader into oblivion.  Yet from oblivion the host returned, six generations later – not into the Clawed Thicket, where they originally left the known world, but into a new land entirely.  One can only guess at the shock of these Iskites when the lodestones they had been carrying as useless relics of their ancestors sluggishly began to stir, giving them an undeniable sign that they had at last returned from exile.

Equally amazed were the natives they encountered there.  Their stories – those that remain – tell of the coming of a vast host of unfamiliar aliens from beyond world's edge, heralding a time of great uncertainty, strife, and ultimately loss.  To them, the Host of the Pale One brought not civilization, but the spear.  Soon after their arrival, the Tribe of Isz began expanding more and more aggressively into the lands of their new neighbors, leading to near constant warfare between them and the "alien natives."  Gearfall smoldered for generations.  Bloods migrated into the realms of the Gheen, and Umbril colonies uprooted and scattered into the mountains.  In the end, only the apocalyptic Cult of the Great Machine fought to the very last, and its destruction heralded the final victory of Isz's descendants and the establishment of an Iskite hegemony over the entire region.
[note=Name] The origin of the name "Gearfall" is disputed.  It may be the result of a Szelsh mistranslation of a pre-invasion Umbril toponym meaning "valley of machines/Cogs."[/note]
These events were already passing into legend by the time of the Oracle Tree.  They have meaning now only to those few subjugated, hidden, and exiled bloods that still remember.  In the present day, Gearfall is an Iskite land, nearly as Iskite as Scalemount itself.  It is their culture and their will that dominates, and it is from here that this will exerts itself upon neighboring lands, seeking to rebuild a new order from the chaos of the last age on the edge of the world.

The Wandering

In Antiquity, several thousand Iskites traveled far beyond the known world.  Six generations later, they returned.

A person returning from beyond the Great Circle isn't unheard of.  Numerous explorers have made forays beyond it, but these are usually short affairs – without the benefit of lodestones, navigating in the ever-changing Forest is extremely difficult.  Some communities have legends of longer trips; the Red Gheen, for instance, believe that their people originally came from somewhere outside the known world, crossing into the Red Depths in the forgotten past.

The wandering of the Szelsh Iskites, however, stands alone among documented forays beyond the edge of the world.  The number of years they were actually outside the influence of the Grandmother Mountain is not known; according to their own stories, it was "six generations," though a precise length of time is not given.  Traditionally, Szelsh scholars have assigned an estimate of 22 years to a generation, though this figure was chosen more for its geometric neatness than its accuracy.  A trek of 132 years beyond the edge of the world would be a feat truly unparalleled in history.

Some, considering the story wildly implausible, dispute that the Tribe of Isz really left the known world at all, or if they did, it was only for a short period during their migration.  These critics argue that it is far more likely that the Szelsh merely migrated through the Outlands, crossing from the Clawed Thicket to Gearfall through the Sea of Ink.  The Szelsh reject this, pointing to their own written legends, which clearly state that the lodestones stopped working during the lifetime of Isz herself, and were inert until six generations later when the tribe arrived in Gearfall.  As there were no known civilized peoples in the Sea of Ink until the modern era, there are unfortunately no other written or oral traditions from other sources that could corroborate this.

If the story is indeed true, what did the Szelsh find beyond the world's edge, and why were they gone for so long?  Szelsh hagiographies recount that Isz died not long after her followers departed from the world, and that before her death she told her flock that their journey would be long and difficult, but if they were faithful to their philosophy, they would one day return to the world and receive a new homeland where they would prosper.  Supposedly, her followers buried Isz where she died, and raised a great monolith over the tomb.  A handful of explorers have sought this tomb beyond the Clawed Thicket, but none have ever found it.

The writings of the Wandering do not describe the land beyond the world as terribly different, though a few passages are striking.  At one point in the "official" story, the Szelsh come to a vast plain of "white dust" with no end in sight in which nothing grows.  Modern scholars believe this to be a reference to snow; although the antique Szelsh words for dust and snow are distinct and unrelated, it is assumed to be a poetic form or the interpretation of a scribe unfamiliar with snow.  The account describes mountains as well, described as broken crags of red stone, so steep that the Forest grew no taller upon their slopes than shrubs and vines.  In Szelsh oral tradition these peaks are called the burned mountains, for supposedly the sun rose from the other side of these mountains.  One Iskite managed to climb atop them, but when dawn came he was burned immediately to ash (other traditions hold that he was not killed, but was permanently blinded).  The written hagiographies have no mention of anyone climbing these mountains.

Many non-Szlesh doubt the veracity of the written records, which are believed to have all been written well after the Tribe of Isz had settled in Gearfall.  With the usual Iskite fondness for consistency and orthodoxy, alternative versions of the story were quashed, surviving only partially in the oral tradition.

Cultures of Gearfall

Iskites

The "Tribe of Isz" is not an orthodox Iskite culture.  The Iskites that were originally led outside the world's edge were largely Dualists, one of many philosophical sects that arose during the Great Social Reform, and one that opposed the Polemicists, the radical sect that eventually triumphed in the Scalemount and created what is now recognized as "orthodox" Iskite society.

Dualism in its original form was touted as a compromise between the "Orphans" (anti-heredity sects) and "Kinsmen" (pro-heredity sects).  All people would follow the precepts of what are now known as the first three books of the Mainspring Analects, but the fourth (called the Polemic, from which the Polemicists derived their name) which controversially attacked heredity and nepotism, would be followed only partially.  The vast majority of Iskites would live in "sodalities," much like an Umbril metil, in the manner of another Orphan sect known as the Covenanters.  Dualists, however, continued the tradition of hereditary rulership in the form of the "Elect," a second societal tier composed of the extended family of the village's ruler.  The purpose was to preserve the traditions and communal identity of Iskite society while addressing its flaws in a moderate fashion; the result was that the sect was rejected by Orphans and Kinsmen alike, and the Dualists were largely converted, killed, or driven into the wilds.

The ways of the Gearfall Iskites, however, have changed from the social philosophies of the Dualists of old from which they are descended.  Soon after their exodus and arrival in Gearfall, the Elect became more than simply rulers, for Isz the Pale had become venerated as a divine prophet, even a goddess.  Her descendents were thus semi-divine, and the limits that the original Dualists had carefully placed on the power of the Elect fell away.  The coming of the Age of Prophets and the Grand Authority ended the Umbril-like system of sodalities, which was gradually replaced with the "orthodox" system of trade societies and the Allotment.

The rule of Isz's descendents was repugnant to the Grand Authority, but the Gearfall potentates resisted change to their own status.  Some villages overthrew their rulers and others stepped down of their own accord, but many continued to rule in the face of the Authority, which had no means to enforce their edicts other than stirring up Gearfall villages against each other.  Still, the Elect were a dwindling group until the Recentering, when the destruction of the Grand Authority and the prophets caused a great resurgence for the House of the Pale One.  Certainly many had been Fruit-eaters themselves, but many had not, and these quickly found themselves back in favor among a people who craved stability and tradition after the great disaster.

Most Gearfall villages are still ruled by lords claiming the ancestry of Isz (though some are likely impostors).  White is still considered the color of authority, reserved for kinsmen of Isz and the priests of her cult, who use white pigments to mark their faces and hands.  The blood of Isz still seems to linger in this land, for about one in every twenty of the true Elect is born "pale," with most or all of their scales a striking ivory color.  This is an objectively disadvantageous adaptation (the normal mottled greens of an Iskite provide it with excellent camouflage), but such births are often considered highly auspicious for a village, and pale Iskites benefit from a strong social preference.

Though the flowering and destruction of the Dominion Tree caused great suffering in Gearfall, it was never touched by the Orange Horde or its subsequent strife.  The Gearfall Iskite community made it through the Recentering with far more of their communities intact, and – perhaps most importantly – their culture as well.  In some ways, they are more "traditional" than even modern Iskites of Scalemount itself, as the artifacts and guardians of their culture and history were not so deliberately and irrevocably destroyed.  They do not speak the Luminous Tongue, but a language called Szelsh that was spoken in parts of Scalemount during the time of Isz; the Grand Authority tried to change their ways but they stubbornly refused to relinquish their ancient speech.  They are undoubtedly a people proud of their history, and that adherence to tradition and ancient ritual is often compared to Tahr traditionalism.  It is likely that this is an organic cultural growth, however, rather than an appropriation of Tahr ways, as there is little such alien influence evident in their practices.

Indeed, the Gearfall Iskites tend to be rather dismissive of aliens and their achievements.  Their culture is highly insular.  While aliens are unlikely to meet with hostility just for being alien, an alien traveler should expect only the most formal of courtesy.  Many villages consider their walled territory to be "sacred ground" and prohibit aliens from setting foot within; there may be a structure outside the walls to receive traders and travelers, or they may simply have to camp outside with whatever shelter they carry with them.  In many villages, looking an alien in the eyes is said to bring ill-fortune; in some, drinking from tea from the same pot is similarly inauspicious.  Doing such things to a member of the Elect would not just be unfortunate, but a serious offense (even other Iskites avoid eye contact with the Elect in some communities).  While most Gearfall villages can be expected to render aid to an alien traveler, they seldom go beyond what is strictly necessary by the demands of hospitality, and receiving this aid can be a strange and rather galling experience.
[note=Tulou]The Szelsh village-buildings were inspired by the tulou, the communal housing of the Hakka people of China.  The splash picture above is of one such building.[/note]

Szelsh villages take a different form than most.  Rather than a grid of buildings surrounded by a wall, their villages are typically one large multi-story ring-shaped building, with dwellings inside the "ring" itself, their entrances all facing inwards.  Inside of the ring is typically a large communal space with gardens, shrines, game fields, and various other structures crowded together.  From the outside, Szelsh villages look like squat, cylindrical towers of packed earth, with no windows and only one or two large exterior doors.  Sometimes large villages include two, three, or rarely even four such ring-buildings close together or even adjoining.  Szelsh hatcheries are usually located underground, at the center of the ring.

Gheen

The neighboring Red Depths is home to one of the three branches of the Gheen race, known as the Red Gheen.  While the Red Gheen were never unknown in Gearfall, the high forest of the Depths is favored over the low forest of Gearfall, and dreys in Gearfall were probably never common even before the arrival of the Iskites.  The Gheen appear little in Szlesh literature from Antiquity, and when they do it is usually as foreigners from the Red Depths interested in trade but uninvolved in the struggle between the Tribe of Isz and the natives of Gearfall.

Gheen passed through Gearfall in substantial numbers during the Recentering.  Several dozen families of Red Gheen, seeking a new start during the upheaval of the era, migrated through Iskite lands into the Sea of Ink.  The dominions of the Peregrine Gheen, as they are now called, send occasional representatives into Gearfall to trade with the Iskites or their cousins in the Red Depths beyond.  There are no known dreys in Gearfall proper.

Tahro

The vast majority of the Ardaun Tahr bloods that survived the Iskite conquest of Gearfall fled into the Red Depths.  Some may have crossed the Cogsteeth into the Maw or gone clockwise into the Sea of Ink, though they have evidently either died out or assimilated seamlessly into Maw Tahr culture since then.  Tahr bloods remained in the steep valleys of the Cogsteeth facing Gearfall after the conquest, but they have never been great in number and typically avoid any contact with the Szelsh altogether.

The Tahro may well have been the most numerous race within Gearfall until the Iskite conquest, but the nature of their nomadic lifestyle means that there are few remaining traces of their habitation.  A number of ruins have been found that show evidence of being used as Tahr camps, and some bloods fashioned quite impressive camps from scratch that remain today, Sulodun chief among them.  Practically all these sites are now abandoned, as it is not usual Iskite practice to establish villages amidst ruins, though some ruins once occupied by the Tahro formed the basis of later Szelsh szalkas, elaborate palace-fortresses.

Reconstructing the Tahr culture that predated the Tribe of Isz is difficult, though given the general conservatism of Tahr society it's possible that the drift between pre-Szelsh and modern Ardaun cultural practices is not very great.  The Ardaun of the Red Depths were heavily involved in the resistance against the Iskite conquest of Gearfall, and even after the conquest was complete, Ardaun bloods frequently launched raids into Iskite territory.  There was continual violence around the Gearfall-Red Depths border for several generations at least, which only subsided over time as the Tahro who had originally been driven from their homeland died off.  The cultural memory of the Tahro is long, however, and Ardaun Tahr bloods have many chants and tales of the "lost cause" and the ancient yearning for their homeland.  Though they are no longer in a state of war with the Szelsh Iskites and have not been for centuries, there is still considerable mistrust between the two groups.

Umbril

The original Umbril inhabitants of Gearfall were probably closest to the White Nevir, the same culture that inhabits the Red Depths currently.  Like the Ardaun Tahro, the White Nevir fiercely resisted the Szelsh invasion, but unlike the Tahr bloods of the Depths, the White Nevir in Gheen lands did not extend much assistance to their "cousins" in Gearfall.  The Umbril seem to have realized sooner than the Tahro that continuing the struggle was futile, and most scholars believe that after the initial exodus most of their uprooted colonies resettled in the Depths or broke up and assimilated into existing colonies there.

Some scholars have noted the existence of "Cog-worshipping" cults of the Darkling Umbril, native to Whitefen and the unclock Maw, and have put forward the competing theory that the Gearfall Umbril - or at least the last few waves of them - crossed over the Cogsteeth into the Maw, filtering gradually unclockwise towards Whitefen and integrating with the Darkling there.  This is a considerable distance to travel over some of the roughest terrain in the Forest, however, and it is unclear why they would make such a journey when their White Nevir neighbors were living quite comfortably in the Red Depths.  Szelsh histories also contend that the Cult of the Great Machine was entirely wiped out, though the Cult directed by the Primes may have been merely a latter day radical development of a broader religious tradition among the Gearfall Umbril which was translated elsewhere when Gearfall was abandoned.  The White Nevir do not seem to have any such traditions.  As the White and Darkling Nevir are not physiologically distinct, it may be impossible to determine exactly what the fate of Gearfall's last colonies was.

In the modern era, the White Nevir – whether they are descendents of Gearfall colonies or not – have been steadily infiltrating back into Gearfall through peaceful means.  Gearfall may be an Iskite land, but it is still the Forest, and Iskites do not live everywhere there.  Colonies have begun sprouting up in places unsuitable for a Szelsh village, like particularly marshy areas and the rocky foothills of the Cogsteeth.  Though the Szelsh Iskites are not great participants in regional trade, some villages have found a use for the Umbril in this capacity and have some relations with these colonies.  Other White Nevir colonies in Gearfall are simply beneath the notice of the Iskites, or have yet to be discovered at all.

[spoiler=Sites of Importance in Gearfall]
Heart of the Machine
The inner-unclock region of Gearfall is home to one of the more curious ruins of the Artificers.  It is a large ruins complex, though not the largest, nor physically impressive next to such marvels as the Tower of Abeyance, the ziggurat of Teven, or the Monsoon Palace.  What makes the Heart of the Machine so remarkable, and gives it its name, is that the complex is no mere feat of palatial architecture.  Its halls are permeated by a great interconnected series of mechanical parts.  Some are intricate gearboxes; others are enormous cogs, shafts, levers, chains, and jagged-toothed racks that span multiple rooms and levels.  Many parts are ruined and pieces are obviously missing or disconnected in some places, in part from the scavenging of the civilized races over thousands of years.  Yet the Heart of the Machine still exists in large part because it can defend itself – it is "inhabited" by more than a dozen active Cog Soldiers, one of the largest complements known, and their standing orders appear to require them to patrol the Heart and destroy any creature that attempts to enter it or lingers about the premises.

The purpose of the machines within – or machine, as some believe it to be one single enormous device – is unknown.  It does not appear to be functional, but it is also largely unexplored.  The complex extends for some unknown distance underground, and part of the complex that was once above the forest floor was buried by an ancient landslide.  Some believe it to be haunted by evil spirits, demons, or the Artificers themselves; others wonder if it is home to even more Cogs deep below, as those who have returned from voyages into the Heart often report the occasional echo of clicking, rattling, and squealing machinery issuing from below that cannot be entirely attributed to the ruin's known Soldiers.

To outsiders, the Heart is an intriguing mystery, but the Iskites of Gearfall it is considered cursed because of its association with the Cult of the Great Machine, a violent sect that rose and fell in distant Antiquity.  The cult blossomed as a resistance movement against the Iskite invaders from beyond the world's edge, and was eventually crushed after nearly a century of appalling bloodshed.  The only remaining sources on them are Iskite, and thus unreliable – they are charged by the Gearfall Iskites with such sundry atrocities as the wholesale slaughter of non-believer communities (Iskites, Tahro, and Umbril alike), the sacrifice of sentients, bizarre torture and self-mutilation rituals, and fighting with a fanatical disregard for their own lives.  Some texts also describe their leaders, called "Primes," as exerting some kind of mind control over their followers.

The Heart of the Machine was their holiest site, and it was suggested by the Primes themselves (again, according to Iskite texts) that they drew some power or inspiration from within, perhaps from the Machine itself.  The cult was eventually crushed after more than a century of constant atrocities and reprisals culminating in the euphemistically-named Cleansing of the Heart, when a thousand Iskite warriors surrounded and stormed the last Cult encampment near the Heart of the Machine.  The Iskites took no prisoners, but it is written that the last remaining Prime fled into the Machine itself.  It is unknown if – and if so, how – any being could avoid destruction at the hands of the Heart's guardians for long, as they don't seem to show any regard for such things as religious affiliation.

Szalk Arash
Though the building of szalkas, the great monumental structures of Iskite Antiquity, died out in Scalemount during the Great Social Reform, the lords of the Tribe of Isz constructed many such edifices of their own between their arrival in Gearfall and the onset of the Age of Prophets.  Unlike Scalemount szalkas, which were intended primarily as monuments and boasts rather than functional structures, Gearfall szalkas were often in regular use as fortresses (particularly near the Red Depths) and occasionally as temples to the deified Isz.

Szalk Arash itself was built as a fortress in unclock Gearfall.  It was constructed in late Antiquity in the closing years of the Iskite conquest, but after the Cleansing of the Heart it was superseded strategically by positions closer to the Red Depths borderland.  During the Age of Prophets, Szalk Arash became the domain of a series of Fruit-eating seers, who became some of the most fervent supporters of the assimilation of the Szelsh Iskites into the culture advanced by the Grand Authority.  The seers of Arash were driven mad, like all their ilk, in the Diviners' Wrath, and the fortress was infested by the Peril.  Unlike many other lands, however, Gearfall was untouched by the Orange Strife, and relatively soon after the Wrath local Iskite villages marched on the Szalk to cleanse it.  They found one seer still alive – mad though he was – and set him on fire.  He escaped the mob and fled into the central tower, still aflame.  The resulting fire raced through the fortress, destroying the Peril within but also the priceless library of the seers of Arash.  By the next day it was a burned-out husk.

Around EVP 40, the fortress was reclaimed by the Kaj of the Wind's Eye, a kaj of aseng ("tranquility"), and the oldest Iskite school of channeling in Gearfall.  The masters of Wind's Eye maintain their kaj was founded by Isz herself during the Wandering, but there is little evidence that Isz was even a channeler of any note.  The school may have been founded on the Wandering as a means to preserve knowledge of the Breath among the Tribe of Isz, or it may have been established early on in the Szelsh conquest of Gearfall; either way, it existed for some times as a "floating kaj" before its masters decided that Szalk Arash would make an ideal hermitage to delve into the mysteries of the Breath without any interruption.

Today, Szalk Arash remains a working kaj, with around 60-80 channelers and initiates present at any one time.  The practitioners labor under a general vow of silence, even wearing spider-silk slippers within the halls to muffle their footsteps.  Most of the reclaimed interior space is a series of small "cells," some only accessible by ladder or very steep steps, that serve as meditation chambers.  The grounds within the curtain wall are devoted to carefully manicured gardens; some parts are devoted to herbs and fruits, while others are simply ornamental, serving a similar purpose to the meditation cells.  The Kaj sustains itself through an agreement with several neighboring villages, who provide "tribute" in the form of foodstuffs in exchange for herbs and a share of the "fees" brought by those hoping to become initiates.

The feats of the masters of the Wind's Eye are legendary in Gearfall, though the most widely repeated tale is that a select few are able to leave their bodies entirely, letting their spirit float on the winds as their body remains in a deep, nearly catatonic meditation.  Whether this is simply a poetic description of channeling or a hint at some unique form is unclear.  In the neighboring villages, the Iskites may sometimes be heard to mutter when a sudden and momentary breeze passes by – "the deep ones are walking."

The Excavation
Not far from the outer edge of Gearfall is a great pit in the earth, nearly 100 feet wide and around half as deep.  Nothing is remarkable about it whatsoever, save that for as long as anyone is aware, a Cog Hauler has been attempting to dig it deeper.

It may be that the Hauler has been at it since the days of the Artificers; none can say.  With a scoop-like attachment on the end of its central winch, the great mechanical tripod labors continuously to dig down into the earth.  The Forest rains turn the exposed dirt into soupy mud, however, and the earth that the construct digs up is constantly sliding back into the hole.  The Hauler is heedless of any attempt to coax it away from the pit, though it may not be physically capable of climbing out at this point anyway.  If attacked, it strikes back, but it will not leave the pit.

During the Age of Prophets, there were some experiments performed on the site.  One work party attempted to shore up the sides of the pit with timbers in order to assist the Hauler.  Attempts were made to pull excavated dirt out of the pit to allow the Hauler to make some progress, with workers attempting to dodge the machine's great scrambling legs, which stop for nothing.  Every attempt to break the stalemate, as it were, ended in failure – rains collapsed part of the pit's side, setting the digger's progress even further back, or Forest roots grew rather abruptly to destroy the timber retaining walls.  Some remarked that the Forest seemed almost hostile to any attempt to assist the Hauler, though the Forest is well known for overturning and devouring constructions of all types with astonishing speed.  The Excavation is seldom visited now, save by the occasional kaj initiate dispatched to the pit's edge to contemplate the concept of futility.

Sulodun
Sulodun is a relic of the pre-Szelsh past, the site of what must have been one of the more prominent Tahr Red Camps in Gearfall before its associated bloods were either pushed out or destroyed.  Located in the foothills of the Cogsteeth, Sulodun is occupies a natural ledge on a forbidding rock face at least 400 feet above the Forest floor.  On the ledge, which is only accessible by a handful of narrow paths along the rock, one can look out over the canopy for miles and miles.  The Tahro dug a number of caves into the cliffside which probably served as shelters and meeting-spaces during the annual conclave.  Though most caves are simple and shallow, some bear traces of more detailed carving, and a few exploit cracks in the rock to delve a bit deeper into the rock (the deeper caves seem to have been used as storerooms).  There are few remnants of the bloods here now, other than broken pottery shards and a few faint splotches of color from long-faded paintings when the plants are peeled away from the cave walls.

Now the caves are totally overgrown with creepers, shrubs, and moss.  The center of the growth is the "rainy cave," a 60-foot deep cave which "rains" continually from the ceiling, probably indicating a spring higher up.  Not far from the rainy cave is a deep cleft in the rock – natural, not dug out – that the wind continually blows through with an eerie sigh.  An Iskite explorer let herself down into the crack using a fixed rope, only to find that below was a chasm full of thousands upon thousands – perhaps millions – of Tahr bones; she could not find the actual floor of the chamber.  More recently, Sulodun has become the roost of a pack of canopy wyrms, who have found it to be an ideal perch from which to survey their territory and hunt for prey in the forest below.  It may be possible to reason with them when they're not hungry, but it is generally believed anything of value was either taken by the bloods that abandoned the place or decayed away long ago.

