Five common beings: Tentacled

These beings live near wet areas of the world:  on coastlines, in marshes, near lakes and swamps.  They are strange looking, with a bulbous head attached 8 tentacles that give the beings their name.  Archives from those who live near oceans say that these beings resemble ocean creatures such as cuttlefish or octopuses, even saying that the tentacled are like large octopuses that can live on land.  Their bodies are extraordinarily flexible, squeezing through tiny cracks and holes, and can change color and shape at will, and they can also breathe water, an ability they make use of to become the greatest fishers, pearl divers, and finders of anything in the oceans.  On land, they do not walk as we do, but instead slide along the ground, surprisingly quickly, using some tentacles to support themselves, and some to carry tools or equipment.  In water, they become much more free swimming, propelling themselves without an obvious motion, by blowing water out of themselves.

More than anything else, the tentacled are known for their cleverness.  Over and over again, from diplomats to traders to soldiers, tentacled all over the world are known to their ability to find weak spots, trickery, the shortcut nobody else would see, or the easy but hard to see way to accomplish whatever they set out to do.  At times, this cleverness draws admiration, such as on a monster hunt where the tentacled know exactly where to strike a gigantic sea monster to kill it as rapidly as possible. Sometimes, it draws scorn and anger, such as when the tentacled turn to assassination and ambush as they often do in warfare.

Tentacled seem to have a connection to the ocean and weather.  Their main religious organizers are so called rain priests, storm watchers, or current watchers, and their main role is to predict the weather and oceans.  Stories suggest they they are quite good at this, although some think that the rain priests either keep their predictions vague, or change predictions as needed to fit what others know will happen anyway.  Some also perform ceremonies to draw rain or favorable oceans, although we do not know if they do as promised, or is the ceremonies are simply performed when the desired weather will occur anyway. 

Historically, tentacled have lived in small villages, at the largest forming confederations.  They are the most fiercely independent of the common beings, refusing to bow down to even the mightiest empires or rulers.  We do not know if this is a natural component of their personality planned by the creator, or if the ease of assassination means a disliked ruler or conqueror is quickly killed.  One would think that such independence would lead to infighting, but surprisingly, the tentacled have found other ways to work together, organizing themselves in village councils and confederations, relying greatly on reputation and trust, and other simple but unusual methods to come to decisions.  And although obedience is nonexistent among the tentacled, and convincing a group means convincing each member, once a decision is made, the tentacled are known to stick quite strongly to it.

If we find ourselves at war with the tentacled, we must be prepared for a frustrating fight.  Even less that the other common beings, the tentacled do not like to fight straightforward battles of army against army, instead, preferring to use assassination, ambushes, and surprise attacks as often as possible.  But even if they do fight in a straightforward way, their ability to use 4 or even 5 tentacles to carry weapons and shields makes them hard to fight if they can get amongst our own soldiers.  Using their abilities to camouflage and squeeze through the smallest of spaces, the tentacled will likely go for our leaders, sabotage our equipment and supplies, and use any other methods to turn the battles before they are even fought.  Moving soldiers is dangerous as well, any delay or disorganization invites a hard to spot ambush, as even large numbers of searchers and swarmers will miss well trained tentacled.  In battle, we must still keep watch at all times, the best of assassins can hide in small dips in terrain, and strike our most valued soldiers when we are least expecting it.  Training a large number of replacement commanders is necessary, as well as constant vigilance, and a knowledge of what the enemy values, so as to force a fight on our own terms if war becomes necessary.

Despite the variety of tentacled confederations, independent towns, and other groups, their cultures, like all the other common beings, seem to fall into 5 general types.  The fact that all common beings, including us, seem to divide this way is curious, and our priests and scholars have suggested numerous explanations.  But until we can communicate again with our creator, this remains an unexplained oddity of our world.

The most well known type of tentacled culture are the ocean dwellers.  These tentacled groups build their livelihood around the oceans more than any other, whether by fishing, monster hunting, kelp gathering, shellfish gathering, or other ways we do not know as much about.  What farming or land living they do is even based on the ocean, growing materials for nets and boats, for example.  These tentacled are known to be the most physically powerful of the tentacled.  As a fits a group living near the ocean, their culture is full of stories of cleverly defeating giant, powerful, enemies, whether the numerous enormous beasts that lie in the far ocean.  It was one group of these tentacled that defeated us in the tribute war.

Some tentacled cultures have an uncanny ability to determine whether rains or dryness will come.  These, the "rain" cultures, make much of their living by marsh farming.  Crops like floatfruit, tall rice, and glowmoss once came from their villages, depending on the weather predicted for that year.  Stories of luck and chance, and how to spot opportunities, are their specialty, more than others.

"sailing" tentacled seem to have an affinity for winds, understanding how to use them, and predicting what they will do.  These tentacled are most known for trade and fishing, being the best at traveling long distances, and also for catching migrating birds.  These tentacled were the first sailors, and throughout history, navies around the world hired mercenaries from these cultures to crew boats.

Tentacled who live near stormy areas are often "mystical" cultures, far more religious than others.  These cultures engage in numerous weather rituals, attracting or repelling storms, waves, currents, or other changes.  Tentacled in these types of cultures insist that the rituals are effective, but our own priests and scholars are suspicious.

"seasonal" tentacled are the most adaptable, with a society prizing adaptability to changing weather and seasons.  These cultures prize adaptability above other cultures, the mark of a respected tentacled in this sort of society is one who can quickly learn many skills, and thrive in any situation.

Catching a Kraken

Although most of us have heard stories of sea monsters, and use numerous products from them, few have seen these creatures outside of those washed up on the beach.  For most, stories of the Kraken, whale, pliosaur, sargasso, sea dragons, and other such creatures are legends and rumors, dangerous creatures who clash with monster hunters (usually tentacled or humans) out in the oceans.  Only a few traders and fishers throughout our history have seen these creatures, fewewr have written about them.

This description is from a trade mission, common amongst powerful empires with smaller trade partners, where diplomats and workers examine how the products they buy are created, and see how the good they sell are used.  This mission was sent by the Kalaxich rulers to a small tentacled confederation, and while on it, a fish leader joined a kraken hunt.


The Kraken Hunt

We arrived at the trading point the first day of the mission.  As is done most years, merchants were sent to arrange terms, and the tentacled negotiators and merchants were hard at work.  On display nearby were products to be exchanged at this time.  An array of products rested in front of us; I was amazed to see how such a small village could produce.  Pearls, preserved fish, sea crystals, salt, marsh grass, and much more were on display from the tentacled.  Our own traders were showing off our own products:  glass, stone, metals, wool, and wood, and other materials and devices some produced by own own workshops, some from other lands.  Our merchants, and the tentacled, examined and commented on these products, admiring the craftsmanship, or choosing which to buy for the next years.

