The Harvest Moon Consortium

[Winterhawk99]

Elder Fey’ri

Introduction:

The elder fey’ri were a race I created myself to play on the NWN sever in Anchorome in 2005. Since that time, I have developed them on Harvest Moon Consortium within character stories, tutorials on playing them and finally within my Children of Hell novel series.

This is an article about the race itself who the elder fey’ri are as a people. A lot of the background noise from before and during the crown wars in regard to elves is not canon but does not necessarily veer away from canon enough that I need to explain it all. It’s just a note to say I invented most of this using a very basic background history of the elves of ancient times and it may not be perfectly canon.

[Winterhawk99]

History:

Birth of a race in ancient times.

In Ancient times Dragons controlled all the realms of Toril. The elves immigrated from fey and spread. Eventually a war broke out between the two. The god Correllon gave 5 dragon orbs to the elves to fight the dragons of the world. They defeated the Dragons eventually and spread out, creating vast kingdoms of their own.

After the defeat of the dragons Tiamat, the goddess of evil dragons and ruler of Avernus decided it was time to pay the elves back. She looked for a way to corrupt the elves and found one goddess that could be. It was Correllon’s own Consort Araushunne.

Tiamat waited several centuries to hatch her plan. She approached the goddess at a time when the goddess was despairing over the influence of non-elves on elven culture. The gods of humans and other races were actively encroaching upon elven lands. She wanted to see a world where elves ruled without dissent. Tiamat came to the goddess with a proposal. She wanted 1,000 of the goddess’s Ilythiir so she could mate them with her 5 strongest generals. In return she would train and give the offspring back to Araushunee to create a new royal guard force that could not be outmatched. Reluctantly Araushunee accepted the deal after some time had passed.

Tiamat took those 1,000 males, enslaved them to her 5 greatest Abishai generals. Nish, Kamar, Sator, Thaydra, and Yuki. The five generals had many children. A new race (The Elder Fey’ri) was born. The abishai trained these children in a secret martial discipline called, The way of the sword. And when they were ready Tiamat and her 5 generals presented the children to Araushunne’s court. Thus, the elder fey’ri became the elven goddess’s personal elite guard force.

For centuries the elder fey’ri guarded Araushunee and her kingdom meanwhile the elder fey’ri and their various traditions and culture slowly corrupted the goddess herself. Eventually the crown wars broke out, and the Ilythiir nations became imperiled in war. Eventually Araushunee herself saw the corruption the elder fey’ri’s influence was having on her court and herself. She saw that their very culture, and new traditions had started to take root within her court. She conferred with her generals and one dark night she hatched a plan to wipe the race out. However, the elder fey’ri were warned. Fighting broke out in the palace and the capital city of the Ilythiir. Many elder fey’ri died that day fighting to get their families out of the city, but many more escaped and settled in remote places all around Toril in small village size groups.

[Winterhawk99]

The Scattering:

During this dysphoria phase of their civilization, they broke off and founded villages all over the planet of Toril. These were places where there were few to no humans or elves and game was plentiful. For centuries they grew separately. Many learned to herd cattle, pigs, goats, even birds or start fish farms. The isolated populations started having healthy growth.

The people of the elder fey’ri during this time started to worship other dragon gods. Gods like Lendys the dragon god of Justice and Null the dragon god of death. A few even took Bahamut as their patron god. In one small place, far in the east, an elder fey’ri village started to trade with the local humans. Now, humans at that time were not so civilized. They moved about in small tribes of hunter-gatherers or created very small villagers. This tribe taught the humans first to herd then as familiarity grew between the two people the elder fey’ri village started to teach the humans the secret way of the sword. They did not teach the humans everything. That would put the elder fey’ri and humans on equal footing. However, they taught the humans enough to make a foundation to practice and eventually use the techniques of the way. Those humans were the ancestors of the people of Wa, and Kozakura.

Eventually Tiamat found out about what the elder fey’ri were doing on Toril. They had fallen by the wayside of her worship, and one group was even teaching the secret martial arts she created just for them. Tiamat gathered scores of evil dragons. She polymorphed them to look like good dragons and they descended upon the village that dared to teach humans her secret methods. Very few of that village escaped punishment. Most were killed in the attack but a few survived. Most of those were children that had not started the training of the way.

