#uanlikri

[cadere-art]

The greater owlcat is the largest member of the owlcat family and one of the largest land predators in Uanlikri and can weight up to one tonne. Greater owlcats used to range the whole continent, but their northern range has been considerably reduced due to persecution by antioles and several northern subspecies have become extinct or nearly so. The situation is entirely different in the South, where it remains a potent and common predator.

Across history, the greater owlcat has been a potent cultural symbol throughout its whole range. It is oftentimes associated with the Moon due to its white facial disk and nocturnal habits which bring into into natural association with the full moon that marks midnight.

The greater owlcat is especially important to the Am-Wiek peoples of the Kantishian Mountains. Their consider the Owlcat a powerful and dangerous lunar spirit. Am-Wiek legends tell the tale of how the First Hunter killed the Owlcat's mate for his pelt, and how the Owlcat, striken with grief and mad with vengeance, hunted the First Hunter through the land until she came to his camp at night, killed him, and skinned him. She's worn his skin ever since in a show of her might and wrath, and because of this all of her children are marked with the black shadow of the First Hunter's skin on their backs.

[b1ashorebogs]

Great clothes!!!!

A Chi drake carrying a week old chick under his robes. He wears typical robes and headgear that supplement feathers for sun and heat protection, and shoes that protect against hot sands. His legs are almost entirely bare of feathers, a trait common only in the most genetically isolated desert qilik populations of the contemporary.

They are one of the many peoples of the region collectively known as the Deadlands, a massive area of desert stretching beneath the equator and ending at the southern ocean. In the distant past, this region held grassland and open savannah and was predominantly inhabited by humans. It experienced rapid desertification over a couple thousand years due to a changing climate, and now vast swaths of the region are completely uninhabitable. In the contemporary, the only sophont peoples to permanently dwell within its interior are qilik and some nomadically flying caelin.

The Chi are based around a settlement built upon the remains of an ancient human city and around its lake (once potable, now far too salty to drink or for agricultural uses). This salt lake, while not drinkable, supports the basis of the Chi's survival. They feed primarily on the massive swarms of brine flies that dominate the lakeshores, as well as brine shrimp. Parties of foragers venture beyond their home territory in search of other desert insects and reptiles, and forage the coasts and a few scattered oases. Of particular significance is the seasonal appearance of small, migratory wading birds that stop over at the lake to feed on flies and shrimp. This temporary abundance supplies the majority of their meat intake and is of great cultural significance.

They are in closest contact with the Sisisistse people, a collection of semi-nomadic qilik clans who establish themselves around the region's scattered oases and desert springs. A few Sisisistse clans are allies and trade partners to the Chi, but the majority are hostile due to a long history of territorial conflict and the brutal destruction of one clan by the Chi. The closest desert spring to Chi territory was once home to a Sisisistse clan, who, after trade relations decayed, were driven out by Chi warriors, with many of their number slaughtered. This spring is now a permanently occupied Chi outpost and frequently skirmished over.

They are one of few peoples of the vast Deadlands that have sustained and regular contact with the outside world via a few small coastal ports, where salts and a few rare dyes are traded with seafaring qilik peoples from outside the deserts (primarily for textiles- native textile sources are scarce).

Somewhat rarely among qilik people, the Chi place limited significance on gender roles, with drakes, hens, and faeder all performing most of the same tasks and living fully co-mingled lives. The sexual dimorphism of this population is substantially less dramatic than most qilik, to the point that they are imagined as a race of androgynes by many foreigners. Most individuals have bright red-orange plumage (derived from brine shrimp), which drakes emphasize via contrast with predominantly monochromatic garb. Drakes are still tasked with the majority of childrearing (as is nearly ubiquitous among qilik.)

[cadere-art]

The spotted lesser owlcat is a small predator of the owlcat family - flat-faced theropods with small wings, a curved toe claw, and a facial disk. Lesser owlcats of various species are found all over Uanlikri.

Like other owlcats, it hunts by ambush, targeting primarily birds and other flighted small prey. It prefers mixed habitats of wetland and woodland: its distinctive mix of spots and stripes confer it good camouflage under the canopy and among riverside bushes and sparse reeds.

