Druidus
Keeper of the Grove
This is an essay I wrote to better understand the Aibaran peoples, who are a race of beings that live in deserts on a continent to the east. I want to understand them better, so I can write about them better in my novel. It's written from a slightly biased point of view, as the writer is a Woda scholar. You won't know the names of some things in the essay (Woda, for instance), but I'll be putting more essays up which will answer this. Aibara comes from "Arabia" spelled backwards. 
By the way, this is a draft. Suggestions are welcome.
An Essay on the Aibaran Peoples
The Aibaran are a desert people, living on a continent in the east, beyond the reach of most besides some of the inhabitants of the northlands. Typically, these northerners travel to Aibara to trade with the Aibaran peoples, who have exotic artifacts and materials unavailable on the western continent of Talmura.
Little is known of the Aibaran peoples, as stories that come back with the northmen are often varied. However, some two hundred years ago, Serus Byriot, a Wizard of the Guild of Magery managed to convince the northmen to take him to Aibara. There he studied them for several years, before returning on another northern ship.
He filled several journals on the culture of the Aibaran peoples, as well as the physical aspects. The Aibara are as different from the Woda as the Kallkian are. Though we are close enough to breed, such encounters are very rare; no such instance has occurred since Galm Heirens time, when the Waywyrd Paths were still open and transport between the two continents still easily possible.
The Aibaran seem engineered to survive in deserts. They are able to survive on at least one sixth of what is required for a similar man of the west. This may be due to several factors, one of which being an inborn ability to lose heat faster than the westerners. Byriot also noted that the Aibaran people have different hair than westerners. While in Aibara, he was allowed the usage of a special instrument that allowed an unprecedented (in the western world) magnification of small objects. Upon examining the hair of several Aibaran men and women in this instrument, he noted that the inner parts of their hair contained very small colourless crystals.
After examining young childrens hair, he was able to determine that these crystals only developed during the childs twelfth year. Coincidentally, this is the same year that they are given the weramon plant, a small desert shrub that attaches onto the arms of the Aibaran children and slowly grows into their system, achieving sustenance from the energy of the Aibar. Eventually, this plant, which is also considered sacred, would recede fully into the body of the Aibar. Upon the death of the Aibar, the plant grows a small tendril out, which is removed and grown in the ground before a descendant of the original Aibar becomes available as a host. Byriot believed that this symbiosis was the direct cause of the crystals in Aibaran hair. However, when Byriot attempted to attach a plant to himself (with help from an Aibar Mila, of course), it would not latch and grow. It seems to only grow on Aibarans.
The crystals generated a unique response with different fields of magic. They had a repellant effect on fields concerned with thermal-destructives, along with heat itself, directing heat from the body outwards at a very fast rate. Thermal-destructive spells, when coming into contact with these crystals, would have their fields inverted, become arctal-conjural fields, which seem to invert incoming heat fields, keeping the Aibar cooler.
Physically, Byriot describes the Aibaran peoples as short, wiry, and dark haired people. Their skin is generally a dark olive colour to a deep, rich, black. Their fingers are much longer, in proportion with the rest of their body, than they should be. Large spines grow out of their forearms, which arc forward to form a natural weapon around three and a half feet long. An Aibar needs merely to lift his arms to ready for combat. The spines seem composed of a hard, black and metallic substance capable of withstanding great physical abuse. These spines only begin to grow when the child is given the weramon plant, again, suggesting a natural symbiosis of plant and animal. An interesting aspect of the growth of these spines is that they react to their usage. For instance, if an Aibar used them in a particular fashion quite often, they would grow to assist in their usage in that fashion. The spines are also semi-retractable, retreating into the skin leaving about half a foot open to the air.
The foot of an Aibar is studded with various scale-like protrusions (made of the same substance as the lateral arm spines), presumably to keep the Aibar safe when walking barefoot on the very hot sand. Byriot was forced to utilize sandals, as were the children, who did not have the scales yet).
Culturally, Aibarans vary from the Woda even more than they do physically. Aibarans follow a Nulsamila, or, literally, Leader of Mila. The Mila are the religious leaders of the Aibaran peoples, often given the freedom to do anything to the common class. They govern for the Nulsamila, who concerns himself with greater matters than the Mila (such as warring with the kingdoms of eastern Aibar). The Mila govern harshly, but the Aibarans would not go against a Mila, for fear of losing their chance at rebirth in Halakuth-Salim (Literally Kingdom of the Righteous Sands).
It seems that the title of Mila is hereditary, but the Mila vote to choose a Nulsamila, who then governs until death. On any matter, a Nulsamila supercedes a Mila, but rarely do the Nulsamila take much concern in matters of the Mila.
Women in Aibaran society seem to be inferior to the men, one thing that we share in common with them, unlike the Kallkian barbarians. The Nulsamila takes several wives (one Nulsamila once had several hundred). These wives can be chosen from anywhere, no matter what the women themselves may want.
According to Byriot, Aibarans divided themselves by various castes, similar to the Guild of our society. These castes are divided much like the Guilds, with warrior and magic castes set apart. No wizard can be a part of the warrior caste, but neither can a warrior be part of the magic caste. For both warriorship and wizardry, one can join the Huleem caste, similar to the class of battlemages in the Guild of Magery.