Sulodun does not lie far from the slopes of the Cogsteeth where a few Tahr bloods still remain.  They are well aware of the site and consider it sacred.  There is a widespread belief among them that they will someday return and hold conclave at Sulodun once more, but Szelsh power has been waxing, not waning.  It is uncertain if the Iskites would tolerate the re-habitation of one of the greatest Tahr sites by the descendants of those whom they drove from it.[/spoiler]

Great proverb. It excellently sets the blurb's tone. Once again, the detailed, complex, yet-mystery rich history -and its impact on local culture- is fantastic. I especially like the 4 sites described, particularly the potential Prime hook and the Tahr ossuary. I was surprised, however, not to see any specific (non-kaj) Iskite settlement noted or detailed. Were you perhaps planning on adding any?  I find that adding just a few names, coupled with even a line or two, help make the place more accessible for gameplay.

Speaking of gameplay, what's the status/direction of CJ's mechanics?

Quote from: Rose-of-VellumI was surprised, however, not to see any specific (non-kaj) Iskite settlement noted or detailed. Were you perhaps planning on adding any?

As I mentioned, most of that update was written some time ago, including the sites, so I couldn't quite tell you why no village made it in.  Actually, one Szelsh village has been mentioned before, but it's not in Gearfall - it's the Szelsh village of Fesshen (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Fesshen) in the Maw.  I probably will add more sites as time goes on, but for the features my general practice has been to pick 3-4 interesting things that catch my fancy and post those.

Quote from: Rose-of-VellumSpeaking of gameplay, what's the status/direction of CJ's mechanics?

I guess there are basically three systems that have been considered for this -

• Synergy, linked in my signature, which was a system based on some earlier concept threads of mine that proposed making abilities a product of skills.  I'm no longer considering it now but I did learn some things that may end up being applied elsewhere.
• CJ PF, an adaptation of Pathfinder for the CJ, inspired by Dialexis' game on Dicefreaks (who, to my knowledge, is the only one who's actually run a CJ game aside from the No-Stats Theater game I ran here years ago).  I've done a fair amount of work on this but I'm unsure if it's really the direction I want to go.
• Lodestar, a rules-light(er) system with cooperative chargen (that is, "describe your character and use that to pick your abilities in consultation with the GM") that's intended specifically for a low-hassle CJ game.  In a way it's Synergy's spiritual successor, though it doesn't use Synergy's main mechanic, and is based more on various rules-light systems I've found online.  It has its basic premises set out but still needs some subsystems (combat, channeling, etc.).

[ic=Chiye's Song]Chiye, I alit on your perch,
I did not hear you singing.
Your sisters' harmonies I loved,
But you missed them even more than I.

Chiye, I called your daughers' names,
I did not hear them laughing.
They made you a long necklace of shells,
But it was not what you wore today.

- From a dirge for Kadyary Neera Chiye, matriarch of Kadyary and last of that family, who hanged herself in her orchard in EVP 180[/ic]

The Netai is a realm of exiles.  Every race that now lives here has its own history of struggle.  The Evne-Umbril were refugees, fleeing their ancient homes on the outwise shore for the isles in the face of the Orange Horde.  The Tahro came as slaves, taken from the Mire or the bloods of Kengal.  Iskites, too, were slaves here under Oranid rule, save for the Sekata colonists who only last year ended a brutal war to determine who would rule in their new home of Anath.  But the Gheen of Netai, though they are the fewest in number, have seen trials and faced sorrow worse than any of these.

[note=From the Archives]This is another feature that's been 90% done for a long time.  Consider this my first installment in a more-or-less serious attempt to reinvigorate my world-building efforts, now that I'm no longer mired in grad school.[/note]
Properly speaking, the Gheen of the Netai are Chalice-Gheen, from that third great family of their kind that in Antiquity made its dreys in the Chalicewood.  The disaster that befell that land was slow but inexorable – before the Age of Prophets had even begun, most of their ancestral home had fallen to the Saffron Moss, and their ancient homelands now lie deep within what is now known as the Mosswaste.  Nobody is certain as to why Chalicewood received the closest attentions of the Peril in Antiquity, but some of the oldest stories of the Peril can be traced to the Chalice Gheen.  Some scholars have proposed the Peril originated there, or entered the known world through Chalicewood, but the origins of the Peril lie so far in the past that it is unlikely that the dark truth of its birth will ever be uncovered.

The sickness of Chalicewood splintered the Chalice Gheen.  The first host chose to remain, but over time were forced into the mountain valleys of the Seven Antlers.  Their descendents are said to have become nomads, given themselves over to the Forest, and mixed their blood with the Aras Tay - but these are only tales, and nothing has been heard of the Lost Flock in a very long time.  The second host, under the leadership of queen La'at Syani, crossed the mountains into Scalemount to seek the aid of the Iskites, but the grandmasters turned their backs on Syani's people.  They went on through the Duskwine Gap into the Clawed Thicket to live in the low forest.  There they dwell on the ground behind forest palisades and sharpen their knives against the Iskites, who they have never ceased to despise.

[note=Isath]Isath, though lost in "modern times," is in some sense a predecessor to the Netai – a realm in which multiple races (particularly the Umbril and Gheen) lived more or less in harmony.  For the Evne-Umbril, Isath is their 'Atlantis,' a lost civilization of their ancestors that achieved greatness only approached in the modern day.  The Inembran Gheen, of course, already had a homeland prior to this, and it is Chalicewood rather than Isath that comes to mind when they dream of an idyllic past.[/note]
The third and final host traveled inwise to the Lake of Isath, an ancient land of the Evne, on the outer edge of the Flowering Moors.  The Evne would not help them retake their homeland, but offered them succor in their own home, and the Gheen host lived among the Umbril in peace.  But their curse followed them to that land, and early in the Age of Prophets the shores of the lake fell under the gaze of the Peril.  Isath was the closest inhabited land to the Dominion Tree, which may have been growing even then, and perhaps they were too close for the enemy's comfort.  Until the Diviners' Wrath, no army of Abominations had ever been seen as great as the one that overran Isath.  That was also the first the civilized peoples had seen of Aederyl, the Mosswyrm, since distant antiquity – great was the terror of the Evne and the Gheen to find that those ancient tales were real.  Kyeel Yisara, the queen of the Isath Gheen, met her end in his jaws.  In a matter of weeks, Isath was completely extinguished of all life save the Peril's own.

To the Sea

The Isath Gheen that survived fled together with the Isath Evne to the outwise shore of the Netai.  Some settled among the Evne there, while others made their homes in the Watzash, which was then as now an Iskite land.  Scattered and leaderless, they became subjects of the Evne and Iskites, whose settlements came to be ruled over by those who had tasted the fruit of the Oracle Tree.  They paid their neighbors tribute and were sometimes enslaved, but survived through the age.

Yet the Peril had not yet finished with them.  When the Dominion Tree blossomed, the prophets of the Iskites and Umbril were made slaves to its will, and the Indigo Gheen – as they had become known by that time – watched their rulers destroy themselves.  They saw the march of Vao and the Great Host; they saw the sky darken and heard the forest moan as the countless Aras Tay came forth to meet the Peril in battle; and a few saw the smoke on the horizon when the Dominion Tree burned and the prophets were rent by madness.  In the Watzash, Queen Yaar Makal believed the final confrontation with their people's ancient enemy had come, and resolved to do her part to cleanse the world of evil.  When the Dominion Tree burned, she proclaimed the Iskites – whose leaders had, after all, been revealed as servants of the Peril – to be Abominations-in-flesh and enemies of all life.  Just as the Aras Tay had marched against the Dominion Tree, the Gheen bore down upon the villages of their scaled masters, who were in turmoil from the madness and death of their leaders and the ruinous fall of the Grand Authority.  Thousands of Iskites were murdered by Makal's subjects before they rallied and forced the Gheen to flee inwards towards the Chalklands.  To this day the keenest memory of the Gheen among the Watzash Iskites is that of the "Makales" smashing Iskite eggs in their hatcheries.  The Gheen have never since been very welcome in the Watzash.

[note=Chalice Names]The Inembran Gheen have a different naming convention than the more common Red and Shield Gheen.  Instead of tripartite child-family-adult names, the Chalice Gheen traditionally used only two names, a family name and personal name given at birth.  Beginning with their resettlement at Isath, the Chalice Gheen that would become the Inembran Gheen began gradually adopting a family-child-adult formula, though among the Inembran an adult name is generally given by an individual's family upon majority rather than chosen by the individual as it generally is among the Red and Shield Gheen.  This transition was never total and some Inembran Gheen still go by two names alone.[/note]
It was not long before the Orange Horde made its appearance.  Kengal fell, and the Iskites of Scalemount were crushed by Enti-Ven Famar.  The Prophetslayers rejoined one another on the shores of the Netai; the Evne that did not join them fled to the isles, then uninhabited, while the Gheen that remained there crossed the mouth of the Great Mire and joined their kin in the Chalklands.  In that wasteland, the third host of the Gheen was united once again, living wherever they could – even in caves in the earth, where one of their number would occasionally vanish, snatched by the Golhai who dwelled below.

It was the better part of a century before the Indigo Gheen began to migrate outwise again, eventually reaching the shores of the Netai and finding the few Evne colonies there.  The Evne had assumed that the Indigo Gheen had all become extinct.  Their own people had only recently become unified under the new Prince of the Green, Vatav-Nel Oran, who allowed the aliens to settle on the inwise shore of the sea.  His successors were more permissive, and in the Oranid era a Gheen colony was established on the isle of Inembran.  At its height, the Inembran Gheen numbered three thousand, fully half the population of the island.  Unlike the Tahro and Umbril, who were predominantly slaves under the Oranids, the Gheen were allowed to remain free and enjoyed a certain amount of autonomy; while in the latter Oranid years, tensions between the Evne and the aliens grew, the Gheen presence on Inembran was so great that they were mostly safe from harassment.

The Scourge

It was nearly a hundred years later when a curious disease began to spread among them.  It began with a simple cough.  This would begin to grow worse, until the afflicted would cough up blood.  Their would get chills, and then their lips would turn black; within a few days of this, they were gone.  While the plague that would become known as the Scourge affected every non-Umbril community in the Netai, it hit the Inembran Gheen hardest of all.  Living in close quarters with one another in one district on one island, the Scourge raced through families with terrible efficiency.  The dead were so numerous that they had to be burned in piles.  Of the six major Gheen families of Inembran, two were completely extinguished.  The last member of the Kadyary family, Neera Chiye, burned down the family shrine and then hanged herself.

The survivors were numbed by grief and loss.  In the religious tradition of most Gheen, including the Chalice Gheen, a child is believed to be born with the spirits of all its ancestors in its blood, and thus an individual Gheen is in a sense immortal as long as its family's blood remains.  Suicide, particularly if one has no children, is an absolute taboo; if you have no children or living relations, then your death is not simply your own, but the final death of generations upon generations of your predecessors who dwell in you.  The Inembran Gheen who remained grieved not only for their siblings, children, parents, and friends, but all the uncounted millions who had come before them whose spirits would never again dwell in flesh.

The Gheen of the Netai had undergone many trials in the life of their people, but this was one too many.  Some, like Chiye, gave up, fasting unto death or throwing themselves into the sea.  Others, however, found a new purpose in their lives – vengeance.  Though the source of the Scourge is not definitively known, many accused the Prince of the Green, Varan-Etun Oran, of causing the sickness to liquidate the "troublesome" aliens of the isles.  Varan-Etun fled during the Blue Rebellion, after the destruction of the Oranid fleet at the Isle of Alacrity, but in 186 the Prince returned with an army of mercenaries to reclaim its realm.  Having lost practically all they cared about, believing themselves to be the last of their race, and hearing of the return of the Prince who had overseen the desolation of their people, a number of the surviving Inembran Gheen swore a solemn pact – that if they were fated to die, they would take their enemies with them.

The Last

[ic=Last Chant]Our last meal is eaten,
Our last breath is taken,
The long river is ended,
The starlight has faded,
Let us all die together.

- Kyala Aiky ("Chant of the Last")[/ic]

The volunteers called themselves kyal – The Last.  They painted their faces white, the traditional color of death, believing themselves to be dead already.  After Intendant Ul-Thalar sacked the new Netai Confederation's commanders following the Battle of Kalathoon, the Confederation began fully utilizing aliens in the war effort, and soon found the Last to be the most courageous of their forces.  The Last were neither particularly skilled nor very well armed, but they launched themselves into battle with no heed to their own lives.  The Oranid forces feared the Last more than any other Confederation soldiers – when a Confederation ship closed to board an opponent, the Last would climb the rigging, let loose a tremendous cacophony of wailing and screeching, and swoop down onto the heads of the opposing crew with a machete in each hand, hacking at every enemy within reach until they themselves were slain.  This tactic typically resulted in the deaths of nearly all the Gheen shock troopers, but threw the enemy into such panic and disorder that the boarding parties that followed them had little trouble taking the ship.

The Last did not expect to survive the war, and most did not.  Their heroic efforts contributed significantly to the Confederation's victory, but the cost was dear.  Before the Scourge, the Inembran Gheen had numbered more than three thousand.  By the end of the First Netai War, there were little more than five hundred, a death rate of over 80%.  The Gheen communities on the coast fared somewhat better, as they were not hit as hard by the Scourge, but they too lost more than half of their population in the same time period.  This was not the last war of the era, either.  While the kyal were never revived as a unit, many Indigo Gheen served the Confederation in the subsequent Netai Wars, typically as fliers in the Confederation Smokefleet.  Relative to their population, no race in the Netai, not even the Evne themselves, provided more soldiers to the Confederation.

Now, with one year passed since the end of the Fifth Netai War, the future of the Inembran Gheen is uncertain.  Some of the inner shore Gheen migrated to the Inembran colony in the past few years, and the number of Gheen on the island has rebounded to around a thousand.  The Indigo Gheen have faced what they thought was the end many times, and each time they have survived – perhaps they will thrive within the new Confederation they helped to build and defend.  Yet it is undeniable that their culture has been deeply traumatized by the Scourge Crisis and the wars that followed, and there is a certain sense of guilt among those who lived through that time who wonder why they were spared by the Scourge, and whether they should have joined their white-faced brethren in death.  It is up to the new generation, born in the 30 years since the creation of the Confederation, to begin to heal the wounds of the past and build an enduring home for a nation of exiles far from the trees of their ancestors.

[spoiler=Notable Figures]Lya'any Syen Rulla

Syen Rulla has the distinction of being the only Gheen Intendant-Marshal, the highest rank in the Confederation military.  She is also currently the youngest and the only female Intendant-Marshal (though since most are Umbril, Intendant-Marshals of any gender make up an absolute minority of their ranks).  Syen Rulla was a child during the Scourge Crisis.  Her mother, a family shaman, died in 182, towards the end of the sickness.  Rulla was eleven.  She was deemed too young to fight during the Resistance War (the First Netai War) in 186-189, but was accepted when the Second Netai War broke out in 190 owing to the Confederation's desperate need for Gheen for the newly founded Smokefleet – Rulla had never been in a balloon, but Gheen were small and light, and thus considered ideal for the aerial service.  Her khauta crashed in a storm at White Feather Bay and she was a prisoner of war in Kesz for four seasons.

Despite her lackluster start, she decided to become a professional soldier, and earned distinction in the Third Netai War as a flyer for the Blue Fleet.  She became one of the "little birds" of Intendant-Marshal Esthakesh, his favored Smokefleet commanders who he selected to lead raids and special missions.  As one of his protégés, Syen Rulla rose quickly in the Smokefleet, and was a "flock commander" in the Battle of Seven Fortunate Winds, an overwhelming victory for the Confederation and the first known battle fought entirely by aerial forces.

She was one of Esthakesh's advisors during the Fourth Netai War, which ended up potentially saving her career (as she never had front-line command during the military disasters that characterized that failed war).  After the war, she was placed in charge of drafting a plan to reorganize the Smokefleet and was promoted to Intendant-Marshal after the retirement of Esthakesh in 209, just in time for the Fifth Netai War, when the Smokefleet played a decisive role in destroying the Right Orientation Alliance.

Syen Rulla is, by virtue of her high position, considered a leader in the Inembran Gheen community, though that is a role she is clearly uncomfortable in.  She is considered a bit of an "eccentric" among the other Inembran Gheen, preferring Var Aban to Inembran and not remarrying after her mate, another volunteer she was imprisoned with during the Second Netai War, was killed in an aerial engagement in 204.  She has two daughters, 12-year-old twins, who live with their extended family in Inembran.  She is known to the Umbril, somewhat affectionately, as Sil-Thurin ("Little Shrike"), which has been adopted partially by the Gheen as "Takty-Rulla" ("Shrike-ish Rulla").  Syen Rulla is considered one of the foremost experts on aerial warfare in the Netai (and therefore in the world) though she has stated that she does not consider herself to personally be a particularly talented pilot, and has not actually flown in combat since 196.

Kesk Rauka

The day after Takyan Rauka turned twelve years old, his younger sister died from the Scourge.  Within a month, his mother, father, and all the rest of his siblings had joined her.  Rauka was taken in by his cousins in Aryk, on the inwise shore of the Netai, but he was morose and distant.  Eventually he stopped speaking entirely.  His kin feared he would kill himself, thus ending the incarnation of his departed family.  He did not – but, in his own way, he did try.

Though Rauka did not speak, he did listen, and in 186 heard his kin speaking of the return of Varan-Etun, the "Withering Prince," who many of the Gheen blamed for their suffering; now the former Prince of the Green was gathering an army to reclaim what had been wrested from it by the newly born Netai Confederation.  It heard of its assault on the isles, and the victory at Kalathoon, and finally of tales that now even non-Umbril were fighting for the Confederation.  One day, without saying a word, Rauka picked up a thicket knife, took a fishing boat, sailed for the isles, and joined the kyal.  In the Isles of Solace he at last broke his silence with a war cry.

Rauka would later tell that every one of his comrades in the kyal died in the war.  Takyan Rauka was saved by an accident – in his second battle, his left leg was completely shattered by the mace of a Tahr mercenary.  He was pulled from a pile of bodies hours later, still alive, by Confederate Umbril.  He screamed at them to let him die, but the pain caused him to lose consciousness.  Taken to Meja, an Umbril healer worked to try and save his life; the leg had become corrupted, and the healer had to amputate it.  Afterwards, Rauka drifted in and out of feverish incoherence.  It was three weeks before he was fully conscious and lucid.

Rauka, of course, was unable to fight for the remainder of the war, and to this day considers it his greatest shame that he was forced to leave his comrades to seek their deaths without him.  When the war was over, however, Rauka found himself a revered hero, one of only a handful of the kyal who had survived the war.  Even without his white-painted face, he was soon recognized everywhere and treated as a glorious hero.  Rather than rest on his glory, however, Rauka chose another path – he claimed to have spoken with the dead during his near-death ordeal.  The old traditions, he said, were false; he had awakened to a new spiritual truth.  He shed his family name and soon became known as Kesk Rauka, "White Rauka," referring to the face-paint he once wore.

Kesk Rauka's "religion" does not have a rigorously defined set of doctrines, nor even a set name; it is variously known as "many-souls," "the hues," "the spectrum," or just raukaty (translated as "Rauka-ism" or "Rauka-ness").  Rauka has made pronouncements on all sorts of matters, from morality and ritual to relationship guidance and historical exegesis.

The central teaching, however, is that a Gheen's ancestors are not in fact incarnate in its blood; Rauka claims to know this because he spoke with dead Gheen that had no living descendants, contrary to the tradition that such Gheen cease to exist.  Instead, Gheen are continually reborn, and are never truly gone.  More than a few have noted the similarity of this belief to Tahr religion, which Rauka would certainly have been aware of, though there are critical differences.  There is not a true "spirit world" to test and winnow the soul as in some Tahr faiths, nor is there any "journey" in the other life or from one life to the next as in Tahr tradition.

Most importantly, there is no indivisible "soul" at all in raukaty.  Rather, a single Gheen's spirit is made up of pieces (called "hues") that may divide and recombine with different pieces when a new Gheen is born.  "True" reincarnation, an identical duplication of your own arrangement of hues, is possible but presumably rare.  "Ancestral spirits" – hues that were formed together at the dawn of time – existed originally, but modern Gheen are composed of a variety of pieces from these original spirits.  Love, for instance, is the attraction felt by two people who each possess a number of pieces of an original ancestral spirit; it is essentially pieces of an ancient soul finding one another again.  Very rarely, a Gheen may be born who possesses an ancestral spirit fully reassembled; these are the tolneeri ("awakened ones"), Gheen destined to become great heroes or exceptional leaders (Rauka himself does not claim to be one of these).

Kesk Rauka is extremely controversial in his community.  On the one hand, he is a living legend; on the other, his views are considered dangerous by traditionalist Gheen.  The family and their larger culture will disintegrate, they argue, if Gheen are taught to believe that they and their relations are not in a sense part of the same being.  His following is particularly strong among the new generations, leading to accusations that he is corrupting the youth and turning them against their parents, who rely on their own offspring and future generations to maintain their blood and consciousness.  Some are also made uneasy by his prophecies, supposedly gleaned from the hues in the realm of death, that soon an "awakened" individual will be born to the Inembran Gheen who will shepherd the people through a "final trial" before a new golden age, unparalleled since the days when the people still dwelled in old Chalicewood.

Kesk Rauka is itinerant, traveling between Inembran and the dreys of the coast to spread his teachings.  He has no known mates or children.  A group of disciples follow him everywhere, and he survives off charity.  Non-Gheen have taken little notice of him, though the prophet has not categorically denied that his same doctrine of hues could apply to them (he has said he simply does not know; only "Gheen hues" spoke to him when he was among the dead).  The Confederation has no issue with him.  The isle of Var Umber literally worships a sea serpent and has spawned a violent anarchist cult; a crippled vagabond's theories on the Gheen soul are hardly keeping the elites of the Confederation up at night.

Rykta Mak Yaar

Mak Yaar is potentially the most important Gheen in Inembran.  Her family was one of the largest to survive the Scourge; she became matriarch during the epidemic, when the previous matriarch, her older sister, succumbed.  Mak Yaar did not personally fight in the First Netai War, but colluded with the Confederate magistracy in the massacre of the mercenary garrison (largely Iskite-Tahr) of Inembran following the Battle of Kalathoon.

After the war, however, Mak Yaar was to establish her community's reputation for alien hospitality.  Travel and trade began to gradually recover despite the intermittent wars of the period, and as the operational headquarters of the Confederate fleet and many of its merchant vessels, Inembran saw much of it.  Mak Yaar, realizing that few Umbril were capable of making any food that was palatable to aliens, built a teahouse by the Cove, the city's main port, that also served food "guaranteed to not be rotten."  This turned out to be tremendously popular among non-Umbril sailors, passengers, and merchants.  Over the years the Rykta have expanded their enterprises, and Mak Yaar's family remains a dominant presence in the "hospitality industry" of Inembran, owning a variety of teahouses, boarding houses, distilleries, and "rent-markets" (buildings available for long-term rent that serve as a residence, warehouse, and shop-front for foreign merchants).

Mak Yaar is well-known on the island, although not always appreciated – some believe that her family also trades in information, using their commercial position to acquire secrets and rumors from their guests and selling them to interested parties.  Her organization is extremely loyal and difficult to penetrate, as it is composed almost entirely of her extended family – she has two mates, nine children, at least twenty grand-children, and scores of cousins, nieces, and nephews, most of whom are involved in the "family business" in one way or another.

Yaar is sometimes called "eelface" by Gheen and non-Gheen alike, referring to an obvious snaggletooth she's had since a young age, though this name is generally not used in her presence.  Unlike most Inembran Gheen, she is said to have never actually left the island in her life, and claims to have no desire to, but she is presumably well-informed about many things beyond the shores of the Cove.[/spoiler]

Pictured at top: This is a sigil widespread among the Inembran Gheen.  The "Horned Ril," a flower reputedly native to Chalicewood, is known from Isath and may have had symbolic meaning even before the exile.  The ril-flower is traditionally used to "frame" a family sigil, or – as in this example – a character from an antique logographic language of Chalicewood.  This character represents "memory" or "thought," and is a common symbol to represent Inembran/Chalice Gheen traditionalism, history, and heritage.  The use of other antique logographic symbols in this context is rare, but not unknown.  Most notoriously, some of the kyal used an upside-down ril-flower framing the logograph representing negation (roughly equivalent to the prefix "un-" in English).  These logographs are unpronounceable in modern Gheen; they may have once had pronunciations, but these were forgotten in Antiquity.