After Tiamat destroyed that village, she gathered all the elder fey’ri up over the next few centuries and brought them to Avernus. There she explained to them that ultimately, they did achieve their purpose. They had generations before helped to corrupt Araushunee. She betrayed the elven pantheon and was thrown down into the abyss. Thus, she was giving them heaven as a reward. That heaven was Avernus.

She set them down on the edge of her personal territory in hell. There they built a great city. They multiplied in great numbers. It became their golden age.

[Winterhawk99]

The golden age:

The elder fey’ri found themselves in Avernus ruled by Tiamat. They were now with their abishai ancestors. The worship of other dragons fell in decline until only she remained. They now had with them her servants, their own ancestors, the abishai. The abishai now continued to teach them culture, and survival in the first layer of hell.

Here they thrived and grew to a population of over ten million. Their great city grew to 20 square miles. The mothers of their nation came back and built their grand circles to protect their children. The elder fey’ri built great trade routes throughout hell to buy and sell merchandise with other mortal civilizations and baatezu there. All seemed well within their scope. Tiamat herself became pleased with the result because now she had a loyal following on the edge of her territory that she could depend upon if Avernus was ever attacked. Eventually that very thing became true. It was a time when the elder fey’ri became as diverse as any other civilization with its merchants, artists, peasants and ruling classes, however that too changed with a horrific event after several thousand years.

That event was the first incursion of the demons into hell which started the blood wars.

[Winterhawk99]

The blood wars:

The first salvo of the blood wars was devastating. Millions of demons broke into Avernus and began to destroy the plane. Whole civilizations were consumed. Their main target was of course Tiamat’s own lands and the pit that opened to the 2nd layer called Dis to which an aspect of the lady of conquest (Tiamat) guarded. The elder fey’ri prepared carefully for the invasion. They called upon the Abishai to help them. There in the city they stopped the demons’ advances and then pushed them back into the abyss. The elder fey’ri had won but not without great cost. Their city was completely destroyed and over half their numbers were lying dead on the battlefield. Thaydra and Kamar sacrificed themselves in the battle. The people vowed that it would never happen again.

The people moved across the Styx slightly deeper within Tiamat’s lands about 20 miles. They rebuilt their cities but this time they did it with an eye on defense of this new home. At first, they built a central hub and then surrounded it with five greater cities each for one of their mothers of nations with the Styx winding around ½ of the outer wall. The elder fey’ri once again began to prosper but that was about to change. Their leaders decided on a new course of action. Magic did not save them. The way of the sword did. They had decided that to live in hell they needed to breed so that they would become perfect warriors. Those considered weak were culled. Sorcery and wizardry started to decline. By the time Zariel took over the elder fey’ri had no more sorcerers and very few wizards.

Zariel began to impose new taxes to fight the blood wars. These new taxes involved manpower to fight the constant incursions of demons into Avernus. For thousands of years the elder fey’ri held their population steady under her rule though they were constantly becoming more warlike and ever seeking to enhance their roles as a people of war and bloodshed. But even well-disciplined and long-lived people eventually forget the past. New traditions arose to fight the challenges living in Hell. New answers became needed. Old traditions and culture were forgotten. The great circles of the old city became dormant. The people, after over 10,000 years, had forgotten their past. They could not even remember the names of the elder fey’ri heroes they had built statues to. The archives were left to mostly ruins.

Bel then usurped Zariel. He demanded larger taxes in the form of men and women to fight the blood wars. The elder fey’ri, once a proud nation of 10 million then of 5 million began to decline until a point where it only numbered a little more than a ¼ million.

This takes us to the First book of my saga Children of Hell Desperation. The elder fey'ri civilization is declining rapidly now. They number only a fraction of their strength and others are taking notice. With the collapse of their civilization pending, their archives fallen into ruin, and much of their ancient history forgotten they are desperate for an answer to correct the decline before they go extinct.

[Winterhawk99]

The Five nations:

Before I get into government the first thing I want to go over is the Five Nations. If you remember that the race itself started with 5 mother Abishai and their Ilythiir slaves. Each nation traces their ancestry back through the females. That is because each female elder fey’ri will only produce children with their same color scales. And that is why they're divided into five maternal nations descended from five ancient mothers.

Nish: A female general Red Abishai. Her daughters only produce elder fey’ri with red scales
Kamar: A Blue Abishai General. Her daughters only produce elder fey’ri with blue scales
Sator: A Green Abishai General. Her daughters only produce elder fey’ri with green scales
Thaydra: A Black Abishai General. Her daughters only produce elder fey’ri with black scales
Yuki. A White Abishai General. Her daughters only produce elder fey’ri with white scales.