Antiole activity cutting down forests to build artificial wetlands for the cultivation of swamp rice has led to the spotted lesser owlcat's range diminishing in favour of its close cousin, the banded lesser owlcat.

[cadere-art]

The belted scrub owlcat is the largest and most widespread of the lesser owlcats. It favors dryer, sparsely wooded areas such as brushland, scrubland, prairies, and fields. Its range encompasses most of the continent, from the deserts and brushlands to the North to the alpine scrubland of the Kantishian Mountains.

There are several subspecies of the belted owlcat with some variety in pattern and colour, but all are readily distinguished from other lesser owlcats by their distinctive dark belt and the lack of eyespots on their wings.

The belted scrub owlcat's range is not contiguous: changing topology due to evolving climates and competition by the banded lesser owlcat has created a discontinuity where the northern part of its range, encompassing the Atashir Desert, Zaroub, and Dedjallad mountains, not longer meets the southern part of its range, which covers the Kantishian Mountains and the Matar desert.

[cadere-art]

The polar lesser owlcat is the second largest lesser owlcat species and the one with the southernmost range. It is found south of the Kantishian Range and in the Kantishian's highest plateaus. Its territories often overlap with those of the brush lesser owlcat, but they rarely enter into competition due to their different prey preferences. The two species can hybridize, and hybrids are especially common in the high plateaus.

Pure polar lesser owlcat have a much paler winter coat. The polar lesser owlcat has the largest non-sickle claws proportional to its size of all olwcat species.

[cadere-art]

The banded lesser owlcat is a member of the owlcat family, a group of noctural ambush predators with short wings, a curved toe claw, and a facial disk.

The banded lesser owlcat is native to the Great Plains region and prefers habitats of tall grasses and reeds. Because of this, it has slowly been displacing its close cousing, the spotted lesser owlcat, by colonizing fields and artificial wetlands created by antiole activity.

[cadere-art]

A sample of common crops of Uanlikri, with a focus on crops grown on the Ojame archipelago.

More information under the cut.

Grains

Several types of grains and grain-like crops are cultivated in Uanlikri. Of these, the four major types are millet, sand rice, swamp rice, and amaranth (not depicted).

Millet and sand rice are heat-loving and drought tolerant, with sand rice requiring especially good soil drainage but being more cold hardy. They are the main staples north of the Kantishian Mountains. Millet is favoured in the wetter Basin region, and sand rice in the dryer, more mountainous western regions, and both are grown equally in the continent's hot and arid northern desert.

Swamp rice is another important staple of the Basin region: though cultivation is complexified by its extremely heavy water requirements (swamp rice only grows in marshes or riverbanks), the complex river deltas leading to the Basin's inner seas are ideal for its cultivation and have been heavily modified to create artificial wetlands where swamp rice can be grown. Some strains of swamp rice have good cold hardiness allowing them to be grown south of the Kantishian Mountains. Swamp rice has also been selected for salt resistance: it is an especially important crop in the cold brackish marshes of the Cianji river and in the hot saltwater marshes of the Ojame Archipelago.

Amaranth is primarily cultivated in southern regions of Uanlikri. In the southern Basin region, they are a supplemental crop, but up in the mountains and in the cold lands south of the Kantishian, amaranth is the main staple. Mountain amaranth is especially frost resistant and able to survive nightly summer frosts in the Kantishian's high plateaus.

Red oats, known in the Ojame archipelago as uciwici, is a locally important crop grown in eastern coastal regions. Red oats is sensitive to extreme temperatures and does poorly in continental climates, but its extremely high salt resistance and ability to grow in poor soils make it a crucial crop by allowing cultivation to extend to otherwise marginal areas such as sandbars, coastal dunes, and other poor, rocky and sandy soils. It is appreciated for its purple grains with a naturally slightly salty taste, and for its decorative red foliage which retains some of its colour when dried, making it useful for basketry.