Once again, CJ's exotic beauty and socio-political depth shine through. I love this setting. Any chance you'll run a CJ adventure 'here'?

Quote from: Rose-of-VellumAny chance you'll run a CJ adventure 'here'?

Though most of what I do in CJ is the fictional equivalent of travel writing, I've worked on a few adventures and hooks now and again.  As always, however, I'm limited by my my aversion to running a CJ game in something like vanilla D&D/PF and my rather poor knowledge of systems outside of that.  I was working on a rules-light system last year that I should probably revisit.

Polycarp asked if I could post the following logs from a Clockwork Jungle IRC game run at Dicefreaks before its last site's crash. False_Epiphany, however, saved the logs, and I've edited the logs to post here. We only had two sessions, but good times all the same.

[ic=Where the Heart Lies]<DM> Sunlight gently slips from the canopy above, illuminating the Boath's Blue Camp. Nestled within a copse of verdant trees strung with wild peppervine, the camp oversees a softly roaring waterfall that cascades into a jade-green lake. Above the waters and reed-filled banks, giant dragonflies flit back and forth as they glut themselves upon the myriad insects skimming the pool's surface. The Boath, close to fifty in number, have been anxiously awaiting their guests' arrival. Vines and fronds have been woven to create protective screens, and the ground has been cleared for umbril tents and beasts of burden. Long-buried pots have been unearthed, and the promise of a feast dances upon the senses.

Attracted by the promise of rest and food, the Golden Ring merchants hasten to their destination, driving their pack-bearing tzaus and large caravan forward. After a moment or mutual wariness, the two groups meet. They share a few words, then their leaders, Enur-Lan and the Boath patriach Bagrun, sit across from one another, separated by a large flat rock. Tradition demands their dealings begin with a sharing of tea -a sacred ceremony respected by all the civilized races of the Forest. And by that tradition, a priest of Faretheniz must lead the ceremony... Azenej's four-day nap must come to an end.

While Azenej is summoned, Bagrun beckons Turath to come forward. Although Turath holds no place of prominence among the Boath, the wise patriarch wishes to have the young tahro be visible to the umbril merchants -strangers rarely do favors to the stranger who remains such.

<Ivur-Nel> "It will be good to finally rest after this trek. It smells as though some of the food may even be properly ripe," Ivur-Nel Thaval remarks to its merchant sporemate on the way in. "But, I must go and wake my mentor for the ceremony."

<DM> Enur-Lan whistles its umbril-laugh, its gills quivering as it responds, "Yes, he has had far too much rest, and you, not enough."

<Ivur-Nel> "That is the truth. I feel I have walked more these last four days than all my previous life! The Jungle untamed is... beauteous, but tiring."

<DMs> Sore and tired, the two Iskite slaves hiss a mutual sigh of relief as they set down the silk and gilded palanquin.

<Turath> Turath nods and steps forward, surveying the visiting merchants.

<Ivur-Nel> Ivur-Nel gently prodes his master with the blunt end of his staff. "Master! Master Azenej! Awaken, we have arrived!"

<DM> Ever so sleepily, and ever so slowly, Azenej opens his scaled lids. He blinks twice as the light streams in from the opening in the canopy, surveys the scene, and quickly deduces the appropriate course of action. "Yes," it hisses in the Luminious Tongue, "Bring forth the petal tea, then the two bricks, and last the tziwa. The traditions must be observed. And the hearts and minds must be tested." Leaning upon his own staff, which is made of supple red-barked wood and capped with intricately wrought lotus-gold, Azenej slowly makes his way towards the stone and the gathered leaders.

<Ivur-Nel> "As you say, my teacher." Ivur-Nel bows (with great difficulty, as usual for a being without a flexible spine), and hurries to fetch the required items.

<DM> "As you obey, my student," Azenej responds with a lipless smile.

<Ivur-Nel> He brings the tea, and the bricks, and the tziwa, and then steps into the background to observe.

<DM> Turath watches as the elderly Iskite approaches, and notices as both tahro and umbril alike pay the creature great deference. Waiting for his pupil to arrive with a vast array of gilded cups, tea, and related tools, Azenej sits on the side of the stone, such that Enur-Lan and Bagrun are beside him. Softly, he motions for Ivur-Nel to sit across from him.

<Ivur-Nel> Letting out an involuntary whistle-hiss at the honor, the umbril hastens to comply.

<DM> With Ivur-Tel's assistance, Azenej elaborately conducts the sacred tea ceremony as tahro and umbril sit across from one another. Opposite his mentor, Ivur-Nel can feel the flow of power as Azenej causes water to form in the dozen cups laid out upon the stone, only to feel a similar flow as Azenej heats them by breathing his own spirit over the cups. Steam rises into the air, its hiss mingling with the master's as he says: "Offers of friendship may escape our lips like the water that rises from these cups -full of promise but lacking substance."

Meticulously adding various herbs and petals to the cups, Azenej has his pupil pass them to the leaders of both groups -first to Bagrun and Enur-Lan, and then to the others sitting in the inner circle, among which are Turath and Vatav-Eth. "Friendship is not word alone, but deed," the Iskite reverently says, instructing the group to partake.

Smelling the precisely-made petal tea, both umbril and tahro are embraced by the powerful aroma of steeped orchids. But the tea is weak and watery, lacking flavor.

Sensing this, Azenej adds: "Words of friendship may be spoken, flowery might be one's speech, but the truth of those words must not be weak -deeds must match the promises made."

Cups are returned and refilled once more, though this time, the priest instructs Ivur-Nel to fill half the cups with one tea brick and the second half with another. To the Umbril's senses, the first smells of delicious fermented fungus, while the second reeks of blood and urine.

<Ivur-Nel> Somewhat hesitantly with the second brick, he does so.

<DM> Meanwhile, Turath likewise smells the pouring tea, and to him, the first stinks of rotted vegetation and mold while the second has the tantalizing smell of spiced pepperwine tea, a rare treat among his kind.

<Turath> Turath accepts the offered beverage with an unreadable expression.

<DM> Watching the group's reaction to the clashing aromas and odors, Azenej directs Inur-Nel to pass the fermented tea to the Tahro and the pepperwine to the Umbril.

<Ivur-Nel> He waits barely half a second, wondering if his master's wits have finally left him, before remembering his place and doing as instructed.

<DM> Ever observant, Azenej catches his student's hesitation, but simply waits for his student to comply, confident that he will do so, and silent in his pleasure when he is proven correct.

Bagrun, Enur-Lan, and the others likewise evidence the barest trace of question as they take the offered cups -the Iskite is old, after all. But while their eyes echo their belief that a mistake has been made, neither side is willing to give voice to their thoughts. As if reading those thoughts, Bagrun and Enur-Lan nod for their fellows to drink.

Much to Ivur-Nel's surprise and perhaps dismay, Azenej bids his pupil to likewise imbibe with his kin.

<Turath> Turath imbibes the foul-smelling tea, attempting to stoically bear through his distaste.

<DM> The fermented drink is foul indeed, and Turath struggles to swallow the sickening substance down -even as his body's natural instinct is to spit it out. Yet, the tahro warrior manages to keep the drink down, the taste of his own reswallowed bile doing nothing to diminish the terrible after-taste.

<Turath> Turath looks across the merchants flatly, but should the tahro hold any objections to his drink's taste they are kept swallowed along with it.

<Ivur-Nel> Glad that most animals find his expressions unreadable (even if his master does not), he sips from the vile-smelling cup.

<DM> Driven perhaps by a greater need to not embarrass its master, its faith, its kin, and least of all, itself, Ivur-Nel not only swallows the alcohol-laced tea but keeps his face a mask of forced tranquility.

And in doing so, meets Azenej's approving gaze. Turning that gaze upon the others, who largely succeed in drinking their cups but fail to keep their faces free of disgust, Azenej comments: "Friendship is not always sweet. True friendship makes demands upon you, imposes difficulty, hardship, work, and even at times suffering. True friends bear such burdens, without complaint, without hesitation, knowing that their friends will do likewise for them."

Letting the weight of his words sink in, the priest pauses, and then after a moment's passing, instructs Ivur-Nel to pass around the cups one last time -but this time, the gilded cups are filled with steaming tziwa, the rich butter flavored by unique herbs for the two races -herbs that make the tea smell and taste delicious to their unique senses. Its warm, thick flavor is both filling and strong enough to wash away any lingering taste of the previous tea.

<Turath> Turath partakes of the second beverage to notably more satisfaction than the first.

<DM> Watching the expressions of contentment and relief, Azenej speaks, "But friendship is not ultimately a bitter thing -it's rewards outweigh its cost. It is the ultimate transaction where both profit without making the other suffer. Both are made richer by its bonds. Friendship is filling, full, and sustaining. As you have so done today, do so in the future. Remember your actions, your words. Speak not lightly offers of alliances, but neither fear making friends."

<Turath> Turath gives a nod of agreement, approval visible in his gold eyes.

<DM> "I sense the roots of a great friendship growing here today," the Iskite continues, matching Ivur-Nel's bow and then strangely gazing at Turath, "-but the blossoming of that friendship will depend on how you honor the words you make this day. Faretheniz marks your words -and if you treasure them, the Prince of Prosperity will bless you with greater treasures. Its net catches all."

Murmurs of approval meet his final invocation, and as that ripple reaches the rest of the crowd, Azenej motions to Ivur-Nel to help him stand.

"You did very well today," he says softly in the Luminous Tongue, "Well enough that you will not soon need me."

<Ivur-Nel> "Always will I revere your wisdom, master. If I have grown, then you provided the soil in which my spore of knowledge could sprout."

<DM> Azenej smiles -at least as much as an Iskite can. Then, turning back to the leaders, he asks, "By what token shall you seal this friendship?"

Ready to answer with their customary reply, Bagrun and Enur-Lan motion to their seconds, the patriarch's son, Agruth and the umbril Vatav-Eth. Each pulls out a heavy, dull black stone and lays it on the larger flat rock. Lodestones, they are.

Nodding in approval, Azenej instructs his pupil to take the rare and valuable stones to his tent, saying, "These gifts to one another shall be weighed, and if they are not found wanting, the Prince of Prosperity shall give its blessing to this offer of friendship."

<Ivur-Nel> Wordlessly, Ivur-Nel takes them into the tent. He plants his staff in the ground, and begins balancing the scales upon it to weigh the gifts.

<DM> Biding farewell to the leaders, and receiving thanks in kind, Azenej slowly makes his way back to his braided bed. In his absence, his servants have set up his tent at the camp's edge and have placed his silken palanquin therein.

<Ivur-Nel> Once the scales are aligned, Ivur-Nel places the lodestones upon them, hurrying to complete the ceremony before his master falls asleep once more.

<DM> Smiling at Ivur-Nel's industry, Azenej waits and watches, and eventually says, "There is no rush, Thaval. I will do that when I rise next. Go back to the group, witness their words spoken, show them by example as well as word. There will no doubt be many games amid the feast. Enjoy them. As for me, I wish nothing more to enjoy a nice, long lap."

<Ivur-Nel> "Of course honored one. But, if I may... you have slept for long indeed already, master. In truth, I... begin to grow worried for you."

<DM> Giving the Umbril a sharp, but kind, rebuke, Azenej hisses with a touch of laughter, "When you have lived for 127 years, 889 seasons, 6,223 weeks, or 43,561 days, you deserve a nap whenever you want one."

<Ivur-Nel> Ivur-Nel bows his head ruefully. "Of course, sire. I shall leave you to your rest."

<DM> Laying himself down, Azenej adds more softly, "It is the way of thing, Ivur-Nel. We grow -but we also grow old. Your time too will come. But the end is not what should worry you -it is what is between the beginning and the end that should occupy your time and thoughts. Trust me when I say that I have not spent the majority of those moments sleeping. But now is your time -go and grow."

<Ivur-Nel> The young umbril bows and leaves for the feast.

<DM> "And let this old scale sleep undisturbed..." Azenej says with a contended his as his head touches his pillow.

Outside, Enur-Lan attempts to begin negotiating with the Boath patriarch, but Bagrun will have none of it. The tahro says that there will be time for that later, but first, a feast is in order, for his blood are famished and fatigued from their long journey and so must the Ajen traders be as well. At his command, the tahro set their preparations in order, and after a moment or two of chaos, a grand feast and celebration begins. Seeing and smelling the plentiful dishes, the Ajen's reservations melt, and soon both sides are swept up in the revelry.

Clay pots filled with dirt beer are passed among the tahro, while fresh water taken from the waterfall quenches the umbril's thirst. Drums are sounded even as mashed meat and vegetables are passed around. To the umbril's delight, the main dish is napal, a pickled cabbage and tapper steak mash with scallions, ginger, brine, and fermented fish. While the tahro partake of similar dishes simply less fermented, the Ajen sprinkle molds to further spice their meals.

<Ivur-Nel> Once there, resolved to follow his master's advice, the fungus does something it has not done before; approaches a tahro, rather than one of its familiar acquaintances, as the feast is set up. "Greetings," it hisses in Trade-Cant to the composed ape that sat beside it at the ceremony. "You held yourself well, if the tea was as foul for you as for I."

<Turath> Turath looks towards the umbril as he helps himself to the proffered food. "As did you. Your teacher is a wise man. It must be a privilege to learn from him."

<Ivur-Nel> "It is. The Faithful Scale is one of the most revered teachers in the House of Harmonious Commerce, though not truly a lord of the church. I have been honored to share in his waning days." It scoops some of the ripened meat and vegetables into a feeding mouth as it speaks. "I am Ivur-Nel Thaval; how are you called?"

While the tahr warrior and umbril priest continue speaking one with another, the feast flows into a grand game as the Boath lead the Umbril to an area where they have set three tall poles, each of differing heights, in a cleared field twenty paces across.

<Turath> "Turath. You and your fellows are from Orpiment?"

<Ivur-Nel> "Yes. I know this may sound strange to you, living out here in the wilds, but this is the first time I have left the city's walls."

<Turath> "Then we are alike in our strangeness. This is the first time I have sought to leave the wilds."

<Ivur-Nel> "Truly? I did not think the tahro often sought out civilization. They are rare within the city's walls..."

<DM> Tahro and umbril alike begin to shout in excitement as several on both sides guess at the poles' meaning. However, to Turath and Ivur-Nel, the poles have no significance.

Fortunately, Bagrun's grand-daughter Oluwath approaches Turath, asking, "Have you ever played Star-Catching?" Seeing the look of confusion on Turath's face, Oluwath explains the game in great detail and excitement. Fortunately for Ivur-Nel, a nearby Ajen translates the game, elaborating with its own eager commentary.

Meanwhile, Bagrun's eldest son Argun returns with a freshly woven cage of leaves, inside which silver-white light slips out and something skitters and bangs against the leafy prison.

<Turath> Turath listens to the game's explanation with some interest, then looks towards Ivur. "We are both new to this. We should play."

<Ivur-Nel> "It... does not seem a game to favor an umbril..." If plants could blanch, it would at the thought of climbing so high. "Oh... well, that doesn't sound so bad, I suppose," it says when told of the role of the gallery: to cheer one's champion and jeer one's rivals.

Ivur-Nel's comment invokes a laugh from an approaching Enur-Lan, "What, have you forgotten all the games we played as sporelings? Even before we could move, we used our wits and words when the others did their war-games."

<Ivur-Nel> "You climb, and I will cheer, eh, Turath?"

<Turath> "This game favors both. I will play."

<Ivur-Nel> "I don't see you rushing to the top of the poles either, sporekin."

<DM> Enur-Lan laughs, looks up at the poles, clutches his gills, then laughs weakly, "No, I play better... on the ground."

No sooner does it say such than Bagrun appears, and, after giving his grand-daughter a look, says to the Ajen's leader: "You lack a champion willing to climb -we will give you one. This is Turath, a tahro not of our Blood but one who has shown great strength and promise. Our hands are open: we give him to you as your champion." Turning to Turath, the patriarch asks, "Yes, our hands are open?"

<Turath> "Our hands are open."

<Ivur-Nel> "Our hands are open; we accept."

<DM> Bagrun smiles deeply. Turning to the crowd, he waits till his eldest son attaches the soon-flittering, flashing, gheen-sized beetle to a strand of saryet silk, then says in Trade Chant, "We begin the game."

Cheers erupt from the tahro while the umbril begin strategizing.

Bagrun announces the champions -Turath for the Ajen, and Kurgath, Bagrun's grandson, for the Boath.

Kurgath, like Turath, is a relatively young Tahro, one no doubt competing for the favor of the unclaimed females and the approval of his elders. His fur is a russet hue, and his body is sinewy. He waits for Turath to finish taking off his armor and prepares to enter the clearing.

<Turath> Turath removes his ringmail, and steps into the site of the game.

<DM> While the Baoth cheer on their kin, the majority of the umbril begin placing private bets and heckling their rivals' champion.

Enur-Lan smiles and weezes a shrill whistle, "Just like old times, eh, Ivur?"

<Ivur-Nel> "Indeed! But for a bit higher stakes this time." It waits for its sporemate's reaction to the choice of words.

<DM> At the mention of stakes, Enur-Lan's eyes light up, "And just want sort of stakes are we wagering?"

<Turath> Turath appraises the two poles for an instant, then bounds towards the taller, slick one.

<DM> Somehow in the midst of all the chaos, Ivur-Nel hears the distinct clicking of castle tiles. The crowd cheers, shouts, and moans as the foreign tahro heads to the tall pole -meanwhile the star weevil flits back and forth, resting for a moment atop one of the other poles.

<Ivur-Nel> Emitting a low chortle of amusement that the pun slipped Enur-Lan by, Ivur-Nel muses. "Hard to say. Could be starting down a slippery slope, if one of us bets against our own team."

<DM> "Ah, so you do still consider yourself an umbril? -that's good, I was wondering if your chitin was about to shed scales."

<Ivur-Nel> "Still, I think I could make a slick profit wagering on the promising chap I was talking to. Say..."

<DM> Meanwhile, Turath leaps at the greased pole. His hands wrap around it, and for a moment, he hangs there, but then slides down, grease slicking his own crimson fur. The Boath roar with laughter -but the focus of their attention is still on their champion. They pound his back, chant his name, and stomp their feet in a deafening rhythm.

<Ivur-Nel> He sees the momentary slip. "...2-1 odds, against? Come on, Turath! Get up there and reel it in, I know you can make it! Show 'em what your Blood is made of!"

<DM> "Offers like that are liable to fall flat on their face..." Enur-Lan remarks, feigning disinterest as Kurgath steps into the ring.

The mention of Blood, however, does not have the intended effect on Turath, as it is a reminder of his loss, his loneliness, and the support he lacks and Kurgath has.

Support Kurgath puts to good use as he mightily leaps at the shortest pole and heaves himself up with huge swings of his arms. In a moment's time, he is up, nimbly balancing as the beetle takes to the air, frantic to get away.

<Turath> Turath snorts at the pole, his gorilla-like nostrils flaring. The support of his Blood or not, he will do them honor. He leaps at the pole again, attempting to wrest his arms around the slippery structure.

<DM> Amazingly, he makes it -whether by willpower or the fact that the pole is now less-slick, he shuffles up the pole.

<Turath> Invigorated by the success, he tries to pull himself further upward.

<DM> His efforts come to naught, however, as his hands reach for their next handhold only to slip, causing Turath to plummet to the ground. While some Boath laugh, most shout advice to their young champion.

<Ivur-Nel> "...perhaps you should try a different approach, friend Turath! It should be an easy leap from the top of the middling-tall pole to catch the fire-beetle!"

<DM> Listening to such sound advice -which matches the wisdom of his elders, Kurgath leaps to the next pole. However, as he does, the beetle flits by. Losing his focus, he tries to grap the silk strand, misses, and goes crashing to the ground with a painful "oomph" escaping his lips.

<Turath> Taking the umbril's advice, Turath bounds towards the less slippery pole, attempting to scale it.

<DM> While his hands are still slick from the first pole, Turath finds the middling pole far easier to scale, and makes it nearly to the top.

Not to be outdone, Kurgath begins to climb the same pole, causing it to rock violently.

<Ivur-Nel> Ivur-Nel points a stalk at the recovering Boarth. "See? Keep your eye on the top, don't lose focus, or opportunity will fly right past you!"

<DM> Seeing the swaying motion, the Boath warn their champion to hold on. Ivur-Nel's words are drowned out by its kin who seem more interested in mocking their fallen rival than cheering their own.

<Turath> Indifferent to the pole's motions, Turath determinedly continues to scale it.

<DM> So near the top, he is checked by the rocking, lest he fall once more.

<Ivur-Nel> It mutters in the Golden Tongue, "nobody appreciates a sharp wit."

<Turath> Checked or no, he becomes all the more determined to climb.

<DM> And he makes it! Using the swaying to aid his movement, he clambers to the top, just as the beetle buzzes by his head. Despite the distraction and near-collision, he manages to gain his footing atop the small pole

<Ivur-Nel> "Get it, get it! Opportunity is buzzing for attention!"

<DM> Somehow, amidst all the clamor, Turath hears Ivur-Nel's words -and whether it be sheer luck or the feeling of having a friend, not being alone, he grabs hold of the beetle mid-flight, even while still keeping his footing. The Boath cry out, Kurgath tries to rock harder, but his foot slips -he falls. The beetle buzzes louder, its glands pulse, then flash! So near, the light is blinding. Even when Turath closes his eyes, it is simply too much -he is blind! But for the moment, the beetle, try as it might, it cannot escape the tahro's grip

<Ivur-Nel> "Behold, my faith and your might have illuminated the way to victory!"

<DM> The crowd screams, the umbril cheer, laugh, and heckle, inspired by Ivur-Nel's wit and Turath's prowess. Even the Boath stare, looking upward to see what will happen.

<Turath> Though uable to see, Turath is still able to feel. He feels the beetle within his grip. He attempts to crush the squirming specimen within his hands.

<DM> A giant 'crack' sounds over the clearing -the beetle crumples under Turath's embrace. Blind and off-balance from the beetle-death blow, Turath however missteps, slips, and feels the rush of air as the ground races to meet him

Fortunately for him, Kurgath leaps to his feet and rushes to break Turath's fall.

<Turath> Turgath nods to his rival in thanks. "You are fierce competition, Kurgath."

<Ivur-Nel> Ivur-Nel cheers its new compatriot, and holds out a stalk to accept his winnings from the old.

<DM> Turath has won! The Ajen have won!

****

<DM> The festivities echo loud into the night, competing with the roaring waterfall below. Umbril and tahro alike feast and entertain themselves with a multitude of games, both elaborate and minor. Well-wrestling, tumbling tiles, and more entertain the gathered throng. Long into the night both sides celebrate, and when morning arrives, many are loathe to wake. The Ajen's leaders, however, have not forgotten their purpose in meeting the Boath -and that purpose spurs them to rise.

Slowly, the camps stir. As the morning dew melts with the rising sun, each side gathers once more at the meeting-stone, awaiting Azenej to proclaim their exchanging of lodestones as approved. But the Faithful Scale does not emerge. Time passes, whispers slither through the shifting crowd, and tension rises like the jungle sun.

With a glance as steely as a sharpened lath-til, Vatav-Eth motions to Ivur-Nel to fetch his torpid master.

Across the meeting-stone, Turath sits, a newly gifted necklace hanging from his neck, its twined leather and copper holding one of the star-weevil's still-glowing glands.

<Ivur-Nel> Ivur-Nel lets out a whistling sigh. "I was afraid of this..." He is already beginning to move when the merchant leader orders him. He enters the tent, and gently shakes his master by the shoulder. "Awaken, teacher, it is time for the ceremony!"