Thus, the elder fey’ri easily break down (as a whole) into 5 nations, each with a different scale color because elder fey’ri do not have skin they are a scaled people like their ancestor Abishai.

Surnames are traced back to the original male slave but are traced back again maternally. So, what does that mean?

General Thaydra took Titusmore Hener: They produced 5 black scaled elder fey’ri children. 3 females and 2 males. Ammothrawen, Eowyn, Helyn, Braum, Henry. They are all black scaled.

Ammothrawen marries a yuki male by the name James Snowflake: all their children are first (Name) Hener of house Thaydrak.

Ewyn marries a Sator by the name of john Greenleaf: All their children are (Name) Hener of house Thaydrak

But if Braum marries Amy Firedrake of house Nish Mai the children’s names become (Name) Firedrake of house Nish Mai.

Because nation, scale color, surname, and house all pass through the maternal line, family names never cross between nations. All Heners are Thaydrak. All Greenleafs are Sator. All Firedrakes are Nish Mai.

[Winterhawk99]

Government:

Roughly 90% of the population throughout their history have been peasants while 10% have been samurai. In government and in relation to general work, men and women are equal. A male or female can occupy any position within the empire even at the highest level of government. With elder fey’ri there is also no distinction in what they call male and female samurai. They are all samurai. There is no distinction between samurai and onna-bugeisha.

Only samurai can be officials of government. They go through a special ceremony called ‘The Ceremony of Life and Death’ to become one. When this happens, their eyes change color from black to another color. I’ll explain this more in the culture section.

All children are trained to be samurai when they start out. The elder fey’ri schools called dojos, specifically teach not only how to fight but how to be members of society and prepare all children for leadership roles within the nation. However, people drop out along the way or are killed by the training itself. It’s not easy at all to make it to a position of leadership and not meant to be. Thus, 90% drop out in one way or another along the way to become herders, mushroom farmers, laborers and technicians. For the 10% that do and survive the ceremony they are considered the absolute leaders of the nations.

The government itself is divided into four categories. The lowest is samurai. They are always addressed formally as either Sire or Madam. They lead their individual families first and foremost. If there are no other samurai among their extended family, they take that position extending the role of leadership for aunts, uncles, cousins and the like. A samurai also has an administrative and martial position. They will be the leaders of libraries, sewer and disposal organizations, farming and leading mushroom farms, herding territories, government records and the like. On a martial point they also have a job leading patrols, guard units and helping the dojos with their children’s martial training. Samurai lead and encompass most leadership roles in the nation when it comes to general administration among the five nations.

The next step up in government are the Daimyos. They are more specific than the next position up, the shogun. They oversee everyone in a group that has the same surname as the original Ilythiir slave that started the family line. They are referred to as Master or Mistress. There are roughly two-hundred surnames to each nation. Each surname has but one daimyo. Administratively daimyo are pulled out of general administrative tasks and into just managing the greater families. A family must be self-sufficient. You cannot have just all mushroom farmers, herders, laborers, or administrative employees within one family, it would be unbalanced. A Daimyo’s job is to maintain a healthy balance within a family line to make it productive for itself and generally society as a whole. Martially Daimyos also run the schedules and activities for all in the greater family. This includes the running of dojos, scheduling patrols, leaders of small formations in the blood wars and such.

Shoguns are the next step in the government. For each 4-7 family names they will have one shogun. There will be between 15-17 shoguns to every greater nation. The Shoguns lead a greater nation by counsel. Administratively they have no other duties other than listen to the nation’s problems, make law for that nation, or even extinguish laws that no longer make sense. Again, the idea is to have a balanced nation that is self-sufficient within its own right, and to keep the laws of that nation straight forward and consistent. You have to have this living within such a hostile environment such as Avernus. With shoguns formal titles merge. There is no difference between male and female once you get up to this level of government. Their formal title is called Honorable. In the blood wars it is the shoguns that lead major expeditions and fight against the demons. They are the small generals of the nations and take great pride in their martial achievements. Shoguns also run the dojo’s schools of their people. If any family member excels in the younger dojos they are invited to elite schools. The students of these elite schools have a better chance at surviving the ceremony of life and death than other advance schools within a nation.