For this mission, our head merchant wished to ensure supplies of ink, and I had been sent to examine the tentacle's kraken and cuttlefish hunting methods.  The negotiations over trade terms were tough, as these tentacled were fiercely independent, and their unhappiness at bringing me a long was a sticking point, with kraken hunters in particular annoyed at bringing along a passenger.  Ultimately, however, our negotiatiors reached an agreement, with trade terms decided after three days, the tentacled being convinced to allow us to examine their fishing and farming methods.  Most of the merchants left at that point, while three of us remained to carry out the examinations, along with a few guards and guides.

I had learned that a kraken hunting expedition would be leaving in four days;  during that time, I watched the tentacled catch cuttlefish.  The tentacled do not use boats for this tasdk: the inkfish they catch live close enough to shore that the tentacled can simply swim to hunting areas, and catch the fish.  I was only able to catch glimpses of their catch techniques:  it seems cuttlefish are dispersed enough that they cannot use nets, instead, bait is used to lure the fish to points, where the tentacled round them up and arrive at shore.  I was surprised to learn how little ink each cuttle has, the tentacled must cut up almost 20 to fill a single container our merchants use.  The rest of the meat is preserved for food.  We had never considered buying this meat before, unlike preserved fish, and our merchants have returned with some to test its richness, if it is as rich as fish, it would be a good purchase indeed.  I cannot fault the tentacled's methods for catching the cuttles: they can catch these rare animals as well as my own fishers can in our rivers.  The tentacled's voraciousness for our knives was also explained, these tools are used for almost all tasks the tentacled can set them to.

I had been introduced to the kraken hunters during negotiations.  They were unhappy at having to bring me along, but appeared to hide their grumpiness by the day before the expedition.  That day was spent in preparation.  For boats, the tentacled use a floating marshgrass, weaved into a boat frame and shape.  Into the boats were loaded fish, knives, bags, and other materials that I was not watching at the time.   Every member of the monster hunting group takes part in this work, and I was prodded into helping, placing cloth, food, and other lighter items into the boats.  The tentacled had brought an extra two group members, and an extra boat, to carry me for this trip.  The boats were placed on the shoreline, where the tides could raise them into the water.  Finally, the day before, a rain priest performed a ritual, to determine whether the weather would be calm enough for the trip.

At high tide the next morning, the tentacled swam to their boats, raised small sails, and set out to the ocean.  My own boat was placed farther up in the tidal zone, and several of the hunters pushed it out to see.  I had known before that ocean waves would be larger than I was used to, but to experience it was a whole different matter.  The light marsh grass boats wobbled back and forth far more than our own riverboats, and I thought I was loose my balance many times as we traveled from shore.  Over the day, the shoreline receded, and only the ocean was visible.  The swells calmed somewhat, and I noticed the rocking less. 

Our journey to the kraken hunting ground took four days.  When winds were strong, sails were used.  In weaker winds, the tentacled themselves took shifts in the water.  At our first calm period, I was handed an oar.  "Everyone pitches in", said a tentacled, and though I attempted to argue that I was not strong enough to row well, that we specially breed rowers to do so, the tentacled were quite insistent that I play my part.  Copying as best I could how our own rowers moved, I pulled the oars through the water, assisting as best I could at propelling my boat.

On the third day, I was told to watch for Kraken, as we were approaching a good spot.  They were described as looking much like the tentacled, but larger, with longer tentacles.  I do not know how the tentacled knew where they were, as the ocean appeared as empty as it had before, and endless blue plain of waves and sky, with only an occasional bird or fish.  Soon, I spotted something.  Looking closer, I could see it.  "Kraken!" I yelled, pointing towards a long, red, mass of tentacles.  The tentacled, excited, looked to where I pointed.  Soon, they looked away.  "That's not a kraken, just a giant squid", said one of the hunters.  I asked further.  "A real kraken is far larger", responded the tentacled.  I could not understand, the creature was longer than our boat, with a mass of tentacles, how could this not be the legendary kraken that we had heard so much of?  But I said nothing, and we continued on.

A day later, the tentacled stopped, dropped sails, and dropped stabilizing lines into the water.  Having not spotted a kraken, they reached a chosen spot, and set up to catch the creature.   Some boats were separated from the others, and filled with fish.  Others, empty or holding equipment, were kept far from these, including my own boat.  Some kraken hunters stayed in boats, other nearby in the water, all watching for kraken.

With time on my hands, I watched the ocean.  I realized that there were lighter and darker spots, that I later learned were deeper and shallower areas.  The sea proved mesmerizing, and I often found myself mentally removed while watching, with only the occasional bird to break the spell.  The waves formed strange patterns.  I sometimes drew myself out with a sudden realization that I must check the ocean for kraken, but wandered from this thought as I watched the ocean.Near the fish boats I soon noticed a dark spot, a depper section of the ocean.

Farther away, blobs of lighter areas appeared. As I looked towards those lighter areas, I suddenly heard one of the hunters yell "Kraken".  I looked around, hoping to see the creature, but did not notice anything.  As I looked around, I suddenly saw that the dark spot near the fish boats seemed to be larger.  Looking more carefully, I indeed saw i grow.  Soon, the dark patch grew large in the water, and I could see almost nothing else under the ocean.  Structure appears, several white blobs, writhing, and mottled circles.  As the creature rose, I felt a wave swell, and in a jolt of fear, I leaned back, expecting the rising creature to overturn the boat.

The creature burst from the water.  Huge purple tentacles emerged, far taller than I was, taller than the sails on the hunter's boats, and covered in giant, toothed circles.  The tentacles hurled downward, engulfing a fish boat, and soon I could hear a crunching.  The tentacled responded quickly, some jumped into the water and seemed to swim towards the kraken.  Coloring themselves blue, they dropped stalkblood ink into the water, and swam the other way towards the kraken.  The kraken did not appear to notice, it continued to hold the fish boat in its crushing grasp.   I was frozen in fear, gripped by the sight before me.

Than, everything changed.  Suddenly, the kraken let out a jet of water, and the tentacles flashed to a bright red.  Some tentacles let go of the boat.  I looked into the water, and saw what looked like the great tentacles thrashing through the water.  Waves radiated, and the boat rocked several times.  A few tentacled left the water, waiting in their boats.  The kraken twisted, releasing great boils of water with each motion, and it almost appeared to slide back and forth.  A dark cloud seemed ot fill the water, For several minutes, the agitated creature bubbled, thrashed, and twisted, and at one point I nearly fell flat into the boat, wondering whether the hunters in the water could survive, and worried that the creature could turn on us.

After some time, the creature's motions slowed.  It seemed to weaken, bubbling the water less, and became more sluggish.  The tentacles slowed, thrashing less.  Than, in a slow but powerful motion, the creature seemed to turn on its side, tentacles sliding into the water.  Finally, I saw a dome of water form, than release in a spell, as a huge body emerged from the ocean.  The tentacled waited for a bit, than, satisfied that the body was limp, they moved the boats in closer.