Ferns

Other grain-like crops grown in Uanlikri are seed ferns. Seed ferns are distantly related to true ferns and cycads. Two species are cultivated in Uanlikri: a climbing seed fern grown South of the Kantishian and which produces large numbers of small orange seeds attached to the underside of its fronds, and a caytoniale tree fern which produces modified fronds with large, round yellow seeds instead of leaves and is grown in the Upper Basin and Great Lakes region.

Climbing seed ferns are extremely prolific with a seasonal harvest on par with grain fields and well-keeping seeds with high nutritional value. The seeds are bitter with a taste somewhat reminiscent of burnt almonds and citrus peel, and are usually parboiled before cooking to remove some of the bitterness.

Caytoniale seed ferns are less prolific but are perennials. The seed envelope is also quite bitter, but the seed flesh has a pleasant neutral flavour and a crunchy, sticky texture not unlike that of meringue. Seeds keep well on the tree, but go bad quickly once harvested unless they are properly processed: seeds meant to be kept are parboiled, smoked, and ground into flour, while seeds meant for short-term consumption are either hulled and ground into flour, or hulled and grilled, often to be eaten as snacks alongside grilled insects.

True ferns are commonly consumed as greens, especially young fern shoots (fiddle-heads) and equisetum (horsetail) ferns. Antioles are less sensitive to the toxins in ferns, and parboiling of fiddleheads is often done but not strictly necessary unless consumed in great quantities.

Legumes

Legumes grown for food are historically rather rare in Uanlikri prior to the conquest of the Western Peninsula by the Senq Ha Empire. There are only two important legume crops in Uanlikri which are native to the continent: the grosbean, and the wax pea.

Grosbean is a vine which produces short, rectangular pods containing two to three large beans. The beans are exceptionally large, very colourful, and have a somewhat chalky texture. They used to be a staple in the Basin region, but have been mostly displaced by more palatable varieties introduced by Senq Ha colonists, though they are still grown for jewellery.

The wax pea is short, somewhat vine-like plant producing smooth pods containing a single unpalatable, extremely waxy pea. Though they are edible under duress, wax peas have never been grown as a food crop. They are instead highly valued for the wax which can be obtained by boiling the peas in a slightly acidic solution.

Other legumes (not depicted) have grown in popularity in the two centuries since and are now commonly eaten in most regions.

Roots and fruits

There is a great regional variation in the crops grown for their greens, roots, and fruits. This section should be treated as a sample of a sample, focused more closely on crops grown in the Ojame Archipelago.

Fruits

There are several species of ginkgo in Uanlikri, all of which produce elegant foliage and edible nuts. The nuts stink and their skin can cause rashes, so they are to be manipulated with caution, but their creamy flesh is much appreciated for its strong cheese-like flavour, which confers a pungent taste to salty and sweet dishes alike.

Bird cherries are small, cherry-like fruits that grow on trees and bushes. Most bird cherries are tart and astringent and are used for a touch of tartness or in jams and other preserves. Some cultivars produce very sweet cherries. The seeds of most birdcherries are mildly toxic to antioles.

The arils of a few yew species are eaten by antioles, especially as a gooey prepared delicacy or in jams. All other parts of the yew plant are extremely toxic to antioles, and the arils must be consumed with extreme caution. Because of this, it is illegal to plant yews on the Ojame Archipelago and especially in Ranai, but due to the extreme longevity of these trees, there are several ancient yews in the city of Ranai which are important landmarks and sources of yew arils.

Various citrus are grown and used throughout the Northern parts of the continent: most are acidic and bitter, though there are also sweet varieties. In the citruses of Uanlikri, green is associated with sweetness, yellow with bitterness, and orange with acidity.

Sumac is an important culinary crop in the Ojame Archipelago: sumac fruits are processed for the production of malic acid, a popular flavoring and crucial ingredient in the traditional Ojame ceviches.

Mothberries are named after their pale blue flowers in the shape of a butterfly. It is a drought resistant plant originating from the northern regions of the continent and cultivated for multiple uses: its tuber and leaves are aromatic and medicinal and its fruit is very sweet.

Roots

Root vegetables of all kinds make up an important portion of non-staple crops throughout Uanlikri.

