Details on the Xeresh

I should probably explain a few things. Yes, I know I’ve said that before, but I mean it every time.

Vallyra is a new world, and that goes farther than most will initially believe. It’s a new concept, something that I hope remains fresh and original, untouched by cliches and the common elements of what we have learned to call ‘fantasy.’ Vallyra is fantastic, true, but it is also real. It resonates with the stories of millions, and thrums with an undercurrent of power that draws on every citizen as its source. True, it may have magic, true, its races may be new and untested–but does this mean that it is any less real than our own world? If the ideas expressed within it resonate with the reader, if those who look on it wish that they could someday live in a world like it, does that not make it real. It is real in my mind, and with any luck, it will be real in the minds of others.

But my purpose for this post isn’t to drag on about how Vallyra will be complex and new and different and blah blah blah. It is, as I stated, to explain. I’ve done enough of the former.

There are a number of small issues that readers may find hard to reconcile, and some that are simply interesting quirks. I’ll list a few of them now for those who are interested, and to clear up a couple of blurry spots in Until the End of Time. This is also a space to simply start expressing free-floating ideas–I’ll pull them into coherent posts later.

Oh, and if the information raises more questions than it answers, feel free to post on what’s unclear. I’d be more than happy to answer anything, and it gives me a good idea of what holes need to be filled. I do apologize for the hopelessly random organization, though.

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— Xeresh are a race highly focused on order and efficiency, though they can also adapt their ways to suit almost any situation. Due to this fact they are extremely open-minded even compared to the Sasiil, who are bound to their religion to the exclusion of almost all else. This also means that they express themselves candidly in most situations–if a Xeresh, even a younger one, believes something, they are not afraid to speak it aloud or to respond with a contrary answer. This allows them to find new and improved ways of dealing with different situations; often times dozens of different methods are applied before the best is found. This candid style of speaking, however, leads to a number of conflicts with the Sasiil, who are unused to having their entire system of belief and way of life questioned. Eventually, coupled with religious differences, this leads to more than a simple clash of wills.

— From the age of 15, every Xeresh has experienced combat. Their rite-of-passage ritual varies through the clans, but consists of two main phases.

One – K’sha Shaping

The first is the shaping of an individual’s K’sha and K’shi (though I am reconsidering those names). Both are similar in function to a samurai’s katana and wakazashi, though the process of shaping and usage is somewhat different–and more complex. K’sha are uneven weapons, generally crafted in the shape of a fallen tree branch that fits the Xeresh wielder’s hand. The process of finding a fitting branch to shape the weapon around is one that takes all of a young Xeresh’s life up to the shaping, and a learner will collect numerous ones in preparation for the day of creation. There are only a few requirements–the branch must have three areas for grip (averaging 6 inches, 8 inches, and 6 inches respectively) and a total length of around 45 inches. In the early age before war with the Sasiil, K’sha were relatively straight-bladed, generally with numerous small curves within the  blade. During the course of the war, the style changed to prefer curved ones, as they were more fit for combat against Sasiil weapons.

To forge a K’sha, the Xeresh must take the branch to one of the planet’s poles, where the planet’s stardust axis provides a massive amount of matter which can alter the branch’s atomic structure. After an intensely draining process (the forging of one’s K’sha can take up to five years of a Xeresh’s life energy) the branch has become a blade in truth, shifted into the form of pure diamond and sharpened along every surface but the grip. It is significantly thinned down, and also made extremely dense, ensuring that it will not shatter except against another K’sha. A K’shi is a smaller weapon, 6-8 inches in blade length, with a small grip and very thin profile. The weapon is almost always concealed within a small hardplate (metal-sided sheath insert) in a Xeresh’s boot, and is used only as a weapon of last resort when one’s K’sha is not enough. It is considered a sin to let any enemy see the weapon, and whenever they are used, all who see the slight flash of its blade are generally killed soon after. They are made of the remnants of the matter left over from K’sha forging.

Two – Ritual Duel

The second phase of a Xeresh’s coming-of-age ritual is their duel with another member of their academy class, generally someone of the same combat rank and division. The duel is in traditional Xeresh form, which is to say that it is conducted away from all viewers in a 50-foot-diameter circle, with K’sha as the only weapon allowed. After the duel starts, no words are allowed, even in the dying moments. Neither duelist’s blade is allowed to touch the other–due to their enhanced reflexes, they are able to evade most of the strikes and counter instantly. Striking at an opponent’s blade can be done to press an opponent out of the way, but to touch the blades means to commit a deadly sin. The winner is the one who strikes the loser through the center with a single thrust, and the same person then incinerates the corpse and compresses the ashes into a fire ruby, which most Xeresh wear as a symbol of their adulthood.

Duels have been known to last for hours, but most end very suddenly. Both duelists are paired up by level of skill, and a single mistake on the part of one means instant death for the other–for this reason there are rarely any grazing wounds or scars from this battle. Once the duel is completed, the victor may return to his or her village or clan citadel to begin their training for their chosen profession.