As Ivur-Nel approaches his master's silken tent, he steps over the half-asleep Iskite slaves and the not-too distant Sarisza. Yet, as it enters the tent, its reply is meet with a strange gurgle and shifting of silk and bark.

<Ivur-Nel> He ignores the lazy ones as he goes to his duty... "What is...?"

<Sarisza> Sarisza stands nearby, not trying too hard to conceal his boredom. "What iss it?"

<DM> Watching the old priest writhe in bed, Ivur-Nel wonders if his master has once again tasted of Aveimazan's Kiss, a psychedelic mushroom common to these areas and known for inducing dream-filled sleep. Sarisza however sees the attractive female slaves half-asleep by the tent, his eyes and ears more intent on the rising and falling of their dew-slick scales.

<Ivur-Nel> "Oh master, why would you seek visions on this of all nights?" It moves closer to confirm its suspicions, while trying to remember the ritual in case it has to do it without help.

<Sarisza> His tongue flickers out to taste the air, his attention entirely elsewhere than on the tent.

<DM> Moving closer to wake its unresponsive master, Ivur-Nel is startled -and then horrified- as it sees its master's writhing become terribly violent. Too late the umbril sees that its master's robe are slick with russet mold and blood -and then, in a burst of gore and noxious spores, Azenej's body erupts, spewing forth two disgusting creatures.

<Ivur-Nel> "AAaaaagggh! NO!"

<Turath> Turath looks sharply towards the scream.

<Sarisza> Sarisza starts, shaken out of whatever reptilian thoughts were occupying his mind.

<DM> Short, thin, and green, the pair are covered in tendrils of fungus that dangle from their arms, midsection, and legs. Sickeningly, they pick up the splinters of Azenej's bones, and then with new-born malice turn on the shouting umbril. Yet, still emerging from the gore-that-was-Azenej, the disgusting creatures are slow to act upon their murderous impulses -allowing the now-attentive Sarisza to intervene.

<Sarisza> All thoughts of pretty girls forgotten... well, at least, put on hold... Sarisza spins around and makes for the tent to see what has disturbed his charge.

<DM> Entering, he scenes the horrid scene -the two creatures spilling from Azenej's splattered, mold-covered corpse, their tiny, tendril-roped arms holding sharp splinters of bone.

<Ivur-Nel> "Azenaj is murdered! To arms!"

<Sarisza> "Sssss.... Intruders!"

<DM> The shout ripples through the throng -Ajen and Boath alike cry out in confusion, suspicion, and wariness. As Sarisza surveys the scene, his keen mind recalls tales of these intruders -nezerin they are called. Created by a vicious, lethal mold, these creatures burst from the bodies of those slain by the russet mold. While some consider them aras tay, others consider them more akin to kraelings -nasty beasts that know nothing but destruction and murder. Small in size, nezerin are resistant to mental attacks, piercing weapons, and electricity. And as Sarisza sees now, first-hand, they have an affinity for using the remains of their victims as weapons.

<Sarisza> Sarisza sucks in his breath, tongue flickering. "Nezerinsss!" He quickly conveys the information he remembers while reaching for his crossbow. Though he suspects the bolts may not do much good.

<DM> As the shouts and sounds of eminent battle ripple through the crowd, a still-sleeping Jhuel is nearly crushed by a hulking Boath member.

<Jewels> "Hey, watch it!" he calls out before the commotion finally reaches his still sleepy senses.

<DM> Any chance of sleep is further dashed as a nearby tzau kicks the ground, causing the now-quite-alert gheen to dodge to avoid having his head crushed by the creature's hoof.

<Jewels> "Whoa, whoa whoa!" He springs up as quickly as he can and frantically looks around to find out what all the hullaballoo is about.

<DM> Twisting nimbly back and forth, Jhuel catches sight of the opening tent flap, the Iskite's drawing of weapons, and an umbril's shouting. Turath, too distant to see in the now-chaotic scene, nevertheless keenly hears his new-found friend shouting for aid and warning of danger, murder, and intruders.

<Jewels> Wanting to know what the problem is, he avoids being smushed by the larger moving figures as he makes his way toward the center of all the attention.

<DM> With deft agility, all-too at home in the chaos, Jhuel spins, runs between legs, leaps over the nearby tzau and glides right to the tent's opening -much to the surprise of the now very much awake and fearful iskite slaves.

<Sarisza> Either of whom can smell the danger warning Sarisza is releasing.

<Turath> Turath quickly moves towards the sounds of commotion, walking upright rather than on his knuckles as he grips his spear. Unlike the smaller gheen, he simply shoulders and pushes his way through the crowd.

<DM> Turath, like so many of his fellow tahro, rise. However, unlike the Boath who quickly circle their young and elderly kin, Turath moves to push past the mobilizing umbril. With brute strength, inspired once more by Ivur-Nel's voice, he rushes through the crowd, coming just short of the now-occupied tent's entrance.

<Ivur-Nel> In the Golden Tongue, Ivur-Nel harangues the fungoid monsters. "Defilers! Apostates! Anzej was not your meat to claim! You will pay for this!" Switching back to a more common language, he cries out, "Strike down these monsters, dear friends! Avenge the author of our alliance!"

<DM> Ivur-Nel's breath pours from his gills, imbuing his allies with a portion of his own passion and power.

In response, the neverin make terrible clicking noises with their fungoid mouths and bony spears -and then, with surprising strength and agility, they leap upon their foes, one charging the weapon-brandishing iskite and the umbril that dares to aid him. Focused on channeling, Ivur-Nel must dodge swiftly, and half-stumbles on Azenej's staff -but evades the neverin's attack. Sarisza's attacker, however, makes contact -but striking the iskite's cogsteel ring, only manages to break the tip of its makeshift weapon.

<Sarisza> Sarisze discharges his crossbow at what passes for the plant-creature's face.

<DM> Chittering angrily, the thing ducks, allowing the bolt to pass over its fungoid head.

<Sarisza> "Ssss..." Sarisza discards the weapon and draws a long curved knife.

<Jewels> Jhuel, feeling the power of the breath enter his body, pushes aside the tent flap and enters. Upon seeing the battle inside, he draws one of his daggers.

<DM> As Sarisza backs up, he opens the tent flap, allowing both Jhuel and Turath to see inside.

<Turath> Turath barrels into the tent, his eyes flaring at the scene before him. He wastes no time in plunging his spear into the nearest neverin, taking advantage of his momentum to put the full force of his strength behind the weapon's haft.

<Sarisza> "Sslay them!"

<DM> Turath's attack nearly does -so great is his blow that it bursts through the neverin's body, leaving a tendril-flapping mess that somehow manages to shuffle forward to attack -but not before Ivur-Nel can act.

<Sarisza> "And beware the moldss!" Sarisza gestures towards the remains of Azenej's corpse.

<Ivur-Nel> Forgoing its channeling powers, Ivur-Nel shuffles into a better position, ignoring the strikes of one Nesserine, in order to trap another between it and Turath and smack it with its staff.

<DM> Spore-like goo splatters the ground as Ivur-Nel's lath-til hits the already wounded neverin -but still it stands. Barely. Surrounded now, the neverin lash out with claw-tipped tendrils and bone-shards, but their wrath is impotent.

<Sarisza> Brandishing his knife, the Iskite mercenary moves to further surround the enemies, menacing them with his blade to distract from the other, more dangerous weapons.

<DM> He reappears on the other side of the tent, just as the blade-hefting gheen moves to strike.

<Jewels> following the lead of the iskite, Jhuel darts forward to strike the creature. "Even the eldest of canopy dragons fears my sting! Take this, foul beast!"

<DM> Distracted by Sarisza's movement, the neverin barely avoids having its neck sliced off -even so, Jhuel's attack still draws resin-like blood.

<Turath> Turath drives his spear at the wounded fungal monstrosity for a second - and, as he intends it to be - final time.

<DM> Final time indeed it is as the weapon impales, then drags, the fungoid creature into a russet-green pulp.

<Turath> The tahro beats his chest in triumph, daring the survivor to test its mettle.

<Ivur-Nel> The umbril lets out a wordless shrill and strikes at the foul mockery.

<DM> Alerted by the umbril's sound, the neverin dodges, and then seeing its fast-escaping chance of killing its foes, it attempts to flee. Dodging beneath Sarisza's slow-moving blade, the vegepygmy slips under the tent flap, out of sight of the would-be-slayers.

<Sarisza> "After it! Do not allow it into the camp!" Sarisza raises the tent flap.

<Ivur-Nel> "Don't let the mold-spawn escape!"

<DM> Emerging from the tent's back, Sarisza looks out, the camp the opposite side, with nothing but vines, twining ferns, and moss-slick stones evident before the ground falls away as it encircles the jade-hued lake. There is neither sight nor sound of the creature. And while the reek of the creature is evident to the iskite, it is a lingering one. The enemy -and excitement- gone from the tent, Jhuel's eyes are hopelessly drawn to Azenej's glittering possessions... and distracted by any thought of following a murderous, injured fungus.

<Turath> Turath rushes from the tent, looking about for the vanished creature.

<DM> Leaving the gheen to his wandering thoughts, Turath joins Sarisza, but he too hears nothing save the waterfall's roar and the close-approaching shouting of both Ajen and Boath.

<Ivur-Nel> Ivur-Nel rushes from the tent, and casts about looking for the escaping monster...

<DM> ...but sees nothing more than its compatriots, and any attempt to hear the fleeing monster is ruined by the urgent, angry approach of Ajen and Boath alike. Alike, they swarm the tent, surround it, and swiftly demand to know what has happened. Finding Jhuel in the tent, alone, with a rust and mold-covered blade -and then finding him with one of Azenej's jeweled rings- the Ajen are quick to blame the gheen. The Boath, however, begin to blame the Ajen themselves, as his mold-covered corpse and poison suggest umbril assassins. Both sides are enraged at the loss of their lodestones. Tempers flare, and it seems all that stands in the way of war is the testimony of Ivur-Nel and its associates.

<Sarisza> Sarisza points out the corpse of one of the actual assassins at this point in the argument.

<Turath> Turath adds that the gheen assisted them in its defeat.

<Ivur-Nel> "My friends, please, please, for Azenaj's sake, I beg you all be calm! My beloved master has been foully murdered, and was dead long before the gheen entered the tent! Thief though he surely is, and must be punished for that, I do not believe him the slayer. As I went to wake the Faithful Scale, his body was covered in an unwholesome mold, and two small creature like unto mockeries of the noble umbril form sprang from his corpse, and set up on me," he points to the corpse of the neverin. "Your bold warrior aided us in dispatching the beast, and will vouch for its presence. Besides, what possible cause would we have to murder one of our own? The value of two lodestones is nothing unto the wisdom we are now bereft of!"

<DM> Rage replaces reason and the words seem to fall on deaf ears. Jhuel's attempt to pacify his captors only incenses them, and Vatav-Eth violently clutches the stolen ring and removes it -by cutting off Jhuel's finger. Turath's attempts to back up Ivur-Nel's story backfires as some of the Baoth begin to accuse the Blood-less tahro of betraying them -or outright being a spy of the Ajen -an accusation which the Ajen do not take kindly.

<Sarisza> "Sssstop! This iss illogical!" Sarisza cries in Trade Cant, attempting to gain attention from both sides. "It iss more important to recover the lodestoness, than quarrel!"

<DM> More than once, the would-be-peace-makers feel as though they are about to be executed -and indeed such might have happened, had the Boath patriarch spoken otherwise. As the deeds befell on his land, in his camp, the judgment finally falls to Bagrun. With a wounded heart, breaking with disbelief and betrayal, he commands the Ajen to depart -and to those implicated in Azenej's death -banishment into the jungle- which Bagrun reminds them is a kind punishment, for if the priest had been one of their own, death would have been swift. So ordered, the Boath bodily usher the four souls out from their camp, into the untamed, ever-hungry Forest.

<Jewels> He goes to defend himself but decides that he has gotten himself into enough trouble today... and it's still morning.

<Turath> Turath, for his part, weathers the group's banishment in silence.

<Sarisza> He turns to the Umbril. "Can you help the thiefsss hand?"

<Ivur-Nel> "Taking my massster'sss ring didn't help our case, Gheen. Still, your punishment was sufficient for me; I bear you no more grudge, and I thank you for your aid in a fight that was not yours. Let me see the wound; we can't have you leaving a blood trail."

<Jewels> "Uh...thanks." He out stretches his hand, closes his eyes and turns his head away.

<Ivur-Nel> "You're not in immediate danger. It is a very clean cut. This should do..." The Umbril priest looks closely, then draws in breath, and releases it in a cleansing wave over the group.

<Sarisza> The Iskite nods in approval. "What now?"

<Turath> "The jungle is too dangerous for any one individual. We must remain together."

<Ivur-Nel> "Now... I too think we should stay together. We are the only ones who know of each others' innocence, and the true murderers."

<Jewels> Opening his eyes in the hopes to find his hand restored to its former glory, he becomes very sad when he sees that it is still not whole. "I'm going to be like this forever, aren't I?" he asks.

<Ivur-Nel> "It is likely, I fear. Most races do not share the Iskites' healing powers, though there are rumors of true Masters of Imbuement who can restore such injuries."

<Turath> "Yes," Turath bluntly replies.

<Ivur-Nel> "Alas, my poor skills do not approach such heights; nor do any that I have heard of outside of legend."

<Jewels> Sighing, he shakes his head in disappointment but then more vigorously shakes his head as if to expel any negative thoughts before collecting himself. Looking up at the others, he speaks with an up-beat jovial tone. "Well... I suppose introductions are in order?"

<Sarisza> "Sarisza."

<Turath> "Turath."

<Ivur-Nel> "I am Ivur-Nel Thaval, disciple of Faretheniz."

<Jewels> " I am Jhuel Mas'yhk. In the circus I was known as the Green Bandit and among my people I am known as the Master of the Nine Trunken Spires. My friends call me Jewels... well, they called me Jewels when I had them."

<Sarisza> "Sso then. Stay together. And do what? Track the assassinss? Make for other campss?" Sarisza looks to his "employer."

<Turath> Turath simply nods to the gheen.

<Ivur-Nel> "I greatly wish to discover the cause of my master's death, and bring justice upon those responsible, but none of the rest of you owe me anything. I would welcome help, but... I have no real idea of where to begin, nor is it my place to impose my will upon the rest of you."

<Turath> "Were the world as I would have it, I would give you my help. But my own Blood has been taken by slavers. To Orpiment. And I must help the living before the dead."

<Ivur-Nel> "Taken, you say?"

<Turath> "Taken. By the tracks, umbril."

<Ivur-Nel> "Not imprisoned as a punishment for debt, or oath-breaking, but kidnapped?"

<Turath> "No. Kidnapped. And I have already lost one kinsman in their pursuit."

<Ivur-Nel> "Why... that is abominable! A perversion of the principles of trade! What say you to another partnership, Turath my friend? As you say, the living cause is more urgent, though it pains me to leave my master's body cold. If I aid you in saving your kinsmen from undeserved bondage, will you aid me in my pursuit?"

<Turath> "Yes. I will help." Little shows on the tahro's expression, but from his eyes he seems glad at the assistance - and to be glad to return it. "Sarisza. Jhuel. Our problems are not your own. Should you leave, I do not grudge you for it."

<Jewels> Jewels holds his hands out in front of him and silently counts his fingers before chuckling to himself. "Nine trunken spires... funny."

<Ivur-Nel> "Hmm. Indeed. Perhaps it will aid your reputation."

<Jewels> Looks up from his personal joke. "Leave? Where? No one could survive on their own, and the way I see it, it is possible that I'm partially to blame for all this. So, if you don't mind..."

<Ivur-Nel> "But what are your plans, Jhuel? Or Jewels, if you would prefer?"

<Jewels> "Jewels would be good. It makes me feel more at home."

<Turath> The tahro considers for a further moment. "I would be remiss not to tell you, Ivur. I am young. There is much of my Blood's business I do not know. It is not impossible they were taken for an unpaid debt or broken oath. I know of neither, and can only act on what I do."

<Ivur-Nel> "Very well. First then, we shall seek the truth, though I hope your folk are honorable, not least for your sake. And what of bold Sarisza? Is Opriment an agreeable destination to you?"

<Sarisza> "Opriment does not disagree with bold Sarisza. Sarisza would go there with you or without you, and with is better."

<Jewels> As if he hadn't been paying attention earlier, which it is very possible he wasn't, he pipes up, "Orpiment? We'd be going to Orpiment?"

<Ivur-Nel> "Well, yes. That is where Sarisza and I hail from, and where Turath's kin were taken. Is that a problem?"

<Jewels> "No. Not a problem at all. Sounds great," he quickly responds with excitement in his voice.

<Ivur-Nel> "Uhm. Excellent." Its voice betrays a hint of nervousness at his new companion's enthusiasm.

<Jewels> "Is it true what they say about that place?"

<Ivur-Nel> "Many things are said of Opriment. Which one do you refer to?"

<Jewels> "Is it true that the buildings are made of star gold and that everyone is wealthy beyond your wildest dreams?"

<Sarisza> "Jewels will ssee for himsself." Sarisza grins in a disconcertingly reptilian manner.

<Jewels> Jewels makes a smug look at Sarisza before shrugging his shoulders and looking up into the canopy. "I'm sure it's all true," he says to himself.

<Ivur-Nel> "It is... exaggerated slightly, but still the richest city on the Black Circle by far."

<Turath> Turath says nothing.

<Sarisza> "Lead the way, Turath. We sshould not linger."

<Turath> "Ivur."

<Ivur-Nel> "Yes?"

<Turath> "For your master. Thank you."

<Ivur-Nel> It nods sadly in acknowledgement.

<Turath> Without further word, Turath turns and feels for the pull of Grandmother Mountain.

<Jewels> "Let's do this. I can't wait."

<DM> Together, the four exiles travel, trusting in the tahro to guide them. In the thick canopy, becoming lost would be assured if it were not for Turath's supernatural ability to feel the Grandmother Mountain. Even so, the travel is difficult, and more than once, the group must back-track upon coming to some river-washed bridge or unscalable pass. And while game and water is plentiful in the Forest, so is danger. All-too often, all three go together.

<Sarisza> Sarisza strides along behind the tahro, tongue flickering out every now and again to taste the air.

<DM> Days into their travel, the exiles stop at a watering hole to refresh their meager supplies. While the weary exiles refill their waterskins, quench their parched throats, and partake of the area's abundant fruit (some of which is ripened to Ivur-Nel's delight), the party is beset by a giant serpent.

The size of a tzau, the snake bursts from the water, attempting to seize Turath as he bows to drink. Dripping water, the serpent's scale shimmer black with stripes of green and purple, while its fangs glisten like cogsteel. Those fangs, however, fail to puncture the ringmail-adorned Tahro -and for the moment, Turath avoids its maw and bone-crushing coils.

<Turath> In response to his attempted seizure, Turath seizes his own spear, thrusting it straight towards the serpent's maw.

<DM> Reflexively, the massive serpent twists, crunching its coils over the stone that hangs over the water-hole's edge. In retaliation, the ebon snake bites down on Turath, its maw engulfing his head as its fangs sink deep into his flesh. And then, in one swift motion, Turath disappears in the creatures' shimmering, tightening scales.

<Sarisza> Sarisza begins casting a form, and brilliant colors explode from his hands towards the serpent's eyes. He repositions himself so that he runs no risk of striking Turath.

<DM> In one swift channeling, Sarisza siphons the well-serpent's sight and temporarily stuns its, so drained by the iskite's channeling. Turath slumps from the now-slack coils, his body bruised and bloodied.

<Sarisza> "Slay it swiftly! The siphoning lasts briefly and unpredictably!" the Iskite wizard directs.

<Serpent> So stunned and blind, the massive serpent writhes back and forth, half-slipping into the water-hole.

<Ivur-Nel> Seeing the creature momentarily subdued, the priest moves to heal some of Turath's wounds.

<Turath> Invigorated by Ivur's spell, Turath retaliates against the monstrous snake with a thrust from his spear.

<DM> The spear drives deep, causing the mind-siphoned creature to hiss in pain. Blood pours into the water, gushing from the near-mortal blow.

<Sarisza> Sarisza dusts off his hands and watches approvingly.

<Jewels> Seeing a possible opening, the enthusiastic Jhuel lunges with his dagger at the blinded serpent.

<Sarisza> The iksite fixes his own eyes on the snake's, watching for the telltale return of vision and focus in its eyes that will warn that the siphoning is waning.

<DM> While Jhuel's aim is true, the small blade leaves only a minor puncture in the snake's hide -even so, the additional blood loss is just enough to cause the behemoth to fall unconscious. As one, its coils slump and fall to the ground, its body slowly slinking back into the now-bloodied water.

<Ivur-Nel> Turath feels the priest's warm, slightly moldy breath on his back. "Watch for the opening, and strike fast!"

<Turath> Turath moves to make good on the priest's words. He crouches, then leaps into the air, attempting to propel his spear all the way through the serpent's maw.

<DM> And so the serpent dies, its head impaled, staked into the ruin-carved ground.

<Ivur-Nel> "Excellent. Quick, and to the point."'

<DM> Once more, the exiles survive another day in the dangerous world that is the Clockwork Jungle -but other adventures, and dangers, await.
[/ic]

[ic=In Memoriam]This is a fine lake
It was large enough to slake
A thirst for great deeds.

My sunrise was on green water
My sunset was on blue water
All horizons are one
In the One and Many.

I pity you, stranger
You have come too late
To see a great warrior.

- Selected epitaphs, Ussik memorial stones in Anath[/ic]

The Netai Ussik are newcomers to a distant land.  They make their homes now where virtually none of their race had ever come before, hundreds of miles away from the land of their origin.  Many populations have migrated over time and colonized new lands, but seldom has this been done as quickly as the Ussik have managed it in the past few decades.  But there is much that is unusual about the Netai Ussik – for one, they did not come to the Indigo Sea to trade, to find richer land, to escape a dying homeland, or for their faith or beliefs.

They came here to fight.

The Call Goes Out

In the late 180s, the newly born Netai Confederation was fighting for its life.  The flight of Varan-Etun Oran from its palace in 184 had given the new polity but a moment to establish itself; two years later, it returned with an army to reclaim its rights.  The military of the Green Realm had been all but annihilated by a storm at the Isle of Righteous Remuneration.  This disaster had led to the flight of the Prince and the success of the revolution in the first place, but it also meant that the new Confederation inherited few ships or trained soldiers.  Varan-Etun had gathered an impressive force of mercenaries – Tahro (and some Nevir-Umbril) from the Great Mire and Iskites from Watzash – all paid with the promise of plunder.

In less than a year, the Oranid fleet had captured Andar and Vanam Dur.  Inembran supported the Oranids, and major Confederation isles like Teven balked at dispatching any troops or ships to the Confederation's aid.  Their reluctance was understandable, as the Confederation forces had been thrashed at every engagement with Varan-Etun's host, most crushingly at the Scarlet Necklace, where the majority of their warships were either captured or destroyed.
[Note=New Content]This is the first thing I've posted in a while that's wholly new, as opposed to something in my archive that had just been awaiting some polish.  I thought it would be nice to continue after the feature on the Inembran Gheen with some of the other cultures of the Netai.[/note]

It was only by the assistance of aliens that the Confederation survived.  The Oranid invasion of Kalathoon, a Tahr colony, was a disastrous failure, and the defeat reenergized their foes.  The Confederation ended its own reluctance to field aliens, Inembran rose against its occupiers, and Teven and Var Umber began committing themselves to the war effort.  In the end, the Prince was forced once again to flee the isles in defeat.

Nevertheless, the Confederation leadership knew well how close they had come to disaster.  Only a year after the end of their war for independence, the Confederation again found itself at war with the Iskites of the Watzash under the banner of the Nawesun Ilassk, or "Right Orientation Alliance."  Many of the same Iskites had just been fighting as the mercenaries of the Prince; now they were fighting for the glory of their race.  The Confederation needed experienced soldiers, and in their desperation, they turned very far afield indeed.