Fur yams are floury and sweet, with edible and prolific leaves with a distinctly "green" taste.

Gourd roots, named after their shape, are crunchy, aromatic and sweet, with leaves used as culinary herbs.

Reeds are an all-around essential plants, with young shoots eaten as greens, roots eaten as a staple by coastal and marshland peoples, and its dried leaves and stems essential materials in basketry.

Orange onions are one of the many varieties of alliums cultivated in Uanlikri. They are the most popular alliums in Ranai. They are potently sulfuric and milden considerably with cooking.

Sweet and pearl radishes (are not radishes) are different cultivars of the Uanlikri radish (not a radish) with crunchy, fresh-tasting and slightly bitter leaves and small starchy tubers which produce very fine starches.

Spindleaf yams are plants with strangely shaped, aromatic and medicinal leaves somewhat reminiscient of sage and a juicy, crunchy tuber with a slight, mustard-like bite.

These are just a sample of grains, ferns, legumes, greens, roots and fruits eaten in Ranai and elsewhere on the continent of Uanlikri. Many of these plants have a large number of regional cultivars, and each region has a variety of local plants they grow or gather which are not broadly eaten elsewhere.

[cadere-art]

The rufous boskcock is a pheasanid galliform and a close relative to the yellowtail boskcock. It is a rather large bird and a poor flyer, making in a subject of debate among local antioles as to whether it qualifies as a bird at all.

Like the yellowtail boskcock, the rufous boskcock's tail feathers were historically of little value before colonization by the Senq Ha Empire, the native peoples in its range prefering to work with more rigid feathers. Though its extravagant tail plumes are beloved by the settlers, they have little trade value because the bird is abundant in the northern part of the Kantishian which is under Senq Ha control.

[cadere-art]

The Ki lesser owlcat is the smallest species of owlcat. It favours forested areas and is more aboreal than other owlcat species. It takes its name from its range, with mostly coincides with the lands inhabited by the Ki peoples: Uanlikri's equatorial archipelago, Petitwi mountains, and the Huwei, Shuwei, and Ojame archipelagoes.

There are several subspecies of Ki lesser owlcats whose morphology and habits are tailored to their specific archipelago. Mainland Ki lesser owlcats primarily hunt small prey and tend to establish themselves in the territories of larger predators such as jiwi, where there is less competition from other owlcats. The Ojame owlcat is unique in that it preferentially hunts the Ojame Hêtâ, which is larger than itself.

[cadere-art]

Working on the philogeny of Uanlikri's fauna. I've mostly got dinosauria down - this makes me realise I need to give more love to herbivores, and also that I should look into what's going on with birds. Hopefully next up is the rest of terrestrial animals: mammals, varanids, crocodilians... and also a better quality version of this thing.

[cadere-art]

What does agriculture and typical plants and animals used in food look like in different regions and cultures?

For the sake of brevity, my answer will only cover this part (but don't worry, I'm working on the plants (and invertebrates) as well) :

VERTEBRATE LIVESTOCK OF UANLIKRI

Thanks to a wide range of environments and intercontinental trade, Uanlikri boasts a wide variety of vertebrate livestock, some domesticated locally, others brought along by settlers from the other continental masses. Most livestock on Uanlikri are ceratopsians (some more highly derived than others).

Caviþ

Pronounced chavith. Caviþ are a highly derived species of ceratopsians originating from the Basin region. The wild species still exist, roaming the southern Basin plains in great hordes.

For the most part, caviþ are kept as beasts of burden and for their meat and leather. In most locales, they are unpopular compared to O'ohu, which are more powerful, meatier, more docile, and have more offspring at once. Nevetheless, keeping caviþ has its avantages: caviþ are smaller, hardy, tolerant of crowding, and produce rough but warm pelts.

In general, caviþ are too small to be ridden by adult antioles, but not for the Apinaat and Abimaat, two peoples of pigmies who make their living on caviþback across the southern Basin plains and on the Matar Peninsula. For the Apinaat and Abimaat, caviþ, wild and domestic, are their whole livelihood. Their use of caviþ as mounts gives them an incomparable edge in warfare and has earned them a fearsome reputation.