At this stage of the game shoguns can generally afford more wives than the average elder fey’ri. Many have multiple wives, usually at least two but usually no more than five. They are encouraged to do this being that their whole civilization wraps around martial prowess. The elder fey’ri want to carry their successes on to the next generation thus having multiple wives at this stage is even further honor among their peers for reasons I will get into later. There is a great drawback to being a shogun, however.
At this point in an elder fey’ri’s career they must be always on the alert for assassination attempts and a daimyo challenging them for their position. There is only one answer for such a challenge: Either the shogun wins and maintains his position or the shogun dies, and the Daimyo takes his place. There are a few other means for succession such as natural death or dying in the blood wars if this happens a daimyo is appointed by the daimyo councils to succeed the dead shogun, but it is somewhat rare.

The Circle of Five is the ultimate position and elder fey’ri may attain. These are five individuals, each leading one greater nation. They make all the overriding law for the populace. They do not fight. They do not run dojos. Their sole purpose is to administer the entire elder fey’ri populace. Once a proposal comes to their table. Majority rules, every time. They are the only ones that can order an execution for their nation. Two daimyos can fight, challenge and kill each other, but they cannot bluntly order someone to die. They must take it to their circle member, or they will be executed themselves. Circle members themselves need to run the government from the government center every day. They have both private and public meetings. The latter to inform the populace of their decrees and decisions, the former to do things secretly to help the government flow without friction. Circle members have almost unlimited power. Their title tells it all. Formally they are called, ‘Most Honorable.’ Every member of society knows who they are and almost every member of society wants their position. They are constantly on the alert for assassination attempts, challenges, and even poisoning. Each of the members has various ways of defending themselves. Ran for instance has an honor guard everywhere she travels within the nations that acts as interference to get to her. The Circle rules the nations absolutely with their decrees and takes all foreign diplomatic visitors.

[Winterhawk99]

Culture:

Family:

When we consider the culture of the elder fey’ri, the first thing we should discuss is family. Family mostly but not always supersedes government, and you can easily see this in the books. The first thing you notice is the husband is always in charge. A male peasant may be married to a circle member female but when in the home she is still always subservient to his wishes. She may control a full 1/5th of the empire but she will always defer to her husband in the home. Privately a husband and wife will use the titles Sire/Madam no matter the rank. Publicly they usually do use ranks, however it is no insult for one to call the other sire or madam in public too. In fact, it may even show a bit of anger when they use sire or madam in public. If one shows their fangs in irritation while doing it, others will take notice.

Elder fey’ri are very traditional. The male handles trade, labor, administration of slaves. The female whatever rank handles household duties such as child rearing, cooking, and cleaning. This is a strict hierarchy and never changes. If a male has several wives, the household duties are split between wives which makes things easier when rank comes in for the woman. If a woman is a shogun or circle member, they have other wives they can depend upon to take up the duties of housework for them.

If stress in a husband and wife becomes too much one will kill the other and society wont even blink. If the woman succeeds in killing the husband an arranged marriage will most likely take place because of certain superstitions the people have which I will detail later. In regard to discipline, a husband has every right to correct his wife with corporal punishment if he sees fit. There is no such thing as abuse in an elder fey’ri household. However, the male needs to be careful. If a female is generally stronger or poisons the male, she wins the feud and again society will not bat an eye for it.

Children are considered investments. As soon as they are able to walk they spend much of their days in a dojo training to be useful members of society. When they come home, they are expected to do chores and help around the household. If female they are taught how to make dinner clean house and be upstanding wives. Boys learn their father’s trade as a back up if or when they fail along the way to becoming samurai and generally good leaders for their family and or society if they attain the rank of samurai. I will give you an example of a household where the male is a peasant, and the female is a Circle member. We will go to Ran:

She walks into the house and bows to the large black-eyed Yuki sitting on a stool, making a leather harness, “Good evening to you, Sire.”

The Yuki bows his head, “Madam” while continuing to work on the harness.

She goes into the kitchen while putting up her hair, “What shall I make for you, my dear?”

“It’s been awhile since we had one of those giant lizards the cornugon merchant gifted to us. We still have two left and they’re nearly at five foot now.”

The Sator goes behind the house to the pens. In one of them there are two small crocodiles. She goes straight into it; quickly punching one of crocs, crushing its skull, while avoiding the other. She drags the dead creature to the kitchen takes up a cleaver hacking off its head. The blood drains into a bowl placed on a chair. She then cuts off the tail guts it saving the heart, gall bladder and liver.

