WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK 0079 0079
Bạn đang xem bản rút gọn của tài liệu. Xem và tải ngay bản đầy đủ của tài liệu tại đây (1.5 MB, 1 trang )
Chapter 3: RACES & REALMS
Kanyaga often double as slave handlers, slowly moving up
the ranks into greater positions. Their merit-based hierarchy depends on production goals and observable successes
in slave dominance and mastery, always at the expense of
those in bondage. Extreme measures are tolerated, or even
seen as necessary, and the expenditure of slaves to make a
point or set a savage example for the others is commonplace among the brutal kanyaga overseers.
Some male Pachyaur—often the undistinguished
semaji—are enslaved and subsequently trained as protective warriors and defenders against rogue bulls and
aggressive shamaba competitors. These guvu become
martial experts, cross-trained in armed and unarmed
warfare against their own kind. Conditioned to be merciless, guvu can be especially destructive, ferocious, and so
inured to violence and death that they cannot disengage
from battle until they or their foes lie dead. It is impossible for a guvu to retreat from a fight and never enough to
beat an opponent into submission; once an enemy enters
a guvu’s sights, battle is invariably to the death.
Guvu report directly to the bwasana who ordered
and subsidized their extensive training. Unleashing
one’s guvu against an enemy is a dangerous decision,
for there is no recalling these forces once they embark
upon a campaign. As such, a shamaba’s guvu often remain on gaudy display as a terrifying weapon of ultimate destruction, their armed and unarmed drills all
overt demonstrations of their power and smoldering
warnings to anyone thinking of launching an attack.
Imhara Breeders
Unique among the Watu civilization are its imhara
breeders. Their origin is unclear, but they have existed
since primitive pre-schism times. Presumably, their prodigious reproduction offered the family groups some resistance to famines and plagues of the day. Whether that
was a naturally occurring specialization or was somehow
magically induced or enhanced is lost to history.
On modern Khitus, approximately one Watish birth in
one hundred is an imhara, and that frequency increases
during times of environmental or social pressure. An
imhara is grotesquely misshapen from birth, with expanded bones and considerably more flesh and body
fat. Once impregnated, an imhara remains perpetually
pregnant, giving birth to calf after calf, each one after an
unnaturally short five-month gestation period.
The stress on the imhara is great and she must continuously feed, but is unable to do so herself. Her feeding and additional care comes from other females in her
family group. Siblings of an imhara mother are termed
imharatha, and they are closely bonded for life. An imhara dies after somewhere between 15 and 25 births,
and her body is ritually burned with great honor in a
solemn, family-wide ceremony.
Customs & Culture
Watu society centers upon the shamaba, or plantations
of enormous slave-managed farms organized by family
or extended-family groups. Most Watu cities are, in fact,
the central hub where several large shamaba meet. Beyond this centralized, walled urban region, farmlands fan
outward in all directions; block roads bordered with high,
thick hedges separate one shamaba from the next.
• Single Commodity: Commonly, shamaba specialize
in a single crop, either grains (wheat, rice, dhoru, or
shell-oats) or orchard fruits (bananas, mangos, letu-apples, or choranges), though they often diversify with vegetable gardens and livestock (mainly
boars or raven-hens) or even fisheries.
• Individuality: Despite their harsh treatment of
slaves, Watu have a tolerant, progressive society. Individuality is encouraged. The arts such as sculpture,
theater, and music are highly valued. Education is
abundant and varied. They prize intellectual pursuits
among the Pachyaur, as administration is essential to
the success of their agricultural enterprises.
• Slow Social Change: Fashion and social rituals
change slowly, but change nonetheless. The introduction of a new custom is met with some resistance, but is never dismissed outright. Indeed,
credit for advancing a new fad or trend can improve
one’s place in society. Adherence to existing customs is expected, but not demanded. As long as elders within a family group adhere to traditions, the
young may freely participate or not as they see fit.
The Beastly Way
The Watu share a closer kinship with their wild elephant and colossadant kin than do their Brachachon
rivals. They can more easily communicate with them,
govern their movements in the wilderness, and tame
them for use as draft animals. The Watu refer to this as
the kubiti or “beastly way,” an emotive herding technique passed down through the generations. Mastery
requires a skilled tutor and many years of direct contact
with the animals. Through trumpeting, facial signals,
and direct nudging, a pachyaura can use kubiti methods to call wild elephants and colossadants out of the
bush, keep them from wandering, and herd them along.
More skill allows the mastery of beasts for laborious
tasks without direct contact. At its highest levels, kubiti
allows a Wat to work his beasts cooperatively in teams
for truly strenuous tasks.
77
