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 Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:11 pm
songs of the People Wind-child, sun-child, what is Kath?
Child-bearers, laugh-bringers, that is Kath.
Fire-child, star-child, what is Kel?
Sword-bearers, song-weavers, that is Kel.
Dawn-child, earth-child, what is Sen?
Rune-makers, home-leaders, that is Sen.
Then-child, now-child, what are we?
Dream-seekers, life-bearers, we are--
. . .
We are they that went not out:
landwalkers, sky-watchers;
We are they that went not out:
world-holders, faith-keepers;
We are they that went not out:
and beautiful is our morning;
We are they that went not out:
and beautiful is our night.
. . .
From Dark beginning
To Dark at ending,
Between them a Sun,
But after comes Dark,
And in that Dark,
One ending.
From Dark to Dark
Is one voyage.
From Dark to Dark
Is our voyage.
And after the Dark,
O brothers, o sisters,
Come we home. Then-child, now-child, what are we?
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:21 pm
glossary: the mri language a'ani - the rules of honorable (i.e., single) combat among the mri.
ai - a term of acknowledgment.
ai'a - self-peace; rightness with oneself and one's position.
an'edi - house-peace; mediated by the she'pan, the peace of rightful order within a mri tribe.
as'ei - short, palm-length throwing blades used by the kel'ein in combat. Shon'ai among the Kel is played with the as'ei.
av'en-kel - the long blade of the kel, the kel-sword. Traditional and usual weapon of a kel'en. Plural av'ein-kel.
av-tlen - the short sword borne by kel'ein, sometimes wielded opposite the av'ein-kel.
bu'ina'anein - presumptuousness, invasion of territory, especially where it concerns the she'pan or other leader.
cho-silk - a fabric known to the mri, like spidersilk in its clinging properties.
daithen - son, whether of blood or as of the relationship between a she'pan and her Children of her tribe. Derivatives: tsi'daith', not-son, a term of repudiation.
dus - the ursine dominant species of the planet Kesrith, traditional companions of the Kel from that world. Telempathic, resistant to most poison or injury, and having a dangerous poison of their own. Plural dusei.
Edun - the citadel-like home of a tribe of mri. Plural edunei.
eshai'i - lack-honor, an insult among the mri.
hal'ari - the High Speech, the well-conserved ancient (and formal) language of the mri. Hal'ari does not change, or changes only a very little, during the Betweens; a mu'ara dialect is substituted instead of pollution of the hal'ari in order to keep up with the need for new terms.
ika'al - ritual suicide, usually to avoid or address dishonor to a kel'en.
j'tai - honors, or ritual tokens given to a kel'en and worn on his robe as a symbol of his accomplishments. Usually metal.
Kath - childbearers, children, and homemakers, responsible for the upkeep of Edunei. They wear blue, and play shon'ai with rounded stones. Kath'ein are exclusively female and children under the age of consent; men who do not go into Sen or Kel die. Outsiders do not see the Kath. Plural kath'ein. Derivatives: kath'anth - leader of a tribe's Kath-caste.
ka'islai - a game of knots played by all castes. It requires weighted ropes, and involves the weaving of intricate mandala using those ropes. Derivatives: islan - a pattern used in ka'islai.
Kel - the warrior caste of mri society, the Face That Looks Outward. They wear black, and play shon'ai with blades. Kel'ein go veiled among outsiders. Plural kel'ein. Derivatives: kel'anth - leader of a given tribe's Kel-caste, assisted by the kel-second; kel'en - man of the Kel; kel'e'en - woman of the Kel; sov-kela - "brother in Kel", see entry.
Kesrith - the last homeworld-of-convenience of the mri who journeyed out from Kutath. Kesrith was a marginally viable, a world of thin air and alkaline desert.
kuta'i - the tranquility of nature.
Kutath - the original homeworld of the mri, shared with another humanoid race, the elee. It orbits a dying star, and is itself marginally viable, being mostly high desert and extensive cave systems.
komal - a drink, presumably fermented or alcoholic, that acts as a soporific.
mez - the traditional head-wrapping of the Kel; includes a veil, so that they may cover their faces.
miuk - the madness that overcomes a dus who is sick or injured, or whose kel'en master has died. Not unlike rabies, although it appears to be an entirely psychological disorder. Derivatives: miuk'ko, a dus who has been lost to the madness.
mri - literally, "the People".
mu'ara - the common speech, an aggregative mri language common to a tribe or group of mri. Usually includes adaptations of tsi'mri words from the race a tribe is in service to. The mu'ara of a given Between is forgotten during the Dark in favor of the hal'ari, the High Speech.
Pana - the Mysteries, the Holy. Guarded by an entire mri tribe, only the she'pan has access to these, which contain the history of the tribe and the entire mri people.
sa'ahan - peace through strength; tranquility through the utter eradication of one's enemies.
Sen - the caste of priests and scribes. The Sen wear gold, and play shon'ai with wands. Some of them were formerly Kel. They are celibate, and outsiders rarely see them. They are the only mri who learn to read and write. The she'pan is drawn from their ranks. Plural sen'ein. Derivatives: sen'anth - the leader of a tribe's Sen-caste; sen'en - a man of Sen-caste; sen'e'en - a woman of Sen-caste.
seta'al - the three blue-dyed scars that mark a mri as a true member of Kel-caste. A kel'en is not truly considered a member of the caste until he has the seta'al. Derivatives: tsi'seta - unscarred, of a kel'en without the seta'al. It is forbidden to challenge a tsi'seta as a matter of honor.
she'pan - the Matriarch of a mri tribe, the spiritual and often military leader of the Edun. She is celibate, as is Sen, and wears white. When two mri tribes come together with the intent to merge, one of the she'pan'ei must die, as does her kel'anth. Plural she'pan'ei. Derivatives: she'pan'anth - a term coined exclusively for Melien s'Intel Zain-Abrin, who became she'pan of all she'pan'ei on Kutath; su-she'pani kel'en a'anu - the she'pan's kel'en, who fights for her personal honor in inter-tribe warfare. May or may not also be the kel'anth.
siga - a kel'en's robe.
shon'ai - from the mri verb shonau, "to pass". The Passing game, the Game of the People. Played by two or more participants, involves throwing two objects (knives, stones, or wands) around the circle to a set rhythm. Each caste plays it with different objects; only for Kel is the Game regularly risky, as they play with blades.
Shon'jir - the Passing, a ritual chant sung at births and deaths. Also refers to the long voyage between homeworlds undertaken by the entire mri race.
sov-kela - "brother in Kel", closest relationship between any two kel'ein outside of true (or blood) relation.
tsi'mri - literally, "not-people". Any non-mri outsider.
yai - nonsense exclamation, used for rebuking the dusei.
yin'ein - the old, traditional bladed weapons of the mri. Adaptation or alteration of these is impermissible and unthinkable.
zahen'ein - the modern weapons, guns and otherwise. Strategy and tactics with these are updated as the need arises.
zaidhe - a kel'en's visor.We are they that went not out: world-holders, faith-keepers...
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 12:54 am
children of the Game: Merai and Simplicity
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 2:20 am
true-father: Nexeu Preston
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 2:25 am
tribe: the family and extended family
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