— Xeresh clan structure varies from region to region, but while under unified rule by the Hierarch of Xerrakesh, each was bound to the same rites and laws. Every citizen was to be self sufficient, able to produce what they needed to survive, and to take what they could not produce themselves. There was to be a Council of Seven (those who administered the law) an elected Cita’lea (city lord) and a Citadel Tower (tall tower constructed out of the native element) in each of the major cities, and all villages nearby were under that city’s jurisdiction. After the clans split from Xerrakesh, many razed their Citadel Towers and formed new, more practical areas for their rulers. Laws were altered, traditions shifted, and eventually each clan grew apart from the original branch. Most adapted as they had been taught to do at first, now detached from overarching traditions and free to progress as nature required.

When the Age of War began, the clans united again under the Hierarch of Xerrakesh, Saya Iviir. Though split apart on all fronts, traditions splintered and divided from the originally unified specifications, all found a common thread and bound together, united against the Sasiil by their god–Xereva. Some clans adapted themselves wholly to the pressures of war, abandoning previous traditions to better cope with the immense strain on their resources. Three of the Seven Clans eventually fell, wiped out by their direct attacks on Sasiil cities, and their traditions and societies were lost to the harsh lands where they had lived. Four remained to preserve their traditions, though those four eventually melded together as a single Xeresh nation, and in doing so repelled the Sasiil counterattack after the first failed invasion.

After the Age of War and creation of Humans, the Xeresh dwindled, unable to maintain a viable gene pool and left behind by the rapid advances in stored magic and mechanical technology. Unlike the Sasiil, Xeresh were genetically compatible with Humans, and intermarried to the point of invisibility. The true Xeresh race eventually died out, left out of history and memory until Xerrakesh was eventually uncovered once more. Even in the latest ages of the world, there are still a few humans who have the talent for magic in their blood, descendants of the Firstborn themselves.

— Xere’vai, or Void Guardians, are members of the Xeresh shaped by unique occurrences. Firstly, they were members of the Firstborn (the first one million direct creations of Xereva, imbued with full knowledge of the Universe and the most power of any Xeresh in the history of Vallyra) or their first-generation descendants, and secondly, stumbled upon areas where the power used to shape the world lingered. That power was pure Universal energy, originally shaped by Xereva and Sasilva but then left unexpended. The power drew together into small, foot-wide spheres of distorted energy, and it was those objects that the 500 or so Finders stumbled upon. Siru’ne (higher beings–i.e Sasiil and Xeresh) in general have the ability to live as long as their energy lasts, and the small spheres were enough to sustain the Xeresh for hundreds of years beyond their normal lifespans. However the power also had another effect, especially when taken in all at once.

Those who found the small orbs consumed them entirely, and in doing so, lost themselves within the power. The intensity of the energy burned away almost all of their personalities, all of their intelligence, and took on a life and consciousness of its own. Though able to live on for much longer, the original Xeresh was now lost in a shell of black flame, weapons transformed into dark incarnations of the Void itself. Their eyes generally glow red through the shadow, and all else is hidden by the blackness that cloaks them.

Their name, Xere’vai, comes from their tendency to guard the Soft Places–the areas where magic has been used so frequently that it has weakened the fabric of reality. An account by a Ra’nae clan villager describes a pair slaughtering an entire village without effort, moving so fast that their path was a blur of black flame. Even so, they were still precise enough to strike each of their victims down with a perfect strike through their hearts. But the village was built around one of the Soft Places, and there have been few instances of other attacks.

Still, there are other notable accounts of Xere’vai. The primary account is that of Xali Wyrsai, otherwise known as the Xere’lea–the Void Lord. One of the few who mostly resisted the warping influence of the power, Xali nevertheless succumbed to the intensity, lapsing into delusion, believing that he was the true descendant of Xereva, bound to enact his will on Vallyra. As a result of his beliefs, he gathered a massive crusade against the Sasiil, sweeping up many members of the Seven Clans to join him, and not a few of the Independent. But there were many Xeresh who were also unwilling to join, and fought alongside the Sasiil. Eventually a Hybrid creature and his comrades rose to defeat him, but not before the death of hundreds of thousands.

The second most well-known story was of Sava Ra’nae, the first Hierarch of Xerrakesh. When nearly at the end of his lifespan, Sava was brought to one of the power repositories by a subject of his, and consumed the entire source. He was the only known Xere’vai to retain full control of his personality and consciousness, but the alterations to his form alienated him from his people, forcing him to roam around Vallyra until his power was expended. Before the end of his significantly lengthened life, he returned to Xerrakesh just before the age of war, having traveled the world and seen the tensions coming to a boil. Though he warned Saya Iviir of the impending war, nothing could be changed–the Age of War began soon after.

— Despite their highly regimented and ordered system of classes and ranks, there is significant mobility in the Xeresh world. Most systems center on ability in combat or another area, such as politics or even pure efficiency. To change one’s rank or class, one must simply train to be better, putting in enough effort to have an impact. The lowest class is the unproven, the learners who have just fought their first duel.  The highest are in the the class of the Cita’lea, the City Lords, who take up residence in areas that vary from clan to clan. Originally the Cita’lea had a dedicated residence, the Citadel Towers, but each clan since adapted to their own standards. The Ra’nae clan houses its Cita’lea in a simple vaulted ice chamber, protected by ten hidden guards. The Ky’var clan, however, provides only a simple ten-foot-diameter desert-glass sphere for the Cita’lea’s residence.

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~ by Xen on February 12, 2009.