Wek

Wek are one of the few non-ceratopsian livestock originating from Uanlikri. They were first domesticated in coastal areas of the Pwetitwì range from large gull-like birds, and spread from there to most northern coastal areas of Uanlikri. Wek are meaty and adaptable birds kept for their eggs, plumage, and guano. They require access to open water to thrive, but accept saltwater and freshwater alike. They are primarily kept in coastal areas, as well as along the Koramme river and Basin Great Lakes, where the slow-moving waters suit them fine.

Kabi

Kabi, a guinea pig sized ceratopsian, are the most widely kept livestock on Uanlikri. The kabi in the picture was enlarged for ease of viewing: the vast majority of kabi breeds are much smaller, though giant breeds do exist. Kabi are a multi-purpose livestock: they are bred for their meat, abundant eggs, soft patterned pelts, and companionship. Kabi are extremely adaptable and very tolerant of crowding. Their ease of keeping in urban environments has made them ubiquitous through all the cities of the continent.

There are hundreds of kabi breeds and landraces on the continent. Kabi have a tendency to establish themselves as feral pests as well as livestock, where natural selection by the environment encourages the development of landraces best adapted to the local climate. They also make excellent pets due to their highly social nature, and many lines of kabi are bred purely for good temperament and pleasing (though sometimes extreme) appearance. Kabi are also ubiquitous overseas: it is unclear where they were first domesticated, but most theories point towards dwarf and standard kabi originating from one domestication event on Uanlikri, and red-leg kabi originating from another domestication event overseas, possibly of a different but related species: this would explain some of the difficulties in breeding dwarf and standard kabi to red-leg kabi.

Tsut

Tsut were one of the livestock species brought along by the Senq Ha Empire, conquerors and settlers of the Western Peninsula. These diminutive therizinosaurids were selected through millenia for an extremely downy, frizzy coat which can be sheared and spun like wool. Of all Senq Ha livestock, tsut were the ones to find the fastest and most widespread adoption, only limited by their destructive browsing habits and preference for hilly terrains and cool weathers. Tsut down revolutionized the world of textiles in Uanlikri, where spun-down fibres were previously very rare and very expensive, requiring capture and shearing of wild animals with very little suitable fibre.

Tsut are primarily raised for their fiber but also provide meat and more importantly crop-milk. Consumption of crop-milk is slow to catch in communities not descended from the Senq Ha, but the Senq Ha's people use crop milk abundantly, using it fresh or processed in dozens of different ways.

Llekme

Llekme were domesticated in the Northern peninsulas of Uanlikri from a species related to the caviþ. They share many of the caviþ issues and advantages, being hardy but temperamental. However, contrarily to the caviþ, they are an extremely popular livestock among both sedentary and nomadic populations Uanlikri's north. There, they are used as beasts of burdens and pulling animals of limited power as well as for their meat. For the desert nomads of the Atashir, llekme provide essential help in carrying their tents and tools; in cities, they are often used as pulling animals, working alone or in teams to pull small carts and coaches.

Hêtâ

Hêtâ are family of highly derived ceratopsians, including a dozen species and subspecies on the mainland and a few endemic island species. They are, in truth, not yet a domestic species. All species of hêtâ are game animals highly appreciated for their ornemental feathers and delicious meat, and there have been several attempts to domesticate various species of mainland hêtâ, none of which have been successful. Mainland hêtâ have extremely nervous dispositions, are prone to dying from stress, and mostly fail to reproduce in captivity: they rarely breed, and when they do, they most often do not provide parental care, leading to the death of the chicks.

This said, there is an ongoing project on the Ojame archipelago to restore and domesticate the near-extinct Ojame hêtâ. The Ojame hêtâ is endemic to the archipelago. Due to the absence of large predators on the archipelago, it has evolved to be larger and much less fearful than mainland hêtâ, but was driven to near extinction by hunting and the introduction of larger, bolder breeds of oujabe [dog analogue] from the mainland and of continental hêtâ imported for use as wild game.

