Lisdan
The Lisdanese of Lisdan seem to have come to the Eastern continent from some foreign, unknown land. They settled first on Eva'Nutra, flourished, and then discovered and staked out land on the Eastern Continent mainland. Their naval forces are the best in the world, and it is partly due to this resource that the Lisdanese are the ones who mapped the seas, skies and land. They are the primary scientists in the world.
A few terms to clarify:
Lisdan: The country of Lisdan.
Lisdanese: The English adaptation of the people of the country of Lisdan. In their own tongue they are called Don'karrix. The Suoro call them Doncarruss, the Muzina call them Don'Karez, the Speritanians Kilizdan, the Bodovians Donn Karru.
Lisdanese: The English adaptation of the language of the Lisdanese people. In their own tongue their language is called Hab'lexis. The Suoro call it Hablessus, the Muzina call it Don'Karezo, the Speritanians Saletos e Kilizdan, the Bodovians Habell Beri.
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| Sildan Kwai ~ A Lisdanese |
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The Country
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History:
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The Lisdanese
The Don'karrix are a nautical race and likely developed elsewhere before migrating to the island of Lisdan and settling there. In their mythology there is mention of an ancient and no longer worshipped Goddess Lelix unravelling a road on the ocean for them to leave the primeval pits to reach the illuminating light of civilization. There has been some speculation that they might have originated somewhere on the Western Continent, but as no vestiges or ruins have been found of any lost culture or ancient civilization, this is still merely speculation.
Appearance:
The Lisdanese are a swarthy, dark-skinned people as tied to the sea as a non-amphibious race can be. They have blue-black skin with a smooth, velvety complexion that looks robust and healthy when perspiring or flushed. They have brown eyes - though the shade varies quite a bit from a pale honey-coloured brown to a nearly black-brown. Their hair is misty blue-white, generally growing in white and turning pale blue at the edges or tips. Their skulls are slightly eliptical, with an almost bulbous rear portion to the skull. They have largely lobed ears, though rounded at the curve like that of a human. Their noses are broad and often flat against the face, with full lips that often protrude past the nose and smallish-rounded chins.
The men are between 5'5" and 6'1" and the women are between 5'2" and 5'9". They both have very long torsos and relatively short legs by human standards. Their wrists and ankles are thicker than those of a human, giving them less of a progrssive line. Their feet are large and thick and without any pronounced arch, making them flat-footed and stable, which suits them well on the boats.
The men can and do grow beards, some letting them grow as long as their waists and tying them off with rings of stone or cuffs of metal. The men are also prone to thick body hair on their chests and navels, with pubic hair in their armpits and groins that sometimes spreads to the back or their shoulders and buttocks respectively. They almost never develope hair on their legs or arms. The women, while having hair in their pubic region and under their arms have very little anywhere else. The women tend to have sizable, heavy breasts, and are prone to heavy-set thighs, especially after bearing children.
Fashion:
Traditional Lisdanese clothing is made of oiled cloth so that it is stiff and waterproof, like sail canvas. This thick, durable fabric protects them from the elements, and allows them to line it with fur, fishscale, batted cotton or padding for warmth and insulation. As the crafting of the fabric and the waterproofing of the stitching and other fasteners improved, the designs of the clothing itself got more complex. Now they incorporate military-like jackets and cloaks, with body suits that fasten into the boots and gloves so that no skin but the face is exposed. Men of the Lisdanese Imperials wear a double cord over their left shoulder and women over their right. On land, these water-proof materials aren't required, and much more rustic garments are worn, with both men and women wearing calf-length pants, loincloths, vests, loose shirts, head wraps and gauze wraps on hands and feet for workers.
They often peirce their ears with stone or metal, but on men it is usually only one ear and not both. Lip and nose piercings are also common, but usually studs rather than hoops that could get caught on things.
Culture:
Sexuality:
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Education:
Language:
Alphabet:
S - sab-dun (ss)
I - ichang (ih)
L - lirdash (ll)
D - dorm-ovy (duh)
A - apreq (ah)
N - nifllelem (nn)
K - korsh-tahn (kuh)
E - elff (eh)
T - tannim (tuh)
H - haw-cheyz (hah)
R - rojette (ro)
V - virmuth (vee)
O - osten-malun (aw)
M - mortehnkael (moo)
G - gand-bersh (guh)
U - upthem-char (uh)
P - pyz-ekna (puh)
C - cyr-thenib (sz)
B - bramos (buh)
F - famm-kening (fah)
J - jor-quven (jeh)
Q - qart-thallin (kw)
W - wislan-ythor (wuh)
X - xisling (ks)
Y - yntyne (eye)
Z - zaorith (zz)
SH - shirp-thorv (shuh)
CH - chan-ong (cheh)
TH - thappetif (thah)
ING - otz-ing (ing)
Cuisine:
Comparative Statistics:
Intelligence: 15/16. One of the most intelligent races from a cerebral standpoint. They are one of the most creative races, extremely good for invention, mechanics, mathematics, sciences, and are the creators and world leaders in fire arms and nautical endeavours. They are responsible for charting the skies, land and oceans. They made major contributions to the study of evolution, language, the solar system and biology. The only reason their intelligence is not rated a 16 is because they refuse to believe in the existence of magic or gods, trying again and again - and failing - to find an adequate answer in science.