She strips the tail down making fillets with the meat. Then she puts several large fillets on two plates along with half a heart and a large piece of liver. She pours the blood into tankards then goes to the family pool to disrobe and wash up. Finished with that she takes a robe and sandals off hooks by the entrance, dresses and moves on.

Finally, she picks up the plates setting one down in front of her husband and the other in front of her. She sits down and waits for him.

He looks at her and sighs, “Another bad day?”

She puts up a smile, “How was your day, Ryota?”

“Birthed another calf. That’s five this year. We’ll have another good year to us. And your day, madam?”

She purses her lips, “The wheel of destiny moves against me, Sire. The Circle ever shifts towards Ryuu.”

“Let us eat. I am no more privy to circle dealings than anyone else. You’ve told me all I need to know.”

The two of them eat in silence for a time. After they finish with the meal she gets up, taking the cups. She pores more blood into each tankard, cuts the gall bladder in two and brings them to the table.

As they share their dessert he asks, “The expedition is still promising is it not?”

“As far as we know, yes.”

There is a knock on the door Ryota gets up and opens it. Circle member Kenshin steps in and bows to the black eye, “Ryota.”

The Yuki recognizes him, “Most Honorable Kenshin. Always a pleasure to have a Circle member visit.”

“May I speak to Madam?”

“Circle business, I take it. I have to put these new harnesses into the barn, Most Honorable. You may speak with Ran while I am away.”

Kenshin bows, “Thank you, Ryota”

Ryota picks up his harnesses and leaves, closing the door behind him. Kenshin turns to Ran, “Ryuu and the other Circle members are on their way here, Ran.”

“Some form of emergency meeting, Kenshin. It can wait until tomorrow.”

“They are bringing the Sadao with them. Ryuu has leveled accusations against you.”

Ran begins to clean up the dishes throwing them into a pot of hot water, “I don’t know what you mean Kenshin. Ryuu’s accusation is baseless. I’m a Circle member, and if this is true: why are you here instead of with the others ready to throw the same at me?”

“I am here because I have known for more than a decade that you hear another’s song. I don’t know how you survived the purge or how you attained your lofty position without anyone else finding out or suspecting, but I have known for a long time.”

“How could you possibly know what’s in another’s heart and if you have known for so long why haven’t you brought accusations on your own?”

“Ran, I’ve studied people for centuries. I know how to pick those that are different no matter how hard they try. You’re very good. No one would suspect you unless they observed you as I have. The small mistakes you have made had nothing to do with your votes in the Circle. You still have a black-eyed husband. You’ve never tried to assassinate or challenge Ryota. You live in a quite farm abode. The personal choices you have made in your life shows clearly to me you do not follow Tiamat.”

“Perhaps, I enjoy the exercise a strong peasant affords, instead of a pampered Shogun that’s lost his stamina.”

“Ran, come on.”

Ran stops scrubbing the blood of the kitchen table and looks at him with eyes of defeat, “Why are you here then and not with them?”

“As you know, Ryuu wants to lead the people down to the sixth plane. This is a grave error. For centuries we have ask ourselves why the decline. We fool ourselves into believing it is because of the blood wars. In part I believe that we are killing each other. I also believe that through things like the purge, we make ourselves weak by destroying anything that goes against what we see as the perfect society or the perfect people. We so closely resemble one another in thought now that we have become like married siblings breeding only disaster. Another thing I believe is that staying here in Hell taints us.

That is why I have come Ran. I have convinced the others in the circle that banishment is needed in this case. We cannot have a Circle Member publicly disgraced in such a way while there is so much talk about moving to the prime or the sixth. The official statement will be that you were sent to find out how Kioshi and his wives are doing, and to reinforce them.

I have personally re-arranged the perimeter guard so that there are others like you posted when you leave. You will take them with you. They have already arranged to be dead from battle when the next guard shift comes. There are nine of them all samurai, five females, and four males. I wish you the best of luck.”

“If I go, you will be alone, Kenshin.”

“It’s not the first time, Ran. Ryuu won’t make any official move until word comes back from Kioshi. During this time, I will seek others that prefer to go to the prime. If Kioshi is smart, he will send Mayumi back to give his report while staying there. When the time comes two or three years from now I will gather those that want to come and bring them with me. There we can start a new Circle with at least three Circle members representing NishMai, Sator, and Kamara. That is, if Mayumi fails to assassinate him.”

She simply nods and mentions, “I have been a poor hostess. Would you like a cup of blood, Kenshin?”