One Evne emissary was dispatched inwise to the Black Circle.  It met with little success at first.  At White Lotus, however, it found a large number of restless Ussik who were intrigued by its stories of exotic lands and enticed by the promises of wealth and adventure.  The Ussik were ideal candidates for the enterprise – they were quite at home in water (though the brackish Netai would be quite a shock), quite comfortable around Umbril (White Lotus itself having a large Nevir population), and possessed of no great love for their "farmer" cousins.  They were also warriors – though Ishulu's Pact had kept the peace in the Black Circle since 150, White Lotus had been busily extending its hegemony over the Greenwash since then, and had a surfeit of young Ussik men and women who had fought in its name.

So it was that in 191, one hundred forty one Ussik warriors arrived in the Netai and swore to serve a government they had just met in a land their people had never before set foot in.  Less than two hundred Ussik, arriving after the great debacle at White Feather Bay earlier in the year, could do nothing to salvage victory for the Confederation.  They fought, however, with enough tenacity to be noticed by the Confederation's marshals, whose own forces were composed largely of unreliable Umbril militia, skilled but rather undisciplined Tahro warriors, and the shattered remnants of the Gheen suicide squads from the last war.

The Settlement

When the war ended, the contract with the Ussik did as well – they had fought for only three seasons.  The Confederation also lacked the resources to fulfill the emissary's extravagant promises to the mercenaries.  The Ussik, however, had no desire to make another long trek through the Forest just to return home with nothing to show for it.  As part of their "payment," they seized the houses, shops, and valuables of the Iskites of Teven, who had been removed from the city during the war out of fear of disloyalty.  The Ussik claimed their "abandoned" property as booty of war, and the Confederation was in no position to contest it.

The Confederation government had been thrown into crisis following their complete defeat at the hands of the Right Orientation Alliance.  Intendant Ul-Thalar, the mastermind of the victorious independence war, was forced to resign in disgrace, and the Confederation went through eight more intendants in less than three years, each of whom failed to resolve differences between the populist, pro-war "whites" and the conciliationist "greens."  After a white faction leader was murdered in Var Aban, riots there nearly toppled the government.  In a panic, the Deputation sacked the most recent Intendant and appointed Evuin-Thalar, another prominent leader of the whites, in its place.  The corpse of the last Intendant, who had gone missing shortly after its removal, ended up being dropped through the roof of the palanquin of the Prince of the Yellow as it and its entourage wound through the streets of Var Aban; the princes approved Evuin-Thalar's selection shortly thereafter.

While generally reviled by the Evne political elite as a demagogue, Evuin-Thalar was quite serious about avenging the Confederation's defeat.  It had also seen the worth of the Ussik mercenaries in the last war.  Evuin-Thalar sent another delegation to the Black Circle to secure more mercenaries, and appointed Esthakesh, one of the Ussik captains, to the position of marshal.

The Third Netai War was a great success for the Confederation, and this time the Ussik were able to participate fully.  Esthakesh emerged as one of the Confederation's foremost strategists, using his Ussik soldiers as trainers initially, and later organizing them into a marine raiding party that burned and plundered its way from one end of the Watzash coast to the other.  Evuin-Thalar gave Esthakesh its full political support and promoted the Ussik contribution at every opportunity, in part with a view towards the future – a heavily-armed alien minority loyal to Evuin-Thalar would be useful in consolidating its own power.  By the war's end in 196, the community had grown to over 600 soldiers.

By this time, the Ussik themselves had come around to the idea of making a permanent residence in the Netai Isles.  The Right Orientation Alliance had yielded barge-loads of gold and tea to the Confederation as part of the peace terms, and the Confederation was finally able to pay off its previous mercenary contracts in full.  The Ussik themselves had acquired great wealth from the sacking of Iskite villages.  Warriors began making their way to the Netai regularly, but now were often joined by their relatives and families.  Nearly a thousand Ussik soldiers were fielded against the Oranid pretender Atuls-Yan in the Fourth Netai War, and more than 1,400 fought the Right Orientation Alliance in the fifth and last Netai War that saw the forced disbanding of the Nawesun Ilassk.

Today, the total number of Ussik in the Netai is estimated to be over two thousand, with the largest contingent – around eight hundred – in Teven.  Evuin-Thalar's political career ended, along with its life, during an ill-advised power play against the Deputation (which is still shrouded in secrecy), but the Ussik have become a politically important force much as it predicted.  As a largely military community, the Ussik are highly organized and remain a keystone of the Confederation's defense policy.  They can hardly be ignored regardless of who the Intendant is.

The Arbalesters' League

Until the inclusion edict of last year, the Netai Ussik were considered "foreign aliens" rather than residents of the Netai.  As such, until recently the limited avenues of political activity open to aliens were closed to them, and the legal system provided them with little protection.

As long as the Ussik were simply a mercenary band in wartime, this was an acceptable state of affairs, but in the Seven Year Peace after the Third Netai War the ex-mercenaries needed other work.  While many hired themselves out as guards or sellswords, the number of these opportunities was not great, and the Ussik often competed with one another for them.  In 198, a group of veterans created what was essentially a labor union for Ussik ex-mercenaries – instead of individual Ussik competing for contracts, all employment offers would go through the new organization, which would assign them to its members on a rotating basis to prevent them from undercutting one another.  They named their new organization the fetzeksunsha, or "Arbalesters' League" (though the Ussik mercenaries used all manner of weapons, they were known chiefly for the steel-prod arbalest, which they introduced to the Netai).

In the 16 years since its founding, the fetzeksunsha has grown from a mercenary union into the chief social organization of the Netai Ussik in general.  The league helps set up new immigrants with shelter and equipment for their work, cares for war orphans and the sick, helps arrange for members to bring family members from the Black Circle, organizes cultural and religious events, holds hearings to arbitrate disputes between its members, and maintains a paramilitary militia to retaliate against outsiders who harm its members.  It acquires the means to pay for these things by taking a cut of the contracts it farms out to its mercenary members; non-mercenary members typically pay dues-in-kind, providing their labor to community projects or rendering special services to the league.

It is estimated that between 80 and 90 percent of all Netai Ussik are members of or otherwise affiliated with the fetzeksunsha.  Membership is voluntary and available to any adult Ussik, though the organization is identified so closely with the Netai Ussik community in general that not being a member is considered strange or even antisocial.  The league is often at odds with other organizations (particularly some of the Indigo Chapters of the Netai) which it perceives to be "poaching" its members.

The fetzeksunsha is divided into companies.  A company usually includes all Ussik resident in a certain isle, though Teven has four companies owing to its large Ussik population.  Members remain part of their company even if they move elsewhere, though they are generally encouraged to transfer to a local company if making a permanent move.  A company leader is called a thash, literally meaning "feather," which is a reference either to feathers ceremonially worn by White Lotus soldiers or to the fletchings on a bolt or arrow.  A company elects its own thash, who in turn appoints delegates to the all-company council in Teven whenever it meets.  The delegates elect the league's overall leader, or atzan (the word comes from the Evne term aths anuil, meaning "party to contract/agreement," a reference to the league's original function as an intermediary for mercenary contracts).

Members are categorized as either "crafters" (non-combatants) or "soldiers" (mercenaries).  Soldiers are subdivided into "sworn," "proven," and "marked."  New mercenary recruits are "sworn," referring to their oath given to the league, and those who demonstrate their value to the community become "proven" after three years.  The rank of "marked" is given to those who fought with distinction in any of the Netai Wars while a member of the league.  These ranks do not equate to authority – a marked member of the fetzeksunsha cannot order other members around – but higher-ranked members have special privileges in the organization and at present only marked members can hold offices in the organization.  First marked is a special prestige rank given to the original 141 mercenaries, of which 85 are still alive and living in the Netai.

Culture

As the first of the Netai Ussik only arrived in the isles 23 years ago, their culture is very similar to that of the Ussik of White Lotus and the Greenwash.  While they often learn the language of the Evne and use some Evne words, it would be virtually impossible to distinguish a White Lotus Ussik from a Netai Ussik by its accent.

The greatest difference between the Netai Ussik and their Greenwash kin lies in their social structure.  Traditionally, Wash Ussik live in large familial clans with dozens of related individuals in one village, but the Ussik mercenaries came to the Netai either alone or with only close family members (mates, children, siblings, etc.), and no such clans exist in the Netai.  One custom which has been developing as a result of their alienation from large kin structures is that of the "hearth family," possibly influenced by the Umbril metil.  A hearth family is a group of Ussik nuclear families that have decided to share the same residence (or compound of residences), thus "sharing the same hearth," as if they were related.  Some of these hearth families have correspondingly adopted a "hearth name" used like a family name, a practice which is very rare in the Wash.  As a new innovation, there is no standardization for hearth names, and when translated they range from the name of the residence ("Corner-lodge") to martial names thought up by ex-soldiers over drinks ("Blade-bearers," "Cracked-helm," and so on).  Some hearth families have chosen an Evne word or phrase rather than an Ussik one.

Sustenance has also been challenging to the Ussik, whose traditional diet is based on waterfowl, turtles, fish, and crustaceans (most prominently the kisk, the teardrop-shaped lobster-like creature that is stereotypically claimed to be in every Ussik dish) which simply don't exist in the saline Netai.  Their best effort at a "cuisine" so far is not much more than a combination of modified local alien recipes, "faux Wash-food" cobbled together with local ingredients, and liberal experimentation, the typical result of which the Ussik themselves deride.  Hailing from one of the great centers of tea production in the known world, the Ussik even consider the local beverages to be substandard.  The response of one Ussik soldier during the wars to an Evne captain asking when she was planning to leave Confederation service – "when I get sick of salt fish and piss-water tea" – has become memetic among the Netai Ussik.

Most of the Netai Ussik are practitioners of Uluan, the most prominent of the various flavors of Ussik folk religion.  Uluan, meaning "one-ness," is ostensibly a monotheist religion, albeit a non-exclusive one as it holds most other gods to be reflections or avatars of the "one and many."  Though not indigenous to White Lotus, it was widely adopted there after the Recentering and has since become dominant in the inwise and unclock Wash.  It is sometimes referred to as the "Cult of the Shattered God" in the Black Circle, which relates to the belief that the creator of the world purposefully destroyed its whole and perfect form in order to give the spark of wisdom to mortals and allow base creatures to aspire to enlightenment.  Around a quarter of the population practices other Ussik traditional rites of various kinds.

Adventurers

While the first Ussik mercenaries arrived 23 years ago, virtually no children were born to the Netai Ussik until the Seven Year Peace of 196-203; the very oldest of these "peace children" would be 18 now, just shy of the normal Iskite age of physical maturation (20).  Any Netai Ussik character older than that is by definition not a native, but a migrant from White Lotus or elsewhere in the Greenwash.  Such characters will be familiar with the culture and peoples of the Wash Iskites and the Black Circle; if they are recent arrivals, their knowledge of the Netai may be limited.
[note=Adventuring]The Netai is one of the "core areas" of the world that's well-suited for starting an adventuring party – it's relatively safe to travel in, features all of the major races, and provides plenty of reasons why characters of different races would know and work with one another.  This section is intended to give some guidance to players interested in creating a Netai Ussik character.[/note]

The Netai Ussik began as a military colony and their community is still dominated by warriors.  Nearly three quarters of their adults have fought in the wars, the rest being mates and other family members who came to the Netai with the mercenaries in the more recent settlement waves.  A Netai Ussik character is likely to have a military background and may be an seasoned combat veteran.  Even the new Netai-born generation, raised by soldiers, has a strong martial orientation (though no actual experience in war).  While the Netai Ussik are best known for the arbalest, having introduced it to the Netai, Ussik warriors fought just as often with sabers, spears, and helmbreakers (the halberd, though often associated with Iskites, is rare among the Ussik).  With the end of the fifth and latest Netai War one year ago, these Ussik soldiers are again looking for work.  A Netai Ussik mercenary who is a member of the Arbalesters' League may be assigned to a group or party that negotiated for mercenary services, as the League entertains contracts both large and small; League members are forbidden from taking paid work not negotiated through the League, but this does not apply to "fortune-seeking" jobs where the only "payment" is expected salvage or treasure.  Characters who are League members operate under some constraints but also have a significant network of contacts who may prove very useful.

Whether mercenary or native-born, the Netai Ussik are very used to Umbril – the Nevir make up a large part of White Lotus, and the Evne dominate in the Netai isles.  Though the culture of these two groups is quite different, even Wash-born Ussik are no strangers to Umbril physiology and are unlikely to be put off or surprised by their rather unique appearance, diet, mannerisms, and so on.

Tahro are also well known in White Lotus, and the Tahro and Ussik formed a certain mutual respect in the Netai Wars, though the general Iskite patronizing attitude towards the "primitive" Tahro is not absent among the Ussik.

Gheen are common neither in White Lotus nor in the Netai (outside Inembran), and the Ussik have no special relationships with them, though those Ussik that served with the Smokefleet are likely to have fought alongside them.

Relations between Netai Ussik and the "farmer" Iskites in the region are strained, to put it very charitably.  The Analect Iskites of Scalemount and the Sekah never had a high opinion of the "disordered" and "degenerate" Ussik to begin with, but they had little contact with the "Fishers" before the Netai Wars.  The Ussik appropriated Iskite property in Teven, savagely pillaged the Watzash during the Third Netai War, and conducted a terror campaign in the Anath during the Right Orientation Alliance's final stand that turned thousands of Iskites into refugees.  In the Sekah, the Arbalesters' League is known disparagingly as the "Bandits' League."  Underground insurgent organizations like the Righteous Militia of Sekah consider the Ussik to be pirates and traitors and target them specifically for violence.  In return for their hatred, the Ussik tend to treat their "cousin" Iskites with contempt and derision.  Mercenaries are generally not known for humility in any part of the world, and the Ussik veterans don't often miss a chance to gloat.

[spoiler=Notable Figures]Esthakesh

Esthakesh is the most well-known Ussik in the Netai.  He was part of the original 141 mercenaries brought to the Netai and has participated in every Netai War since the second (though only in a command role since the third).  Born in a small Greenwash village, Esthakesh's parents were banished from White Lotus for supporting the so-called "dynasts" during the Bluebriar Riots.  Young Esthakesh was noted for his athleticism and first saw White Lotus when he was sent there to participate in a shlak exhibition (a traditional Iskite sport similar to kickboxing).  Esthakesh never returned to his home village, instead finding work as a caravan guard on the Black Circle and eventually forming his own independent "guard company."  When in White Lotus, relaxing from their latest job, Esthakesh met the Evne representatives seeking mercenaries.  He convinced his company to join, comprising 16 soldiers of the original 141.

Esthakesh was noted by the Evne command for efficiency, and already had a head start as the only mercenary who actually arrived with a troop of his own.  Evuin-Thalar, who as appointed to the Intendancy with the triumph of the Whites over the Greens, attempted to shore up its own position by cultivating alien loyalty (to itself) and placing those aliens in powerful positions in the military.  The Ussik, being complete allies, would naturally be the most loyal, and of the Ussik Esthakesh was judged to be the most prominent and reliable.  The Intendant secured his position as Intendant-Marshal, despite the fact that this was probably against the Confederation's own law (as the Ussik were considered foreign aliens, not a constituent population).  Esthakesh, familiar with some of the latest khauta designs from the Black Circle, led the expansion and reorganization of the Smokefleet and is credited by some with the first use of ship-based balloons.

In the Third Netai War, Esthakesh was placed in command of the Blue Fleet, the force tasked with ravaging the Watzash coastline and interdicting supplies and reinforcements while the larger Yellow Fleet attacked Anath directly.  This force managed to salvage victory from defeat at Kesz, through one of the first decisive uses of the khauta in war, and subsequently attacked Alliance villages with incendiaries dropped from above (which, while not militarily effective, spread fear and brought the war to Iskite communities distant from the main theater).  Though not a participant in the Battle of Fortunate Winds, the first major all-aerial battle in known history, his role in promoting and expanding the Smokefleet allowed him to claim a good part of the credit.

Esthakesh did not actually join the fetzeksunsha until its retirement in 209, citing his formal position in the government as being incompatible with membership in a mercenary union, but is widely believed to have cooperated with and promoted the League during the Seven Year Peace.  As if to underline this close relationship, Esthakesh took a League thash named Ingkal as his mate in 202.

Esthakesh served in a more rear-echelon role in the Fourth Netai War, which was largely a failure for the Confederation; though the Smokefleet itself performed well, poor decisions and unfortunate weather led to a number of major disasters in the fleet that ultimately cost the Confederation control of the Isles of Solace.  These failures tarnished Esthakesh's reputation slightly, but the wrath of the Confederation government fell primarily on Evne captains.  He served for four years longer before retiring his post, with nearly 18 years of Confederation service to his credit.

Now 61 years old, Esthakesh lives in Teven with his mate and four children.  He is revered by the Ussik as practically a living legend; they refer to him simply as "the Marshal."  While he holds no office in the League, he is a "first marked" member who has considerable influence in the organization.  He is known to regularly visit Var Aban, the Confederation capital, and sees frequent Evne visitors, causing speculation that he has some lingering relationship with the government.  The logical assumption is that he serves in some advisory role as a marshal emeritus, but there are always rumors flying around a man as famous as he is.

Among the Sekah Iskites, "infamous" would be a better fit – his nicknames there, based primarily on his "rain of fire" in the Watzash, include "coal-maker," "the Great Arsonist," and "the Black Lotus" (a play on White Lotus).  A Sekah militant, possibly from the Righteous Militia of Sekah, attempted arson against his home last year, probably aiming for poetic justice.

Luthwar

A native of White Lotus, Luthwar was part of a mercenary party that arrived in the Netai during the Third Netai War.  Prior to that, she had been a soldier of White Lotus, dispatched outwise into the Wash to expand the city's hegemony there.  Allegedly she took the mercenary job because she found her duties "boring," and emigrated along with her mate, another White Lotus soldier.  Now a marked member of the Arbalesters' League, she is the current atzan of the League and the first atzan who is not one of the "first marked" (that is, not part of the original 141 mercenaries).

Luthwar fought with the Blue Fleet in the Third Netai War, razing Iskite villages and seeing action at the prelude to Kesz, where she nearly died when her ship was rammed and sunk.  In the peace that followed, Luthwar worked as a bodyguard in Var Umber, and became a founding member of the fetzeksunsha in 198.

Luthwar went to battle again in the Fourth Netai War, but was caught in the center of the disaster at Broken Tooth when a Confederation fleet was caught and destroyed by an Oranid force after some of its ships accidentally hit a reef.  Many of the Confederation soldiers, including Luthwar's mate, were killed.  Luthwar herself was taken prisoner, but managed somehow to escape from Meja.  She went on to fight in the most recent Netai War, surviving yet another shipwreck in the process, and was present at that conflict's major engagements on Anath.  Her apparent ability to avoid drowning has given her the nickname of "Luthwar Water-walker" among the Ussik, though it is never used in her presence.

Despite her origins as a common soldier, Luthwar has demonstrated unusual skill as a speaker and organizer.  Luthwar was a thash in Teven from 206 until 210, and held that position again for only four seasons before being elected as atzan this year.  Luthwar presides over a League in transition, as the organization increasingly takes on the appearance of the de facto "government" of the Netai Ussik.  Her agenda thus far has been to emphasize Ussik cultural unity by offering incentives for Ussik families to live together in "hearth families" and organizing events and festivals in Netai Ussik communities outside Teven.  The League is nevertheless still a mercenary union, and on that front Luthwar has aggressively tried to move in on the newly growing Rainbow Road caravans that run between the Grove of Tranquility, the Netai, Scalemount, and Kengal.  It is said that the League has lately been "roughing up" competing guard companies, discouraging them from working the route or strong-arming them into fixing their prices with the League.

Luthwar has not taken a mate since the Fourth Netai War.  She has one son, born during the Seven Year Peace, and the two of them live in Teven in the communal residence of the Brazen-shield hearth family with seven other families of White Lotus.  Although generally well-regarded in the community, there are persistent rumors that while in Var Umber she had dealings with the Cult of the Mentor or was in fact initiated into the cult.  Luthwar has always taken part in the Uluan ceremonies and has dismissed these "idle tales," but rumors still linger, in part because the secretive cult is not well-understood even in the Netai.

Argishek

Argishek is the daughter of a thatchmaker, born in a small Greenwash village.  As she tells it, when she was still in her egg, her community was stricken by a mass die-off of the local shellfish population on which it depended.  The creatures were increasingly found with thick mucus clogging their mouths and gills that was invariably fatal.  Desperate for help, the village contacted a bone-dancer, an Uluan priestess skilled in the breaking of curses.  The destitute village had nothing to pay her with, but was desperate for help and offered the priestess anything she wished.  She pointed to an egg, claiming it had auspicious markings, and exacted from the village a promise that when she returned in ten years' time the child of that egg would be given to her.

Argishek grew up among her family, but everyone in the village kept her at arm's length, knowing that before long they would have to relinquish her.  Her family forbade her to play with the other children or go out to fix nets, fearing that were she to be taken in some freak accident they would be unable to pay the bone-dancer and would be cursed again.  Her childhood, to hear her speak of it, was lonely and bleak.

After ten years the priestess returned as she had promised, and took Argishek with her.  She trained the girl as her apprentice, teaching her the mysteries and rites of Uluan.  The priestess was also a practitioner of channeling, and believed that the markings on Argishek's egg had marked her as one who had great potential with the Breath.  Argishek and her mentor traveled to many villages until the old priestess at last passed away, leaving all her charms and instruments to Argishek.

Argishek volunteered to travel to the Netai after meeting an Evne ambassador in White Lotus in 195, as the Third Netai War was raging.  She arrived there in early 196.  She is no soldier and never fought in the wars, but set herself up in White Lotus as a bone-dancer and a teacher of engej, or "synthesis," a holistic path to channeling the Breath that is common in the Wash but rare in her new homeland.  In fact, channeling in general has been rare in the Netai since Vatav-Nel Oran, the first Prince of the Green, banished all the kajes (schools of the Breath) from the Netai more than a century ago.  Into this vacuum, Argishek has emerged as one of the foremost teachers of the ways of the Breath.  Her selection of pupils seems to be almost random; the largest portion of her students are Ussik, but Evne are nearly as well represented, and some bringing expensive gifts have been turned away while occasionally others who have been unable to pay her fee have been accepted anyway.  She does not have a proper kaj as such, but rather meets with her students in her own small residence on Teven.

Most of the Netai Ussik are themselves followers of Uluan and are respectful of the priestess, but they are wary of her all the same, knowing many tales of the powerful curses of bone-dancers.  In a sense she is more "popular" among the Evne of Teven, who consider her a marvelous foreign curiosity – a strange shaman of a foreign god who is said to wear a hundred different pieces of bone jewelry and piercings, and lives in a smoke-filled shack strewn with strange fetishes and animal skulls and herbs hanging from the driftwood rafters.  Sightings of "Rattlescale" on the avenues and in the markets are always popular topics of conversation in Evne teahouses.  She is generally agreed to be a powerful channeler, but specific feats of her mastery are not well-documented.  One popular tale is that when a strong gale hit Teven last season, the area around her house remained completely still and calm.

Argishek, assumed to be around 40 years of age, has neither mate nor children.  When her students are not visiting, she lives alone except for her "pet," a three-foot long Cog snake whose "skin" is made of brazen ring-like segments.  She is not a member of the fetzeksunsha, but appears occasionally at religious events it sponsors.[/spoiler]
Pictured at top: This is one of the newer variations of the symbol of the fetzeksunsha, or Arbalesters' League.  The League was given no official symbol at its founding, but the organization quickly adopted a simple crossbow symbol to press into clay, wax, or lead seals on contracts.  By the Fourth Netai War, when crossbows were becoming rather widespread among the Evne, this became a crossbow with a lotus blossom atop it as a reference to the origin of the Ussik.  While the simple crossbow-with-lotus remains the "official" seal used by the League on documents, decorative variations used on buldings and objects have proliferated in recent years.  The current fashion is a "trefoil" of crossbows-and-lotuses, one example of which appears above.   The tendency has generally been for the crossbows, which were once dominant, to be increasingly stylized and understated, while the lotus blossoms become larger and more ornate.