Wisdom: 7/16. In Wisdom they fall short, again relying on their cerebral perception of the world for their answers. And while this unadulterated view enables them to see components and theory extremely well, they are missing the intuitive, the personal and the emotional touch in their endeavours. They feel rightly enough, but do not put much stock in the effect or meaning of emotions, and refuse to allow them to become involved with studies or the full picture of the world. This detatchment and skepticism greatly inhibittheir full understanding of the more subtle aspects of life, the universe and other living beings. They do however have fantastic medicine, using 'nervous lines' in the body to affect the natural magic in the body's composition to initiate emotional, mental or physical healing - though, they of course speak of it in purely scientific terms.
Agility: 7/16. Not terribly agile on land, they are quite competant aboard a vessel. Truly, they are a nautical race and meant for the skies and seas. Their wrists and ankles have a wedge-shaped construction limiting their flexibility for things like quick foot work, weapons finesse etc. However, it does offer them a very stable grip and stance for things like fishing, craftsmanship, architecture and hard labour. They root well, but this slows them down.
Strength: 9/16. They are marginally stronger than humans, but the capacity of their strength is much the same distribution as that of humans. As they are descended from Monkeys, their endurance, raw power and stamina is much like ours. They are generally better in long-distance terms rather than sprints or fast, explosive endeavours, and have a good constitution. Their grip and bite strength is good, and their bracing for physical exertion extremely competant.
Resistance: 8/16. In resistance they are completely comparable to humans. They are suceptible to poisons, diseases, infections and damage just as we are. Physically, they get cuts, burns and bruises as we do, being able to resist an average amount of pain or trauma before unconscious responses kick in. They channel magic rather well, which only helps to confirm their disbelief in it.
Recovery: 7/16. Theire recovery is not overly good, but a big part of this is their refusal to use magical healing. Their denial of the intuitive world-connected side of themselves hampers their ability to deal with ailments once they are contracted, often exacerbating, and allowing sickness to root deeper into their bodies, minds and spirits. Often they decay and break down in old age, gaining a plethora of health concerns that cause infirmity, dementia and other age-related woes.
NMP: 0/6. The Lisdanese are the only race in the world that cannot connect to the Manna Weave and Huskline. Whether this is an evolutionary progression due to their disbelief, their loss of active deities or whether it is the cause for their denial of the existence of magic is unclear. They are able to use non-casting cost magics, like Alchemy, Mind Speech and Channelling, however, as they do not consider these magics, but cerebral sciences. On extremely rare occassions a Lisdanese will become convinced of the existence of magic so strongly and so ardently, that they will actually force themselves to connect with a rating of 1 NMP. These rare few are known as Big Sky Sages.
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Godless Philosophy
While it is true that the Lisdanese used to worship the Forgotten Goddess, Lelix, and that the current Speritanian Goddess Lelir is a manifestation of the older deity, they currently do not have any religion native to their people. There are a few who follow the arcane faiths, but they are few and far between.
Instead, the Lisdanese have a number of philosophical practices based on the concepts of Reincarnation, Life Paths and the Lizju - a form of fortune telling in which one uses the results of this reading to take direction and action in their lives.
To understand this philosophy, it is important to understand a few key concepts:
Lelix: Lelix, while coming from the same name of the old Goddess, simply means "Order". Lelix is the concept of being in-line with one's destiny. When one is acting rightly, they improve themselves, their situation, their health and their soul's standing. As the goal is ever to improve oneself and so reach enlightenment, one strives for a state of lelix at all times. This does not necessarily mean that one's life becomes simple, or easier, as challenge is a key part of growth. It simply means that one can clearly see the purpose behind each test and can meet the challenge without being stressed or overwhelmed or frightened. It is a conscious state of living. Lelix is represented in Lizju by white or hollow circles.
