appendices – Page 3 – Valley of the Silk Sky

Daraz Society: Writing

December 15, 2018 Dylan Edwards

Valley of the Silk Sky - Daraz writing systems

The Daraz have a tactile written language, since their infrared vision can’t detect ink on paper or print in a book.

They have two main systems of writing:

1. Cord notation: This format is similar to quipu, though the actual implementation is a little different. Size and distribution of knots, as well as weave of the cords, is used to convey information.

2. Wax notation: Knotting and weaving is a slow process, so the corded language is more for information that needs to be archived. These cords are typically transcribed from a writing system that uses a stylus to deposit dots and dashes of hot wax that mimic the knots and weaves of the cords.

The pot of wax is kept warm and liquid by storing it in a rivulet diverted from a hot spring. While it is still warm the wax is visible to the Daraz, so as they write with the stylus they have a visual impression of what they’re writing.

Once the wax cools and is no longer visible, they read the raised parts via touch.

This system is also useful for written communication with humans – while humans are not physically capable of speaking Rovari, they can certainly read it. Objects that might need to be read by both Daraz and humans, like containers of shared medicinals, will often be labeled in both Pocali and Rovari.

Daraz Society: Social Structure

December 15, 2018 Dylan Edwards

The Daraz are a subterranean species of monotremes who live in extensive cave networks in the mountains. An average clan has 500-1000 individuals.

Daraz society is organized around four primary castes, whose role is determined at birth based on what the clan expects to need in the coming years:

Kiralyno (a.k.a. The Kira) – the primary egg-layer and clan leader
Hazastars – consorts to The Kira who contribute genetic material during reproduction
Munkas – non-reproducing laborers, of whom there are several sub-types
Harcos – non-reproducing warrior/hunters

Kiralyno

The Kira is responsible both for laying eggs and for making major decisions affecting the entire clan. Xe spends nearly xer entire life underground, carefully guarded by the rest of the clan. Only when a young Kira is leaving to form a new clan are they seen aboveground. Kiralyno are capable of limited parthenogenesis, laying unfertilized eggs that can develop into Harcos and Munkas. Typically this only happens when setting up a new clan.

Hazastars

The Hazastars provide the Kira with eggs and sperm, which xe gestates, and then lays eggs into development cells. Hazastars also rarely venture aboveground, only to be seen outside during trading pilgrimages. These pilgrimages take place when clans trade Hazastars with one another every few years, helping to bolster genetic diversity across clans.

Munkas

Munkas see to the day-to-day of running a clan, including digging new tunnels, farming and harvesting subterranean plants and fungus, practicing medicine, keeping records, advising The Kira, and so forth. Scribes are known as The Irnok, and their actuarial tables determine which eggs are assigned to what caste. Of the four main castes, they have the most discretion to choose what roles they want to take on, within their purview. They are asexual and have no role in reproduction.

Harcos

Harcos are non-reproducing, asexual members of the species, and exist primarily as the hunters and warriors of the clan. Harcos group into units called quads, which can consist of anywhere from two to five individuals, but are most typically comprised of four people, two older and two younger Harcos. The older ones are responsible for training and mentoring the younger ones. Harcos are the caste most likely to be encountered by humans, as they frequently leave the clan to hunt. The humans of Pocalo routinely employ Harcos to act as officers of the peace or bodyguards. These roles are filled on a rotating basis, as a Harcos’s primary loyalty is still to the clan.

Daraz Society: Language and Speech

December 14, 2018 Dylan Edwards

Valley of the Silk Sky - Daraz language and speech

The Daraz we’ve met thus far in the Valley of the Silk Sky comics speak a regional dialect called Rovari.

Rovari is a tonal language that, if you [a human, I presume] could hear in its full range, would sound very musical, with voiced tones over more sibilant sounds.

But you can’t hear its full range, because much of it is voiced in supersonic frequencies. So to a human the language sounds harsh, buzzing and staccato.

Humans are not physically capable of speaking Rovari, lacking the required physiology and sonic range. Luckily, Daraz don’t generally have trouble speaking human languages (though they do tend to speak with a lisp), and often take on roles as translators.

Daraz have fairly poor vision: they don’t see color or detail, and their language reflects that in that they don’t have words for specific colors, nor do their idioms reference sight. They comprehend detail through sound, via echolocation, so words for precision reference hearing. For example, they might say “I hear you” instead of “I see” to signal understanding.

They do have extremely sensitive senses of smell, so there are thousands of words for different smells, indeed different individual esters, and further metaphorical meanings for those various words. Daraz names almost always reference scents, and are formally constructed as “Smells Like [].” Halvanylila = “Smells Like the Fourth Ester of Lilac.”

Daraz Society: Daraz/Human Relations

December 14, 2018 Dylan Edwards

Valley of the Silk Sky - Daraz/Human Relations The Daraz are indigenous to the Pocalo Valley, while humans wandered in a few thousand years ago. For the most part, things are pretty chill and symbiotic between the two species.