So, I'm excitedly about to read all of this seeming CJ goodness, but first I just gotta ask: where do you find, or how do you create, such beautiful symbols?

All my flags/symbols are made in GIMP.  Some elements of some symbols are drawn from elsewhere (Wikimedia Commons, various clipart/stock galleries), and the rest of the design I usually do with the path tool.  The Netai Ussik symbol, for instance, started with a stock lotus flower symbol which I removed part of and recolored, and the "crossbows" were done by hand.

The funny thing with that symbol is that the historical blurb at the bottom actually reflects my process of making it - I started with just a flower on a crossbow and thought "what else can I do with this?"

Anyway, I figure I might as well keep going with Netai cultures, which means the Kalath Tahro, Sekata Iskites, and Evne Umbril (who aren't just a local culture, but a whole subrace).  One of those will probably be next.

Yes, keep 'em coming.

One thing not included in the prior post, though, would be a bit more info on Uluan. More specifically, what does faith look like in practice, or how does its rituals, observances, etc., look different than other faiths.

I deliberately omitted that because I felt it would be more appropriate in a feature on the Wash or the Ussik in general.  While an Evne, knowing no better, would probably consider Uluan to be "the religion of the Ussik," its dominance among the Netai Ussik is mostly a geographical accident.  Ussik religion is somewhat analogous to pre-modern Hinduism in the sense that it's not so much a "religion" as a broad swath of spiritual and cultural traditions, some of which are quite different from one another.  Uluan is merely one of these traditions which happens to have a more monotheist bent (though it's a rather weak monotheism, and might be closer to henotheism).  Bonedancers are not specifically a feature of Uluan, and in fact predate Uluan as a tradition, but they are still part of "Ussik traditional religion."

This is why Argishek's position in her community is rather nebulous; she's a bit like a folk healer in medieval Christendom, acknowledging Christ but also talking about the evil eye and elf-shot.  It's not exactly heretical, but it's unorthodox and a bit unsettling, an eerie shadow cast by an ancient mystic tradition the culture hasn't entirely left behind.

The Sekata Iskites will be next.  Almost everything I've done so far on the Netai focuses on them as antagonists in the form of the Right Orientation Alliance, and something explaining their point of view and motivations is probably overdue.

Pictured Above: A Right Orientation Alliance banner belonging to a vocational fighting brigade.  The only official Alliance symbol was the "N-L," a consonantal abbreviation of the organization's name (Nawes un iLassk).  The LT "new script," in use since the late Age of Prophets, connects all letters in a word with a line, which is why an abbreviation of two letters appears as a single mark.  Some embellishment of the symbol is evident on this banner, but the N-L mark was very seldom any more ornate than this.

The columns of script on the sides read, top to bottom and from left to right, "Wasthe masters – the root of solidarity," indicating first that this is a banner from the Anathi village of Wasthe.  "Masters" in this context denotes that the troop is composed of adult vocational soldiers rather than unflowered youths or volunteers (a good modern translation might be "Wasthe Regulars").  Alliance soldiers typically named their own units, usually after Analectic virtues (like ungsij, "solidarity").  There are no vowels on this banner, as vowels are frequently omitted in the written LT when the meaning is obvious from context.  The transliterated text of the columns is "WSTH-Z-JNS / NGSJ-NG-NLK" (with vowels, "wasthe az ajans / ungsij eng [e]nalk").  Most Alliance banners from Anathi villages were lost in battle or destroyed after the surrender, as the Confederation considers them to be symbols of sedition, but a number found their way to the Watzash where N-L banners are commonly found despite the formal abrogation of the Alliance.

[ic=Song for Anath]What scent now rises from clockwise?
What smoke now stings our eyes?
Wujjal's children on the funeral pyre,
Anath's flower is now Netai incense.

- A Lament for Anath c. 197, after the Third Netai War[/ic]

The word sekah (sseka in the modern LT) means "border" or "frontier," and is most commonly used to mean the edge of an Iskite clearing, where the fields end and the Forest begins.  Those aliens which have never cleared nor tilled a field seldom understand that the Iskite way of life is war, an eternal struggle fought with fire, axe, and mattock against the tireless Forest.  A village's border is never set in stone – it is the result of a hard-fought stalemate, and only diligence and toil maintain it.  

It is no coincidence that the land between the Chromatic Plain and the shores of the Netai shares this name.  Throughout its history, this borderland has been a contested place, the wild frontier of Scalemount, wrested from the Forest and the hands of aliens both.  In recent years the Sekata Iskites have fought a series of bitter wars against the newborn Confederation in an attempt to maintain the frontiers of their dominion; many victories were won, but the most recent war ended last year in dismal failure.  The Evne and their subjects rest easily upon their victory – but those who know the Iskites know their struggle is never done, and even foes as inexorable as the Forest itself will in time be forced to yield what is rightfully Iskite.  The fields are maintained with fire and iron, but fire and iron do more than keep the Forest at bay.  They are the tools by which a great civilization may yet reclaim its pride.

History

In the present time, the Scalemount and the Netai are divided by "the salient," a projection of the Chromatic Plain that reaches out to the edges of the Mosswaste.  While the Chromatic Plain is not as outright hostile as the Mosswaste, it is one of the more difficult lands to traverse; tall bamboo-like "grasses" like the gheentail rush, growing up to twenty feet tall, grow thickly in every direction.  Thin flowering vines grow between the stalks, reaching up towards the sun, turning an already dense thicket into a spider's web.  Every part of this grassland looks the same.  Traveling through it without a lodestone and a sharp machete (preferably several) is essentially impossible.

In Antiquity, however, this was not the case.  Before the Saffron Moss consumed Chalicewood, one could simply go around the salient.  There lay the lake of Isath, which was in ancient times the homeland of the Evne that now rule the Netai.  There is evidence that unclock Isath and the Saltmoor beyond saw some Iskite settlement prior to the Great Social Reform; a handful of szalks, Iskite fortresses and tombs built prior to the Reform, are known to exist in the Saltmoor.  How long ago this settlement began, however, is hotly debated.  The Sekata Iskites themselves claim ancient dominance, arguing that the Saltmoor was an Iskite land in distant Antiquity that was only lost to the Evne later on; there is a widespread legend that the Iskite heroine Wujjal was the first to make her home in the Saltmoor after slaying the evil lord Ungsze.  The Evne themselves maintain that they were the first colonists of the Saltmoor.  There is unlikely to be any clear evidence either way.

The Sekah's well-attested history as an Iskite land begins with the Great Social Reform.  At this time the Iskites of Scalemount were ruled by hereditary princes who constructed great monuments to their power and authority.  A rising tide of unrest, however, led to the overthrow of many of the princes, and the splintering of the Scalemount Iskites into dozens of philosophical and social sects.  While most of these movements supported some degree of "reform," some were far more radical than others, and the greatest fault line emerged on the fundamental issue of blood.  A number of sects proposed that hereditary and nepotism be crushed once and for all by the destruction of the family as an institution.  Their opponents, the "Kinsmen," called them dangerous fanatics, and mocked them as "Orphans;" it was a name the Orphans soon adopted for themselves.  Though they shared one particular philosophical view, however, the Orphan sects disagreed with one another on many other issues, and often thought no better of their "fellow Orphans" than of the Kinsmen themselves.

The first major wave of Iskite settlement in the Sekah consisted of refugees from Scalemount during the Reform period; many of these were not political refugees, but families and communities seeking to escape the general war and unrest that had gripped their homeland.  Towards the end of the period, it became clear that the Polemicists (named for the Polemic, which would became the fourth chapter of the Mainspring Analects), an Orphan sect, would be triumphant, and all under their rule would either have to embrace their ideal society or perish.  The future Sekah was an ideal place for refuge – Isath, still an Evne land, was too strong for the Polemicists to threaten, and the Saltmoor beyond was too remote.

One of the competing Orphan sects was the so-called "Orderines," who believed in a strictly stratified society in which theoretically each person could ascend from the lowest caste to the highest one through merit.  While they did not make children unknown to their parents as the Polemicists did, children did not inherit the status of their parents and were separated from them as a consequence of each degree being physically and socially isolated from the others.  Their plans were not viable on a large scale; early Orderine-held settlements in Scalemount appear to have been little more than military dictatorships, which lasted as long as they did only because the sect produced some of the more outstanding warriors and commanders of the period.

By the end of the Reform era the sect had converted itself into something resembling an armed monastic order.  Frustrated by the failure of the people to accept their ideals, they deemed society at large to be "tainted" and retreated within their own voluntary communities.  When the Polemicists gained their triumph, these communities went into exile elsewhere.  Famous for their love of austerity and hardship, the Orderines appear to have found their ideal new home in the forbidding Saltmoor.  They were readily accepted by the Iskites already living there; the Orderines were no longer interested in remodeling all of society, and the presence of a sect still renowned for its combat prowess was likely gratifying to refugees still wondering whether the Polemicists would pursue them.

To reach the Saltmoor, these Iskites had to travel through Isath, and many Iskites went no further than that.  The Evne leadership was at first very accommodating to the Iskites, perhaps seeing them as a faction to be played against the Polemicists who now dominated most of Scalemount.  The Umbril princes offered their protection to the new Iskite villages on the unclock shore of Isath, provided they complied with Evne law.  Wars between the Isath Evne and the Polemicist Iskites are attested, but no details have survived; evidently the Evne did well enough, as Scalemount seems to have made no progress against them in late Antiquity.  They were further bolstered by the arrival of a great host of Chalicewood Gheen, fleeing the fall of their homeland, who similarly became subjects of the Evne in a polity bearing a certain amount of resemblance to the Evne-led Confederation of modern times.

Isath, however, would not survive.  The Peril overran the lake with tremendous violence and terror early in the Age of Prophets, and Isath has been lost to the Mosswaste ever since.  The surviving Evne fled to the shores of the Sea of Netai, the Iskites fled to their kinsfolk in the Saltmoor, and the Gheen spread out over both these regions, eventually finding themselves subjects to either the Evne or the Iskites wherever they went.

The Oracle Tree spread to the Saltmoor in time, and prophets came to rule there as in many other places in the world.  These prophets found common cause with those of Scalemount, who had founded the "Grand Authority," an alliance of the fruit-eaters intending to unify all their race under one culture, one language, and one common purpose.  By this age, the Orderines had lost their old martial traditions and the enmity between the refugees and Scalemount had softened; Saltmoor's prophets shepherded their people into adoption of "Analectic" society, succeeding with a soft touch where the original Polemicists had failed.

When the Dominion Tree blossomed, this newly ordered society fell into chaos.  The prophets of the Saltmoor turned against their people, and Abominations began swarming into the Saltmoor from lost Isath.  They were met by another force, gathered from all over the Forest – the great horde of the Aras Tay, with Vao, the towering Lord of Brambles, before them all.  The climactic battle between the Peril and the Forest took place near the unclock shore of the Netai.  Although not actively hostile to the Iskites, the Aras Tay were heedless of "collateral damage;" the village of Esthan was flattened in a duel between Poruai and a colossal mosswyrm, in which the slime mold-like Aras Tay shoved itself down the wyrm's throat and ripped it apart from the inside.

The trial of the Saltmoor Iskites was not yet over.  As the Aras Tay and the Abominations clashed, the Gheen monarch Yaar Makal stirred her people to revolt against their Iskite masters by claiming they were servants of the Peril.  Thousands of Iskites were killed and numerous villages destroyed before the Iskites rallied against them and forced the "Makales" to flee.  They were allowed only a few years of rebuilding before the arrival of the Orange Horde in their land.

The New Borderland

Although the Saltmoor had suffered, the Prophetslayers had been far more cruel to Scalemount, and a new wave of refugees from Scalemount braved the Flowering Moors to travel to the Iskite Saltmoor.  While many villages there had been destroyed or depopulated, many of the isolated communities of the upper Saltmoor had survived essentially intact.

The flight of the Evne into the Netai isles during the Recentering left the unclock coastline of the sea all but uninhabited.  Soon after the Recentering's end, the Iskites of the Saltmoor began migrating to the coast, which they named watzash ("dawn-water").  Though farming was more challenging in the coastal forests, Watzash was less dangerous than the deep Saltmoor, and the coastline allowed villages to communicate and trade with one another where before they had been quite isolated.  Watzash prospered, and stories of the "new land" filtered back to Scalemount, spurring more immigration.  Around 60-70, some of these Iskite communities began taking to the water and exploring the chain of islands off their coast, known as Anath (in the LT this is spelled and pronounced as Anasth), which was uninhabited at the time.  New villages were established throughout the islands.  The Iskites of Scalemount called this new land sseka – Sekah, the Borderland, the newest frontier of Iskite civilization, reborn from the ashes of the Recentering.

In EVP 87, the Evne Prince of the Blue, Vatav-Nel Oran, deposed its rival and proclaimed itself Prince of the Green and master of all the Netai.  Vatav-Nel expressed no interested in Anath, but a later Oranid would.  Ineven-Nel Oran invaded the archipelago early in its reign, before its madness had become very pronounced.  The invasion was largely peaceful, as most villages surrendered without a fight.  Both Ineven-Nel and its successors were content to rule Anath with a light hand, exacting a relatively modest annual tribute and allowing the Iskites to continue to govern themselves.  Some Evne traders settled in Anathi communities, but no large-scale Evne colonization took place under the Oranids.  There was no interruption of trade and contact between Anath and Watzash, whose people enjoyed peace and growing prosperity during this time.

The Scourge that ravaged the alien communities of the Netai in the late 2nd century never touched Anath; the Iskites banned entry to their land from the Netai and sunk any ships that defied their ban.  They watched from afar as the Oranids fell from power and the newborn Netai Confederation struggled to win their independence, though individually many Iskites of Anath and Watzash were hired as mercenaries by the last Prince of the Green.

The Right Orientation Alliance

The fall of the Oranid state presented the Iskites of the Sekah with an opportunity.  Though victorious, the Confederation was still in disarray.  Sekata veterans returning from Oranid service recalled that the Oranid prince had lost chiefly because its people had no faith in it and its troops, nearly all mercenaries, were not well-motivated.  They spread the belief that the Confederation's victory had come about only because of Oranid weakness rather than Confederation strength.

Sekata leaders began to feel that this moment was the right one to formally sever the ties between the Anath and the Netai, ending the protectorate status that had existed since the days of Vatav-Nel.  In the Watzashi village of Tzal, grandmasters of eighteen villages held a historic council that founded the nawes un ilassk (most literally, "alliance which has come about by way of correct understanding of and appreciation for one's place in the natural order," but which is usually rendered as "Right Orientation Alliance").  The Alliance was ostensibly an organization formed to facilitate cooperation between the villages of Watzash and Anasth and to provide for the "protection" of the archipelago from outside interference.  Messengers went out to the villages of the Sekah, and soon dozens of villages had joined the new organization.

In EVP 190, a flotilla bearing the N-L banner of the Right Orientation Alliance landed at Anath.  They "conquered" the archipelago without a fight – the last Evne garrison had been withdrawn during the First Netai War and the Anathi natives largely greeted the Alliance forces as liberators.  Some villages received them more tepidly, concerned that the Alliance might actually place more restrictions on their independence than the Oranids had, but they posed no serious resistance to the takeover.

There is considerable evidence that the Alliance leaders did not expect their actions to lead to war.  Very few Evne lived in Anath, and the Oranids never displayed much interest in it aside from collecting regular tribute.  It seemed unlikely to the Sekata Iskites that the Confederation, having just fought a war for their own freedom, would now attempt to subjugate them in turn.  It was widely assumed that the liberation of Anath would be accepted as a fait accompli, and that the Confederation would soon reach an understanding with the Alliance and cordial relations would be restored.

The Confederation elites saw the situation very differently.  Many Sekata warriors had fought for the Oranids, and the deposed Oranid prince yet lived.  The Evne feared that this was merely another attempt to destroy the Confederation masterminded by that prince.  They were also keenly aware that they owed their victory only to the cooperation of aliens – if Anath could secede so easily, it might inspire other alien populations within the Confederation to declare their own independence.  This would greatly weaken the Confederation, cause strife in mixed-population islands like Inembran and Teven, and might ultimately turn the Netai into a patchwork of racial states.

The Alliance, seeking to forestall hostilities, send a delegation to the Confederation claiming they had no further claims on Confederation territory, and offering to negotiate a permanent alliance against the deposed Oranids.  The Intendant, Ul-Thalar, was reportedly willing to accept this arrangement, believing that the Confederation would probably lose if it tried to contest Anath with the Alliance.  The College of Envoys, however, did not trust the Alliance and feared accession to their offer would show weakness and invite betrayal.  Pressure mounted on Ul-Thalar to reject the offer and fight for the "liberation" of Anath, and in the end, the Intendant gave in.

The first war between the Alliance and the Confederation began that year; the last would not end until 23 years later.  The Alliance, though outnumbered by the Confederation, achieved many impressive victories.  In the end, however, it was overwhelmed.  Confederation naval and aerial forces proved superior, and the Confederation forces used terror tactics against the Sekata Iskites throughout the wars, using khautas to drop fire-oil on Iskite fields and villages.  Confederation raiding parties, particularly Ussik brigades, pillaged and burned Sekata villages all along the Watzash coastline.  Last year, faced with the total destruction of their naval forces and the prospect of abandoning the entire coastline, the Alliance sued for peace.  As a condition of the peace that ended the Fifth Netai War, the Right Orientation Alliance was formally disbanded, and its constituent villages were forced to pay a tremendous indemnity (only a portion of which has actually been paid, owing to the poverty of the Sekata villages by the end of the war).  All of Anath is now under Confederation rule, and several years of intensive resettlement since the Third Netai War have brought the proportion of Iskites there from nearly 100% to as low as 60%.  What are widely known as the "Netai Wars" are collectively known to the Sekata as elakang – The Grief.

The last quarter-century has dealt a tremendous blow to the optimism and confidence of a people who, after the ravages of the Recentering, believed themselves to be on the path of progress and renewal.  Rebuilding efforts have begun in many Watzash villages, bolstered significantly by the influence of Scalemount – the Scalemount Iskites were kept informed of the progressing Netai Wars and the plight of the Sekah has been a cause célèbre for years.  During the wars, many Scalemount soldiers journeyed to the Sekah to fight as volunteers, and now numerous Scalemount villages send goods to support the restoration of Sekah villages.  While their help is appreciated by most, some Sekah natives who are simply tired of war fear that Scalemount assistance will rekindle dreams of vengeance and lead to another war in the future.

The Sekata have also begun to see some benefit from the caravans of the Rainbow Road, the trade route between the Grove of Tranquility, Netai, and Scalemount, which passes through their territory before crossing the salient of the Flowering Moors.  The possibility of profit is substantial, though there are also concerns that the Confederation will try to exert its dominance over Watzash as well, and there have been conflicts between the Sekata Iskites and the Ussik caravan guards of the Arbalesters' League who are widely detested by the Sekata as brutal savages and plunderers.

Culture

Since the Age of Prophets, the Sekata Iskites have been a recognizably "orthodox" Iskite culture, faithful to the Analects and disdainful of heredity and family ties.  The presence of the Orderines among them, however, has left marks on their society that even the Grand Authority was unable to entirely stamp out.  Scalemount Iskites find Sekata culture to be more "classist" than their own, with vocations often grouped into distinct castes.  Another Orderine relic is the widespread practice of "fostering" in which young children are sent to other villages to be raised; this supposedly comes the Orderine practice of separating children from their parents, or possibly from stories that Saltmoor villages sent children to the exiled Orderine fortresses to receive training in arms or the Breath.

As a population formed from many waves of refugees, hospitality is particularly important to the Sekata Iskites.  Although most cultures of the Forest have traditions of hospitality towards guests, borne of a world in which turning away a stranger in the Forest frequently means their death, the Sekata Iskites take this to further lengths.  By tradition, a stranger fleeing persecution cannot be forced to leave, and exiles from other villages have been known to live for years or even the rest of their lives in the village of their hosts.  Many villages have elaborate rites for the receiving of guests and mark these occasions with feasting.  All of this was originally extended to aliens as well, particularly the Evne (who allowed the Iskites to travel through their land and settle in it when fleeing Scalemount), but the recent wars have degraded this tradition.  True foreigners are still likely to be received well, but aliens from the Confederation may or may not be depending on the village, and Ussik almost never will.  Villages plundered or razed during the war may simply be unable to afford such extravagances for any guests regardless of race.

Much of the Saltmoor is less conducive to farming than Scalemount, and the Sekata Iskites depend more on fish than their upland cousins.  They are still agriculturalists, however, and have learned to build raised plots and to cultivate salt-resistant plants.  The chief staple is osal, a leafy shrub with clusters of tiny pale blue flowers that yields "grain" similar to amaranth.  Osal is highly salt-tolerant is used to make bread, oil, sweets, and "cloud grain," the closest thing the Clockwork Jungle has to popcorn.  "Osal-chewer" is a Scalemount slang term for a Sekata native, with an added connotation of rusticity (a comparable American English term would be "hayseed").

Most Sekata Iskites have a religious outlook similar to that of Scalemount Iskites.  The role of Sekata priests is to find which gods will be most efficacious in fulfilling the particular need of the community and discovering the rituals and sacrifices necessary for placating that god.  Sekata priests are in a sense scholars of religion in general, who keep extensive records of regional and local gods (even the gods of aliens), the histories of their worshippers, and records of the kinds of sacrifices offered to them in the past.  The Sekata Iskites do have their "own" gods, but these pass in and out of favor depending on their performance and the judgment of the priests.  The only exception is the deified Osal – so important is the plant that it is also the name of a goddess, who is revered almost everywhere in the Sekah.  Correspondingly, wreaths of blue Osal flowers are a universal symbol of prosperity among the Sekata Iskites, and are worn by priests at ceremonies and used to crown the victorious females of the sesses eng salej.

Recent events have led some of the Sekata Iskites to conclude that they have lost the favor of their gods.  Ordinarily the Iskites might consider even adopting the gods of their enemies, hoping to appeal to them more than their former followers, but the nature of Evne religion makes this rather hard to do.  Recently cults of the Aras Tay have been growing in popularity, particularly as incursions by Abominations from the neighboring Mosswaste become more frequent; the Sekata Iskites are more aware than most of the role the Aras Tay played in defeating the Peril once before.  Foreign cults brought by caravans from the Black Circle have also gained some purchase, including the Cult of the Solar Emissary headquartered in Greythorn.

Adventurers

A Sekata Iskite character may be from Anath, Watzash, or the Saltmoor.  While the cultural differences between these groups are fairly minimal, Iskites of Anath or the Watzash are more likely to have fought in and seen firsthand the destruction of the Netai Wars.  Saltmoor Iskites did participate in the fighting, but fewer of their villages were part of the Right Orientation Alliance (which was primarily a Watzashi-Anathi phenomenon) and Confederation retaliatory attacks could not reach very far inland.

A Sekata Iskite character may also be from the Netai Isles themselves.  The greatest concentration of Netai Iskites was on Teven, but this population was deported to other islands during the Netai Wars.  Netai Iskites may have migrated to the isles prior to the wars or may be descended from slaves brought to Netai under the Oranids.  They are more likely to be comfortable with aliens and the Netai's cosmopolitan culture, but they may also be torn by their loyalties to the Confederation and their Sekata kin.

A Sekata Iskite who served as a vocational soldier is likely to have been deployed against the Confederation at sea, in Anath, and possibly even in Watzash, though Confederation attacks there were primarily coastal raids rather than pitched battles.  Iskites of other professions may also have served, as towards the end of the Fifth Netai War, Alliance villages were mobilizing all able-bodied artisans they could find to defend their coastline and stave off defeat.  In general, however, the Sekata Iskites are not a highly militarized culture, and the soldier's profession is no more common among them than it would be in Scalemount.