Shortly after, a smaller tentacle emerged from an opening in the great creature.  One of the monster hunters emerged, carrying a knife.  I would later learn that two of the hunters had slid into the kraken through its mantle, sliced its arteries, and waited inside as the creature bled to death.  The kraken could feel these intruders, and was trying with its tentacles to remove the irritation, but the tentacled were safe inside.  The others had distracted the creature, throwing dye into the water to distract the creature, drawing it away from the boats.  The kraken had originally been drawn to the fish boat, smelling and meal and attempting to ambush it as it would catch a creature.

I looked more closely at the creature.  It was shaped much like a tentacled, with a rounded body attached to 8 tentacles.  The lighter blobs I had seen earlier were eyes, I later saw that each of these was as large as a tentacled.  A I later saw a large funnel, the hunters explained that this was used to jet water, much as they do, and this was the boiling I had seen in the fight.

The tentacled went to work quickly.  They placed skins into the water, later I learned that these were shark skin, to scare away scavengers.  Strip after strip of muscle was removed from the creature and placed into boats, or simply left at sea.  Meat in the boats was preserved at sea, covered with material that the tentacled had brought from shore.  They eyes were removed, so large that it took three tentacled a piece to carry them to the boats.  Fluid and lenses from these eyes were used in in rituals by the tentacled.  Finally, the tentacled reached the organs of the creature.  Buried within, the most valuable part of the creature, was the ink sac.  Compared to the kraken, it was almost nothing, but still took three tentacled to remove and place in the boat.  All of the boats were filled with material, whether meat, organs, or leftover supplies, with the tentacled and I resting in any remaining space.  Finally, as the sun began to set, the boats were as full as they could.  Our knives, in the hands of the tentacled monster hunters, reduced the kraken to strips and blobs of muscle, left in the ocean for its creatures to scavenge.  The hunters set their sails and rested as they returned to shore.

Our return took less time than the journey out.  Upon our return, the hunters unloaded their boats, storing leftover supplies, preparing meat, and arranging with out remaining merchants to purchase the kraken ink.

The monster hunters are indeed very skilled at what they do, and I can find little fault with how they catch the creatures they do.  The creatures they hunt are indeed rare and powerful, and they make use of as much of it as they can, but the ink that is our main purchase is but a small part of the creature.  Kraken meat, in addition to cuttlefish, may make a rich food, and we should attmept to buy other kraken products to see how useful they may be.

The five common beings: Chitinous

We once ruled much of the world.  Our empires spread through all but the most inhospitable of lands, our great buildings and monuments dominated all others, our knowledge was second to none.  But the other species finally organized, and overcame our empires, allowing the overgrowth invasions to overrun us.  Now, we are like anyone else on this world, pushed back to our core lands.

As we rebuild, we will encounter other chitinous, with different traditions and histories, which all leaders must understand.  We will also encounter other beings, and must understand ourselves, and how we differ from the other intelligent beings, to prepare for challenges ahead.

Other Chitinous

Compared to other intelligent beings, it is easy to assume that all of us are the same, and to make mistakes as a result.  As when meeting other intelligent beings, diplomats, traders, or anyone else who will interact with another chitinous should understand the society and culture that one is interacting with.

Though we had numerous empires and nations before the overgrowth invasions, it seems that most cultures divided into 5 general types.  Those like us should be easy to understand, but others have different ways of obedience, religion, and views toward trade and warfare.  In our society, and societies like ours, a single leader commands everything.  To us, this makes sense, as only a single leader with no attachment to any portion of their nation, and with understanding of all facets of a civilization, can truly balance and understand all concerns, and only through obedience to such a leader can we ensure a stable society.  Indeed, to many of our priests, the world itself seems organized in this way, with the creator choosing one of the chitinous societies to lead the world, with all others organized to take care of facets of the world.  However, if one approaches other chitinous leaders in a similar way, they will be confused and frustrated.

Breeders

Some cultures, the breeding hives, are instead ruled by a supreme breeder.  Though this breeder, like our own supreme rulers, must understand something of all facets of a society, the leader instead focuses their energies on creating smarter, stronger, or more powerful citizens of the hive, and leaves much of ruling to subordinates, specially created by the breeder to be supremely skilled at their own domains.  This obedience structure exists all the way through the society, to the lowest members, with leaders focused far more on training, or breeding, than on commanding or organization.  Such societies believe the strength of a hive is in its members, and strive to breed and train the strongest, smartest, and most excellent of citizens for whatever the task.  Most believe that the original creator filled a similar role, creating all creatures and plants of the world to fill their roles, and leaving the fate of the world largely to us.

These societies will have the strongest and bravest soldiers, the most skilled craftsmen, best laborers, best workers of any sorts, and will take pride in such, but organization is always slower, as direction and command is weaker and leaders take longer to consult with others and make decisions. 

Shifters

These cultures do not have a single, fixed leader.  Instead, whichever leader is most skilled in the most important goal of the society is the one to rule.  During wartime, the military commander rules, when new settlements are needed, a breeder or builder rules, when trade is desired, a merchant rules.  We cannot understand how citizens could adapt to such a constantly changing structure, yet it seems their loyalty to the hive as a whole keeps everything organized. These societies pride themselves on the ability of their members to adapt to, and overcome, most challenges, viewing our type in particular as inflexible, but we have found them to often be chaotic.

Constant changes of obedience structures are the most obvious difficulty, but one that is easily adapted to.  More difficult to adapt to is the fact that, in our own society, a higher ranking member of our own society must know enough to work with those under their command, in these societies, members are less focused on outside knowledge.  Knowledge of who will be higher ranking is important, whether in warfare, trade, building projects, or anything else we might do together.

Uncommanded

If shifters, with constantly changing leaders, seem chaotic, uncommanded cultures are perhaps the strangest of all.  They do not have leaders, instead, members communicate with each other to create some sort of agreement, which is than followed by all involved.  These societies, like shifters, are adaptable;  unlike other cultures, the loss of a leader means little to the uncommanded.  Their ability to make decisions is often astounding, yet such cultures can take a long time to make decisions, and can sometimes persist in poor decisions, or become paralyzed among choices, without strong leaders.

Working with such a wildly different culture proves challengine to most other chitinous, to the point where those used to working with other chitinous are better suited to understand these cultures.  One must develop a skill in working with large groups, and at clear communication.

Supporters

In these cultures, leaders are skilled at administration or support, and their main role is to provide resources to those underneath them.  Like breeders, most decisions are made by subordinates, and this organization method extends throughout the culture.  These cultures pride themselves on their management abilities, and in the past were most famous for large building projects, especially irrigation and roads.

Those who can interact with breeders will understand these cultures as well, for they share many of the same views towards organization and obedience.


Chitinous and other Beings

When understanding other intelligent beings, it is vitally important to understand how we differ, and how other beings view us. The creator made us much like large ants, and that is indeed how others view us.  The other common beings are about the same size as us, but other types of beings have wildly different sizes, and may view you with fear, or barely notice you.

