The next day

It’s busy outside!

They’ve fed me twice now. Not nearly enough. The blood on my head has dried and, as best I can tell from feeling around, the wound doesn’t seem deep. There’s no mirror in my accommodations. Oh my, I’m shocked!

The head still hurts, though. I need to see someone about that. Good luck to me!

I can’t see anything from this room. The only light I have comes through a slit in the door, so I can’t tell if it’s day or night. I sleep, but don’t know for how long. Totally lost track of the days. Damn! And, damn, again! I don’t like being kept in the dark — physically or, well, any other way!

Writing helps. Focuses the mind.

I can hear sounds from outside the room, and outside the building, or whatever it is I’m in. They’re muffled so I’m guessing I’m under street level. I could hear carts and horses and something like a small herd of animals (I think maybe phrellas) passing through and some shouting like folk driving them. It seems busy. Well, busy for Partameer, which isn’t saying a lot. I think I might be somewhere near the western edge of town. There’s phrellas ranches in that area.

My jailers aren’t very talkative. I tried getting some conversation going earlier today when they gave me my food (breakfast?). All I got in return was a grunt. I provided some choice words in response, and then I got some choice words back. Three to be precise. I’ve had better insults.

The speaker had a heavy accent. The language sounded a bit like Brutach, the native ushen language. Okay, maybe I’m getting somewhere. Just not very fast, though.

I’ve looked over the room pretty thoroughly by now. The walls are hard clay, probably over some kind of brick. Plenty sturdy, though they could use a good cleaning. The floor is hard-packed dirt. No way to dig without being noticed, but I’m trying it anyway.

Join the Negotiators — Change the World with Words!

“The sword is the tool of the brute, who has no other means to solve his problems than to kill all who disagree with him.  If you want to fight a battle of ideas, one which truly changes the course of the world, you do so in words.”

— Kissalki Methreeis, Chief Negotiator for the United Wellyn Clans of Tamarra’s Western Forests, Council of Drawnwyn, Naldrin City

Citizens of Tamarra, The Negotiators calls upon you to show our continent your true fortitude and purpose: join us in working for a better world! The use of weapons and war are no more than brute force, and are irrelevant in fighting the true battle for the hearts and minds of the peoples of this, our dear continent.

The Negotiators fight in ways that make the greatest difference to our world.  And often, we win:

In SP~5,017, just five years ago, a small group of Negotiators travelled to the Merrill Gorge, the great chasm created during the most recent earthshake and the center of the Wars of Above and Below.  Descending into that cut in the Fekxtah’s crust,  our courageous Negotiators came upon the Memmorrall, a race of powerful diggers with a strong bond to Soman Energy who “see” using echolocation through stone.  The Memmorrall had been sworn to destroy all creatures descending from the Above world.  But our Negotiators quickly gained understanding of the customs and the complaints of these gentle creatures, and now they have set aside all war with us and our kind. Sadly, two of our fine Negotiators were deeply wounded during this battle of wills, and one eventually perished from these wounds. This is not rare.  But do we stop?  No!  We hold these Negotiators in honor for their sacrifices and their courage, and we move on.

Sometimes reason cannot prevail, as we learned just months ago, when we met with several hundred shem amaum*.  We quickly discovered they had no capacity for reasoning and no sympathy for any other creature.  They obey only the directions of their masters, whoever they might now be, and their own innate lust for the destruction and death of all living things. Many who read our accounts in the news journals of our Continent counted this as a failure culminating in the death of a number of fine Negotiators.  However, we acquired more knowledge of  about the shem amaum — their customs and their weaknesses, and we will use this going forward. We will never take the coward’s way of wielding primitive weapons of war!

Have we inspired you? Do you have the courage it takes to walk into danger without a weapon?  The skill to wield words with force and precision under the most difficult of circumstances?  If so, and if you wish to create a unified and prosperous Tamarran Continent where all folk can live their lives in peace and in harmony with each other, then become one of us.  Become a Negotiator!

— Poster found in Tarnath, Naldrin City, and the Region of Jowea

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* These are the cruel and merciless monsters brought to Tamarra over thirty years ago by invading Nulentians.

It is the policy of the Guilds to stay out of the political, economic, and military affairs of the governments of Tamarra. While they may be quite powerful in their own way, they could not stand on their own if they angered a nation. And, of course, the Guilds aspire to be a home to all Channels, regardless of their nationality or allegiance.

Six as One is stoutly opposed to this idea.

Six as One is made up of Channels who believe that Channels should rule the continent. They believe their superior ability to learn new things and improve their abilities by accumulating essence makes them better-fit to run companies, organizations, and even governments, than their “mundane” brethren.