Sekata Iskites are, above all, survivors.  As children they are taught about the many trials of their kin.  Their people, according to their own stories, are patient bearers of hardship who endure adversity and persevere (another reflection, perhaps, of their Orderine heritage).  Nevertheless, a year is a very short time for the wounds of war to heal, and the trauma is still very fresh in the minds of the people.

A Sekata character must decide for himself what the future offers and whether defeat should be accepted, endured, or avenged.  Many of the Iskites simply wish to return to normalcy, and are resigned to Confederation rule of Anath; of these, some support permanent reconciliation with the Confederation, while others believe that a future generation will redeem the archipelago.  Other Sekata Iskites believe defeat should not be so easily accepted, and seek to reclaim the independence of Anath in this generation, either out of a personal grudge against the alien conquerors or a belief that only victory can redeem the dignity of the Iskites and restore the natural order.  Some Iskites have simply grown disillusioned with the ideals of "independence," "dignity," and "right order" that led the Sekah to ruin, and seek to make a new life elsewhere.

Between the Recentering and the Netai Wars, Sekata Iskites had relatively little contact with alien populations, and it is quite possible that a Sekata Iskite character has encountered aliens primarily on the battlefield.  Iskites of Anath have had somewhat more contact, as there has been a regular Confederation (chiefly Evne) presence on their lands since the Third Netai War, and Confederation-encouraged immigration has brought thousands of Evne (and, to a lesser extent, Tahro and Gheen) into Iskite communities.  Sekata Iskites of the Saltmoor who did not participate in the wars stood a good chance of having never seen an alien, at least until recent years when alien caravans from the Black Circle started becoming quite frequent in the region.

[spoiler=Notable Figures]Tzalang

[ic=The Grief]In days of tea they would not take your open hand; in days of iron they would not feel your beating fist.  My tongue has served you no better...  All my words are a sigh in the gale; all my strength is dewdrop upon a bonfire.  You placed a great trust in my hands, and all that is left is ash sifting through my fingers.  Oh, my people, only your grief is greater than my shame; I have failed you.

- Tzalang, diplomat of the Right Orientation Alliance, informing the village of Zelkan of the end of the Fifth Netai War[/ic]

Tzalang was born in the coastal village of Angszi and tutored as an herbalist; for part of his childhood, he was fostered in the prominent Anathi village of Kesz, and is said to consider it his "second home."  Despite being skilled at his trade, he did not become a master until the relatively late age of 26; his flowerwork was the refinement of a traditional antidote for the venom of a particular breed of water snake.  As a healer, Tzalang was well-traveled in the Sekah, as his village frequently gave him permission to attend to problems elsewhere to boost their own status and reputation for magnanimity.

Tzalang was forty years old when the Prince of the Green abandoned Tiran Oran and the Confederation was proclaimed.  Talk soon began circulating through the Sekah of liberating Anath, and the grandmasters of Angszi were strong supporters of intervention.  The grandmasters needed a representative to gain support from other villages and mobilize opinion in favor of united action.  As someone who was widely known and trusted outside his own village, Tzalang seemed like a logical choice.  Tzalang himself claims that he always supported the idea of an independent Anath, but had no strong political beliefs at the time and was simply performing his duty.

Tzalang was present at the meeting which created the Right Orientation Alliance, though as an assistant rather than an actual delegate, as he himself was not a grandmaster.  Having earned a reputation for being an effective communicator, he was dispatched as one of the legates sent to the Confederation capital of Var Aban to offer the Evne peace and renounce any claims on Confederation territory outside of Anath.  While not mistreated, his delegation was received coldly and lingered for weeks with no formal answer before being summarily dismissed without being able to formally address the convened Confederation government.  Tzalang claims that this failure has haunted him ever since, and he has always wondered what he could have done differently to change the course of history, thereby preventing numerous wars, saving thousands of lives, and achieving the dream of Anathi independence.

Tzalang never bore arms during the wars, but became the best known "face" of the Alliance.  He was present as a scribe at the negotiations that ended the Second Netai War, a great Alliance victory, and he was a delegate at the negotiations that ended the Third Netai War, which reversed prior Alliance gains.  He traveled four times to Scalemount to drum up volunteers and aid among the Iskites there, and is rumored to have engaged in secret meetings with the "new Oranid" Atuls-Yan before the Fourth Netai War.  By the end of the Fifth Netai War, Tzalang had acquired the status of an elder statesman and was sent to the surrender negotiations as ambassador plenipotentiary for the Alliance.  It was his own claw-print on wax that formalized the Iskite surrender and abolished the Right Orientation Alliance.

While some extremists consider Tzalang to be a weakling and a traitor for agreeing to the surrender, the general consensus is that it was inevitable, and prolonging the war would only have led to greater death and destruction.  Most of the Sekata Iskites hold Tzalang in high regard, and he is widely known as "the Speaker of the People" or merely "the Speaker."  As a testament to his popularity, his famous announcement of the surrender to the people of Zelkan was met with the wailing crowd embracing him en masse, and the same speech is generally credited with coining the term "the Grief" (lakang) now widely used in the Sekah refer to the disastrous wars.

His reputation is no poorer in the Confederation.  A Kalathoon Tahr leader present at the ceremony that ended the Third Netai War commented that Tzalang was "what a chieftain should aspire to; gracious in victory and dignified in defeat."  He is said to be close to Ingkeszil, a native of Anath and one of the Four Founders of the Confederation, who is presently a grandmaster in his native Kesz; they may have met one another when Tzalang was a fosterling there.

Angszi was burned to the ground in the last war.  Tzalang, now 70 years old, has dedicated himself to its restoration.  While that project is still ongoing, he lives in the half-finished village.  In his spare time he writes and continues to practice medicine.  Consistent with Analectic doctrine, the number and identity of Tzalang's children is unknown even to him, but he has had several mates.  In one famous story, upon seeing the body of a soldier arrive in Angszi during the Third Netai War, he remarked "that was my daughter;" when another Iskite replied with incredulity, Tzalang responded, "do you know that she was not?"

Iszan ish Kalk

Little is known of the childhood of Iszan ish Kalk, because the name is a nom de guerre – it means "champion for the heart."  Iszan is the secretive leader of the Righteous Militia of Sekah, a militant group assembled from veterans of the last Netai War who refused to accept the surrender of Anath.  The Righteous Militia is a secret society that wages a guerrilla war against the Confederation authorities in Anath, and has attempted assassinations and arson against several targets elsewhere in the Netai Isles.  Iszan ish Kalk is considered a high criminal and enemy of the government by the Confederation, which has offered a substantial reward for her death or capture.

According to those who have met and spoken with the Militia's leader, she was born in Anath; some have speculated that she is a native of Wasthe, as several of her communiqués have vividly mentioned the bombardment and sack of that village.  If so, she may well have been a participant in the Third Netai War, though all that is certainly known is that she fought in the fifth and last war.  According to Iszan herself, she and a number of other soldiers were hiding in the jungle in Anath, launching raids and ambushes against Confederation garrisons and moored ships, when they captured a small party of Evne who had been sent inland to convey news of the surrender.  Iszan and her comrades rejected the supposed peace and left the heads of the Evne messengers on stakes.  Some believe this story to be mere propaganda, but there is no firm evidence either way; in any case, Iszan ish Kalk and her followers have been fighting ever since, claiming themselves to be the vanguard of the resistance and the true successors to the Right Orientation Alliance.

Iszan is understandably a controversial figure in the Sekah.  While many are reluctant to outright condemn her and her organization, the war has only been over for a year, and most of the Sekata Iskites have no interest in fighting a new one.  She is much more popular in Scalemount, where her (frequently exaggerated) deeds have made her into a folk hero, fighting the good fight against alien oppressors.  Songs in her honor are quite common there, and frequently have little relation to actual Righteous Militia activities - in some cases, old stories of an Iskite defeating or outwitting an alien simply have the names and races replaced to give them a modern theme.  Tales of Iszan and the Righteous Militia have motivated some Iskites of Scalemount to travel to the Netai to attempt to join her, and some speculate that the Righteous Militia may actually have more fighters from Scalemount than the Sekah itself.

The Confederation has so far had little success in finding her, and only a handful of her followers have been captured or killed.  Those captured either do not know or will not tell anything of her identity or location; as Umbril are seldom squeamish about applying torture, it is presumed the organization either has exceptionally loyal agents or that it has a high degree of internal secrecy.

Ingkeszil

Ingkeszil is a native of Kesz, the largest village in Anath and the archipelago's preeminent port both before and after Confederation conquest.  Hatched before the Oranid conquest, Ingkeszil witnessed the arrival (and then departure) of Evne soldiers.  His trade was metalworking, and his flowerwork was an ornate polefan (a weapon also known as a mosscutter).  Ingkeszil was in his late 50s before he left Anath for the first time and had already trained several pupils of his own; the village grandmasters permitted him to travel to the Green Realm to ply his trade with the Evne and eventually return with anything he had learned.  Ingkeszil found little that the Evne knew of metalworking that the Sekata Iskites did not, but he nevertheless lived in Var Aban for thirteen years making tools and blades.

Three years after he returned to Kesz, the Scourge Crisis erupted.  Despite the ban on travel from the Netai Isles to Anath, news of the tremendous death toll still managed to filter into Kesz.  In 179, Ingkeszil and a small group of volunteers sailed to Var Aban to bring aid to the Iskite population and potentially to evacuate them somewhere safer,  but their ship was impounded by the Oranid government upon arrival.  Ingkeszil was unable to do anything to help those already suffering from the Scourge and no longer had the means to bring any Iskites out of Var Aban; he could only be a witness to the misery.  While in the city, however, he came to discover a significant amount of disgruntlement with the Oranid prince among the Evne themselves, and made contact with a number of Evne dissenters.  Several seasons later, these contacts arranged for Ingkeszil to travel to Teven, where the largest Iskite population in the Green Realm lived.

In Teven, Ingkeszil became a revolutionary.  Not long after his arrival in Teven, many prominent Evne intellectuals and critics of the regime were arrested and deported to the Isle of Righteous Remuneration (more commonly known today as the "Isle of Fate"), which only succeeded in stirring up more opposition among the Evne population.  Ingkeszil was involved in secret meetings between Evne and Iskites in Teven, and put his skills to use forging weapons for a potential uprising.  The conspiracy was discovered, however, and Ingkeszil barely managed to escape with his life, fleeing to Kalathoon on a fishing boat.  The crisis came to a head in 183 with the departure of the Oranid fleet to liquidate the exiles on the Isle of Righteous Remuneration, as they had become a thorn in the side of the regime.  Ingkeszil, together with a number of Kalathoon Tahro, sailed to the isle to try and implement a last-minute scheme to attack the Oranid fleet with fire-ships, but this proved unnecessary, as the fleet was almost entirely annihilated in a storm.  On Teven, having arrived prior to the storm, Ingkeszil and the Tahr patriarch Kuzzun met with the de facto leader of the exiles, Tiren-Vas, who swore to uphold the dignity of the aliens in exchange for their help.  The exiles were returned to Var Aban, the Prince of the Green fled the isles shortly thereafter, and the Netai Confederation was born.  Ingkeszil was a signatory of the Treaty of Var Aban and is considered to be one of the Four Founders (there is one of each race) of the Netai Confederation.  He was offered the position of Coronet of Aliens in the new regime, which he accepted only after being assured by Kuzzun was uninterested in the honor.

The First Netai War followed shortly thereafter, as the deposed prince attempted to regain its realm.  Ingkeszil was an early proponent of the Confederation using alien forces in battle, which it was initially reluctant to do; Iskites and Tahro made up a large part of the Oranid mercenary forces and the Evne of the Confederation government feared disloyalty from their own alien populations.  After the city of Andar switched sides to the Oranids, Ingkeszil resigned in protest.  He was reinstated only after the "turning point" in 187, when an Oranid invasion of Kalathoon was crushed by the Tahro and Intendant Ul-Thalar imprisoned all the Confederation marshals for treason, replaced them with aliens, and pledged to redouble the war effort with all of the Confederation's subjects.  Ingkeszil never personally fought in battle, but worked to encourage alien volunteers and promote cooperation between the races.  Though greatly depleted from the Scourge, these alien soldiers were vital to the Confederation's victory, and were well-represented at the decisive battle of Cannibal's Crown, where the main Oranid fleet was trapped and destroyed.

Ingkeszil's status and loyalties would be tested by the rise of the Right Orientation Alliance, which claimed to act for the freedom of Anathi Iskites like himself.  Ingkeszil agreed with the Evne leadership that the invasion of Anath was a reckless and unworthy act, but maintained that the Iskites of Anath had the right to choose their masters just as the Evne had asserted their rights when the Oranids became tyrannical.  He pushed for a negotiated settlement and met with Alliance delegates at Var Aban (including Tzalang, who was fostered in Kesz and probably already knew Ingkeszil).  His arguments, however, were rejected by the Evne government, which decided to respond to the invasion in kind.  When his term expired in the first year of the war, Ingkeszil declined to stand for re-election.

Throughout the wars, Ingkeszil held no other formal office but was recognized as the leader of the "loyalist Iskites," Iskite residents of the Netai Isles that did not support the Right Orientation Alliance (even if they believed the war against them was wrong).  He objected strenuously to the government's decision to deport the Iskite population of Teven.  When the Third Netai War ended in the reconquest of Anath by the Confederation, Ingkeszil returned to Kesz to try and repair relations between the Iskites and the aliens that again ruled them.

Kesz was attacked by the Alliance in the Fifth Netai War.  With the nearby Confederation forces in full retreat, Ingkeszil, now a grandmaster of the village, chose to surrender the city rather than defend it, saying that he did not want to be responsible for senseless bloodshed.  His action won him some respect among the Alliance Iskites, many of whom had thought of him as no more than an Evne stooge, but the Confederation was not as impressed.  When Kesz was retaken by the Confederation, Ingkeszil was arrested for treason, but the prosecution of one of the Confederation's own founders proved politically untenable, and he was soon released.

Ingkeszil recently marked his 114th hatching day in Kesz.  As a grandmaster, he has retired from his vocation, but he has become a prolific writer, already producing several volumes of a yet-uncompleted work on the history of the Sekata Iskites.  He has also written several treatises on antique Iskite linguistics, one of his hobbies.  It is too early to say whether his continuing mission to heal the divides between the Anathi Iskites and the Confederation will bear fruit, and not all are supportive of that mission.  Last season he was gravely wounded by an assassin, believed to be from the Righteous Militia of Sekah, which considers Ingkeszil to be a collaborator and a traitor.  The assassin was captured but managed to escape from the custody of the Kesz Iskites, perhaps indicating the presence of sympathizers or other agents within the village.[/spoiler]

Quote from: ExhibitPictured Below: A shield belonging to a Right Orientation Alliance soldier displaying a "compact N-L" design.  The letters have been combined and the baseline removed to make the symbol fit on a roundel; this is about as stylized as the N-L symbol ever got.  The ends of the symbol would be assumed to be spearheads were it not for the unusually placed iron nails, which suggest eyes on a double-headed snake.  The two small symbols within the N-L symbol are "N-STH," which certainly stands for Anasth.

(http://i.imgur.com/7luPqbT.png)

A great deal can be inferred about the bearer of this shield.  Lightweight and cheap to produce, "nailed leather" shields like these were usually found in the hands of volunteers.  Sekata vocational soldiers usually carried shields faced with copper or iron, or larger oval-shaped leather shields for marine actions.  The unpainted leather (aside from the symbol) and the generally simple construction suggest this shield was made towards the end of the Fifth Netai War when time and resources were scarce, and the good condition suggests it did not see much combat.  It most likely belonged to an artisan or farmer equipped for garrison duty in a Watzashi village near the end of the war.  The iron nail "eyes" are almost certainly post-issue additions, probably by the bearer.  "N-STH" does not necessarily indicate the bearer was from the archipelago, but because this also seems to have been a post-issue addition, one might conjecture that the bearer was a Anathi refugee who had been resettled in Watzash.

[ic=The Prophetslayer and the Iskites]"You have used your ink to write evil, your lamps to read evil, and your mouths to teach evil.  For this sickness we have most efficacious medicine; what is written can be burned, what is lit can be darkened, and those who speak can be silenced."

- Excerpt, The Iron Deeds of Thals-Tadun Nata[/ic]


Much has changed in the two centuries since the Orange Horde sought to destroy all learned creatures in the name of cleansing the world of the Peril's supposed co-conspirators.  That paroxysm of violence, often directed against scholars and scribes with no connection whatsoever to the Oracle Fruit and the wretched Prophets, was perhaps the Horde's gravest sin.  Though many agreed that the knowledge and philosophy of the past was tainted, the systematic mass murder of all those with "esoteric" or "mysterious" knowledge – in some regions, this included literacy itself – went beyond all reason or justification.
[note=Sacred Illiteracy]Some sects of the so-called Cult of the Redeemer, which reveres the vanished Prophetslayer Enti-Ven Famar, take the Horde's antipathy towards scholars and the written word as an example and go so far as to abstain from all writing.  The theological justification for this varies, but typically reflects a distrust of knowledge of the present world, which is viewed as corrupt and sinful compared to the utopian world to come in the wake of Enti-Fen's bloody return.  The practice is a fringe one, but is particularly favored by Gheen and Tahro, who tend to be the least literate in the first place and have few cultural attachments to literature and writing.[/note]

Nevertheless, while much of the learning of the past has been lost, the survivors of the catastrophe began writing anew.  Literacy varies widely among the races and cultures of the Forest; in some places practically universal and in others nearly unknown.  The advent of basic printing presses has assisted the development of urbanized centers and dense communities like those in the Netai and on the Black Circle into places of unprecedented information exchange and intellectual ferment, though the clash of languages and scripts can be bewildering to provincial visitors from the Forest's great periphery.

Gheen

The Gheen have always been among the least literate of peoples.  Gheen culture is predominantly an oral one; songs, tales, and stories are passed in word or song from one generation to the next.  An individual is expected to be able to recite their list of (maternal) ancestors going back many generations (dozens of them, in some Gheen cultures).  Memory is cultivated as a critical life skill, rendering general literacy unnecessary.

In the modern era, the written word has been introduced into Gheen society by contact – specifically, trade – with aliens.  Even a Gheen is hard pressed to manage a merchant's ledger entirely in her head, and alien merchants aren't generally comfortable with trusting a Gheen to accurately remember information that they themselves rely on carefully maintained paper records for.  Gheen active in regional trade – specifically, Shield Gheen dreys near the Black Circle and the Chalice Gheen expatriate families of the Netai – are the most likely to have literate members.  Even among these people, however, literacy is uncommon among residents who don't actively participate in trade.  This is still better than the state of writing in many Gheen-settled lands in the deep Forest, where it is not at all uncommon to find a drey with not one literate among the lot.

The script that most literate Gheen write in is not "native" Gheen script.  Save for the Chalice Gheen, who developed a native writing system in Antiquity, Gheen civilization adopted writing from aliens.  Which script is used usually reflects a drey's most influential neighbors.  Tahr logosyllabic script is favored in many areas because its symbols – usually reflecting words – are more easily adapted to Gheen spoken languages than Umbril or Iskite scripts, which are almost universally alphabetic or syllabic.  Some Gheen societies use "altered" Umbril or Iskite scripts in which letters are removed, added, or reassigned to reflect the different sounds and tones of the Gheen language.  If enough changes are made, the script becomes totally unreadable to the people it was originally borrowed from.  This is what is often meant by the term "Gheen Script," because in extreme instances it seems as if the only elements borrowed from aliens were the physical forms of the letters themselves and nothing else.  This practice is common enough that "it looks/reads like Gheen" has become a stock phrase in some Iskite and Umbril cultures meaning that a piece of writing is illegible, confounding, or just plain nonsense, the Clockwork Jungle equivalent of "it's Greek to me."

Musical literacy is possibly more widespread than "normal" literacy among the Gheen.  There are many Gheen who can read Iskite musical notation but have no knowledge of Iskite letters (or anybody else's).  In the Red Depths, there is a sub-region that uses "note script," a Gheen writing system derived entirely from the music notation system of the Gearfall Iskites.  Though rather complicated, it is equally useful for recording words or music (or both at once, all with the same set of characters).

Iskites

The Iskites were not especially literate in Antiquity, but became so largely because of the "Great Societal Reform" in the latter part of that age when Iskite communities in the Greater Scalemount region began to transition from family-based, aristocratically-ruled caste societies into their present form.  Living one's life according to the Mainspring Analects required being able to read the Analects (or at least have enough literates around to read them to you).  Iskite reformers – at first, upper-caste scribes, intellectuals, and priests – used literary instruction as a weapon against the hereditary aristocracies, by giving their subjects the means to read the Analects (and other less enduring "revolutionary" tracts).  In many cases, the lords of Iskite communities actively tried to keep the population illiterate, and Scalemount histories mention "Martyrs of the Word" exiled or executed for teaching letters to farmers.  As a result, many modern Iskite societies see literacy as a point of pride, a hard-won right that was seized from the hands of despotic tyrants in ancient times.

The Iskite communal education system makes it difficult for only part of a population to be literate.  An individual's trade isn't set until completion of years of "hatchery instruction," after which they are finally assigned to a mentor whose occupation they are intended to adopt.  It is thus impossible to teach writing to only part of the group until they have been allotted to their mentors, and by this time literacy is not as easily learned as it would be in early childhood.  Most villages simply include writing as a part of the communal education rubric, and as a result the literacy rate in fully "orthodox" Iskite communities approaches 100%.

The Luminous Tongue is the language used by the majority of Iskites (with countless regional variations and dialects), and it has two major alphabets associated with it, the "Antique" and "Reformed" scripts.  The Antique script predates the LT itself (it is a derivative of the Jalassan script the Mainspring Analects was originally written in), while the Reformed script was promulgated during the Age of Prophets to accommodate the newly codified LT.  While the Tongue was widely adopted, the Reformed script was not pushed as heavily by the Grand Authority, so Antique script continues to be used in many regions.  The exact proportion of usage of the two scripts is unknown, but neither script enjoys a clear majority of use over the other.  Some villages teach both.  While the scripts share some symbols, they differ almost as much as Latin and Cyrillic, and an Iskite who only knows one can only attempt to decipher the other with quite a bit of guesswork.

Alien scripts and languages are generally not taught in communal education, but villages which trade regularly with aliens may have members capable of reading alien documents.  Umbril writing is most common, because many of the printed books on medicine and herbalism today are written by Umbril in various Umbril scripts.  This convention is so predominant that there are even some Iskite-authored texts on medicinal subjects that have been written with Umbril script to give the text more scholarly cachet.  Iskites spurn most Tahr writing systems as inferior to Iskite and Umbril alphabets, believing logograms to be a primitive, inefficient, and inferior concept.

Umbril

Historical literacy among the Umbril is harder to trace.  Certainly there are original Umbril scripts dating back to distant Antiquity that indicate a long history of native literacy, but the Umbril also tend to be one of the races most willing to adopt useful alien ideas, including alien writing systems.  With the scattered and isolated nature of Umbril civilization in general, this has led to a bewildering host of unique Umbril scripts.  Some have clear alien influence, while others show none at all.  They may be alphabetical (Netai script), syllabic (the scripts of the Vars), logographic (some Zivenid scripts of the Great Basin), or some intermediate type between these.  The type of script can indicate whether alien influence was involved, but this is not always reliable – there exist logographic Umbril scripts, for instance, that seem to have nothing to do with Tahr logograms.