Almost universal amongst other beings is a lack of obedience.  Us chitinous do not fight against our own groups, either obeying leaders, or obeying decisions made by a group, as part of our nature.  Yet other beings must often be forced or threatened to obey leaders or group decisions, as they often refuse to follow such decisions.  Even among the most peaceful, many prefer to treat each other as equals, or argue amongst themselves, and chitinous among them will be uncomfortable.  Chitinous are often shocked at how little respect most other beings have for obedience, as they watch members fight for status, or argue and fight to make a decision, or refuse to even have or respect a hierarchy, while non-chitinous often are resentful and rebellious when expected to obey us.  On the other hand, on-chitinous often prefer to make agreements with us, expecting us to behave as expected, rather than trying to backstab or swindle.

Our priests have often argued that the creator placed each being on the world to fill a role, and that our role, as the most organized, was created to rule, much as our leader's are bred to rule over our societies.  When chitinous empires were powerful, this story was easy to believe, but after the invasions of other beings and overgrowth, many now doubt this story.  Origin stories in some other chitinous cultures tell a similar story, and non-chitinous resent the idea that they should be subordinates.  Uncommanded or shifter cultures in the past could attract alliances more easily, as their stories flatter the other beings, by viewing them more as equals.  In our current situation, our priests may need to rethink the origin of the world, and the other beings and us may interact differently.


While us chitinous have special breeders to have children, in many other animals, including intelligent beings, half the members can produce children in some way, who split their time between breeding and other work, while the other half also split their time between mating with the breeding ones and other activities.  Among the common beings, humans and tentacled breed in this way, with breeders called "females", "women", or some other equivalent word, while non-breeders are called "males", "men", or an equivalent word.  Within societies, rituals surrounding breeding and mating are highly important, and some languages and cultures view all beings, including intelligent ones, as male or female.

When interacting with other beings, one should be highly aware of the rituals and expectations surrounding breeders and non-breeders, as other beings can be easily offended, and highly emotional, if not done as expected.  Some beings will also insist on describing us as male and female, especially if the language has no alternative to male or female to describe a being.  Most of the time, the "gender" is described by job, although sometimes with appearance, and the division changes from culture to culture.  Almost all agree that our breeders are "she" and maters are "he", some humans cultures assume all are "he", dangerous or strength work, to humans, is commonly "he", but otherwise no clear pattern exists, apart from following how males and females divide in the culture in question.

The five common intelligent beings: Humans

In the process of rebuilding our civilization, we must at some point contact other intelligent beings and tribes in the world.  In the past, diplomats, soldiers, traders, and anyone else who would interact with the outside world would learn about the cultures, thoughts, and anatomy of the other intelligent beings in the world.  We will maintain this tradition, and recover as much as we can of our history and knowledge of other intelligent beings.

The Five Common Beings

While our world is full of intelligent beings, must are confined to small areas, or like the dragons, exist in small numbers.  Before the ground vine invasions, only 5 intelligent beings, us, humans, tentacled, djinn, and cultists, filled much of the world, and as we rebuild, it is almost certain that we will see the other 4 again, as well as other hives of chitinous.

Humans

Every society that encounters these beings notices the strong connection between humans have to animals and plants.  It is the humans that first farmed and herded, who supplied the best products of farming and livestock, even hunting and fishing, and who used their connection and skill with wild areas to dominate the forests and open plains.  The humans even seem to act like other animals much of the time, dividing themselves into tribes and groups, and leaders fighting for riches, status, and the chance to breed.

Taller than us, the humans walk like clawbirds, but have smooth, tan to brown skin, with no tail, and patches of hair rather than feathers.  Our breeders have created some soldiers or workers with strength and endurance to match humans, but this takes time and effort to achieve how humans grow naturally.  The creator clearly wished to create a being that could understand and master the beasts of the world, and manipulate other facets of nature, such as the plants, wood, and soil.

For much of our history, humans lived either in small villages or traveling shepherds, but they did not always live this way.  It was several groups of humans who invented farming, and our earliest records describe us and humans living together in many cities, with human farming and physical strength necessary to build the first walls and temples.  But the humans reverted to tribalism over time, as some rebelled, and some lost their territory to our own hives.  While we established great civilizations, they remained in their forests and steppes, raiding, fighting, and exchanging their goods with us.  Some established some petty kingdoms, and a few of these helped defeat our own great empires, but that was when the overgrowth attacked.

When we lost contact with the other beings during the overgrowth invasions, humans were being attacked and pushed back as much as we have, and it is likely that they have retreated to forests, although some of the horse tribes may remain on steppes.  They may well be more civilized this time around, needing to organize to defeat the overgrowth.  It is likely that the humans have maintained their skill with farming, herding, and hunting.

One of the strangest, and most frightening to one not used to humans, is the variety of animals found amongst them, some of these animals far larger and stronger than we are.  The most common include tamed wolves, which the humans call "dogs", used for almost all tasks, tamed aurochs, called "cows" and "bulls", tamed horses, sometimes called "donkeys" or "mules" used for work and travel, wildcats, to hunt smaller animals, and fowl, called "chickens" used for food and eggs.  Many more such animals exist, including clawbirds, rodents, wingbirds, feeder plants, and wisps, and one should make sure to ask the tribe or group one is spending time with about any such animals found.

Although bigger and stronger, humans are not generally as disciplined as we are, and in an organized foot battle, are usually at a disadvantage.  Most humans understand this, and instead use their strength, speed, and skill with horses to gain advantages of speed and distance, using skirmishers and raiders to weaken us, than attacking with fast marching soldiers to fight where and when they wish.  When humans join close battle, they are fearsome, bellowing and screaming at enemies, and entering a battle frenzy, smashing and striking even harder than one might expect seeing them outside of battle.  Skilled commanders must read other archives to understand how to protect supplies, choose where to fight, avoid fear in their own soldiers, and defeat a frustrating enemy.

When understanding humans politics and organization, one must learn quickly how the tribe one of working with understands status.  Almost all have more influential or less influential people, but some see themselves more as equals, some form leaders based on family history or gifts from higher ranking groups.  In most human groups, even those where people are born into a status, ambitious beings can take status away from others, or loose status to others in a war or political fight.  This fighting and politics can often


Humans forms hundreds to thousands of tribes, with little clear organization, but most follow one of 5 patterns

The first, and most well known, are horse lords and herders from the steppes.  More than anyone, these groups understand beasts, using their skill with horses for fighting and trade, and their skill at herding for food.  These groups are dispersed, fiercely independent, and the politics and status of members are hard to follow.  In the past, they served as mercenaries and traders, if groups have survived the overgrowth, they are probably righting for territory.

The second well known groups are farmers, living near fertile fields or irrigated rivers.  They are experts at understanding soil, and are expert farmers.  These are the most status based societies, with groups of "nobles", acting like our commanders and leaders, separated from "commoners", acting like our laborers and soldiers.  These humans are the most like us, but one must still be mindful of status fights, and complex politics.  It is these tribes that sell us exotic fruits, food, clothing, and other such creations.  Today, these groups are probably at the edge of steppes or forests, building up their farmland and irrigation systems.