While many in the Guilds disagree with them, the Guilds have as one of their core tenets the free exchange of information, ideas, and opinions. Most Channels oppose the Six as One’s ideology, but their argument has a certain logic that they cannot entirely dismiss. So while they are not happy about such talk, the Guilds let it continue, and do their best to repair any strain it might put on relations with non-Channel organizations. The Guildhouses in Naldrin, for example, had their members expelled from the city for a brief period in SP ~ 5012, after Six as One members used their bodies and a variety of powers to create a blockade around a charity ball to raise funds for a Mayor’s reelection.

Unsurprisingly, Six as One is not beloved by non-Channels. Six as One treats them like children: they are generally benevolent, but incredibly patronizing. Non-Channels have a wide range of reactions to this, depending on the individual, ranging from annoyed but dismissive to violently furious.

Six as One has been known to hold demonstrations at a variety of events held by both Guild and non-Guild organizations. While these demonstrations are always peaceful to start, there have been times when someone in the crowd becomes angry enough to turn violent. The results are … unpleasant. One such event in of the Kingdom Szaskar Crawn left twelve Channels dead and thirty wounded. This does not include the Crawn who were killed or injured when the Channels began to defend themselves.

The members of Six as One have always tried to protest peacefully. However, there are rumors that the organization contains a secret, extremist faction that is dedicated to achieving the supremacy of Channels by any means necessary. Rumors say that they have infiltrated governments and other groups using Charismatics and Mentarchs. Some believe that they are also responsible for the disappearance of certain convoys on Tamarra’s great roadways. Six as One is always quick to point out that raiding parties of Shem Amuam (cruel and merciless monsters brought to Tamarra over thirty years ago by invading Nulentians) are a far more plausible explanation. These are, of course, just rumors — no real evidence has ever been produced. The rest of this organization has both denied that this faction exists, and condemned any actions such a group might theoretically take.

So You Want to be a Diplomat

Hello, and thank you for your interest in the Diplomatic Union (DU).  This pamphlet has been Energetically attuned to be readable only by someone who has been given the access code, so you must have passed the first set of tests.  Well done, you’re still alive!

You may be asking yourself: What is the DU? We like to think of ourselves as pragmatic realists.  We see a problem, we find a solution, and we follow through.  We neither encourage nor shy away from violence; if it is the best tool for the job we use it and if not, we don’t.   When the leaders of Naldrin City are deciding whether to send an army to flush the Scarecrows out once and for all, the DU is there to guide the talks.  We’re also there when rival gangs are fighting over ownership of a neighborhood in Tarnath, or when emotions are escalating because rival generals of the Crawn nation each feel they have a claim to commanding the army.  And if someone (or a few someones) end up dead or find themselves having an unexpected change of opinion, the result of which is greater peace and happiness, who could blame us?

Just as important, let us say what the DU is not.  Many with narrowed vision can’t see the difference between us and the Negotiators, but we are not pacifists too frightened to do what needs to be done.  Nor are we street thugs or military drones like the Open Hand or the Mercenary’s Confederation.  We do not hide in the shadows, frightened of being discovered, like the cowards of Wind and Silence or the oh-so-mysterious Unnamed Organization.  Lastly, we are not like the Six-as-One — fanatical idealists who are so blinded by their own belief in their innate superiority that they cannot think clearly.

As a member of the DU, you will be sent on missions of the utmost importance.  The world balances on the edge of a razor, and you have the power to push it in the right direction.  Your actions could determine the fate of political figures, whole armies, entire nations, or even the entire continent of Tamarra.  

You follow in the footsteps of many great Diplomats.  No one knows when the DU was founded, but we do know who founded it:  one of the greatest minds of all time, a Dwaheely known only as Dkel, who was a master of Mental Energy on a scale the world may not have seen since.  He realized that the masses are unfit to decide the fate of society: those with the knowledge and skill to see what is best must guide the world.  Since then, many great thinkers, often with a gift for either Mental or Emotion Energy, and sometimes both, have joined the ranks of the DU.  There is not space here to list them all; after your training begins, you will soon have them committed to memory.  

A thought will soon come to you — it will contain the time and location of your next training.  After that, there is no turning back: be sure you have the strength of will and courage to uphold the responsibility of a true Diplomat.  If you do not arrive at that location at that exact time, your memory of this pamphlet and all previous tests will be erased, and you can go about your life as you did before, blind to the truth.  But if you have what it takes, you will soon learn to bend the strands of fate to your will.  We expect great things from you.

-Grand Diplomat Shangrai Thotrar, Southern Dwarf

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.