WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK 0066 0066
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Needless to say, there are personal and family and intertribal histories, all of which children learn in depth
before coming of age. While of little interest to outsiders or the Gare Attessa, this familial lore teaches them
mores and ethics paramount to their people. There are
also secret histories and knowledge of the penmai past,
but their locations, their forms, their extent, and the
truths they contain are, like so many penman things,
unknown—even to most Penmai.
Ranks & Types
Penmai hold uncontested racial allegiances, but their
governmental and social structures are only loosely organized.
• Aeov: The Aeov, or High Magistrate of every village,
is the leader and spiritual head of those people. A
post held for two years, he or she comes from the
elder penmai who have previously held some level
of authority. He organizes defenses and allocates
the village’s meager revenues to a variety of minor
public works, such as libraries, holiday decorations,
and the ever-present rhallor-lofted lookouts.
• Lesser Magistrates: Below the High Magistrate
comes a polyglot assortment of lower ministers
and judges whose organization changes drastically
from village to village. Most of their functions seem
fanciful to the outsider—the Minister of Twine, the
Magistrate of Winds, and the Basket Overseer—and
their garb enhances that impression, since any
government official presumes the right to dress in
outlandish styles and bright colors. Officials enjoy
pronouncements, and hardly a day goes by without
one or two, if only to justify a minister’s position. Of
course, they must issue these proclamations while
aboard balloons high above the populace so that
everyone can see. It is customary to applaud loudly
no matter how ridiculous or insignificant the pronouncement. “Twine stores have surpassed a thousand paces!”
• Achanse: These judges hear mainly civil cases, as
intraspecies violence is nearly unheard of. Nearly all
manner of punishments or penalties involve public
service—most often forced assistance in moving the
public structures along the village’s route of migration. There are no Penmai prisons, and their villages are civilly challenged when forced to deal with an
unruly outsider.
• Haibolik: Lower administrators called haibolik concern themselves with minor functions like watching
things and counting things. Unlike ministers, they
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