From deeper forests come the third group, who have an affinity for plants.  They are forest dwellers, living in small villages supplied by small farms, orchards, and hunting.  They are fiercely independent like the horsemen, and almost as disorganized, but are more settled, and known for ambush rather than raiding.  From these tribes come fruits, wood, and forest creatures. It is these tribes who are happiest in forests, and today, that is where they will be, fighting the overgrowth using the techniques they best know.

Along rivers, lakes, and coasts from the water dwellers.  They are  sea and river traders, and fishers.  Sometimes raiders, they prefer to trade, and become wealthy through controlling seaways.  Though less prone to fighting than others, the sea traders are still strong, and a few have used their boats to outmaneuver us and strike weak coastal hives.  Today, these are probably in forests, carving out a space near the rivers, there they can beat back to overgrowth and make contact with others.

The final group are the rockworkers.  It is these tribes who often served as miners, quarry workers, and stone haulers.  These tribes assisted us in building projects, and throughout history have lives in rougher forest areas or near rivers, getting food however they could.  They have learned to live in rougher, rockier soils, turning them with hard work into something workable, while extracting stones, minerals, and jewels from the ground.  Though less violent than other humans, the stoneworkers are perhaps the strongest of already strong beings, and they make tough fighters when called into action.  Today, they are most likely found at the edges of forests and rocky areas, waiting to capture back useful land.

Origin of the Intelligent Beings of the World (Jinn story)

Despite our own storytellers figuring out how the world was made, the other beings in the world have their own stories of how the world came to be.  These stories are recorded in the archives, for use by diplomats and travelers. 


Siswhen World Creation:  How the Beings Came Into Existence

And the world was fully formed, as we see it today.  Rivers flowed to the sea, waves crashed on the shore, storms and clouds billowed in the sky, plants sprouted, and beasts swam and ran throughout the world.  And, hidden from view, the elemental spirits appeared, pleased with the world they inhabited.

But over time, the spirits grew unhappy, for while they could watch the world, and draw life from its energies, they desired to touch, feel, and influence their environment, and take part in its shaping.  And so the spirits began looked for ways o influence the environment.  Some tried telekinesis, others tried movement, and other tried intense focus.  Through years of practice, the spirits learned to influence, and play with, the world.

Than one day, while playing in a puddle, a spirit of water discovered it could merge with the water, taking the water as a body, and manipulating it as if the water was a creature.  Other spirits were confused at first, unsure of what they were seeing.  The water spirit at first was scared, and in desperation, freed itself from the water. Whispering to the other spirits, the fear and confusion turned to joy, as the other spirit learned to possess their own bodies of dirt, cloud, and fire.  Later, the spirits could possess animals and plants, some even changing the shapes and sizes of their hosts, until the creatures rejected the spirits.

The storytellers cannot say how long this lasted until a spirit, desiring more control over their bodies, fully merged with a creature, merging with the kelp found throughout the edges of the ocean.  Not realizing what it had done, the spirit struggled, but soon learned to live with its new body, and to this day is known as Sargasso.  Its descendents still prowl the ocean to this day, floating through the water and consuming whatever debris comes its way, and is still a feisty and combative creature.

The other spirits mourned the loss of their friend, but other spirits, desiring a more permanent connection to the world, merged willingly with pieces of the world, forming the elementals and golems we know today.  But the true goal of most spirits was to merge with an animal, for the animals could crasp and run, and had intelligence that a possessing spirit could use.

It was the most powerful, arrogant, and ambitious spirits who first merged with a creature.  Seeing the powerful, fire breathing drakes, feared by no other creature, the most powerful of the spirits forced their way into the drake's bodies.  But even the drake's bodies do not have all that another body might, and the willful spirits copied other animals, giving their hosts the wings of a pterosaur, the teeth and bite of a crocodile, a roar greater than that of a tiger or lion, and grew the creatures to the size of the great whales found in the ocean, turning the already fearsome drakes into dragons, the most feared creatures ever to inhabit the world.  But a large dragon is hard to control, and even the most willful spirits could barely control the instincts of the creatures they had created.  And to this day, the aggression and arrogance of dragons has made them many enemies, and despite their power, most have been killed by chitinous armies, or other beings.

Other spirits were less willful and ambitious, and simply took over smaller creatures that suited their desires.  Today, their descendants are the faeries, speaking trees, speaking rocks, tunnel moles, and others that are found in pockets throughout the world.  Over the years, these creatures have proved happier than the dragons.  Mostly attached too once place, they happily play their part in the world to this day.

But it was an ambitious, yet patient and intelligent, spirit of beasts that created the first of the successful beings in existence today.  It wished to control the forces of the natural world, from beasts to soil to rivers and plants, and knew that not just any creature would do.  Like the dragon posessors, this spirit wished to control a powerful creature, and first looked to other powerful animals, like the tyrannosaur, kraken, or great pterosaur.  But unlike those who posessed the drakes, it knew the raw power was not everything, and also looked to smaller creatures, like the lion of the deer, for it knew that such creatures, through their numbers, could change their surroundings in astounding ways. 

It was while the spirit was considering capturing a ground raptor that the spirit found its creature.  Living in the forests and plains with the ground raptors were baboons, apes, and monkeys.  As the spirit considered the ground raptors, it saw how adaptable and intelligent the apes and baboons were.  The spirit considered how the creatures could use sticks and rocks around them, eat almost anything, and how the same body shape could survive in forests and in the open.  Thinking out the possibilities, the spirit realized, that in apes and baboons, it had found the creatures it wished to possess. Gathering its friends, the spirit posessed some baboons and apes, and shaped them to suits its purposes.  The creatures were made taller, and minds expanded.  They were made able to run for longer, and the hands that could use sticks and rocks were made even more skilled.  The spirit made a wise choice, for today, its descendents are the humans, and they live throughout the world.  As the spirit wished, the humans have power over nature, having tamed animals, grown plants, and harnessed the rivers and soil.

On seeing the success of the humans, few spirits realized what the spirit of beasts had accomplished.  One who recognized, however, was a spirit of waves.  Realizing that a similar creature could give this spirit influence over the wind, waves, weather, and currents, it sought a similar creature.  In the ocean, the spirit found it: the octopus.  Flexible, clever, and able to break into the tightest of spaces, the octopus was the host the wave spirit desired.  Today, its descendants are the tentacled, famed for their stealth and cleverness.  The spirit made the octopus larger, able to travel on land, and allowed it to survive the birth of children.  And while weather is a much harder force to control than the elements of nature, the tentacled have an uncanny ability to sense and adapt to changes, and their rituals seem unusually linked to miracles of rainfall or ocean blooming.  Like the human, they have spread over the world, taking to marshes, lakes, and shore as the humans take to forests and farmland.

It was a spirit of decay that created the third widespread creature we know today.  Capturing the earthworms found in most of the world, creatures that scavenge soil and decomposing bodies, their descendents are the cultists, masters of life and death.  Their rituals change bodies to snow angels, undead, and other of the most feared and welcomed forms to meet.  Able to commune with the dead, scavenge almost anything, even rumors of resurrection, the cultists bodies still give away the lowly worm origins.