Ryota comes back in. He reads Ran’s eyes. Turning to Kenshin he asks, “What is it Most Honorable?”

“Ran is to seek out Kioshi on the Prime and learn what she can of the expedition thus far.”

“So she’s being cast-out, banished. Why?”

Ran walks up to him and holds her hands up to his face, “It is because I hear the song of Lendys, and worship others besides the Dark Lady.”

He kisses her, “Madam, you have borne me eight strong children. Six still survive. I will honor every moment with you and pledge not to challenge another. May Tiamat watch over and protect you.”
They take to the stools over the main table. Ran pours more drink while they wait the inevitable.
Currently there is a knock on the door. Ryota answers it. Ryuu steps in with the other Circle members and Sadao Tarim of house Sator. Ryuu bows to Ryota, “May we enter, Ryota?”

Ryota recognizes the group, “The Circle is always welcome in my home, Most Honorable.”

“Thank you, Ryota. We would like to speak with the Madam of the house with your leave?”

“Oh course, Most Honorable. As you can see Most honorable Kenshin is informing Madam of this most important Circle meeting.”

Ryuu looks at Kenshin who is already standing beside Ran. He shows a portion of his fangs in mild displeasure, “I see. Sadao?”

Sadao casts a spell. Kenshin stands straight and proud. He turns to Ryuu, “Kenshin is benevolent in the eyes of Tiamat.”

Kenshin smiles, “Just because I hear our Lady, doesn’t mean I’m stupid with the lust for power, Ryuu.”
Ryuu sneers and looks over at Ryota, “You are still here, Sire?”

Ran calls him out, “You stand within my husband’s abode Ryuu, which means he stands above each and every one of us. He stays at his leisure.”

“That’s Most Honorable Ryuu to you, Ran.”

“Do not forget that I am still a Circle member, and that you are about to disgrace my home with your accusations.”

Ryuu is not amused by her comments. He looks over at her husband, “If you are corrupted Ran, then your life long husband may also be corrupt.”

Sadao throws the spell again. He tells the Circle members, “Ryota is not corrupt. He stands firm in the teachings of Tiamat.”

Ryuu curses under his breath. Ren throws a gold pendant on the table, “Save your spell Sadao. I’m the only one that’s corrupt. I am the only one here that hears the song of Lendy’s, Dragon god of justice.”

Ryuu for the first time smiles, “So you admit it. You’re a heretic.”

“I admit nothing of the sort, Ryuu. I worship the Dark Lady as much if more than Lendys. Something to which you cannot understand with your narrow minded thinking on what is right and what is wrong.”

Ryuu puts his hand to his Katana. Ogano shouts, “Hold yourselves!”

All of them visibly relax. For the command carries great weight for each one of them trained from birth to forcibly relax when it is given.

Ogano continues, “I will not have blood spilt on the sanctity of a Circle member’s home. We are guests here. If we, the Circle members will not follow our own laws than our society is already doomed!

Most Honorable Ran Tarim of House Sator, seeing that you already know the details of this Circle meeting, and have already admitted to the heresy of worshipping other than the Dark Lady: The Circle banishes you from our people. You will abdicate your position and leave our people before morning practice. If you wish, you may also commit suicide with all due honors.”

“I abdicate my position as Circle member to the Greater Nations. I will take two horses and my equipment out of the city before sparing practice. I thank the Circle members for giving me one last night with my husband.”

Ogano asks, “Are all in favor of this proposal?”

One by one the other three Circle members concur. Ogano continues, “So be it. You are banished Ran. I apologize to Sire and Madam that this action has taken place in your home and sanctuary.”
She bows to the Members. Ryota bows to them. Everyone leaves accept Kenshin and Ogano. Kenshin hugs her, “I’m sorry, Ran. You were a positive influence upon our people. We will remember you with honor.” Kenshin steps out the door.

Ogano steps up to her, bowing, “I’ve always admired you Ran. Your decisions and the way you made your path to this circle. As much as I hate Ryuu’s ambitions; I know he is right. The prime is no place for us.”

“He’s deceiving you Ogano. Be vigilant.”

Ogano nods to her, and leaves the abode.

Ran and Ryota spend several hours together. Afterward she spends the next three hours gathering her things and getting ready. As she mounts the warhorse, her husband kisses her hand, “You will have to find someone to be with. Tiamat’s blessing affects you until death.”

She clasps his hand, “I don’t want anyone else.”