The Umbril have long had an atomizing tendency when it comes to language, in part because they have long been pioneers of cryptography.  There are entire Umbril writing systems that were originally devised for secret communications but became widely known over the span of centuries.  Even the individual colonies within a common cluster may adopt different writing systems to conceal trade records, judicial findings, and alien correspondence from their neighboring rivals.  To make things worse, Umbril scribes often freely flow from one script to another and back again within the course of a document (or even a sentence), either to confuse unwanted readers or simply because they feel that a word or phrase just looks more aesthetically pleasing in another form.

This wide variety and irregular use of scripts among the Umbril often infuriates alien visitors, but the problem is less dire than might be supposed.  For several reasons it is not difficult to find Umbril with knowledge of multiple local and regional writing systems, both Umbril and alien, particularly in colonies with trade interests or otherwise in regular contact with foreigners.

Firstly, Umbril literacy rates are generally quite high, second only to those of the Iskites; writing is sometimes taught to sporelings in their sessile state, but even if it isn't most Umbril regard literacy in several different systems as necessary to social mobility.  Not only is knowledge power, but few Umbril want to be forced to rely on another to tell them the meaning of an important note or letter.

Secondly, the Umbril are more likely than any other race to be knowledgeable in alien writing systems.  Literacy reveals knowledge, and Umbril prefer to have knowledge of an alien's affairs without revealing anything about their own.  By conducting business solely in the alien's language and writing, an Umbril reveals nothing and may learn a great deal.  Many alien traders do regular business with Umbril colonies without ever having to know a jot of Umbril writing.

The only remotely standardized Umbril script is the "Netai Alphabet" used officially by the Netai Confederation.  Its characteristic angular, zigzag pattern (see here (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Red_Ring_Banner) for an example) is highly recognizable and is recognized in the greater Netai region as "stereotypical" Umbril text.

Tahro

The Tahro, like the Gheen, have an oral culture that has little use for the written word in everyday use.  Writing is generally held to be inferior to speaking.  In most Tahr communities, it is a grave crime to speak a lie aloud – words impart meaning to the Breath itself, so a spoken lie literally defiles the universal life force shared by all.  Writing only imparts meaning to material objects, and thus being untruthful on paper isn't considered nearly as dire an offense.  For this reason the Tahro tend to distrust the written word and consider written promises and treaties to be worth less than spoken oaths.

Aside from their spiritually derived stigma against writing, small groups of nomadic hunters simply have little use for writing in their everyday lives.  Like the Gheen, the Tahro emphasize the importance of memory, carefully memorizing long recitations (usually in the form of a chant) of ancestors, personal deeds, historical accounts, prayers, and legends of the spirit world.  Stories are passed on from generation to generation and shared between bloods at the Red Season gathering to prevent them from being forgotten simply because one blood is lost.

Literacy does have some place in Tahr society, however.  Text may not be as sacred as speech, but it does last longer.  The Tahr have a long history of engraving ruins and standing stones (usually in or near seasonal camps) with invocations of protection and guidance.  This guidance is meant both for the living and the dead; a Tahr whose soul seeks the spirit world sheds all his former memories and may find written instructions and reminders critical to a successful navigation of the spirit world and the transition between realms.  Tahro logographic script has its origins here.  Originally, Tahr script is believed to have been literal pictures, simple diagrams and images to aid even illiterate spirits.  Over time these pictures became simpler and more stylized, but each logogram still loosely represents an object or concept.  The vast majority of Tahro have knowledge of their regional variety of Tahr script, though most have a very limited vocabulary that doesn't deviate far from the common formulas and phrases of Tahr religion.

The Tahro are a mobile on a grand scale, for as seasonal camps change from year to year a tribe may find itself shifting to an entirely new region over the course of generations.  This, perhaps, helps to explain why the Tahr script has so much less variation than Umbril writing systems.  As bloods and tribes migrate, they adopt camps vacated by other Tahro, which are themselves already marked with the writing of the previous occupants.  This was likely the method by which Tahr script spread, and the ironclad traditionalism of the Tahro prevented many radical innovations to it.  After all, one wouldn't want to mislead the spirits by changing the symbols they are used to.

Some bloods do have members who speak alien languages, but alien literacy tends to be rare outside of the Netai, Koldon's Well, and other areas where Tahro frequently intermingle with aliens.  Most bloods see no point in learning such things, as barter can easily be conducted without writing and the Tahro won't be satisfied with a written trade agreement anyway.  They are not averse to learning if it is advantageous to them, but this is unlikely for bloods living most of the year in the deep Forest far from alien contact.

[ooc=Featurette]I'm posting a few mini-features while I work on the next Netai culture feature.  This is kind a niche article; I'm not sure how interesting writing actually is.  The next mini-feature is going to be on clothing, in which I struggle with unusual alien anatomy.[/ooc]

[ic=Clothing]Cloak me in flowers
and enmantle me in knuckle-bones;
Place blood-ochre on my fur
and marrowroot in my mouth.
For while life is on my lips
death is on my shoulders;
For while joy is on my face
sorrow is on my tongue.

- Siyani Gheen poem

A potter in leopard's skin

- Kengal Tahr expression meaning "one who makes exaggerated boasts"[/ic]

The denizens of the Clockwork Jungle wear clothing for the same reasons you do - for protection, for modesty, for display, and for showing acquiescence to social norms.  Their standards in raiment are different than human standards for the most part because of the environment they live in and the materials that are available to them.

The Forest is a warm place.  Even in pouring rain, hypothermia is unheard of; only in the high mountains is cold a serious concern, and few ever go there.  Clothing tends to be quite light, and is sometimes eschewed entirely – nudity or near-nudity in the home is fairly common (particularly among Gheen and Umbril).  Even in situations where going unclothed is frowned upon, seeing someone without clothes is likely to be more amusing than shocking, scandalous, or obscene.  The civilized races are so radically different, physiologically speaking, that in many cases they are unlikely to be much more discomfited by an unclothed alien than a human is bothered by an unclothed dolphin.

Materials

Many familiar materials on earth are simply nonexistent in the Forest.  Cotton and flax do not exist, and there are no sheep – wool-bearing animals are poorly suited for a jungle that's hot and humid all year.  To make clothing, the civilized races depend primarily on hides, silk, bark cloth, and mothfur.

Animal hides are used by all races, though they are worn most extensively by Tahro and Umbril and only rarely by the Gheen, who do not eat meat or hunt.  Tanning is well-known by all the civilized races, and the most common technique involves soaking in animal brains and smoking over a fire.  Tanned skins are usually processed into smooth leather for clothing, though tanned pelts with the fur still on are frequently used as outerwear, in part because it can preserve the camouflage patterns of some forest creatures.

Silk in the Clockwork Jungle is not derived from a single species of silkworm, but from a variety of different animals, including both caterpillars and spiders.  Silks from different species have different properties, and some are rather phenomenal by Earth standards – most notably, the silk of the saryet or "whistling" spider is tough enough to be used as armor.  Silk clothing is frequently made from "wild silk," cocoons collected from the Forest, but domestication of several species of silk-making caterpillars and spiders occurred in late Antiquity and has overtaken wild collection in some regions.  Iskites and Gheen are the primary producers of silk and the only races that have domesticated silk-bearing animals in any significant quantity.

Bark cloth is a general name referring to textiles made from the fibrous and flexible inner bark (or "bast") of a number of different trees.  Strips of this material are layered together and beaten in a manner similar to paper production.  Bark cloth is suitable for ordinary clothing, although it is less flexible than silk and generally not as durable as leather (with the exception of the fibrous bast of the yeske tree, which is tough enough to be used by the Gheen as armor).  Bark cloth is most common among the Gheen, who live conveniently near the source, but all races use bark cloth in varying amounts.

Mothfur is a textile produced from the setae (stiff "hairs" found on many insects) of several subspecies of the Weaver's Moth or nisska (in the Iskite LT).  The ancestor of the nisska was originally cultivated by the Iskites of the Clawed Thicket in Antiquity as a food source (the caterpillars are edible, and delicious).  The adult moth was quite "fuzzy," but its setae were presumably hard and bristly like those of its modern wild kin.  Over the centuries, the Iskites selectively bred these moths to have longer and softer hair.  The modern nisska is a two foot long moth with a body covered in long, soft setae, similar in feel to rabbit hair.  Several domesticated subspecies with different colors exist, though the most common is an albino variety, as the pure white hair is the easiest to dye.  The adult moth is so shaggy that it cannot fly unless sheared; the species is totally dependent on its keepers and could not survive in the wild.  The setae are woven into a dense, soft cloth, which is also highly water-resistant.  Mothfur was produced almost exclusively by the Iskites of the greater Scalemount region, though it was also introduced to Gearfall in the Age of Prophets, and is now a major trade item in both areas.

Other sources of textiles and clothing exist.  Leaves, reeds, and woven bast are worn in many parts of the forest, particularly by less advanced or more isolated populations.  Some Gheen cultures make marvelous feather cloaks, typically worn for special ceremonies and feasts.  Even the scaly hide of certain large snakes and reptiles (and perhaps even wyrms) has been used for clothing or armor on occasion.

Umbril

The Umbril don't really understand alien concepts of physical modesty – they do not "mate" and have no reproductively relevant parts to conceal.  Clothes serve a purely functional purpose for the Umbril: where they are not needed, they are generally not worn.  In many Umbril cultures, nudity actually has positive social connotations.  Receiving guests or meeting a rival without clothes is frequently taken as a demonstration of one's hospitality and good faith, as a person without clothes cannot easily be concealing a weapon.  It is fairly common, though far from ubiquitous, for Umbril to disrobe totally when entering another's home in the same way that a human would take off his coat or shoes.  That said, however, most Umbril who have any contact with aliens are savvy enough to know that "civilized animals" see clothing in a very different way than they do, and it is very rare for Umbril to insist on an alien following their customs in this way.  Umbril customs are, after all, for Umbril.  Umbril in very cosmopolitan settings may always wear clothes around aliens in order to "fit in."

As the Umbril are not fond of climbing, they produce little bark cloth, and the vast majority of Umbril clothing in Forest colonies is made from leather and pelts.  In cities or regions where they trade regularly with aliens, they may possess silk or other fabrics, but these tend to be curios and luxury items, used to show status or to impress visiting aliens.

The standard "domestic" Umbril outfit is essentially a leather work apron.  This may be a front-only apron hung from the neck, but most frequently covers both front and back.  It may be hung from the neck and wrapped around the back, made of two separate panels connected by shoulder straps, or simply a long rectangular piece of leather with a hole cut in the middle for the head, rather like a tabard.  These aprons are thick, sturdy, and generally unadorned, but commonly sport a variety of pockets and tool-loops both outside and inside.  Those that are not wrap-around are generally secured at the sides by ties or toggles.  The garment is so ubiquitous among the Umbril that the words for "apron" in a number of alien languages reference the Umbril; one Ussik phrase for a leather apron is thawu nifir ("Nevir cloak"), while the Red Gheen call a tabard-like garment that is fastened at the sides a bryl (from ambryl, Umbril).

When venturing in the Forest, a heavier version of this garment may be worn, often made from a pelt still bearing the original animal fur rather than the smooth leather favored in domestic settings.  Depending on the animal, the fur may provide better camouflage.  In part because of the relative inflexibility of Umbril limbs, sleeves, leggings, and so on are rare.  Some Umbril may cover this basic garment with a leather or fur cloak, usually with the means to tie it into a bundle on the back to avoid getting it caught in any undergrowth.  These cloaks can be hooded, or an Umbril may wear a detached hood, a hat, or a fur-covered helmet.  Umbril cannot wear gloves and seldom ever use footwear.

Umbril clothing is typically drab.  Dark browns, greys, and greens are dominant.  Patterns are seldom worn unless the "pattern" was on the fur of an animal that has been made into a fur tabard or cloak.  Clothes worn by urban Umbril are likely to be slightly brighter, but the color selection generally remains the same.  Notably, the Evne often wear a blue-black color which is best described as "bruise-like."

The glaring exception to all of the above is the raiment of priests.  While vestments vary widely across the various Umbril subraces and cultures, there seems to be a rather widespread superstition regarding Ivetzivenid priests and products made from animals.  In many places, this manifests as priests being "vegetarian" and abstaining from any non-plant food, and it is also often expressed as a refusal to wear hides.  Bark cloth is the most common alternative, though some priests have been known to wear simply a cloak of leaves.  Often, the local version of the belief excludes animal parts (e.g. hides) but not animal products like silk or mothfur, and these may be favored.  Among the Nevir, such garments are typically embroidered with intricate spirals and web-like patterns.

Gheen

The Gheen traditionally live in canopy communities in which large family groups live in close proximity to one another; in many dreys, nobody has their own room, not even the queen.  Aliens often note that Gheen have seemingly no concept of personal space or privacy.  In domestic settings, Gheen frequently wear no clothes at all, and even in "public" within the drey it isn't unusual to see unclothed Gheen.  As a general rule, the more contact a drey has with aliens and their customs, the more likely they are to wear clothing, and in urban and mixed-race settings it is rare to see an unclothed Gheen outside the home.

Potential styles of Gheen clothing are limited by their physiology.  Gheen have a patagium, or skin membrane, that extends roughly from the wrist to the "ankle" (Gheen are digitigrade mammals).  If a Gheen were to wear a "shirt" or any other kind of clothing that wrapped around the side of the torso, it would be unable to extend its patagium and would be rendered incapable of gliding.  While Gheen in urban settings may wear clothes in the "alien style" that cover the sides of the torso, clothing that restricts gliding is very rare in a drey, where it would be extremely dangerous to wear.

The typical Gheen garment is a "tunic" that hangs straight down from the shoulders, front and back, and flares out over the shoulders (or all the way down to the elbow), rather reminiscent of a poncho.  There may also be a piece of fabric connecting the front and back together under the groin, which turns the garment into a cross between a poncho and a breechcloth.  Everyday garments of this type are cut high enough to allow easy running and climbing, though more ceremonial garments may hang nearly to the ground.  These open-sided garments are most commonly made of bark cloth, but may be made of silk, leather, hides, or – more ostentatiously – knotted cords full of beads.  A similar garment is also used for light armor when closely fitted and made of yeske bark, saryet silk, or multi-layered leather (sometimes reinforced with thin metal scales or discs).

Gheen may also wear longer cloaks hanging from the shoulders, which may be open at the chest (if a regular tunic is worn beneath it) or closed with a brooch at the neck.  Silk is preferred for its very light weight; if the wearer should fall, the billowy cloak will fly up and back, and the patagium will be unhindered.  Cloaks made of brightly colored feathers attached to netting are highly prized items, often reserved for queens and matriarchs.
[note=Cloud Cloaks]A larger, unadorned, tightly-woven silk variation of this cloak, with attachments for the ankles and hand-grips, has developed in parallel with the khauta as a sort of "parachute" in the Skyshield.  While Gheen don't naturally need such an item, it is occasionally used by Gheen troopers wearing heavier armor that would cover the patagium.[/note]

The Gheen "collar" or "pectoral" is an item that blurs the lines between clothing and jewelry.  Necklaces are very popular among Gheen of both genders.  They take a variety of forms in different Gheen cultures; while in general they are used to display status, taste, and wealth, they may also convey information about a Gheen's family, marital status, occupation, age, and so on, depending on the local culture.  A collar may merely be made of multiple necklaces, sometimes displaying beads of glass, bone, precious metal, ornamental stone, or clay, as well as snail shells, animal teeth, or some mix of these.  Collars may also be made from a single piece, usually shaped like a broad crescent hung from its upward-facing points, and sometimes covering the entire chest (at which point they may be called "pectorals" or "breastplates").  Simple collars may be made of bark cloth, while very ostentatious ones, often worn by queens, may be made out of gold or other precious metals.  Soft collars are frequently embroidered, and all collars and pectorals are frequently inlaid with beads, shells, and stones, usually in such a manner as to make a distinct pattern or picture.  Gheen collars hang from the neck and are usually front-only, though "double collars" hanging on the chest and the back are not unknown.

All of these items can be combined – a drey might well consider the height of ceremonial pomp to be a long, beautiful silk tunic overlaid with a gem-studded golden pectoral and a feather cloak open at the front.  Gheen rarely wear headwear unless for protection; to demonstrate status they generally prefer flowers or jewelry on the head and face to fancy hats, though there are local exceptions.  Footwear and gloves are almost unheard of among Gheen, as they would impede grip and climbing.

Iskites

Iskites usually live either in dormitories devoted to adults of a certain vocation (if they are "orthodox") or a cluster of dwellings serving an extended family (if they are not).  While Iskites of most cultures have a more of a "sense of modesty" than the Gheen or Umbril, what it takes to satisfy this modesty in a tropical climate may be no more than a breechcloth or the local equivalent.  When laboring or in casual company, it is common for Iskites to be bare-chested and bare-legged.  Iskites tend to associate clothing with formality, and will be well-covered at times of ceremony, diplomacy, special occasions, and so on, though in some cultures (e.g. the Maw Iskites) painting or jewelry is preferred over additional clothing.

The simplest Iskite garment is a loincloth of bark cloth, leather, or mothfur.  This often is covered in a skirt made of layers of reeds or grass hanging from a rope or leather belt on the waist.  Such a garment has some protective value as well, as it is less likely compromise the ability of a green-scaled Iskite to camouflage himself in fields or undergrowth.

In casual social settings or for light labor, Iskites often wear a knee-length, tube-shaped "skirt" rather like a traditional sarong, which is folded and rolled or tied at the waist over a breechcloth, and may or may not be paired with a belt.  This garment alone is frequent "casual wear" in orthodox communities, a step up from the rustic grass or reed skirt.  They may be plain, dyed, or with simple floral or geometric embroidery.  As an alternative to the "skirt," some Iskites wear leggings, but these are usually attached individually to the loincloth or belt rather than worn in a single garment like pants.  It is common for Iskite leggings to be very loose from the top of the shin to the waist, but secured tightly on the lower leg by leather wrappings.

The most typical torso garment is a robe.  The typical Iskite robe is open at the front, with one side wrapped over the other and secured with a belt or cloth sash at the waist.  Usually these robes are no longer than mid-thigh, and are tightly fitted with short or no sleeves.  They may be further paired with an "chest belt," a sash hung from the back of the neck and tied around the middle of the torso, sometimes through loops in the robe.  As Iskites do not have very pronounced shoulders and occasionally move on all fours, this helps secure the garment when standing and crawling.  The traditional Scalemount robe is plain, but the hem is reinforced with another layer of fabric that is embroidered or at least brightly colored.  Other cultures may omit even this, or go in the other direction and decorate the entire garment.  In some cultures, which side of the robe overlays the other may have significance.  One widespread custom is for pupils to wear the robe with the right side on top and switch to wearing the left side on top once their flowerwork is completed and they become masters.

Cloaks and other loose exterior garments are very seldom worn by Iskites unless for some practical purpose.  Sometimes a grass or reed "mantle" is worn in the rain, though like most natives of the Forest the Iskites aren't much bothered by precipitation.

A uniquely Iskite piece of headwear is the "snout-plate," a usually trapezoidal piece of leather, wood, or metal resting on top of the snout and secured with a silk cord or leather thong running around the upper jaw (Iskites have spaces in their dentition where this cord can run).  Snout-plates are usually ceremonial or official in nature.  In Antiquity, Iskite princes would wear a metal snout-plate (often of Cog-gold), the Iskite equivalent of a crown.  The Awetz of White Lotus traditionally wore a silver snout-plate with silk cords hanging from it on both sides of the snout, which were filled with small, polished lodestone beads.

More commonly, Iskites may wear a "hood" made of leather or heavy cloth.  A full Iskite hood usually runs from the base of the neck to nearly the end of the snout, and is wrapped around the neck and secured on the snout end like a snout-plate.  This type of hood generally covers the eyes, so holes are cut in it to allow vision.  Sometimes a "throat-piece" extends from the neck to cover the lower jaw from beneath and is tied to the lower jaw in the same manner as the snout piece is on the upper jaw, though the throat-piece is more common on armor than on an everyday hood.  Hoods can make it difficult for aliens to discern an Iskite's identity, though as Iskites recognize each other partially through olfactory cues this is less effective among others of their own race.  Hoods also cover the hackles on the back of the neck, which normally rise when an Iskite is afraid, excited, or angry; covering these does not cause an Iskite any discomfort but may make it more difficult to determine its state of mind.

Ceremonial and priestly gear varies significantly from place to place.  Embroidered silk hoods are common in the Sekah, while some Ussik priests wear large Gheen-like collars made of bone, Scalemount "divine ambassadors" frequently wear a silk stole that hangs from the neck or is wrapped around the body and held by the chest belt, and priests of the Solar Order wear large golden disks on the chest and smaller ones affixed to the snout.

Footwear is rare among all the races of the Forest, but agriculturalist Iskites sometimes wear sandals made of bark or wood when working in the fields.

Tahro

As a largely carnivorous people, the Tahro have plenty of animal skins, and it comes as no surprise that their clothing is almost entirely leather and pelts.  Most bloods do not conduct much trade in clothing, as fine garments of silk or mothfur are not ideal for the life of a nomadic hunter, but sedentary Tahro (like the bloods of Koldon's Well or the keepers of Kengal) frequently wear alien fabrics and sometimes alien-influenced styles.

The Tahro have more or less the same standards of decency and privacy as Iskites when in mixed groups, but are less concerned with nudity when in a group of only males or only females.  The Tahro in general have more differentiation in clothing between genders than any of the other races, even Gheen.

As with the Iskites, the most basic and common Tahr garment is a breechcloth.  Belts are used almost universally, though the type varies dramatically from place to place.  Belts of twisted sinew are common among the Mudfoot Tahro, while the Kalath wear broad leather belts with engraved copper or iron "medallions."  Belts with beads or little bells on hanging cords are common in formal use, particularly for dancing, mock-fighting, and religious ceremonies.  Leather leggings may also be worn in either practical or formal settings, and the Tahro are the only race among whom actual pants have some prominence (though not in all Tahr cultures).  Leggings and pants tend to be more closely fitted than similar Iskite garments and are often cut open at the knee, though leg garments "in the Iskite style" (loose, but bound tightly on the shin) have caught on in some bloods.

Tahr males are far more often bare-chested than females, but not because of any standard of feminine modesty.  Hunting and war are generally the domain of Tahr males, and the display of scars received in these activities is an important way to show status and experience in many Tahr socities.  Baring "story-telling skin" (skin which is marked by scars or wounds) is highly preferable among males with stories to tell, while women who collect such marks much less frequently do not have this same motivation.

Tahr upper garments take a variety of different forms.  Hanging tunics secured with ties at the side are common (similar in construction to Umbril wear), as are pullover animal-skin shirts and wrap-around hide vests.  Furred mantles covering the shoulders and chest are also worn in some places, possibly related to similar Gheen clothing (though the Gheen generally abhor wearing fur).  Sleeves may or may not be present, though they are more common among the Tahro than among the Iskites; "sleeves" made of very long fringes are popular among Kengal Tahr women.  Full-length cloaks, usually of a single intact hide, are common but only worn in camp or at ceremonial occasions.  In some Tahr cultures it is considered a contemptible affectation to wear hides of creatures you have not hunted, in particular whole-hide cloaks, but in others this is of no consequence.

Headgear is not frequently worn by Tahro, though ceremonial hoods are used in some cultures (often the whole hide of an animal is worn as a cloak with the face as the hood).  In time of conflict, helmets are also common among bloods with ready access to iron through trade.  Footwear is practically unheard of among the Tahro.

The Tahro tend to eschew adornment that is in any way unwieldy, but closely worn bracelets and necklaces are fairly common.  Bone-bead chokers are a nearly ubiquitous female fashion among the Ardaun Tahro, while gold and copper torcs on the arm or around the neck have gained favor among the Well-Tribe.  Among most tribes, such jewelry is often kept hidden away until the Red Season or other important gatherings throughout the year.  Jewelry is seldom ever worn when hunting or fighting, though some Kengal warriors curl the dulled swords of their enemies into arm-torcs, and it is said that there are Maw Tahro bands which wear necklaces of Iskite teeth to intimidate their scaled foes.