Genius Loci races: Beja

"I wish me and my husband could do more of my favourite things together; swimming, boating, diving. But he gets a cold every time we get wet from early autumn to late spring. Humans just aren't build for the coast, I guess."
— Anwynn, sawan

Beja (speak: beh-ya) have almost black skin, black hair, and two pairs of either black or bright blue eyes. Their upper eyes can see in dim light and under water. Beja are expert breathholders, and rarely get sick from contact with water, be it infection or pneumonia. Those facts have led to the widespread folklore connection between beja and the element water; the Swordmaster is often depicted as a beja.

Beja tend to deep thought and often become philosophers and politicians. The famous Ghabnah, founder of the mages' tradition and author of the Book of Magic (commonly called Ghabnah's book), was a beja. The most dreaded ability of beja is their life control - a beja can drop dead on the spot, simply by willing it. Hence, they make both exceptionally bad hostages and easy targets for assassinations, and societies are careful to not back them into a corner.

"Life was worth little in ancient Hremur; it was common to consider suicide in dire stress. Many beja died this way, but only when the beloved prince willed his life to end for an insignificant matter of honour did the culture begin to change, to preserve at least his brother."
— Anderfar, historian

Artist's notes
I always eagerly await comments about the seasick feeling one gets when looking at a beja, and I have to say it is one of my most successful designs. Earlier versions had black lower and blue upper eyes, but I think all four eyes in the same colour looks nicer. Beja have the storytelling advantage of seeming very human, but allow me to whip up some exotic little feature anytime I need to.

This concludes the racial templates - all major races of the Genius Loci setting have now been described: garren, humans, elves, dwarves, shankeh, raganaj, and beja. There are other races, like the goodminded, digging mul'ahman or the mute "Hünen", or the mysterious seraphs or rhu'khach, who will be presented later.

The shimmer

"The day I realised my shimmer was entirely gone, I cried, and cursed the wretched foreign lands my lord had sent me to. When I found it in my skin again after my return, I held a feast on that day every year."
— Syfa han Dannas, ambassador

All inhabitants of Gdera have "the shimmer". It's a gleam of the skin and hair, like powdered metal, and considered rather attractive. Humans, however, shine and don't just shimmer, in an amount that can cause eye damage. Because of the humans' need for it, many cultures wear ornamented eye protection.
Travellers acquire the shimmer soon after their arrival in Gdera and loose it after their departure; again, not humans. The shimmer is an honour badge of sorts, and Gderans look down their shimmering noses on those who have none.

Artist's notes
The strong eye makeup of desert peoples from the Egyptians onward is in fact protective against sun and parasites. I always liked adding decorum to portraits, and have a wide range of choices from mud to silk veils with the shimmer. In any case, distorting faces with patterns or hiding them behind veils and masks is an interesting character design feature.

Spirit collectors

"It is said that Baqimba of the East was a collector before he turned evil and caused so much death and destruction. He is held as the example of ultimate failure that could befall any collector."
— Wennikim Olikaa, historian

The spirits of the dead are dangerous. They can only cause harm, and should be unified with the Great Spirit. That's done by spirit collectors, who entrap spirits within themselves or totems, carry them to ritual places, and cleanse them out. However, dead spirits constantly struggle for control, and so collectors are always at battle with them. Possessed collectors harness the power of all other spirits trapped within their bodies and are a force not to be trifled with.

"Within the turmoil, the court's collector was cut deeply. I'll never forget his expression as he held the wound closed and swallowed the deadly poison capsule from his necklace, taking the spirits trapped within him into death - else, none would have walked out of the court alive."
— Nuwanor, palace guard

Every inch of a collector's body is room for more spirits. Spirits can escape through openings and ends of the body - mouth, hands, feet, etc. To make the collector's life easier, they are sealed with rings which also mark the extent to which the collector uses his body. Young collectors wear rings on the upper arms and forelegs, moving them further out with more experience.

Artist's notes
Collectors have great potential for being tragic figures. When they loose their concentration, all hell breaks loose. I wanted a profession that's instantly recognisable and causes both fear and awe in the general public. Plus, the shaman-inspired costumes are fun to design. I imagine there are lots of collectors in the world, trying to keep up with death as spirits pop up all over the place, trying to sort out the more dangerous first, and grouping together for larger rituals. There's a bit of exorcist/vampire hunter flair to them.

Gdera

Gdera is the largest continent of Kitas and promised to the West, element of Life. The continent of forests is indeed covered with woods, named after the colour of their main vegetation; the Red, White, Blue, Yellow, and the Lesser Green and Great Green forests make the majority; each has its own kind of fauna and flora.

"We have to get through while the wind blows in from the south. We'll never make it to the pass if the full scent comes down on us."
— Braq, yellow forest guide

 At Gdera's east coast lies the ocean of the Green Ryaq, which blooms with edible algae harvested for the markets, and the scent is carried far into the land. In the west lies the Singing Ryaq sea, sending its songs over the lands.
Most humans are gderans; flexible, with sharp features and shiny skin. Many elves live in the untouched woods, where they're safe from destruction. The powerful country Gderet is called an elven land, ever since eight centuries ago an elf married into the royal line, and the majority of its people are indeed elves.

"Alchemists import all kinds of plants from Gdera, that's always good trade. Except that one time when a howling box cracked open and mate Djixen went to catch the contents. Lost a good sailor that day."
— Hirall Govapoer, trade captain

Artist's notes
I never get tired of painting forests; fantasy forests offer so many possibilities, it's hard to keep them orderly since I have so many ideas that I want in there. I have to remember every now and then that people should be able to live there as well. However, southasian or southamerican cultures live in the jungle, I mean, really with jungle all around, so Gdera shouldn't be a problem.