[font="]Aibaran economy is mainly focused on farming, which is accomplished with large underground caverns. Plants that have little need of light can grow in here, and are edible. However, Aibarans only become rich with their jewels, silks and other commodities. Trade with the northmen is a major part of Aibaran life, and it is suspected that by cutting this trade off, one could put the western [/font][font="]kingdom[/font][font="] of [/font][font="]Aibar[/font][font="] on its knees in mere years, though why one would want to is beyond my reasoning capabilities.[/font]
By the way, this is a draft. Suggestions are welcome.An Essay on the Aibaran Peoples
The Aibaran are a desert people, living on a continent in the east, beyond the reach of most besides some of the inhabitants of the northlands. Typically, these northerners travel to Aibara to trade with the Aibaran peoples, who have exotic artifacts and materials unavailable on the western continent of Talmura.
Little is known of the Aibaran peoples, as stories that come back with the northmen are often varied. However, some two hundred years ago, Serus Byriot, a Wizard of the Guild of Magery managed to convince the northmen to take him to Aibara. There he studied them for several years, before returning on another northern ship.
He filled several journals on the culture of the Aibaran peoples, as well as the physical aspects. The Aibara are as different from the Woda as the Kallkian are. Though we are close enough to breed, such encounters are very rare; no such instance has occurred since Galm Heirens time, when the Waywyrd Paths were still open and transport between the two continents still easily possible.
The Aibaran seem engineered to survive in deserts. They are able to survive on at least one sixth of what is required for a similar man of the west. This may be due to several factors, one of which being an inborn ability to lose heat faster than the westerners. Byriot also noted that the Aibaran people have different hair than westerners. While in Aibara, he was allowed the usage of a special instrument that allowed an unprecedented (in the western world) magnification of small objects. Upon examining the hair of several Aibaran men and women in this instrument, he noted that the inner parts of their hair contained very small colourless crystals.
After examining young childrens hair, he was able to determine that these crystals only developed during the childs twelfth year. Coincidentally, this is the same year that they are given the weramon plant, a small desert shrub that attaches onto the arms of the Aibaran children and slowly grows into their system, achieving sustenance from the energy of the Aibar. Eventually, this plant, which is also considered sacred, would recede fully into the body of the Aibar. Upon the death of the Aibar, the plant grows a small tendril out, which is removed and grown in the ground before a descendant of the original Aibar becomes available as a host. Byriot believed that this symbiosis was the direct cause of the crystals in Aibaran hair. However, when Byriot attempted to attach a plant to himself (with help from an Aibar Mila, of course), it would not latch and grow. It seems to only grow on Aibarans.
The crystals generated a unique response with different fields of magic. They had a repellant effect on fields concerned with thermal-destructives, along with heat itself, directing heat from the body outwards at a very fast rate. Thermal-destructive spells, when coming into contact with these crystals, would have their fields inverted, become arctal-conjural fields, which seem to invert incoming heat fields, keeping the Aibar cooler.
Physically, Byriot describes the Aibaran peoples as short, wiry, and dark haired people. Their skin is generally a dark olive colour to a deep, rich, black. Their fingers are much longer, in proportion with the rest of their body, than they should be. Large spines grow out of their forearms, which arc forward to form a natural weapon around three and a half feet long. An Aibar needs merely to lift his arms to ready for combat. The spines seem composed of a hard, black and metallic substance capable of withstanding great physical abuse. These spines only begin to grow when the child is given the weramon plant, again, suggesting a natural symbiosis of plant and animal. An interesting aspect of the growth of these spines is that they react to their usage. For instance, if an Aibar used them in a particular fashion quite often, they would grow to assist in their usage in that fashion. The spines are also semi-retractable, retreating into the skin leaving about half a foot open to the air.
The foot of an Aibar is studded with various scale-like protrusions (made of the same substance as the lateral arm spines), presumably to keep the Aibar safe when walking barefoot on the very hot sand. Byriot was forced to utilize sandals, as were the children, who did not have the scales yet).
Culturally, Aibarans vary from the Woda even more than they do physically. Aibarans follow a Nulsamila, or, literally, Leader of Mila. The Mila are the religious leaders of the Aibaran peoples, often given the freedom to do anything to the common class. They govern for the Nulsamila, who concerns himself with greater matters than the Mila (such as warring with the kingdoms of eastern Aibar). The Mila govern harshly, but the Aibarans would not go against a Mila, for fear of losing their chance at rebirth in Halakuth-Salim (Literally Kingdom of the Righteous Sands).
It seems that the title of Mila is hereditary, but the Mila vote to choose a Nulsamila, who then governs until death. On any matter, a Nulsamila supercedes a Mila, but rarely do the Nulsamila take much concern in matters of the Mila.
Women in Aibaran society seem to be inferior to the men, one thing that we share in common with them, unlike the Kallkian barbarians. The Nulsamila takes several wives (one Nulsamila once had several hundred). These wives can be chosen from anywhere, no matter what the women themselves may want.
According to Byriot, Aibarans divided themselves by various castes, similar to the Guild of our society. These castes are divided much like the Guilds, with warrior and magic castes set apart. No wizard can be a part of the warrior caste, but neither can a warrior be part of the magic caste. For both warriorship and wizardry, one can join the Huleem caste, similar to the class of battlemages in the Guild of Magery.
[font="]Aibaran economy is mainly focused on farming, which is accomplished with large underground caverns. Plants that have little need of light can grow in here, and are edible. However, Aibarans only become rich with their jewels, silks and other commodities. Trade with the northmen is a major part of Aibaran life, and it is suspected that by cutting this trade off, one could put the western [/font][font="]kingdom[/font][font="] of [/font][font="]Aibar[/font][font="] on its knees in mere years, though why one would want to is beyond my reasoning capabilities.[/font]