Since the Daraz are subterranean and build their cities and farms inside the mountains, there is little competition with humans over living space. There is a certain amount of overlap in the use of wild food resources, particularly animal protein, but on the whole the integration is peaceful. Both parties pretty quickly figured out they could benefit from one another’s presence.

What the Daraz get out of it: FIRE. Being subterranean, they cannot burn anything basically ever. Not only would they all die of asphyxiation, fire messes with their infrared vision something fierce.

But fire is also incredibly useful for all sorts of technological innovations, so by allying with the Humans the Daraz are able to gain the benefits of access to fire without the downsides.

What the Humans get out of it: DEFENSE. The upper provinces of Pocalo (that is, all provinces that don’t touch the ground) have a universal ban on weapons of war, and on physical fighting of any sort.

What if an outside force wants to invade? What if a criminal needs to be captured and detained? What if you are a caravan merchant and don’t want your stuff stolen by bandits? For all of these things, Humans employ the Harcos, the Daraz warrior/hunters. The mere presence of the Daraz in the mountains discourages invading forces (it’s difficult enough as it is to march any kind of army up the side of a mountain, and even moreso when the mountain itself is full of people who don’t want you marching).

Harcos also act as officers of the peace to some extent – they have a huge investment in Pocalo functioning as a stable society, but little investment in or loyalty to individual Humans. As such, their susceptibility to bribery is low. And, because they’re excellent trackers, they’re very useful for hunting down known criminals.

Humans can hire Harcos for things like caravan security, or protection for runners going into particularly dangerous areas. In these cases the Harcos basically function as mercenaries, with the payment submitted to the clan as a whole. The hirer pays with a Harcos chit, a special coin used specifically for this purpose. The coins have to be bought from the Pocali government and they ain’t cheap. If you’re small potatoes, no Harcos bodyguard for you.

So, while the Harcos’ primary function is the protection and betterment of their clan, you will often see them interacting with humans as The Heavy. Jobs that involve interaction with humans are typically rotated; an individual Harcos still spends at least 75% of xer time on clan duties.

Daraz Society: Bathing and Grooming

December 14, 2018 Dylan Edwards

The underground cities of the Daraz are always built around a subterranean hot springs pool (of which there are many throughout the Valley). While all Daraz engage in similar bathing rituals, it’s especially important for the Harcos, the warrior/hunter caste.

Their body armor is made if very thick skin and/or keratin, and requires a great deal of maintenance to keep clean. Without regular exfoliation, they run the risk of skin infections, particularly down in the joints where the plates meet. Harcos organize into quads (groups of anywhere from 2 to 5 individuals, though the most typical number is 4, hence “quad”), and quadmates are responsible for grooming each other.

The act of being groomed releases endorphins and tends to make the one being groomed a little (or a lot) sleepy. As such, it’s typically a pre-bedtime activity.

In a pinch, grooming can also serve as a means of calming down a Daraz who’s having a freakout.

Forehead grooming is itself a dominance act (“I’m in charge here, and you need to settle down”), generally deployed by the older quad members to keep the younger ones chill.

Valley of the Silk Sky - Daraz bathing room

Valley of the Silk Sky - Daraz grooming

Daraz Biology: Infrared Vision

December 14, 2018 Dylan Edwards

Valley of the Silk Sky - Hali

The Daraz are primarily a subterranean species, and have poor eyesight as a result. They rely more on sonar for navigation (hence those big ears), but what they do see is in the infrared spectrum.

The dots just below the Daraz’s eyes are pit organs, which sense infrared light as heat (similar to how a pit viper detects warm objects). The heat information gleaned from the pit organs is ultimately processed by the same part of the brain as the eyes (again, similar to pit vipers).

A heat imprint can last for several minutes. If, say, a person was sitting in a chair but got up and left the room, the body heat they imparted to the chair would still be visible in infrared until the chair returns to room temperature.

Valley of the Silk Sky - Infrared Vision While infrared vision registers heat, infrared is actually a wavelength of light, and it behaves differently from visible light in several notable respects: water and glass both appear opaque in infrared, and extremely smooth surfaces can have a mirror-like reflection, even if they’re made of wood or stone.

Because sight is considered a lesser sense by the Daraz, their idioms reflect their preference for hearing and smell. So, while a human might say, “I see what you mean,” the Daraz would instead say, “I hear you on that,” or “I catch the scent of it.”

Daraz Biology: Flehmen Response

December 13, 2018 Dylan Edwards

Valley of the Silk Sky - flehmen response

The Daraz have a vomeronasal organ, located near the roof of the mouth. There’s smelling with the nose like a noob, and then there’s the flehmen response, wherein a sharp inhalation pulls air over the vomeronasal organ to allow a deeper read of a scent.

In mammals the flehmen response is typically used for sensing pheromone information from another mammal of the same species, and is related to reproductive activity.