Genius Loci races: Shankeh

One of the strangest people of Kitas; the shankeh are long-legged, with blue skin, hair, and eyes, with long heads and four fingers. Their nickname "messengers" is in fact a sign of respect. Indeed most shankeh are message runners, with a reputation of being incorruptable. Shankeh eat an enormous amount of salts, making their food inedible to others.

"It has been decided to instate a staff of shankeh in the council, to put an end to blackmail and corruption regarding false messages, wrong deliveries, and loss of mail."
— spokeswoman Ruuno Efdill

Their mentality is often difficult to understand. The reason for this may be their lifespan: at fifty-six years of age shankeh start aging quickly, and die no more than three months after their sixtieth birthday.
Because they pledge most of their time doing what they love most - running -, to the community, shankeh are highly regarded. Unlike most peoples of Kitas, shankeh keep to themselves. They have a universal culture of their own, less dependent on origin and birthplace, and are allowed many exceptions from social rules.

"If given a choice, no, I would not want to know my time of death; but since I do, I plan my life. The voices taught us to be happy with what we have and not ponder how unfair it seems that everyone else has twice the time we are given."
— Wankerah, shankeh, at twenty years of age

Artist's notes
I find shankeh both tragic and cool. There is a background why shankeh are so very different, but I don't think I'll reveal that just yet. That said, they are a great storytelling device - the trustworthy messenger can get into all kinds of troubles, or ask for help, hand over dangerous messages to innocents, or the wrong people... infinite possibilities of what could go wrong.

Sawa

The northern landmass Sawa is the continent of Fire - the power of the North. Sawa with its rugged coastline, many islands, and inland seas is the smallest continent; the far north is ice-covered. The landscape is shaped by volcanic activity, from the Great Talash-Keh's vast mountains, to fields of boiling mud, to the omnipresent geysirs. Travelling Sawa is treacherous; dangers include unstable ground - thinly covered chasms filled with boiling lava -, toxic fumes, hot ash clouds, and lahare, the giant landslides accompanying volcanic eruptions.

"Where the water fell upward/ and the mountain shifted in its sleep/ we bonded hand in hand/ an alloy of loyalty and trust/ and like such metals/ will never part again."
— Nuralk, "Ode of Vhalo", verse 3

Sawan humans are the blocky, tall northern type, the coasts are populated by seafolk. The Great and Lesser Talash-Keh kingdoms are considered "dwarven lands" due to the dominant population; Mul'Geranan is populated only by mul'ahman and therefore nearly invisible above ground; the infamous state of Sawaland, an openly racistic country of pro-human orientation, is a black mark on the map; and last not least the heroic warriors of Brighthold are widely known, keeping the warring neighbouring tribes in check.

"We inhabit the lands of fire, and we Sawans are proud of our ability to start all over. I can't imagine living in a place where the ground never changes."
— Mugikri, Sawan farmer

Artist's notes
Volcanism fascinates me, and I have Sawa as a playground for it. The trouble with painting volcanic landscapes is that everything's covered in smoke...
I found it difficult to describe Sawa's diversity correctly; it has landscapes like Iceland and Alaska as well as Polynesia-inspired tropical zones. The landscape changes so frequently - mountains coming up here and there and sinking back into the ground - that mapmakers can make good coin here.

The Four

Spear's bearer - Firebolt
Bow's archer - Nevercold
Axe's swinger - Worldhauler
Sword's master - Wavecaller
Four there were since times of old

Speeres Träger - Flammenherr
Axtes Schwinger - Weltenschwer
Schwertes Meister - Wellengrund
Bogenschütze - Lebensmund
Vier von alters Zeiten her

The Four are a symbol occuring everywhere in Genius Loci. The number refers to the four elemental forces of the world - Water, Fire, Earth and Air, and Life - embodied by the Four Creators of the world, and their magical foci, the Four Weapons. Each is assigned a cardinal point, colour, and many more associations: character traits, times of day, spells, continents, plants, minerals... Each culture adds own representations and local symbols; the Four Weapons usually take precedence and take many shapes. It is said that the Four maintain the world's balance.


The Four:

• The spear Lefenned, associated with fire, the colour blue, and the south. Its sign is a bar. Its principle is cycles, new beginnings untouched by the old, and overcoming weaknesses and obstacles.
• The sword Rwannakah, associated with water, the colour red, and the north. Its sign is a kite-shaped rhomb. Its principle is change and compromise, and ability to adapt.
• The bow Gajtualih, associated with life, the colour green, and the west. Its sign is a half circle. Its principle is movement, shaping, and optimism.
• The axe Khachgallah, associated with earth and air, the colour yellow, and the east. Its sign is a triangle. Its principle is foundations, willpower, and both loyalty and unpredictability.

Artist's notes
The Four were one of my earliest decisions about Genius Loci. Red for water because many rivers on Kitas come through rock containing iron and are reddish, especially in Sawa; blue represents the fire at its hottest (its a concern to me whether this will confuse people too much).
The rhyme is also an old invention. I wrote it practicing calligraphy; I was writing Tolkien's poem of the one ring, and wanted something similar for Genius Loci. It is widely used on Kitas, from children's rhymes to the chorus of Nuralk's famous epos "The Four" (the insane often mumble it, too).
The Four are very important to the setting. They're the closest thing to gods in Genius Loci and have many more features which I gradually develop.