Finally came the most successful of the spirit's hosts.  A spirit of enhancement, who had first wished to capture gemstones and water, this spirit saw the success of the last three spirits, and looked for a creature itself.  Ass a spirit of enhancement, this spirit was already used to seeing the potential in unassuming objects, and this spirit looked for an even more obscure creauture than before.  Selecting the ant, that small, but numerous, burrowing creature found nearly everywhere, this spirit greatly increased its size, and turned its front legs into hands as the humans had done.  Becoming the chitinous, their empires dominate the world today.  They are masters of enhancement and transformation, their smiths and craftsmen making the finest and strongest materials, and like the ants they descend from, the live in burrows, formed into a strong hive society, with legendary organization and obedience.

Most of the elemental spirits without hosts exist as wisps today, responding to rituals, and many say they are not even there.  But one remaining spirit of energy still wished to influence the world.  and so it captured the wisp, that creature of smoke and cloud that lives in the deserts and swamps of the world.  And while the other spirits could not understand this choice of host, they soon saw the intelligence of the decision.  For using the wisp, these final spirits could still absorb and form a body from nearby materials, fire, or cloud.  And wisps do not need to eat, instead, they merely need a source of sun, fire, or energy.  Today, we form the djinn.  And while the chitinous believe that they are the natural rulers of the world, we have lived in lands that the chitinous shun, from deserts to hot plains.  Our power over fire and energy, the abilities the others call "magic", and skills with atronomy are well known throughout the world.

Today, there are many spirits with now host, and they are known through ritual and occasional hauntings.  However, today it is the descendents of hosts who fill the world.

Comments

Most djinn stories are similar, although each nation of djinn has its own slightly different version.  A few say that the djinn are spirits who did not capture a host  They all flatter us with being the second to last spirit to capture a creature. 

While the djinn story is compelling, it makes little sense to explain such an obvious symmetry and design in their world through random actions.  Why only 5 spirits would choose to capture hosts is a strange coincidence.  The djinn understanding of the world also assumes 5 types of magic in the world, with many subtypes, while or own sorcerers say there are 14.  Our own scholars think the djinn story was originally the ramblings and guesses of djinn mages and mystics, and that these beings simply are too proud to admit they were wrong.

It is clear to our storytellers that the creator planned the djinn to have power over the energies of the world, and over the stars in the sky.  The djinn, lijke the tentacled, humans, and cultists, have become changed in some way, not realizing their place in the world.

The killing of the Dragon Rashyral

This book records the campaigns against the great dragons.  Once, there were dozens of dragons in the world, but today there may be none, or only a few, remaining.


Rashyral

Rashyral's lair was located at a pass between three nearby empires, in the Zegra mountains.  At the time, these mountains jutted high, and were even inhospitable to antennaed, and Rashyral's pass was the only easily passable route through them.  As the three surrounding empires grew larger, and traded amongst each other, all travel had to go through this pass, and Rashyral demanded tolls, over centuries building up a store of jewels and precious metal.

We don't know when this arrangement started, but after hundreds of years, this was the state of trade amongst the three surrounding empires.  But Rasyral's tolls were a drain, and travel through the pass was difficult.  Traders and merchants long wished for another route between the mountains.

It was the engineer Chek'yen who first proposed a new route.  Exploring the mountains on the borders between the empires, she proposed a large tunnel underneath some of the mountains.  The building of this tunnel system is described in the engineering and construction archives.  It took many years, but when completed, the caravan trade through Rashyral's pass ended.

Rashyral was incensed at the loss of her source of tolls.  She had heard about the tunnel building, but did not expect it to be completed, as many large projects had failed in the past.  When she learned what had happened, she flew across the mountains to find these tunnel entrances, and destroyed numerous caravans for fortresses in her anger.  Few chitinous of any of the empires traveled above ground near the mountains for fear of attracting the dragon.  Though the tunnels mostly traveled under the mountains, some pathways along the surface had been needed, and Rashyral soon found these, shutting down trade once again.

Rashyral's attacks had become so severe that merchants from all empires decided again to use the pass and pay the tolls.  but in her anger, Rashyral demanded exorbitant payments, threatening ot bankrupt merchants, and stop all communication between the empires.  When trade thinned, and she was not given the tolls she wanted, she raided the empires, destroying as she wished. 

None of the three empires, understandably, would allow these attacks for long, and built defenses on the mountain.  BGut though Rashyral could be driven off by the large ballistas used at the time for defense, they could not kill her, so 5 campaigns were launched to kill the dragon.

In the first campaign, a group of soldiers from the north followed a diplomatic caravan, and attacked Rashyral as she was returning with her tolls to her lair.  Rashyral was not fooled, and attacked the soldiers in the open, scattering and killing most of them.

The second campaign used a similar method.  Two groups of soldiers disguised as merchants moved towards the pass, and this time surprised Rashyral immediately after paying their tolls.  At first it seemed that Rashyral would loose, that the soldiers would swarm her and defeat her, but dragons are powerful beings, and Rashyral took to the air, twisting and turning, and dropping the soldiers, who could barely hold As Rashyral flipped and swung through the air.  Those that survived qere either killed by the dragon, or ran away.

Rashyral, in her arrogance, continued to allow travelers and caravans through her pass, believing that no army could defeat her.  In the third attempt to kill the dragon, a diplomat told Rashyral of an army gathering near the eastern border of one of the nearby empires. After collecting the toll, Rashyral flew away from her lair, and sought to destroy the army before it had a chance to find her.  On seeing the dragon, the soldiers, as planned, retreated to their defenses, hoping the Rashyral would be either enranged, or desiring a kill, and would allow herself to be killed by the empire's defenses.  The dragon did indeed fight a battle with the defenders, but though many defenders were killed, and while several had scored hits on Rashyral, the dragon once again flew away, still uninjured enough to move.

In the fourth attempt, the three empires cooperated to carry about 8 ballistas to Rashyral's pass, in an attempt to assemble them and shoot the dragon where she could not escape.  The soldiers of the three empires reached the pass as planned, but the ballistas could not be prepared before the dragon destroyed them and scattered the armies.  Only a couple of shots were loosed in the fight

At this point, Rashyral did not attempt to exact revenge on the nearby empires, and some suggested that she would settle back to her old ways, collecting valuables and food as a toll, and that the defenses would not be needed as the dragon settled into the new trade system.  Some suggested that trade and diplomatic caravans could slowly move to the more accessible tunnel routes, and Rashyral could simply be given some token payments to keep her happy.  The empire's leaders decided to make another attempt to kill the dragon instead, as tribute and tolls would still be expensive, and they would still be risking the dragon's temper in the future. 

This time, they took around three months to prepare.  Assemblers practiced assembling, loading, and firing ballistas.  Scouts mapped the pass, and chose the best firing locations, quietly preparing them as occasional trade groups went through.   When the time came to attack, about 15 ballistas, and about a quarter of the swarmers available to each empire, marched as caravans to the dragon's pass.

