Ishiris are a tall and imposing race, with an intimate understanding of all things made of stone and a strong affinity with Physic Energy.  They resemble the rock of the world around them, with skin most often gray, with a rough texture — like running a hand over a mountain boulder.  Ishiri have hair in various shades of gray and silver, sometimes with sprinkles of black and white.  They tend to be between five and seven feet, with a broad, solid build made for living around, and working with, stone.  Their height no doubt comes, at least in part, from their Elzheni ancestors. Some rare ishiri have hair with streaks of color reminiscent of the brilliance of gemstones; there can also be traces of these colors on ears, fingers, and other extremities.  Family lineage can often be traced by specific coloration. Although it’s attractive, there is no correlation between this and their innate abilities.

Temperamentally, ishiris tend to be serious and practical.  Although they are unafraid of strangers and at home in any part of the Tamarran Continent, they are typically very reserved.  It takes a long time for them to fully trust strangers, and some may never reach that point.

The heart of ishiri society is the family. As circumspect as they are with strangers, the opposite is true with their loved ones: families are open and intimate and often live in compounds that can include several generations.  Since ishiris can live to be one hundred years old, some family enclaves can have as many as five generations. Ties are also strong among the families that comprise an ishiri clan.

Although ishiris live throughout the Tamarran Continent, their preferred home is in the mountains formed of the stone they hold dear.  Unlike their dwarf cousins, who also have a love of stone, ishiri prefer to live on top of mountains rather than under them.  It is unusual to find a mountain range or peak with no trace of ishiri.

One of the best known ishiri settlements is in Naldrin City, a center of cosmopolitan activity on the Tamarran Continent. The city is located in north central Tamarra, at the southern end of the Nashem Mountains close to Port Naldrin.  It is a seat of law (and bureaucracy), and home to the Council of Drawnwyn, the de facto center of politics and governance for the many nations of the continent.  Naldrin City is quite old: it was founded by both ishiris and dwarves in the year SP~2,559.  The dwarves built the city that exists under the mountain, and the ishiris built the city on the top.  

The buildings, roadways, walls, and other features of the tiered city of Naldrin are one of the wonders to behold.  The styles vary from one ishiri architect to the next, but a distinct ishiri architectural style combines the sturdy quality of large blocks of smooth stone, often built quite high or wide, with ornamentation surrounding doors or other openings in the walls.  There are often long historical reliefs in the walls’ stone.  This definitely should not be missed by anyone who travels the Tamarran Continent.

We will talk more about these wonders, and others, in blogs to come.

Zweyjen love the seas and oceans of the world, and their homes are typically found near the shores of these great bodies of water.  Their smooth, sleek skin is made up of thousands of very fine scales that protect them from variations of heat and cold in water and provides a buffer against the harsh climes at the water edge. They have short bristles and occasional long whiskers across their bodies.  Their fins, whose configuration varies greatly, share common patterns within families.  

Known for their vivid hues, zweyjen display the greatest assortment of colors of all the Ten Races. This often hereditary coloring usually includes sea-blue, but they can also have beautiful purples and oranges, shimmering greens and yellows, and everything in between. They have a set of vestigial gills, which are not as functional as those of fish, but do have sufficient capacity to allow them to survive under the water for much longer than any of the other of the Ten Races.

One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the zweyjen race is their wanderlust.  In spite of their affinity to water they are able travelers, and can be found in most areas of the continent (although the desert poses a significant challenge). They are always interested in new places and new people, and although they generally find it hard to be confined to a single place for any length of time.  The zweyjen who live in the coastal cities will usually take a “leave” of sorts every 2-3 years to travel.  It is of course, quite typical for this travel to be on the oceans, and zweyjen serve as the largest contingent of merchant sailors on the continent.  However, they also strongly desire to see how others live, and so are found in the mountains, forests, and non-coastal cities of the continent.

As perhaps the greatest travelers of the Ten, the zweyjen have a comprehensive knowledge of the Tamarran Continent, and many turn to them for this knowledge.  Zweyjen have strong language skills that derive from their affinity to Mental Energy, and they emphasize languages in their education. This allows them to establish personal relationships with many different races and creatures they meet, including creatures of the sea, such as marblins and spallith, whose kingdoms are very wide and deep.  They have also formed fast friendships with the martles, whom they consider to be fellow travelers of the world.

Their relationships with other zweyjen are often strong and long-lasting. Many have heard the tales of the abiding love between the zweyjen seafarer Kwuemwan and his partner Imbelnhi, intrepid naturalist and author of Imbelnhi’s Bestiary: Being a Traveler’s Account of our Continent and her Creatures.  Imbelnhi mentions Kwuemwan many times in his writings, and included his discoveries in his research for the Bestiary.

There is more to zweyjen culture than can be covered here.  Subsequent blog entries will talk about the Zeshar, a society of explorers of the very deepest parts of the oceans of the world (which connect Ethem’s many oceans), and the Tzhemmenshall, who are masters of the craft of building sea vessels.

Although heola* tend to be tall and thin, they are far from fragile: their stamina and physical endurance, especially in the hottest regions of the Tamarran Continent, are legendary.  Because of their ability to withstand extremely hot, dry climates, they often make their home in the deep desert, where not even crawn can comfortably survive.  The ability to survive such extreme conditions is due, at least in part, to their strong affinity with Spirit Energy.  Like the ishiri, the kamari, and the zweyjen, they are descendants of the ancient Elzheni race, powerful beings that lived in the Second Era of the current age of the world, the Fifth Age.  (We’ll discuss the Elzheni in future blogs.)

Heolas skin is usually a subtle brown or gray, like the colors of the desert, with a smooth texture akin to rubbing your hand over a fine soft sand.  During extreme exertion, a heolas may exhale small bits of sand.  Heola are without biological sex: they are neither male nor female.  They give birth through a process closely connected to the stars that they love and often worship.

Heola, who are known for their quiet demeanor and thoughtful ways, are often hard to read.  Unlike most other creatures, they have no real interest in geographical or political conquest.  They are usually guided by the stars, with which they have a strong connection.  They maintain deep bonds, particularly with their extended family, and many live in communities with other heola. Those who live in a larger community with a variety of Races keep close ties to other heola within that community.  There are, though, heola who are wanderers —  as some would say, “seekers of the truth” — in keeping with the inquisitive minds characteristic of the Race.

A complex set of relationships within heolas society provides them with support throughout their long lives — heola often live to be 180 years old.  Each newborn is immediately provided with a set of caretakers who will look after them and teach them as they grow.  When they reach adulthood at the age of 50, every heolas passes through an elaborate ceremony inducting them into the adult community and introducing them to a set of adults, called their star-kin tribe, who will act as their companions and guides in life.  At least one of the star-kin tribe will be an elder heolas, who are expected to provide wisdom to those they protect.  There is great reverence for heola elders, and disobedience to their guidance is met with strong disapproval.

There is much more to tell of heola society, including the “White Heola” who live in the Icy Wastes in the very northern parts of the continent.  These tales will have to wait for future blogs.

*Editor’s note: The singular form is heolas; the plural is heola.