Because the Daraz Harcos are non-reproducing members of their species, they care not about reproductive activity. Instead, given that they are the primary hunters and defenders for the Daraz, their flehmen response is used to gather other types of information: Is this something I want to eat? Is it a predator I need to avoid or fend off? Was the scent made an hour ago, or a few days ago?

All good things to know if you’re trying to track, say, a young charge who got lost in the wilderness. Just to throw a random example out there.

Daraz Biology: Body Type and Caste

December 13, 2018 Dylan Edwards

Valley of the Silk Sky - Daraz Biology — Daraz Harcos

These creatures are a species known as the Daraz, and they are monotremes, a.k.a. egg-laying mammals. The Daraz come in four basic body types: Kiralyno (a.k.a. The Kira, the primary egg-layer); Hazastars (consorts to The Kira who are involved in reproduction); Munkas (non-reproducing laborers); and Harcos (non-reproducing warrior/hunters).

Of these, the only ones humans are ever likely to see are the Harcos, as the rest typically stay underground for most of their lives.

Your body type, and therefore your caste, is preselected at egg-laying based on what the clan needs most. Every egg has the potential to be any body type. Which one it grows into is determined mostly by what the embryo is fed while it is developing in the cell. Some will get a diet rich in thus and such hormone, and become breeding adults. Others will get a different hormone, and become non-breeding workers.

Daraz society is collectivist – you have a job to do for the good of the clan as a whole, and there’s not much room to decide you want to do something else. After all, if you’re a non-breeding worker caste, you do not have a reproductive system (beyond some vestigial internal organs). You can’t decide you want to be a breeding adult instead. If you are a Harcos your body is literally a weapon, and you will be expected to train in how to use it so you don’t hurt those around you just by existing.

Keverek

Ah, but biology is complex and prone to unpredictable variation, and as such this predetermination process doesn’t work smoothly 100% of the time. Up until about 6 weeks of gestation you can switch production over to a different body type without noticeable consequence. After a somewhat vague cutoff point, though, you wind up with someone who is a little bit this and a little bit that. These Daraz are known as “Keverek,” a.k.a. “mixed.” In these cases, you’re assigned to the caste you seem most similar to, and everyone just sort of hopes it works out.

Hali is one of these Keverek. Xe started out on the path to being a Hazastar, but a sudden need for more Harcos had xer production shifted fairly late in the game. Since Hazastars are significantly smaller and less muscular than warrior/hunters, Hali is shorter and thinner than xer compatriots. (Xe is also much younger than the other two in the illustration, who are adults tasked with training the up-and-comers.) Given that xe has all the Harcos weaponry and no evidence of a functional reproductive system, xe was assigned to the Harcos caste, and off to training xe goes.

Architecture: Wolfcat Platforms

December 13, 2018 Dylan Edwards

Valley of the Silk Sky - wolfcat platforms A wolfcat platform is a platform you climb to get away from wolfcats. How about that.

While the pillar structure itself is naturally-occurring, it has been augmented to accommodate an about-to-be-eaten person. You will typically find wolfcat platforms clustered near waystations.

The platform itself is about 20 feet up and is accessible only by climbing some steep pillars with narrow footholds. The pillars angle out slightly, making it extremely difficult for a four-legged, dog-footed creature to amble up. The large, flat area allows you to lay low enough to get out of the line of sight of the wolfcat. Once you’re out of sight you wait it out until the wolfcat loses interest and moves on.

The nearest waystation’s attendant works to keep the area clear around the platform so you can actually get to it should you need to. (The attendant does this work during daylight hours when wolfcats are less active, and carries with xer some repellent just to be on the safe side.)

Architecture: Waystations

December 13, 2018 Dylan Edwards

Valley of the Silk Sky - waystations Waystations are a common feature of Muru Province, serving as safe ports of call throughout the wilderness. They’re generally roughly a day’s travel from one another or from a city or settlement, since it’s not really a good idea to sleep outside in Muru if you can help it.

The domicile, accessible via a long staircase, is located well up off the ground as a defensive measure, with a freight elevator leading to a storage area. The elevator has to be operated manually, and it usually rests in the “up” position to keep critters out.

A waystation is typically attended by an older runner who has retired from the more death-inducing parts of the biz. They keep the place clean and welcoming to weary travelers. Inside there are dormitory beds, cold running water (that huge bowl on top is a cistern), some not-very-fancy food, a medical kit, and a limited amount of replacement gear like clothing or knapsacks. Don’t get your hopes up re: hot showers.

The cistern collects what little rainwater falls here, and has a supplemental stream from a water source in the next province up. The water is run through a filtration system and mostly uses gravity to produce water pressure flow. If the cistern is full, excess water filters down to the next province below.

In exchange for use of the facility, it’s polite to leave something of value: a coin, a useful thing you found, or (if the attendant trusts you) a promise to bring something on your way back through.

Kiralyno

Hazastars

Munkas

Harcos

Keverek

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