Exun: The counterpoint to Lelix, Exun means "Unformed", and represents emptiness, incompleteness and disorder. Exun is not considered a bad farce, and has no malicious tone to it. It is the unshaped, the unharnessed. It represents areas of one's life that require attention, focus, improvement, and effort. Exun is said to be the original state of all matter, including non-life matter. From various points of Exun we can grow and change. Understanding the presence of Exun shows us where our attentions should be turned. In Lizju, Exun is represented by black or filled in circles.
Hazji: One of the three precepts of Lizju, and also a fundemental part of meditation, Hazji means "Challenge". Hazji is represented in Lizju as the third column. Hazji are a crucial part of life. They are needed in order for growth. Without challenges we would stagnate. Hazji gives us something to put ourselves to, giving us purpose, teaching us through experience, and enabling us to address areas of weakness in our lives. Hazji usually refer more to personal qualities at addressing existing challenges in all areas of our lives, but focus more on the person being challenged than the challenge itself. It is not a fortune telling that tells you what will happen, merely the qualities you will need to hone or guard against in order to successfully face it.
Yuwan: One of the three precepts of Lizju, and also a fundemental part of meditation and medicine, Yuwan means "Spirit". Specifically, the Yuwan is the balance of the body's systems, including motor systems like skeletal and muscular, but also the health of body, mind and spirit, the balance of strength between them, and how (as a whole) the connect to the world around you. A healthy body takes in and gives out impulse and energy, without one side of this exchange outstripping the other. If one has balance in Yuwan, they will have health. Disease and instability are caused by this balance becoming distorted. In Lizju, Yuwan is represented by the Second Column.
Eiyu: One of the three precepts of Lizju, and also a fundemental part of meditation, work ethic, government and law, Eiyu means "Fortune". Eiyu relates to one's obligations, such as family, work, home, ownership etc. Because these aspects are ones with which we interact with others, it also has a strong aspect of dealings with others, fairness, self-control, good leadership and humility. In order for one to work well with others, one must apply oneself, but keep their efforts in line with what is needed for the whole. This balance between fulfillment of the self and support of the group is the core aspect of Eiyu. In Lizju, Eiyu is represented by the First Column.
Lixing: While also one of the positions of the Lizju columns, the word itself means Ascension, and is the core concept of spiritual philosophy for the Lisdanese. The effort, through meditation, upright living, health of body, spirit, heart and mind, fulfilled living and eternal learning, of improving oneself enables the life one lives to end at a higher point on the spiral than one began at. The goal being that one will be reborn at a higher point on the spiral and eventually have learned all that they can learn, and attained and maintain perfection so that they reach enlightenment. Enlightenment is a ponit of completion for the Lisdanese. Not a matter of reaching some exalted heaven of bliss and beauty, not a matter of becoming wise and knowledgable, but of actually retiring the soul. By creating a soul so pure that it obtains the perfect vibration, it can then become one with the energy of the planet, and becomes a part of the life force itself. By doing so, they attain peace from the efforts of rebirth, and are able to end their journey by becoming part of the essence of existence, thereby giving the greatest gift to furutre generations and strengthing the aim of Lelix for the world.
Lizju:
In Lizju, there are 3 columns, each containing 4 stones, (or locations in the column). This means there are 16 possible combinations for a specific column, and some 4000+ combinations for the Lizju board. Without getting into the finer ponits of the overall layout, here are the names of the positions for a single column:
Yiwa: "Pillar" 4 Lelix.
O
O
O
O
Hwan: "Emptiness" 4 Exun.
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Elf: "Bird" 1 Lelix, 3 Exun.
O
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Lei: "Stone" 3 Exun, 1 Lelix.
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•
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O
Tsun: "Moons" 2 Lelix, 2 Exun.
O
O
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Yur: "Weight" 2 Exun, 2 Lelix.
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O
O
Axis: "Cloud" 3 Lelix, 1 Exun.
O
O
O
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Yizju: "Earth" 1 Exun, 3 Lelix.
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O
O
O
Bath: "Breath" 1 Lelix, 1 Exun, 2 Lelix.
O
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O
O
Wei: "Loss" 2 Lelix, 1 Exun, 1 Lelix.
O
O
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O
Lixing: "Ascension" 1 Exun, 1 Lelix, 2 Exun.
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O
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Euxing: "Descent" 2 Exun, 1 Lelix, 1 Exun.
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O
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Nurrem: "Braid" 1 Lelix, 1 Exun, 1 Lelix, 1 Exun.
O
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O
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Maja: "Anchor" 1 Exun, 1 Lelix, 1 Exun, 1 Lelix.
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O
•
O
Jeinung: "Borders" 1 Lelix, 2 Exun, 1 Lelix.
O
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•
O
Tatlef: "Meeting" 1 Exun, 2 Lelix, 1 Exun.
•
O
O
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