He smiles, “You will have to. Now go before I lose faith in our people, and the Dark Lady.”

She edges the horse to start the long journey. Ryota salutes her with his fist against his heart until she is out of sight.

He goes back to the house and takes a luxurious bath with rare oils that the pair have collected due to their status. He puts on his best robe. Walking into the bedroom he pulls out a prayer mat unfolding it onto the bed. Taking down an old steel Katana from the wall he gets onto the bed, kneeling on the mat.

The old man stutters out, “Goodbye, my wild orchid,” as he thrusts the katana into his chest, cleaving his own heart.

[Winterhawk99]

Childhood and Education:

Once a woman becomes pregnant, she is shielded by society. She is not allowed to fight or engage in challenges. She is expected to attend morning exercise and complete her duties in society outside martial capacities. This may not be so when they flourished but once Bel came to power the situation changed and elder fey’ri started to slowly decline. Since that time society itself has protected them fiercely and they are expected not to engage in what elder fey’ri consider activities. that can harm the child.

Once the baby is born, if it is not up to fey’ri standards physically a mother is expected to either abandon it in the wild or kill it herself to preserve strength and purity of the race itself. Once the baby is considered clean the mother breast feeds it several years until the baby’s fangs grow in and harden. Mothers will nick themselves in the breast before feeding so that the child receives a mix of blood and milk when they feed. It is considered that the babies not only need mother’s milk but also mother’s blood to stay strong.

When a boy or girl reaches anywhere between 10-15 years old they begin their journey through one of the local dojos. Dojos are schools but schools that work in reverse of what most would call school. The emphasis is martial training. They spend at least ½ their school day training to be samurai. The next subjects of importance is that of preparing them to fit into society. These studies are specifically geared to turn young boys and girls into model citizens for their empire. The last studies usually taught further along the way are things like language, math and other pursuits helping them to find the best placement for them once they fail samurai training. Just because someone is the son or daughter of a mushroom farmer does not necessarily mean that they will be a one themselves. If they score high in math, reading or other pursuits in their electives they may be called out to be accounts, transcribers, translators or other jobs the empire needs but they need to have high scores in electives in the dojos.

All the while those boys and girls that are physically considered unfit or not smart enough can be culled by the leader or leaders of the dojo. There is no reprieve by the parents. One day they go to the dojo and another they just never come back. A letter will be sent instead stating the exact reason they are culled.

On the other side of the coin, if after a student shows great promise after their ceremony into adulthood, they may receive a letter inviting them to attend an elite dojo led by one of their nation’s shoguns which is a great honor for both the student and family.

Sometime in their sixties or seventies an elder fey’ri reached puberty. For a girl it’s the first time she menstruates. For a boy it’s usually when they get caught. Once one of these two things happen, they participate in a special ceremony called the Blood Ceremony. This ritual is marked by a ridged, highly symbolic and violent set of customs which reinforce the cultural values of perfection, absolute submission to the social order and readiness for a lifespan of continuous warfare on and off the field.

During the ceremony the boy or girl is declared an adult. Boys receive their first daisho: A katana and wakizashi usually made of steel. Girls receive their first katana and Tessen. The tessen is used as both shield and weapon in a female warrior’s case. The tessen is a collapsible steel fan made of steel often having razors, barbs or steel spikes along the ridges or on the ends of the spines. After the weapons are presented, there is a ritual feast and a grand family celebration. Often enough it may be attended by Daimyos or even a high-ranking shogun if the family holds status.

The guest of honor is fed the choicest of raw organs from a rare animal from the prime material plane. The heart and liver are especially prized. If the family can afford too often a live slave such as a human, elf or dwarf is tied down and the new adult cuts the liver and heart from the slave while still alive, sacrificed specifically for the occasion.

After the feast there is another ceremony that also works as a test of sorts. The young adult now gathers all the toys and dolls they have had since they started playing with them. They set them up outside or in the center of the floor then destroy them with their new weapons. They are expected to make precise, rapid sword cuts while performing katas while smashing all their toys and dolls. They systematically decapitate, dismember and shatter every single doll or toy performing their katas until they have reduced their toys into piles of shredded cloth and porcelain shards. Afterward everything is examined. If the young man or woman displays flawless, deft cuts during the ritual they will most likely earn elite placement in one of their shogun’s dojos. This heavily increases their statistical probability of surviving the final, lethal Ceremony of Life and Death later in life. Which amounts to their high school placement.