As in the past attacks, real diplomatic missions and traders preceded the  soldiers.  Over several days, workers arrived and hollowed out small caves.  Later, soldiers arrived.  Every night, each trade caravan would leave some soldiers behind at the pass, carrying just enough food for a few days.  In the evening before the attack, ballista builders snuck into firing positions with their materials.  During the night, they assembled their ballista, assembled ammunition, and covered the machines in preparation for the next day. 

On the day of the attack, a smaller group of soldiers entered the pass, announced themselves, drew weapons, and commanded Rashyral to fight.  Laughing at the sight of the attackers, Rashyral slowly crawled out of her lair, raised herself up, and opened her mouth to flame the swarmers.  As planned, the swarmers were facing towards a ballista, and when Rashyral inhaled, a bolt struck her in the throat.  the swarmers dispersed as the dragon walked forward to attack this shooter.  as she walked, another 3 ballistas let fly, and these bolts pierced the dragon's wings. 

Realizing she was under attack by a whole army, the dragon raised herself into the air, to fly around the pass and spot her attackers.  The general had anticipated this, and more bolts pierced her wings.  In too much pain to fly, the dragon landed, roared, and charged towards the outer edge of the pass.  All ballistas were shooting at this point, and bolts struck the dragon in the rear knees, wings, and all along her body.

At this point, a horn sounded, and the swarmers hidden near the pass attacked the dragon.  unable to fly, and unable to flame due to the pain in her throat, the dragon began to roll on the ground, attempting to crush the swarmers as they pried her scales open, and stabbed and sliced their way into her body.  Many swarmers were crushed by the rolling, others were shot by ballista bolts, still firing into open areas when possible, but the cutting and stabbing weakened the dragon, and after fighting so hard, the mighty creature's rolling slowed and stopped, and all the dragon could do was lay in the pass as the swarmers continued their work.

When the dragon died, soldiers and workers from the three empires explored her lair.  The treasures she had accumulated after hundreds of years were divided as war spoils, and taken to the three empires, to be distributed amongst the population, and used as trade goods.  The victory celebrations lasted for weeks, as the dragon's treasure was paraded, the battle reenacted, and her skin worn as an imitation in life. 

This had been the first time a dragon was killed.  Unfortunately for the future, members of the three empires spread the news freely to neighbors, where it spread even further, including to other dragons.  Later fights with dragons were far more challenging, as the dragons respected us as opponents and made preparations, sought allies and subjects, made preparations, and did not arrogantly fall for ploys as Rashyral did.  The ballista techniques, supply techniques, and swarming techniques were and are told over and over to generals, to better prepare them for future wars.

Quick guide for Zithir Interactions

This quick reading covers basic interactions with the Repali zithir that inhabit our colonies.  It is intended that this guide be used to smooth interactions, or as a source of basic information, and it should not be taken as a full source of information for individual interactions.


Body Language and Communication

All Zithir, unless a victim of accidents or birth defects, are able to sense emotions, but are unable to sense factual thoughts, plans, or similar information as easily.  In first encounters, some people find it disconcerting how easily Zithir can sense and react to moods, and sometimes react differently than expected to attempts to conceal emotions (for example, hiding disappointment or annoyance almost always leads to a different reaction than expected.)  Thankfully, most Zithir, and Repali in particular, respond to this disconcertment, and adjust their interactions accordingly, so concistent interactions should become smoother over time.

On the flip side, Repali show very little body language compared to most humans of any origin, so can often prove hard to read.  Most other types of zithir compensate by exagerrating movements somewhat, but Repali are said, by themselves and other Zithir groups, to be less expressive than most, so even the exaggerations can be difficult to read.  It is recommended that people as for advice from the Repali themselves and others with more experience at reading the language.  Repali body language among themselves is quite different than what thwey use around us; it seems body language among most Zithir exists instinctively, but is far less important than directly reading emotions, and most who interact with humans or Quental instinctively switch to the body language of the human culture they are interacting with.

Most Zithir who have lived with us a long time have learned a basic version of English or Arabic, however, the grammar and certain meanings of words are often confused.  Classes and practice time for the Repali, twineg, and Rtingle language are also available.  Most Zithir language, these three included, are much more sloopy than ours in exact grammar and word meanings.  In mixed communication, human languages are generally preferred, as they can communicate more exact meanings and details, while Zithir emotion reading works whatever the language used, but adjustments can be made as the situation allows.


Physical Appearence/Physical Interaction

Almost all Zithir are shorter and smaller than most humans, the average Zithir is about 1/3 of a meter shorter, and 2/3 the weight, of an average person.  Some sample pictures of Zithir are shown in the top of the above picture, and some Repali are shown in the picture below.  Like in humans, Zithir can be told apart through faces and voices, in addition, the patterns and sizes, and sometimes the number, of brain antlers, stalks, and tentacles changes from person to person.  Friction has occured at times as people have looked down at and/or acted dismissve of the shorter Zithir, do not be surprised, i this is your first time working with a zithir, if he or she stands on a deck or box to reach a similar height as you.  As much as possible, you should get used to the height difference, as it can some times lead to more difficult interactions with Zithir.

Zithir bodies are far more fragile than human bodies.  If a Zithir receives and injury that could be ignored or quickly treated in humans, such as a small cut or scrape, they should be given full attention to ensure more serious dam,age hasn't occurred.  Injuries such as bruises or sprained ankles should be medically treated immediately, any broken bones, banged heads, or other conditions described below should be treated as a life threatening emergency.  Zithir are also more sensitive to chemicals than huamns, although temperature changes are less severe.  For this reason, Zithir do not take part in rough sports, and will avoid ack slaps or painful punches, or similar interactions.  Avoid these is possible, and ensure that others avoid them as well, the Zithirs usually sense that no harm is intended, but will sense resenment, and be annoyed themselves, at having this problem ignored.

In most large colonies, medical workers specially trained to work with Zithir will treat them.  In smaller colonies, some veterinary or human medical workers will be taught techniques for Zithir, and should be contacted instead.  Information and emergency systems should be made as available as possible if emergencies occur.

Zithir biochemistry works in a number of different ways to humans, and therefore food for one species is often indigestible to another, and neither humans nor Zithir can survive on a diet of the other's food.  Most Zithir food is not poisonous beyond this to humans, although eating large amounts of it can cause gas, bloating, and in extremely cases, problems with bowel movements.  However, the foods witreg and Trareer contain toxins that are deadly in large amounts, and in smaller amounts cause various sicknesses, and Phentlu contains disease causing bacteria like organisms, that can cause dangerous infections all over a human body.  Most Zithir food tastes quite poor, often with unexpected mistures of tastes, due to the different uses for chemicals in most Zithir organisms, although a couple of foods (Phentyo and Lalyaw) have extremely good tastes, which are not found in most food we have brought with us.

