WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK 0078 0078
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that some parents irresponsibly leave their unwanted children out for slavers to take.
• Many Prajalu feel that the Dragon Kings Bhayan or
Arjaloras will return to take all their peoples away
with them to the heavens beyond Khitus.
Watu
Watu are a distinct Pachyaur subrace with mildly different
physiology and its own unique culture. As a slave-owning,
agricultural society, the Watu dominate the verdant plains
and forests of the eastern Equatorial Basin, closest to the
Old Countries and the Krikis Hivelands. The most common
Pachyaur for humans to meet face to face is a Watu.
Watu are arrogant by Pachyaur standards. They view
themselves as the dominant, superior culture, deeming
their Brachachon neighbors foolish for not engaging in
the lucrative, agriculturally necessary slave trade. Watu
teach their young from birth that their culture’s destiny
is to one day dominate the entire equatorial band of Khitus, which they will turn into a gardened paradise of fat,
rich shamabas between verdant forests. Any slave races
will be relegated to the polar regions to toil against the ice
and rocks and supply labor for their Watu masters.
Physiology & Appearance
Other than the differences noted below, Watu appear
similar to other pachyaur. Of course, the Watu insist
they are far from normal.
Watu are recognized from afar by their darker hides
and wider ears. Watu coloration ranges from gray tinged
with a slight-olive green to a rich, charcoal, sometimes
with streaks of lighter gray along the back and foreshoulders, and possibly a swath of near-white along
the underbelly. A Wat’s ears are thin and wide enough
that they cannot be pulled completely flat against its
head, leaving ears forever at the mercy of the breeze.
Compared with its Brachachon kin, Watu shoulders
and back are wide and flat, a physiological characteristic that makes it easier for them to carry objects there
without lashing them in place; a Wat pachyaura’s arms
can reach behind to hold cargo on its back “in place,” as
well. Older Watu grow hair along their sides and bellies,
which they often cut or braid to keep it out of the way.
History
Since the schism among the Pachyaur that splintered
them into Brachachon and Watu factions, all pachyesh
histories either seek to rationalize slavery or demonize
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it while simultaneously lauding the accomplishments of
the Pachyaur. While each bwasana’s collective remembers its own individual history, there are still shared legends and myths that underscore the foundations upon
which Watu society rests.
Watu legend provides a cautionary tale reinforcing handling slaves with unwavering strength. In the
ancient times of the early Classic Age, Beberu was a
bwasana especially lenient with her slaves. She employed few kenyaga, tolerated gaiety and sloth among
her slaves, and left many of the responsibilities of her
shamaba’s administration to the more learned among
them. In time, slaves staged mass escapes, leaving Beberu’s shamaba, without laborers, to its failure. Beberu
and her entire family group died in poverty.
More elaborate recountings of the Beberu legend suggest that her escaped slaves populated the rest of Khitus
with humans and the other races, where it was presumably devoid of such creatures previously. Thus, most
Watu see their own activities less as active slaving and
more as “property reclamation and restoration.”
Ranks & Types
While Watish society shares the same distinctions and
matrilineal organizations as the Pachyaur of old, there
are a number of additional distinctions useful in their
slave-based society.
Like other Pachyaur, the bwasana, or matriarch, manages the shamaba (see “Customs & Culture” below),
making core decisions on what crops to embrace, details
of the harvests, constructing buildings and walls, and
acquiring and dispersing slave laborers. Lower females
tend to the operational details, such as processing, storage, and transport of materials, general provisioning,
maintenance, and so on. Males gain rank by their prowess in battle or as breeding stock. As there are only so
many positions needed for fighters and fathers, many
male Watu become either slaving caravan drovers and
organizers or wanderers in other lands away from their
home shamabas.
Warriors & Protectors
Bwasana employ male warriors to protect their shamaba and keep order. Among these warriors are mercenary kanyaga, known among humans as tramplers.
They specialize in using their enormous bulk and powerful legs to crush smaller foes, a skill especially useful
against massed formations of vidijo troops. While often
unnecessary, some kanyaga choose to wear metal-reinforced boots to make their trample attacks more painful
or devastating to those in their path.