The failure of mainland domestication attempts and a joint desire to preserve and profit from the Ojame hêtâ has led to a unique, unusually coordinated project to domesticate and reestablish the Ojame hêtâ. In a rare show of goodwill and collaboration, this project is shared by both Wetki and Ranaite communities on the archipelago. The Ojame hêtâ is thought to be a promising source of meat and ornemental feathers as its population levels rise and stabilized. Successful captive reproduction has been achieved, and semi-domesticated captive population are being reintroduced to Êrar, the archipelago's largest island where the hêtâ had been completely eradicated.

Wagwacguk

The wagwacguk (wag-wash-guk) is a wild animal living as familial herds in the tundras south of the Kantishian, with a domestic subspecies of marginal range in the lands of the Daghwa-Igdø and the Kantishian High Plateau. It is a large, extremely hardy animal with a warm, plush coat and thick leather. For the Daghwa-Igdø, wagwacguk are their main livelihood. One month per year, they feast on the fresh meat of wagwacguk calves, culling their herds as the first dayfrosts touch their lands; the later kills are preserved by smoking and freezing. The rest of the year, wagwacguk blood provides them with most of the protein in their diet. Wagwacguk pelts, leather, guts, horn and hooves are the materials involved in most of their material culture.

Though domestic wagwacguk are most closely associated with the Daghwa-Igdø, they are also kept by the Oubixwø-øi of the Kantishian high plateau as part of the Oubixwø-oi's diverse survival strategies.

O'ohu

O'ohu are domestic hadrosaurs named, in most regions where they are kept, after their loud and haunting cry. They are the largest and second-most widespread livestock on Uanlikri. Where they are kept, they are invaluable for their work as beasts of burden: plowing fields, pulling carts, carrying charges of all kinds. They are essential to the work of peasants and armies alike, and they are surprisingly fast. Historically, they have often been used in active combat, pulling war chariots. They cannot be ridden: their back ridge is too fragile to bear the weight of a rider and their alternatively bipedal and quadrupedal gait makes balancing a saddle impossible. They are also used for meat, blood, leather, and other byproducts. Their finely scaled and patterned leather is considered especially attractive, and their hollow horns are often made into music instruments. In many cultures, O'ohu grastroliths are considered to have medicinal properties as the ultimate digestive aid, and are often sold at a considerable markup by gastrolith merchants.

[cadere-art]

Feathers of all kinds are abundantly produced by Uanlikri's fauna and abundantly used in adornments all over the continent. Good feathers (bright colours, durable, a practical size), however, are less common. South of the Kantishian mountains, however, feathers too small don't stop antioles from hunting small and colourful birds: some peoples, like the Xigdat, are well known for extremely delicate featherwork, but also for their bird taxidermy, turning whole birds into decorative tassels where the bird's full pattern and array of colours can be admired.

These two species of birds, though they look much like Earth's modern passerine birds, are actually enantiornithes and do not have beaks. Instead, they have delicate jaws filled with tiny teeth. Both these species are generalist insectivores, and very sought after for use as adornments.

Both these birds have been featured as adornments on Xigdat dress: closeups under the cut.

[cadere-art]

Gonna try to do some sort of 'tober project this year again, with the aim of doing some sort of quick drawing from my setting Uanlikri everyday.

Starting off this with oujabe - oujabe belong to a family of very highly derived quadrupedal and carnivorous hadrosaurs. They're a domestic species with a breadth of purpose analogous to that of dogs in our world.

Most oujabe are very brightly colored, with red and green being the most standard coloration. This oujabe is of a landrace with especially pronounced noses and sagital crests, and is a rather low-red specimen. An oujabe's coloration is made up of yellow and red carotenoid pigments, and blue melanin-based structural colors overlayed together to create the visual effect of green. Because these two classes of pigments are affected differently by genetic mutations affecting coloration, most oujabe have yellow spots where other animals would have white spots, much like a budgies.

[cadere-art]

The Setsé Script is the writing system of the Setsé people, who arrived on Uanlikri as colonists and invaders for the powerful Senq Ha Empire overseas. In the centuries that followed, the power or the desire of the Senq Ha waned and the colonies were abandonned, leaving behind splintered nations of conquerors trying to make the best of the strange lands whose peoples they had murdered and displaced.