Zithir have a much harder time handling human foods, their own digestion having equivalent problems as the human system, but more severe to the more fragile Zithir, and more humans types of food are poisonous in some way.  Sugary foods, such as honey or concentrated fruit, should in particular be avoided, as some types of sugars are used rarely by Zithir, high doses are toxic as a result.


Tasks and Learning

Species wide, Zithir have great difficulty seeing patterns, using skills in new combination or new ways, or understanding how and why certain things occur.  However, they are naturally able to sense the future, through a process we don't yet understand, and sense the results of making certain decisions.  Though we cannot explain all the different ways Zithir and humans can work together, a few common patterns are:

1.  For longer term projects (farming, building, research), Zithir will describe whether an accident will occur, or whether a goal will be reached, while humans will determine how and why a result will occur, and what to change.

2.  In situations requiring fast reactions, Zithir instinctively sense the results of fast decisions with little information, and make the fast decisions, while humans are more involved in preparation and learning.

3.  In areas where the Zithir have accumulated lots of information in their archives, these archives are a far better source of information than what our own data can provide, allowing a great deal of learning when the information is analyzed.  Medical and agricultural knoweldge for nearby Zithir has greatly advanced due to this type of analysis.

In mixed colonies, Zithir are most likely to work in areas with a lot of risk, where their sense of the future is of great assistance, while they work least in low risk, but highly structured, roles.  For almost all tasks, some mixture of humans and zithir is best, and Zithir experienced in some sort of work are highly sought after..


Reproduction and Child Care

Zithir have males and females, just as humans do, but instead of being split equally, about 2 males are alive for every 5 females.  Zithir tend to live in extended families, with males and females in about this ration, although richer or larger groups usually have a larger fraction of females.  Almost no Zithir cultures have an equivalent of marriage, and trouble has occurred with humans groups  (In our colonies, mostly religious groups) attempting to enforce a more marriage like arrangement on the Zithir, or encouraging boycotts and other attacks on the aliens for their arrangements.  Conversely, several Zithir have tried to get people to agree to a more mixed arrangement after sensing problems in marriages, without knowing the full history and reasons for arranging things the way we do.

Zithir reproduce using eggs.  When females are fertilized, a small egg grows for a few weeks inside the female.  When the egg is laid, the Zithir mother usually places it in a pouch she has, similar to a pouch on Kangaroos on Earth.  The Egg does not need to stay in the pouch all the time, it can spend hours or days outside and still be fine under most conditions, but must spend a certain amount of time at a particular temperature that a mother Zithir provides, and most also prefer to keep their eggs protected.

Zithir who are generating or carrying eggs should, if in doubt, be treated similar to pregnant human women.  While generating an egg, they will eat a great deal more than usual, and often be far more tired.  Particularly demanding or dangerous situations should be avoided if possible.  After the egg is laid, the mother Zithir's life largely goes back to normal, however, carrying a developing egg is tiring, and it is considered polite to help Zithir egg carriers, as carrying an egg can be physically tiring.

When doing something demanding or dangerous, Zithir mothers will typically remove eggs.  Repali tend to give eggs to relatives to watch, who will store the egg in their own pouches for a time, however, they will sometimes leave eggs with us to watch, or simply place them in an area.  If you are asked ot watch an egg, or keep track of an egg:

1.  When carrying or moving an egg, never drop it, or hit it in any way.  Unlike bird eggs, Zithir shells are leathery and softer, but the developing Zithir inside is still sensitive to injury.  Younger Zithir can be disabled in a a number of ways if their egg is dropped, older developing Zithir easily die if an egg is dropped.  If an egg is to be stored somewhere, make sure it is well supported, and will not roll around or fall.

2.  For short periods of time, eggs can tolerate most conditions in our colonies with little harm, so can be left in any suitable location, however, potentially dangerous fumes should be avoided.  For larger lengths of time (more than about 4 hours is a rule of thumb), they should be stored at the right temperature, in an area with good airflow and some protection.  In larger colonies, we have produced incubation rooms to store Zithir eggs, in smaller colonies, living areas equipped with air filters and the right temperature usually do the job, although the Zithir who's eggs will be watched should be checked first before storing an egg somewhere for a long time.

3.  In the rare cases where a Zithir mother dies, or is injured in a way where she can't watch the egg, it should be given to a close relative or family group as soon as possible.  In Repali family groups, the usual tendency is to contact the family group to report the death or injury, and the family member who wishes to watch the egg will come to take it, other Zithir groups have different tendencies.

Zithir and human children should both be raised by their own species, but early exposure among both humans and Zithir to the other is helpful for learning.  Zithir children learn to communicate quickly, but are far more fragile then adults, requiring constant exercise to build up toughness as they grow.  For this reason, human and Zithir children should not be left along together until several months of interaction, as our own children can be quite physical when trying to play with Zithir. 


Social Activities

Finding way to spend free time together has proven difficult with both types of aliens amongst all colonies, and Repali are no exception.

Sports:  Zithir as a rule have great difficulty with most human sports, either due to the physical nature of the sports, or the complex rules which can be difficult to understand and frustrating.  In competitive human sports that the Zithir have been able to play, they usually have a huge advantage from their future reading and emotion reading abilities.  Zithir physical sports usually are groups doing something, the Repali in particular are known for group lifting, and group throwing.  Contests, and Zithir group fun, are areas where we can spend time with Zithir and both enjoy it.

Meals:  As mentioned, Zithir and Humans cannot eat each other's foods, however, with food separated meals are a good time for both species to interact. 

Games:  Zithir in general take poorly to human card or board games, as they often have difficulty understanding the rules. A few can play simple, more cooperative games, but most are too difficult to be enjoyable for the Zithir.

Art:  As many of you have heard from other colonies, several Zithir have become famous as comedians, actors, and dancers.  Zithir themselves do not enjoy movies or pictures as much, although do perform well when asked to. 

Events;  Large gatherings are an important part of most Zithir societies, and most enjoy and are enjoyed at events such as weddings, birthdays, parties, or other large gatherings.  However, care should be taken in more formal events, Zithir attending should be told rules beforehand, and some acceptance of their difficulty understanding and remembering should be given.  Humans at Zithir events have more trouble; in larger groups Zithir will respond to members of their own group more and loose track of humans, while mcuh Zithir communication simply is inaccessible to us. 

Religious events may seem a good time to involve Zithir, but this is not recommended.   Due to biological differences, some religious rules or expectations cannot be filled, or do not make sense for either alien species.  both species also have trouble understanding mentally the rules, and the divisions, amongst most human religions (Zithir, in particular, often confuse Christians, Muslims, and Jews with each other. as well as confusing divisions within the religions).  Zithir in particular place a high cultural important on contacting ancestors; this is a main source of information for their archives, and often make failed attempts to contact prophets.  We are not sure why the Zithir constantly fail, the most common suggestion is that even the most blessed humans do not have the right biology to communicate across time with Zithir, although scientists and religious authorities disagree on this.  Until religious leaders agree on a way for Zithir to join religions, and explain these differences, it is safer to avoid too much deep interaction.