Text from the image:

When the Setsé landed on Uanlikri more than four centuries ago, they brought with them war, conquest and misery. They also brought the Setsé script, a unique script which is assembled, almost like a puzzle, to describe the phonetical qualities of an utterance.

The Setsé peoples have long ago been cut off from the imperial powers that fed their conquest of the Western Peninsula, Northern Kantishian Moutains, and Spice Islands. Since then, they have splintered. diversified and syncretized into a great many cultures. Despites this, the setsé script endures where litteracy survives. It remains the script of choice for setsé langages, whose tones are hard to transcribe the scripts of Uanlikri's mostly atonal native languages.

The setsé script divides a word into many parts: a central "thought line", read from top to bottom, tone bars traversing the thought line, and symbols indicating consonants on the left and vowels on the right.

Z��tzèpaqóí Glyph shapes are often modified to fit the available space. In this word, the horn of dz is detached to leave more space to the previous consonnant. A linked-style consonnant is always used with a vowel glyph which connects to the thought line. Modifications emphasize this connection: the e's new shape fully attaches to the dz glyph. Conversely, the use of an open-style glyph for q helps identify the associated vowel as a o rather than an e.

[cadere-art]

Aliti is one of the main characters in my (WIP) story Empire's Wake, which takes place in the City-State of Ranai after the death of the last Namitan Emperor.

Text from the image and more trivia under the cut.

Aliti

Age: 36 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Mixed, majority undenau

Aliti is a councillor of the Port of Ranai, a very important political office in the city. His daily life is busy, as he tries to meet as many of his constituents himself as he can. To Ranai citizens, Aliti is an embodiement of what it means to be Ranaite: mixed-race, tahen-speaking, and intensely politically involved.

Aliti used to be a runner, carrying messages around Ranai, until a bad fall put an end to his career. His injured hip aches to this day. Aliti uses a crutch for his bad leg and a brace to protect his wrist. Aliti tends to put others at ease by inviting them to sit with him or leaning casually on a wall or counter. This is both an intentional social move, and a way to ease his pain.

Aliti's crutch has blue fabric padding and a tip coated in red latex. His wrist brace is brown leather, though he also owns a blue fabric one. Aliti wears most colors, but favors blue. Despites his rank, he stills wears the simple leather sandals of a runner.

More trivia

Aliti has occupied his posting for four years. He was elected to it after the retirement of his predecessor at the age of 32, considered remarkably young for such an important position. Aliti's social network, formed in his years as a runner, played a huge role in his election.

Aliti's name means "Pretty" in Ranaite Tahen.

Aliti still loves to run, but he probably shouldn't.

Aliti is what we would consider bisexual.

Aliti's is of mixed ethnicity, but is culturally "purely" Ranaite. His parentage is mostly undenau, the broad ethnic group including most antioles residing in central regions of Uanlikri. This is about as precise as saying he is "mostly european". His parentage includes Tahen, Yuin and Namite blood (three undenau peoples from the mainland), but also some Wetki (a people indigenous to Ranai's territory) and some Amantis (a people of seafarers from the other continent).

[cadere-art]

The spangled boskcock is a spectacular member of the boskcock family native to the southwestern steppes of Uanlikri. Unlike most of its relatives, the spangled boskcock prefers grassland and sparse woods to forested areas, and does not roost in trees. It is a more capable flyer than its cousins the rufous boskcock and yellowtail boskcock and, though it prefers to remain on the ground, is capable of short bursts of rapid flight to escape predators.

The spangled boskcock is a favourite game bird of the Daghwa-Igdø, who use the male's iridescent feathers for ornementation. Daghwa-Igdø will sometimes keep small captive populations of spangled boskcock. They are less highly valued than their main livestock the wagwacguk, and are slaughtered first in times of hardship, with the thought that it is much easier to capture new birds than it is to rebuild a wagwacguk herd. Because the lands inhabited by the Daghwa-Idgø are so harsh and unforgiving, very few communities manage to maintain captive populations for several generations, hindering a true domestication process.